Author Archives: Jay Matthew Barnes

Organized Religion

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Organized religion, especially the “institutional” church in the West, has gotten a lot of flack in recent years.  Is this popular negative assessment fair?  What can we learn about organized religion from the life of Jesus?

organized religion

By: fusion-of-horizons Doesn’t this church look like some kind of Eldar building fromWarhammer 40k? Bonus points if you have any idea what I’m talking about here!     

Organized Religion and It’s Perception

It seems rather obvious that people are less and less into organized religion these days.  Church attendance is down and continues to decrease, so much so that some church buildings are being converted into night clubs, small businesses, and residences.

And when surveyed, people are increasingly saying that they’re spiritual but not religious.  Usually what people seem to mean by this is that they want to believe in a higher power or a generically loving Jesus, but not be connected to the big “C” Church with all of its baggage.

Perhaps THE voice for this movement is Jefferson Bethke, the star of a viral YouTube video entitled “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus || Spoken Word.”  Here it is:

His piece of poetry was so popular that he ended up getting a book deal out of it (here’s the link to the book: Jesus > Religion).

Why is this the case?  Why do so many people want to be spiritual but also want to distance themselves from organized religion?

Here are a few ideas that come to my mind:

  • Organized religion represents closed-mindedness and bigotry for many, especially younger people.
  • Many people were hurt directly or indirectly by organized religion.  Maybe there was abuse, neglect, or misuse of power.  And perhaps people’s parents forced religion on them.
  • Maybe some people don’t like the feeling that religion brings with it obligations to obey things while being spiritual is more nebulous.
  • Being spiritual seems more open and inclusive than organized religion is typically represented.
  • And being spiritual is much less political in nature than being associated with organized religion tends to be.

I’m sure that there are dozens of other reasons (let me know some in the comments below!), but the point is this: many people are not pleased with organized religion these days.

Jesus and Organized Religion

And another reason that many people give for their disdain for organized religion goes something like this: Jesus was more about the heart and spirituality than all that religious stuff!

But is this sentiment true?  What do the authors of the Gospels reveal to us about Jesus’ connection to organized religion?

This morning I was doing my devotional time and I began reading John 5.  I didn’t get very far before something stood out to me.  Here it is (John 5.1):

Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals.

This verse is easily passed over when reading the exciting narratives of John 4 and 5.  But it highlights something interesting: Jesus was involved in organized religion.

Jesus left his home-base and traveled by foot or caravan to Jerusalem.  Why?  Did he like the mall in Jerusalem?  Nope!  He went up to Israel’s capital in order to participate in a Jewish festival.

To repeat: Jesus was involved in organized religion.

So the mentality that Jesus hated organized religion and was only about spirituality is simply wrong, the text doesn’t support this idea.

However, we should note that when Jesus engaged in organized religion, he did so in ways that brought glory to God and furthered his mission, the Missio Dei.

Often, when we engage in organized religion we do so out of obligation or tradition.  And even when we have good intentions, we often simply support the status quo of the religious group we’re part of instead of pursuing Jesus and his mission at all costs.

In the story in John 5, Jesus went up to celebrate the festivals.  But as he was in Jerusalem he kept his eyes open — and in so doing he met someone in need and helped him out.

At another time Jesus preached at a synagogue, another example of Jesus engaging in organized religion (Luke 4).  But, again, Jesus did so in ways that furthered God’s glory and mission, this time encouraging the people to share the good news with the downcast (which wasn’t a popular message).

And there are many, many other examples of how Jesus engaged in organized religion.

In fact, this was such a common part of Jesus’ ministry, that his earliest followers did the same.  Check out this passage from the first part of Acts 2.46:

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.

The earliest followers of Jesus were involved in organized religion too, meeting in the temple courts.  Later, in Acts 3.1, we see Peter and John following Jesus again, going to the temple but keeping their eyes open to further God’s glory and mission by helping someone out.

And, lastly in this section, Paul almost always started ministry in a new area by preaching in the synagogue or whatever other organized gathering of Jews he could find.  And when he did so, he always found ways to point to the love and grace of Jesus.  In other words, Paul was involved in organized religion as well.

So What Does This Mean for Us Today?

So Jesus and his earliest followers didn’t shy away from organized religion.  Why, then, should we?  Wouldn’t it be better for us to follow their leads (especially that of Jesus) by engaging in organized religion but always with an eye toward bringing God glory and furthering his kingdom?

Here are a few initial thoughts about how we can move forward today:

  1. “Because” is not a good reason.  We need a better reason to be engaged in organized religion than “because.”  It’ not enough that we feel like we should or someone we love wants us to.  And “that’s the way we’ve always done things” isnot enough either.
  2. Actually ENGAGE in organized religion. Just like Jesus, Peter, John, Paul, and so many others, we should participate in organized religion on purpose.  As we do so, are there people for us to love?  Are there unhelpful tradition for us to challenge?  Are there opportunities to share and embody the good news?
  3. Make religion about connection.  From the beginning of God’s calling us to gather to worship him together, he did so in order that we would connect with him and with one another.  In fact, from eternity past and into eternity future, the Triune God has always been about connection, engaging in the divine and mysterious dance of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  And as we gather to worship him together, we join in that dance, thus connecting with God and with one another.

 

What do you think?  What value is there to be found in organized religion?  And how do we avoid its potential pitfalls?  Let me know in the comments below!

 

Zika Virus and God’s Compassion

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Usually when there’s an outbreak like the one happening now with the Zika virus, I don’t fret much.  Why?  Because it doesn’t usually hit home with me.

Normally the outbreak is happening somewhere far away to people I may have little in common with.  If I’m honest, this says some things about me that make me ashamed.

First, I typically lack empathy for the suffering of my fellow human beings around the world.

Second, I only really care about things that have that “x factor” that makes me pat attention, and this isn’t a good thing.  There are any number of significant issues that deserve my attention happening all over the world.  But if they don’t rise to a certain level of interest and visibility with me, then I don’t care.

And third, this lack of interest on my part likely illustrates something about my perception of God as well.  At a subconscious level, perhaps I think God is similar to me.  Maybe only certain things reach his perception.  Maybe he only cares and responds to human pain based on a very particular set of criteria.

Thankfully, I’m wrong about all of this!  All human pain and suffering is worthy of attention and God certainly cares about each person who is hurting.

But in the case of the Zika virus, I have paid a bit more attention than usual.  Why?  Because babies are the ones bearing the brunt of this disaster and I’m the father of a one-year old!  Sadly, my attention to human suffering is contingent on said suffering’s connection to me and my situation.

But as I was reflecting on this  Zika virus outbreak, a particular part of a famous story from the Old Testament, the Exodus from Egypt, came to mind.

Zika Virus and the Exodus

I don’t know about you, but when I think about the Exodus, the first thing that typically comes to mind is Charlton Heston yelling “Let my people go!” in the classic movie The Ten Commandments.

But there’s a more important moment in the story of the Exodus that is easy to overlook.  I’ll show it to you in the Bible from the Book of Exodus chapter 2:

23 During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. 25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.

The Israelites were suffering as slaves in Egypt, so they cried out to God.  God heard them, remembered his covenant with them, looked on them, and had compassion.

This easy-to-skip-over paragraph has huge implications for our understandings of God, especially when facing something scary like the Zika virus.

How Does God Respond When His People Cry Out?

  1. God Hears — We often wonder if our cries for help just hit the ceiling and reverberate back down at us.  But this passage from Exodus 2, like so many other passages from the Bible, reminds us that God does in fact hear us.  When we are in pain, when we are scared, and when we don’t know what to do, God hears us.  When the realities of the Zika virus and its explosive growth cause us great trepidation, God hears us.  And when any other things happen in our lives or in our world, no matter how big or small, God hears us.
  2. God Remembers — The idea of God remembering feels weird to our ears, especially those of us who typically think of God knowing everything.  If God knows everything, then how could he ever need to remember anything?  But the statement that God remembers is there for us, the readers.  It’s to remind us that no matter how bad things get, God has not forgotten his promises.  Even when there’s pain, death, and disease, God remembers his promises.  And even when the Zika virus put that most vulnerable among us at risk, God wants us to know that he remembers his promise to be with us to the end of the age (Matthew 28.20).
  3. God Sees — The ancient Israelites must have wondered if God was still looking after them.  In fact, I bet for some of them they were wondering if God even could see them.  But God’s eyes are always open.  He always looks in the direction of his creation.  There’s nothing that could turn his gaze away from us, not our sin, not our pain or humiliation, not slavery, and not even diseases like the Zika virus.  God sees.
  4. God is Concerned — God doesn’t just hear, remember, and see in some unfeeling, robot-like way.  He’s not just “up there” coldly keeping his end of bargains that he’s made.  No!  Instead God has deep concern for his people, especially as they are in pain.  When humans suffer, God feels great concern for them.  And he often goes into action on their behalf.  How?  Well, in most cases God sends some of his people to help.  In the case of the Exodus he sent Moses, Aaron, Miriam, and others.  Who is God sending to help with those who are suffering because of the Zika virus?

Friends, here’s my conviction: The victims of the Zika virus are crying out to God.  He hears, remembers, sees, and is concerned.  And he’s sending us!  Now he may be literally sending some of us to help!  But he is calling all of us to help as we can.

How can we help?  Here are a few ideas: 1) Ask your local church how they are going to respond and help out; 2) Keep your ears and eyes open to hear about opportunities to help humanitarian aid groups that will be helping with the Zika virus response, groups such as World Relief, The Red Cross, or The United Nations; and 3) Pray for the families and children impacted by the Zika virus.  Pray that God will heal, that the Church will rise up, and the peace and wholeness will be restored.  Pray for the governments of the countries most impacted, that they will be wise and lead well in a time of crisis.

 

What do you think? How does God respond to situations like the Zika virus outbreak?

#Judgment: New Wine Podcast #015

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What is wrong with being judgmental and how does being judgmental impact our ability to follow Jesus well in the real world?

I answer this question in my latest podcast.  You can listen to it on the bottom of this post, on iTunes, or on Stitcher.

If you like it, would you please rate it and even leave a review on iTunes or Stitcher?  That would be super cool!

Thanks!

Curious?

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“Many leaders are the ‘walking wounded,’ but their followers are the ‘sitting silent.'”  That’s a quote from the book Curious: The Unexpected Power of a Question-Led Life by Tom Hughes, Co-Lead Senior Pastor at Christian Assembly in Eagle Rock, CA (a city right around the corner from where I live).

curious

Curious: The Unexpected Power of a Question-Led Life by Tom Hughes

Linking Being Curious and Leadership

Curious is a great book and I highly recommend it!  There are many reasons why I like it but one of them stands behind the quote with which I started this post: healthy curiosity fuels good leadership.

But Tom also makes the point that a leader that is answer-driven instead of curiosity-driven will ultimately burn out, becoming the, as he calls it, the “walking wounded.”  And what’s the result of this kind of leadership?  Well, it isn’t good, that’s for sure!

The way Tom puts it is perfect: the “sitting silent.”  Leaders who try to answer all the questions will eventually burn out and produce passive followers.

And here’s the really odd thing (and this is my commentary now): Many of these burned out leaders blame their followers for their burned-out status and they blame them for not being a more active part of their business, church, etc.

This isn’t entirely fair.  Had the leader done his/her job from the beginning, namely leading from a place of humble curiosity and relentless authenticity, then he/she wouldn’t have to have every answer and his/her followers would be intrinsically compelled to be more active.

So, leaders, instead of complaining, let’s start leading from a place of curiosity!

 

What do you think?  What role can and should curiosity play for a leader?  And what do you think of the idea of the “walking wounded” producing the “sitting silent”?  Let me know in the comments below!

Proof and Faith

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“I want proof.”

So many of us say these words when confronted with the idea of God, much less the idea of following Jesus.  In order to make the existential jump of faith, most of us want some evidence.  At least a little.

But it doesn’t end with the beginning of a faith journey though, does it?  Nope.  Those of us who follow Jesus often want proof before we trust God with a new area of our lives, an important decision, etc.  We want an inkling of what God is up to before we fully hand over the reins.

Is this normal?  And is this okay?

Our Need for Proof

Not much needs to be said here.  The bald truth is that most of us humans are an un-trusting lot, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  And un-examined faith is pretty boring.

But sometimes we can take our desire to hold definitive proof in our hands too far.  We can demand evidence that is so clear that it can’t be controverted.  This level of scrutiny is just silly.  We don’t ask for this kind of proof when we fall in love, flip the light switch, or buy food from a local grocery store.

But we often demand proof in this way when it comes to faith.  And I honestly think that’s okay.  It’s okay to need some level of confidence before going all in.  To do otherwise would be irresponsible after all!

In John 4.43-54 we read about an official who needs some proof for his faith too.  We see this in three stages, and these three stages I believe will sound familiar to many of us.

Faith in Jesus’ Potential

I’ve written a little bit about this official before, specifically about how even though he was privileged, Jesus cared for him.  But how did their interaction begin?  What was its genesis?

The story starts with this man having a sick child.  He’s probably at the end of his proverbial rope.  I imagine that he’s sought out the best care that a government official could afford.

Then he catches wind of the fact that Jesus was back in Galilee.  This is the same Jesus who had dome miraculous things in the area already.  So, based only on this potential, the official makes the trek from Capernaum to Cana to visit Jesus.  When he arrives, the official begs and pleads with Jesus to heal his son (v. 47).

I think this kind of faith is the kind of faith that helped many of us begin our journeys with Jesus.  We probably saw the difference that Jesus made in the life of someone we loved and we wanted some of that for ourselves.  That’s faith in Jesus’ potential.

The proof that we’re looking at is in the lives of the followers of Jesus, the transformations that they’ve experienced, etc.  But this faith in Jesus’ potential is only really the first step.  It’s believing in what Jesus did for someone else.  It’s the kind of faith that leads us to Jesus.

(As a quick aside, this is the attractional life idea that I talk about quite a bit on my blog and podcast.  If we live the human life of Jesus in our human lives, then our very lives will serve as proof of Jesus’ potential for others.  Our lives can be the catalysts that first lead people to Jesus!)

Faith in Jesus’ Words

Once the man’s faith in Jesus’ potential led him to Jesus, the official then was privileged to hear Jesus’ words with his own ears.  Jesus says to him “Go, your son will live” (v. 50).

And the official has faith in these words which he demonstrates be obeying Jesus’ command to go.  John puts it interestingly in v. 50: “The man took Jesus at his word and departed.”

Where was the proof though? you may ask.  And I don’t have a solid answer.  Once this official met Jesus, based on his potential, he must have experienced something of the force of Jesus’ personality.  He must have felt his love.  He must have caught the vibe of his wisdom.

How do we know this? Because even though Jesus’ first response to this man was cryptic and a bit odd (“Unless y’all see signs and wonders, y’all won’t believe” [v. 49]), the man still obeyed Jesus.

As followers of Jesus we must move beyond faith in Jesus’ potential to having faith in Jesus’ words.  And how do we demonstrate this faith?  Despite however unclear we think God may be most of the time, when we do have a clear call from him, we’ll take him at his word and obey.  That’s the kind of faith that trusts in Jesus’ words.

(As a quick aside, if we follow through on this step, we’ll start living the kind of lives that serve as proof of Jesus’ potential for others.  Think about it: Jesus clearly calls us to do some very appealing things: love our neighbors, love and pray for our enemies and those who oppose us, care for the outcast and under-resourced, etc.  If we did these things as followers of Jesus, people would be drawn to us instead of being repelled by us!  God doesn’t want us to obey because he needs us to as if he were some desperate autocrat!  He wants us to obey because in so doing we will further his will to reconcile all things to himself through Christ Jesus!)

Faith in Jesus’ Fulfilled Promises

Lastly, as this official is on his way home, in obedience to Jesus’ words, his servants meet him and tell him that his son has been healed.  Upon further investigation of the evidence, the official learns that the child was healed at the exact time Jesus said that he would live.

This promise of Jesus was fulfilled.  And people witnessed it.  Firstly, the child witnessed it.  Then the servants.  The rest of the family.  The rest of the household, including all those who worked with and for this official.  And John tells us that, based on the fact that Jesus’ promise was fulfilled, the entirety of this man’s household believed (v. 53).

This is amazing!  Jesus’ fulfilled promised served as proof for those of this man’s household.  They probably then heard the story about how the official obeyed, perhaps also inspiring them to learn to obey as well.  And as they obey, they’ll experience Jesus coming through on his promises, which, in turn, will inspire others.

That’s a cycle that I want to be a part of of!

(As a quick aside, let’s do this!  Let’s get turned on to Jesus, obey him, and then celebrate when his word comes to pass.  In so doing, we’ll serve as testimonies and proof of the potential of Jesus to change the lives of others!)

 

What do you think?  What role does proof play in having faith?  And how does our faith and obedience influence those who may be far from God?  Let me know in the comments below!

#Vision: New Wine Podcast #014

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What is vision and what does it have to do with following Jesus well?

Melmak / Pixabay

I answer this question in my latest podcast.  You can listen to it on the bottom of this post, on iTunes, or on Stitcher.

If you like it, would you please rate it and even leave a review on iTunes or Stitcher?  That would be super cool!

Thanks!

Matt & Myron #003

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We all need the good news, including those who follow Jesus already!

Following Jesus in the Real World

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Following Jesus in the real world.  That’s a phrase that I use a lot on this website, on my podcast, and when I teach and preach.  But this phrase begs a ton of questions.

So, what does it mean to follow Jesus in the real world?

Let’s break it down!

FOLLOWING Jesus in the Real World

What does “following” mean in this context?  Well, to get a grip on that we have to have a basic understanding of what it meant when people were following Jesus in the first century.  What did it mean to follow someone in that day and age?

It’s certainly more than the way we use it when we ask someone who doesn’t know how to get to a destination to follow us.  That use implies a limited-time arrangement.  And it’s also much more robust than following someone on Twitter!

In the first century when someone would follow a teacher, rabbi, religious figure, or philosopher, that meant total devotion.  We see this when Peter, speaking for all the disciples who were following Jesus, said “We have left everything to follow you” (Mark 10.28).  Following Jesus caused a major disruption in their lives.  They couldn’t follow Jesus AND go about business as usual.

There’s something for us to learn there, isn’t there!?  We want to follow Jesus but not give up much to do so.  We think that following Jesus can be done while maintaining our selfish lives in more or less the same fashion.  This kind of “following” is more akin to Twitter than to what Jesus had in mind when he said “follow me” to the earliest disciples.

Though much more could be said about the notion of following, I want to focus on one more thing, namely that following Jesus is not passive.  Following Jesus is an active endeavor.  It’s not something that we do once years ago.  And it’s not something that only happens in our heads.  Nope!  Following Jesus is something that we do every single day.

Following in this way is disruptive and demanding.  It’s active and it requires all of us.

Following JESUS in the Real World

Who do we follow?  That answer’s easy, right?  Jesus!

But which Jesus?  Let’s be real for a second, we all want Jesus to be the kind of messiah that we want him to be.  If there’s something about the Jesus we meet in the Bible that extends beyond our comfortable messiah zone, we tend to ignore it or outright deny it.

And this is nothing new.  The disciples who first followed Jesus had this problem too.  Here’s Peter serving as a counter example again, this time in Mark 8.31-32:

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

Do you see it?  When Jesus said that he was going to suffer, be rejected, and ultimately die, this didn’t fit with Peter’s idea of who the messiah would be.  So Peter brashly decided to scold Jesus and tell him to get back into the comfortable messiah zone.

While it’s easy to scoff at Peter for his words here, don’t we all do the same thing today?  The Jesus we meet in the Bible doesn’t always line up with what we expect of him.

Maybe he focuses too much on the truth and sound ethical behavior for some of our likings.  And for others of us he may care too much about people who are marginalized, poor, and outcast.  And still others of us would prefer some vague disembodied notion of Jesus as our savior rather than the Second Person of the Trinity incarnated as a human that we meet in the Bible.

Friends, if we are to follow Jesus, then we are to follow the Jesus of the Bible, not the Jesus of our individual creation, not the Jesus of our church’s or denomination’s creation, not the Jesus of our political bent’s creation, and not the Jesus of anyone else’s creation either.  Instead, let’s look to the Gospels to learn about Jesus.  That’s who we are to follow!

One of my favorite authors and missional practitioners is Hugh Halter.  In his book entitled Flesh: Bringing the Incarnation down to Earth, he famously (at least in my book!) said that being missional means being disciples that live the human life of Jesus in our human lives.

In other words, following Jesus isn’t a game of cherry picking where we choose the parts of Jesus we want to follow.

Following Jesus IN THE REAL WORLD

Equally as important as the words “following” and “Jesus” is the phrase “in the real world.”  Here’s why…

All too often those of us who claim to follow Jesus do so in a fantasy world.  Let me explain.

Many of us surround ourselves with a Christian bubble.  We listen to Christian music, read Christian books, see Christian movies, visit Christian websites, hang out only with Christian friends, and even eat Christian breath mints!

This bubble mentality has gotten so bad that in America today one in five non-Christians do not know a Christian personally.  That’s crazy!  In a country with 80+% of us identifying as Christians, how is it that 20% of those who aren’t Christians don’t know any of us.

The answer is simple.  Those who don’t follow Jesus yet aren’t seeking us out and those of us following Jesus aren’t seeking them out.  We’re all okay with this fake bubble world.

Or perhaps more of us than any of us would like to admit are functional agnostics, saying that we follow Jesus but going about our lives as if the reality of God isn’t important enough to make an impact on our lives.

But, friends, Jesus didn’t live in a bubble like this, nor did he not allow the reality of God to impact his life.

He engaged people in his world.  He understood the culture of the world well.  He didn’t shy away from relationships with less-than-desirable people (like Matthew the tax collector and Simon the zealot).  And when he went about his daily life, Jesus regularly engaged in conversation with people of all stripes, including the socially, economically, religiously, etc. outcast.

But it’s important to note that Jesus also personally interacted with people that he disagreed with.  He had face-to-face encounters with Pharisees, entering into personal dialogue with them and even eating with them.

Jesus wasn’t scared of the world!  In fact, he came to be the light of the world (John 8.12).  How could he shine his light into the world unless he entered into it and all its messy reality?

And we’re called to do the same!  Jesus has commissioned all of us (not just those who are full-time ministers) to share this light of Jesus with the world too (Matthew 28.19-20; Acts 1.8).

So let’s burst our Christian bubbles and go out there are follow Jesus in the real world!

Next Steps

So what?  What are we to do with all of this information?

  1. If you’ve never begun to follow Jesus, you can do so today!  I’d love to chat with you about that.  Please contact me by going to my “About” page.  Also, you can simply start reading about Jesus in the Gospels.  I highly recommend starting with the Gospel of Mark.  Here’s a website where you can begin today.  Here’s a further suggestion — read a paragraph or two of Mark at a time and then pause.  Ask yourself these questions: What did I like about that?  What did I not like?  What’s weird or confusing?  What did I learn about Jesus?  And based on what I read, what is something I can do about it in my life?  Feel free to contact me and I’ll help in whatever way I can!
  2. If you’ve been following Jesus for a long time but you’ve cherry picked what to follow about Jesus, then I recommend that you get reconnected with the Jesus of the Bible.  Gather a group of friends to read the Gospel of Mark with you and see for yourself the kind of person that Jesus was.  In this group, ask the same questions that I outlined in point #1.  Then hold each other accountable to living the human life of Jesus in your human lives!
  3. If you’ve been following Jesus within the Christian bubble, it’s time to burst out!  Think about where you work, live, and play.  Who do you encounter in those places that doesn’t follow Jesus yet?  Maybe it’s time to start up a friendship with someone who is far from God.  But do this authentically.  Don’t force it.  Don’t push Jesus down their throat.  Instead, allow Jesus to bubble up through you into their lives.  BE the good news in their midst.  When the time is right, you can share with words.  But in the meantime, live the loving, caring, ethical, and honest life that you see Jesus living in the Gospels in the plain view of those who don’t know Jesus yet!

 

What do you think?  What does it mean to follow Jesus in the real world?  How would you recommend that we do that?  Let me know in the comments below!

Paradigm Shift

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The very basic definition of a paradigm shift is when the status quo changes.  And that kind of change is hard and many, if not most, of us fear it.

Think about it, when is the last time you moved from one thing to another rather radically?  When is the last time your perspective on a person or subject was altered greatly?

If you’re anything like me, then that was probably a trying and challenging experience.

And if I’m honest, each time we experience a paradigm shift, there will be difficulty associated with it.

The interesting thing to me is this: a paradigm shift is difficult whether it’s my paradigm that’s getting shifted, the paradigm of someone I love gets shifted, or the paradigm of a group I’m a part of gets shifted, or I’m hoping to help shift the paradigm of someone (or a group of people) I’m connected to.

I really wish this wasn’t the case.  It would be awesome if all of us could face change with sober and hopeful vision.  But instead we tend to look at each potential or real paradigm shift with suspicion, fear, and even hatred.

And this is nothing new.

Jesus and a Paradigm Shift

For the rest of this post we’re going to focus on Jesus as a leader in John 4.  And we’ll see that he faced the same kind of fear and resistance when his disciples faced a paradigm shift.

Here’s the scene: Jesus had to go through Samaria and in so doing met with a woman whom was extremely marginalized.  As a result of his conversation with this woman (whom we un-creatively have named the “Samaritan Woman”), she is transformed from a shamed and forgotten nobody into a role model for what it looks like to follow Jesus in the real world!  And shortly after this interaction, John tells us that Jesus went from going out of his way to minister to a disenfranchised woman to being begged to heal the child of a man of great privilege.

Every single part of this chapter is exciting to me.  I love Jesus’ focus on the woman in great need.  He intends to care for her.  He stretches himself and his schedule to do so.  And I love how Jesus also makes space in his life and ministry for the man of means.  He didn’t center his ministry around people like this official, but he didn’t ignore them either.

But what’s easy to miss is what’s in between these two stories — namely the reaction of the disciples to Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan Woman.

The Disciples’ Reaction

Here’s how John describes what he disciples think of Jesus’ decision to interact with a shamed, un-privileged woman:

Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

First, they were surprised.  Why?  Well it’s really pretty simple.  Jesus was their Jewish rabbi and as such he had certain societal expectations to fulfill.  One of those would be to take care to interact only with the “right” kind of people.  And the woman that the disciples see Jesus with was certainly not “right”!  She was (a) a woman, (b) a Samaritan, and (c) morally quite questionable.  She had at least three strikes against her, and by interacting with her as he did, Jesus was adding strikes against himself!  His disciples must have been wondering what in the world he was thinking!  I mean, what if someone saw their rabbi with this woman?  What would people think of Jesus?  And, perhaps more importantly, what would people think of them?

Second, they were afraid.  Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan Woman indicated a paradigm shift.  The old way of only engaging with people who had all their boxes properly checked was finished and Jesus was ushering in a messy new age.  And these disciples weren’t ready for it.  However, they knew enough about Jesus to respect him.  They knew that questioning him was something to be avoided (which as we see in all the Gospels might be the furthest thing from the truth since it appears that the faith Jesus calls for can only come through questioning him!).  So instead of asking their rabbi, their leader about his actions, they stay silent out of fear.

Third, they lost an opportunity to grow.  Their fear and silence prevented them from seeing the bigger picture behind Jesus’ chat with the Samaritan Woman.  They were blinded by social conventions to the truth that Jesus was demonstrating before them.  And that truth, very bluntly put, was that their xenophobic tendencies were wrong and needed to be abandoned for the sake of the gospel.  But a paradigm shift of this magnitude was too much.  The distance between who they were and who they would become on the other side of this change was too great.  It would take time.  So even though they lost this opportunity, they would get it in the future.  And I think it’s worth noting here that Jesus, as their leader, doesn’t shove this paradigm shift down their throats.  He’s wise enough to see they aren’t ready.

Leading a Paradigm Shift

What I find fascinating is how Jesus leads in this passage.  He could have really harangued his disciples for not getting it, not seeing that his kingdom was open to all, especially the marginalized (like the Samaritan Woman).  He could have scolded them for their surprise and fear (both of which are simply side-effects of their prejudice).  He could have rubbed their proverbial noses in their goof up.

But he didn’t.

Instead he led in a different way.  He demonstrated the truth of the gospel by meeting and engaging with the Samaritan Woman.  Then he allowed the truth of her own change begin to change them.

In John 4.28-42 we see how this woman’s life was flipped upside-down by Jesus.  She left her water jar and ran into town to tell people what had happened.  Many believed and went out to meet Jesus for themselves.  They convinced Jesus to stay with them and he did.  So for two days the disciples witnessed the results of the Samaritan Woman’s faith, namely the faith of many from her village.

Jesus knew that the best way to teach his disciples wasn’t to get in their faces about this, but to let this woman’s changed reality run its course.

Unfortunately we don’t get to see the radical transformation of the disciples yet.  That paradigm shift would be slow in the making.  But, instead, we get to see the methods of Jesus.

Here are those methods spelled out a bit more explicitly.  When leading a paradigm shit…

  1. …be patient.  Things like this don’t happen over night.
  2. …lead by example.  People need to see their leaders actually leading the way, not shouting directions from the sidelines.
  3. …let the results speak for themselves.  If, as a leader, you know that a direction change is in order, then find an example of that change, study it, show it to your followers, and celebrate it!
  4. …don’t use brute force.  When there’s a need for a paradigm shift, this isn’t something that can be hoisted onto folks without their consent.  It’s not something that we can shame people into, yell people into, or scare people into.
  5. …take lots of steps.  A big change for an organization or a group of people is totally possible, but it will likely take many small steps instead of a few big ones.  As leaders we need to be okay with this reality, just like Jesus was.

What do you think?  How hard is a paradigm shift?  And how do you lead one?  Let me know in the comments below!

Privilege

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Privilege.

That’s a dirty word these days in almost every circle.

Some hate the word and all it represents because they have been belittled, oppressed, and marginalized by people they would say have experienced privilege.

There’s another group of people who get the privilege stamp placed on them by others, which is off-putting because they know that there are others better off than them or they feel like the word downplays the work they accomplished to get where they are.

And then there’s another group which tries to stay out of this fray altogether, knowing that it’s fraught with issues around every corner.

So what can be said about this topic then?  And what might it have to do with following Jesus in the real world?

What Is Privilege?

I think the picture above captures what many people think of when they think of privilege — a straight white man who is wearing a nice suit and has a nice watch.  Others may think of the same picture as above just with an older straight which man who is wearing a nice suit and has a nice watch.

But is this picture of privilege accurate?  Is it the only picture?  Is it the best picture?

Two of the three simple definitions provided by Merriam-Webster are instructive:

  • a right or benefit that is given to some people and not to others
  • a special opportunity to do something that makes you proud
  • the advantage that wealthy and powerful people have over other people in a society

The first and last ones are most pertinent to the current popular discussions of privilege in our society at large.  Specifically what stands out to me are the ideas that privilege is what some people have and others don’t…and those “some people” are the “wealthy and powerful.”

How do others define privilege?

Christena Cleveland, a social psychologist who just so happens to be a follower of Jesus, defines privilege like this: “I think privilege is the ways in which society accommodates some people while alienating others” [SOURCE].

Her definition lines up with what we saw from the dictionary entry as well — privilege is for some and not others.  Her definition is all about relative wealth and power, not absolute wealth and power.  In other words, certain things about us cause society to accommodate for us more, things like education, wealth, political power, gender, sexual orientation, race, etc.  The more things someone has in the privilege column, the more likely it is that society will bend toward their wishes.

And in the clip I linked above, Dr. Cleveland makes the point that we can be both privileged and non-privileged at the same time.  Dr. Cleveland is a great example herself — she’s a hire-able, educated, and published scholar while also being a black woman.

Dr. Cleveland’s definition is in line with the scholarly norm.  Here’s a great example of this norm from the Society of Counseling Psychology:

Privilege is comprised of unearned advantages that are conferred on individuals based on membership in a dominant group or assumed membership. Privilege has the following characteristics:

  • Privilege reflects, reifies and supports dominant power structures.
  • Privilege is supported structurally and systemically, including an investment in maintaining a lack of consciousness about the benefits and costs resulting from that privilege.
  • Privilege is enacted through societal structures, systems, and daily interactions.
  • A single individual may experience intersecting privileges and oppressions which may reflect differential receipt of benefits.

Like the earlier definitions, this one uses the “some people and not others” type of language.  This definition also has some other interesting points.

First, privilege can be based on assumed membership to a group.  In my experience as a white man and as a friend of many other privileged people, this can be a major sticking point.  The argument goes something like this: “Just because I’m white doesn’t mean I was handed anything for free!”  In this line of reasoning this person is reacting to the assumption that he or she is part of the elite group of “fat cat” white people who run things, while in fact he or she hasn’t experienced life in that way at all.

Second, privilege holds up societal norms.  This was an assumption or logical conclusion of the earlier definitions, but it is spelled out here.  The logic is simple: if some groups tend to receive more accommodations than others, then it stands to reason that they will be over-represented among those with wealth and power.

Third, and most importantly, for the privileged there’s an advantage to be gained by not thinking about and/or outright denying privilege.  Why?  Because in so doing privilege is ensured to carry on unabated.  I know that when I first encountered the ideas of privilege in my early-to-mid 20s I reacted quite negatively.  And I’ve seen this same response among many other people I know.  In fact, this response is so common that it’s been given a name: white fragility (though we could add “male fragility,” “straight fragility,” etc. to the list).

Is Privilege Real?

Others have done a much better job than I have on this topic, so I will move quickly through this and trust that you’ll click the links and do some research of your own.

Here’s the question: Is privilege real?  Are there certain groups of people for whom our society seems to afford more accommodations than others?

The simple answer is “yes” and the evidence bears this out.

People of privilege are over-represented in corporate leadership, political leadership, acting roles, higher education, etc.

And people with relatively less privilege are over-represented in homeless communities, prisons, low-paying jobs, under-performing public schools, etc.

In other words, the verdict is in: privilege is real whether we would like for it to be or not.

So What Do We Do?

All of this begs an important question: what are we to do, especially as followers of Jesus?

Here are a few ideas:

  1. Get to know the God of the Bible.  From the early pages of the Bible to the very end we get a really clear idea that God cares deeply for those who have been oppressed, marginalized, overlooked, and forgotten.  A quick search of the Bible for words like “poor,” “poverty,” and “oppressed” will reveal this (in fact, for those of us who haven’t been exposed to the idea that God cares for the downcast, this exercise can be shocking).  A reading of the life of Jesus will show this to be the case as well.  Jesus regularly interacted with un-privileged people, such as women, children, Gentiles, the sick, the unclean, etc.  Thus, it appears that God has a clear concern for the un-privileged.
  2. Go out of the way to care for the un-privileged.  As I’ve written about before, in John 4 Jesus made a special trip through Samaria in order to talk to a very marginalized woman.  Furthermore, this woman is then clearly portrayed by John as a role model to be emulated by his readers!  This same scenario can be seen through all four of the Gospels.  Jesus quite clearly cared about the well-being of those who had been written off.  And, friends, the same is expected of us today too.  Those of us with privilege, any privilege at all, have an obligation to use it like Jesus did, for the benefit of others.  I mean, come on, who has ever been more privileged than Jesus?  The Second Person of the Trinity decided for our sakes to lay all of his advantages aside and became a slave for us (Philippians 2)?!?  That’s amazing!  And we are called to follow in his footsteps, however challenging that may be.
  3. But don’t ignore the privileged in the meantime.  While it’s certainly true that God clearly has a heart for those without much privilege and that Jesus constantly went out of his way to serve those who were marginalized, we are not therefore freed from loving, caring for, and ministering to those with privilege.  I think Jesus is the best example here: right after his interaction with the Samaritan Woman in John 4 (which I described briefly in point #2), Jesus then heals the child of an official from a neighboring city.  An official.  This was a man of privilege and Jesus didn’t ignore him.  And this man isn’t the only one — there’s Nicodemus, the centurion and his servant that Jesus healed, and the so-called “rich young ruler.”  Jesus didn’t ignore the privileged, but he didn’t base his ministry on serving them.  Maybe as churches in America we could do a better job of following Jesus instead of following our bottom lines.

So, privilege is real.  And while we may be tempted to go with the societal flow and serve and minister to the privileged first, that’s not the call of God from the pages of the Bible.  No!  His call, instead, is to care for the poor, the under-resourced, the oppressed, the forgotten, and those without privilege.  That doesn’t mean that those with privilege are to be ignored, they (including me!) just shouldn’t be the focus of all that we do as followers of Jesus!

 

What do you think?  How should the fact that privilege is real impact the way we follow Jesus?  Let me know in the comments below and please be kind and civil.  I actively monitor all comments.

Thanks!