Who would Jesus pull for in the Iron Bowl?

It's Auburn vs. Alabama, and naturally everyone has to pick a side.  So, which side would Jesus pick?  Is it such a ludicrous question to ask? 

How did you pick?  Well, both teams have traditions, songs, mascots, uniforms, etc. etc.  Univ. of Alabama has a bar, restaurant, four or five apartment complexes, and another bar with "Traditions" in the title.  Auburn fans think God has to be an Auburn fan because the sky becomes orange and blue at sunset. 

Maybe you were raised in your family to follow one side and loathe the other, as many generations before you had done.  Maybe you just liked the colors and went from there.  Maybe it was a particular creed or value represented by that university that spoke to you.  Maybe your significant other was going there and forced your hand.

Through some cruel (but wonderful, dear) twist of fate, my marriage is one of those "mixed" ones - I am Auburn and Keller is Alabama.  My parents before me were the same way.  So I feel like I've seen both sides of the fence.  What a tall fence it is, by the way.

Regardless of how you picked your school, it's obvious that both schools have their differences.  But they're both still universities.  They're both for education.  The intent is to enroll & leave with experiences and learning that prepare you to go out into the world and do whatever you want to do with it. 

Do you think that churches within Christianity can be viewed the same? 

What I mean is, when you pick a church, each church has it's own traditions, dress, attitudes, approaches, etc.  Even within denominations.  But again, despite the differences, the intent is to be educated and go out into the world. 

Sometimes I think we get too wrapped up with our differences that we neglect to see what really matters.  In the case of the Iron Bowl, do you watch because you hate the other team and want them to be humiliated (guilty in the past) or to watch a great game between storied rivals with respect?

At first I wanted to say Jesus would root for neither.  But I think he would root for both.  Kind of like if you're a parent with kids playing each other.  You want them both to try.  Someone's going to win and someone will lose.  Just don't throw in any cheap shots.

Brilliant Church (Leaving Atlanta pt.2)

(read part 1 first)

As I spent more time involved in this church, a community which I had both actively and unconsciously avoided, I slowly began to see little bits of brilliance unfurl.

The first was my own transformation… well, perhaps that is a strong word, but definitely a change.  I had decided to own up to change, to step forward & activate this part of my life.  This can be seen in the letter of intent.  I became involved in investing back to others who were also new and volunteering for leadership opportunities.  Before I knew it, I had basically become one of those who I had previously scoffed at. 

The second and most dramatic change was the friendships that were forged; one in particular was with a pretty girl from Louisiana who would eventually become my wife.  That is a whole other story :)

But perhaps the most prolific impact the church experience has had on my faith did not directly have anything to do with me at all.  Since being involved in a church became important to me, I began to notice all of the amazing things happening amongst my peers.  Many of my examples are related to North Atlanta, but several also refer to others in other churches with other names and other Christian denominations. 

Such as…

So many people my age deciding to give up the American life and move somewhere else.  Happily, there are so many I won’t be able to remember them all.  A friend of mine (name excluded due to censorship concerns) is relocating his new family to the China / N. Korea border.  Katie J moved to Bolivia to be a teacher.  Chris & Sarah and their daughter live in Kenya and help run an orphanage & minister to the kids there. 

Jana moved to Beijing and it’s her daily objective simply to strike up conversations with the numerous locals about faith.  Apparently so many people there yearn for answers, but there are so few resources to show them the way.  Jana is now one of them.

Keller’s aunt & uncle Mark & Jamie Klee moved to Swaziland in Africa with their 3 kids.  Sold the nice house in Alpharetta and said adios.  Now, they run a cabinet shop, assist on a commercial farm, run a home for abandoned or orphaned babies, and are working on launching a local-made jewelry business.  Apparently they are about to run into a labor shortage from the local community and will be searching for additional help, in a country with one of the world’s highest unemployment rates.

This isn’t one of those guilty “sell all and move to Africa” type of missives (no offense Klees.)  For every crazy international story I’ve heard, I could tell a local one.  Live your life wherever you want, as long as it’s dedicated to God. 

I was touched during my years in Atlanta how many incredible people I met.  At one time or another I interacted personally with all of these people in Atlanta, whether it was at church, small group, a meal, or even playing kickball.  But Christians (and those listed above) will attribute all of the life changing stories to God.  All of the amazing accomplishments and lives touched by these people represent God interacting with our lives.  This is what Christians believe... this is one way to show love... this is one way show God.  

Whats the point of all of this writing.  The point is, I had gone from one extreme to the other.  A skeptic to a believer. 

Church wasn’t for me. actually… I belong here.

I’m not like them.  actually… I’m the same.

I’m too sophisticated/smart/cool.  actually… So are they. Maybe even smarter.

I can go my own way and be fine.  actually… I don’t want to do that anymore.  I want to be a part of a community because they are the ones actually going somewhere.

That’s my story.  We will miss Atlanta, but this city provided us with the push we needed - and the examples to follow.  Thank you.

Why I Went to Church (Leaving Atlanta pt.1)

When I moved to Atlanta I had to finally act on something that I had been putting off for a while.  I wanted to get back in to going to church regularly.  I had no personal friends or any frames of reference at the time of where to go.  So, naturally I went to Google.  The largest one that appeared to have people my age (20's, single) was North Atlanta Church of Christ.

In retrospect I don't know what my goals were.  For several weeks I went and sat in the balcony, enjoying the atmosphere.  I'd show up a little late so I could avoid talking to people, but then I found out that it became difficult to find a seat without climbing over people, so I started coming a little earlier.  (Apparently most people at NACC show up about 5 minutes after the start time; 5 minutes before it's half empty, 5 minutes after it's completely full.)  I felt pretty self-satisfied about the experience overall.  I had a routine where I could slide in and out with minimal interactions.  Afterwards I'd treat myself to a solo Sunday lunch and go home in good spirits.
 

That could only last for a matter of time though.  After a couple of months I started feeling comfortable and began to wonder about the other people there, especially my age.  I wasn't outgoing.  I was not a "church person."  I had little interest in walking up to a group of people and announcing that I was the new kid in town, like some people can do.  I had fooled my employer into thinking I was that kind of "Type A" personality so I could get a sales job in the big city, but I wasn't ready to put myself out there socially. 

I needed a push.  A sunday service passed and I decided on the spot I wasn't going to go out on a limb and look for people.  Apparently someone noticed.  I was sitting in my ultra-secure, secret balcony spot.  I'd been attending for about 2 months.  A single lady in her 50's sat next to me and took it upon herself to speak to me.  She told me that there was a large singles group at the church, pointed out where they sat, and gave me the room number of the class they met in after the service.  

Now I really didn't have an excuse.  But, if I didn't have that little push I probably would have continued to made excuses that would have delayed or stopped me from continuing down my path.  So, I'm thankful for her, whoever she was.  Ha. An angel? 

So, the next Sunday, I took the leap and waltzed into this singles class at the church.  It was awkward, but only because I didn't know anyone.  Before the class starts everyone kind of mills around, gets coffee, and has conversations.  A dude noticed I was just kind of standing around and spoke to me.  I told him I was new and he was nice enough to talk to me for a while.  I made a contact.  The next few weeks I would show back up, slowly getting to know others.  Eventually, I was invited to a small group that met Sunday nights and really became more than just a "visitor."  

As I began to get to know the people that were a part of this Young Adults group (as it is called) I started to realize I held some heavy pre-conceived notions and prejudices.  I had convinced myself that I would never really fit in at a church.  I assumed that the people who went were some other kind of breed of people who were different.  As in, maybe they somehow experienced some kind of sheltered, not-practical, not-normal life.  Like "they" were going to be too bland, boring, or simple, or some other adjective that I thought was not going mesh well with me.  As if I was so much more cultured, suave, exciting.  

It's funny that the popular saying is that people who go to church "think they are better than everyone else."  In my case it was the exact opposite.  I'm pretty sure I thought "I am better than them."

So wrong.  Once I began to get over that though, I finally started seeing things change.  
read part 2

Eschatological Crisis

Well I'm having an eschatological crisis.  Rather than an existential one.

All of the talk about Duck Dynasty has once again opened the never-healing gash caused by the rift between the world and Christians.  My eschatological crisis is not directly related to the recent uproars of this Duck escapade.  So rather than the exact cause, it's just a symptom.

The cause of my internal bewilderment is really the whole end-times stuff.  I was going about my usual business last week and the middle of my day, in the middle of an activity, I just stopped.  It was one of those self-aware moments.  So profound was the impression that I felt, that I had to pause.
I began to think:
  "Something isn't right."
  "This world is real... But temporary."
  "Something is just off."

I have to believe that others experience these impressions as well. It's really rare, for me at least.  Our lives are filled with so very many distractions, and even most people in the world would agree that most of our daily concerns aren't very meaningful.  But occasionally, even if I'm busy, sleep-deprived, anxious, or whatever, there appears a sharp pang of clarity.   "I don't belong here."

Of course, not in the sense that I feel not included or left out, but in the sense that I don't want to belong here.  Something innately tugs me to what is truly meaningful.  Something drifts me towards the truth.

Diagnose or explain away as you will.  Is it fabrication or imagination?  Is it the same vibes a psychic gets when "reading the tea leaves."  Is  it just human philosphy?  Is it my ego trying to manufacture supernatural experiences so I can justify my beliefs?

I reject those notions.  But who am I instruct or guide on those uncanny premonitions that appear so scarcely.  I walk by faith, it's my guide.  I agree with what Paul wrote in Romans 1; God makes himself known and left his evidence on our hearts, tangible or intangible.  As seen here:

¹⁸ The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹ since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

What differentiates this particular "crisis" from an existential one is that it's all tied to eschatological concepts.  In other words, it gives me something concrete to tie in all of these strange, odd feelings.  Rather than asking the existential questions with open-ended & unanswerable thoughts, I rely on the information I have to answer them.

When I have these feelings, I'm reminded of these passages.
  "This world is real... But temporary." Paul says in Romans 8:

¹⁸ I believe that the present suffering is nothing compared to the coming glory that is going to be revealed to us. ¹⁹ The whole creation waits breathless with anticipation for the revelation of God’s sons and daughters. ²⁰ Creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice—it was the choice of the one who subjected it—but in the hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be set free from slavery to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of God’s children. ²² We know that the whole creation is groaning together and suffering labor pains up until now. ²³ And it’s not only the creation. We ourselves who have the Spirit as the first crop of the harvest also groan inside as we wait to be adopted and for our bodies to be set free.

  "Something is just off."  From John 18:

³⁶ Jesus replied, “My kingdom doesn’t originate from this world. If it did, my guards would fight so that I wouldn’t have been arrested by the Jewish leaders. My kingdom isn’t from here.”
³⁷ “So you are a king?” Pilate said.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. I was born and came into the world for this reason: to testify to the truth. Whoever accepts the truth listens to my voice.”
³⁸ “What is truth?” Pilate asked.

"I don't belong here."  From John 15:

18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

I'm tied to the fact we have an answer to these questions. I read Revelation recently, oops. I left with a boatload of questions. I understand we can't answer every question. I have to remember to "lean not on your own understanding."  Additionally, "no one knows when the time will come."

We can't answer every one, but we are left with a sense of awe and wonder at what truly is to come. Only then will the crisis be resolved.  Of course, it's not a "crisis" as far as world definitions go, I'm not about to go all Harold Camping... or do anything extreme. But it's a calm but pressing sense of urgency to - quite frankly - reject the world and seek the truth.

Romans 8:
²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Honduras trip

A question I've often received is "have you been on a mission trip?"  Well, yes and no, but definitely not one outside of the country.  When I married Keller I knew she and her family had a long history of being involved with a Honduras mission trip.  The trip was arranged by several different churches in Baton Rouge, Kansas City, and Hiram (Atlanta.)  The church in Hiram is known as West Metro church of Christ. [note: I can't remember if you are supposed to capitalize the church "C".  Regardless...]

We signed up with West Metro and the group totaled about 40 altogether.  Among others, we were joined with Keller's parents and two of her younger sisters, Carltron and Sossana.  Now, only a small inner sliver of me questioned using multiple vacation days to spend with my beloved in-laws - really, only a tiny amount.  But overall I was really looking forward to the trip.  :)

The morning we left our house at 4:30 AM, I was greeted by a maimed, half-full rear tire on the Tahoe.  It turns out that the convenience stores on Roswell Rd aren't open by then, but thankfully Starbucks was (Keller.)  After driving halfway to Hiram I finally filled it up enough to ease into the parking lot, knowing I'd be changing a flat upon our re-entry...

The flight and all went smoothly and soon enough we were in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.  The airport was crowded, but nice, and besides local Honduran travelers, other American missionaries were easily spotted.  We boarded an old school Bluebird school bus and began the trek to Sambo Creek, which was halfway to our destination Trujillo.  I was fascinated by the landscape, having never been to Central America, nor a spanish-speaking country.  There are a lot of mountains there, tall and jagged, covered in vegetation.  Palms grow all the way into the clouds.  Some palms near the road grew about 16' tall with massive fronds that fanned out at least 20'.  No wonder they are used for roofs.

Besides that, there's banana, mango, and coconut trees literally everywhere.  Tropical snacks only a reach away.   When the bus stops at a gas station, local vendors crowd around hoping to sell some snacks.

We stopped after a 3 hour bus ride at Sambo Creek, which I'm guessing is probably a long forgotten coastal ex-pat vacation area.  As we basically followed the northern coast of Honduras, we were near the Caribbean the whole time, and this night we stayed right on the water.  We arrived in time for the afternoon cattle drive on the beach...

 The sand was nice and soft, the water was an opaque tannish color, not exactly the best for swimming.  That night I enjoyed my first eyes-closed mouth-closed shower, the first of many to come.  In the morning we hit the road again, another 3 hour trip to Trujillo.  Along the way a common sight below: Everywhere, skeletons of houses.  Mostly just the concrete block wall, unfinished and no roof.  I don't know if people start to build them and then run out of money (just like in the States) or if builders just build them hoping to eventually sell them.  

 Eventually we wind our way to beautiful Trujillo.  Trujillo is on the northern coast of Honduras and you can see some of the outer islands from the coast there.  Roatan is not far away and is visible - Roatan is a popular diver's destination.  Trujillo is covered in bananas, plantains, coconuts, and mango trees.  Being a smaller city, however, it does not shake the "third world" image much though.  Some nicer and modern houses do exist but most houses seemed to be very basic.  As we stayed there several days it seemed like the typical lifestyle was to have the mother at home with several children, and the father working, if work was to be found.  Keller was struck by the difference in lifestyle that a 3 hour plane trip makes.  In the US she has a career and a lot of autonomy over what she does with her life, but in Honduras the typical mother is truly under the employ of the household all day every day.  Cooking, cleaning, laundry, and (multiple) child rearing was a full time and unpaid job.
   The days were hot, hot, hot...  Below is a view of of the road our hotel was on with the sea in the background.

 From what I could gather we went down with several initiatives to accomplish.  They were mainly focused on work and repairs needed in the community and local churches.  West Metro supports a Christian school in Trujillo and in Honduras, things break down and go missing with much frequency.  Our group painted, fixed things, and repaired various electrical problems around the school.  I worked on the carpentry team a few doors and helped build a bano door (bathroom.)  On the days I wasn't at the school, I helped on the house project.  About 30 minutes outside of Trujillo in the countryside there was a local church family whose home was in disrepair and needed a new place to live.  Our team took on the ambitious project to build them a house.  Mr. Hill (father-in-law) may have worked his way into the Catholic book of saints by spending every work day out on the house site.  Little shade, hot days, limited water, and legitimate hard work was done everyday at that site.  I volunteered to go out there the second day.  Here's a picture of Keller and I setting some blocks.  The hat was a lifesaver. 

One of the boys decided to "ride" this neighborhood dog.  Ears for steering.

Below, Keller and I mortaring the blocks using some precarious Honduran scaffolding.

Keller finally getting a chance to hold Joseph, who for days before had been terrified of the visiting Gringos.  On a seperate occassion I was walking with a group to work at the school and a 3 year old on a porch shouts out, "Hola, gringos!!"

At about the midpoint of the trip, Montezuma issued his assault on my digestive system and I was incapacitated for a short amount of time, but due to an abundant supply of medicine thankfully it was not too bad.  Had I been at the country jobsite, it would have been a VERY trying experience, but perhaps providentially we were at the hotel.  Unfortunately I got hit at the same time with a strange 2 day head cold / virus that about half of our team got while we were there.  So that morning was not my favorite, but again thankfully I spent it in bed and was able to recuperate sufficiently.

There are more pictures that I may sort and post eventually but as that could take weeks I figured I would go ahead and finish the trip synopsis so those that were wondering about our trip can read before they lose interest :)

As expected Honduras did leave several impressions on me.  I had never been to a third world country, and I don't know if Hondurans would take offense to that title, but at least from my understanding it is what it is.  But that doesn't imply that the country or it's residents are any "less" than we are.  The spirit of the people we met, or even strangers we just passed by in a store, was very strong and congenial.  I did not have any interactions that were unpleasant, in fact most were actually refreshing and enjoyable, despite the language barrier.  The people there were very appreciative and authentic and pitched in wherever they could.

Another Honduran element I picked up on was their sense of neighborhood.  With the lack of alienating technology it seems that relationships were "richer" there than what we were used to.  What I mean is here we travel alone in cars to work, work on computers, scroll our phones when bored, watch TV at home.  But because those things aren't as abundant in Honduras, the people rely on each other for quality of life.  Or, at least this is what I thought I observed - I'd leave it up to them to describe themselves.  But in any event, community was much more involved - for better or for worse.

A result of that was while we were there an old fashioned "door-knocking" was taking place with the local ministers.  Every night we would hear them tell us about the minister's success in reaching out to the community simply by going door to door.  Success in the sense that these people studied the Bible together and chose to believe.  Now, in our culture those methods might be perceived as obsolete or unsafe, or not effective any more.  But due to the Honduran communal culture, it seems to be very effective.

We actually got to witness some in action.  While building the home out in the countryside, one the of ministers came to the house where we were working.  One of the boys living there, Luis, had been assisting us in the difficult tasks of mixing concrete and filling mortar joints.  Luis and all of the boys and men in the household were all very helpful.  Anyways Luis studied with the minister, Santiago, and chose to be baptized that day.  Mr. Hill and Mrs. Hill (or Mama Hill as I am to call her) were out there that day and Mama Hill got to go down to the river where they witnessed the baptism.  I'm reminded of the scene from O Brother Where Art Thou!  Unfortunately that was the day I was in bed.

The most impactful information was learning that our group may have helped to influence his decision, if anything by just example.  That is a very convicting feeling, more important than how many doors we fixed or walls we painted.  And, it's one I don't think I've felt before.  On the last work day we showed up to find Santiago there again, underneath the thatched roof and on a dirt floor, with an open bible and talking to Luis' wife.  That day we finished the house and as we were hand-torquing the roof tin into the trusses a cloud came and gave us shade the last hour of the day.  We got to use our hands and wrenches because the power drill ran out of battery and we weren't near an electrical source.

There are more memories: drinking every possible tropical soft drink - coconut, banana, etc., eating plantains, spotting iguanas, watching the ocean, trying to teach kids how to bowl tennis balls into a stack of aforementioned soft drink bottles, and spending time with family and friends.  Perhaps paramount to those is how I can begin to see how you can begin to form relationships with the Honduran people despite sharing maybe 10-15 words of spoken language.  And for me personally it was part of my own mission to understand and experience the global purpose of Christianity.

Lastly, only one selfish benefit to the trip; I was looking forward to pestering our minister who came with us on the trip, Ricky from West Metro, with every possible theological and church history related question I could think of.  So thanks Ricky for being a good sport and hearing me out!!! And of course, another great benefit was getting to spend time with my new family, Mr. and "Mama" Hill and Carlo and Suz.

Last note: upon our return a church member had noticed my flat.  They own a tire shop and removed my tire, fixed the flat, and put it back on the truck.  I was so surprised. 

Chronocentricity

Great title, I know. 

Barring the discovery of some ancient advanced civilization, today in 2013 we most certainly enjoy the status of being the most technologically advanced generation the Earth has known.  That certainly must be a fact. Now, a Revolution-style catastrophe could occur, stifling electricity and throwing us backwards a couple of hundred years.  Or, the global nuclear wars feared in the 1960's could still happen and destroy our technological achievements, again throwing us back several hundred years.  However, that hasn't happened and is fairly unlikely to occur.  So, we should feel pretty confident that our future generations will still be in the vanguard of human achievement.  

It's pretty reasonable then to assume that our generation has something that is slightly better than previous generations.  There has to be some truth to that.  If I contracted strep throat, I'm going to choose a 2013 doctor over a Middle Ages barber-surgeon. If I needed to send a message to a relative in Africa, I'm going to send an immediate email rather than arrange a 1900's steamboat and an ensuing safari team to have someone reach them.  If I have some current need for toothpaste, milk, and a new knife, I can go to Target today, rather than an apothecary, a farm, and a blacksmith in Ancient Rome.  A strange list, I know.

You can't deny how the modern era has made us a more efficient, healthy, and safe people.  But does the benefit of being born into this particular era enable us to assume we're also intellectually superior to previous generations? 

In school we do get the opportunity to learn the fruits of years' worth of work left behind to us by the likes of Einstein, Curie, Pasteur, etc.;  we can sit in science class and memorize (and immediately forget) these scientist's formulas in just a handful of classes.  Although we get to use their lifelong scientific conclusions for our immediate benefit, the average student isn't automatically considered a genius just because they got a 92 on a physics test. 

I think it's even more so in the fields of philosophy, and more importantly, theology.  Granted I am probably guilty of this myself at some point, but how can anyone today begin to assume that just because we are living in this modern age, that we can summarily dismiss the past as obsolete and worthless?  

Here's what I'm getting at - a common objection to Christianity and the Bible is simply, it's old.  Antiquated, and uninformed.  It's a product of an age where it did apply but "we've moved on."  Surely we do not need to accept the attitudes expressed in this book because it was written thousands of years ago by ignorant and unenlightened brains. 

Ah, I'm glad you said that. 

Such is the opinion of the "Chronocentric."  I was surprised but someone wrote a wikipedia article about it as well which is accurate enough for me.  Read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronocentrism

Chronocentrism is just as much a mistake as ethnocentrism.  Ethnocentrism, if you can recall again from school days, is an unmerited belief that your culture is superior to others.  For a quick and crude example, "Americans are better than any other nation.  Our lives are just better."  Ethnocentrism and racism can also be closely related.  And they are both inherently and absolutely wrong.  So is Chronocentrism - assuming that ourselves in our current time are more enlightened and smarter than previous generations.  This is simply not true. 

Think about the classic writers of the Enlightenment, the Declaration of Independence and early democratic ideals, philosophic works over the ages (Plato, Socrates, Kierkegaard, etc), novels, plays, music, ancient evocative poetry like the Odyssey?  (This list is embarrassingly brief, but you get the point.)

If you were to be transported to a room with one of these people and magically spoke the same language, what would you even talk about besides the weather?  A status update you made yesterday?  How stupid traffic is in Atlanta?

The writers of the Bible are no less significant than their secular historical counterparts listed above.  The mystical and mysterious nature of the poetry of Genesis is straightforward enough to serve as a history for an ethnic group (and everyone), but on the other hand is so full of enigma and questions that we'll never understand the answers in this life.  Proverbs contains timeless, though ancient wisdom.  John is a gospel, but reads more like a captivating novel.  And Paul in Romans and his other letters uses intricate and emotional language to dramatically and desperately convey his urgent message.  And it was all written hundreds of thousands of years ago.  

The argument that the Bible was written so long ago by ancients does not diminish or alter their message.  We must treat them as peers and their writings as legitimate, because humans are equals, despite race, culture, and even time.  

Caveat 1 - Obviously there were schools of thought that were antiquated (I'm thinking scientific ones mostly) like the sun rotating around the earth, the heavens are in the clouds, etc.  Also, things like human sacrifice in order for a good harvest, etc.  Obviously, people in the past are like us; they were misguided and made mistakes.  For the purposes of this post, I'm primarily referring to intangible truths gleaned from the Bible, i.e. the theology behind it. 

     Some parts of the bible are time-bound and culturally specific and should be interpreted as such.

Caveat 2 - Just because you respect the literature as being legitimate doesn't mean you have to agree with it.  Obviously I've written under my conviction the Bible is truth, but in reading this you may not have that conviction, which for the purposes of this article is not required.  The purpose is just to make sure we are aware and not thinking "chronocentrically," intentionally or not.  On the flipside, I need to respect the Quran or Bhagavad Gita as written by capable authors, though I don't agree with those particular movements. 

Note - I was listening to a song on the radio the other day, I think it was some kind of marriage equality song which one of the verses mentioned that the opponents of the marriage equality were using the Bible as their basis, and it was "written three thousand years ago" or something to that effect.  Thus the inspiration for this post.

Thoughts on "Renewing God's People: A Concise History of the Churches of Christ"

When I was a boy I went to church every Sunday.  Church in the morning, Sunday school, and then back again at night at 6 P.M. (or 5 P.M. in the winter, for some reason.)  Furthermore, we also attended church every Wednesday night.  To me, this was the pattern of life; it was normal, assumed - it simply was what it was.  Being young I guess I also assumed everyone else did the same thing, but I knew that not everyone went to the same church since I never knew what churches my school friends went to.  Eventually it became apparent to me that some people went to church much less regularly; in fact some didn't go to church at all!

   Whenever church became a topic of conversation between my peers and I, I'd tell them where I went to church, which was a "Church of Christ."  [I still don't know if you're supposed to capitalize the first "C".]  Amazingly enough, even amongst kids, I was usually greeting with something like, "Oh you're the ones who think you're better than the rest of us, and we're 'going to hell' right?"  Occasionally parents would also express this perception of my church.

  Ah, wonderful.

  Those attitudes came from some rather zealous church members whose knowledge of the CofC could basically be summed up in one sentence, "The Churches of Christ are modeled after the exact church of Acts - the one Jesus truly intended."  Nevermind history... or the Pope and all them others... or the rest of the world, we're the real church.  Which, you would have to admit, implies some pretty exclusive teachings.  Despite being raised around these kinds of attitudes, I didn't really identify with them.  And to the churches' credit, when we met, I don't really recall very many, if any, "hellfire and brimstone" type sermons.  So, what was this church in which I was raised, and still attend?

  A church elder recommended that I read Renewing God's People: A Concise History of the Churches of Christ. A short book, a quick read, can probably be finished in 2 or 3 good sessions.  The book, or others like it, is an absolute read for anyone who has been raised in the Church of Christ.  Especially folks from the South or from smaller congregations.  I love how the header for chapter 1 is a bit of a sarcastic (even Pauline?) jab at our own church - entitled, "Do we have a history?"

  The book starts where most would start - with the historical record of Acts.  But instead of going from 40 A.D. to 2013 in one sentence, we slowly weave through history, as we should.  I read one criticism of the book on Amazon before buying, and it was because the history of the church from the Apostles to the Reformation (1500's) was very brief.  I have a desire to learn more about the church then too, but admittedly it really that epoch does have little to contribute to the overall intention of the book.

  The reformers are highlighted, especially the fact that their theologies are very congruent with those of my own church.  Luther's sola scriptura is accounted for of course, and also the fact that he was adamant about translating the bible into local languages, allowing for personal study and understanding to be available rather than listening to a priest speak in Latin.  Fast forward to the new-found religious freedom of early America (which I had taken for granted) with our various denominations and groups free to practice in the absence of a state religion.  However, there were some, provoked even more than the Reformers to return to a purer form of Christianity, and to unite all of the denominations.  Two prominent ones were Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell.

  The most important parts of the books are understanding the Stone-Campbell movement, why it happened, and to learn about what the founders did to compromise on their convictions in order to lead a new church congregation.  Basically, they both had their own church "history."  Both were fed up with structure, titles, rites, creeds, etc.  They just wanted to be "Christian."  Both amassed congregations that eventually merged despite huge doctrinal differences. 

   Stone and Campbell were the leaders of the groups but expected no honor or status for it.  They were both for adult baptism, but disagreed on whether or not it should crucial for acceptance into the church (Thanks to my wife for reminding me!)  One wanted Communion to happen every week, the other celebrated it only occasionally.  Stone did not have today's traditional view of the equal Trinity.  Campbell thought noisy, emotional revivals were uncouth and preferred a rational, civilized conversation.  Similarly, they both had their own worship styles - Stone's charismatic and Campbell's subdued & European-influenced.  They also couldn't agree what name to put out on the sign in front of the church.  But regardless, they merged and with the help of some incredible evangelists such as Walter Scott, had explosive growth.

  The church that began as a unity movement later became called the Stone-Campbell movement, or the Restorationist movement (which also encompasses a few other traditions now.)  But, as we know, problems would later arise.  The civil war would split the country, and racism, especially in the south became rampant.  There were "Black" CofC's and "White" CofC's, which still exist to this day in the south.*  Issues like supporting missionary societies or instrumental music in church popped up, and since scripture doesn't address those directly, the churches didn't know what to do.  The silence of scripture became a vitriolic battle cry for people who determined that silence meant prohibiting.  More churches in this unity movement began to break away.  Eventually, those churches that came out on the same or similar sides of these debates were called the Churches of Christ and 2/3rd's of those were based in the South.

  The best chapter in this book is actually the last, which is kind of a "where do we go from here" type chapter.  The authors of the book take a long look at our history and what we have gone through - which I would surmise today's church members have very limited knowledge of.  I'm going to give away a bit of these revelations, so if you haven't read the book and plan to, you may want to skip this paragraph.  Sadly, some of us in the CofC tradition are legalistic, blind to the obvious pitfalls of the Pharisees in the very own Bible which we cling to so strongly.  We take the silence of scripture and use it against things that might be neutral (at worst) to the church.  We've had a history of "we're right and you're wrong"when talking to those outside of our congregations.  We need to end that.  A sample, --> 

“[We] should be open to what Christians with other names/practices can teach us.  [Our movement should] co-operate with other Christians any way we can.  If we can’t worship with them because of conscientious differences, we can serve others with them.  Meet for food and fellowship.  Break down the barriers of us vs them.  We can be reconciled and reconciling.”

   When I think about my youth and not knowing how to respond to the reactions of those who did not go to my church... eventually I learned how to smile and disarm those incendiary accusations, basically using common sense as my guide.  But reading this book and understanding my church certainly can help me understand myself even better.  I'll always have a soft spot for this church since it's been such an important part of my life.  How important it is to know though that my predecessors weren't perfect and had their own differing opinions.  It's almost imperative to hear the full story, as the authors say, "Warts and all."

  In conclusion, the Churches of Christ, despite being relatively new on the religious scene, have their fair share of history behind them.  The CsofC wield a powerful, double-edged sword.  The church is unencumbered with bureaucracy, overarching government, and official creeds and documents.  The sole guide is the Bible.  The church is, in theory, autonomous and flexible to provide for the local congregation.  But, this puts a lot of responsibility in the hands and messages of the local church leaders to properly represent Christ without "official" and sanctioned leadership from a headquarters somewhere. 

  Check the book out!