"The Battle of Red and Blue"

The new election cycle that we are in highlights one of the less attractive aspects of American culture. Put simply, there is a battle raging in our society – and I am sorry to say – in our churches, as well. At the risk of oversimplifying, it is the battle of red and blue. We have become divided along party lines – or that is what the media would have us think. I am not concerned by the fact that we disagree (that is actually a sign of health); my concern is the way that we disagree. It seems that in recent years, it is not enough to discuss and debate issues; it has become popular to demonize those that disagree with us.
I know that many people watched the civic forum from Saddleback Church last week. I personally was not surprised by anything either of the candidates said. What thrilled me the most is what Pastor Rick Warren said in his opening comments. He said, “Both of these guys are my friends. I don’t happen to agree with everything that either of them teach or believe, but they both care deeply about America. They are both patriots.” He went on to make a comment that almost brought tears of joy to my eyes. He said, “In America, we have got to learn to disagree without demonizing each other. And we need to restore civility to the public discourse.” (to which he received thunderous applause).
Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth... You are the light of the world...You are a city on a hill." But, I would submit that if our witness to the love of Christ has become so polluted by partisan bickering, by demonizing others that think differently than we do, than our salt has lost its saltiness, and we have hid our lights under a bushel. This is an issue of the right and the left. No one is immune.
The great failure of the church is that rather than be salt of the earth, light of the world, a city on a hill – rather than be a living witness to God’s love – we have bought in lock, stock and barrel to the world’s agenda, and we have cloaked it in Christian witness. As that great theologian, preacher, and (oh yeah) rock star, Bono once said, “"The Left mocks the Right. The Right knows it's right. Two ugly traits. How far should we go to try to understand each other's point of view? Maybe the distance grace covered on the cross is a clue." That’s heavy.
Christians needs to understand that our witness to the world is not defined by how we vote. It is defined by how we conduct ourselves. We can certainly hold political opinions – in fact, we should. But, we must realize that our OPINIONS are not the salt of the earth. Our opinions represent our best effort to be faithful to Jesus Christ. But, they are not our witness to the world. Our witness to the world is measured by our ability to – like Jesus – be a presence of love, forgiveness, and reconciliation. That is how we are called to be the salt of the earth. That is how we are to be a light to the world. That is how we are a city on a hill. That is why the church exists.

Coyote Ugly!?!

O.k., I had an interesting experience this afternoon. I was hiking in Chino Hills State Park after work. I have been wanting to try to hike up to Gilman Peak for a while. It was a bit warmer than I had hoped, but I struck out anyway. I entered from a Yorba Linda trailhead. The trail is called, appropriately enough, "Easy Street." It is a nice, downhill grade, single-track (much easier, by the way, on the hike out to the peak than on the way back when it is a slight uphill grade - but, I digress). So, I am walking along Easy Street when I look up and see a coyote walking on the very same path I am on, but towards me. This is a predicament, I think to myself. He is about 20 feet away and closing fast. I did not want to turn and run. Not, because I was terribly courageous. I just didn't want to look like prey to this coyote (even though that is exactly how I felt). So, I just stood my ground and took out my camera. The coyote approached me and when he got about 5-7 feet away, he went off the trail and into the bush, walked around me, and came back on the trail. I took pictures of him coming and going. It was quite an exciting episode for me. I have seen coyotes before, but I have either been in a car (they sometimes come through our neighborhood in North Tustin), or I have been far enough away that I do not feel threatened. This was definitely different. This situation was "coyote ugly" (please forgive the pun, I couldn't resist).
Anyway, I don't have any deep truth that I learned (except for the obvious stuff - prayer works, even when said in a hurry, life is precious, etc.). I was pleased that I actually managed to remain calm. I just thought I would share the story with whoever is out there. It is one of my little adventures in life. God bless.

"Sacred Ground"

I spent the day yesterday at Lazy W Ranch, the United Methodist Camp in the Santa Ana District. The camp is located in Hot Springs Canyon off of Ortega Highway. It is a beautiful camp. But, more than that, it is sacred ground. It is sacred because of all of the things that have occurred there over the years. People began their Christian walk there, renewed their faith (i.e. "moi"), saw the face of God there, discovered and/or accepted a call to ministry there. It is a holy place.

Yesterday, I hiked up to the cross (not a bright idea at 3:00 p.m. in 95 degree heat, but I never claimed to be the sharpest tool in the shed). It is a mile hike (doesn't sound so bad) with an 813 feet ascent (Egads!). It was brutal. But, something struck me as I battled heat and fatigue, etc. (no, I don't mean heat exhaustion). We were studying the book of James that day, "be doers of the word, not just hearers only..." I asked myself two questions as I continued to climb the hill. First, why do I want to do this? And second, am I equipped to do this? It occurred to me that if we are going to be "doers of the word," we must ask ourselves the same questions. Do I want to be a doer of the word? As method actors like to say, "what's my motivation?" Hopefully, the answer is that I have been made new by Jesus Christ. The second question, however, is more tricky. Am I equipped? To be equipped to be a doer of the word, we need to (a) be a part of the Christian community - a church. God is a God of relationships. We also need to (b) actually spend some time in that word, reading, studying, peppering our pastors with questions. That is our story, and we need to know it if we are going to live it.

There is much, much more, I imagine. But, quite frankly, I am exhausted.

"Velvet Elvis"

I just finished reading a great book entitled "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell, the pastor at Mars Hill Church in Michigan. It is a great book; I highly recommend it (here's the Amazon.com link if you need a little push, Velvet Elvis). It is such an insightful book. I am heartened by the movement that I see in the evangelical church. The movement is to a very happy place that I like to call the "extreme center" (of course it is going to be something that I advocate). Bell's book takes seriously the identity of Jesus as Christ, the bible, the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the kingdom of God. He is a good scholar, a good theologian, and an inspiring writer. But, enough about Rob Bell. What about the message? I hear you.

He says something that I think is profound about the cross, something that those seeking to use Jesus as nothing more than a "ticket to heaven" often forget. He writes, "The point of the cross isn't forgiveness. Forgiveness leads to something much bigger; restoration" (p. 108). That is important. Because the church is not just in the heaven business. We are in the restoration business.

But, what does that look like Pastor Jon? Great question. Later, Bell writes, "For Jesus, the question wasn't, how do I get to heaven? but how do I bring heaven here?" (p. 147). And that is the business of the church, to be about bringing heaven here, because Jesus has already given us a taste of it in his life and ministry, he has freed us from the grip of sin by taking ours to the cross, and he has won the final victory over sin through the power of the resurrection. Can I get an "amen?"

"Powers and Principalities"

As we prepare to conclude our series on sin, there is one more issue to bring up (there is always at least one more thing) - that is the reality of "social sin." No, I do not mean sin that is committed in social situations (let's just not go there). What I referring to is sin that has literally been knitted into the social fabric, institutional sin. The Apostle Paul writes about this sin in Ephesians when he says, "For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." I love the phrase that the King James Version uses, "powers and principalities." I am not really sure even what it means; but it is poetic.

Either way, what Paul is talking about is not some nebulous X-files, "the truth is out there" kind of evil, he is talking about sin that has become so prevalent, and so accepted, that it has become a part of the machine that makes the world go. That does not make it o.k. (hence Paul's call for us to "struggle" against it (Paul is always struggling, or wrestling, or pressing, or running - I love that about him). Oscar Romero, former archbishop in San Salvador, who was assassinated while conducting mass in 1980, described it this way; "Social sin is the crystallization...of individuals' sins into permanent structures that keeps sin in being and makes its force to be felt by the majority of people."

Said another way, the old adage "that's just the way things are" won't cut it in the kingdom of God. Because sin made things the way they are, and Jesus died for all sin - not just the one or two that religious leaders decide are bad.

"The Cross and the Flag"

With the election season fast approaching, the rhetoric has been turned up to epic proportions. The candidates, the pundits, and the putzes would have us believe that if we disagree with their world view, than we are stupid, useless excuses for human beings. Am I overstating the case? You decide. During this season, I quote Bono (as I often do) who said, "The Left mocks the Right. The Right knows it's right. Two ugly traits. How far should we go to try to understand each other's point of view? Maybe the distance grace covered on the cross is a clue." That is absolutely heavy. Anyway, in the spirit of finding the via media, the middle way, the (dare I say it) "extreme center," we are starting a new sermon series on August 17 entitled "The Cross and the Flag: Christianity and citizenship." It is going to be a provocative series. Check it out if you're in the area. Here's the commercial.