Diversity and the Call of the Kingdom

[For the next few months, my blog comes from my Page 1 comments in my role as Senior Editor of Youthworker Journal. Check it out at http://www.youthworker.com]

Diversity

It’s about time.

For all the years I have been involved as a ministry leader, many of us have treated the notion of diversity with kid gloves. We have generally made it mostly about race, or sometimes gender. But it is so much bigger, so much more central to a life of faith. And yet on the list of what being a disciple means, most of us barely have it on our radar screen. And at best it is a low-priority issue.

Looking around today, however, more and more followers of Jesus are finally beginning to read what the Bible actually says, instead of finding ways to mold it into what we want it to say.  

Diversity: different people who have been called to the same family. We are called to be one, those of us from different ages, ethnicities, political parties, communities, nations, tribes and tongues. Perhaps it is time that we who believe that Jesus’ life and message matters need to step front and center and live and teach the Truth that the Scriptures consistently proclaim: all men and women are God’s children, and our differences make us stronger, more grateful, for the magnificence of the God of Creation.

In a world torn apart by convictions and perspectives, where the rich and the poor, the privileged and the vulnerable, the downcast and the encouraged all scramble to find a community where they can love and serve and contribute, the words of the Bible remain our constant guide:

“With your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9);

“When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood. Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow” (Isaiah 1:15-17).

The time has come to recognize that the heart of “discipleship” is aligning ourselves with God’s purpose and work in the world. Isaiah’s prophecy is a wakeup call for every believer, and especially for every Christian leader. We need to help men and women, and boys and girls, to understand that God’s invitation to follow him is so much more than what Dallas Willard calls “the Gospel of sin management.” Being a disciple, or a “learner/follower,” is about the call to do right, seek justice, encouraged the oppressed, and defend the cause and plead the case of those who need our help.

Diversity goes far beyond debates about race and gender. It is at the heart of Jesus’ work and message. Whether it involves learning how to follow Jesus in how we consider the different, the meek, the deaf, the jailed, the dirty, the mean, or the sad, Jesus has gone before us, bringing his message of hope and reconciliation, and we are compelled to follow.

It’s about time!

Pop Culture, The Eagles and Pet Peeves

[For the next few months, my blog comes from my Page 1 comments in my role as Senior Editor of Youthworker Journal. Check it out at http://www.youthworker.com]

Pop Culture, The Eagles and Pet Peeves

The encounter happened when I served as an interim preacher. After one sermon, a kind, elderly woman approached me and asked, “What music feeds your soul?”

I answered her honestly. “The Eagles,” I said, “especially the early years.”

            She looked ready to faint. Instead she walked away mumbling to herself.

I was her senior pastor by the time the 2004 presidential elections came around. In one sermon I said I believed it was my job to help members of the congregation think theologically about their political choices rather than fall for ideological rhetoric or sweeping generalizations.

“I will not tell you who I am going to vote for,” I said. “Instead, I want to explain how I am going to make my decision.”

            After this sermon my elderly friend approached me again. “I know exactly who you are going to vote for,” she said, “because there is only one way a Christian CAN vote!” 

She stared at me, daring me to disagree.

I smiled, put my hand on her arm and tried to create a safe middle ground where we could talk. “All I am asking is that we step back, ask good questions about the candidates and their positions, and make sure we are fighting God’s battles–not our own.”

“How dare you?” she stammered before storming off.

            I thought about this encounter June, 2008, as I attended a candidate forum on faith and values featuring the three leading Democratic candidates.

            Culture has divided believers for centuries, whether it’s politics or pop culture. At times we all cling so tightly to our pet peeves and personal agendas that we miss God's call for how to engage the world he loves. 

            Whether it’s burning Beatles albums or insisting that God can only work through one political party, we get stuck and the Kingdom passes us by.

            Meanwhile, I still get fired up when I hear “Life in the Fast Lane.” And I’m still not telling who I’m voting for.

Questioning Sports’ Game Book for Life

[For the next few months, my blog comes from my Page 1 comments in my role as Senior Editor of Youthworker Journal. Check it out at http://www.youthworker.com]

We’ve all heard the mantra that “sports builds character.” But I wonder what kinds of character lessons our unquenchable cultural fixation with sports is passing on to young people.

            A century and an ocean away, British prep schools operated on the assumption that elite young men could learn through athletic competition much of what they needed as future military, government and business leaders. The theory was that cricket, rowing and other sporting activities could teach tomorrow’s ruling class about moral authority, courage, dignity, fair play, and the importance of teamwork.

            That was then—where are we now? Sociologists agree that sports are a training ground that reinforces the driving values of our culture. Unfortunately, one of the primary lessons is that the number-one goal—both on the field and in life—is to win at all costs regardless of whether it requires cheating, performance-enhancing substances, or dirty play.

As I argue in my book Hurt: Inside the World of Today’s Teenagers (Baker, 2005), for many young people, sports does more harm than good. But as soon as I say this, many will write me off for being sacrilegious toward one of our culture’s major sacred cows. Even in the church, many have blindly baptized sports, accentuating its perceived benefits and ignoring its darker side. In many churches, pastors joke about the primacy people place on sports (“Don’t worry, the service will be over before kickoff!”).

There are hundreds of ministries, parachurch organizations, and sports camps targeting modern gladiators or their young progeny. And where would our youth ministry programming be without basketball or soccer tournaments?

            Many of these activities accomplish much good, as we see in the roundtable discussion of sports ministry leaders in this issue. But too often we forget to ask the hard questions. Questions such as:

• What kinds of lessons does sports really teach kids about life?

• What kind of character are we developing in kids when we endorse competitive T-ball, paid trainers for Little Leaguers, and child cheerleaders for pee-wee football?

• What impact does our fixation on money and celebrity in pro sports—one example being the growing number of broadcasts of high school sporting events—have on impressionable young people?

• And what does God think about the behaviors, language, and attitudes that characterize our modern equivalent of ancient gladiatorial events?

            This issue of YouthWorker Journal is trying to challenge you to develop a theology of sports. We hope the articles help you do that. I would like to say more about this, but I can’t right now. I have to throw on my jersey and heat the cheese sauce. The Notre Dame-Stanford game is about to start.