Retreat

I've been keeping this blog going, barely, by posting music vids and occasional links to other blogs, etc. The conversation (if you can call it that) that had dominated Fandango for a long time seems to have petered out. I've just got nothing much to say these days. I'm not really contemplating killing off the blog, but I'm contemplating some serious change in content and purpose.

While that contemplation proceeds, I'm not likely to do too much posting. This blogger is going on a retreat. The first sign of changes to come might be a tinkering with the blogroll. Some familiar faces may drop off, simply because I want the list to reflect my current emphases, not a conversation that has come to an end.

This is all very uncertain, up in the air. I expect the coming month to be very light on blogging, and then in January perhaps some new posting again, but who knows.

Until next time . . . .

The Monday Poem

The Country Clergy
R. S. Thomas (1913-2000)

I see them working in old rectories
By the sun’s light, by candle-light,
Venerable men, their black cloth
A little dusty, a little green
With holy mildew. And yet their skulls,
Ripening over so many prayers,
Toppled into the same grave
With oafs and yokels. They left no books,
Memorial to their lonely thought
In grey parishes: rather they wrote
On men’s hearts and in the minds
Of young children sublime words
Too soon forgotten. God in his time
Or out of time will correct this.

Two Classic Films

I tend to think older movies are almost always better movies. To my mind, the '30s were the golden age of film, the '40s weren't bad either, and it's been all downhill from there. In fact, most of my favorite films were made between 1936 and 1944.

Last night I watched The Shop Around the Corner, made in 1940 and starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan. I love Stewart's early romantic comedies, and "Shop" is one of the finest. This is really a touching film about love and loneliness and the search for love, with fine ensemble actors.

Also, this weekend I watched Make Way for Tomorrow, which is rather stunningly sad. I had expected something more comedic, but it turned out to be a commentary on the heartlessness of children toward their aging parents. The film has a kind of fatalism about it, without the usual "coming around" of the selfish characters which results in a righting of the wrong (see You Can't Take it with You for probably the best example of this). Here, love does not conquer selfishness after all. Orson Welles called it the saddest movie ever made.

Praying the Kingdom for Your Workplace: the Jesus Prayer as Missional Prayer

The prayer that Jesus taught his disciples, often called the Lord's Prayer, can be found at Matthew 6:7-13 and in a briefer form at Luke 11:2-4. If you've ever been a member of a liturgical church, you probably recited this prayer every Sunday. On the other hand, in typical non-liturgical Evangelical churches of today it is no more emphasized than any other passage of the NT, and the recitation of its words as prayer is somewhat mistrusted as mere rote repetition.

But the bottom line is, when some disciples asked Jesus how to pray, Jesus said, "Like this," and recited this prayer.

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
(Matthew 6:9-13 ESV)

As it stands, the prayer seems a bit lofty and even generic. But it's my opinion that we do well when we get specific, making the prayer uniquely our own. What does "your kingdom come" mean, after all, in my own particular context? What "daily bread" am I or my family or my co-workers, or whomever I'm praying for, in need of? "Forgive us our debts"? What do I owe and to whom? And have I forgiven the debts of other toward me? Perhaps I hadn't been thinking in these terms when I expected an apology from my boss or my friend. You see, I contend that when we begin to take this prayer of Jesus personally, addressing God in the manner and spirit that Jesus suggested, it can change the way we see the world and our place in it, and thus the way we talk to God.

First, understand that this prayer is a missional prayer, in which you the praying disciple take an active part in the missio dei by asking that the Lord's will would be done in the context of your life, your corner of creation. "May your will be done in my workplace as it is in heaven. In my relationship with my son as it is in heaven. In my voting, in my neighborhood, in my driving . . . as it is in heaven." You fill in the blanks.

Now note: when you pray the prayer in this personalized way, the prayer becomes--you can't help but notice--not only a beseeching of God, but also, by His grace, a call upon your life. For example, if I am praying for the kingdom to come in my workplace, the conviction soon dawns upon me that, by the grace of God, I may well be the vessel by which he answers that prayer for my co-workers. I cannot run from this like Jonah, or my prayer is a mere charade.

You can see this same dynamic when you begin to pray the other parts of the prayer with specificity.

"Give us, here at [insert name of workplace], our daily bread. That is, what we need for sustenance this day within this context. What we need to do jobs well and to serve others in love (for that's your kingdom coming)."

Or think about the debts you owe one another in the workplace. The things you expect from one another and begrudge when they are not paid.

Forgive us our debts, here at [insert name of workplace], even as we forgive the debts we owe one another.

If you pray for your workplace in this way, you may be the only one doing so. It may be that some are praying for a debt to be paid ("They owe me. God, make them pay up!") But you, when you pray according to Jesus' instructions, are praying the will of God for creation. What does the Kingdom of God look like? Well, for one thing, every debt has been paid, an no one owes a thing to anyone else except thankfulness to the one who paid it all. That's why praying for an atmosphere of forgiveness in the workplace is praying down the kingdom of God, and praying the very heart of God's purpose for creation (including his purpose for your workplace). It is a radical prayer, a potent prayer, and again, you can't help but notice, it sets up a call on the very heart of the one praying. The forgiving of debt in the workplace might have to begin in your own heart!

And what about temptation? There are temptations associated with your workplace environment that may be quite unique. In a small workplace like my own, and one where none of the other employees really have a kingdom of God mindset, you may be the only one who sees and understands how certain temptations are effecting your workplace environment (beginning with your own). In truth, you are standing in the gap when you pray this prayer for your workplace.

All of this is a kind of test of the sanctified imagination. Perhaps you've never thought much about "daily bread." Use your imagination. Think specifically of what you need, and what co-workers need, not only to get them through the day but to get them a step or two closer to the promised land. If you think about this, and about specific encounters and conversations you've had at work lately, you'll begin to think of daily bread with great insight and precision and pray accordingly. The same goes for forgiveness, and temptation. Your understanding is enlightened as you pray this prayer with your eyes open in your workplace.

Finally, it should be kept in mind that God's ultimate purpose is that his kingdom should come and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That should control the way you think of the other parts of the prayer, which indeed are nothing more than sub-headings of "your kingdom come." I would invite you to think of the component parts of this prayer as they apply to the idea of God's kingdom coming in your own workplace, family, relationships, or whatever, and to make this the pattern of your prayers. As praying believers, you are a focal point of God's kingdom expression, and your prayers for the kingdom are in turn a call upon your life. They are central to your mission as believer. The aroma of Christ is all over this work. Go to it.

Dreaming Organic

I recently finished reading From Eternity to Here, by Frank Viola. This was the third in my personal Viola series, beginning with Pagan Christianity and Reimagining Church.

I loved all these books, because they helped me to re-orient myself to a vision of God's purpose in the world that affirms an exalted view of the church without reducing that affirmation to a set of unexamined presumptions about what Christians should do on Sunday morning. But all this critiquing of the church has not turned me against "meeting together," only made me all the more desirous and excited about being in on the mission of God in the world with others. That's because Viola does not simply critique. He moves on to a Biblical vision of the mission of God, in From Here to Eternity, that is inspiring, Christ-exalting, and motivating.

I realize that not everyone is dissatisfied with church-as-usual, and these people tend to tremble at the thought of someone "re-imagining church." But the number of people who are leaving the institutional church (and not necessarily out of selfish motivation) is, some say, enormous. Don't make groundless assumptions about these church-leavers. they don't necessarily want to be free-agents or lone-rangers. They are not necessarily chasing a will-o-the-wisp of false teaching. They are simply wondering if the family of God, in which Christ is the first-born of many brothers and sisters--or, to change the metaphor, if the bride of Christ, for whom Jesus is returning one day for the wedding feast of the ages--might not be something more than the entrepreneurial/attractional model has to offer.

I am filled with wonder when someone tells me that the church in America does not need to be re-imagined. This is simply a failure of discernment. The reformation slogan, semper reformanda, speaks to this very need. As do Christ's letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3. Organic Christianity may seem like nothing more than another catch-phrase, but it encapsulates the dream of many--including (I would humbly suggest) of God Himself.

3 Books

I'm reading. Finishing up a novel called The Last Crossing, which is kind of a mix between Dostoevsky and Zane Grey (with some Mark Twain in there as well). I'm enjoying it, but the ending better be good! The last chapter is the downfall of many an otherwise wonderful novel.

I'm also reading The Fourth Part of the World, by Toby Lester. I'll be attending a talk by the author in two weeks, so I thought I should read his book. And it's fascinating.

Just started Planet Narnia, by Michael Ward. The author thinks he's uncovered a secret interpretive key to understanding The Chronicles of Narnia. If it's true, Lewis was a sly one, for sure.

Friday is for the Doe-Cee-Doe

I don't know, something like a mix of Jethro Tull, The Pogues, and Ravi Shankar. I like it a lot.



The band is called The Imagined Village, and they're new to me. Here's their lovely rendering of Scarborough Fayre.

Organic Church

In this mp3 seven folks answer the question, "How has being a part of an organic church changed your relationship with Jesus Christ?" Interesting answers. [HT: Frank Viola]

I like the first guy's response. For him, Jesus had been like the wardrobe in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. For years he thought it was a well-defined space full of familiar garments ("I'd been pulling clothes out of this closet all my life!"). What he has discovered is that Jesus is much more than that, is in fact a vast world.

Most of these answers have to do with "knowing Christ," which is a worthy goal for anyone, of course. The implicit (mostly) critique of leader-driven church (they call it the "institutional church") is that it tends to be about what we do ("tipping the waitress") rather than who we are in Christ. I don't assume that to be necessarily so, but it is no doubt the prevalent modus operandi.

Anyway, I found these answers helpful to me as I begin, after nearly a year away from church, to actually want to return to body-life. I'll keep you posted.

Just sayin' . . .

More on missional: Jonathan Dodson's Transitioning to Missional Church. I like the chart (midway). It says a lot, in a little space. If all this is true, then the church (building) is not the place where everything happens, and the "leader" is not the person who makes everything go. A church that "gets" this will be easily recognized.

Twang Tuesday

Luke 21

That's good teaching. [HT: Internet Monk]

An end to Christian romanticism, please

Francis Schaeffer said that a Christian can allow himself to be worn out by Christians who turn Christianity into a romanticism. [HT: Trevin Wax]

I think I know what he meant.

I suspect that a disinterested observer (say, the proverbial alien visitor studying the earthlings) would probably explain American Christianity as an elaborate system for getting what we want from God. Here's where the "romanticism" comes in. The conversation in many churches is all about what God can and will do for us. Just pray for it and keep believing. God is faithful . . . to give you what you want. So faith is boiled down to an ongoing transactional relationship with God, in which we ask and He gives. Small groups in the church meet primarily to indulge in this romanticism.

And, yeah, it wore me out.

You think this is broad-brush generalization? Maybe. But then it's the kind of generalization that rings of truth.

The thing is, you can find all the right proof-texts in the Bible to justify this sort of practice, but at bottom it is not the burden of the New Testament. You don't see the disciples practicing this relationship with Jesus. It's not the gist of Paul's writing, nor is it the picture of the church we get from Revelation. It does describe, in some sense, an aspect of Kingdom reality, but an understanding of the Kingdom that is essentially "now" and almost never "not yet" (if we only believe) is sheer romanticism.

I've been out of the church loop all year, and I'm missing it a little. What will I be looking for? A persistent engagement with the sweeping story of God and His people, which is a lot more about hard realities than goodies from heaven.

"The kingdom of God is near," Jesus said, on the way to His cross. That phrase, then, must mean something more than "God is my servant, he gives me everything I want."

Sparrow Quartet

And another...

Recovering the Real Lost Gospel, by Darrell Bock [HT: Scot McKnight]

2 More for the Reading List

Here are a couple of books I might be reading soon:

One.Life: Jesus Calls, We Follow, which is new from Scot McNight.

The Story of God, the Story of Us: Getting Lost and Found in the Bible, by Sean Gladding.

On our endless struggle to think well of ourselves

Here's a bit from an article called Pastoral Narcissism:

T.S. Eliot wrote, "Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm, but the harm does not interest them … or they do not see it, or they justify it … because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves."

Although our mission in Christ is to do good in this world, we will actually do harm if our deeper mission is to feel important and "think well of ourselves." Eliot's words forced me to ask, How much harm do I do to my family, my friends, the people I am supposed to lead, all because I want to think well of myself?

The article speaks of "the shadow side of ambition," but I'm just not sure there's a "bright side." The author wants to salvage ambition (it's part of our American creed, after all) and even suggests that Jesus, when he said that the first shall be last and the last first, was simply redefining ambition rather than, as I believe, undermining the concept completely.

But anyway it's a good and thoughtful article, and the Eliot quote is a keeper!

Martin Luther Quote

This is too good not to share. Read it first at Jared Wilson's.

The heart of man finds it difficult to believe that so great a treasure as the Holy Ghost is gotten by the mere hearing of faith. The hearer likes to reason like this: Forgiveness of sins, deliverance from death, the gift of the Holy Ghost, everlasting life are grand things. If you want to obtain these priceless benefits, you must engage in correspondingly great efforts. And the devil says, "Amen."

Jared's title for the post is a commentary of piercing insight: "What'll Preach That's of the Devil." Yup. Effort is easy to preach, it seems. It's the thin reed that most of our preachers seem to rely on.

Just sayin' . . .

Mark Driscoll seems more like a grandstander with a megaphone than a preacher to me. I don't find him all that helpful, personally. I like Greg Boyd's take on Driscoll's commentary on The Revelation (which you can find here).

3 More Things

I think I love Scribio Facio Noto (even though I don't know what it means).

***

I also love Anthony Esolen's thinking on the election. Like the man said, "Put not your trust in princes."

***

I've been warned about Frank Viola's books. A well-meaning friend suggested I read some heresy-hunter's blog concerning him (she said she was afraid for me). This is all very strange, as it was clear that she had no idea what his books were actually about. It seems that the co-author of Jesus Manifesto: Restoring the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Christ is sure some dangerous fellow! Not that I expect everyone to agree with Viola all the time (heck, I have some reservations myself), but I would say Viola has reoriented my views significantly (I'm brainwashed!). Anyway, I've been warned:

Just testing an analogy

I just wanted to say that, if I walked into your room right now wearing a big red clown's wig, a flashing red ping-pong ball nose, pajamas with giant polka dots, and huge floppy shoes on my feet . . . and if Jesus was standing next to me . . . you wouldn't notice me at all. My ridiculous presence would go unnobserved. You would have eyes for Jesus only.

Just saying, the more of Him I have, the less me matters. "I must decrease," said John the Locust Eater, who was a pretty attention-getting kind of guy.

Again, did you read Bill Kinnon's question: Why aren't big name leaders decreasing?

Just wondering.

[Update: Scotty Smith prays about it.]

3 Things

First read Creativity overcoming safety. Spot on.

Then, a couple of related posts: first, a significant quotation from Mark Galli's Insignificant is Beautiful (by way of The Jesus Paradigm).

Second, a simple question from Bill Kinnon: Why aren't big name Christian leaders decreasing? I've often wondered that myself.

A Political Eschatology?

It's election day. I'm going to go vote this morning in a ritual that I have always enjoyed. I believe in participatory democracy, and share Winston Churchill's oft-quoted perspective: it's the worst form of government, except all the others!

Now, I'm generally a less-government-is-good-government sort of guy and will vote accordingly, but I wanted to point my readers to one of the best political blogposts you may ever read. Scot McKnight's The Eschatology of Politics. [HT: Ted Gossard]