the truth about sex [an event with @theideacamp]

Last summer in Uganda I heard about an injustice that absolutely broke my heart for a couple of reasons. First, because of what was being done to take advantage young men and women (really boys and girls). And second, because the church was being used as the tool to make it happen.

Essentially, I was told about how sex trafficers would use the prosperity gospel in the church to lure in poverty-stricken teenagers. The promise of a better life was dangled only for the teens to later be sold into the sex trade.

But this isn’t the only sex problem facing the church today. It doesn’t take much time watching TV to pick up on the fact that sex drives much of our culture. There are also questions about how homosexuality is dealt with in the church. And divorce rates are just as high in the church as they are outside the church. The list goes on…

That’s why I’m thankful for guys like Charles Lee and his The Idea Camp events.

The next Idea Camp conference (Sept 27-28) is on the subject of sex. Check out what Charles has to say about it:

In a culture formed and broken by tainted views of human sexuality, what should followers of Christ embody?

Join us for fresh, honest and transformative conversations with leading thinkers on topics including sexual identity, orientation, abuse, gender perceptions, porn, marriage, family, prostitution, and slavery.

The issues related to human sexuality are too often misunderstood, ignored, or avoided in far too many churches. The Idea Camp will facilitate a safe and transparent environment of learning, sharing of insights from the respective fields of focus, and practical insights and examples of holistic care.

See sex for what it could be, not what we’ve made it.

I’m excited to be a part of the team that will bring this event to you. I’ll have more details soon, but we’re planning to have some pretty exciting blogger opportunities surrounding this conference that you may be able to get involved with. So stay tuned for more information on that…

Whether you serve in ministry in your church, or just have a heart to be a part of the conversation around these issues, then I would challenge you to make this conference a priority. There are fewer conversations in the church today that are more important than this.

And if you register now, you can still get the early-bird rates! It’s a great venue, and we have some great facilitators! Don’t miss it!

book review: deliberate simplicity

Deliberate Simplicity is about being committed to the core expressions of the church and nothing else.  Dropping pretense, program and sometimes even pixels to maintain a purity in the mission of the Jesus.  Dave Browning is the pastor of Christ The King church, a community relentlessly focused on three things; Small Groups, Worship and Outreach.

All that stuff I love. The book?  Not so much.

The book pushes this idea of a “Deliberately Simple” church hard, too hard.  It felt more infomercial than inspiration.  And in the end an ill fated attempt at creating a new kind of church brand.  The heart was lost in the tone (or maybe the small font, was it just me?)

Deliberate Simplicity opens with the telling of a story of a perfect utopian faith community.   A church that has it all.  Which church would this be?  The author’s of course.  It’s tough to get into a story that leads like that.

DS oversold itself.

A few lines that drove the book for me…

(On the use of overhead projectors.) “We’re not trying to dazzle people with Pixels.” Not Shane Hipps fans I take it.

“This is not to say that Deliberately Simple church is the only church interested in reaching out to a lost world. But…”

“I have people tell me, ‘Dave I don’t go to church, but if I ever did, I would check out Christ The King.’”

“CTK was shaping up differently than any church church I’d seen before. I was moaning in my office about how I didn’t have a mentor to show me the way.”

CTK is “different than any church you’ve ever seen before”.

Felt too self promoted.  DS also seemed to keep us at a distance from the author, leaving us with charts, church stories and lots of quotes from other people.

Sounds like God’s doing some cool stuff at CTK but as a reader/leader it didn’t work for me.

Begs the question though, do we always need to try and brand the great things God is doing and attempt to sell them?  Can commercialization of even good stuff be harmful?

[real-time connections] author’s closing thoughts

I’m really excited about Realtime Connections for several reasons:

First, it’s for everyday disciples – not just preachers.  My other books have been geared primarily to pastors and church leaders, but many everyday disciples wound up reading them and wanted something more practical. Also, when the Great Commission is fulfilled it will take the whole body of Christ – not just preachers.

Second, I was able to tell lots of stories of how everyday disciples are making a difference from a stay-at-home mom with an autistic child to a policeman, to an NGO leader, from the Global President of Disney theme parks to a young computer geek – and to get to tell parts of my story as well.  The stories are the power in this thing.

Third, at the end of each chapter I was able to give action steps so that if a person will read the book and finish each action step – by the time they’re finished with the book, they’ll have a life plan for engagement. 

Realtime Connections IS NOT an idea, a theory, a concept we should try – it is something we have already done as a church in Vietnam.  It is something our members are doing on their own.  It is an approach that I am helping other churches engage in in other parts of the world.  It have been proven time and time again.  It is the present future.

I LOVE the forwards – those are two people I love a lot.  Rick has mentored me since we first started NorthWood.  He’s taken my calls and even checked on me for no reason over the years.   Eboo is the one who helped me understand the concept of multi-faith and to have a Muslim do the forward for a book on the Great Commission – well – that’s just too wild – thanks Eboo. 

In the book I also begin to try to shift the conversation on global issues.  All religions are all places and how we speak of faith and how we serve others must go through some transformation to bring us out of a 17^th century response to the Great Commission to the 21^st century.  Issues like dealing with Muslims, Religious freedom, how we link with the global church beyond “missions” and “denominationalism,” and moving from society as a social contract to a moral covenant.  Another challenge when we think of the Great Commission is how do we justify doing things far away when things are so broken here – but in Chapter 7 I explain how our members are more involved in our inner-city than they ever would have been – because they’ve seen the world and know what they need to do here.   

I’m always asked by people – if I can read only one book – which one should I read – my answer will be simple now  – Realtime.

Bob Roberts Jr.

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[real-time connections] chapter 10: stop subverting the message

As always, I am grateful for the opportunity to take part in one of Dan’s group blogging projects. Initially I had asked Dan for a different chapter assignment.  Apparently my reply to “Dan only” was against group blogging protocol and the chapter I requested was given to another.  That was fine with me as I feel that God’s hand works mysteriously at times and sometimes the message we are looking for isn’t always the message that is given to us.  Sometimes we hear it, sometimes we don’t. Heck, sometimes it hits us a month later. 

Anyways, I always look at these group blogging opportunities as a moment to stop and listen for the “personal”  message.  Stop Subverting the Message was the chapter that I ended up with.  First, let me say that I enjoyed Mr. Robert’s book immensely.  There is a timeliness to it that spoke to me.  Beyond the chapter’s message of witnessing to Muslims, the writing had a greater relevance to me. 

So on to my chapter………in Stop Subverting the Message, Mr. Roberts shares his thoughts on witnessing to Muslims and sharing the “Great Commission.”  The notion of Muslim religion, the Nation of Islam and many things in the Middle East tends to strike fear in American’s hearts.  Americans tend to think ethnocentrically and it has become instinctive for us to fear the things that we know little of. We tend to know little more than what the pundits on TV offer or the IPod teaches us.  In our world of sound bites and short attention spans, we have people who proclaim terrorists based on name and region.  McCarthyism for the 21^st century. What do you think of when you hear the word Muslim?  Terrorist?  Jihad? 9/11 attacks?  There is a certain amount of tacit fear involved with Muslims.  While nearly a third of the world professes Christianity, more than 20% of the world follows Islam.   

As the Middle East is the epicenter of many religious cultures, including Christianity, Judaism and the Muslim faith, there is a certain incongruity between the peaceful nature of all three religions and the continual turmoil and unrest between these groups.  Mr. Roberts shares his thoughts on the relationship between Palestinians and Israelis.  We are taught as Christians that the Jewish people are God’s chosen people.  Choosing not to take sides, Mr. Roberts recognizes that we are all the same in God’s eyes.  He states “God has no longer confined his redemptive work to a single nation……God wants every nation and people group to be reconciled to him…..”  It is our job to share the word of Christ and to be the witness for God to all people.  Mr. Roberts shares his vision of bringing the word of God to all cultures and people of the world.    The way to another’s heart is through understanding.  To create a dialogue with someone who has a deeply differing perspective on religion, we must work to “… resolve differences with respect and courtesy…”    

I work in customer service.  Anyone who has ever worked in customer service is familiar with the credo that “the customer is always right.”  The credo should read “the customer is always right, even when they are wrong.”  What that really means is it’s all about perspective.  To understand others, to come to an accord and open yourself to sharing ideas…..one must go about this with respect and courtesy.  In customer service, no one ever wins in an argument with a customer.  But by adjusting your perspective, you can come to a place of respect and understanding.  It’s as much about the delivery as it is about the message.  Let our actions move people more than our words.   Imagine the opportunities that perspective could afford us?  If we look at people who differ from us ideologically and write them off, are we really serving God to the best of our abilities?  Should we only save the save-worthy? 

Mr. Roberts asserts that “end time speculation about Muslims has covertly influenced American politics for decades.”   Fear based opinions that perpetuate prejudice.  To overcome prejudice and preconceived ideas, Mr. Roberts ventured to Afghanistan shortly after the 9/11 attacks, in early 2002 to perform some humanitarian work.  While traveling, he spent time with a group of Imams.  By integrating himself into their day to day living, he found himself praying alongside them and engaging them in deep conversation.  By showing respect to their ways and culture, Roberts was able to share the word of Christ.  While the words may not have touched the imams, his respect allowed him to “Live out our lives in front of them as a witness to God’s love.”    

As Roberts identifies the Muslims of his past as previously fear inspiring, but now provoking his Christian love and fellowship, shouldn’t we likewise consider the people whose ideology differs from our own and embrace them?  Imagine the possibilities?  As mirrored against today’s political landscape imagine the inroads that could be made by addressing adversaries with respect and coming to them with understanding, bringing the word of God in a loving manner.  How many times have you seen political demonstrations with signs calling for God’s wrath against sinners?  It brings to mind the protests against same sex marriage.  While I don’t advocate the sin, Christ teaches us to love the sinner but abhor the sin.  Hey, we are all sinners in God’s eyes.  While words have an impact, our actions are much more telling.  Robert’s offers the question, what is the difference between a fundamentalist Muslim jihadist calling for a holy war and a televangelist calling for the bombing of a Muslim nation?   

Shouldn’t we try to move someone’s heart with love and Christ-like actions instead of hateful signs and derision?  Imagine the possibilities?  We have Christians living side by side with Muslims?  Republicans reconciling with Democrats?  Cats living with Dogs?  McDonalds and Burger King drive-up windows intertwined.  Where it really gets difficult is moving past the specter of fear.  Fear of the unknown.  Fear of things changing and where that might carry us. 

Only understanding can overcome fear.   How can Christians and Muslims relate to each other?  The first thing that popped into my head was Rodney King.  Rodney King became the flash point for civil unrest and racial tension back in the early 90’s.  An unlikely spokesperson for peace, Rodney simply said “Can’t we all just get along?”    

Working side by side and creating an atmosphere of respect and truly illustrating the riches that God provides his people is the start.  The loving manner in which we share those gifts is the start of creating the “Great Commission” that Robert’s references.   

One of Robert’s contacts in the Middle East is Evangelical Palestinian pastor Bishara Awad.  Awad’s mission is engaging the entire Middle East for Christ.  By not focusing on a specific group, the message is spread universally.  Robert’s and Awad recognize that Christians in the Middle East are not only challenged with bringing the word of God to Muslims, but also to the Jewish who don’t recognize Christ as the son of God.  Engage all.  Engage the known, engage the unknown.  Stop subverting the message.   

When we stand up for the Lord and share our hearts with others, in spite of our fears, that is when we truly serve the lord.  Ultimately it is our role to engage ALL people for the Lord, not just the people who look like us, talk like us and believe the way we do.  Robert’s and Awad began by creating humanitarian missions together that would employ both Muslim and Christian, working together towards a common goal.  What are you going to do?   

As I juxtapose that with the current political landscape of America, I see the same culture of fear.  Are we listening to messages from false prophets?  Is the message that you are listening to perpetuating fear and distrust?  Do we discount people who don’t look like us, think like us or act like us?  As we work to accomplish things, are we driven by fear?  In all things we do, are we sending a message of love?  Do our actions convey Christ-like love?  Whatever your political affiliation, stop subverting the message!  

In conclusion, Roberts asks

Do you have friends who are of a different religion?

Look at the Non-Christian places of worship in your area…..is there a way that you can reach out to these groups?  In what ways can you serve people of other religion?

Have you seen speculative theology and political bias undermine the Great Commission?

Inform yourself.  Open yourself up to other cultures with respect and humility.

Let your witness be conveyed in not only your words, but in your respect and actions with others.   

Thanks Mr. Roberts for your inspiring words. 

Thanks Dan for the chance to share my thoughts.

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