DownshoreDrift

Missional Holidays: The Nations Came To Our Church For Thanksgiving Last Night!

Every year, we have a huge Thanksgiving Dinner, the Sunday night before Thanksgiving. We bring tons of food and pack out the sanctuary, which also serves as our fellowship space. Each year, we are almost filled to capacity with our members and their friends. We eat, sing, and people share from the floor what they are thankful to God for. It is really a beautiful time as the Body of Christ is on display and we see the beauty of Christ at work.

This year, our Thanksgiving Dinner promised to be a little different. Over the past couple of years, we have been praying about how we could reach across ethnic and cultural lines and we are starting to see that happen. We are seeing African Americans and Hispanics come to our church. Our youth group has doubled in size, primarily with African American boys who are coming to Christ and being discipled. God is at work and it is amazing to see.

Also, we live in Montgomery, AL where Maxwell AFB is colocated. So, we have a lot of military personnel in our church. Every member of the Air Force will come through Maxwell at some point in their career because Air University is here. All of the schools for the Air Force are located here. This also means that international officers and their families from the nations of the world come to Maxwell each year for Air Command and Staff College. Over the past couple of years, people from our church have been adopting these families and have been spending time with them.  When a lady in our church told us that she had invited about thirty of them to our Thanksgiving Dinner, I was happy, but I was also thinking, "Where are we going to fit everyone!"  Our youth minister had already invited the families of the 20 or so new youth that were coming to our church.  We are already usually packed for this event. I am always talking about outreach and missional living, and here was a prime example of how our church had been doing and they wanted to bring everyone together. But, we just don't have much room!  My excitement over the evening was mixed with the implications of a looming disaster as people would not have seats and would bump into each other all night.

I met with my administrative assistant and we just decided that we'd make it work and we weren't going to worry about it. Somehow, it would work out, we hoped. So, we set up every table and chair that we possibly could, started serving early, and trusted God for the rest. And . . . it all worked out!  Somehow, we fit everyone in, and people didn't mind sitting in corners and along the walls and down the hall. It was our largest Thanksgiving Dinner ever!  People shared with one another, gave praise to God for His work in their lives, and enjoyed being together. At one point, I asked people to shout out what nation they were from. There were people there from America (obviously), Mexico, Peru, Brazil, The Philippines, The Ukraine, Germany, India, Egypt, Jordan, Bangledesh, Pakistan, China, Turkmenistan, and other countries that I cannot remember. There were people from 19 countries in all.  We also had a great number of African Americans that are coming to our church now and are getting involved in our body.  That is notable because we are a Southern Baptist church that was lily white just two years ago, and I understand how difficult it is for these barriers to be broken down. 

Jesus was represented and the gospel was spoken by people as they shared. It was beautiful. At one point, an international officer from the Middle East stood up and said how happy he was to be here. He thanked us for inviting him and his family. He also said something very interesting: He said that he was amazed and honored to be in a place where Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and many more could come together and gather in peace. He couldn't believe it.  For many of these people, this was the first time that they had been in an environment like this. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Through Him, we, as Christians, can respect and love others, even though we know that there are differences. We believe and represent that Jesus is the only way to the Father. But, unless we build relationships with people and love them, they will not hear that message. Jesus also enables us to love people different than us because we recognize that each person is made in the image of God. 

In two weeks, we will have our Christmas Extravaganza. We will join together with Family Life Bible Fellowship, an African American church in our city and have a mass choir, singing, praise dance, poetry readings, and other artistic expressions of worship on display. We will celebrate our unity in Christ.  We will eat lots of good food together and we will laugh, pray, and celebrate. The international officers and their families will be invited again and the place will be packed out.  I can't wait!  

Christmas is the celebration of the Incarnation of Christ, where Jesus took on flesh and made His dwelling among us (John 1:14). He is doing it again in churches and communities all across the world.  We'll make room for Him, no matter what it takes, or at least we should. I praise God for people in our church with great imaginations and faith to believe God for great things!

Prophetic vs. Political: Thoughts on the Day After Obama's Election

President Obama. I'm still trying to get used to saying those words. I didn't support him, but now that he is president, I will give him my respect and prayers as he engages the very difficult task of leading our nation. I had an interesting talk with my kids as I took them to school this morning. They asked me why Obama's election was so historic. I was able to explain to them that just a few years ago, it would have been impossible for a black man to be elected president. They didn't understand, so I told them about the evils of racism and how white people behaved in ways that were not pleasing to God. That is changing, and for that I am glad. In many ways, America is a better place today because we are putting aside race as a determining factor in how we treat people. I still believe that the Church can lead the way on this, but I am glad to see America moving on from past sins. In a strange way, America engaged in national repentance last night for over 300 years of wrong. If our eyes are closed, we will miss what is happening.  UPDATE:  My friend Andrew sent me a link to a really interesting CNN article talking about the racial healing that is taking place in America with Obama's victory. Some of the interviews take place in my city of Montgomery, Alabama. Check it out.

As I said in my previous post, I am not worried about a liberal Democrat becoming president. I do not agree with many of Obama's policies, but I trust that God is in control. I choose to look to Him. As I watched the news coverage last night, I heard news anchors who were almost in tears because of their joy. I saw people dancing in the streets and I DID see many people in tears. A lot of people in America now have a great deal of hope that things are going to be better. I understood the emotion from African Americans, and to an extent, I understood why Obama supporters were so happy. Even though I understand, I am struck with the folly of putting our faith in men. I hope that Obama is a good president, but no matter how well he governs, he is just a man. Men fail and disappoint us. It seems that we struggle to learn that lesson.

Along those same lines, I hope that evangelical Christians have learned that the Republican Party is not our hope. It is now fractured, inept, and very sad. They lost their way and we didn't even have enough moral strength to affect the party that we had lashed our hopes to, must lest affect the nation. Something in me says that evangelicals have lost their way as well. Most younger evangelicals that I know have long given up on the Republican Party, seeing it for what it is. The issue of abortion has kept us in the fold up till now, but after years of Republican presidents, a majority in Congress, and 7 out of 9 Supreme Court justices being appointed by Republicans, many understand that if Republicans were going to do something about abortion, they would have done so. We have to get back to changing hearts and minds and that only happens when people have an encounter with God. Unfortunately, our close ties with Republicans have caused many to see evangelicals in a political way, instead of as people overcome by the power of the gospel. We should be involved in politics, but we should do so in a prophetic, transformative way.

A.W. Tozer said, "It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound . . . while our idea of God is erroneous and inadequate."

Rick Warren has said, "What you believe about God determines your happiness, your direction . . . and ever facet of your life."

It appears that our view of God has diminished a great deal and we are bearing the fruit of that. We see God in a consumeristic way, as though He is there primarily to meet our needs. Salvation becomes all about us. Our spiritual life becomes all about us. Church participation becomes all about us. God becomes a means to our own personal happiness. It is not surprising that we view politics, government, the economy, our relationships, our jobs, and our marriages the same way. So, how will things change? We must be salt and light and value God and His glory above everything else. If we will live from that point and lash our hope to Him, then we are free to change and engage the world prophetically. There are a lot of positives that could come from an Obama presidency. Let's make sure that we, as the people of God, act as a blessing to this nation we say we love during this incredibly pivotal time. Let us rejoice with those who rejoice because for many, this election signals a new America - one that they have spent their lives praying for.  If we fail to understand that we will not be able to communicate with people from other perspectives. The gospel remains the issue. Let's not diminish a hearing for the gospel over politics.  

Prophetic vs. Political: Declaring My Political Independence

I am taking a huge political step this election season and am deciding to break with my lifelong allegiance to the Republican Party. I am voting for neither McCain nor Obama. Since I was a child, I have been a staunch Republican. Reagan was elected when I was six years old and I vividly remember his "Evil Empire" speech regarding the Soviet Union. Even though I was 6 or 7, I remember his charts with the number of ICBM's that Russia had compared to the number that we had. I was a big Reagan fan and still am. George H.W. Bush seemed to fumble Reagan's legacy a bit and Bob Dole was not a good candidate. Still, I voted for the Republicans in 1992 (my first election at the age of 18) and in 1996. I even worked on a campaign for a local Republican candidate when I was in high school. He lost, but I remember the excitement that I had the night of the election at the campaign headquarters. In 2000 and 2004, I voted for George W. Bush and have been severely disappointed. I remain a staunch social and economic conservative, but I can no longer say that the Republican Party represents the future that I want for America. Their vision is gone and after years of bowing to big business, deregulating almost everything, and waging unending war at the behest of the neo-conservatives, they have run far afield from the Republican Party of my youth. 

So, where do I go? The Democratic Party is NOT the answer for me. Their views on big government, abortion, and other social issues run counter to my beliefs. But, I am tired of party politics altogether. I find that both parties care more about power and the special interests that give them money than they do about representing the American people and doing what is best for our country. We have major challenges facing us economically, militarily, socially, and in regard to our foreign policy. The immigration issue has been forgotten about, Social Security reform will not happen until all the money is gone, our national debt now tops $10 trillion with over $1 trillion expected next year, and both parties have shown that they have no desire to cut spending and balance our budget. Education is getting worse instead of better, health care for middle class families remains a huge issue, and America continues to play at empire all around the world, but our commitments far outweigh our ability to meet them. I have not seen anything in any party that tells me that they have the courage or desire to actually address the problems that face us. If these issues are not addressed, the nation that we grew up in will not exist for our children and our decline will be a fait accompli.

As a Christian and a pastor, I do believe that we should be involved in politics. Politics are only the means by which humans organize their societies, their tribes, and their countries. Christians SHOULD be involved in that so that we can be salt and light in a broken world. I believe that God has given us answers as to how we should live that apply to all people, whether they are Christian or not. "Love your neighbor" is a concept that applies to all people. Caring for the poor, honesty, integrity, hard work, morality, personal responsibility, and the sanctity of human life and the inherent worth and dignity of all people are all concepts that come from the Bible. The principles, along with many others, apply to all people and can be represented in our government. What if Christians stepped away from party politics? It seems that evangelical Christians have sided with Republicans because of a few issues and mainline Christians have sided with the Democrats. What if we tried to advocate a biblical view on issues and called BOTH parties to righteous action on the issues that confront us? What if the Church was neutral when it came to political parties and we affirmed righteousness no matter which party presented it? What if we opposed unrighteousness when it was presented by either party? It seems that we cheer for our team and we refuse to hold them accountable when they do not do right because we are afraid that we will lose access to power. In doing this, we show that we are bound by the kingdoms of this world and we have lost our prophetic voice. We do not belong to this world - our citizenship is in a heavenly Kingdom and we are called to be ambassadors of Christ. Isn't it time that we started living like it? 

What type of affect would this have on the political process? What if millions of Christians refused to be led along by party allegiance and instead forced BOTH parties to do what is right starting with just the values that were commonly accepted like the ones listed above? People would see a clearer picture of what the Church is actually supposed to be and we would be free to be Christians first and Americans second, rather than dividing over party allegiances. Political parties primarily exist as an apparatus to gain power. What if we forsook worldly power and embraced and held up truth, no matter the cost? How would we affect things locally, in our states, and in national politics? I think that we would be shocked as to what affect this would have. It is completely different from the world system and it is the only real chance that we have for transformation of the political process.

So, this year I declare my political independence so that I can express my whole dependence upon Jesus Christ. I am done playing the power games. Instead of feeling that I am throwing away my vote, I actually value it more now than ever. As an American, our vote is the most fundamental thing that we have to speak out on how we feel our country should be run. I actually feel that I am saying something this year instead of just falling for the same old song and dance that gets run out every four years so people can gain power to do what they want. Our nation is in trouble and until the American people begin to recognize that what we are doing is not working, things will only get worse. I think that Christians have a role to play in that and I am happy to begin playing that role this year. 

In case you are wondering, I don't know who I am voting for yet. I am still looking at third party candidates and I might write someone in - someone that I think would be a great leader but they are not in the process - yet. Winning is not the point. Being prophetic is and when I stand before God, I hope to have represented Him with everything that I have rather than just have been on the winning side here on earth.  I might just enjoy this. Let's see where political independence takes me!   

When Will We Address Our Greed Problem?

The Church remains largely silent about the economic problems of our day. Why is that? Alan Greenspan in his report to Congress yesterday admitted the fallacy of deregulation and expressed shock that banks took on risky loans and did not protect their shareholders.  It seems that CEO's with $20 million salaries and golden parachutes weren't really concerned about their shareholders. I'm shocked. The truth is, some regulation is good. It is the role of government to constrain the wickedness that comes from our sinful natures. Romans 13:1-5 tells us that God has put government in place to direct the affairs of men. Not all government is good, and too much government regulation and taxation does affect our freedom and prosperity. But, the absence of regulation also shows us that the human heart, unrestrained, will engage in more and more evil. In this case, greed is destroying us.

Of course, this greed does not just take place in the financial sector. Consumers also want more and more. I believe that this is one of the greatest spiritual problems of our day. We are desperately trying to fill a void within us and we have bought into the lie that bigger is better and that the more we have, the happier we are. The truth is, only God satisfies, but we seem to have forgotten that. I am not saying that we cannot ever have big houses or nice things. Those things are not inherently wrong necessarily. But, so many of us are living beyond our means to chase after an illusion. Contentment escapes us.

Let's look at house sizes for an example. The American Dream involves home ownership, among other things. Well, we have taken home ownership to a new level. Apparently, as families have gotten smaller in America houses have gotten bigger. New homes are 239% larger now than they were in the 1950's. 239%.  Families have dropped from 3.1 people per family to 2.6 since 1974, the year I was born. Why do we need all of this house?  A very interesting article from 2006 told us that people thought that it was their right, they NEEDED this much space, they were looking for privacy, and they wanted to have their own private space. Was all of this good? With the collapse of the housing market, what will happen to all of these huge homes?

Owning a home is a wonderful thing - or, it can be. My point is that we never seem to be satisfied. We want bigger and more all the time. Our appetites are unrestrained. America is 4% of the population and consume 25% of the world's resources. Our prosperity is built upon our appetites. If all of this prosperity had led us to become more generous, then it would be put to good use. But, that is not the case either. Recent reports are telling us that Christians are giving less and less each year to their churches. Maybe that is because churches spend the money on themselves as well (it has been said that over 90% of all the money given by Christians is spent on themselves). 

• Americans spent nearly twice as much on first-day sales of the video game “Grand Theft Auto IV” as the Southern Baptist Convention and its International Mission Board would need to share the gospel with all the world’s unreached people groups by 2010, according to a new report on church giving.
• The total portion of per capita income given to churches in 2006 was lower (in 2006) than in the worst year of the Great Depression (this was a year of great prosperity).
• it would cost each U.S. church member just 8 cents a day to help reach the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goal of cutting infant mortality by two-thirds by 2015

The financial crisis that we are in reflects a major moral crisis in our nation. We have put money and things ahead of God and people and. But, the Church says nothing because we have bought into the same lifestyle that is producing the problems that we see. We have even altered the gospel of Jesus Christ into the "prosperity gospel" so that we can go to church to learn how to become rich and keep feeding our insatiable desires.

Something tells me that this is what judgment looks like. We need to repent. But, if the Church does not call people to repentance, then what hope do we have? 

 

Is It the End of the World As We Know It?

That scenario was being put forward by Spiegel, the German newspaper yesterday amidst the second day this week of over 400 point losses in the NYSE.  "Nothing will be like it was before," said James Allroy, a broker who was brooding over his chai latte at a Starbucks on Wall Street. "The world as we know it is going down."  Apparently, Morgan Stanley, one of the last of the great Wall St. investment banks is looking for a buyer.  Some are saying that we are headed for another Great Depression. Then today, the market rebounds over 400 points and traders are jubilant because the Federal Government is "thinking" about setting up an entity to absorb the bad debt of the banks.  Maybe I have this wrong, but it sounds like traders are happy because the mistakes that the banks made will basically be absorbed so that they can get back to business and not be saddled by the bad debt that they have taken on. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Spiegel said this just this morning,

But what's really happening? Experts have so far been unable to agree on any conclusions. Is this the beginning of the end? Or is it just a painful, but normal cycle correcting the excesses of recent years? Does responsibility lie with the ratings agencies, which have been overvaluing financial institutions for a long time? Or did dubious short sellers manipulate stock prices -- after all, they were suspected of having caused the last stock market crisis in July.

The only thing that is certain is that the era of the unbridled free-market economy in the US has passed -- at least for now. The near nationalization of AIG, America's largest insurance company, with an $85 billion cash infusion -- a bill footed by taxpayers -- was a staggering move. The sum is three times as high as the guarantee provided by the Federal Reserve when Bear Stearns was sold to JPMorgan Chase in March.

The most breathtaking aspect about this week's crisis, though, is that the life raft -- which Washington had only previously used to bail out the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- is being handed out by a government whose party usually fights against any form of government intervention. The policy is anchored in its party platform.

"I fear the government has passed the point of no return," financial historian Ron Chernow told the New York Times. "We have the irony of a free-market administration doing things that the most liberal Democratic administration would never have been doing in its wildest dreams."

So, we basically have the nationalization of insurance companies and financial institutions, in addition to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, all paid for by Federal money (that's money that comes from taxpayers like us, by the way).  Is this the beginning of the end of capitalism, or at least the curtailing of it? Under the free market, the individuals acting in the market promote what works and what is helpful. Bad business decisions meet failure and something better comes along and takes its place. The market guided by Adam Smith's "Invisible Hand" makes the decision and things ultimately work out. We have long maintained that markets performed best (and provided the most long term prosperity) when they were not controlled by the government or central planning. Are we now moving in that direction because it is too painful to allow some of these institutions that have made horrible financial mistakes (influenced by greed and a lust for short-term gain) to fail and take our economy down with us?  It seems that we believe more in comfort and short-term profit than we do in our own financial system.

This has been the problem all along. "Get what you can while you can" is what has led us into this mess. We have not been building a national economy of any strength for the past 30-40 years. We outsource jobs because it is better for the bottom line of multinational companies and because Americans want cheap goods from overseas. We don't care that our manufacturing and skilled labor is leaving our country - we have to feed our consumptive appetites. We borrow against the future without concern as to how we will ever pay it back. Now, the government is telling our investment banks, mortgage lenders, insurance companies, and brokerage houses that they do not have to pay it back - the American taxpayer will. So, all of the people who have blown it get a mulligan and we have to foot the bill because the cost for the American economy would be too large a price to pay. I guess that I'd be happy to pay a little more in taxes to keep from losing my job and having the economy fall apart - because that effects all of us - but it just puts us into a deeper whole. The problem is that if we keep paying more in taxes, more jobs leave, prices go up, and eventually, we are left without the ability to create wealth.

It appears that we are headed for very tough times. Combine this with the aging Baby Boomers, the impending Social Security/Medicare crisis, high gas prices, the ongoing War on Terror, unbridled immigration, a national debt approaching $10 Trillion, etc., and it appears that the chickens have come home to roost, so to speak. Unless this is just a blip or correction (like the supposed oil shortages that were causing price increases - that was actually caused by speculators in the commodities markets - again, greed), we are facing times like we have not seen in almost 80 years.

How will this affect the American family? What is the role of the Church in such a situation? At what point do we begin to publically and prophetically speak against the love of money that is destroying our country and actively promote a Biblical ethic in regard to buiding our nation? We say that we love America, do not stop and say "Enough!" when it comes to these issues. Are we not training Christians to be active in guiding the marketplace? Or, does the Christianity of some succumb to the bottom line?  We cannot continue to be 5% of the world's population and consume 30% of it's goods and resources without some plan as to how we can pay for all this consumption in the long term - and a corresponding plan to strengthen what remains.

Capitalism is a good system (the best we've come up with), but there needs to be a moral compass within the people to govern our appetites and cause us to live within our means. People are sinful and will act selfishly. Adam Smith's Invisible Hand stated that selfishness was basically good because everything would work out in the end for everyone's benefit. Unfortunately, selfishness at a macro level where speculators and the titans of finance are able to affect things far beyond Smith's wildest imagination is not good.  Our moral compass is gone and it is destroying us all. The American Church, especially the Evangelical Church, has done a good job of calling attention to our moral laxity and the sins like abortion, homosexuality, sexual promiscuity, etc. that have plagued us. But, it appears that our moral breakdown has also destroyed our ability to govern our resources and to make sound financial decisions. We should give some attention to this area as well. Apparently, greed is just as dangerous as the Bible says it is.

Who says character doesn't matter?  When it comes to sound financial principles, it appears that character IS the bottom line.  It seems like God is smarter than us, doesn't it?

Andy Crouch on Culture Making

Andy Crouch says that Christians are to be involved in making culture instead of just consuming it or reacting against it. I think he's right. God is the Creator and we are made in His image, after all. I just started reading his book, Culture Making, because I am convinced that the missional role of the church is to equip and unleash its members to be salt and light in all of the world. God has gifted us in incredible ways and we should use those gifts to bless the nations. I also want to recommend Andy's website where he looks at the creation of culture from many different angles. It is pretty interesting.

Could the Multi-Ethnic Church Be the Key To Revival?

Last week I pointed to the shifting demographics and the growing diversity of America. I asked about the impact that this shift would have on the church. This morning, I was reading Tim Keller's The Reason For God. Keller is the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City and he is having quite an impact by reaching urban professionals. Keller, writing about belief and skeptism in his ministry, says,

As soon as I arrived in New York I realized that the faith and doubt situation was not what the experts thought it was. Older white people who ran the cultural business of the city definitely were quite secular. But among the increasingly multiethnic younger professionals and the working-class immigrants there was a lush, category-defying variety of strong religious beliefs. And Christianity, in particular, was growing rapidly among them.

This is fascinating and I don't know why I have not thought about it before now. Christianity is growing all over the world. In Asia, Africa, and Latin America, Christianity is growing by leaps and bounds. The only place that Christianity is not growing is in North America and Western Europe - basically, every place that has been affected by the modernism that was birthed by Enlightenment thought.  Could it be that God is using the immigrants of the world to come to America to revamp the spiritual landscape? When immigrants from the Third World encounter America with all of its churches and all of our religion, what will the result be?

I have come to believe that the best witness that we can give to a world torn by ethnic strife, pluralism, and competing ideologies, is a church that is one in the midst of its cultural and ethic diversity. This reality is a gospel and missional imperative. It is no longer something that is just an option for the few courageous souls who might attempt it. 

America Becoming More Diverse, Older

In case you haven't noticed, America is rapidly changing. According to a new report issued by the U.S. Census Bureau, America is going through a demographic shift so rapid and severe, that it will look very different in the next 40 years. Here are the highlights:

• The U.S. population is currently at 305 million. By 2050, it is projected to grow 43% to 439 million
• Minorities, which are now 1/3 of the population, will be a majority by 2042 and will reach 54% by 2050
• Hispanics, which are now 15% of the population, will reach 30% by 2050
• By 2030, 20% of Americans will be over 65. By 2050, it will be 25% - most of these are white
• Minorities will comprise more than half of all children by 2023 and 62% by 2050
• The black population is projected to increase from 41.1 million, or 14 percent of the population, to 65.7 million, or 15 percent.
• The Asian population is projected to climb from 15.5 million to 40.6 million. Its share of the nation’s population is expected to nearly double, from 5.1 percent to 9.2 percent.
• American Indians and Alaska Natives are projected to rise from 1.6 percent to 2 percent.
• The number of people who identify themselves as being of two or more races is projected to more than triple, from 5.2 million to 16.2 million.

I think that I had better learn to speak Spanish.

So, what does this mean for the Church? God is really laying on my heart the fact that we MUST understand that the Gospel is for ALL people and the Church must reflect the gospel message in its make-up (if you have read my blog lately, you understand). If we do not learn to diversify our churches, do we even have a witness in a country as ethnically diverse as America? This is not just trying to be culturally relevant. The Bible commands us to be this way. In Christ, there is neither Jew, Greek, Barbarian, Scythian, Slave, Free, Male, or Female. Christ is all and is in all (Gal. 3:26-29; Col. 3:11). In Christ, the dividing wall between races has come down (Eph. 2:11-18). There are many other passages and arguments for this.

If America's original sin is slavery and racism, we still bear the residue upon our collective soul. The sad thing is, it appears that our secular culture is trying to work this out faster than the Church is. But, we have the power of God! We have the Gospel! We have the Holy Spirit!  Think of what Heaven will look like, with all tribes, ethnicities, and languages coming before the Lord! (Rev. 7:9-10). If the evangelical church does not lead the way into this coming reality, then we have truly missed an incredible opportunity to address the sins of our past and help forge the future.

Just think: Who in America knows how to live in a multicultural world like this? Who better to figure it out and point the way than Christians that have been infected and transformed by the love of Christ? If we do not lead on this issue, any claim to care about America or to desire to see her come to God must be disregarded.

This issue of diversity and the accompanying problems of education, poverty, healthcare, and culture development is THE major issue facing our nation and the Church in the coming 40 years. How will we face it? What will it mean to be missional in this context? How can we live out and proclaim the gospel for such a time as this?

Some people say that diverse cultures cannot come together. It is impossible because we are too different. So, they promote multiculturalism, which is the idea that disparate cultures will exist alongside one another in America holding onto their traditional customs. I think that this will happen, to an extent. But, I also believe that Christians are one in Christ and we must learn to submit our culture to Christ so that He can express Himself through us in many different ways. America needs that kind of witness. Instead of seeing the Church as a refuge for each individual culture to be alone and with people just like themselves, my prayer is that the Church would be the one place in this nation where people come together over something bigger than themselves, Someone greater than their cultures, races, and economic backgrounds.

We are one in Christ.

The Power of a Yielded Life: Catherine Rohr and the Prison Entrepeneurship Program

Why would a 27 year old woman who was a Wall Street investor making six figures leave it all to work with prisoners in the Texas penal system?  Simply because she is a follower of Jesus and she saw prisoners through His eyes. She surrendered her life and talents to God and He is doing amazing things through her. Last week at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit, I heard Catherine Rohr's story. It is extraordinary. God is using her to radically change lives by seeing the potential that people have and by working with them to help them become what God created them to be. Through the Prison Entrepeneurship Program (PEP), inmates are exchanging the business skills that they have learned through illegitimate crime for training in developing legitimate businesses. And, business leaders from all over America are helping!  Here is an example of how one Christian with a vision from the Lord can work to change the world (click on the pictures to watch the video).

(After clicking on the picture to view the video, enlarge this video by clicking the little box in the bottom right corner when it begins playing)
Woman leaves Wall Street to teach convicts

1 Corinthians 5:14-19 says, "For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation."

I thought about that passage when I saw this next video.

Racial Diversity a Gospel Imperative: Thoughts From the Willow Creek Leadership Summit

Why don't Southern Baptists have conferences like this???  A group of about 10 of us are attending the Willow Creek Leadership Summit at a satellite location here in Montgomery. It has been really good so far, with excellent sessions led by Bill Hybels, Gary Haugen of the International Justice Mission (who said, "Leadership that matters to God involves issues that matter to God"), Wendy Kopp of Teach for America, John Burke of Gateway Community Church, and Bill George. All of the speakers were excellent and very challenging. They gave great foundations for leadership in the church and the world and told amazing stories of risk and adventure in creating new realities. The theme this year seems to be focusing on the issue of justice and social issues.

Probably the most poignant speaker of the day for me was Efrem Smith of  The Sanctuary Covenant Church in Minneapolis.  He spoke on the need for a racially diverse, multicultural church witness in America. Here are the notes that I took from his talk:

• The church should be a solution to the racial divide in our country, not a part of the problem.
• Culture should be engaged for Kingdom purposes, not necessarily fully embraced
• We live in a multi-cultural, technological, innovative, multi-racial, multi-ethnic, connected, global world.
• The more diverse that we as a nation get, the more divided we become. We are in need of leaders who will engage this world to bring about peace and prosperity to show that there is a God who brings hope, healing, justice, and transformation.
• 30 years ago, 1 in 100 children born in America were born of a mixed race. Today, it is 1 in 19. The next generation will not be under the rigid racial distinctions of the past.
• We must lead and be prophetic in a multicultural world.
• A leader in this world must be invaded by God to lead multiculturally and multiethnically.
• 1 John 4:7 - Love one another - In order to lead in a multicultural world, we must be a beloved leader. You become this way when you allow yourself to be taken by God and His purposes.
• We must be connected to God so that people can see God through us.
• It is not about qualification to lead multiculturally, it is about being picked up by God and being carried along by His purposes.
• When we have been filled by God, we will address issues of race, class, and ethnicity around the world. Does the church have an answer? Yes!
• If the church really wants to transform where the pain is, we will invest in and plant churches in the inner city and find dwelling places where the hurting people are.
• We must be able to confess where we've gotten in wrong.
• The reason why we've had racial and ethic storms in this world is because man's desire for comfort has come in conflict with God's desire for reconciliation and healing.
• What if we confronted the reasons for why churches are ethnically and racially divided and addressed those reasons? Our primary identity is not racial. We should not have white churches and black churches in cities that are racially and ethnically diverse. The church should represent the community and consist of all people. This is what the Gospel commands. Along these lines Smith says,

"The Church must wrestle with what it means to equip the saints to advance the Kingdom of God in an ever-increasing multi-ethnic and multicultural world. In order for this to happen, pastors and ministry leaders must begin by seeing reconciliation as theology and Christian formation. Reconciliation must be seen as spiritual discipline on the same level as prayer, fasting, and stewardship. One of the major issues with which we still struggle in the body of Christ is racial segregation. There still exists a belief among many church leaders that a homogenous church model is the best for church development and growth. Within an ever-increasing multi-ethnic and multicultural society, when sociologists want to prove that there is yet a racial divide, many look no further than the church to make this point."

Efrem Smith went on to say that the only proper response to a multi-cultural society is a multi-cultural church. I agree. Raffi Shahinian left a comment on my post from the other day on this issue pointing me to a post that he had written on the subject. Raffi said that the church has always had a problem with racial and cultural divisions. That is why Paul talked about it so much. But, the point was that they were not allowed to stay in those divisions. Paul prophetically called them out of their inward focus to a broader reality of the diverse Body of Christ. Raffi says that a great deal of Paul's writings dealt directly with this issue of prejudice between differing groups based on race, culture, background, and ethnicity. Romans should be read in this context because we are all equally sinners and justified by faith - whether Jew or Gentile. This is why Romans 1-8 sets up the rest of the letter in calling Jews and Gentiles (who are both reconciled to God the same way) to love one another and accept on another. Galatians deals with this, as does Ephesians, Colossians, 1 Corinthians, etc. It goes on and on. I have never thought about it that way, but he is right.  The Gospel is made up of both vertical reconciliation (between us and God) as well as horizontal reconciliation (between man and man).  For the Church not to display this in a racially divided land is to not display a holistic Gospel witness.

Here are thoughts from Efrem after he spoke at the Summit:

Compassion and mercy ministries lead to engaging in justice advocacy.  That is worth thinking about.

God continues to speak to me on this issue. I am working on a book on this subject with the Montgomery story as a background. I have come to believe that reconciliation is a gospel issue - it is not a preference issue. Our churches must deal with this to be able to effectively proclaim the gospel to the mission field of America. If we do not, any claim to be serious about reaching our country is just words.

UPDATE:  This is a great post on the detrimental nature of silence on the racial issue in our churches. Pretending like it is not a problem, or like if it ever was a problem it was dealt with in the past, is not a helpful take on the current issue within the church.