Category Archives: learning

Now and Later

Posted on by
Reply

We live in a tension. We’re supposed to I think. I think health comes when we live in a constant tension between the now and the later. No, I’m not talking about those candies that are way too hard to even eat. I’m talking about the fact that we are often in a position of balancing what we’re doing right this very moment: school, current job, looking for a job, getting married, having children, depressed…fill in your own blank…with what we’re looking toward on the horizon: starting a business, moving cross country, running a marathon, getting in shape, retiring…fill in your own blank…

Right now I find myself in the very center of this tension. I’m looking ahead toward planting a neighborhood church in downtown Vancouver in 2011, but I’m currently passionately committed to my work with Renovatus church. Now…later. East Vancouver…downtown Vancouver. Suburbia…neighborhood. I’m doing my best to value the tension and to find value in the tension.

Jesus preached that tension didn’t he? When he spoke about the kingdom he would say things like the kingdom of heaven can be seen in someone who gives his money to the poor while in the same breath saying that the kingdom of heaven is something that you’ll one day experience when your time on earth is done. He spoke very clearly about joining the kingdom today while at the same time saying that the kingdom will be experienced later. Now and not yet. Now and later. Tension. Jesus would say that the kingdom is at hand, which is translated usually as “near” or “here”. In other words, now and not now.

Some people are stuck in the now. All they can see is their current struggle, their current excitement, their current hill. Your job is your life. Your current struggle is all consuming, everything. You can’t see past today.

Others are stuck in the future. This is where Jess and I tend to land. You’re always looking toward the next big hurdle, the next hill to conquer. Your job right now is an afterthought to the job that you’ll one day have. Your kids are just babies, but once they’re toddlers they’ll be a lot fun. You tend to devalue today because you’re always looking toward tomorrow.

Neither is completely healthy. Health comes when balancing the tension between now and later. Proverbs warns against worrying about tomorrow because tomorrow has enough trouble of its own: all we have is today, so we’ve got to find the joy in it. But Jeremiah speaks of God knowing the plans he has for you, plans for great things: God’s taking you somewhere, somewhere beyond today.

Tension.

And that’s why life is all about Now and Laters.

Grappling with the Ordered Death of Men, Women, and Children

Posted on by
12

Have you read the Old Testament before? You should. It’s weird. It’s disturbing. It’s confusing. It’s generally a good read.
I’ve got to be honest, though, as a minister, a college graduate, and avid reader, I’ve got little understanding as to how to contextualize the Old Testament.
One thing is for certain, it makes me angry when people over simplify it. When they take horrific stories of the commanded death of women and children, stoning of people for seemingly insignificant things, and lack of justice concerning the plight of certain people groups and try to justify it with a Sunday school answer it makes me frustrated. That answer works at church, but if you claimed that God commanded you to kill all the men, women, children, and animals of Kazakhstan I don’t think I’d be speaking of God’s grace or mercy (no matter how true it is). It’s not that simple.
I’m grappling with my understanding and explanation (for lack of a better term). Have you thought through this? Have you grappled with this? Have you questioned Christians concerning this?
I won’t give my thought out response here because I’m not sure I can. I will say, however, that I love Jesus. And I believe that in Jesus we see the most clear and understandable picture of God’s identity. This brings me great peace…and a little more convolution.

Shane

Posted on by
1

Last week a couple of people from my home community went with me to hear Shane Claiborne speak last week at Mosaic Church. They were unfamiliar with Shane, the Simple Way community, or much of the dialogue concerning intentional community and ordinary radical living. When we showed up to a packed out church we found quite a few friends there too (Jason, Ron and Lori, and Xolani).

As a side note, you’ve got to check out Shane’s rules about speaking at events. They’re very intentional, funny, and simple. I love it.

It was so refreshing to hear Shane remind us of things that Jessica and I have already wanted to be true of us but had grown fuzzy on. Hearing him talk only a few weeks removed from Kairos Strategy Lab where we spent time prayerfully putting a dream for a church on paper was excellent timing as well because much of what he said reiterated qualities we desired to be true of our church.

He spoke about the importance of the church, that the church was God’s creation not ours. It is through the church that God desires to communicate his love to the world. At the same time he compared the church to the ark from the story of Noah. It’s filled with crap but if you step outside of it you’re going to stink. He quoted another author and speaker (st. Augustine) saying “The church is a whore, but she’s my mother”. It may not be perfect but it’s Gods!

Shane reminded us that we’ve spent so much time trying to tell people about Jesus that it’s time we stopped using words. People are tired of us using words to tell them why they need Jesus and it’s about time that we stopped using words and started using our actions. Let’s show people that we love Jesus and that Jesus loves them huh?!

One courageous audience member came up to the microphone and said that that he and his wife read Shanes book a year ago and decided to move into lower income housing and to begin living in community with those in their neighborhood. That was a year ago. And then he said, “but it hasn’t happened. I guess what I’m trying to ask you is…umm…how do I become friends with my neighbor?” It was great and poignant and a perfect question! Shanes friend Chris answered the question. He talked about taking hot chocolate to some people on the corner waiting to buy some drugs. He talked about doing small things. About prayer. But mostly he said (and I love this) work on your marriage! Your marriage is your best tool for showing your neighbors Jesus. He said it doesn’t matter if you live in a ghetto or in suburbia, you’ve got to work on your marriage first.

There was so much more I could say. As Brandon (one of the friends who came with me) said, “I wish I could just listen for five minuets and then have a day to think about it.” There was all Shanes usual stuff about using your imagination, about being a radical, about redefining, about avoiding the dangers of Babylon, etc. You’ll have to read his books for that stuff.

Peace.