For clarity sake, when I speak of equality, I am speaking on the basis of opportunities, not rights… I believe we all should have equal rights, in the sense that we are created equal in our humanness and because of this we are to be treated in fairness and with justice. But the notion of meritocracy has, at its foundation, a dichotomy of equality — though we have equal rights, we do not have equal opportunity — for opportunity is born into, bred into, and educated into each individual on this earth.

Meritocracy - a ruling or influential class of educated or skilled people; Government or the holding of power by people selected on the basis of ability.

We cannot escape the reality we are born into, once our lungs fill with air and our cries ricochet against the bleached walls of the hospital room — we are labeled. You are the son of a truck driver, the daughter of an aristocrat, or a child of drunkard. We take on the history of our parents, genetic and socio-economic. Adoption is a disrupter in this scenario, as a child of an unwed urban mother, can be placed with a suburban Doctor and raised with a duality — brought up in much brighter surroundings than her biological mother could ever provide, but still carrying the genetic remnants of her parents… A history she cannot escape. It is inevitable, the influence of our guardians, the genetics of our parents, and even the placement of our education. The schools in which you were taught, the teachers who did or did not take time to help you learn, the coaches who encouraged your strengths and demanded you work on your weaknesses.

Though we are born into a label, being an American offers opportunity beyond our birthright. As Americans, we have a been given a gift in our social structure that allows us the opportunity to change, adapt, and overcome our genetic or socio-economic restraints… to a point. But, even with these opportunities, I’m wondering if we have focused too much on the exceptions to the rule, those that shattered the stereotypes and overcame adversity to accomplish something great? We laude those who find success after overcoming a troubled childhood, a meek upbringing, and a below average physicality… as heros and role models. We put them on a pedestal as examples to follow, a hidden curriculum which states you to can overcome anything and be what you want to be. Yet reality isn’t so kind, as the stark truth is they are but exceptions to the rule.

We are products of our own TREE — tradition, reason, experience and emotion — of which we have very little margin to diverge into. However, we live in America, the “Land of Opportunity.” Which means our margin of opportunity has a lot more wiggle room than the impoverished nations and developing countries. The allure of America is based on this reality, as immigrants flock to the United States because of it’s foundation of equality and it’s diversity of opportunity. Where hard work and diligence can open doors of opportunity, which can literally change the course of generations. A true meritocracy, where everyone deserves the success or failure they receive, ie: the best rise to the top and the worst fall to the bottom. To someone who comes from a caste system or an impoverished country this is extremely freeing. It is also the reason many love our political structure, in which all people have a voice in the election of the officials that represent them. We the people, in theory, have control of our governing institutions. And when the people embrace a democratic meritocracy, that is, a government ruled by the elected elite (those with the education, status, and abilities to lead), it has the potential to thrive in prosperity and freedom.

But when the ruling elite gain the upper hand, and take the power away from the people to elect our governing officials… we will have ourselves a recipe for societal suicide, that is, we have neutered the voice of the people, and instead given control to those who have more, and inevitably want more.

In a democratic meritocracy, the voice of the people is the great balancer, as tyranny rules when the marginalized are not given representation. That said, we must be aware of becoming a socialized democracy, in which the government doles out bread, perscriptions and mortgage payments to those that can no longer provide for themselves.

At this juncture meritocracy shows it’s most redeeming quality — the ability for the educated elite to act with justice and fairness to all — a characteristic we too often disregard in election campaigns. Now, it is true, the educated class will have an disproportionate influence on culture and government. But, why is this a bad thing. We allow the best to rise to the top, giving them the ability and permission to push our culture forward. But not without checks and balances… the hope has always been that the democratic majority would have the final say. If a artist, educator, or politician ever overstepped the bounds of their influence, it is up to the majority to settle the score. A attentive democracy must have the ability to sniff out the bullshit and respond accordingly — ie have and act upon their common sense.

When a true meritocratic democracy is in effect, the result should be a quorum of educated, competent, and caring elected officials. A government made up of those holding the good of the people in mind when making tough decisions. Not as we have now, officials who care more about the implications to their stock portfolio than the blue collar workers in their district.

This current system, in which the good of the people is being forfeited for short-term corporate gains is in need of a proper rebellion. But the one thing that concerns me about “Occupy Wallstreet” is it’s peaceable premise. It is a bastardization of a true revolution, which is by definition a forcible overthrow against the status quo. I don’t dislike their stance, ie: “occupiers” demanding a more equitable government. That is good. We should have a more equitable government, by the people for the people, but when I hear some of their rhetoric I wince… Are they demanding entitlement or equity? It seems, from my viewpoint, the main tenet of the tenants in this toy box revolution is their anger towards the Governments disproportionate hand-out policy — their displeasure in not receiving an equitable handout during the generous banking bailout of 2009.

Now, I’m in agreement that our democratic government has been co-opted by corporatized greed, driven by the largest legalized gambling institution in the world — the stock market. And the banking bail-out of 2009 was a travesty and maybe even a tyrannical move by our government. Nevertheless, it can be argued, because of the frenzy over short-term shareholder profit, many corporations have sacrificed long-term gains by shortchanging ethical integrity — whether we are talking about shoddy “throw-away” products built by slave-labor in developing countries or the accounting and finance shenanigans deployed by large financial firms on Wall Street. Make no mistake ethical integrity is attacked in the greed driven world of short-term gains. This is good to speak out against, as the banks should have been allowed to fail, just as those that signed shitty mortgages should have been foreclosed on. The problem is systemic, but asking for equity of financial support is not the proper inoculation.

What the occupiers are fighting against is a symptom of a larger global pandemic… Their intuition is right, in that they realize something is amiss and in need of a proper fix. But what they are missing is the larger picture of a meritocracy that has become imbalanced… We are living in a democracy that looks more like a aristocracy, as the ruling elite are now able to influence the government in ways the founding fathers desperately tried to prevent.

When the culture of a meritocracy is eliminated, history shows that it leads to fewer benefits for everyone, not more.

Chuck Bentley

We do not need the 1% to dispense of their equity, we need the 99% to give the 1% reasons to invest in the people. We need an uprising of entrepreneurs to fix the problems in the market. Entrepreneurs whose goals are to right the market, not capitalize the system. We need less regulation and more meritocracy… let the risk takers fail, let the cream rise to the top, let the market play out, and we will see true American democracy — a playground of people with differing abilities and traditions striving to provide opportunities for their children they themselves never had.

If we do not embrace our meritocratic roots we may become a nation that capsizes like a ship whose top-heavy 1% carries more weight than the 99% below the water line.

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*Featured photo can be purchased… here.

When I was in graduate school at The University of Oklahoma, I found myself very disenchanted with organized religion and found for the first time in my life an aversion to Sunday services as I had known. During this time I became friends with a pastor of a missional church and began a dialogue with him about discipleship, church hierarchy, and theology. His name was Ken Primrose and the church was Norman Community Church. At that time the church met the 1st and 3rd Sunday of every month as a corporate body, which they called, “Celebration Sunday.” During the week they met in smaller missional communities, located in a house or a dorm room. These small groups or house churches had structure, accountability, and leadership but felt organic, relational and very missional. House churches were centered around a mission or purpose, and were also put in a cluster (a collection of house churches that had similar missional demographics). The house churches then met as a larger cluster on the other Sundays throughout the month.

Confusing… maybe if you were on the outside. The beauty of the system was that a new person would not normally be invited to Celebration Sunday, it would be to forward and ask. Instead they were invited to house church and if they became a regular, they were invited to cluster and if they loved that, they were invited to Celebration Sunday, which gave them a complete glimpse of the Body of Christ… families, boomers, collegers, and other members of the body that were not particularized to the missional house church that first brought them into Norman Community Church.

Sunday was not meant to be attractional… it was meant to be celebratory. Cluster was not meant to be attractional… it was meant to be motivational. House Church was not meant to be attractional… it was meant to be missional.

Missional communities collecting people of common interest and passions; Clusters bringing together a larger network of missional communities to motivate and encourage each community in mission; Sunday worship which celebrated all of the communities and clusters while also inviting everyone into the larger mission of the church… which was to empower leaders to view ministry Up, In and Out:

UP, our relationship with God. IN, our relationships within the church, and OUT, our relationships with those who have not encountered the love and truth of Jesus physically, emotionally, relationally, or spiritually. [more here]

And what about accountability? In this particular structure the leaders of missional communities met together along with the lead pastor to communicate vision, talk through struggles, pray for the church, and identify new leaders. The last of which was very important as new missional communities sprung out of house churches that had grown too large. Multiplication was very important to the structure as the familial fellowship is lost when a house church grew too large to accommodate transparent interaction.

This example, is one of many healthy expressions of churches of small groups. And even in my very high level presentation of Norman Community, there are holes in which a longer post would better serve. But I want to make sure we have some room for conversation. Have you experienced a church of small groups? If so, how has it looked, felt, operated?

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Small Groups and the Church series posts:

Introduction

Church with Small Groups

Church is Small Groups

Church of Small Groups

*design by Brandon Jones

These house churches vary greatly in size, meeting time, missional purpose, diversity and connectedness. Some writers believe this to be the fastest growing expression of church in the world today. Barna Group, tracks an 8% growth in the last decade, with an estimated 20MM people attending a house church meeting in a typical week. [Source]

Author Skot McKnight, has stated numerous times on podcasts and in his books, blogs, and articles that he believes the small house church will move to become one of the largest expressions of church over the next 20 years.

Backtracking for a bit… In New Testament times, especially in the times of the Epistles and the book of Acts, we see Paul reference “oikos,” a Greek word that translates to house or household — which in those times meant a diverse network of people, including householder’s family, slaves, friends, neighbors, and even business associates. [source] It’s worth noting that this house church movement documented throughout the epistles, spurred unbelievable growth as Christians made up around .0017% of the population in AD 40 and grew to 56.5% of the Roman Empire in AD 350… that’s from roughly 1,000 believers to 33,882,000 believers all converted and discipled within a system that sought to kill, or in the least, lock-up all professed Christians. [source]

One could argue the fall of Christianity happened around AD 313 with the conversion of Constantine and the Edict of Milan, in which Christianity moved from a persecuted religion to the main religion of the State. We can track from Constantine’s conversion to now and comment on the rise of institutionalized Christianity in Europe, as well as the beginnings of the Corporate Christianity in the West — each of which rely heavily on the select (chosen) few, who have the responsibility and authority to teach and impose Word of God upon the lay people. The house churches focus can’t be more opposite as they rely on the priesthood of all believers to move them in conversation about the Word of God and spur them to action on behalf of the Word of God.

So what? Why is this so intriguing? It seems the elephant in the room is not that small groups are alive and growing, but why are they alive and growing? What is moving people away from community churches and/or mega churches towards smaller more organic house churches?

Clearly, we are not in the midst of persecution as was the early church — a reality that forced them to meet in small groups as to not attract notice.

Is it a cultural phenomenon? As anonymity is less desired, but more realized — we become individuals that desire to be known but recognize the difficulty of celebrity in narcissistic culture of 6+ Billion people, all shouting to be heard. Could this desire to be known, be the cultural phenomenon that leads people away from the corporate church experience into a smaller more organic missional community?

It is also worth noting some of the deficiencies of small house church movements compared to the larger community church or mega-church movements:

• smaller budget
• smaller network
• smaller resource pool
• smaller visibility/marketability
• no accountability/hierarchy

Now, some may cite these deficiencies as advantages as it allows the small group to:

• smaller budget — money goes to needs over wants.
• smaller network — focused group means less infighting, one goal is easier to accomplish.
• smaller resource pool — resource pool is directly related to those inside group, no way to NOT give (of time, money, emotion) and go unnoticed.
• smaller visibility/marketability — Word of Mouth brings in those who have same passions, excludes those who don’t.
• no accountability/hierarchy — very nimble can focus on mission and turn on a dime without consulting powers that be.

Let’s get this conversation started…

Have you been involved in a small group, like one described above? How did this type of church impact you?

What are some other disadvantages to churches that are small groups?

What are some other advantages?

Why is this type of expression of church rising in popularity?

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1. The Barna Group — http://barna.org
2. Launching Missional Communities by Mike Breen & Alex Absalom
3. The Rise of Christianity by Rodney Stark



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Small Groups and the Church series posts:

Introduction

Church with Small Groups

Church is Small Groups

Church of Small Groups

*design by Brandon Jones

Philosophically, churches with small groups, usually view small groups as ancillary to the Sunday Worship Experience. In these churches, more time, money and energy is spent preparing for Sunday than curating the small group experience and facilitating accountability. This doesn’t mean small groups aren’t valued by the church, even though the hidden curriculum of less attention may say otherwise… it just means that these types of churches see value in small groups but want to ensure that corporate worship on Sunday remains the main expression of the church.

Like our diagram above shows… Small groups are connected to the church and play a vital role in shaping the Church’s reach into the community, as well as increasing the butts-in-seat goal on Sunday.

Practically, churches that look like this utilize many different forms of small group; some are missional, some social, and others are discipleship oriented. Churches with small groups focus on function over form — Are small groups boosting attendance on Sunday morning? Are small groups developing followers of Christ? Generally, these types of churches aren’t overtly focused on what is actually done during the meetings rather they are focused on the outcome, that is, is the group funneling new people into the church, specifically the Sunday worship experience.

An Example: LifeChurch.tv (LC.tv), a large multi-campus church based in Edmond, Oklahoma, is a church with small groups. Each campus has a LifeGroups/LifeMissions pastor that coordinates, propagates, and equips the lay leaders to lead small groups (or LifeGroups). One of the things that LC.tv does in order to facilitate interaction at a LifeGroup meeting is to make available resources for the small group leaders. These resources incorporate many different paths and are produced by staffmembers at LC.tv’s Central office. LifeGroup leaders are encouraged to utilize many of the resources in whatever form fits their context.

LC.tv | Talk-it-Over | Other Resources

Discussion – Now it’s time to get this conversation going… I’m looking forward to hearing your opinion about this type of small group strategy, and would love to hear your thoughts on the questions below:

How is this small group strategy beneficial?
What are some problems with this type of strategy?
Have you ever been involved in a church like this? Thoughts?

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Small Groups and the Church series posts:

Introduction

Church with Small Groups

Church is Small Groups

Church of Small Groups

*design by Brandon Jones

These reflections bring about a sense of loss within me as I long for the transparency in friendship as Candace and I walk through life here in Pella, IA. I look back on the small groups of guys that supported me amidst a difficult family situation in college, a small group of guys and girls that helped me through my crisis of faith after leaving full-time ministry in 2004, and a small group of guys and girls that brought joy and perspective to my life amidst the 9-5 work week after grad school with heartfelt joy and thankfulness… It’s has always been in the context of small groups that I’ve encountered the love of God in my life.

In thinking about this experience, and let’s be clear, all of this is filtered through the lens of my experience, it seems as though small groups are something that the modern Church has struggled to understand and an even harder strategy to implement.

A brief history: As of late there has been a lot of movement in the church world to reclaim the small group dynamic, as we’ve moved from a rural economy to something much more urban. Cities have grown, small town’s have dried up, and in this flux — small neighborhood and rural churches have all but disappeared. And the ones still in existence have transitioned from vibrant reflections of Christ to something that more resembles a purple hair convention.

In this new landscape, community-driven churches seem to be few and far between, where one pastor lives and ministers in one place long enough to deeply know the congregants in the pews. Unfortunately, in place of community-driven churches, large mega churches have sprouted, converting shopping malls and old WalMart’s into modern technology-driven churches with an accelarated growth plan. These churches seem to attract young families wanting to raise their children in church (even though they’d been absent for much of their twenties) and baby boomers who have become disinfranchised witht he politics of smaller denominational churches. Many of these new church attendees are looking for the church to meet their need as opposed to being part of a community of people who help in filling a need. Yes, that is an over-generalization, but in all seriousness, it seems the mega-church targets a segment of society that believes going to church is a good habit to have, as opposed to the minority who believe Church is not an weekend experience rather it is a daily lifestyle.

These thoughts, along with a great brainstorming session with Pastor Marty Schmidt of The Bridge, in Ottumwa, Iowa, spurred creation of a sketch which was then beautified by designer, Brandon Jones, as seen below:

This diagram conveys the three main views of small groups as they relate to church strategy. Over the next few days (Wednesday-Friday) I’m going to outline each of these small group mentalities and try to facilitate a conversation in the comments section of each post. My hope is that we can (together) begin a dialogue moving small group interaction from a forced social engagement to a more missional and comfortable paradigm for people to go and grow in.

Below will be linked as the posts publish… so this will be the resource page for the discussion.

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Small Groups and the Church series posts:

Introduction

Church with Small Groups

Church is Small Groups

Church of Small Groups

*design by Brandon Jones

Lyrics after the Jump!

Verse 1

Now let me set the scene…
God is incensed at His Chosen People,
angered at their lack of common sense.
For they saw the signs in Egypt,
they felt His Glory at Zion.
They ate the bread from dew,
and followed a pillar of fire.
Yet they lost the favor of Yahweh,
by treating Him with contempt.
And so they faced some repercussions,
for their lack of trust in Him.

Verse 2

40 years of wandering…
40 years of waiting…
Joshua now commands them,
The Lord’s Salvation his name.
He leads the tribes of Israel,
who are anxiously awaiting.
They are poised like a lion,
crouched and ready.
And their enemies?
They’ve shut themselves in,
and are shaking in their oversized boots.

Verse 3

40 years of planning…
40 years of training…
When it’s time to cross the Jordan,
God calls an audible.
Ignoring the plans of Generals,
He layouts a curious scheme.
A conquest, no… A procession.
With Priests and musicians leading the way,
not horses and chariots.
For 6 days they circled Jericho,
marching around the walls…

Then on the 7th day…

Enjoy.
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// Awakening

I think that many of us long for a love that is clean, easy and everlasting. But reality is quite the opposite. Sure there are times of crisp moments and clean lines, in every relationship but how long does that last? A moment, an afternoon, a day? Maybe that’s what makes love so attractive, it’s an escape from the normal, it’s birthed in an instant, an glimpse, or a conversation. A spark ignites a flame of passion which burns bright for a time, but then fades. It seems the origin of this flame is something we are always trying to re-ignite.

Do you remember your first love?

I do… and Soloman was right, it’s not good to awaken love until it so desires…

Let me set the scene… I’m 8 years old, a 3rd grader, and one of my classmates, Laura Chapman, grabbed ahold of my heart… now we never really talked, I mean, who talks to girls in elementary school? But, there was an understanding… as soon as recess was over I would meet her behind the slide and she would kiss me on the cheek. This lasted a couple weeks, until she moved away, never to be heard of again…

Given, this is a silly example of an elementary school crush, but hopefully it makes a point to the emotional impact love can have. I’m sure many of you can dig back into your emotional archive and recall the helplessness of being lovestruck? The giddyness, the anticipation, the racing heartbeat?

// Awakening by Chris Tomlin

Maybe you haven’t felt the spark of love for sometime, or maybe you’re in the thralls of love this very moment. Either way, I’m hopeful that most of us can recall the inception of love, whether it be for a girlfriend, boyfriend, guitar, purse, pair of shoes, a car… or even God.

You see, the inventor of Love was smart… And I don’t mean that in an intellectual kinda way. Don’t picture God standing at the front of a lecture hall in a suede sport coat with elbow patches… dictating the stages of love to naive audience! Picture God as OLD MAN RIVER with a scruffy beard that contains the weathered look of wisdom and experience… Old Man River God understands the unspoken truths of this world, he knows not all things can be explained in a proposition or a formula… but can only be understood in a story. And in Genesis 1-12 we enter into His storytelling prowess with the beautiful prose of creation.

Now John tells us, in the new testament, The Word (or Jesus) was the initial spark that started the BIG BANG of creation… And along with creating all things, God took a special interest in his unique relationship with Adam. It could be said that God was indeed the first matchmaker pairing Adam with Eve… A couple that got comfortable and complacent in their divinely appointed love… a restlessness that drove their curiosity towards the only thing they couldn’t have — the knowledge of good and evil.

Picture this, Adam and Eve in the Garden… the first Tarzan and Jane, hanging out in this beautiful garden discontent with their plain old pineapple juice in a coconut shell… they wanted more… they wanted an apple infused pineapple cocktail.

And as we look back upon this decision… it seems as though, it’s the aftertaste of the apple that compels us, as Adam’s seed, into a desperate pursuit of love. This distinctly human characteristic may be a side affect of our being made in His image, remnants of deity compelling us toward the attainment of affirmation; with the hope that acceptance, will give us equal footing with our creator. It seems the serpent’s deceitful words still hold sway over the children of Eve. As we seek a selfish outcome of knowledge over relationship, trivializing love until it becomes something we need to receive in order to be fulfilled.

// Micah 6:8 by Charlie Hall

Picture a sapling – as the sprout of love begins to grow upwards it is refreshed by the warmth of the sun. And not to be found top-heavy the roots begin to dig down into the soil forming a structure of incredible power and function. These roots feed the sprouting leaves with water from the ground and nutrients from the soil… and eventually this tree grows strong enough to weather a storm, and fertile enough to produce fruit, which then can nourish others.

The problem is that many of us, me included, have planted seeds of bitterness, anger, deceit, lust and pride… right beside our sapling of love. These seeds have grown roots, quietly suffocating the love of God in our lives. These roots of bondage must be pulled, yanked and uprooted in order to allow our sapling to actually produce fruit. My proposition, is that this undertaking that can only be done in community. Amongst people who work with hands of love and discernment, gently pruning each other in order to foster growth. transformation and multiplication.

In this vein, love is an action, not a word or a feeling – for words and feelings are not tangible. A sonnet may bleed of ‘love’ and emotion and give us a ‘warm fuzzy’ but these are not lasting impressions – they are temporal pleasures. It doesn’t take much effort to read a romantic poem or say “I Love You” to the ones you care about, but it is an undertaking to serve the ones we love.

Serving one another is an unselfish action – a sacrifice – demonstrating the very essence of love. An action. A service. An effort. An exertion. A deed. All these must be from an unselfish motive, a dedicated heart, all of which is easy when we are taking about people we love. Our close circle of friends and family.

But wait… are we missing something. Luke’s words, “Love your neighbor as yourself” are directed at those that hate you – not those that love you. With this twist we see the complete picture of unselfishness of the cross. True servanthood, pure sacrifice. With this understanding love becomes much bigger than us. In joining God, we practice a version of love that influences our behavior and stains our hands. Love that creates tangible healing in the lives of others, and in turn we are affected in a powerful way. God is calling us to movement, to go. — love the homosexual, the addict, the prostitute, the muslim, the baptist, the catholic, the ones that are so very different from yourself…

Allow Luke’s words to echo in your hearts, “Love your neighbor as yourself, for in doing this you will find the Kingdom of God.” (Luke 10:25-37)

// I Will Go by Charlie Koopman

What this means for you: There is an enormous amount of rich and colorful content available to those of you who didn’t have a subscription over the past couple years… which, considering… is probably most of you.

So. If you’ve got some time and check out my contributions on topics ranging from transmedia storytelling, to living in a tent for 5-months of my life.

When Church Meets Transmedia: A Convergence of Community

Unplug

Practically Unplugged (a follow-up to Unplug)

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Consider following The Echo Hub, the sister company to Collide Magazine, as they move to engulf the Collide brand and propagate a new and exciting hub for Church Creatives and Techno-geeks. Oh, also… join me at this year’s Echo Conference in Dallas, TX, which promises to be a fantastic event to meet your Twitter followers #IRL.

Below is the notes from my talk… rambled as they are. If you want the pdf — download here.

God is… Creative.

1. Genesis 1- 3 As read by the Bible Experience.

Okay, let’s rewind a bit and spend a few moments on God’s creative movements in Genesis 1.

Day One – At the sound of God’s voice not only was there creation, but there was a massive explosion, and the universe has been on the move ever since, with some scientists at NASA settling on an expansion rate of 73 km/sec.

Some of the beautiful pictures from the Hubble Telescope give us a picture of His ongoing creativity.

The Hourglass Nebula
A dying star 8,000 light-years away

The Sombrero Galaxy
28  million  light-­‐years  away  
50,000  light-­‐years  wide  &  trillions  of  miles  thick

The Rosette Nebula
5,200 light–years away

We could go down the list on the 6 days of Creation and list picture after picture, fact after fact, weird after weird, and still be awed at the creativity of God. He is the author of creation, a painter, a poet, an masterful engineer and a beautiful designer.

Even David and Job attest to the wondrous nature of creation:

Psalm 19:1-6

1  The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2  Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
3  There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
4  Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5  which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6  Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

Job 26:7-14

7  He stretches out the north over the void
and hangs the earth on nothing.
8  He binds up the waters in his thick clouds,
and the cloud is not split open under them.
9  He covers the face of the full moont
and spreads over it his cloud.
10  He has inscribed a circle on the face of the waters
at the boundary between light and darkness.
11  The pillars of heaven tremble
and are astounded at his rebuke.
12  By his power he stilled the sea;
by his understanding he shattered Rahab.
13  By his wind the heavens were made fair;
his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
14  Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways,
and how small a whisper do we hear of him!
But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

Job 36:26-33

26  Behold, God is great, and we know him not;
the number of his years is unsearchable.
27  For he draws up the drops of water;
they distill his mist in rain,
28  which the skies pour down
and drop on mankind abundantly.
29  Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds,
the thunderings of his pavilion?
30  Behold, he scatters his lightning about him
and covers the roots of the sea.
31  For by these he judges peoples;
he gives food in abundance.
32  He covers his hands with the lightning
and commands it to strike the mark.
33  Its crashing declares his presence;t
the cattle also declare that he rises.

Can we all agree that one of God’s core characteristics is creativity?

Ok, but what does that mean for me? That doesn’t automatically mean I’m creative.

God is a lot of things that I don’t fully understand… he is omnipresent (everywhere), omnipotent (has all power), transcendent (far above us), infinite (never ending), immutable (he does not differ from himself), He is in a word — Incomprehensible.

And this incomprehensibility is what, I think, keeps us from seeing ourselves as “creators” in this world.

We see the things that are created, the vastness of the earth and it’s variable ecosystems and we look to the worlds outside of our own, warmed by other suns, to try and find the answers to the question of origin. We sometimes rely too much on scientific theory to explain truth that we forget God is unknowable.

Francis S. Collins in his book the Language of God tells a story that I think is telling of our time. Dr. Collins is the head of the Human Genome Project — Mapping of the DNA

Scientists have climbed the mountain enduring the elements and pouring over the evidence only to find theologians waiting for them at the top. The how may someday be proven, but it is the why that is unattainable without looking to God.

God is sometimes too INCOMPREHENSIBLE.
Too untouchable.
Too unreachable.
Too unavailable.
Too big to put our arms around.

Which is why, I believe in God’s plan, he gave us his son Jesus.

2. What about Jesus… How was he creative?

Jesus, a teacher who flipped the Jewish paradigm, using relationships with twelve men and his adept storytelling to awe the crowds and infuriate the ruling elite.

If God is creative, Jesus, was his star pupil.

Luke 2:41 — 12 year old stays behind and impresses the teachers of the Law, to the extent that THEY are asking HIM questions about the text.

Jesus was carpenter, a craftsmen, and a storyteller. He told parables and stories with hidden meanings and backhanded metaphors.

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Jesus used Metaphors
Jesus seems to like metaphors and analogies, parables and stories… He used this phrase, “The Kingdom of God is like…” leading us to envision a world that is not our own. It is in these metaphors we can find the type of person we are to be, for the “Kingdom of God” is not meant to be an otherworldly place but a condition that resides in our hearts directing our hands and our feet.

The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6 sums this up when it says, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.” This language prods us to take up the cause – to bring here to Earth the Kingdom of God, so that we may partake in the glory of God that resides in Heaven, in the present. It is a persuasive verb “Kingdom come and thy will be done”

This type of language should effect us – it should move us to action not apathy. In the Gospels Jesus uses multiple metaphors to help our mind wrap around the revolutionary call to be disciples of Christ – who in following Jesus, are Kingdom instigators and peace makers. Using metaphor, Jesus spins and flips the Messiah paradigm of the day – showing them a counter cultural way to establish Kingdom, not by force of hand, but by force of will.

John 10:1-18 — Good Shepherd

Mark 4:26-29 — Growing Seed
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Parables as Comedy
Jesus’ parables framed comedy as a communal exchange — as a shared relief at the passing of danger. In this sense, think of laughter as a coping mechanism allowing us to recognize the danger of life and yet not be paralyzed by it… Just as tears of sorrow are outward release of our inward pain, the joy of laughter liberates us from the tension in our gut and lightens our shared reality.

Jesus embraced the comedy of the life, not making light of tragedy, rather He fervently endorsed the truth of it. Jesus used stories of hope to point to the wellspring of laughter, He used accounts of extreme faith to show the expectation of the impossible and He also told parables of love as the root that binds us together. He used comedic elements of irony and humorous imagery, throughout his parables. Jesus was a comedian in the sense that He allowed us to see tragedy detached from reality, giving us hope in our pain and the realization that tears can bring us joy.

Luke 14:15-24 — Dinner Guests — Noone comes to a wealthy man’s feast, instead the invitees gave petty excuses why they could not come. So the Man invites the marginalized, the invalid, the homeless and the poor to the party. Ensuring a full house.
Luke 11:5-13 — Persistent Friend at Midnight — a persistent neighbor wakes you up at night for bread…


Parables as Fairy Tale
An observation: when we talk of God to the unbeliever we most times talk of a formula in which a relationship can be rationally deduced to a repeated prayer and a assigned text. Hear me, I am NOT under emphasizing the importance of the reading Bible and spending time in prayer, but I am pleading with the proponents of a linear gospel to stop preaching Christ as a solution to the problems of this world. Rather, Jesus invites us to be in relationship with him, a relationship that brings peace amidst the worries of today… In Fairy Tale’s Jesus begins recapture our imagination, using stories of relationship to invigorate the senses that have become rusty from inactivity… some of you haven’t allowed yourself to dream since childhood.

Jesus, who didn’t leave out the parts that seemed unreal or unbelievable. Tell of the darkness and decay that has overrun the beauty of our world, donʼt omit the mystery of winged gods that do battle for our souls in the invisible night, and he didn’t exclude the promise that we are prince and princesses with access to the majestic throne of grace. Proclaim that in a world of tribulation and adversity, there is joy to be found and a lasting hope that darkness will be overridden and the blood from our wars will water the flowers of the field and produce a harvest of souls that float on the wind like dandelion seeds into eternities bosom. Jesus spoke parables as fantasy and fairy tale:

Matthew 13:44-46 — Hidden Treasure 

Matthew 13:45-46 — Pearl of Great Price
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Parables as Tragedy
Jesus also told parables that have tragic elements within – trace of affliction, death, calamity, and unfairness told in allegorical fashion. Through the telling of story as tragedy, Jesus identifies with those who have suffered loss, masking his meaning to those who have lived a comfortable life of “righteousness.” His parables confounded the Pharisees and spoke truth and life to the poor, the prostitute and the thief – who, in the grip of tragedy themselves could relate to the depravity found in the characters of Jesus’ politically charged parables.

Matthew 25:1-13 — Ten Virgins — 5 of the ten miss out on celebrating with the bridegroom.
Luke 10:25-37 — Good Samaritan — Beat up and bleeding, a priest and a levite pass him by, but a samaritan stops.


Jesus, was creative. And in his creativity he invites you to join him, using you giftings, the imprint of God to go and create yourselves.

Creating Culture not copying it…. What does good stewardship of our gifting’s look like?

Let’s look at one of these parables and dig out somethings together, and see if Jesus, being the creative type he is, is calling us to do the same.

Matthew 25:14-30 — Ten Talents
He has given you a talent, he has made you for a reason, he has carried you through life’s messiness and is asking that you join Him, in telling your story, creating through your giftings, not for fame or fortune but for the Glory of God.

He created YOU! He made you for a reason, for a purpose.

Psalm 139:13-16
13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15  My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16  Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

Psalm 8:3-9
3  When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4  what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
5  Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6  You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
7  all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8  the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9  O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
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Dominion — Hold Sway — Hebrew: Radah — it suggests an absolute or even fierce exercise of mastery.

We are called to be masters of our talents, whether that is on our farms, in our homes, at our jobs, or in our creative activities. Radah! Hold Sway. Master your craft!

Why this responsibility?

Because upon us the weight of Kingdom expansion lies.

Kingdom Come, Will be Done

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.”

Matthew 6:9-13

And how is this done? How do we bring Kingdom Living to the here and now? Well, remember what Jesus says?

Matthew 13:44-46 — Hidden Treasure — A man sells all that he has to buy a field which holds a hidden treasure.
Matthew 13:45-46 — Pearl of Great Price — A merchant in search of fine pearls finds one of great value and sells all he has to buy the pear.
Matthew 13:31-32 — The Mustard Seed — something small God uses and grows into something larger than ever imagined.

Matthew 13:33 — Leaven — a picture of yeast that is a small inconsequential ingredient, until it is worked into the bread, and left to infiltrate and inspire.

In Conclusion

How would you finish this sentence? What would you say?

I think an artist is…

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notes and unused portions:

1. NASA pictures — http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
2. Parables as Metaphor
3. Parables as Comedy
4. Parables as Fairy Tale
5. Parables as Tragedy

As A.W. Towzer puts it in “The Knowledge of the Holy”

“We do know that man possesses a body, as soul, and a spirit; we know that he has memory, reason, will, intelligence, sensation, and we know that to give these meanings he has the wondrous gift of consciousness. We know, too, that these, together with various qualities of temperament, compose his total human self. These are gifts from God arranged by infinite wisdom, nots that make up the score of creation’s loftiest symphony, threads that compose the master tapestry of the universe.” pg 15

“A man is the sum of his parts and his character the sum of the traits that compose it.” pg 14

Univers Expansion Source: http://wmap.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/uni_expansion.html

**Parables as Tragedy, Comedy, Fairy Tale and Metaphor concept is borrowed from Frederick Buechner’s book, Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale, but used in relation to Parables, all words and cites are original material.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

My friend Brandon Hoch, captured my portion on video, and you’ll find the excerpts fully written out after the jump, below the video. Enjoy!

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I don’t know…

As I delve into scripture I am acutely aware of the vast amount of information and mystery found in the book, and am forced to say, “I don’t know.” a helluva lot more than i want to… Everyone wants concrete answers and are confused when the concrete becomes fractured.

But, there is a good thing that sprouts from our ambiguity… namely humbleness. I am humbled as I tackle questions of truth; like a small voice in a cavern of echoes. I believe there is a lot danger in planting our flags on doctrinal truth, specifically the danger of being wrong. That is why I love to begin theological debates with the definition of theology — “theo” God and “Logos” word… Conversations about God. And then end these “conversations” with a focus on Jesus… of which is the Truth we can be assured in. Bad theology begets ugly christianity, but there is a beautiful theology that begets beautiful christianity… namely one focused on love, based on the words of Jesus, and in these words flow a comfortable mystery… a peace that surpasses all knowledge and understanding. It is in this flow that we can bask in ambiguity and in the answer, “I don’t know.”

The beginning of wisdom is not having all the answers but rather a humble heart and a open mind. So yes, after reading Jesus’ words, I have a lot of unanswered questions, and in the questions I wonder!

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Now some thoughts on love in the context of community.

Love is messy. It has the capacity to stain, smear and smudge. In response to this reality we can do two things: we can help clean-up each other’s mess, or we can go home and do our own laundry. In helping each other we find a brand of love that is the best detergent. Together we can identify spots we were previously blind to, and together we can scrub stubborn stains with collaborative resolution.

Or how about this one… We are piece of broken glass looking for other shards that will compliment our own scathing surface, and when we find all the pieces we become a stained glass window exhibiting the beautiful reflection’s of the sun/son.

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The Empty Cross

If the last word is the cross, the empty cross, the cross that liberates us from sin, reconciles us to God, and saves us from our sinful desires. Then the first word, or the first step on the path to the cross must be a stride of love. Jesus’ life, this incarnation of love, was a model of “how-to”. How-to treat the marginalized, the pride-filled, the self-righteous and the sinner… We too soon preach Christ crucified overshadowing the birth and life of our Saviour, we focus on the end without regard to the means.

Hear what I am not saying. I am not saying we should abandon preaching the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

But I am saying that in overshadowing the life of Jesus with the crucifixion we miss the forest for the trees…what I mean is that in focusing only on His death, we miss the model of His life – a prophetic announcement, a miraculous birth, an incarnational life, a sacrificial death, a momentous resurrection and His supernatural ascension. So, Yes, He died for our sins, so that we may be made whole (holy). Yes, His sacrifice atoned for our transgressions. Yes, His propitiation made a way for reconciliation. I am not denying His act of atonement. I am saying His act of atonement was driven out of love for His Father, which manifested itself in His love for his neighbor, friends and enemies alike (which is still The Greatest Commandment).

The Gospel Message than is found, is acted out, is incarnated… not in repeating a prayer but in feeding the poor, seeking justice, being a peacemaker, loving God, loving the marginalized, loving the sinner, and loving the righteous alike. This Gospel message is inerrant and found inherently in the Scriptures, prophesied in the Torah, and eye witnessed in the Gospels. The last word is an empty cross and the next word starts anew in our hearts with a response of love.
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*photo by Tom Vander Well, more photos from OWN.