Are You In My Group? by Chad Hess

John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.” “Don’t stop him!” Jesus said. “No one who performs a miracle in my name will soon be able to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us. If anyone gives you even a cup of water because you belong to the Messiah, I tell you the truth, that person will surely be rewarded.

     Mark 9:38-41

Sadly, after 2000 years, Jesus' disciples struggle with the same problem.  We get caught up on which group a person or ministry belongs to rather than working together toward our common goal.  A remarkably sad example of this happened a few weeks ago.

World Vision USA is one of the largest Christian humanitarian agencies that partners with many churches to provide meals and relief to children all over the world.  Recently, they announced that they would recognize employees in a committed, monogamous homosexual marriage.  In doing so, World Vision was not trying to take a stand on the issue of gay marriage. Rather, they were recognizing that different Christian churches have different views on the issue, and they wanted to be inclusive of all of them (the same way they do with the issue of divorce and other issues).  

The response from Christians was swift and overwhelmingly negative.  According to reports, 10,000 child sponsorships were dropped in response to the decision.  This led World Vision to reverse their decision and issue a public apology.  Ten thousand starving children were abandoned by their sponsors because World Vision was no longer "in their group."

Is it more important that someone is "in our group," or that they are working toward our same goal?  I think Jesus' answer in Mark 9 makes that clear.  So why do we struggle with this so much?  Why do we insist on "recreating the wheel" to duplicate the same ministry someone else is already doing?  Why do we put so much focus on having the same beliefs rather than the same goal?  As Andy McDonald so eloquently asked in last week's blog, why can't we be friends?

There are many reasons, I suppose, and each person's perspective is different.  For me, the shift happened when I stopped putting my religious identity in the set of beliefs I ascribed to and put my religious identity in my relationship with God.  My own beliefs have morphed over time, but that's okay because my beliefs don't define my relationship with God; they simply inform my understanding of who He is.  As with all relationships, my knowledge and understanding of the person will grow and develop.  If I can have flexibility of beliefs for myself, I can certainly extend that to those around me. How about, before we tell others to stop because they're not "in our group," we ask ourselves if they are, indeed, fellow followers of the Messiah.  Because, if we are all working toward the same goal, "I tell you the truth, that person will surely be rewarded."

Chad Hess

Why Can't We Be Friends? by Andy McDonald

It’s a great question that demands consideration in our shrinking world today:

Why can't we be friends?
. . . Christians & Muslims
. . . Ukrainians & Russians
. . . White Supremacists & NAACP Members
. . . Republicans & Democrats
. . . Little Guy & Big Business
. . . Atheists, Agnostics & Believers

The list goes on and on ad infinitum. Maybe the idea of some more civil time in human history is only an illusion, but even if it is, shouldn't we work toward a more friendly world?  I'm not sure how to make it happen, but I do know that open debate and opposing dialogue bring interest to the table of life, and when engaged civilly, enrich all parties.

Unfortunately, it seems we've all determined to speak "our truth" into the conversation as if an infallible "word from God" rather than "our understanding" of truth. It is like we regularly act as if our understanding of truth trumps all other understanding.

When teaching couples to resolve conflict, I talk about moving from the point of conflict, through the "tunnel of chaos," to a point of resolution. Occasionally, even for the most compatible couple, the only resolution is to agree to disagree on that point of contention. When we speak the truth in love, resolution is possible. If we only speak harsh, blatant, cold truth, resolution is unlikely. Conversely, to only speak lovingly but never get to the  truth leaves the conflict hanging unresolved.

I'm irritated by unresolved conflicts—by any reaction to politics, religion, business, or just life that blocks friendship or denies the possibility of being friends.

Jesus said the world would be able to recognize his followers by the love they have for others. I'm thinking that today fear, suspicion, and prophecy may combine to make too many of us into little anti-Christs who fail at the very foundation of our faith—loving God with all our heart, mind, and strength, and loving our neighbor (everybody on the planet) as ourselves. These neighbors we are to so love would include Popes and Imams and Rabbis and Pastors and, of course, all those who aren't sure what they believe, or who may even be anti-God.

If Jesus—perfect, holy, eternal Jesus—can no longer call us servants but friends, if he is known as Friend of sinners, it seems there's no reason that his followers can't be friends with the whole human family—those who agree with us, and everyone who sees it differently.

Andy McDonald

Noah: What's the Point? by John Monday

Last week, Tami, the Worship Director at our church, invited her team of Worship Hosts to see the movie Noah.  It was a brilliant way to express thanks for the work of these volunteers.  I had been looking forward to seeing the movie, so I took the opportunity to go and bring my almost-14-year-old son, Luke.

Movies and movie makers fascinate me, especially larger than life epic movies.  I stand in awe of their ability to take us to another place and lead us through emotional and intellectual journeys.  In short, I love their ability to tell stories. 

As much as I appreciate movie-makers, anyone who would want to take on a topic that has anything to do with the Bible must be a little crazy.  For many, the Bible is not just ancient mythology, it’s core to their beliefs and identity; I’m in that group. There are billions of people in thousands of faith groups who have widely divergent beliefs around Noah and the flood. Many (including the entire Muslim, Christian and Jewish world) hold Noah and the flood as a core part of their faith. Many in my tribe will view the movie through a Christian prism, but more than that, through a Christian prism specific to a small segment of Christianity. It’s difficult to set aside the prism through which we see the world. Making movies from content that is so ideologically charged seems destined to create controversy.

So if the Bible can mean so many different things to so many different people, what is it?

Is it history? Sure. The Bible gives us an account.  It traces a thread through time that guides us from the distant past - in fact, from the very beginning. But it’s hardly a complete documentation of history.

Is it science? Maybe somewhat. At least it speaks in a broad sense to some scientific issues.  But is it a complete text of how things work? Certainly not. It gives us some touchstones and opens a universe for us to explore and study and question.

Is it an instruction manual? To be sure, it does contain great wisdom and many guidelines for everything from diet to childrearing to business dealings.  But does it contain a step-by-step troubling shooting guide for every situation? I don’t think so.

Is it a fact book to test history, science, and behavior? Or is it something more?

More than anything else, the Bible is a story. Not a story like the time I came home muddy and late from school to find Ms. Mary waiting at the door.  With her kind face flowing up out of her billowing dress and doing her best to look stern she asked where I’d been.  When I made up a lame excuse like “a car splashed through a puddle and soaked me,” she knew I’d been chasing tadpoles in a drainage ditch and chided me for “telling stories.”

The Bible is not that kind of story.  Rather, it’s a story in the best sense.  Used well, stories convey a point, and at their best that point is a deeper truth. I believe the Bible is a story meant to convey the best and deepest truth.

So in an attempt to hear the story and screen out what I knew would be many competing voices of concern, I intentionally avoided any reviews, debates, or even conversation about the movie.  Rather, I wanted to go into the movie with two questions: 1) What is the point of the biblical story of Noah. 2) What is the point of the movie?  If the point or points of the movie were in harmony with the point of the biblical story, was that enough?

The movie challenged me, and afterward we enjoyed a lively conversation.  We talked about biblical accuracy, the length of time on the Ark, who was on the Ark, the depiction and purpose of fallen angels, the scope and duration of the flood, the people left behind, the moral character of Noah, and we had some deeper conversations about how it portrayed God. It seems that some of the “facts” of the movie didn’t harmonize with our understanding of the story.

Later, I began to read some of the many reviews.  I also read and re-read the biblical account. There is plenty to read about the movie.  Like our little group, some are appalled, some are thrilled, and many are in between.  But almost all of the debate centers around the facts; there is very little discussion about the point.

So I return to the questions I brought into the movie. What is the point of the story? It seems an easy question, but I didn’t come out with any clear answer.  It seems that we are likely to carry out whatever point we carry in.  One reviewer said in essence, “it’s just a movie, go be entertained, but don’t look for a meaning.” While I agree that we could all be a little less critical, I’m not satisfied to separate God from a story about Noah.  In fact, I’m much more inclined to search for God in a Transformers movie then remove God from Noah.

I saw a story of grace and redemption in the movie, but I’ll admit that I was looking to find that, and someone else could just as easily have seen a God of vengeance and destruction. So how was the movie?

On our way home after exposing my son first to the movie and then to the discussion, with some trepidation I asked, “What is the point of the Noah story?” His simple and deep answer? “God is powerful enough to destroy evil.”

Hmm . . . I can live with that. In fact that’s pretty good.

While I stood ready to correct all kinds of theological error, I now realize that he came without prejudgements, and he got it. It’s not the complete story of God, but it’s plenty to get from this movie. It’s a true and deep point of the Bible that can be woven together with the rest of the points to tell the story of God’s love and redemption.

So in the end, I’ll simply say thank you to Darren Aronofsky for telling a story that conveyed the point.

Here are a couple reviews that I found enjoyable:

http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/the-lighthouse/.premium-1.583432

http://io9.com/noah-is-the-best-and-worst-bible-movie-youll-ever-see-1553829598

Have you seen the movie?  What did you think?

(Please only comment if you’ve actually seen the movie and have an informed opinion.)

John Monday

Talent & Practice by Richard Hickam

I have had a number of discussions with parents lately about getting their child to practice, so I thought I’d write a blog this week on talent and the art of practicing:

I often get told how talented I am and asked “just how many instruments do you play?” People have this idea that I came out of the womb with a guitar in one hand and a saxophone in the other, playing a lovely duet to my mother from birth. The truth of the matter is that every single detail of my musical life has come from practicing. I am borderline obsessed with practicing different instruments all the time.

Lately, I have been reading a great book by Daniel Coyle entitled 52 Tips For Improving Your Skills. The book is filled with clever, quick tips that seem part Stephen Covey and part Stephen Colbert. Mr. Coyle analyzed hot beds of talent throughout the world and looked at common traits from a variety of fields. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Stare at who you want to become - Covey’s keep-the-end-in-mind is a rationale that works to keep the ship heading to its destination.

2.  Spend 15 minutes a day engraving a skill on your brain - If you can spend 15 minutes for 30 consecutive days on a specific small task, you’re on to great things!

3. Steal without apology - The year is 2014; learn from the past . . . from everyone.

4. Buy a notebook- Keep a record of what you are doing . . . in detail.

5. Be willing to be stupid - Taking chances is the only way that great things happen.

As you can tell, it’s a great book that I would highly recommend for yourself or others on the conquest of developing a skill. A few other suggestions that I’ve garnered from my years of teaching:

* Play in a group - Individual practicing only goes so far.  Playing music with friends is one of the greatest conversations in the world.

* Find another adult to encourage your child - Receiving outside encouragement is like compound interest on an investment.

* Having a child-friendly teacher is wonderful, but make sure it’s not all fun and games and that good, sequential learning is taking place. Sometimes honesty is a difficult and necessary companion to growth.

* Perhaps the single biggest component to practicing is taking the time to practice slowly. Most young people love to play fast through everything. If you can isolate a problem and play it 10x correctly, you will be ahead of the game.

What does this have to do with spirituality? Well, think of these tips in regards to Bible study, or memorization, or your prayer life. The art of practicing has many applications.  I challenge you to pick up some of these tips and put them into practice today!

Richard Hickam