“More than Meets the Eye”

“More than meets the eye,” was the tag line from the old Transformers cartoon way-back-when. Despite the fact that most people went to see the latest Transformers movie simply because of the signature Michael-Bay-massive-cool graphics and Megan Fox, there is more to this movie than meets the eye.

Michael Bay has a penchant for playing a Where’s Waldo social commentary game with many of his movies, like “The Island.” This is no different. While The Fallen is strategizing for his buddy-Deceptacons, the Obama administration (in the film) sends an official (that looks a lot like Press Sec. Robert Gibbs) to the special ops military group working with the Autobots. They are to categorically suspend all activity. The Obama administration (in the film) wants to dialogue with the Deceptacons and send the Autobots away from earth. Yeah … we in the audience see there is nothing-more-here-than-inviting-a-black-eye. The officer-in-charge asks the Obama Administration official, “what if you’re wrong?”

A good question for our own real-life situation. During the heating up phase of the Deceptacon major offensive President Obama is wisked away to a “secure” location, while normal peon “global citizens” must suffer the consequences of his gross miscalculations. Where is Uncle Mordecai when we need him?

During a news conference with the Autobot special ops unit and Optimus Prime, an officer whispers to his friend about Prime: “If God made us in his image, who made him?” The voice-over Prime assures us, like in the previous Transformer movie, that we’re not alone in the universe. Knowing all there is to know in a universe of icy and stale reductionism is a lony place. As a rationalistic and scientifically-precise culture, we have never been more hungry for unexplainable mystery that is bigger. We’re leaving organized, pansy religion by the droves, but we’re hungry for a God, who is big enough to be untamable and is beyond complete explanation. We Christians would do well to take notice that there is more to our God-hungry culture than meets the eye.

My Lament over Governor Sanford

No, this is not the promised sequel to the previous post dealing with the movie, “Up.” That is still to come. However, like Carl Fredricksen, I “saw” via the radio one of my heroes become disgraced today. Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina admitted to an affair.

In a word I was shocked. As his press conference unfolded, my heart shriveled. I deeply admired this man … and still do. Yes, he was a very promising contender in 2012 against Pres. Obama, but like my heart that opportunity is shriveled and has blown away in the winds of consequences. Yet, he was more to me than a potential victor. He was a man of deep Conservative principle fueled by Christian faith that was thriving in the night of the living dead that is American politics. He was a strong leader, not willing to yield to a deeply-entrenched defunct political system in South Carolina that traditionally views the governorship as little more than a state mascot. He was one of the few who dared to challenge the gluttonous spending machine of the current administration, claiming that government should not be exempt from the normalcy and health of cutting back during tough times.

Was. It has been about five or six hours now, and my heart continues to grieve the loss of a good man in the American political future.

However, unlike Carl Fredricksen in the movie, “Up,” and certainly unlike the “Judge-Not” defenders of Bill Clinton, my loyalty to him does not demand his political vindication. My loyalty to him hopes to see him continue to exhibit the class, honor, courage, and principled-conviction he has been known for in the past, by resigning as Governor and by marching forward on his promise to engage in a process of reconciliation.

I believe he was truly sincere in his press conference today, which, I believe, was one integral facet of “making it right.” Yes, what he did was truly despicable, which is why Sin is so dangerous. Only in middle school did we truly believe that only bad people do bad things. We grow older. Our skin grows thicker. Our eyes grow more vigilant. Our hearts grow more cautious. The best of us are capable of the worst in human nature. We are not simply corruptible. We are corrupted in our inner nature and need transformational-redemption.

Gov. Sanford did not attempt to rationalize his moral failings. He fully admitted he failed; he was wrong. No, I do not judge him in the sense of condemning him to an eternal state of moral sloth. Yet, I do judge him in the prophetic sense, “Thou art the man.” What he did was wrong and has consequences in the lives of other people, many of whom are innocent. He has breeched trust, public and private. He courageously and honorably admitted as much. Personal responsibility is a social virtue, both of which may well be undercut by folk theology.

For example, “There but for the grace of God go I,” gushes forth well-meaning founts of mercy. We would be gutter snipes had not God rescued us by his grace, in which we are called to live daily. Yet, if it’s true that God’s grace alone keeps me from falling into sin, then God withdrew his grace from Gov. Sanford, which in turn caused him to fall haplessly into his sin. God, in this view, would be the author of Gov. Sanford’s practice of sin. In the long run this folkism absolves sinners of any culpability. Jesus may well be the source of my life, as the Vine, but it is I, one of the grafted branches who am personally responsible to take practical steps in actively guarding my heart from the practice of Sin. 

As another example, “The devil really got into me,” may also deflect personal responsibility in the practice of Sin. Had the devil not “gotten into me,” I would not have gotten into Sin. Far from denying Satan and his workshop in our backyards, I do not believe his craftsmanship is absolute. He has accomplices in our sin nature and a toilet bowl of a world. However, there is another Master Craftsman who absolutely holds the keys to the glorious outhouses of death and hell, as well as the key to the closet containing the divine Febreeze. He has called us to abide in him, his word, and his ways.

We should support Gov. Sanford in his travels on Repentance Road. Yet such support should not give aid and comfort to philosophical thugs, lurking in the crevasses, waiting on dainty opportunities to rape the image of Christ Gov. Sanford bears as one of his very public ambassadors. Truthless mercy does just that. Goodless kindness does that, as well. The God of the Apostles is also the God of the Prophets, who once called upon Nathan to declare to David, “Thou art the man.” The Jesus who says “No condemnation” to that hapless woman, is the one who calls her chosen practice “Sin.” Yet he is the same one who invited her to a new life free from the dominion of Sin. Mercy and Truth are the twin pillars of the gate opening to Repentance Road.

D-Day & the Element of Sacrifice in Morality

This morning I’m sitting with my two beautiful toddler girls at the breakfast table. They’re humming and cooing and singing, while carefully applying their make-up for the day (oatmeal). The wipes are going to have to be a little extra sturdy today. Teddy Grahams braved through the leftover oatmeal only to be picked off from a rather hungry aerial attack. There were no survivors.

 

 

Today is the day we honor those men who braved the beaches of Normandy 65 years ago. Their sacrifices help to make it possible for me to enjoy breakfast with my girls in relative peace … the hapless fate of the cinnamon bears aside. My family will grow into a brighter future because of their willingness to be buried with their dreams of the future on the Normandy beaches. Enough words do not exist to capture the gratitude I have for those people. I can daily live their sacrificial devotion in service to my family and country and instill this love for others in my girls.

We who live in the illusion of peace and safety would do well to consider those who willingly fell low on D-Day … before riding their high moral horses in the current “torture” debate and in any general discussion of pacifism. Those, who took their own dreams, freedom, safety, and lives to “bed” on those deadly beaches, hauntingly call to us who live in the ease of comfy illusions of peace and safety. They sacrificed their all for millions of innocent others. Dare we sacrifice the dreams, freedom, safety, and lives of millions of innocents to keep our own personal moral slates clean?

(D-Day picture from History Link 101: dhttp://www.historylink101.com/wwII_b-w/d-day/landingcraft/IMG_4162.html)

Faith as Entrepreneurial Belief

If Jesus implored us to be anxious for nothing (Matthew 6:25-34), then why do so many of us build our cathedralled lives around our drives for personal comfort? The whole of the Sermon on the Mount is that his people are a lighted city set on a hill squarely in the midst of dark depravity. It seems the whole of our experiences with church are efforts to turn out our lights so that those depraved zombies “out there” don’t find their way in here. Before long PTSD (Preferential Treatment  because of Salvation Disorder) sets in … and we hold even our own at arm’s length for fear they will cause us some measure of discomfort. We take up the Prophet’s mantle, “Thus says the Lord Ego, ‘Thou art a distraction and a disturbance.’”

Fear happens to the be one of the best of Paul’s disciples, for it crosses the trench lines of denomination and styles of “worship,” drawing us all into unity (See I Corinthians 1-3) … yeah, a unity of anxious wafes. Oh, that we of the faithful would venture out as Fear has so fearlessly accomplished!

Several years ago I witnessed an amazing phenomenon. The youth of one particular city were drawn more to a traditional Baptist church. Even the “hip” and “cool” and “contemporary” music of the “spirit-filled” atmosphere could not compete with them. Yet, the traditions of my Southern Methodist denomination have been pillars of cooked spaghetti, unable to support a temple of worship for our youth. If tradition was the problem spawning church decline, then the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox Churches would have died out a long time ago. In traditional and “out of the box” church groups we find churches who are driven by fear and churches who celebrate Scriptural faith. Usually there is some combination of the two groups in every church.

My wife is out of town for several days for a business trip, which means our two kids are “in town” with me. I do love my kids, but I have to admit that I like being around one more than the other. In fact I have dreaded this time … again not because I don’t love my kids … God knows I do. I have dreaded this time because one of them is simply inconsolable at times … no matter what. Last night was not fun … to say the least. This morning was even less fun. I asked for prayer for myself yesterday at church … humbly admitting that I have quite a difficult time with that particular kid. I didn’t ask God to make the time pleasant for me, but to change my heart so that I can better deal with “that” kid.

I think I may have unnerved a few people. How dare I say such a thing about my kids! I am the preacher!!! However, one lady got it, exclaiming, “Now, we’re having church!” That was the point … to have “church” in such a way that we can bring our fears and faults to one another and lifting them up as incense before our Creator who desires to re-create us. Yet, I believe it is anxiety that prevents us from opening up our hearts of wormy-manna. “What will they think if I share this?” I unwittingly played the shock-jock again by calmly telling them that I didn’t care what any of them thought of me … all I knew was that I need God.

I also believe it may be anxiety which prevents us from entering the heart-worlds of those around us to help them pull out their worms. It is certainly not pleasant to catch the overflow of pain from hearts. If we’re not careful, that overflow may become a rip-current dragging us into their cesspools.

I have officially resigned from my position as pastor of my two churches in order to pursue specifically youth and family ministry. Though I have around 20 resumes in circulation currently (more are to flow forth), I do not have any job prospects. The normal procedure for our denomination is to announce a resignation during April, for the churches hold their votes of confidence in their pastors at the end of April. I announced my resignation in January.

With a very secure job (my people truly love me and I truly love them … more than they will ever know) … with a very secure job in a very insecure economy why did I resign? Why did I resign so early … the end of July (moving time) is quite a distance from January?

Faith. In our churchy culture faith is the same as belief. We celebrate the faith once delivered to the apostles … or misunderstand it. Faith is not the same thing as belief. I believe it was James that quipped, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe– and shudder!” (2:19; ESV). One “faith” group had as their tag-line “faith in action.” As well-meaning as that is, ”faith in action” is a redundant statement. Faith is belief that is driven to action for a purpose. That is the faith which was once delivered to the apostles.

Out of my belief that I need to be working with youth and families more directly I resigned. That is faith. Out of my belief that I need to love and respect my people entrusted to my care I told them early … so that we can work together through this transition … so that they would not have been left hanging … so that our relationship can be nurtured. That is faith.

There are those among us chanting the mantra “avoid the politics of fear.” A whole presidential campaign was fueled by the drive to avoid the politics of fear. That campaign won. Now that President is attempting to swoon the populous into accepting his “stimulus” package … because if we don’t then catastrophe will strike … the likes of which Chicken Little never dreamed. So much for avoiding the politics of fear. Yes, faith is the conquering management of anxiety, but faith is not the squashing of wisdom. No, by urging us as Christians to avoid the theology of anxiety, I’m not aborting the process of critical analysis birthed by sound wisdom.

Rather I’m asking us to re-examine our “faith.” Why do we do some things and not others at church? Why do we consider some things proper or improper? Why do we speak to some but avoid others? How about asking ourselves those questions about our lives “outside” church? What beliefs and emotions are driving our vehicles of worship and ministry? Are we driven by fear or do we run by faith?

Is it possible we need an oil change from the Spirit of God? Our vehicles would certainly run smoother … and might just run at all. Having fresh oil from the Spirit would once again fuel our city to light up a dark and bloody world. Yet, like I’ve been told about oil changes in vehicles, if you don’t change the filter along with the old oil, the new oil will only get gunky quickly. The Spirit can send fresh oil, but unless we change our emotional process filters (or allow him to do it) then whatever revival he sends will merely turn gunky (or trashy) rather quickly.

Remember the Parable of the Talents? Who did the master praise? Who did the master condemn … as wicked? At first glance it seems really pious for that lowly servant to bury his one talent out of fear of his master. What would happen if he lost it? It’s the only one he has. However, in order for those two who received by twice what they risked, chances are they risked everything they were entrusted. Again, they risked everything they were entrusted.

That parable teaches us that the problem is not in taking risks … it’s in not taking risks. May the Lord of the Harvest raise up risk takers. I don’t need to pray that he would send them out, because by their very nature of being risk takers, they will go out and do so passionately. May the Lord of the Harvest transform us, so that we might possess a faith made of entrepreneurial belief.

Inheritance not Bailouts

Apparently 43 states are facing budget shortfalls due to the recent economic downturn. However, last Wednesday, the state governors had an opportunity to sit down with President-elect Obama & Vice President-elect Biden and air their woes. After perusing several newsites (a, b,  c, d) one message stuck out: the governors want help from Washington with their budgetary woes. One estimate anticipates $176 billion.

Despite the unanimous gloss many of the reports are painting on the gubernatorial meeting, a brief mention is made of Mark Sanford (R-SC), who cuts against the grain. “We’ve been told over a number of months that this stimulus or that stimulus will turn the economy around, and they haven’t worked.” In fact I heard him interviewed by Bill Bennet’s radio-fill-in yesterday-morning. The federal government should “absolutely not” be picking up the budget short-falls of state governments, Sanford pointedly said. If individual families are required to make budgetary cuts during tough times, then why should government not also be forced to do likewise? “I believe (the states) ought to be free to spend their money however they like, but they ought not to ask the rest of us to pay for (their un-funded plans).”

On the surface this might seem very cruel and unusual punishment. After all the government is responsible taking care of the people … right? The first lesson anyone learns in Economics 101 is that man’s appetite is insatiable, while resources are limited. Economics is the discipline that seeks to study how man navigates allocating scarce resources among infinite needs, wants, and desires. In short, as daddy and mamma used to say, “Son, we don’t own a money tree in the backyard.” Sanford said that no one is denying reality of the pain in having to cut back on spending but the fact that money is not infinite is just as real. I was proud to call Gov. Sanford my governor yesterday … and today.

As believers who are serious about living the Word and doing real ministry in the real world, we can learn a lot from our present economic situation … and Gov. Sanford’s response to it. Yes, we might like to ignore the displeasure and ickiness of the real world effects of real world Sin. However, there will be no heavenly bailout coming to alleviate us from having to navigate Sin and its effects among the people we are called to live. Isolation and disengagement are not options for authentic believers. There are precious few easy answers. How easy was the Cross for Jesus? In considering outreach and ministry programs, human sin nature must be taken into consideration. Quick fixes simply will not do.  Nor is real and authentic transformation of individuals, families, and communities easy or accomplished overnight. Did death, debilitation, and dysfunction happen overnight? No, there are precious few easy answers.

And yet … right slap, dab in the midst of Sin and its effects is where Jesus promised he would build his church. The boards he uses to do so are the splinters lodged in our backs from the crosses we daily own and bear, following him in the midst of the real world. While we are not promised a bailout from the natural, character-producing suffering that is part-and-parcel of engaging the world as ambassadors for Christ, we are promised to “always” be led in the victory of Jesus “everywhere.” Such is our inheritance as believers. Give me the very real and eternal victory of Jesus as my inheritance over some bailout from having to live in the real world … “always” and “everywhere.”

Future Veterans

Today is November 11th, the day we celebrate our veterans. They have given us so much by their lifestyle of personal sacrifice for their fellow soldiers, sailors, and marines … and their Country. The “free” in freedom “ain’t” free. It cost someone, somewhere, dearly. You veterans have successfully sacrificed to give us, your children and grandchildren safety and security.

 The culture has shifted. Right or wrong, fair or unfair. Unfortunately, a segment in our society has grown and continues to grow that teaches freedom is a right. My generation, with all of our many strong points, is under the delusion that we are entitled to a basic lifestyle that my grandfather’s generation viewed as the work of a good novelist. Many in my generation are leaving home under the delusion they are entitled to begin their journeys into adulthood at the same place their parents currently are.

Please do not misread me. I am not speaking against wealth. Without wealth jobs would not be created, nor would research be funded to fight disease. I am not against providing well for our children and our children’s children. Yes, let us provide for them. Let us make sure they are better off than we are.

However, if we don’t train them to handle stress, to handle responsibility, to love learning, to love the acquisition of wisdom … if we don’t train them to truly follow Jesus in discipleship … then they will only squander what we leave behind to them. What many in my generation consider to be cruel in parenting, was considered necessary for good character development in my grandparent’s generation.

My grandparent’s generation is considered the ”Greatest Generation.” They survived the politicians’ screwing over of the government and economy during the “Great Depression,” and they fought two world wars. Our grandfathers didn’t look for handouts; they looked for jobs. Our grandmothers didn’t find escape and solace in their “stories” which are broad-casted on the the big three everyday from 1 to 4. They sought to navigate chaos and dissolution into peace and harmony. This generation not only survived but thrived.

My generation is on the verge of similar political and economic shenanigans, and the rumors of war will abound until the Second Advent of Jesus. What will my poor generation do with no one to hold their hands while they go to the potty of life?

On this Veterans’ Day, let us make a commitment to fight one more war. This is a plea especially to those of the “Greatest Generation.” That war is with the secular progressive culture that is prostituting our children and grandchildren in the bedroom of Entitlement. I know my generation is very intimidating for the “Greatest Generation.” But you are the generation that fought and won two world wars and the Great Depression. Let us reclaim our children & grandchildren from the whore of secular progressivism.

Yes, we pray and depend upon the Holy Spirit & his work. But at the end of the day, the tools the Spirit uses are often his people. Most of the time simply being willing to consistently engage with our children and grandchildren is the choicest of weapons.

You are veterans. Join with us in being willing to yield to the Spirit, and prepare them to be “Future Veterans.”

What Now?

I sat watching the 11:00 pm poll closings, as California escorted Obama to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Leading up to that dreaded 7:00 first poll closings, I just knew McCain was going to pull this thing out. Throughout the night I was proven wrong, as I’ve been proven wrong watching other contests … such as my Georgia pound puppies get chomped by some rejuvenated and hungry Florida Gators.

A guy could get a complex! Hey if you’re having your buds over to watch the big game and you want their team to lose … invite me over to cheer for their team!

Fear, anger, and despair are creating landslides within the heart of my religio-political camp. As I was perusing the various news sites this morning (@ 5:00 am!) grief, like that of having to say goodbye to a church camp girlfriend, washed over me as I realized Sarah Palin would be flying back to Alaska and away from the national scene … at least for the time being.

How in the world did someone with less experience than the good Governor and with so many questionable alliances and with such an economically leftist political agenda (during a looming recession!) get elected? Is it true that God voted for Obama? According to a certain theological persuasion, this might have been the case. Does that mean that we, center-right evangelicals, missed God? Or did God simply tell us to “put out or get out” and we’re now standing on the side of some dirt road in the middle of nowhere?

I don’t know if God destined Obama for the Presidency or not, but I do know that the American people used their free will to vote him in. What now? Here are some suggestions, which I will be following.

1. Work through the grieving process. It’s okay to be responsibly angry … even with God. You’ll be giving the Holy Spirit more material with which to work. You’ll be able to get your feet under you a bit quicker.
2. Pray for President-elect Obama. Regardless of how deep apprehensions about him about him might be, he will be our President. Praying for him will allow us to more quickly get our feet under us. Praying for him will help to keep us respectful of the Office. Praying for him will of course help to encourage a movement of the Holy Spirit in his life. Praying for him will encourage a movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Peace will come to our hearts, but we may need to wrestle all night and be willing to have our hips knocked out of socket.
3. Consider that the night as a whole might in the end be a good thing for the country in the long run. Living in opposition forces you to refocus and and regroup. Living in opposition sharpens you. I believe that when the country turned the reigns of power over to the GOP, they were expected to govern as Republicans … as Conservatives. Yet, as time marched on their spending marched upward, leaving us in doubt as to whether they were really Liberal Democrats in red garb. We are much in need of a heart-to-heart with ourselves. Who are we? This will give us time to refocus and regroup. After all the extremely young voters will get to see … experience … first hand what American Liberalism really is. There is a reason why you’re a Democrat while in college but morph into a Republican 10 years later … after having to living in the real world. We will have the opportunity to ready ourselves when the hang over hits them.
4. In a similar vein to #3 this will give us, as religious Conservatives, a wonderful opportunity to be humbled. We need to be on our faces before God with our noses in his Word, so that we can refocus and sharpen our primary identity as Christ-followers. If we’re honest with ourselves, our spiritual acumen dulls when things go “our way” for too long. We may not like what happened, but our responsibility to live lives of passionate worship and service does not cease. If anything it is now intensified.
5. Whether you like Obama or not, we can certainly celebrate that we live in a country that seems to be moving into a post-racial era and seems to be serious about making responsible corrections to past injustices. To be sure many people voted for Obama, simply because he is black, but many more voted for him … because of him. We have truly grown as a people. If we as his dissidents will now loyally support him as our President, a world that is now wrestling between fascism and democratic-republicanism will see our country as that political shining city on a hill that Ronald Reagan envisioned.

In the past we have come to similar points of crisis. Retreating from the public sphere has been the option for many. The coming days may be painful for us and the country, but crucibles are rarely pain-free. May we not retreat but embrace our crucible with faith.

Sight Sharper than an Eagle’s

Seeing is believing … at least in our secular progressive culture … but sometimes believing leads to seeing. This is certainly the case of Rachel Holloman and Jerry Shaw in the recent production, “Eagle Eye.” The “normal” life is swooped from these two strangers from out of nowhere, as they are thrust into a post-911 spy thriller. An all-seeing female automated voice, ”Aria,” guides/conjoles these two unwitting pawns into her master plot of completely overthrowing the US government. However, only an “eagle eye” movie critic can spot Aria’s goal from afar. It is not revealed to the general audience until about ¾ the way through.

In a man-and-machine world we must not underestimate the “Human Factor”.

It tries to assume the prophetic mantle, warning us … potential prey … against technology. In this case technology grew smarter than her inventors and sustainers and almost took over. A parallel point the movie attempted to make was that technology in the hands of a militaristic regime (aka the Bush administration) will in the end consume us all as prey.

We certainly need to remember that human sin nature clouds anything we might wish to accomplish in this world for good. This smarter the process of accomplishment for good becomes an equally intelligent capability for evil.

However, if applied to the Bush administration of wire tapping, which Clinton also engaged in, I think the analogy is stretched and troubling at best … distorted and destructive at worst. A plot was foiled in Florida recently that in planning an assassination attempt on Obama. Is the left going to be consistent in ridiculing the technology that preserved the life of their messiah? Whether we like President Bush or not, we must give his administration credit for preventing further attacks on US soil … and rendering Iraq “a lost cause” for Al Qaeda.

On the other side of the coin humanity is equipped with a capacity for faith. Jerry Shaw is overshadowed by his over-achieving, super-intelligent, never-scoring-less-than-perfect twin brother. Jerry’s life achievements have … well … gone in less productive directions. He is a great backroom poker player. Rachel is in a rather nasty parenting relationship with her ex-husband. She despises men.

Aria is a dangerously near-self-sufficient super computer, utilized by the military for the War on Terror. She has gained control over every piece of technology in the world. Along this wild ride she is even able to read the human soul through extensive study of material relating their lives On-line. Yet, she underestimates Jerry and Rachel. She assumes Jerry will always remain a slacker. Yet, Jerry “mans-up” by becoming a welcomed, shepherding presence for Rachel and going the extra mile to potentially sacrifice his own life to preserve the massive assassination plot on the government. Aria has assumed that Rachel would have no problem “eliminating” Jerry when the time was right … due to Rachel’s deep hurt. Rachel cannot due to the respect she has for human life in general and the new-found respect she has developed for Jerry. For Rachel respect is synonymous with loyalty.

In secular-progressive culture faith is venerated … so long as it’s a faith in oneself … to face the world alone. Yet, we as believers know that the heart is desprately sick. Who can have faith in a doctor that is always sick. Our faith can be in the One who can not only redeem our sickness, but transform us into his holy-righteousness. Yes, this redemption and transformation process not only fits us for heaven. Yet, it also redeems and transforms our capacity to wisely love by bringing us into saving-fellowship with our one God who is eternally Three Persons who perfectly love one another.

Eagle Eye is a wild ride, but true faith … believing to see … can be wilder and create sight sharper than an eagle’s.

Revival: Part Three-”Expectations and Results”

We are planning for our revival, but how do we know revival is occurring or has occurred? Does simply hanging a sign outside of a tent automatically assume revival?

In one sense, yes, it does … according to our culture’s definition of revival. A revival in this understanding is simply a planned set of special services that involves an out-of-the-ordinary preacher delivering heart-stirring sermons. If one’s heart is stirred, then one is said to have experienced a good revival. Yet, regardless of the quality of the speaker, revival is experienced. It could be a good experience or a bad experience.

Another understanding of revival comes from Jim Wallis, a leader in the evangelical leftist movement. In a sermon delivered at Asbury Seminary a couple of years ago, Wallis asked us not to call the Billy Graham movement a revival. To his credit he did not speak against what Graham did. He in essence said that though Graham lead many to the altar at his crusades, this was not revival. Revival, according to Wallis, is measure on how deeply Christian people respond to the Gospel call to minister to the physical needs of the “least of these.” Yet, according to Wallis, this is only one facet of revival. True revival will happen when the people of God, respond to the evangelical call of God, take the Gospel to the streets in message and physical ministry … and … this is the kicker … the poor have their justice secured for them. According to Wallis … at least on that day … justice for the poor is the result of there being no more poor people. To Wallis’s credit, he does not simply offer a pure, 20th Century Social Gospel. He underscores the need for both message and ministry … sort of.

I think both of these examples miss an estimation of true revival.

In the first point, offered by my adopted tradition, the ability to plan for revival is underscored. This is certainly good. Whatever we call our series of meetings, we certainly miss the heart of God, if we never plan and never expect God to show up with something personally for us. However, this first example falls far short of the Scripturally robust picture of revival. My people expect to little of God in this picture, by merely expecting what amounts to a private, heart-stirring and heart-warming message for each individual. The mark of Christian faith is not what facts I believe in my head. Rather the mark of Christian faith is what I do with my beliefs for other people inside the church and inside the world.

In the second example Wallis emphasizes the need for revival to result in deep involvement outside the church walls. That is good. Wallis emphasizes that revival is more than a private heart-warming and heart-stirring message. That is good. Wallis said quite pointedly, “Christianity may be personal, but is never private.” To often in my tradition, we have abdicated our place of influence in the world, because we have only emphasized a come-to-the-altar-and-wait-on-heaven Christianity.

However, Wallis emphasizes that revival is only true revival when the poor are no more. This is akin to saying that evangelism is only true evangelism when there are no more lost people. And somehow the whole of the responsibility lies with us and our selfishness.

Thomas Sowell emphasizes in his book, The Vision of the Anointed: Self-congratulation as Social Policy, that results are not the proper target of social policy with regard to justice. For no person or special committee of people is so infallible and so omniscient as to lay out policies which will take into account all of the minute details involved in applying different but fair standards of policy that secure just results. The Almighty, in his estimation, is the only one who is capable of doing such an extensive job. Rather it is a far more appropriate goal, given our limitations (selfish human nature, human mental fallibility, etc.) to focus on securing just social processes … despite whether the results secure mathematically just (equal) results.

Similarly, I think Wallis is wrong in making the end of poverty the marker of true revival. Rather, I think a better understanding of true revival is deep and intense Christian involvement in society with the full-Gospel … without using results as the true measure. I’m not saying we should pay attention to results, for certainly our ministry methods can in many places be alterred and improved, depending on the culture in which we’re working.

Yet at some point “perfect results” are out of our hands. For there are two other players in our revival scenario. There is God, the one who ultimately builds his church. There is also the people we are targeting for robust Gospel ministry (which most certainly includes evangelism). If we take total responsibility concerning God, we deny him his power and claim it for our own. If we take total responsibility concerning the people we are targeting, we end up taking personal responsibility away from them and enabling bad behavior to continue. Thus, Wallis’s poverty-ending-result-oriented definition of revival is self-destructive.

Obamanomics?

A friend of mine sent the following link to a NY Times article entitled, ” How Obama Reconciles Dueling Views on Economy.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/24/magazine/24Obamanomics-t.html?_r=1&ei=5070&oref=slogin&emc=eta1&pagewanted=all

In sum the author attempts to make the case that Obama has some how reconciled command and control socialism with free-market capitalism. The following is the response I sent back to my friend.

I appreciate the New York Times guy making some semblance of an attempt getting both sides … though in the end he never demonstrated that Obama has done any reconciling of these so called “dueling” economic theories. Obama’s attempt to milk the market for government support is best summed up in the Warren Buffet quote that amounts to leaving the market alone and taxing the fool out of the people in the end. Such a view in the end vampirizes the market, leaving us lowly folk walking about as the living dead. Then what will the government do? Where will they get their revenue from?
 
As I pointed out before … by paraphrasing Thomas Sowell … the government receives more revenue from the populous with lower tax rates on the higher income brackets. With high tax rates these people … unlike us … can afford to put their money in tax shelters both in this country and abroad … away from the IRS. Secondly, those paying these increased tax rates … don’t in the end actually pay them … they pass those costs on to you and I via lay offs, shipping jobs overseas, and price increases.
 
In the end Obama hasn’t produced any kind of economic hybrid. I am very glad of his influence from the “Chicago School of Economics.” I wish more of it had influenced him.
 
I do appreciate the author bringing out Obama’s unwillingness or reticence of laying total blame for any present economic woes on President Bush … saying that in sum it’s way too complicated. When folks on the left attempt to make the claim that people are not seeing any increases in benefits from the economy … and simultaneously want to condemn free-market capitalism as the culprit … they need to follow the lead of Obama and admit … it’s complicated. The article mentioned the rising debt crisis. This is a symptom of a larger mindset that actually flows into another point I’ll make in a bit. The average consumer debt (i.e. credit cards) is huge. Some estimates put it at $10k. Some estimates put it at $20k. Thus with more and more money going to pay off more and more debt from more and more people … why should these people feel much “benefit” at all from economic slavery? Yet, this is not the fault of free market capitalism. Rather it is the fault of impulse buying, keeping up social status (that by the way is a multi-class problem), etc. While this may indeed be the first generation to not feel more benefit from the economy than their parents or from technology than their parents … this is also the first generation to accrue as much consumer debt with no financial plans or training. This is not the fault of the economy. This is … at least to a large part … a character-heart issue of spending-more-than-I-make.
 
Thus, any criticism of a free market public policy must take this into account to actually be taken serious. In other words you cannot with any seriousness criticize any Republican economic policy as demonstrating the efficacy of Leftist Democratic philosophy … when we all know full well that the Republicans (though cutting taxes) still spent like Democrats.
 
We can all debate the morality of the war on another day, but remember that much of Bush’s spending has gone to fianance the War. Again we can all debate the morality of the war on another day. To finance Obama’s social initiatives are going to require spending that makes Bush’s War spending look like a 10 year old’s allowance. Add to this the supposed middle class tax breaks (which we will never in reality see due to costs being passed along to us) and the higher income brackets putting their money into tax shelters … let’s just say that current deficit (not to mention the actual debt) will also look like a 10 year old’s allowance compared to the end result of an Obama tenure.
 
Here is the point I said I was hoping to arrive at earlier in my email. The primary difference between the two mode of economic thought is the role of government vs. the role of the citizenry themselves to solve their own problems. As a borderline Libertarian (I’m still a Republican but with strong Libertarian leanings) my view of government is not as Daddy-war-bucks. The Consitution set the government’s responsibilty as primarily protection from enemies foreign and domestic. In the paraphrased words of Mike Huckabee, the government should play the role of referee in internal affairs. Thus, I am quite unimpressed by pleas such as, “The crumbs haven’t fallen from the master’s table” or “what has this administration done for us” or “millions have not felt the benefits of trickle down economics.” (Anyone working has felt the indirect benefits of trickle down economics … though perhaps not directly.) The government as referee should perhaps ensure measures of equal access to opportunity, equal status before the legal bar, etc. However, equal opportunity these days … to paraphrase Thomas Sowell … has morphed into demands for equal results. The government makes a fairly poor judge of all the infinite facets that are justly required to make assessments of what constitutes “just” for one citizen as opposed to another. The Soviet demise came when they … again in the paraphrased words of Thomas Sowell … had to set 26 million prices against 26 million prices. No human being on the face of the earth has the mind required to do such things … and be just. Such a notion of justice is what Sowell calls “Cosmic Justice” and can only be meted out by the Almighty.
 
As a side note when we begin to say that the government owes me something past basic protection, are we not then breeding a sense of entitlement into the populous … which is perhaps what contributes to the ravaging consumer debt? Lastly, there is in every area of life what is known as diminishing returns. Simply put, “diminishing returns” is the notion that despite the amount of productivity I’m employing, at some point that productivity will yield fewer results. In the realm of the very subjective measure of polling people’s feelings on the benefits they feel they receive from the economy … Consumerism … I’m afraid … has brought our consumer-debt-ridden society to the point of diminishing returns. How many i-phones can I own before my the pleasure center of my brain is disconnected from reality?