The God Void (Audio Clip)

This is a short talk I gave at Crossings Knoxville in June. 

It was part of a series they do called 'My Most Important Question' in which people in the community come up and talk about the big questions that they have been wrestling with. It's worth pointing out that I reference a book called 'Insurrection' by Peter Rollins when what I meant to say was 'How (Not) to Speak of God' by Peter Rollins

a creative reordering...

"It is incumbent upon us, therefore, to relate the actual order we find in the world to the redemptive order which lies at the heart of the Christian message. In the Christian faith we look for a new order in which the damaged order, or the disorder which inexplicably arises in the world, will be healed through a creative reordering of existence as it is reconciled to its ultimate ground in the creative love of God." - Thomas Torrance, Scottish Theologian

In what ways are you promoting the 'damaged order' of the world?

In what ways are you participating in the creative reordering?

Parable of the Temple

It has been said that there once was a man of God who lived and preached in a small rural town. One day this man received a vision in a dream, that he believed had come from God. In the vision a great voice told him to construct a magnificent temple of worship so that people from all over the world would be drawn to the one true God.

Up until this point the preacher's small congregation had been meeting in an old wooden barn that barely, if at all, kept out the wind and the rain. And even though they didn't have much money the preacher excitedly set about the work of the Lord, trusting that He would provide for them. The church raised the money very quickly and within a year they had built a wonderful little chapel with a beautiful high-vaulted ceiling and ornate, handmade stained glass windows.

During that same year a factory was built in that same small town. The factory brought in a lot of workers, most of which were poor immigrants. The workers suffered greatly in the factory and since many of them were not legal immigrants and only a few spoke English they could not speak up about the poor working conditions or the unfair wages.

Many of the people from the town distrusted the surge of immigrants. After all these people didn't speak English and they were taking away jobs from good, hard-working locals. And they worshipped the wrong gods as well. Most locals thought the religion of the immigrants was suspect at best.

After seeing the poor working conditions and unfair treatment that the immigrants received the small town preacher became overwhelmed with compassion for them. Upon realizing that this group of people had no money and could not afford to build a place of worship for their religious services he made a brash and hasty decision to give the brand new chapel that his church had built to the immigrants, asking nothing in return. They gladly accepted the offer and immediately set about taking down the crosses and other Christian decorations around the chapel and replacing them with their own.

When the congregation saw this happening they inquired unto their preacher as to what was going on. He explained what he had done and informed them that they would have to continue meeting in the old wooden barn for the time being. The small congregation was confused and a little upset by this news. Some people said that it would be better for the immigrants to come and worship the Christian God with them in the new chapel if they wanted to, but giving away the building was foolish. Those same people decided that day to go find a more reasonable church to worship in. But most of the people just shook their heads and went about their business.

The preacher left feeling defeated and unsure of himself, after seeing the people leave his church. That night as he was sleeping he received another vision. Once again a great voice told him to construct a magnificent temple of worship so that people from all over the world would be drawn to the one true God, This time more sternly.

So the next Sunday the preacher spoke about his vision to his congregation and announced that they would once again be starting on a new building. So they set about raising the money and started the construction. Once again the Lord seemed to provide generously for them and in about a year's time they had built another beautiful chapel, this time bigger and more ornate than the last one. The congregations disappointment about the old chapel quickly gave way to excitement about this new one.

But in that same year two more factories were built in the town and the population began to boom. More and more people, again mostly poor immigrants, poured into the city to take jobs at the factory. This new wave of immigrants was from a different part of the world and followed an entirely different religion. Once again the preacher's heart was overwhelmed with compassion for these immigrants and once again he offered the new chapel his church had built to them, asking nothing in return.

As the years rolled by the preacher continued to have visions in which a great voice told him to construct a magnificent temple of worship so that people from all over the world would be drawn to the one true God. The town continued to grow as more and more factories were built and so more and more workers from all over the world came in search of jobs.

Every time as a new building was being built by the small church a new surge of workers would come into town, and every time the preacher (and his congregation over time) would see the poor conditions and unfair treatment of the workers they would be overwhelmed with compassion. They they would give away their new building to them, asking nothing in return.

They say that to this day in this town full of factories and beautiful places of worship for every religious group under the sun, there is still a small congregation that meets in an old, falling apart barn just on the edge of town. A small church that joyfully continues their calling to construct a magnificent temple of worship so that people from all over the world would be drawn to the one true God.

Bombs & Jesus

"You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.But I say to you that you must not oppose those who want to hurt you. If people slap you on your right cheek, you must turn the left cheek to them as well."/Matthew 5:38-39

“You have heard that it was said, You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who harass you so that you will be acting as children of your Father who is in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both the evil and the good and sends rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love only those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore, just as your heavenly Father is complete in showing love to everyone, so also you must be complete."/Matthew 5:43-48

I want to ask a serious question...

And I know that it deals with some seriously sensitive subjects, so I don't want to be callous. But it's a question that I can't just overlook...

Why is it that in the evangelical church it is widespread for people to use the Bible to support homosexual marriage not being legalized, and yet we gloss over the teaching's of Jesus that would suggest that Christians should not support war?

If we are going to argue that some archaic laws from Leviticus and a couple of lines from Paul are enough to define what our nation's policy should be towards gay marriage, then shouldn't Jesus' clear teachings on non-violence define our foreign policy?

What if we 'turned the other cheek' when people attacked us?

Wouldn't anything else be inconsistent?

And Jesus didn't just teach 'turn the other cheek' and 'love your neighbors', he lived it. Jesus sets a radical and yet clear example with his life and death that in God's Kingdom love is infinitely more powerful than violence.

Jesus doesn't try to kill those who oppose him. Jesus lets them kill him. He is willing to die rather than harness his power against his murderers, even though he was innocent. 

As followers of Jesus are we not called to be willing to do the same?

Are we not called to love and pray for terrorist rather than try to kill them?

And I know that some people will say that if we don't kill the bad guys they will come kill us. We have to use violence to keep ourselves safe.

But doesn't Jesus call us to be a light into the dark world? 

Using violence on others to protect yourself from violence sounds a lot like trying to overcome darkness with more darkness. What if when the world threw darkness our way we refused to resort to darkness ourselves?

If vengeance belongs only to the Lord then how can a follower of Jesus take it upon themselves to kill another person, rather they deserve it or not?

Let's not forget that Jesus was willing to die for every single terrorist that ever lived.

Let's not forget that Paul himself was a violent terrorist who specifically attacked Christians at one point in his life. Not even the most ardent extremist is beyond the reconciling power of God's love.

I grew up believing that violence and murder were the only reasonable answers to violence and murder. But nothing about that sets me a part as a Christian. We are called to be set apart from the world by our unlimited, unreserved, grace-filled, Christ-like love.

That's how the world will recognize us as followers of Jesus.

Grace & Peace

Burning Man

"Hurtling down the road to the Black Rock Desert, the colors paint themselves like a spice cabinet — sage, dust, slate gray. Maybe you're in your trusty car, the one that takes you to and from work every day. Perhaps you've got a spacious RV, your Motel 6 on wheels for the next days in the desert. Or you're driving your glittering art car, complete with poker chips and mirroring to do a disco ball proud.

The two-lane highway turns off onto a new road. You drive slowly onto the playa, the 400 square mile expanse known as the Black Rock Desert. And there you've touched the terrain of what feels like another planet. You're at the end — and the beginning — of your journey to Burning Man."

These are the words of Molly Steenson describing her experience at the massive 10-day festival that over 50,000 people will attend this summer in Nevada's Black Rock Desert.

The infamous Burning Man.

Burning Man is basically a huge gathering of people seeking to experience an alternative way of living. The gathering is guided by a set of values known as the ten principles. They are as follows:


Radical Inclusion,


Gifting,

Decommodification,

Radical Self-reliance,

Radical Self-expression,

Communal Effort,

Civic Responsibility,

Leaving No Trace,

Participation

and Immediacy.

And every year thousands of people drive all the way out to the middle of nowhere to be a part of a community built around these values.

Every time I look at this list I think to myself that there is a reason so many people go searching for this out in the desert. This radically alternative lifestyle is - in a lot of ways - very much in line with the lives I think God created us to live. Now of course, I would not say that everything that happens at Burning Man is okay. But I also don't think that should stop me from celebrating glimpses of beauty, creativity and wholeness when I see them. 

Which is why I want to set out to find what the Church can learn from Burning Man.

What would it look like to be a radically inclusive community? Where we not only welcomed people who looked, thought, and felt differently than we do; but also did not seek to invalidate there opinions and experiences?

What if we thought of our communities as a place where one does not come to consume a message or a good feeling but rather to participate in and be consumed by the life God created us to live?

What would it look like if we truly looked out for the people in our communities and neighborhoods? What about the 'least of these' by the world's standards? What if we personally invested in people's lives rather than relying on 'the system' to help people who are hurting?

What if the reason so many people are drawn to Burning Man every year is because it's a glimpse of what God's Kingdom coming here to earth looks like? 

The very Kingdom that we are called to help usher in...

Grace & Peace

Psalm 22 (a visual liturgy for Joplin)

This is a short visual liturgy I created in remembrance of all the people affected by the tornadoes in Joplin. It's a lament based off of Psalm 22. The Music is 'Mary" by Yellow Ostrich.

Creation Care (Video Liturgy)

This is a short video liturgy I created that highlights the Church's long and diverse tradition of caring for  God's creation. The music is 'The Earth is Yours' by Gungor.