My last post dealt with a concept Franky Schaeffer in Sham Pearls for Real Swine talks about under the title, “Truth Versus Pietism”. The basic idea is that there are two traditions in the church that deal with how to view reality. The “Truth” tradition sees reality as an integrated whole, everything being under the Lordship of Christ. The “Pietism” tradition splits reality in two: spiritual and physical, sacred and secular. These two traditions affect how we think about God, ourselves and our purpose in life.

Pietism values the spiritual over the physical. It sees the spiritual as being more important and more worthy of our attention. The physical world is looked at with skepticism and as irrelevant to the things of God. Pietism sees the world passing away, like a sinking ship. Nothing of real importance happens here on earth, except the saving of souls. The real show begins in heaven.

This schizophrenic take on reality leads pietistic Christians to have an individualistic view of the gospel. Since heaven is where the party is, the main concern now is to get invited (“getting saved”) and to get as many poor souls invited as well. Once a person has received a valid invitation, it really doesn’t matter all that much what they do in the meantime. Of course, it is only right for them to try to get others invited to the party (“evangelism”) since they shouldn’t be selfish, and they must remain in good standing (“holiness”) in order to keep their invitation valid. The Host doesn’t want His guests to be of the unsavory type. It’s probably a good idea to find other guests to fellowship with (“go to church”) in order to help each other stay on the invitation list.

Christianity from a Truth perspective encourages a relational view of the gospel. Sin is seen as a violation of relationship and holiness as a commitment to Kingdom values. God’s work isn’t getting as many people into heaven as possible, but rather the establishment of a new kingdom of justice, kindness and love. Salvation is an on-going conversion to the Kingdom culture (i.e. The Sermon on the Mount), which can only be worked out in the context of relationships. The church is the purpose of God.

Later, I’d like to focus on how a Pietism paradigm affects our understanding of Christian maturity and how we engage the world around us.

One of my top ten books of all time is Franky Schaeffer’s, Sham Pearls for Real Swine. The title of the book is a phrase Winston Churchill coined in reference to the British public school he attended, but Schaeffer applies it to much of the teaching in the church concerning the arts. Once in a while you stumble upon a book that completely changes your paradigm, and this is one of them. My favorite chapter is entitled, “Truth Versus Pietism”. We have been studying its message for the last few Sundays.

The basic idea of the chapter is pretty simple. It compares two traditions of thought in the church, that is, two ways to think about and understand reality. A truth paradigm sees reality as an integrated whole, while a pietism paradigm divides reality into two realms, physical and spiritual (secular and sacred). We’re influenced in various degrees by these two traditions and they shape our Christian theology, practice and approach in the world. (His use of the word “pietism” is not referring to the historical Pietist movements of Jacob Spencer, August Hermann Francke or Count Zinzendorf, but refers to a way of thinking and feeling.)

These two paradigms dramatically affect how we live as Christians. Since a truth paradigm sees reality as an integrated whole, the aim of a Christian who embraces this tradition is to constantly seek to discover truth and align his life with reality. This kind of Christian is honest and teachable. He is hungry for the truth and therefore studies and learns whenever he can. He isn’t concerned about whether he looks spiritual or feels spiritual, he actually wants to be spiritual by being faithful to reality. He is willing to change his opinions and behavior when he discovers something to be true.

Christians caught up in a pietism paradigm, however, constantly look inward searching for correct motivation and right-thinking, spiritual feelings. They “regard life as a moralistic quest for spiritual experience.” Fundamentally, they see life divided into compartments, some spiritual and others not. This leads them to favor experiences and activities that provide “spiritual” feelings and appearances of spirituality over the arts, sciences, humanities and the “hard edges of reality”, including real people and problems. The pietistic Christian looks forward to heaven but creates a “sentimental plastic hell” on earth. The truth oriented Christian lives boldly, honestly and engages life fruitfully, knowing that “God is the Lord of all reality”.

Sham Pearls for Real Swine is not a new book, but it still has something to say to us today. I hope to explore some of the implications of it in my next few posts.

Note: The “Dummies” book is fake 🙂

Last week we were very excited when we read a paper by Richard B. Hays, Professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School. In Ecclesiology and Ethics In 1 Corinthians, Professor Hays shows that Paul’s exhortations and teachings in 1 Corinthians, and indeed in all of his letters, “should be read primarily as instruments of community formation.” In other words, Paul is not teaching a systematic course on Christian ethics directed to individual Christians. Rather, “his exhortations are aimed at defining and maintaining a corporate identity for his young churches, which are emphatically countercultural communities.”

Professor Hays goes on to say that Paul’s emphasis on community is not, “merely a matter of practical expediency, nor is it to be understood solely in terms of sociological models. Rather, Paul develops his account of the new community in Christ as a fundamental theological theme in his proclamation of the gospel. Indeed, the focus on community is a part of the gospel itself.”

Often, people will ask us, “What do you do?” or, “What kind of ministries do you have?” as if being God’s people is a kind of lesser vision. Professor Hays addresses this issue, “If we ask, ‘What is God doing in the world in the interval between resurrection and parousia?’ the answer must be given, for Paul, primarily in ecclesial terms: God is at work through the Spirit to create communities that prefigure and embody the reconciliation and healing of the world.”

Our mission is to be one of those communities. Living out the Gospel of the Kingdom means unreservedly committing to one another in mutual liability so that we are a “palpable [sign] of God’s reconciliation of the world.”

It is inaccurate to view Paul’s letters as ethical truths aimed at individuals. Quoting again from the paper, “Thus, to do ‘ethics’ apart from ecclesiology is utterly unthinkable for Paul. Ethics is ecclesiology. Ethics is simply the church’s imaginative outworking of its identity as the Israel of God.”

I feel blessed beyond measure when I think about the many communities that have helped us along the way. Each community has its own gift and flavor. Some are rural, others are urban or suburban. They all come from different denominational traditions. They all have unique viewpoints. But a common thread I’ve seen among them all is that they have men and women who passionately love Jesus.

We’ve had the privilege to visit and know many of these communities. Others we’ve only read about or read their literature. We have wonderful friendships with several of them. May God bless these saints who are seeking to live out the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.

Shepherdsfield (Fulton, MO) – Wonderful friends who have contributed to our lives immeasurably.

Countryside (Odessa, MO) – Dear brothers and sisters who are examples of generosity and humility.

Jesus Army (UK) – Zealous and devoted believers we’ve visited who inspire us with their energy and commitment to Christ.

Jesus People USA – (Chicago, IL) – Examples of true servanthood. We’ve had blessed conversation and fellowship with several members and have loved their message for many years.

National Christian Conference Center (Valley Forge, PA) – Friends who first taught us about being an intentional community. Their friendship and wisdom over the years has been a real gift to us.

Bethany Fellowship (Bloomington, MN) – An incredible community that has had worldwide impact through their college, missions, and publishing. Alec Brooks, a close friend of ours who comes out and teaches often in our community, is from Bethany and was its president for many years.

Reba Place Fellowship (Evanston, IL) – The granddaddy of Christian intentional communities. We have been helped theologically by Mennonite authors and Reba Place has been an example to us of putting this theology into practice.

Brazos de Dios (Elm Mott, Texas) – Our friends from Shepherdsfield have told us about Brazos and we appreciate their writings and what their community represents.

Little Portion Hermitage (Berryville AR) – We’ve always been inspired by the life and music of John Michael Talbot. We’ve heard a lot about Little Portion from our friends at Shephersfield.

There are many, many other intentional Christian communities. People are often surprised at how many there actually are. These intentional Christian communities are full of average, everyday Christians trying their best to live out the Gospel, and they have inspired us to do the same.

I mentioned in my last post that when Alec visits us we enjoy watching episodes of Monk. Monk has been the all the rage for a while in the community. It is a clever show. If you haven’t seen the series, the story centers around a disabled San Francisco detective who works as a subcontractor for the police department, solving interesting murder cases. He has obsessive-compulsive disorder which was exacerbated by the trauma of his wife’s murder. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder “most commonly characterized by a subject’s obsessive, distressing, intrusive thoughts and related compulsions.” It is often used in an “offhand manner to describe someone who is meticulous or absorbed in a cause.”

Perhaps, we enjoy Monk because we can identify, if not with the actual disorder, the tendencies and excesses of it. When I see Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life, I think that I should write a book entitled, simply, The Driven Life. Looking back at my life, I see that at times I’ve gone overboard, obsessing about often minor issues. Perhaps, it was from a desire for excellence or, more probably, a manifestation of some brokenness or sinfulness. Whatever the case, I am thankful that age and constant interaction with God’s people has mellowed me out.

This Thanksgiving I am thankful that my friends have been there for me, helping me to become the man God wants me to be. It is through their love and long-suffering that maturity has seen the light of day in my life. Now its time for me to head out back and clean the dining room in preparation for our special meal. I wonder why I get assigned these cleaning tasks?

This weekend we have visiting with us, Alec Brooks, our friend and mentor. Alec was president of Bethany Fellowship for a number of years and currently leads Charis International, a relief and development support ministry. We really enjoy when Alec comes, not just for his teachings, but the fellowship and evenings of ice cream and Monk.

At our Friday celebration Alec talked about necessity of community in a Christian’s life. We looked at material from Richard Hayes’ book, The Moral Vision of the New Testament. Hayes says there are three images that act as themes in the New Testament: Community, Cross, and New Creation.

Community – A concrete social manifestation of the people of God.

The ethical mandate of the New Testament can only be understood in the context of community. The New Testament is written to a community not to individuals.

Cross – Christian community has to be marked by cruciformity.

Cruciformity is self-giving, self-sacrificing, status renouncing love (Phil. 2).

New Creation – We are to live in light of hope of a new creation.

The whole redemption project is to restore what God intended in creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17 is better translated, “If any man be in Christ, there is a new creation.” We’ve tended to see things in individualistic terms. Our primary identity as Christians is to the family of God.

The message of the New Testament is that God is creating a new people who live under the Lordship of Jesus, loving one another in relationships that are vital and significant.

“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:17) As Christians we are concerned about our witness. We want our deeds to demonstrate to those around us the reality of God and His kingdom values. Recent news about the moral failing of a major evangelical leader has made me think that perhaps we sometimes confuse witness with reputation. Love of reputation is a snare. The desire to be a witness of God, however, is good. Even though our own mission statement talks about being a witness, I realize now that being a witness isn’t as important as actually living out the Gospel.

Being a witness doesn’t legitimize the Gospel, or ourselves for that matter. This is where a fine line between wanting to be a good witness and craving reputation exists. Early Christians were accused of many things, including being cannibals because they celebrated the Lord’s Supper. In the eyes of some, they weren’t being good witnesses (“Honey, don’t let the kids play with those Christians, they eat people.”). There are, of course, many positive accounts of Christian witness in history. The point is that how we look to others is often tainted by their own views and prejudices. Additionally, the mandates of the Gospel are often at odds with the values of the culture around us, and consequently, can be unattractive to unbelievers; giving up wealth to serve others, for example.

Saint Francis and his little band of followers, in choosing poverty, were seen by the upper class, from where many of them came, as ungrateful and dishonoring their families. To some of the poor, they were seen as drawing attention away from the plight of the real poor. Supposedly, John Wesley, while riding his horse one day, became alarmed as he realized that he hadn’t been persecuted for the Gospel for a while, which indicated to him that he was perhaps losing his zeal for God. He pulled over the side of the road and knelt down in a ditch to pray and repent for his spiritual condition. Apparently, his prayers were so fervent that a bystander on the other side of the ditch heard it, and becoming irritated by this holy roller, threw a stone at him. Wesley raised his voice in thanksgiving that all was well with his soul, as evidenced by this persecution.

Loving reputation, even in the name of wanting to be a good witness, will keep us from honestly confessing our sins and weaknesses. We’ll be worried that it will hurt our witness. I think it’s better to just commit ourselves to living out the Gospel, regardless of the consequences, and let the Holy Spirit take care of the witness.

“Life together” is both the title of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book and a phrase that describes the essence of community. Christian community is all about sharing a common life together under the lordship of Jesus. This common life together means sharing our victories, challenges, needs, and aspirations. But it also includes celebrating together. And that’s just what we do each Friday night.

On these nights we celebrate our new life together in a variety of ways. We play games, put on skits, watch videos, learn new skills, eat, laugh, and generally enjoy one another and the shared life we have. We begin with a common meal and go from there. It’s something different each time and the members are continually coming up with new ideas. Occasionally, we blog about our latest time together. Enjoy!

I started fighting back the sleep that comes on you in a hot afternoon after a busy morning and satisfying lunch. The monotonous roar of the van’s tires probably had something to do with it, also. But, truth be told, the main reason I was drifting off was that I was simply worn out from hours of listening to my colleague extol his successes. I was on a trip visiting this distinguished friend and he had been hosting me for a few days. On this day he had taken me to see one of the crown jewels of his achievements, a lovely conference facility in the woods. On the previous days I could tolerate the incessant boasting because I had just arrived and I sincerely enjoyed being with my friend…and I could get away if needed. But today I was locked in the church van and all I could do was smile and nod off.

I so wanted to enjoy our conversation and time together, sharing and comparing notes about our ministry and life’s struggles. I had envisioned a time of listening, sympathizing and advising each other. I looked forward to coming away from my visit encouraged and challenged. Instead, as I drifted off to the place where imagination runs wild, the sound of my friend’s run-on sentences morphed into a dramatic, destiny-laced voice telling me, “He is the ONE.” I groggily thought, “I’ve finally found him. I’ve found Neo.”

As the van struck a bump in the road, my head violently jerked around, shaking me out of my stupor. “Did I just hear him tell me that he’s the ONE?” Watching the dashboard come into focus, I noticed the endless stream of pomposity still filled the air. “No, I imagined that. He’s still droning on.” Surrendering to the enormous weight of my eyelids, I drifted off again. I saw myself and my friend standing in a completely white, featureless environment looking at each other. A deep rich voice coming from nowhere again urged, “He’s the ONE.” Staring at my friend and feeling a bit perturbed, I objected, “If He’s the ONE, then I’m not the ONE. I want to be the ONE!”

Suddenly, a handsome TV set appeared in front of an inviting overstuffed chair. I was compelled to sit in the chair and face the TV. A hand with a remote in it appeared in the corner of my eye, activating the screen. A series of scenes from my life flashed on the tube. In each of the scenes I saw myself or others speaking, all saying the same thing, “I am the ONE. I am the ONE. I am the ONE.” Looking over my shoulder into the whiteness I saw my friend coming towards me performing a series of Kung Fu moves. As he was just about to karate chop my head off, I snapped out of my dream. I awoke to complete silence. My friend was staring at me. At first, I was tempted to plead mercy and confess that he was the ONE, but then I realized that he had asked me a question. Feigning alertness, I asked him to repeat his question. It was about some minor point that really didn’t affect the direction of the conversation and I answered with pleasing brevity. The great long sentence resumed along with the soothing hum of the tires.

I was pretty awake now but my dream lingered. I started to reflect about how hard it is to enter into real communion with people. Insecurity, defensiveness and pride seem to be obstacles that sabotage really getting to know one another. It’s like everyone has got to be the ONE. I suppose that we feel if we’re not the ONE then we won’t be loved, and we’ll just be treated like a clown or a handicapped sub-person worthy of pity. We want to be taken seriously. We want to be treasured.

If we could only see that there is something fishy in our desperate need to be the ONE, we’d all be happier. Relationships can not flourish if we need to be better than one another. Love cherishes the other person not because of what they can do, but because of who they are. We needn’t be on a search to find the ONE or desperately try to be the ONE. We’re all the ONE. And if we can see that, we’ll all be one even as God is one. I turned to my friend, thinking about how wonderful he is, smiled and listened with new ears.

When my son announced he wanted to order the new Jars of Clay album I was really excited. I love their music. They are excellent artists and deeply committed to living out the Good News. When he told me what the title of the album was (Good Monsters), I was looking forward to it even more. I instantly recognized the thinking of someone who has come to terms with their fallenness.

Looking back over my Christian life, I’ve had several “head reduction” (i.e. humility) experiences. The greatest of these was in 1989, at the start of our community. Our community began through a revival. Several of us were working as missionaries, and through some friends we knew and books we were reading, God started to convict us of sin and passivity. During that time I was able to dedicate a three day period to seek God for renewal in my life. Taking a cue from Charles Finney’s Revival Lectures, I did an inventory of my life, listing every sin I had committed that I could think of. I organized the list according to age-specific periods of my life. I then began to explore the whys behind my sins and the effect of my sins on others. This took quite a while. My wife and friends provided the time and space so I could have an uninterrupted schedule. This experience was both disturbing and liberating, and has since served as the foundation of my life.

St. John of the Cross talks about “the dark night of the soul”. Whatever he meant by that phrase, I have come to associate it with this three-day retreat. Several insights struck me during that time. I remember reading the passage in the Gospels where Jesus describes the Scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites. I felt God suggesting to me that I was a hypocrite. At first I doubted it was God speaking, but then I remembered several occasions (it wasn’t hard after making my list) when I had selfish or ulterior motives in the ministry. I then turned to Acts 8:9-24, the story of Simon the Sorcerer. Simon wanted to use the ministry for his own reputation and ambition. I felt God pointing His finger at me. Since becoming a Christian, I have had a sincere desire to serve Jesus with my whole life. Career and comfort were sacrificed in order to serve Him in the ministry, but now He was telling me that not all was as pure and noble as I thought. The passage that really shook me up was verse 22, “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.” It was the “if possible” part that got me.

I distinctly remember during those three days confronting the idea of judgment. I never really had a revelation of hell or judgment before in my life. When I became a Christian as a teenager, I was so transformed by God’s love and forgiveness it never occurred to me how deserving of judgment I was. Well, that thought was pretty clear to me now. It was in this state of despair that I saw the cross as never before. I realized that if I was going to be saved, it was only going to happen if His grace and mercy touched me. There was absolutely nothing I could do to redeem myself. I can’t describe what this did for me. It cleansed and humbled me. It rekindled my love for the Bible and God’s people and His work on earth. I was now His son, His good monster.

Jean Vanier in Community and Growth tells us:

“Community is the place where our limitations, our fears and our egoism are revealed to us. We discover our poverty and our weaknesses, our inability to get on with some people, our mental and emotional blocks, our affective or sexual disturbances, our seemingly insatiable desires, our frustrations and jealousies, our hatred and our wish to destroy. While we are alone, we could believe we loved everyone. Now that we are with others, living with them all the time, we realize how incapable we are of loving…So community life brings a painful revelation of our limitations, weaknesses and darkness; the unexpected discovery of the monsters within us is hard to accept.”

Jars of Clay says it well, “Do you know what you are?”