Cro-Magnon, Hiroshima and the Carpenter's Son

I want to shout it out! I feel joy and love and hope. 

I do not feel over-the-top happy, nor can I truly say that I am always full of deep love for others nor can I honestly admit that I never grow sad or have doubts.  But I must admit, I am compelled to share that more often than not I do indeed experience joy, more often than not I do indeed feel love and more often than not I do indeed live in an abiding hope.  The reason is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Before my conversion to Christianity, or more aptly put, my realization of who Jesus really is, I was not often joyful, I had little love for myself or others and I felt despair more than I felt hope.  Jesus made the difference.  I came to a small country church in Northern California a young man full of doubt and anger on Easter Sunrise 1980.  I had not been to church in years, and though confirmed a Roman Catholic, had decided Christianity - and all religion - was fairly worthless.  I went to church at the insistence of a friend, and only because she offered to drive the 60 miles it would it take to get me to that ridiculous (in my mind) place. 

Once there I heard it. The resurrection story. I had heard it before, but this was the first time it occurred to me – and it occurred with a power I had never experienced before – that it might be true.  The pastor said (he didn’t shout, jump and down, or use other silly histrionics that I loved to mock), “Jesus is alive. He rose from the dead.  Buddha remains in his grave.  Confucius remains in his grave. Mohamed remains in his grave.  Even Moses remains in his grave.  But Jesus left his tomb, he is alive.”

It struck me then, and it still does, that if indeed Jesus rose from the dead, then He is who claimed to be -  the “Son of God”, whatever that really meant.  I felt thunderstruck. Literally, I felt electricity-like charges flow through my body (weird, huh?), and I knew it . . . I just really knew it to be true. Jesus rose from the dead.  My life was forever changed.  I have been following Jesus as best as I know how, which mostly means relying upon God’s grace with a deep and humble understanding that no really has any sense of God’s true grandeur or power or grace.  And as a result a man who used to very much distrust and dislike most people now mostly loves people, and can receive their love; a man who used to sense depression and discouragement (despite being, for that time, fairly “successful” and “popular”) now senses mostly hope, gratitude and faith. 

For me, the resurrection is the lynchpin of the Christian faith. The risen Jesus is indeed demonstrated to be the “Lord of All” and the “Son of God” and the “Savior” because of the resurrection.  Not just another prophet/martyr/philosopher/guru. The Lord. My Lord.

Following my conversion, several years into my new life as a Christian, I doubted again.  What if the resurrection is a fairy tale?  My goal was truth, and if there is a God, surely God wanted truth.  And if the truth led to the possibility that there is no God (the assumption I had before my conversion) then, well, truth must be truth.  What is real is always, in my opinion, better than what is pleasant but illusory. 

Researching the resurrection led me down many paths, for this is a topic that has had considerable debate of course, throughout the 2000 year Christian era.  I do not here have time to trace out the path of years of examining this core tenant of what led me to experience a life-change.  But I can say that I am convinced that the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is an historic fact.  The resurrection of Jesus was not a hallucination, a resuscitation, confabulation or a conspiracy.  The resurrection of Jesus is simply a fact of history. 

Cro-Magnon painted nicely on walls in France.  Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten.  Hannibal crossed the Pyrenees with elephants and troops.  Jesus rose from the dead.  Abraham Lincoln was president of the United States during the Civil War.  Americans walked on the moon. 

I am a Christian because God changed my heart and because I have become convinced intellectually that Jesus died on a cross and rose from dead.  Many historical events have global impact today despite their occurrence long ago (the first stone tool used by ancient humans, the Magna Carta, Hiroshima, etc.).  History’s zenith is the resurrection.  God gave tangible, clear, powerful evidence of His existence and intimate, compassionate, effective love for all humankind.  Jesus is that evidence.  The resurrection seals it.   

My heart is strangely warmed. 

Vote for Jesus?

Vote for Jesus!  Cute slogan – not possible. Not even Jesus would endorse that option.  In the flesh he refused to be crowned by a crowd eager for his early rule, and shared with Pontius Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this earth” (Jn.18.36). In fact, Jesus warned his disciples not to engage in political games the way the “gentiles” do, seeking to be in a position to “lord” their authority over others, but rather to become “servants of all” (Mtw.20.25). Jesus and His disciples through the ages have a globally redemptive view that transcends nationalism, party divides and political power plays.  Nonetheless, Christians are called to engage their world, often engaging in healthy ways with political movements.

Many Evangelical Christians will sense some ambivalence in casting their presidential vote this year. President Obama self-identifies as a Christian, being converted to faith and baptized as an adult.  Many conservative Christians question how his faith has been evidenced through some of the issues he has embraced.  Mitt Romney self-identifies as a Mormon, very committed to his faith.  Most Evangelical Christians, including Free Methodists, view Mormonism as a non-Christian cult.  I don’t know the religious views of Gary Johnson (Libertarian candidate) or Jill Stein (Green candidate).  Regardless, this election is not a time in which Christians vote for their next ecclesial leader, but for a person of sound character and healthy mind with the ability to lead the United States through very troubled times.

Perhaps Christ-followers should vote for the candidates or parties that seem to align best with Jesus or Kingdom or Christian values. This also creates a dilemma. There is no single “biblical world-view” and fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ have drawn quite different conclusions on many core matters (for example just war versus pacifism). 

It will likely prove a very dangerous stance to claim any particular candidate or party is the godly one, and to judge as unspiritual (or unpatriotic … these are not the same) those who disagree.  Some may believe that surely all true Biblical Christians would endorse the same set of core values or issues as being closest to the heart of God.  This is simply not true. 

Around the same era, speaking to the larger context of the Jewish people of faith, three prophets of God, led by the Spirit of God, preaching the Word of God proclaimed three very different agendas. Malachi proclaimed a deep concern for marriage, crying out that “God hates divorce!” and pointing to the disintegrating family as a core cause of national and spiritual distress (Malachi 2). Zechariah had a different emphasis, “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other (Zech.7:8-9).”  Haggai had a different emphasis, blaming economic woes on neglect of the temple of God (Haggai 1). 

If we were prone to label and divide, pick sides and play party politics, we might be tempted to say a conservative “values party” leader like Malachi is dead-on but that a liberal social justice guy like Zechariah is bad for the country. Or visa-versa. Or point to Haggai's religious solution of getting back to prayer, worship and building up the temple as the truly godly approach and wonder about how faith-compromised the more socially involved Malachi or Zechariah might be. Knowing that each of these “agendas” originate from the Spirit of God, we are not left with the option of playing the labels game and claiming one is closest to the “Kingdom agenda.”

What if God’s best desire for a nation is an agenda too big for one party to contain?  What if the “mind of Christ” is too big for one person to have the whole picture?  What if every nation needs the values of personal morality and responsibility and social justice and care for those who cannot care for themselves in order to be closer to healthy?  What if portions of “Kingdom agenda” issues are reflected by Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Independents and Green or Tea Partiers alike? And what if aspects of each agenda may in fact embrace issues that oppose the heart of God?

What if Zechariah had the best words for voting Americans of faith during this contentious time? “In your hearts do not think evil of each other!”  It is my prayer that nowhere in any church in the North Central Conference will someone utter something as uninformed or unspiritual as, “No true Christian can vote for (fill in the blank).”  Engage what God has called you to engage with all your heart, contribute to the betterment of the nation in which you live, while holding onto enough gracious humility to bless those engaged in issues that you do not feel are as important, or who take a different point of view than you do.  

Let us endeavor to prayerfully work together as the people of God to make the best decisions we can, and to work as fruitfully as possible across every political divide.  Jesus as Lord (rather than any political party) makes this possible. Jesus as Lord, I believe, makes this necessary.

Leadership & High Anxiety

As we near the time which observes the birth of the Son of God, I rejoice. At the same time, on occasion I’m flummoxed. Jesus just plain didn’t give us a lot of clarity on important things. Yes, we know he is the savior of the world, he certainly modeled and taught extraordinary love. On the other hand Jesus did not leave us with the 10 steps to abundant living or the top 5 practices that will guarantee happiness. Buddha made it easy, follow the Noble Eightfold Path and find enlightenment. Mohammed was clearer still – practice the Five Pillars of Islam. Granted, the good news of salvation through faith in Christ as a gift from God leading to a life of love is about as simple as it gets. But in this simplicity is the real difficulty. It’s ambiguous (in fact, this is a real complaint by Muslims against Christianity – too easy to interpret the faith in too many different ways).

In reality, however, Jesus is the ultimate model of excellent leadership. There is a temptation in times of high anxiety and stress (as had been first century Palestine and 21st century America – and really just about every era and place if you study history) to look to the guru with the clear, simple idea that saves the day. The leader people want is she who can promise a fix, quick is better, simple is best, to whatever ails us. The leader people need is she who can distinguish between technical and adaptive challenges, and provide the framework in which people learn to face hard realities, adapting their behaviors and attitudes for greater health.

There are two basic situations that require two different kinds of leadership. First, a technical problem requires technical leadership. Some situations have a technical solution, and clear leadership with 3 easy steps is exactly the kind of response that is necessary. My car is broken (situation), what must be done? The mechanic (in this situation, the leader of choice) will diagnose the problem (spark plugs need to be replaced) and fix it (replace the spark plugs). Most of the situations Jesus dealt with, and with which those who pastor churches or lead board and committees deal with, are not merely technical problems.

Second, an adaptive problem requires adaptive leadership. Sometimes, identifying the problem is not simple (why is my church declining?) for even the most expert of leaders, nor is identifying the solution (is it prayer, evangelism, worship style, discipleship, demographic??). It is maladaptive and unhelpful for leaders to provide easy answers. It is equally unhelpful for those seeking to be led to expect all the answers to flow from the point guru (or senior pastor). In adaptive leadership, the leader and those being led must covenant together to learn how to identify the real problems and their solutions. In a technical situation, the leader with the know-how should provide the easy solution, but in an adaptive situation the leader must assist those being led to grow and learn together how best to change under the circumstances.

Jesus said, “Come follow me,” and “take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” That was an adaptive invitation. God invites us into the God-life which provides no easy answers, but an invitation to continual growth, continual learning, continual facing of our own weaknesses and submitting them continually to the abundant grace of God. Indeed, how amazing it is that the God-Man would be born of woman, and by virtue of this entry into our lives, need to grow in stature and wisdom.

Leaders of the North Central Conference – resist the temptation to jump to easy conclusions about what you and the church you lead must be and do. Above all, resist the temptation, and it is very strong, to need to appear like the man or woman who has all the answers. Instead, keep focused on the Jesus-way, and do the harder and more honest work of keeping your congregation and community focused on the real-life challenges that lie ahead, while providing the environment of mutual love and respect that allows for learning, failing, risking, succeeding, failing and learning some more.

It’s not the 8-fold path or 5-pillars, or 3 things to fix your church forever way of thinking. But perhaps is more authentically the Jesus way of leading.

Your servant,
Superintendent Mark