Visions From Our Story: the Promise is Held Captive

The promise of God's restoring work for humanity and creation seldom appears to have an easy time maintaining any momentum. Each time the promise seems to be well on its way to success it ends up taking a detour into difficult and dangerous circumstances. The conclusion of the Joseph story is one such deadly detour.

We left the story of the promise last week with Jacob and his clan safely ensconced in Egypt with plenty to eat and connections to power (which means the promise is safe). What we did not take a look at was the cost of that safety. If we carefully read the texts at the end of Genesis what we discover is that Joseph, while being able to save Egypt and his family from starvation also assisted the Pharaoh in consolidating all power into Pharaoh's hands. The Pharaoh essentially makes slaves of all Egyptians and ultimately of the clan of Joseph (who have come to be known as Hebrews).

This enslavement then poses one more threat to the promise. The question becomes how can a community of slaves ever be God's instruments of universal salvation and restoration? That question is the one posed in the opening lines of the book of Exodus, the second book of our English Bible.

"8 Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 He said to his people, "Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land." 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh." Exodus 1:8-11 (NRSV)

 

In some sense this is the constant condition of the Promise. It is held captive by someone. Martin Luther (the first of those who worked to reform the church in the 1500s) wrote a pamphlet entitled "The Babylonian Captivity of the Church." Though we will deal with Babylonians later what we can gain from his writing is that the church, and the promise it holds, is always at risk of being taken captive and losing its power to transform persons and the world.

 

As most of us are aware we, the people of God are just that, people. We are not perfect and are constantly making missteps in our attempts to live out the Promise in such a way that our relationship with God, others and the world are fully restored. While we desire to live out the Promise we are often led astray by those who claim to be able to have all of the answers as to how the Promise ought to be lived out. We see this in our own time in those who preach an exclusivist Gospel (only certain people are acceptable to God) or a self-centered Gospel (God is all about me and not about my serving others). When the church follows one of these paths (among many) it allows the promise of God's reconciling and restoring love to be held captive…its transforming power diminished.

 

The challenge before us at First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham is to be constantly checking in with scripture and tradition in such a way that we set the Promise free rather than holding it captive by our preconceived notions of what church and faith are all about. As we head into a new decade I believe we are up to the task of being the Promise bearers for God and for God's Son, Jesus the Christ.

The Promise Goes South

God had promised to bless Abraham and through Abraham the entire world. This promise outlived Abraham because he had a son, Isaac. The promise was continued when Isaac had two sons Esau and Jacob. While it was assumed that the promise would be continued through the eldest son Esau we discovered that God had something else in mind as it was Jacob who obtained the blessing and the promise.

The story then becomes a bit more complicated when Jacob has 12 sons and those twelve sons act like, well twelve brothers, filled with competition, jealousy and spite. By their actions they manage to alienate all the other peoples living near them and to even sell one of their brothers, Joseph, into slavery. This hardly seems likes a group of people God would use to help bless the entire world.

What we will discover however is that God is able to work in and through circumstances that would appear to preclude any sense of grace or promise. And we will see that the continuation of the promise often turns on moments which at the time, would appear to be filled with more evil than good.

We see this played out in the story of Joseph, the brother sold into slavery. He is sold into slavery because his brothers are jealous of him. They are jealous because Joseph claims to have dreams from God which can tell the future. This might not be so bad except that the future predicted in the dreams is one in which all the older brothers serve the younger brother, namely Joseph. This so angers the older brothers that at first they plan to kill Joseph (making it look like an accident) but later decide slavery is the better option.

Joseph is taken into slavery in Egypt where he works for a wealthy man. The man's wife takes a shining to Joseph and invites him into her bed (and you thought the Bible was boring). He refuses, she lies about him and Joseph ends up in prison. While in prison he interprets some dreams which eventually gets him out of prison and working for the Pharaoh. In the meantime there is a famine in the area in which Jacob and his family are still living. Upon hearing that there is food in Egypt some of the brothers travel there and guess who they meet, though they do not realize it…yes that's right…they meet Joseph.

Joseph takes his time reveling his true identity, but ultimately he lets them know who he is, invites the family to live with him in Egypt and thus saves the family (and the promise). The promise is thereby saved by the evil intentions of the brothers. Where this leads us is to one of the more intriguing lines in the entire Bible when Joseph tells his brothers, "You meant it (his being sold into slavery) for evil, but God meant it for good." (You can read this story in its entirety in Genesis 37 – 47)

Hopefully this story will remind us that God is able to turn even the most despicable of actions into paths to the good. We are called then to see that those moments in our lives and in the life of the church when we believe all is lost, are moments when we should never count God out. For it may be that God is indeed working to turn the world's evil into God's own good in order that the promise continue to live and humanity and creation be restored.

Visions From Our Story: The Promise Takes a Detour

We have watched as the Promise of God to restore creation and all of its relationships was put at risk by God's own self…and saved by God as well. This week we watch as the Promise appears to take a significant detour. It will appear to go by a route no one was expecting.

The Promise has been given to Abraham and through Abraham and to his son Isaac. Isaac carries on the promise and is prepared to pass it to his oldest son Esau. Now for those unfamiliar with the story Isaac had two sons Esau and Jacob. They were twins with Esau being born first (Genesis 25:24ff). Esau was his father's favorite and was a real man's man. He was the guy who was always out hunting and doing manly things.

Jacob in the other hand appears to be a momma's boy. He is always hanging out with his mother Rachael while talking about his feelings (not really but it sounded good). He was someone who was much practiced at deception and learned how to get his way by working behind the scenes rather than confronting things head on.

The Promise by all intents and purposes was supposed to be passed (through a blessing) from father to first born son. Thus Esau was the intended recipient of the Promise. Rachael and Jacob (and evidently God) had other plans. Together they concocted a plan through which they would steal the promise and the blessing (Genesis 27:5ff) First Jacob buys the birthright (the privilege of receiving what would go to the first born) from his brother for a bowl of stew (hey even back then the way to get something from a manly man was through his stomach). Then Rachael and Jacob trick nearly blind Isaac into giving the blessing to Jacob.

Suddenly the Promise has taken a detour. Instead of moving through the obvious hero Esau it now moves through a trickster and deceiver named Jacob. What is going on here? This hardly seems to be the way that the God of justice and righteousness would work. Jacob does not deserve it and certainly hasn't earned it. Why would God allow such a thing?

Perhaps the lesson we need to learn from this story is that God seldom does the expected. This is one of those discoveries that often confuses and irritates people. If there is one "person" we expect to always do the expected it is God. What the Bible teaches us however that God, while always being faithful, is seldom predictable. God is not some sort of blessing dispensing machine where we put in our faith and always receive what we ask for. God is regularly upsetting things by choosing the wrong person to carry the blessing, forgiving those who we think ought not to be forgiven and asking us to do what we consider to be the impossible.

Jacob's story (Genesis 24-35) is one that often surprises people because it is so human. Jacob is not some caricature of the perfect person, but a rather atypical antihero who happens to be God's chosen Promise bearer. What I believe we can take from this is first, we do not have to be perfect to work for God. God can, has and will use ordinary persons for extraordinary tasks. Second we can always expect the unexpected from God as God works to insure the restoration of God's good creation and God's relationships with us.

Visions From Our Story: A Promise Kept

In our last episode we watched God promise Abraham that God would not only bless Abraham but that through Abraham the entire world would be blessed. This promise was the foundation upon which God would build a restored creation in which human beings would live in right relationship with God, one another and all of creation.

We might assume that since God made the promise then God would powerfully pave the way to assure that the promise would not only fulfilled but never threatened. After all what kind of a promise would this be if it might not be kept?

We might be surprised then to discover that this promise almost comes to an end in the stories that follow. Two of these promise risking occasions center on the birth and continuing life of an heir for Abraham and Sarah.

If the promise is going to be fulfilled then Abraham needs an heir by his wife Sarah. For many years Sarah is not able to conceive. This couple of the promise is frustrated by this lack of offspring and so Sarah convinces her husband to sleep with her Egyptian maid Hagar in order to conceive a child (Genesis 16). Hagar conceives and gives birth to Ishmael. What we quickly discover in our story is that this end run around God's promise will not work. The promise is still under threat because the child needs to come from the first couple of promise. Finally after a divine visit (Genesis 17) Abraham (who is a very old man) and Sarah (who is already in menopause) manage to conceive and produce their own child, Isaac. The promise is thus saved…and it is saved in a way that insures we all know this is God's work because of the age of Abraham and Sarah.

The promise continues but once again comes under fire. This time the enemy of the promise is not infertility but God. That's right, the one who threatens the promise is the one who made it. In Genesis 22 we read about God commanding Abraham to go and sacrifice Isaac. What we have to remember is that in the time of Abraham child sacrifice was a fairly wide-spread practice. So when Abraham receives this command he does not hesitate and even make Isaac carry the wood for the fire. Just as Abraham raises the knife to kill Isaac an angel of God intervenes, shows Abraham a ram whose horns are stuck in a bush, and orders Abraham to sacrifice the ram and not Isaac. Abraham complies and the promise is safe once again.

This story along with the flood story (the death of most of humanity) and the conquest of Canaan (the death of people already in the land the Hebrews were to occupy) is one of the most difficult in the Bible. Scripture never lets us in on why God does this, though there has been much speculation. Even so I would offer a possible way of reading the story. God as the promise maker is the only one who could insure that the promise was ultimately kept. What better way for God to make the point that God would keep the promise than to create a situation in which God is willing to change the normal way of human/god interchange (human/child sacrifice) in order to assure Abraham that the promise was secure even with God. Once again then we are given assurance that God's promise of the restoration of the good creation will continue.

Next week: The Promise Takes a Detour

Blessing

I think that it is important for us to take a moment and recap where we have been…sort of like television shows that recap what happened during the last season. In Episode One, "Creation", we discovered that God is the creator who declared that all of creation (including human beings) is good. In Episode Two, "The Fall", we witnessed part of that creation, humanity, deciding that they knew better than God how to run their lives; thus leading to death dealing and not life affirming ways of being human. God responded to that act of defiance in Episode Three, "Discipline and Grace" not through annihilating humanity but by responding with a complex combination of forgiveness and consequences. Finally we watched as God reestablished the relationship with humanity through covenants in Episode Four "Covenants"; agreements in which each side promised to live up to certain commitments. Where this part of the Biblical narrative leaves us is with a present reality in which God and humanity coexist in a rather loose relationship but do not seem to have a plan for restoring the full goodness of God's creation.

This lack of a plan is addressed almost immediately in our current episode, "Blessing."

This episode begins very abruptly in Chapter 12 of Genesis where we hear God speak to a man named Abram from Haran (Iraq) telling him to move to Canaan (Israel). Abram's journey was not an isolated one. Sometime around 2000 BCE large numbers of people moved from Upper Mesopotamia (Iraq) to the area we call Palestine (Israel). Chances are Abram and family were part of this great migration. Additionally within the Abram stories we see names, customs and places which can be historically rooted in that period of time.

The opening words of Chapter 12 also offer us a look at some of the promises God makes to Abram. We hear God make three promises (most of which are fleshed out later in the story) of land, offspring and blessing. Each of these promises will play a critical role in the unfolding story, but for the moment let's focus on the promise of blessing.

The blessing comes in two forms. First God will bless Abram and those who bless Abram. Second, and for our purpose more importantly, through Abram and Abram's family all of the families of the earth will be blessed. Though we are not told the specifics of what it means to bless all the families of the world what this promise implies is that Abram's family will play a decisive role in God's plan to restore creation. The work of this wandering Aramean and his family matters because they are the vehicle through which hope for humanity comes.

In this episode Abram, his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot and their retinue engage in a series of amazing adventures (and misadventures for that matter) as they journey to Canaan, Egypt and back to Canaan. They fight battles, tell lies to protect themselves and meet a wide variety of interesting people. Eventually God speaks once again (Chapter 17) and makes a covenant with Abram. As part of the covenant Abram's name is changed to Abraham and God instructs that all of Abraham's males will be circumcised as a sign of the covenant. Sarai is also given a new name, Sarah, and a promise that she will have a child in order that the promise of the blessing to the world is real.

We close this episode with hope; hope birthed because God has initiated a plan for restoring the blessings for creation that God originally intended in God's good creative work.

Next week: the Blessing at Risk

Visions From Our Story: Covenants

Last week we looked at the manner in which God dealt with the brokenness of the world; through grace and discipline. This week we take a deeper look at how grace and discipline become a more structured part of the relationship between God and humanity through Covenants.

Covenant is a term we don't use much anymore. Instead we use words like agreement or contract to describe arrangements between two parties in which each side agrees to undertake certain actions on behalf of the other. While these more modern terms are appropriate for most of what we do today (buy a house, sign with the Pistons, etc.) they miss the relational aspect which the word Covenant implies.

We see this relational aspect in marriage. In once sense marriage could be seen as no more than a legal contract in which both parties agree to live together, share assets and jointly file their taxes. Most of us however think of marriage as something more profound than that. We see it as the creation of an intimate and hopefully, long lasting relationship. There is an emotional content to the arrangement built upon love and support, rather than simply contractual agreements. This is why in church marriage ceremonies we speak of the marriage Covenant and not the marriage contract.

Biblical Covenants carry that same kind of relational content. God's Covenants with humanity are created out of God's love for the people God has created. God makes Covenants in order to help God's people realize their full human potential (as those God created in God's image). At the same time however, Covenants in the Old Testament also carry with them sanctions which are in place in case the Covenant is broken (think of divorce as a sanction for breaking the marriage Covenant).

We see this clearly in the Hebrew words used to describe the making of a Covenant. A literal translation would be to "cut a Covenant." This comes from the ancient practice of cutting a bull into two halves (yes I know this has an ick factor) and then having the two parties to the Covenant walk together, between the two halves saying, "May what happened to this animal happen to me if I violate the Covenant." The language is a reminder of the serious nature of Covenant making.

The first Covenant occurs in Genesis following the flood story (Genesis 6-9). God, having become angry with humanity for living in death dealing rather than life affirming ways, decided to make a fresh start. God choose Noah and his family to be the seeds from which a new humanity would grow. Everyone else is drowned. Needless to say this is a very disturbing story (even if not an actual event in history). It implies that God can lose God's temper and destroy all that God has made…including you and me.

Fortunately the story finds its conclusion in a unilateral Covenant (Genesis 9:8-17). God promises that God will never again destroy the world through flood (and by implication that God will not destroy it by any other means). God even gives a sign (the rainbow) that God will keep God's promise. This Covenant then establishes a "floor" under the rest of the story assuring us that God will work for the good and not for the destruction of humanity in times to come.

Next week: the Covenant of the Promise

John

Visions From Our Story: Grace and Discipline

So what is a good creating God to do when part of what God has created has gone rogue? That is the question which the readers of God's story are faced with at the end of Genesis chapter three. To recap the last episode of the story we find Adam and Eve living in fear, not of God, but of their own finiteness. By choosing to go their own way, rather than follow God's way, they have discovered that the world is a very frightening place in which to live when God is not your partner. So again the question is, how is God going to deal with these renegades?

This being the Old Testament, what most people would expect would be some fire and brimstone raining down from heaven to teach Adam and Eve a lesson. What we find is something very different. God first expels them from the garden (God following through in a way that they suffer the consequences of their actions) but then makes them clothes and gives them children. In other words God shows them grace.

Many of us have grown up with an image of an angry Old Testament God and a loving New Testament God. A more thorough examination of God's story however reveals that from the beginning to the end of the story, grace is part of God's character. This does not mean that God is a pushover who ignores the pain giving side of humanity…sort of like some parents who appear on Super Nanny. Instead it means that God loves God's creation, including God's often disobedient people, enough to both discipline them so they learn better ways, and to show them grace that they might remember they are always loved.

We see this discipline vs. grace theme in the next several stories. Cain slays Able. God disciplines Cain by sending him away from his family, but shows grace by protecting him from those who would try and take his life. Humanity has become completely evil. God disciplines by bringing the flood and wiping out most of the human race, but God shows grace by saving some (Noah and his family) in order that humanity continue its task as stewards of God's good creation. Finally we have the story of the Tower of Babel in which humanity ineptly tries to invade heaven (a careful reading of the story reveals that the tower they are building was bound to collapse long before they got very high). God disciplines them by confusing their language but shows grace by spreading them out across the earth…thus insuring they will fulfill their destiny. Discipline and grace are woven together in God's story.

The combination of discipline and grace becomes one of the key lenses through which the story of God and God's people needs to be read if we are to come to grips with what God is up to in the world and in our lives. Remember that God created this world, and the people in it, in such a way that we can live together in right relationship with God, with one another and with our creation. That was God's purpose and God's goal. These Genesis stories remind us that God will accomplish God's purpose and goals with the discipline and grace of a loving parent.

My hope is that rather than spending time looking for Noah's Ark or the Garden of Eden (favorites of the Discovery Channel) we will instead see the God we worship Sunday after Sunday as one whose desire for our lives is wholeness, and as one who is willing to help us find that wholeness through the grace and discipline that comes from love. (Next week…making promises)

John

Visions From Our Story: The Fall

So what went wrong? That is the question that should be asked by everyone who reads the first two chapters of Genesis. As we left the story last week we were offered two very different, yet very convergent pictures of creation. God created all that is, including humanity, and declared it to be good. Humanity had all that it needed: provision (food to eat), purpose (to care for creation) and companionship (Adam, Even and God). God was still interested in and connected with humanity and God's creation. Yet as most of us will admit, much of what we see around us is not "good" in the fullest sense of that word. So what went wrong?

The third chapter of Genesis attempts to give us an answer to our query. The story centers on a tree (of the knowledge of good and evil), a talking snake (a very clever one at that) and our two humans (Adam and Eve). Adam and Eve had been commanded not to eat of the tree. This is often a bone of contention for 21^st Century people. We ask, "Why shouldn't they know the difference between good and evil?" The answer is relatively straightforward…we ought to depend on God and not creation for our moral guidance. The tree symbolizes out desire to ignore God's life giving guidance and follow instead our own life limiting choices. Our choices are life limiting because we cannot clearly see either the motives for or consequences of our choices. God on the other hand knows us and our needs perfectly.

The narrative opens with a very bright, yet canny talking snake approaching Eve and asking a question. The question is, "Did God say, 'you shall not eat of any tree of the garden? " (Which introduces an element of confusion.) Eve's response, while partially accurate, "…but God said you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge"…" is also partially inaccurate, "…neither shall you touch it lest you die." (more confusion) The talking snake then offers a 180 degree different take on what God had told Adam and Eve. "You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." What is introduced here is an element of doubt about what God said as well as God's motive for saying it (God isn't all that smart and is jealous of humanity). This sets us up the eternal struggle for humanity: shall we trust God or ourselves (or a talking snake) for deciding what is good or evil?

The consequences of the choice Eve and Adam make, to trust in their own ability to be moral guides has disastrous consequences. Not only are they removed from Eden, a place of perfect connection with God, one another and creation, but they usher in physical pain and struggle, murder (Cain slaying Able), wickedness (you name it humans did it), and ultimately an attempt to storm heaven and overthrow God (the Tower of Babel). In other words, trusting in self rather than God leads to death dealing and not life affirming ways of being human.

My guess is that as we look at the world around us (hatred, war, AIDS, poverty, drugs, etc.) we would agree that the choices that humans often make are indeed death dealing and not life affirming. While the story of the Fall is not an historic depiction it paints a clear picture for us of what happens to creation when human beings fail to listen to God. Humanity becomes enmeshed in continuing cycle of self-destructive behavior (sin) which threatens the good world God has created. Fortunately as we will discover, our death dealing choices are not the last word in the matter. God has something else in mind.

Next week: God's response to our misguided choices

Visions From Our Story: Creation

It all begins at creation. The story we have come to know as the Bible begins its long journey in a two chapter account of creation. Chapter one is a marvelous poetic description of God powerfully "speaking" creation into being. The culmination of this creating is the making of human beings in the image of God. "So God created human beings in God's own image; male and female God created them." Along the way God had declared each part of the creation "good". The closing words of this act have God declaring that the entire creation, taken together, is better than good; it is "very good."

The second chapter offers us a very different look at creation. In this story we find ourselves in an earth that looks more like the moon. There are no plants or animals…just a rocky landscape. God then causes the rains to come (bringing plants forth) and creates a perfect environment for humanity, Eden (delight). From the dust of the earth (the name Adam is closely related to the Hebrew word for dirt) God creates the first man. The man, Adam, then works alongside God to name all of the creatures God forms to help Adam in his job of watching over the creation. None of these animals are adequate co-workers so God takes a rib from Adam and makes the primordial woman (the Hebrew for woman is "ishshah" meaning the one who came from man "ish").

Though there are Christians around the world who take these stories at face value (those who believe the earth was created in six 24 hour days; that the earth is only 10,000 years old; and that Adam and Eve were the two original instantaneously created humans) the Bible makes no internal claim that these stories are historically and geologically accurate. They are instead presented as theological explanations of who God is, who we are, and what our task is to be as God's creatures.

We discover who God is. God is the one who creates. God is not a created being, but the one who has the power and inclination to create all that is. God is the one who chooses to create and personally interact with human beings. God is not "the force" from Star Wars. God is not a feeling. God is powerfully and personally connected to all that God has created; humanity and the physical universe in which we live.

We discover who we are. We are part of creation. We are loved by God and have been declared to be "good". We are not God or gods. We are creatures who are different from other creatures only because we are made in the image of God. Being made in the image of God does not give us special privileges; instead it gives us special work to do.

We discover what our task is. We were created for a purpose. Our purpose is to steward (care for) God's creation. This means caring for both one another as well as caring for the world in which we live. We are able to carry out this task only by being in relationship with and God, with one another and with creation itself. Our relationship with God is the primary relationship because God as creator show us how to care for one another and our world.

As we close these chapters we are presented with an idyllic vision of how the world could be. The next chapter in the Bible story shows us that humanity is responsible for derailing this idyllic state through its failure to listen to God's loving directions. Next – The Fall.

John

From Whence Commeth Our Vision

So where does vision come from? Over the past couple of months we have been talking about vision as coming from the churches previous statements and from the Book of Acts (the story of the church in its infancy). While both of those sources offer us insight into what our vision ought to look like at FPC Birmingham, the larger question is where did those visions come from?

The answer to that question is that they came from the larger story contained within the Bible. I realize that even as I type out those words…the larger story contained within the Bible….many of you don't know what I am talking about. And that is OK. It is OK because the church has not been very good about helping people see that the book we call the Bible is not only a compilation of stories, sort of like a book of short stories, but that it is also one story to which all of the smaller stories contribute.

My belief is that if we understand the larger story, or as I have called it elsewhere, the meta-narrative of God's people, then all of the smaller stories will make more sense. Additionally, if we understand the larger story it will offer us a vision of who God is, who we are supposed to be and how we are to live out our lives as God's people. In other words, it will offer us a vision for our life together.

Background: The Bible and the story it contains are organized around a series of major movements (literally and figuratively) and a major theme, the blessing of God. The Old Testament story begins in Eden, moves to UR, then on to the Holy Land, then to Egypt, back to the Holy Land, then to Babylon and back to the Holy Land. Each of these moves offers us a chance to know God, God's people and God's desires for our lives in a more complete manner.

The theme of blessing begins with the opening words of the Bible (God's good creation) but becomes clearly expressed when it is given to a man named Abram (Abraham). This promise of blessing was one that was not only for Abram and his children but was to be shared with the whole world. During each move we watch as the promise of God's blessing becomes endangered by human actions but is then saved by God's faithfulness.

The New Testament story begins with the announcement of Jesus' coming, his birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension (the fulfillment of God's promised Blessing). The New Testament continues with the giving of the Holy Spirit and the spread of the church (how the promise of Blessing goes to all people). All of the letters that follow the book of Acts (from Paul, John and others) are intended to help this fledgling group of Jesus followers become people of the blessing.

The difficult part of gaining a foothold in this meta-narrative (like the way I slipped that in again?) is that it occurs in places, times and with people with which we are mostly unfamiliar. It seems very ancient and often confusing. Thus it makes it even more difficult for us to draw any coherent vision from it.

My goal over the next several weeks is to help us rediscover the story (the meta-narrative) in such a way that we can not only understand it, but that it will help us more clearly take hold of the vision God is offering us as people who are called not only to be blessed but to be a blessing to those around us.

Next week: The Story Begins in Eden

Visions From the Early Church: Sharing

"And all who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need." Acts 2:44-45

Robert Fulghum in his poem "All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten" lists nineteen learnings which if practiced, he believes, would enrich all of our lives. As the title implies he acquired these learnings not in graduate school but "there in the sand pile of Sunday School." These learnings include: don't hit people, put things back where you found them and clean up your own mess. My favorites are flush, and hold hands and stick together. However for our purpose here let's return to the first learning on his list: share everything.

 

Kindergarten is a time in life upon which we seldom look back. My impression is that our memories of that grade fade quickly in the mad rush of the years that follow. Yet kindergarten is a time when we are taught many of our most basic social skills including how to interact with others in appropriate ways. One of the essential skills we are taught is to share. We are taught to share crayons, books, toys and the teacher's time.

 

Sharing, as a social skill however, does not last long. Almost as quickly as we learn it we are taught to set it aside. As soon as we enter any type of competitive environment we are told that "the ball" is ours and we are not to share it. We are taught not to share answers on tests. We are taught not to share the spotlight on stage. We are taught not to share patents with others because they might gain a competitive advantage. We are taught not to share insider information or we will go to jail.

 

The early church had a very different view of sharing. Sharing was essential for the life and work of the first Christ centered community. As Luke tells us they had everything in common and shared whatever they had so that no one was in need. This sense of sharing was not learned in Kindergarten but at the cross. When they saw what Jesus had done for them, dying that they might be reconciled to God and one another, there was nothing they possessed that was not available to be shared. What mattered were not only the needs of the community, but of strangers as well. Sharing was not a lesson to be learned and then forgotten. It was at the heart of life itself.

 

Our task as 21^st Century believers is to figure out what this idea of sharing has to do with us. I believe the starting point in that discovery process is to remember that what we have is not ours. It is God's and God is sharing it with us that we might share it with others. We are given abilities, skills, families and wealth in order to carry out God's purposes in the world. If we adopt such a view, it will change our perspective so that we will gain some sharing clarity.

(How to; take a moment this week to do two things. First, look at your calendar. Then look at your check book. Ask yourself these two questions: How much of my time did I share? How much of my money did I share? Next ask, how can I share more of each? Do this for a couple of months and chances are you will begin to relearn what we were taught in the "sand pile of Sunday school"; the joy of sharing everything.)

Visions From the Early Church: Prayer

"And they devoted themselves to the apostle's teaching and fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer." Acts 2:42

How does prayer work? It was a not question I was expecting. I was being interviewed by a reporter from the small town newspaper in Pampa, Texas because I was the newest pastor in the city. He had asked a number of background questions but the prayer question caught me by surprise. It caught me by surprise because I had never thought about prayer as a mechanical process.

One of the things that separates humans from most other animals is not only our ability to accessorize but our ability to be tool makers. That tool making ability means we always want to know how things work, so we can fix them when they break. We see a problem, we figure out what kind of tool we need to fix it, we build (or buy) the tool, we fix the problem, and then we move on to the next problem.

The interesting thing about this mind set is that we do not confine it to broken mechanical devices (including the human body). We have applied it to relationships, psychology and faith. There are thousands of books in circulation describing the six secrets to fixing relationships, psychological struggles, churches and our prayer life. In fact one of the largest areas of religious writings is how to insure that our prayers work…that we get what we want.

The issue I have with this way of viewing prayer (as a mechanistic process) is that it ignores the relational aspect of our interaction with God. To see prayer as mechanical is to see God as no more than a miracle dispensing machine at best and at worst a god who can be manipulated. This view ignores the fact that at the heart of prayer is not getting something, but entering into an intimate encounter with the living God.

Prayer is the act of speaking with and listening to God. The early church understood that prayer was a gift that allowed them to engage and be engaged by God in Christ. While the church did pray for healing they also prayed for guidance, strength and forgiveness. In other words prayer was about seeking to have the will of God made clearer so that the church (both individually and corporately) might live out that will.

This is why prayer is essential for any vision that we might share with one another. Without prayer a vision might be simply our vision, and not necessarily God's vision. The challenge before us is to make prayer a regular part of our spiritual life in order that God's will for our lives might be made more and more clear.

(How to: there are many good books on prayer that would give direction to our practice of prayer. However a short course on prayer is to 1) find a regular time to pray 2) find a place where you can be undisturbed 3) use the ACTS formula (adoration…praising God, confession…asking God's forgiveness, thanksgiving…giving thanks to God for all God has done, supplication…asking for God's help). 4) listen…try to hear what God has to say. Like any spiritual practice this one takes time to become a habit, but when regularly practiced, I believe one will gain a deeper and more profound relationship with God.)

John

Visions From the Early Church: Breaking Bread

"And they devoted themselves to the apostle's teaching and fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer." Acts 2:42

What in the world is Luke talking about when he says that the early Jesus followers devoted themselves to the breaking of bread? The other activities to which they devoted themselves seem pretty apparent: teaching, fellowship and prayer. The one that gets us is the breaking of bread.

Some people have taken it to mean simply eating together. They take it as people coming together to share a common meal. After all how many times have we spoken of having a meal with someone as breaking bread together? Such an activity would not seem out of place in the first century world. People would regularly share meals with friends and strangers who arrived from out of town. What would make this sort of bread sharing different was that they were sharing it with total strangers…with people from different social classes…people of different backgrounds. It was a more expansive sharing.

Other people have taken bread sharing to mean coming to the Lord 's Table…or an "agape" meal (a love feast). There are many scholars who see in this reference the very beginning of a formal remembrance of the of Jesus last meal with his disciples. These new formal meals began to take place early on in the life of the church. We can see this from Paul's letters where he quotes the already established table liturgy (on the night in which Christ was betrayed he took bread…). Again, this would be a new vision for a Jesus centered community because it would replace the Jewish Passover and Sabbath rituals which focused on the Exodus with one focused on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

While I suppose it would be nice for us know for certain, I am not sure it is all that important which the correct understanding is. I say that because each points to the same reality…which can be summed up in the Spanish word "companeros." One of my Spanish speaking friends introduced me to the word and the concept. It is formed from the ideas of "com" meaning with, and "pan" meaning bread. It refers to people who are buddies because they share bread together. It is an intimate term referring to those who share more than a common meal. They share a common life.

This idea of sharing a common life through a common meal calls us to rethink our connection to one another. Whether it is sharing food at a pot-luck supper, a Wednesday night meal, a Dinners for Eight or at the Lord's table, these are all reminders that we are called to be more than strangers eating at another fast food restaurant. We are called to be companeros. We are called to be a family connected in Christ who share our lives with one another.

(How to: First Presbyterian offers a number of ways in which we can connect with one another. Why not try signing up for a Dinners for Eight group, a Covenant Group, a Sunday school or Wednesday night group, come to Wednesday Night Connect dinner, and use that time to meet and come to know others. In this way you will find the joy those early Christians found in being companeros in Christ.)

Visions of Fellowship

"And they devoted themselves to the Apostle's teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers." Acts 2:42

"I think, therefore I am." Most of us at one time or another have heard this famous saying by Rene Descartes (1596-1650). It was part of his Discourse on the Method and Principles of Philosophy
in which he was trying to decide if there was a way of knowing that could prove his own existence. His conclusion was that because he could think, then he is a "thinking thing" and thus existed. While this kind of thinking may seem a bit obtuse today (philosophy has moved in many new directions) it shows us quite clearly how the European world had taken a dramatic turn toward individualism.

The kind of thinking about radical individualism that Descartes (as well as those who preceded and followed him) offered permeates our society. We see this in the movies (John Wayne), television (the Lone Ranger), and in society (the many people who talk about how they pulled themselves up by their own boot-straps). We speak about rugged individualism and the pioneer spirit. The rationale is that we are completely independent and do not need anyone else. This idea has also infected the church. We see ourselves as persons who do not necessarily have to be connected to the body in which we worship.

"I exist in relationships, therefore I am." These are the words of Japanese theologian Seiichi Yagi. What Yagi is trying to do is to return us to a Biblically based sense of self. The scriptures do not present persons as rugged individualists. Instead persons are portrayed as having life because of what they shared in common. In the opening quote from the Book of Acts the word "fellowship" is used. A better translation of the Greek word is the word "common" as in what we hold in common. The idea is that we are in common because we are one in Christ. We are all part of the very body of Jesus therefore we are one. We exist in the fullest sense of being human not because we can think but because we are part of the very life and love of God and one another in Jesus.

How might that help us think differently? First it can help us to rethink "fellowship." Often we have seen fellowship as simply hanging out at church over a cup of coffee. While that kind of hanging out is sharing something (time, space and coffee) in common, what if we were to see "fellowship" as something more, such as truly knowing and caring for one another? Second I hope it helps us rethink our relationship with church, that we are indeed a common body in which each of us and our gifts make a significant difference. It would remind us that each of us is a necessary part of the whole. We are needed here.

(How to; I would like to challenge you this week to an experiment. At church, while you are in your pew, spot someone you do not know. Begin by introducing yourself during the greeting time or as you leave. Then the next week when you see those people (or person) make sure you say hello and inquire about their lives. Next begin praying for them. Then in the weeks ahead deepen that budding friendship and then do it again with someone else. In other words get connected with those with whom you live in common.)

John

Visions from the Book of Acts: A People Immersed in The Story

"Where there is no vision the people perish." We have heard this proverb (Proverbs 29:18) many times before used in any number of ways. We assume that the writer is simply encouraging us to have a vision, any vision to guide and direct our work. The trouble is that this translation misses one of the key elements of the text which is that the Hebrew is referring to a specific kind of vision…not vision or direction in general.

 

The CEV translation is, in my opinion, closest to the original meaning. "Without guidance from God, law and order disappear." In other words without an understanding of God's outline for our lives as expressed in the first five books of the Bible the people of God come apart at the seams. We see this more clearly when we read the second half of this couplet, "but blessed are the ones who keep the law," meaning that when we actually allow God's written word to set the vision for our community our individual and corporate lives are blessed. (All you have to do is to read the Old Testament to see how true this is!)

 

This understanding then forms the background for our call to be a people immersed in The Story. In Acts 2:42 we are told that "they (meaning the new Christ followers) devoted themselves to the apostle's teaching." The apostle's were following the wisdom laid out in Proverbs 29:18 by teaching how Jesus' story was a part of the larger story of God's work in and through Israel. The vision, the Godly guidance, that they were offering was not simply good advice, it was an explanation of how Jesus had come to fulfill God's plan for Israel and for the world and for their lives.

 

Our calling is to do the same, immerse ourselves in their teachings. Our vision for our life together is to be shaped not merely by wanting to do good things, hanging out together, or even listening to great music, all of which we do here on a regular basis. Our vision is to be shaped and formed by The Story, which is what the Bible is. The Bible (though certainly a collection of metaphor, law, poetry, history, prophecy, letters, and Jesus stories) none the less is The Story of God at work redeeming and reclaiming the world, including you and me. When we come to understand and internalize The Story it gives guidance and direction for our lives allowing us to be blessed and be a blessing to others.

 

The challenge for us then is to make The Story (the scriptures) real for us. This means taking the time to read, study and comprehend the scope and sequence of God's activity from creation (Genesis) to re-creation (Revelation). This is not a simple task. It is one that takes time and effort. Yet the rewards are great. By knowing and living The Story we become those who are able to love God and neighbor in a way that changes us and changes the world. My hope is that in the years ahead we will become a people immersed in The Story that we might fulfill the vision God has for us.

 

(How to: here is a way to begin immersing yourself. First get a partner or two…things always work better with a partner. Second choose one of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John) and read it straight through. Talk with your partner about what you discovered, what confused you and how the story helped your faith. Then find a simple guide to the book…such as N.T. Wright's commentaries from the Bible for Everyone series (Westminster John Knox Press)...and take the story in pieces asking the same questions. Then if you want give me a call and we can talk more about it.)

 

John

Serving: Our Seventh Core Value

Our seventh and final core value is serving. Both our Mission statement and our Focus statements speak of us having ministries of service and of our being mission oriented. They are a reminder that First Church has a long history of being involved in serving the community and world around us.

Serving is also a reminder that the scriptures, from beginning to end, call upon is to serve others. The Torah, the Law of Moses, makes it clear that we are to serve the hungry, the widow, the orphan and the stranger. Jesus tells us that he came to be a servant and not to serve, and his followers are to follow his example of service to others.

I realize that many of us would have placed serving at the beginning rather than the end of the list. Since Jesus speaks of loving God and loving neighbor perhaps we ought to have had Christ as the first Core Value and Serving as the second Core Value. So why place it here at the tail end?

I placed it here not because it is at the tail end, but because I believe it fits here as part of the cycle of spiritual life. Spiritual growth into Christ-likeness is not a straight forward path. It is a cyclical path upon which we tread as we seek to be faithful to the one who loves us.

We center our life on the Triune God that we have come to know most fully in Jesus Christ. Then we seek to practice each core value (spiritual discipline) in order that it leads us to more fully practice the others. So as we practice serving, it will cause us to reach out, which will then cause us to welcome…and on and on.

The PCSA Book of Order puts it this way, we are to reach out by: "(3) participating in God's activity in the world through its life for others by: (a) healing and reconciling and binding up wounds; (b) ministering to the needs of the poor and sick, the lonely and the powerless; (c) engaging in the struggle to free people from sin, fear, oppression, hunger and injustice; (d) giving itself and its substance to the service of those who suffer; (e) sharing with Christ in the establishing of the his just, peaceable, and loving rule in the world." (G-3.0300.c.3)

The First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham is a community of the saints of God (yes you are a saint…you just don't get a statue) who are called to live out the Christ like life. I believe if we are willing to return again and again to our core values centered in the triune God we will find that we are indeed becoming that kind of community.

John

Growing: Our Sixth Core Value

The sixth of our core values is that of growth; through deepening our knowledge and love of God. In both our mission and focus statements we speak of education as a key element in our life together. We also state that we live the will of God. The two of these are inseparable. We cannot fully live the will of God unless we are continually growing through learning and then practicing what we learn.

If we return for a moment to the Gospels, the stories of Jesus' ministry, what we see is a great teacher at work. Jesus taught using parables, stories and aphorisms (short pithy statements). Jesus taught by referencing the Old Testament (Torah, prophets and writings). Jesus taught by demonstrating the values of the Kingdom of God in all that he did (forgiving, healing and ultimately dying on the cross). Jesus understood that for men, women and children to live into the kingdom of God there were lessons they needed to learn.

Unfortunately many of us have come to see Christian education (learning the stories of Jesus, the writings of the New Testament, the whole story of God's people in the Old Testament and how our Reformed tradition understands them) as a nonessential in our Christian faith. The stories which are intended to shape our faith and life are seen as being irrelevant because we have equated being faithful with merely being nice. Even the word "education" turns us off because it reeks of sitting in class being bored to death by someone who just drones on and on (if you know the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off think of the character played by Ben Stein). Even the idea of growth seems a bit odd considering that faith can be seen as no more than making a statement about Jesus when we are confirmed thus fulfilling our faith commitment.

So why then ought we to see education and spiritual growth as being important in our lives? The answer is blessing. By growing in knowledge of the Triune God we are blessed because we experience the love and grace of God more deeply each day, thus transforming our lives. By growing in knowledge of the Triune God we become capable of being a blessing to others by showing God's love and grace to a hurting world thus helping to transform God's creation. By growing in knowledge we grow in our love of God and neighbor thereby being the blessing we have been called by God to be.

The PCUSA Book of Order puts it this way, "The Church is called to be a sign in and for the world of the new reality which God has made available to the people in Jesus Christ." (G-3.0103.a) In other words God is blessing this world in Jesus Christ through the Spirit and the more we know and grow the more we become capable of being blessed and of assisting in God's work of blessing.

The challenge for us then becomes to make an intentional choice to grow (both for ourselves and our children) in knowledge and love of God. If you want to know more about how to do this speak to me, Amy or Cindy and we can help point you in the right direction.

John

Connecting: Our Fifth Core Value

Connecting is our fifth core value. In all three of our statements we use language that points us to connectedness. We speak of being "community" and a "congregation." We also write about the benefit of "participation". While connecting may appear the easiest of our core values to live out, I believe it is in reality the most difficult.

Connectedness appears to be an easy value to live out because we gather together on Sunday mornings, Wednesday nights, occasionally for Bible studies, P.W. circles and other activities such as the rummage sale. We can look at those moments and say to ourselves, "See we are connected because we are in the same place doing the same thing." The question becomes however, is that really connecting?

When I speak of connecting I am not simply speaking of congregating…getting together. While that may be more connecting than many people engage in today it still falls short of the Biblical image of Christ-like connectedness which Paul discusses in his letters. The Apostle writes of a body of Christ in which each person (and their gifts) was spiritually connected to the life and work of the community. The church was a body in which all shared what they had (time, talent and treasure) so no one else was in need. This was a body that ate, prayed and sacrificed together. This was a body which understood that they were spiritual brothers and sisters.

That kind of connected community, one in which lives, resources and faith are intimately shared is a reality which has been largely lost in 21^st century America.

It has been lost because the church is seen by many to be one more voluntary association in which we come to have our spiritual needs met. We pay our membership dues and we expect to receive something for them (great music, good preaching and opportunities for our children/youth to know about faith). We will volunteer and help out when needed but we do so knowing that we can opt out whenever we want.

It has been lost because we are so focused on the singularity (whether that is one person or one family unit) that the idea of being intimately connected with others not in that singularity is a foreign concept. Therefore the idea that all of those people sitting around me are truly my brothers and sisters is just a bit suspect.

It has been lost for many other reasons as well (read The Great Emergence for more details), yet that is the community life to which the scriptures, our Book of Order and our own mission statement call us. The PCUSA Book of Order puts it this way:

The church is called to demonstrate " by the love of its members for one another and by the quality of common life the new reality in Christ; sharing in worship, fellowship, and nurture, practicing a deepened life of prayer and service under the guidance of the Holy Spirit."

We at First Presbyterian Church are called to live out a new common (connecting) life in Christ. To do so will require an intentional effort to define what that life looks like and then attempt to live it. Though this will be a counter cultural endeavor, I believe the connections which will be created will be worth the effort. (also see: http://www.christianpost.com/article/20090828/what-does-the-real-church-look-like/index.html)

Celebrating: Our Fourth Core value

Celebration is our fourth core value. Though we do not use this exact word in any of our statements it sums up the essence of two of our most important activities, worship and music. Our statements put it this way: "We respond to God in Christ…through ministries of worship." And "We believe Christ called us to reach out…by leading in creative ministries of…music."

I realize that for many people the equating of "celebration" with "worship" seems a bit off. Many of us have grown up with worship that was somber, cerebral and to be perfectly honest, boring. In some ways this is part of our heritage. Worship was to be a holy encounter with the Holy God focused on the proclamation of the Word of God. Worship was filled with lots and lots to words with some music thrown in…and even the music was filled with lots and lots of words. Chances are "celebration" was not the word most of us would have used to describe what we were doing.

Scripture, especially the Psalms, offers us a very different look at worship and the place of music in it. Worship was to be a celebration of the might, holiness and faithfulness of God. Worship was a response to the mighty acts of God which had set a people free from bondage and saved them in difficult times. Worship was a response to the God who provided everything in creation.

Praise God with trumpet sound; Praise God with lute and harp!

Praise God with timbrel and dance; Praise God with strings and pipe!

Praise God with sounding cymbals; Praise God with loud clashing cymbals!

Psalm 150:3-5

 

"So David went and brought up the ark of God…to the city of David with rejoicing….and David danced before the Lord with all of his might." II Samuel 6:12-14 (selected)

 

This is the kind of worship that gives glory and honor to God. This is the kind of worship that makes celebration a reality. This is the kind of celebrative worship in which music is used to its fullest. This is the kind of celebrative worship to which First Presbyterian is returning thanks to our Worship Grant and the hard work of many of our members.

 

Over the past year the church has had a worship grant from Calvin College to be used in exploring not only the meaning and purpose of worship, but how the worship experience can be broadened to be more celebrative and inclusive. Through the inclusion of the arts, technology and movement worship has become richer and more alive.

 

The PCUSA Book of Order puts it this way: "Christian worship joyfully ascribes all praise, glory and honor to the Triune God. In worship the people of God acknowledge God present in the world and in their lives." (W-1.1001) "They (the people of God) bow before God, lift hands and voices in praise, sing, make music, and dance. Heart soul, strength, and mind, with one accord they join in the language, drama, and pageantry of worship." (W-1.2001)

 

We commit ourselves therefore to celebrate the love, grace, provision and holiness of God with all of our heart, soul, mind, body and strength through music and worship.

Welcoming: Our Third Core Value

In both our Focus and Inclusion policy statements we make clear our belief that everyone is welcome in the midst of our family of faith. Our statements put it this way:

Inclusion statement: "We welcome the participation of all people regardless of race, ethnic origin, worldly condition, or any other circumstance not related to profession of faith (see our First Core Value)." Our Focus statement makes a point to expand on this idea by mentioning those individuals with special needs. We believe that this emphasis on welcome is at the heart of being followers of Christ.

Throughout Jesus' ministry the twelve disciples were constantly trying to decide who was in (themselves) and who was out (women, children and foreigners, to name a few). In the minds of the disciples this practice of exclusion made sense. Their identity as Jews, as God's people, was under attack from the onslaught of the Greco-Roman culture. Without some boundaries they would be assimilated into a culture which would bring an end, or so they thought, to their faith. By maintaining clear boundaries of who was in (holy, acceptable) and who was not (unclean, unacceptable) they believed they were protecting their God and their faith.

Jesus however had other ideas. Jesus' vision was one of God's kingdom that was large and not small; growing and not retreating; welcoming and not rejecting. God's kingdom did not need walls to keep people out; it needed a welcoming community to invite people in because by so doing God's kingdom would assimilate the world, rather than be assimilated by it. We see this in Jesus' welcoming children, speaking with foreigners (Samaritans and Greeks), healing the unclean, eating with sinners and tax collectors, and in the conversation with the woman at the well, doing all of the above. Jesus' teachings and actions demonstrated a welcome that was unheard of during his lifetime.

The early church took this welcoming vision to heart and grew rapidly because of it. The church welcomed Jews and Gentiles, men and women, young and old, slave and free, Romans and pagans. Each person was intentionally welcomed into the community as a brother or sister with no distinctions for wealth or rank…and when such distinctions were made (see the Book of James) the leaders of the church upbraided those who treated persons differently or excluded some based on worldly condition or position. People flocked to the church because in the welcome of Christ they found out that they were valued and loved by God.

The PCUSA Book of Order puts it this way:

"The church is called…to a new openness to its own membership, by affirming itself as a community of diversity, becoming in fact as well as in faith a community of women and men of all ages, races, and conditions, and by providing for inclusiveness as a visible sign of the new humanity." (G-3.0401.b)

The challenge for us at First Presbyterian is to continue to make welcome more than a vision. We have made an excellent beginning, now we need to continue to explore God's calling to open our doors and our hearts to all.

Reaching: Our Second Core Value

Reaching Out: Core Value Two

    The football teams come out onto the field. They huddle up. The clock begins to tick but nothing happens. They remain in their huddles. Mercifully the first quarter ends and the teams switch ends of the field but still they remain in their huddles. Not long thereafter halftime arrives, then the end of the third quarter and finally the whistle blows ending the game. At long last the players emerge from their huddles, congratulate each other on a great game and go home. If we had been sitting in the stands watching this event we would not have called it much of a game…which was the point being made by Harvey Carey the pastor of Detroit's Citadel of Faith Covenant Church (http://citadeloffaith.org/) at last week's Willow Creek Leadership Summit (http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/2009/index.asp). Pastor Carey used the illustration of describe many churches whose entire life is focused inside the Sunday huddle and who never venture out to impact the world.

    The second core value which we as First Presbyterian Church proclaim is that we commit to break the huddle and get into the messy game of life by "reaching out." Both our Mission and Focus statements remind us that we are to be not only an outward looking community but that we are to be an outward reaching people.

    Reaching out is perhaps one of the most Biblical of values. God was always the one reaching out. God did not remain a remote and distant deity. God's reaching out began with creation itself. God reached out from God's own self and brought something new into being. Next God reached out for a people through whom God would bless the world. The rest of the scriptures are a series of stories in which God reaches out through prophets, priests and kings to impact the world. The pinnacle of this reaching out was when God reached out through Jesus of Nazareth. Finally the Book of Acts and Paul's letters remind us of God's continual reaching out through the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Reaching out by First Pres-ers takes many forms. It has been as simple as letting people know that we exist and that we would love to have them come and join us in ministry and mission. It has been as daunting as reaching out by sharing our faith stories with those who do not know the love and grace of God in Jesus Christ. It is as humbling as serving communion to a shut in. It can be as rewarding as mentoring a child or youth through the Pontiac Project. Regardless of the form this reaching out takes we have committed ourselves to be a family of faith that remembers that we have been blessed in order to be a blessing.

    The PCUSA Book of Order puts it this way:

"The church is called to be Christ's faithful evangelist by…Going into the world, making disciples of all nations…healing reconciling and binding up wounds; ministering to the needs of the poor, the sick, the lonely, and the powerless; engaging in the struggle to free people from sin, fear, oppression, hunger and injustice; giving itself and its substance to the service of those who suffer; sharing with Christ in the establishing of his just, peaceable and loving rule in the world" (summarized from G-3.0300c)

    The challenge for us is to continue to ensure that we break the huddle and reach out into the world in the name of our risen and reigning Lord, Jesus Christ.

John

Jesus as our Core Value

Core Value One: Jesus Christ.

I realize that it may seem odd to say that Jesus Christ is a core value. After all Jesus was both an historical figure and is, at the heart of our faith, the risen and reigning Lord. It might appear to be more appropriate to say that faith in Jesus, or following Jesus is a core value. However, in the end it is the person of Jesus Christ; his preexistence, birth, life, death, resurrection, reign and return that are at the heart of who we are. To limit our core value to faith in or following of Jesus limits how Jesus' existence can impact our life together.

Each of our statements contains Jesus or Christ language. Such repetition demonstrates that we believe that Jesus Christ matters. We believe that this person who lived, died and was raised more than 2,000 years ago still has something for us today. Even in the face of those who have tried to limit Jesus to being no more than a mystic first-century wisdom teacher or advocate of social reform we profess that he offers us more than either good advice or a new social ethic (though he does offer us both).

We do so because as Presbyterians we profess the mysterious orthodox understanding that Jesus is the Word of God incarnate (think of in-fleshed) in our midst; fully human and fully divine. In other words if we want to know who God is, look at Jesus. If we want to know who we are to be, look at Jesus.

We do so because as Presbyterians we profess that in Jesus Christ salvation has come to the world. The Bible tells the story of Jesus in which he understood his life and death to be a fulfillment of God's plan to save all of creation. He died on the cross in order that we might find full life; that we might find forgiveness; that we might find a new relationship with the living God. This salvation changes us and changes the world.

Having Jesus as our primary core value is not only of central importance in defining who we are for ourselves, but for the world. In his book They Like Jesus But Not the Church, Dan Kimball quotes a young man who says, "I would be totally into going to a church if the church revolved more around the person of Jesus than around the personality of the pastor." In other words people in the world around us are hungering for a spiritual relationship with God (or as some put it "a higher power") and are open to finding that relationship in and through Jesus. By keeping Jesus as our core value then we open the door for others to encounter and be encountered by the living God….thus changing their lives (as well as ours) forever.

As the PCUSA Book of Order puts it, "Christ calls the Church into being, giving it all that is necessary for its mission to the world, for its building up, and for its service to God." (G-1.0100.b) My friends Jesus Christ is our first core value, above all others, because he is not only our hope, but the hope of the world, that God is at work forgiving, reconciling and saving us and the whole of creation.

Peace, John

A longer list of core values

Having opened a new book (at least for me) Church Re-Imagined, by Doug Pagitt and the Solomon's Porch Community*, I discovered a different set of Core Values. Granted the book begins with "We dream of a church where…" and then follows with the list below (not calling them core values) nevertheless I think they are a great set of core values.

1. We listen to and are obedient to God
   
2. People who are not Christians become followers of God in the way of Jesus
   
3. Those who are not involved in church would become an active part of it
   
4. People are deeply connected to God in all of life: body, mind, soul, and spirit
   
5. Beauty, art and creativity are valued, used and understood as coming from the Creator
   
6. Culture is met, embraced and transformed
   
7. Joy, fun and excitement are part of our lives
   
8. The Kingdom of God is increased in real\ ways in the world
   
9. The biblical story of God is told and contributed to
   
10. Biblical Justice, mercy, grace, love and righteousness lead the way
    
11. Truth, honesty and health are a way of life
    
12. We value innovation and are willing to take risks in order to being glory to God
    
13. Worship of God is full, vibrant, real and pleasing to God
    
14. Faith, hope and love are the context for all
    
15. The next generation of leadership is built up, and leaders are servants
    
16. Everyone is equipped to do ministry
    
17. God's Spirit takes precedence over all structures and systems
    
18. Christian Community is the attraction to outsiders and the answer to questions of faith
    
19. People participate in the Kingdom of God in accordance with their abilities and gifts
    
20. We are connected to, dependent on, and serve the global church
    
21. People learn the ways of God and are encouraged to make them central to their lives
    
22. Other churches are valued and supported
    
23. People's visions and ideas of ministry come to life
    

John

*ISBN 978-0-310-26975-5

Core values

What are core values? Businessdictionary.com defines them this way. "Core values are operating philosophies or principles that guide an organizations internal conduct as well as its relationship with the external world." In other words core values are the foundational principles that help an organization become and be themselves.

Every organization has core values, some are stated and some are not. Below are some that are stated.

Lockheed Martin states that its core values are: Passion, Risk Tolerance, Excellence, Motivation, Innovation and Empowerment. Dow proclaims theirs to be Integrity, Respect for People, Outside-in Focus, Unity, Agility and Innovation.

Having just watched a documentary on Enron, while they might have had some stated core values, here are some unstated ones which seemed to be demonstrated by some (but not by all) of their employees which led to Enron's fall: Greed, Hubris, Secrecy, Power and Fear.

Church communities have core values as well. Sometimes churches are very good at stating those core values and allowing them to give vision and direction to the church's life. Too often however I believe congregations simply assume they know what those values are, do not articulate them and thus do not allow those values to play a formal part in organizing the life and work of the community.

As First Presbyterian Church we have core values. The issue for me however is that they are somewhat buried in our many statements (Mission, Vision, Focus and Inclusion) and thus are not readily accessible..thus not overly useful.

Over the next several weeks I will be mining core values from our statements for the purpose of helping us clarify our vision; that vision that speaks clearly to who God has called us to be and to what God has called us to do.

My hope is that this mining process will be helpful to other congregations as they seek to discern their own core values and use those values to shape their vision.

John

first vision from first visions

This blog is going to be a journey into creating and keeping a vision for First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham, Michigan. I will be reflecting on all things visionary (books, articles, struggles and conversations) that might impact this journey. these blogs will also be carried on the church's weekly e-mail and first things.

John