Evangelism: Say What?

I had a great conversation yesterday with a young woman trying desperately to share her faith with her girlfriend, a person who is a little acquainted with church, but who dismissed it as irrelevant to her life some years ago.

She was using all the phrases she had been taught as a child and young adult. Trying to make sense of the language of Christendom just wasn't working. First, the life of faith is one of "trusting" that this way of being in the world leads to new life and reconciliation, to justice and health and wholeness for all people. That's what it means to follow Jesus. It is far from an individual "belief system" that protects you from the fires of hell.

I think this practice of sharing the Good News may be the second most challenging thing we have ever done...the first being actually living as disciples. (Insert old joke here...how do you know Christianity doesn't work? it's never really been tried...yuk, yuk, yuk...) I find myself paying close attention to phrases and scripture passages and explanations that really resonate and don't have the "insider language" barrier attached. There is a time and place to learn some of the insider language (after people are "insiders," probably).

Richard Rohr gave me good food for thought as he teaches about St. Thérèse:

Thérèse rediscovered the same thing that Francis did: We don't come to God by eliminating our imperfection, but by rejoicing in it because it makes us aware of our need for God's mercy and love and it keeps us humble. She called this her "Little Way," a way which everyone can follow. Brother Joe Schmidt describes Thérèse's method as "the way of being aware of your need for love, willing to give yourself to God's loving embrace like a child abandons itself with confidence and love into the arms of its loving parent, and then freely sharing love with others in creative good works of peace and justice. It is the willingness to be the person God calls you to be."[2]  (Click here for the whole piece.)

Rejoicing in our imperfection which makes us aware of our need for mercy and love.

There's a thought worth sharing.

Evangelism: Elevator Speech...

Given the huge number of people who haven't a clue what we are talking about when we speak of our faith, speaking of our faith perhaps becomes our biggest challenge. We are habituated to the phrases and concepts with which we grew up--phrases and concepts that grew our of the time when most people knew the Christian story and accepted its validity as a world view even if they didn't actively practice its tenets.

So, have we thought about what we would say to someone that might make sense? We should.

My faith community gave this a try on Sunday morning. We had our children "judge" our statements...good to go, not sure I understand, and OK, I'm clueless about what you just said. It gave us some idea of how our words were heard. But our kids are raised in the church, so they still have a clue.

Here are some examples of reasons people gave on why they were "Christian."

Common statement, but one with huge question marks:

Believing in God and worshipping with other believers.

For those of us who understand the gift of grace, who "believe" and who enjoy worship or see its importance, this is great. For anyone else...unintelligible and exclusive.

Response: "If I don't believe...I'm out.  If I don't worship...I'm out. This is great for you, but I just don't see the point. "

We have to know the point. We are called to tell others the point.

Here's another starting place:

I am fully me, broken and human, and I am loved anyway. I am able to love others who are also broken and human. I am allowed to fail. I am allowed to give.

In a culture that demands perfection for worth, that insists one who is not perfect is un-lovable, that never allows failure, and that spreads the gospel of "take care of number one," the church's counter-cultural message is one of grace and acceptance. The only thing missing in the statement is the verbal recognition that these words represent God's kingdom...one that holds us to a standard foreign to our culture, one that enables us to live this way, and one that invites us in before we ever start living this way. We are loved. Period. Not after we learn to live "in the kingdom."

The challenge is to learn to articulate our "reasons," to ourselves and to others...especially to those who are "clueless." We may need to learn different reasons. We have to practice with each other, though. We have to listen carefully and critically until we learn to express ourselves in a way that truly communicates God's grace.

"Comments" might be a good place to practice this...

 

Evangelism: Secularization

Martin Marty suggests secularization that has occurred over time has taken three forms. The first (characteristic of the European continent) is "utter Secularity." It takes the shape of "formal and unrelenting attack on gods and churches" and people "lose" their faith in that hostile environment.

The second he labels "Mere Secularity." God and the church aren't attacked, they are ignored "by people preoccupied with this world and their daily routines." Think Great Britain. The trappings of religion are everywhere...but no one really cares. "Christianity" is equated with being "morally good."

The third, exemplified he says by the United States, is "Controlled Secularity." Marty says the dominant religion in America is a "folk religion which deifies traditional American values." The symbols of Christianity get mashed-up with culture...so huge, rich churches are the "best," prosperity gospel (worshipping consumerism, in essence) is popular, God "chooses" America over all others as the most beloved (nationalism).

From where I stand, I think we struggle with Mere and Controlled Secularity. But regardless of the type of our secularity struggle, what is critical for "evangelism" is the understanding that most people haven't a clue what we are talking about when we speak of faith or faith practice. (Yep...most. I think given the number of folks outside our churches on Sunday morning, and a large number inside who are nominal, it adds up to most.) George Hunter III articulates it well in his book How to Reach Secular People:

Secular people vary in their consciousness of Christianity. Perhaps a third of them...have no christian memory; they are "ignostics"--that is, they don't know what Christians are talking about. Another third have a distant christian memory--they could identify Moses; they are "notional" Christians--who think of themselves as more of less Christian because they assume their culture is more of less Christian. Another third are "nominal" Christians--who are somewhat active in churches, but their religion is civil religion (which they mistake for Christianity) and most gospel washes past them. But all three subgroups are secular, for their lives are not significantly influenced by the christian faith. Their assumptions, vocabularies, decision making, and life-styles reflect no christian agenda...

The first two groups are also not "church broke," Hunter reminds us.  If you can get them in the door, worship is clumsy and alienating. Nominal Christians know enough to fake it, but it is meaningless for them because they are not practicing faith.

Our attempt to "get people in the door" assumes that once there, there is enough knowledge and history to have practices make sense. Really, we think, all we have to do is be nice and welcoming, then they will stay and do what we know they know they should do.

Frankly, it's like taking me to a football game and then assuming if you are nice to me and buy me a beer and a jersey that I will become a football player...or even an avid fan. Understand I know there are two teams and one ball and a whole lot of crashing into each other. And I do enjoy hanging out with people I like while a game is on. But I don't understand the game. I don't get the strategy. And I wonder "what is the point?" That attitude is heresy to a die-hard fan.

The good news is that people left in church, practicing their faith, are mostly pretty serious practitioners. The bad news is that it has been so very long since we have had to interpret or articulate the "why" or the "how," that many of us, even those of us who have the strongest faith practice and whose practice is transformative of our lives and our worlds...even we fail the "seculars" in our midst.

Worship is a hold-over from a time that the entire culture (frankly, whether they were "Christian" officially, or not) understood the "Christian" language, practice, and moral code.

We don't live there anymore.

Evangelism: Do you Want to be Saved?

There's a story about a little fish out exploring his world one day. Or perhaps exploring her world. She swims very fast from the bottom of the river upward, breaks the surface of the water, and is astounded at the world she glimpses before splashing back into the river. She swims home to tell her mother that outside of the water there is a wonderful world. Her mother replies, "Water? What's water?" Often, the context in which we live is invisible. Finding new and wonderful worlds means becoming aware of our limits. In Richard Rohr's devotion on Wednesday, he talked about the Eastern Orthodox doctrine of theosis, a common practice of the Eastern church, but one ignored or even denied here in the West. Rohr says: The Eastern fathers of the Church believed we could experience real and transformative union with God. This is in fact the supreme goal of human life and the very meaning of salvation... I buy it. That's the message I hear Jesus try and get through our heads. I hear that far better than I hear "believe in Jesus and be baptized so you won't go to hell." (I know...I'm probably going to hell for that!) "Follow me" and be changed is what I hear. It's what I see in the stories of the gospels and the early church. Rohr says: Salvation isn't about replacing our human nature with a fully divine nature, but growing within our very earthiness and embodiedness to live more and more in the ways of love and grace, so that it comes "naturally" to us and is our deepest nature. This does not mean we are humanly or perfectly whole or psychologically unwounded, but it has to do with an objective identity in God that we can always call upon and return to without fail... Full salvation is finally universal belonging and universal connecting. Our word for that is "heaven." Perhaps the most significant change here is salvation being communal, not what I do to ensure my well-being or future fate. Universal belonging and universal connecting draw me into community and compel me to action. As I grow into my belonging (God doesn't move away from that...I do), I must do so with all other people, otherwise I'm still not connected fully in the ways of love and grace. That's the invitation. I don't need you to come into the church to fix you or to fix the church. I need you to come into the church, because you have something to teach me, and I have something to teach you. I need you to belong to me, and I need to belong to you. That can happen because of our identity as children of God that is not dependent on us in the least. If you won't cross the threshold of my church, you are still connected to me as family...and I, to you. Back to context. The water in which we swim is water that assumes individuality is supreme, that independence is the ultimate goal, and that those who are "other" are to be feared, avoided, or defeated. God came incarnate in Jesus to encourage us to check out the world beyond the water that keeps us from universal belonging and universal connecting. We couldn't manage to follow then, but God didn't quit. The reality of the universal-belonging-and-connecting-God is the constant. Do we need to be saved? Do we need universal belonging and connecting? Let's call that the evangelism pool. Heated. Open all year round. Come be immersed in belonging and connecting.

Evangelism Strategy?

News out of Pew Research has folks in a tizzy. The number of "Christians" in America continues to decline and the number of "nones"--people who are willing to publicly claim no religion--continues to rise. Each succeeding generation shows less connection to the church.

Those of us who work in churches already know this.

"Evangelism requires a strategy" we hear. And I suppose it does. The definition of strategy, "a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim" makes one think that if we could just come up with a plan we could all follow it, and we could be done with this decline.

Problem one: WE. The work of salvation is God's work. It is work in which we are invited to participate. But there is really little we can say or do to "save" someone. That becomes increasing clear as we:

• give our "threat speech" which invites people to burn in hell if they are not "saved," 
• give our "good citizen" speech, 
• stutter incoherently because we really can't articulate why anyone should follow Jesus.
• stand confused when people don't respond to our invitation
• or cringe if they come and visit church with us and aren't greeted, are judged and condemned by the preacher, or are completely lost and confused by the worship ritual (which, of course, we cannot explain to them).

Problem two: PLAN. Remember when contemporary worship was a plan? Remember "seeker services"--services that didn't mention Jesus or God and didn't have prayer, confession or creeds? Remember "worshipping communities?" Remember the five steps to salvation? Starting classes with contemporary social concerns and bringing scripture in at the end? 

IMHO the only thing a "plan" does is depress the people when it doesn't work. Then more people leave the church because clearly God is either absent or doesn't care if the plan is not working.

So what do we do?: Pray. Witness.

By prayer, I don't mean the individual think-about-God-and-wish-people-would-come-so-the-church-would-have-enough-money-and-members-to-look-good-and-function-well. I mean a people of God called together in community who join together to converse with God about this issue. It's uncomfortable for many of us to even think about it. It's not in our control. We cannot measure the outcome of any given prayer event. But prayer changes us into the people God intends us to be. And that, perhaps, is the best starting place to invite other in...if we are moving toward who we are supposed to be. 

Witness. A relationship with the Triune God who creates, rules, sustains, and transforms all things and all people gives purpose and meaning to our lives. Significant purpose and meaning. If we can't articulate that purpose and meaning, we need to listen more carefully to God and to our fellow travelers on the Way. I think it is the purpose and meaning, the living love of God and neighbor that is compelling. And we cannot "prove" the benefit; we cannot "convince" the masses. We can only witness to the transformation it has brought in our lives and our communities.

Is that a plan? a strategy? Don't know. I'm not clear about the "aim." Church membership is often the stated goal...but we had great church membership in the middle part of the 20th century and that only got us where we are today--the decline of Christianity in America. I have no idea where this choice will take me, no idea who will be touched, no clue if it will happen in my lifetime or happen at all. But I know God's church will not cease to exist. God's people will not cease to exist. God's transformative work will not cease to exist.

I will pray and witness. 

And trust.

And God will accomplish God's purposes.

Evangelism: What's Messy and Slow and Can't be Measured?

Diana Butler Bass challenged my hospitality thinking with a comment she makes in her book, A People's History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story. It's a great read...the history of Christianity for those of us who find it challenging to stay engaged in historical conversations. My favorite aspect of the book is she finds the positive contribution of every era in history.

Anyway, she talks about the time of the desert fathers and mothers, people who left the cities, after Christianity had been made law-of-the-land, and went into the wilderness for solitude and reflection...attempting to find and nurture closer and more authentic connection with God. She describes their connection to prayer.

[Jesus invitation to] 'Come follow me' was intimately bound up with the practice of prayer. For prayer connects us with God and others, 'part of this enterprise of learning to love.' Prayer is much more than a technique, and early Christians left us no definitive how-to manual on prayer. Rather, the desert fathers and mothers believed that prayer was a disposition of wholeness, so that 'prayer and our life must be all of a piece.' They approached prayer, as early church scholar Roberta Bondi notes, as a practical twofold process: first, of 'thinking and reflecting,' or 'pondering' what it means to love others; and second, as the 'development and practice of loving ways of being.' In other words, these ancients taught that prayer was participation in God's love, the activity that takes us out of ourselves, away from the familiar, and conforms us to the path of Christ."

Contrast this with the "evangelism" I was taught as a child...and taught to avoid as an adult in the Presbyterian tradition. The first step was judgment...deciding who was or wasn't living as a "Christian." The next step was condemnation. The next, sharing that condemnation of both you and God with the targeted person. Then, sharing a process that required asking for forgiveness and "believing" in Jesus. The end. Mark your Sunday school envelope that you saved someone and look for the next poor schmuck that needs salvation.

I find an invitation to wholeness far more compelling as the invitee and the participant than the responsibility of judgment and condemnation. I also find it interesting to approach prayer as an invitation to think and reflect on what it means to love others, then develop and practice "loving ways of being." (and oh...oh how I wish our politics was founded on this way of being...)

Being loved inspires the best in us. Being judged simply inspires the worst.

So I think there's no "program" or "steps" or "procedure" that works for evangelism. I think its an investment in prayer and trusting God.  But I also know that investing in prayer is not doing nothing. It is, in the words of our desert fathers and mothers, "developing and practicing loving ways of being."

That may be the hardest job we undertake. Developing and practicing loving ways of being requires giving up the understanding that there is one way of being in the world, one way of worshipping, one way of relating. It requires radical acceptance of even the most troubled and difficult. It requires setting aside my preferences and listening to God and to others to discern the road ahead.

It's messy and slow and can't be measured effectively.

Which, ultimately, is God's way, is it not?

Evangelism: Not Ashamed...

These really are random thoughts about evangelism.

This week I keep reading s#*% about stupid churches who exclude people or say ridiculous things. Michelle Bachmann announced the end of the world according to her Bible...even though Jesus clearly says we will never be able to figure out the time. I even heard someone say they would ground their exclusive anti-gay position on the "words Jesus said" about homosexuality being a sin...not the Bible I am reading. The only position Jesus took regarding marriage was anti-divorce.

So, it's understandable that the run-of-the-mill-Joe or Jane thinks spirituality is better than religion.

It's hard not to duck our heads and head for cover when stupidity trumps real church. And it always does in the public forum. Our little congregation who practices helping each other find and celebrate hope, experience belonging, extend and receive forgiveness, and discover a sense of purpose and direction is pretty boring in media standards. (BTW, the list of "real church" characteristics is in a great book you can explore with this link.) Not much excitement when people fight, then forgive each other. Not much controversy to err on the side of acceptance and inclusion. Gotta have a conflict if you want a good story. Hope, peace, belonging...they just don't sell.

Culture is teaching us that Real Housewives is real and congregational life (of any stripe) is fantasy.

It's time for us to know better and to say so.

In New York Magazine this week there is an article titled Why Kids Need Spirituality.  It is definitely worth a read. But the point is the same one made by conservative, David Brooks. We can never develop our own morality from scratch. It is too complicated, too extensive, and we are too influenced by our surroundings.

I, for one, think that youth nurtured by a community of faith (especially a community grounded in God's grace and nurture and not concerned with judgment and exclusion) is a far healthier place, a far more hopeful place, a far better place and practice than TV, movies, or video games.

I think if we throw out the word "believe" and use the better biblical translation of "trust" then this might make more sense. We trust in Jesus and his way of living and being in the world. We trust that God is reconciling and transforming the world. We trust that the community of people gathered as "church" is invited to participate in God's work and that we, with the Spirit's support, can make a difference.

It's not about perfection. It's about trying. And I wonder if the first step toward spreading the good news of the gospel is not to be ashamed.

We've been given a great gift. We cannot be silent about its value...or about the fact that the gift is offered to all people.

Evangelism: What's the Point?

As I write this, I'm watching a clip from The Daily Show where two pastors, one young and mightily hip and one youngish and straighter-laced, are arguing about the future of Christianity. Naturally, the weird Presbyterian they found thinks robots are the future of Christianity. I never know how much people play to the camera and how much of what they say they really believe. I'm sure the Presbyterian pastor bumps up his "cool"factor just by being on The Daily Show.

They were both interesting perspectives. The young cool guy is packing the pews...but I an telling you, that is not for everyone. Not even close. And...while the services may be really fun and interesting, I am curious the walk between services...which is really what this discipleship thing is all about.

Now that I've shown my own geek colors...here's the point. The good-citizen Christianity of the 50's and 60's and perhaps 70's is gone. It should be. We don't do this Christian thing to get a good job or be respected in the community. We don't do it to show another country that we are better than they are because we believe in God. In fact, what does "believe in God" even mean?

Being a church member is no longer a social necessity. Frankly, I think that's a good thing. It puts us squarely in the hot seat to live our faith, to be able to articulate it to others, to understand and speak why the way of Christianity is a better way.

Can you do that? I'm getting better at it, but I've been thinking about it for awhile. To answer a question of why someone would want to "come to church" with you. "So you can be saved" simply makes no sense to today's world.

What makes sense? How do we have the conversation? Why do we do this membership thing? What, besides heaven after we die, is the point?

The PC(USA) has started its constitution with a great statement of our purpose. Here's an evangelism thought to chew on:

The good news of the Gospel is that the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit— creates, redeems, sustains, rules, and transforms all things and all people.

It's really more than a thought...it's a challenge. How might a conversation go with a co-worker or new neighbor if this was our foundation for asking them to come and worship with us? Play it out in your head. Try and memorize the sentence. Put it on a notecard in your car, read it before you start driving, and then think about who you might be called to invite, and how a conversation might go based on that foundation.

If you really want to get serious, practice with a friend. Be tough with each other...then help each other construct "good news" answers.

And let me know how it goes...what questions or challenges can you not answer? Where does the conversation break down?

Living as Easter People...

We celebrated.

What next?

I thought a great deal during our Easter celebration about how we invite, welcome, and interpret our faith to those who don't understand what on earth (or in heaven!) we are doing. So for awhile, I'm going to explore the idea of--gasp--evangelism. I'll post once or twice a week and I invite feedback for the ideas put forth...or with questions...or ideas I haven't considered.

My daughter marries on Sunday. I'll get back to church thinking next week....

Radical Hospitality...Easter!

I live an insignificant life by most standards. I don't make international treaties that halt nuclear proliferation. I don't do operations that save lives. I don't write important books or make laws that change the course of history.

But today is Easter...

I know this is true. I am a beloved child of God. I do nothing to earn this grace. I do nothing to keep it. It is radical hospitality at its core. Each of us, as we are, are beloved children of God. We may not even know that as reality. But it is a reality that cannot be changed. God has claimed each human being in history, knows our name, and loves us as God's own.

Today is Easter...

Today is enacted reality. This reality is so strong, people who struggle to connect with it otherwise are pulled toward Easter worship. The reality is so strong that the world takes it and turns it into shopping madness so that we forget to pay attention to the life-changing, world-changing love that would cut their profit and turn us away from the racks and back toward each other.

Where my life and God's love intersect, there is meaning. There is goodness. There is hope. I don't care about getting to heaven in the end, I need Easter reality in the here and now.

Today is Easter...

Easter names the miracle.We are beloved children of God. We see how it looks when it is played out in the life of Jesus. He made no international treaties. He did no operations. He wrote no books. He made no laws. He died a criminal. But he lived a child of God. And he changed history.

Humans have twisted the message, and I know you can argue the harm done in the name of "religion." But the reality of Easter is stronger. The hope of Easter is stronger. The promise of Easter is stronger.

Ultimately, love-God-love-your-neighbor will be stronger. Until then, I will live the promise, be radically hospitable even when the neighbors disapprove, and know that my significance lies in the unchangeable love that changes the world everyday.

Today is Easter!!!!

Radical Hospitality...Silence

Holy Saturday is a silent day. Ours won't be. The world rumbles and rattles on with no awareness of lives in the darkness of a tomb. Advertisers insistently hawk their products, sure that anything from soap to sugar will solve our problems. Chores must be done, especially if you live in High Point and the furniture market chases Easter like a cat on a June bug.

The noisy chaos of our lives surrounds us and cuts off our life source. It's tricky, because it is so loud and demanding, we think this is life. But we know death is there. We avoid quietness because that's when we feel the darkness, that's when we can't ignore the parts of our life that are unsettled.

The busyness and noise don't bring life. The silence of the tomb reigns.

We know death doesn't win in the Easter story. We are ready...or getting ready...for tomorrow. But for all of us there are issues, events, struggles that put us in the quiet of the tomb. We wait for a resolution. We wait for a solution. We wait for healing.

We wait.

Radical Hospitality...Ultimate

Good Friday.

I wonder how many of us spend any time considering the day. How many of us think about all the ways we kill off God's radical hospitality one person at a time.
dirty
lazy
Democrat
Republican
young
old
poor
GLTBQ
female
male
black
hispanic
white
fundamentalist
Christian
Muslim
Jew

I could do this for a while.

Today, in history, we killed Jesus. I'm not big on atonement theories. Not convinced that God "sent Jesus to die." Convinced that God came as Jesus to show us the possibilities of living in God's radical hospitality. The more we had to lose to include others, the less we liked the change.

I use "we" intentionally. I like my comfortable American lifestyle. I think we can do better. I work to the best of my ability to see that happen...well, the best of my comfortable ability. This day of all days is one I hate. It holds up my failures in ways I cannot escape.

I hammer the nails. Sometimes I make choices knowing they are not good. Sometimes I don't know how to stop the hammering. Sometimes I hammer without knowing I am hurting others.

The good news of the day is that God makes a way out for all of us. Life is stronger than death. Hope stronger than despair.

But today is pretty inescapable. I am as much a part of the problem as those who hammered nails into that cross. If we don't admit who we are today, then we can't recognize the depth of the ultimate hospitality God will show.

Lord have mercy....

Radical Hospitality...Room

I worked in the yard yesterday. Believe it or not, I loved leaves in Nebraska. They fell in the fall and they were beautiful and then they went away.

Leaves in a North Carolina year drop from the fall to the time the oak pollen finally gives way to the new leaf. Major wind storms, ice, snow...they all do their best to dislodge those clingy, brown appendages. They fail. These leaves fall when they are ready. As soon as you rake a bed. The night before you are scheduled to lay pine straw. It's the stuff of nightmares.

But I digress. The hospitality point was making room for spring. The classic image is getting rid of the old and planting new. That's not really how it works. You prune. Old becomes new as it is repurposed into compost or gets a new pairing of annuals. But you have to work it. When neglected, hings quickly lose their shape, their ability to serve their purpose, or their beauty.

Hospitality means making some room. The leaves pretty quickly cover all potential and seem like they will never go away. The art is not to be convinced by what's on the surface of your life that there is no room for other, for different.

It's a never ending job.

I think it is more rewarding than these stupid leaves.

Radical Hospitality...Assumptions

I was schooled by a six year old Sunday morning. Honestly, I'm not sure what the lesson is...I know it's something about making assumptions, but I'm going to have to live with this one awhile.

We took them to get breakfast for a fifth Sunday celebration. On the way, he's telling me about watching basketball. I ask if he plays basketball. He says no. The black team, he tells me, wins everything all the time, so he doesn't play any more.

Being a child who remembers the changes instituted from the Civil Rights movement, I say to him, "Well, I bet it's not about the color, but about how hard they work and how much they practice."

"Oh, yeah," he replies (leaving all his "r's" at home for safe-keeping). "They work hard. But it's true that when you saw those black jerseys, you knew you would lose."

By the time I could breathe again, we were at the restaurant.

We should all have those eyes...

Radical Hospitality...Habit

In a great book called The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg talks about "keystone habits." Keystone habits identify key priorities, then change the fundamental behaviors to accomplish these priorities. "These small changes start a process that, over time, transforms everything."(p. 100)

The question of radical hospitality becomes a question of keystone habits. What small change breaks us open to the Spirit so that we can practice hospitality more completely? Mother Teresa saw the face of Jesus in every person she saw on the streets of Calcutta.

Maybe in these waning days of Lent, we could consider what small change we might institute that would ripple through our lives and enable us to live more fully as the hospitable people of God.

Our habit is to start with the biggest problem, the biggest failure, the biggest failure. Fixing the "biggest" is almost impossible. So what piece of the "biggest" is foundational...what is the small piece that adds up to the biggest?

That's the piece we might bury in the tomb this Holy Week so that life might be resurrected in us.

That small piece.

Keystone.

Radical Hospitality...Effort

Part of my job is mentoring youth. We invited our co-hort youth group from the Lutheran church to my house last night for one of our favorite events, dinner and Catch Phrase. As people were gathering, one boy had his head in his phone. He was the youngest and just couldn't do the work of gathering with the group...yet.

It reminded me of the lesson we all have to learn. Hospitality requires effort. We have to learn to put ourselves out there. High risk for human beings.

Perhaps the "radical" of this God-given hospitality is the willingness to be rejected. Usually we set up our social interactions so that we are sure we will fit in. We ask our friends to attend our parties. We make sure someone we know will be at a party we are invited to. We can't stand the idea of walking into a room filled with people we don't know.

We work to teach kids how to take risks. It is part of our call. Welcome...acceptance...

But the foundation of our teaching is grounding them in the unquestioned acceptance they have in the Triune God. When you know deep in your DNA that you are a child of God, that God loves and claims and accepts you as you are, then you can risk human rejection.

The ultimate acceptance enables the effort of hospitality that can change the world.

Radical Hospitality...God's Gift of Unity

Final Sunday in Lent...

One of the Psalms of Ascents, song sung by pilgrims to Jerusalem as they climbed the roads into the city (Jerusalem is, truly, a city on a hill). Imagine people coming from all over to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem. All kind of people from all kinds of places. What they hold in common is their trust in God. This is a hope in which we could all rest.

Psalm 133

1 How very good and pleasant it is
    when kindred live together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil on the head,
    running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
    running down over the collar of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
    which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the Lord ordained his blessing,
    life forevermore.

Radical Hospitality...Remember

I'm dog sitting this weekend. I've been surprised how completely forgetful I've been. I suppose when you are sans animals for awhile, the care and keeping is simply not in your head. Until recently, I haven't been without an animal for my entire life...except college, and maybe a roommate counts.

Now, lest you think doggies are suffering, think again. It's just that when I come downstairs for my morning coffee, their little shuffles and yips are what get my attention. I don't come down thinking I need to care for the dogs. Then I have to go back upstairs for shoes (because spring has decided she didn't want to stick around).

The question is this. Has our practice of hospitality gone to the dogs?

One of my favorite things about the deep south is their focus on hospitality. Their first concern for stranger is welcome. Their mode of operation is courtesy. Their way of being in the world is gracious geniality.

Of course, they (we---I'm a child of that culture) sometimes aren't perfect. We start with hospitality and then don't follow through...but we do start there.

In this time of busy, busy lives, has hospitality gone the way of the care-and-keeping-of-the-chiweenie? Do we just forget to welcome, to include, to invite?

And who's squeaking for our attention?

And I promise you, hospitality doesn't have to include the china and silver...paper plates are just fine.

Radical Hospitality...Rain

I want to blast these "religious freedom" laws that allow the legal practice of discrimination. I want to say just the right words that will change people's minds and help them not be afraid. I do not understand the "Christian" support for behaviors that seem utterly opposite to "love God and love your neighbor as yourself." One of Richard Rohr's quotes in this morning's devotional was:

The Christian religion was made-to-order to grease the wheels of human consciousness toward love, non-violence, justice, inclusivity, love of creation, and the universality of such a message.

And we've taken the death of Jesus for those ideals and turned it into permission for discrimination.

Instead, I listen to the rain and am grateful for the radical hospitality God shows to God's earth. Remember, the rain falls on the just and the unjust. God doesn't limit services to those he thinks are sinful.

It's a good thing. I've kinda taken to the oxygen laying around.

Lord have mercy on us. Forgive us our sin.

Radical Hospitality...Blind Spot

I'm reading through a book on unintentional bias, Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People. Did you know we have an actual blind spot in each eye? I didn't. And that is the premise of the book in a nutshell.

These scientists explore our hidden biases, the ones we swear we don't have. These are the prejudices that give a better evaluation to a John than a Juan, that hire a Robert over a Roberta. Even as we work hard to be unbiased, this science shows it to be almost impossible.

I haven't gotten to the end of the book, so I don't know if they propose a solution to overcome what is too deep to see. Perhaps it is like the blind spot in our eye...we will never be able to stop it from happening. And the irony is that while every human has it, it is different for each culture, for each place in the world.

Much conversation today is the justification of our behavior and the absolute insistence that we are not prejudiced in any way. Perhaps the better phrase is not "intentionally prejudiced" in any way. Because the blind spot is there. We just can't see it...to be cliche...

Living into radical hospitality demands the acknowledgment of the blind spot. That, in turn, requires listening to those who challenge our behaviors.

They probably see what we cannot.