vulnerability in community

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." (James 5:16 NIV)

"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift." (Matthew 5:23-24)

Vulnerability is not an easy thing. Especially in America in 2009. Our culture is teeming with walled, very individualized, personal individuals. That's fine in one respect, but ends up costing individuals and collective communities in large ways.

I went to a Prodigal God Bible study last night, and this idea came up again and I've been thinking about it.

I feel Jesus was the best model of vulnerability. He left the comfort and splendor of heaven to come down to earth, and yes, while it was His creation, I'm going to say heaven is a far better place to be. He was open with the people He walked and interacted with...how is it that four different men, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John record with a unique perspective each ways in which Jesus was vulnerable.

He exemplified this vulnerability by going to the cross, yes, but He also exemplified it by His willingness to talk about others sins. Not only speak of them, but heal them!!

Back to modern day America 2009, I don't think it is our responsibility to heal our brother or sister's sins. That is a ridiculous thought. Only Jesus Christ can do that. Nor am I proposing or am suggesting that people who are uncomfortable to speak about their sins should be forced in any way to speak of their sins. When they're ready. And certain relationships, obviously, sin shouldn't be confessed to the other person, both to protect and prevent further injury.

But if communities are environments of Christ's love, where fellowship is genuine and honest, a willingness to confess sins when appropriate can do so much to strengthen the relationships in those communities! Of course, I don't think it's easy, vulnerability never is, especially not in guard-everything-about-you-America, but it can have a strong cementing, binding, effect to solidify and strengthen communities that they may walk stronger together in the desire to bring Christ's kingdom here to earth.

the tongue's power

So over the past few weeks, there have been different incidents where my mouth has led to trouble for me or some pain for other people. Not that it was intentional, but nonetheless, it happened.

I don't think James was under-do-ing it when he used the analogy of a ship's small rudder controlling the big ship. I was going over his words in James 3, and here are some running thoughts as the passage goes on, related to this idea of keeping the tongue in check:

Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
My role in life with other people is not to instruct them or tell them what is right or wrong. That is the Lord's doing and the Lord's work. Not to say He can't use us as instruments to do that, He can...but in my zeal to help build others up, living an example of God's truth and His ways speaks far louder than words.

We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
James knows human beings. We're going to goof up with our mouths from time to time. Nobody is perfect.

When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.
Our tongues should not be used to control or to demonstrate power.

Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.
All that "sticks and stones may break my bones...but words will never hurt me..." That is the most untrue, horribly in-denial song for the world. Words have an incredibly powerful effect and should be chosen and used carefully.

Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
Chosen words have the potential, if not checked, to spiral into a horrendous and dangerous snowball with even greater and greater consequences. Remember James points out a bit earlier he knows that all humans are going to mess up and say dumb and hurtful things sometimes. Yet, there ought to be a check in place and a desire to limit or reconcile those words from spiraling into something much much worse.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
Yikes. Like I was feeling after my incidents, I would rather not ever talk again. It'd save me a lot of frustration, hurt on other people's part. So yes, there is something valuable to biting the tongue and not saying anything at all. Never might be an extreme, but I should speak less.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.
This hit me hard. With my words, when I criticize people or gossip or talk negatively about someone behind someone's back, or even to their face, I am basically in God's face, saying, "this creature you made is not that great...not that wonderful." It is way too bold and arrogant on my part for me to dare to do something like this, I should always remember that when I speak of someone, I am speaking of a uniquely beloved creation of Christ.

Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
I am clearly a person full of contradictions and hypocrisy. Most often, I need to seek the Lord's wisdom, and not my own (the next thing James talks about). I need to live out His wisdom, the knowledge of Christ's grace, and that sort of life should be the life that I am speaking about and living out loud.

wedding in Wealthville

Yesterday I went to a wedding in Dallas. The wedding crowd consisted mainly of guests from the Highland Park community, a wealthy suburb of Dallas. This is the Dallas version of the community I grew up in in San Antonio. So for most of my life now, I have gone to school with a good number of well to do kids or have grown up in a neighborhood whose occupants are for the most part quite prosperous.

See, the funny thing is, you, or I, nor anyone for that matter, has a choice of where you are born or the family to which you are born, or the socioeconomic class to which you are born into.

Statistics largely bear out that the socioeconomic class you are born into is the one you'll die in. Socioeconomic advancement or decline for the majority of Americans, world citizens, whoever you might be, just doesn't happen.

Sure, you hear of rags-to-riches success stories, even more of them in America, but the majority of people around the world will more or less stay in the same socio-economic class for their lifetime.

If you think about the reasons surrounding and supporting that claim, they make a lot of sense. But that's an entire other post altogether.

So anyways, can one be wealthy and have a relationship with Jesus? Can one be wealthy and pursue Jesus with all his or her heart?

Those are really two separate questions.

In the midst of the wedding and the reception, I got to thinking about this more (I have thought about it a ton already). I have to admit, I had judgements before (and still do) the wedding about people who are rich and how that plays into a relationship and pursuing Jesus.

I was able to take a walk around this neighborhood in Dallas, and I was mammothly impressed by how large some of the houses in this neighborhood are. Not only that, the architecture is really fascinating on many of these homes and I was thoroughly impressed.

It really got me thinking. If people build these homes out of pursuit for glamour or to showcase wealth, in some sort of competition, that becomes an IDOL, and it is false and despicable to God. If people build these homes with the genuine intent of, say gathering a family together, building a community, or serving their neighbors, or allowing underserved or underprivileged people to stay in their home, whatever it may look like...if they build a home with the intent of bringing glory to God, that is what God wants.

Those thoughts have led to some overall conclusions I have come to so far regarding wealth and pursuing Jesus (they aren't necessarily permanent conclusions).

Throughout history, God has given certain kings or the people of Israel numerous material blessings. They resembled in certain ways the Highland Park community of back then.

My point is, I don't think God despises wealth or have a problem with it. Wealth standing alone is a neutral for God. In fact, if anything, it may very well be a sign of God's approval and faithfulness.

Now, the previous paragraph is a very dangerous statement. Please re-read it. It is worded very carefully. It could lead to all sorts of misunderstandings...

What God DOES have a problem with is when wealth is pursued over Him or even somewhat instead of FULLY Him!! God is jealous. I don't blame Him. He made us. We belong to Him. As individuals or communities, how would we dare to put anything...wealth, sex, achievement...before God??

So, back to the idea of, well, I want to follow Jesus, but I have all these elements pulling againt me....what do I do if I'm born into a community or family that is prosperous?

I think the answer is seeking Jesus means getting poorer. It was His example for us.

I don't necessarily fully refer to monetary prosperity. And in fact, getting poorer can be done by anyone who is rich or poor (economically). "Getting poorer" for the Kingdom will just look differently for those in differing world socio-economic classes. Paul nails it on the head:

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very natureGod, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:5-11 NIV)

I can't imagine what the prosperity of Heaven is like. Jesus voluntarily, willingly GAVE THAT UP to BECOME POORER! A man of all things!!

So no, I don't think being wealthy creates an impasse in having a relationship with Jesus. There are wealthy people and communities, contemporary and throughout history, who have been great models of faith in Christ, and incredible humble servants. It's not impossible.

However, I certainly think that wealth is an overly dangerous and strong tempation, especially in light of the way our world is culturally and economically structured. Wealth or its pursuit is an alternative life street to Jesus with way too many stumbling blocks. It requires a mature and humble follower of Jesus to possess wealth but have it be a relatively unimportant part of their identity.

Identity #1 is pursuing Jesus with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind. And I think, that looks like getting poorer by the world's standards.

So who wants to voluntarily become poor?

Maundy Thursday in pictures...

this sequence of events seems to happen regularly in our modern day,

not just once 2000 years ago...

What grace that we can share in fellowship with Jesus and that He offers to wash us clean again and again, despite the gravity of our sin in which we betray Him over and over again. How often we're just like Judas, in it for personal gain at the expense of the Lord.

We have an incredible Lord VERY WORTHY of all our PRAISE and DEVOTION!!

something the poor have that the rich (us) want

So I need to qualify a few things for this post.

1. For all intensive purposes, if you read this post, you're rich. Comparatively speaking, I figure if you have access to a computer to read a blog, you're in the top quartile of the world's most prosperous people. Born in the USA or other developed nation sort of does that to you if you asked for it or not. I use "poor" generally in this post to refer to monetary status, but I believe a true definition of poverty really includes much more than that -- which involves social relations, political access and rights, human rights, but for this post, "poor" means without money...

2. What I'm going to write on some of us already have here in the US, but I think all of us could stand to gain more of it or have it be a more intentional and regular part of our everyday life...

So what is it that the poor have that we rich are missing in large quantities, but deep down inside really want? To the point that we envy this aspect of the poor?

I was thinking about the times when people come back from short-term missions trips, or even vacations for that matter, in a developing country with more acute poverty. The general reaction or feeling to the trip is very positive. The experience was great!, very fulfilling!, and even post-trip people are wanting to back and relive the experience again. I seem to notice that experiences with the homeless in our own country, our poor, is a bit different. It's filled with more sadness and empathy it seems. Why this difference?

Well, I think some of the desire to go back or relive the overseas experience or short term mission trip isn't self-sacrificial, it's actually selfish. I'm going out on a limb here, but yes, I am saying that humans are selfish, even after the context of something like a mission trip, where they went out to serve.

Call me crazy, but I think what people envy about the poor is that the poor have each other.

In the US, I feel that there is an association of loneliness with our poor, maybe that corresponds to our individualism, and so interactions with our homeless, our poor, tend to produce a different response. More of a sadness.

When people go to developing countries, yes social and cultural norms are different, and that plays into it I'm sure, but we recognize the poor to be mostly happy and very content with what they have. We are always amazed at that - "they have so little, but yet are so happy"

But they don't have a little of community. They have a lot of it. A lot more than us "rich" folk back here in the USA. I think that's part of the reason we so readily want to go back on those mission trips. We want that community association and living. It's something that we envy and selfishly desire.

I don't think it's a bad thing to desire community, I think it's quite natural and fundamental for our being.

Simply put, I think the poor demonstrate that better than our rich society does. Again, money isn't the only factor I'm implying makes the difference, social and cultural norms surely play a part. Part of being poor is often not having a job, and so maybe it's that community happens involuntarily. I'm sure many people who are poor would rather have a job and an ability to support themselves or their family better. I also think the poor use community as a defense mechanism against poverty. Whatever the reason, we see that the poor live more often and deeper in community.

That contrasts largely with what we're used to and live here in the US. For the most part, we work as indivduals. We earn money as individuals. We work out as individuals. We tend to pray as individuals.

There's nothing wrong with working hard. There's nothing wrong with making money. None of those things are wrong, but I think it stands to say that we "rich" people could become more like the poor and have a greater engagement into community.

stumbling blocks to genuine community

In Acts, we have one of the purest pictures of the early church and early Christian fellowship:

"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2: 42-47 NIV)

I think an emphasis worth noting is "And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

Pure community. And not by coincidence, the body of believers was growing quickly. The more unified the community, the greater it was able to grow as others came to know Christ.

One of my pet peeves if I could call it that of Christian community is that there all sorts of weird aspects in relationships that prevent pure and genuine community. Obviously, sin plays a significant role in coming between brothers and sisters, brothers and brothers, sisters and sisters...a lot of these stumbling blocks I think have migrated from worldly cultural tenets and principles into Christian community. For brother and sister relationships, one of these main stumbling blocks I think involves the idea of marriage. I posted on that a bit earlier, that there is this underlying cultural expectation to get married that I don't think is necessarily completely in-line with Scriptures' premise of marriage. As a result of this, when brothers and sisters are meeting each other for the first time, or first developing friendships, I think there is an underlying weirdness, as a result of some cultural expectations. It's possible that what's going on is that brothers and sisters are reading into things or having their minds not foremost on developing Christian community for God's glory, but rather on personal desires for relationships, possibly marriage.

For brother - brother relationships, I think cultural aspects of the importance of being thought of as intelligent, "Godly" or even being this "manly" man sometimes provides a stumbling block. I think guys sometimes get together and there is an underlying desire (that comes primarily from culture) to be able to lift more in the gym than the other guy or being more witty or having a greater knowledge of the Bible. This is not a limited list, there are other things guys do with other guys to "one up" each other in a sense, even if it's in a subtle way. Some of this sounds dumb and childish, but I do think it goes on. In addition, this desire is exacerbated when in a group setting.

I'm not going to try and speak to sister-sister relationships, since I'm not a sister, but I imagine there are stumbling blocks with those relationships too. And so what are we to do?

First, I think it's important to examine and recognize tendencies in relationships that may contribute to these "stumbling blocks." I think the desire to be humble and a servant before your brother or sister is something really important to keep in mind. Being vulnerable is hard, but it can be done more easily I think the more one's eyes are on the prize, Jesus. Also, it wouldn't be bad to echo Jesus prayer for community unity and keep in mind the direction to which Jesus was pointing with His prayer (this is kind of long, but most excellent):

"I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. "Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." (John 17: 6-26 NIV)

sharing what God's been sharing me

Sharing this will maybe make some sense and have some relevance for you, so that's why I'm sharing it!

This past month, being new to Nashville, new to Vanderbilt, I've been impatient to say the least in trying to find opportunities for ministry. Through church or on campus or in Nashville, wherever it may be. My outlook has been "Lord, I want to do something NOW, please let me know what that is!!" However, God's wisdom is much greater than mine.

This past weekend, I really heard the Lord telling me "find and settle into community first. Get that cemented. Then you will have a strong base from which to serve..."

It makes so much sense!

I think Jesus went about the process of His ministry much the same way. We see Jesus baptized, then tempted by the devil, then he briefly begins to preach, and then goes about calling His disciples and setting up community.

Clearly, Jesus could go about His ministry doing it alone. He's Lord and didn't necessarily need the interactions and relationships with others, yet HE DID specifically go about finding it.

I thank God for making this clear to me this past weekend in a way my pea-brain and less than mustard seed sized heart could understand it, hopefully you can find something in this too!