why is it we think that jesus always spoke in metaphors? sure, he used parables and stories to communicate frequently, but recently i’ve been telling myself, “maybe he really meant that.”
i’m at a point in my personal faith where i have more questions than answers. where i know the scriptures are divinely composed, yet i question the way i’ve been taught to interpret them over the last twenty years. in sunday school, they seldom teach you about historical cultural context or literary patterns of the hebrew language. scripture is timeless, but for the most part, we have taken the words and filtered them through a 21st century, westernized lens.
lots. of. questions.
atop of my questions are positioned relationships i have with those who don’t believe in god the way most of us do, if they believe at all. most of these insights have challenged me to think about the words of jesus…his obvious call…and what should be our obvious answer.
my friend kary oberbrunner has a book coming out in the next couple weeks or so called the fine line. since he is also a zondervan author, i begged and pleaded to get a copy early. they gave in. and it rocks.
here’s a nifty video about the book, and a sample chapter from the book.
one of my favorite parts of the book (granted, he uses proper capitalization) says,
“i’m not afraid to admit it: the sermon on the mount contains some startling commands. like matthew 5:40: ‘if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.’ or matthew 5:42: ‘give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.’ or matthew 5:48: ‘be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect.’
no wonder we look for ways to get ourselves off the hook of following these difficult sayings. we toss out rationalizations. ‘maybe they’re metaphors.’ ‘maybe they’re about some future time.’ ‘maybe they’re just suggestions.’
i think it’s christians who live like they’re ‘off the hook’ who cause people like mahatma gandhi to become critical of our religion. he saw a disconnection between the way jesus lived and the way christians live. because of this gandhi said, ‘if it weren’t for christians, i’d be a christian.’ gandhi didn’t disagree with jesus’ teachings. he went on record to say, ‘i like your christ, but i don’t like your christians.’ and those of us who know gandhi’s story understand the sobering reality that he embodied the ethics described by jesus on the mount better than most christians.”
it is here where i wrestle. why do people who understand, yet officially don’t associate with christianity live more transformed lives than we do? why do those of us who say we believe fail to live like we are transformed by what we believe?
i went and visited zondervan last week…i may or may not have gotten a few extra advance copies of mad church disease.
this contest is easy to win. it goes to the highest bidder.
(welp, ego…it was nice knowing you!) :-)
whoever donates the most pairs of shoes to the 50000shoes.com website between 6 am CST tuesday and 6 am CST wednesday wins. and i’ll even autograph it with your favorite bible verse, sprinkle holy water on it, engrave your name in gold, give you a bronze dove plaque, and throw in some snacks from my desk.
oh, and here’s the icing on the cake. more truthfully, it’s probably the actual cake. be the highest bidder and not only will you get a hyper-anointed copy of MCD, you’ll also get an autographed copy of seth godin’s newest book, tribes. i know that’s nothing like snacks from my desk, but thought it might sweeten the deal. who knows? maybe he’ll throw in some snacks from his desk.
comment below (and yep, i’ll need proof if you are the highest donor if you do win!)
i don’t talk about it much, but depression is something i’ve fought with most of my adult life. it usually comes and goes in seasons, and like a lot of people, it typically gets worse around the holidays.
two years ago, it got pretty nasty and i blogged about it a little bit. but last year, i really can’t say that it even affected me.
this year, it’s back to rearing its ugly head. it’s been about six weeks now and that dark cloud hasn’t left yet.
i’ve decided this time around, it’s time to try chemical help again. last time i was on medication, it didn’t help so much (in fact, it just made it worse), but a pastor and friend i deeply respect has recommended trying something new. he’s battled it for over thirty years, while leading a very large church. he has a ton of insight. he even wrote a book about it.
all this to say a few things: if you suffer from depression, i’m sorry. i know how it envelops your soul, your life, your joy, and turns you into someone you don’t want to be. if you’re married to or friends with someone who has depression, thank you for supporting them. it’s not a fun place to be either and i’m sure a lot of the time, you feel helpless and you don’t understand it. and that’s okay. and if you’re reading this, you know what? i could sure use your prayers and i bet a few of you could use mine.
again, depression isn’t something i like talking about much because, well, it’s pretty depressing. i don’t like being depressing. i like being the girl who has everything all figured out and her life’s all put together perfectly.
(let me let you in on a little secret - that’s SO far from the truth!!!)
on the other hand, depression is something many of us face one way or another, and i just wanted to say you’re not alone.
a few days ago, some of us had a meeting with brian and spence who work for compassion international. of course, the bloggers trip to uganda came up and i can’t believe it’s been nine months since i stepped onto african soil for my first time. it seems like a lifetime ago, but at the same time, it seems like it was just yesterday.
speaking of yesterday, i met an audio engineer on my flight to grand rapids. somehow, we got on to the topic of where americans spend money, and what our responsibility is to help others and i told him about my trip to uganda. i shared with him my breaking moment of stepping into annette’s house, where six people lived in a 6×6 room. that her rent was $9 a month and she was having trouble keeping up. i had probably spent $9 in the airport for my breakfast.
the opportunities for us to do a world of good in a world of scarcity are endless.
many people in the states are feeling the pressure of a maybe-almost recession. people are losing their jobs and their homes. yet i wonder if we will ever truly get to an economical state where we really discover need versus want. even here in america, it blows my mind that we have such an imbalance in our distribution of wealth. that there is so much homelessness and poverty, yet most of us can still comfortably afford a $3 cup of coffee or a $40 meal out. that most of us don’t think twice about spending $200 on a christmas tree or $75 on a pair of jeans.
i’m not sure what all this means…except that i am hoping we are all waking up. we’re waking up realizing we’re not alone, and none of us are guaranteed a safety net woven together with five dollar bills. that while we have it good, we should help others. because in the next moment, we may be the ones in need.
how can we do this? it’s counter-cultural. downsizing, living with less intentionally, and giving more to others. not putting quite so much stock into our 401k and maybe putting more into our neighbor who just lost his job.
idealistic? maybe. but i have hope in mankind. i think (and pray, really, really pray) that we’ll do the right thing, even now…as we sip our lattes and sleep safely in our cozy, heated homes. we can do it.
10 years ago i was a manager at a family christian store in the dallas area. we had our annual sales conference in grand rapids and went to visit the FCS home office.
little did i remember, the FCS home office and zondervan’s offices are in the same building. so yesterday, when i walked into zondervan, it was like a crazy flash back. who would have known i would be back?
today i spend most of my day in meetings with all the people who have worked so hard on mad church disease - my editiors, designer, marketing guy, and a few others in different departments as well. it has been so awesome to see the inner workings of a publisher!
also today, most of us GET PAID!
we are almost at 4000 shoes on the 50,000 shoes website. i challenged the facebook group of 1000 members to all give 5 bucks today (at least!) and so i am challenging you to do the same as well. some of you have already given and i appreciate that, but since it’s payday (and someone suggested the great idea of reposting the need on payday!) here i am. i am going to go donate a few pairs.
it’s my goal to you guys and the facebook group to get it to 8000 shoes by the weekend. i know we can do it…especially if all of us just do our small parts.
“Please pray for our team in South Asia as they execute an operation on a large brothel today. Pray for continued good cooperation with the police and safety for our staff as they enter an especially dangerous situation. Pray that the girls would be rescued quickly as they are currently suffering very violent treatment.”
today, the world has been heavy on my heart. as i pick up my soon-to-be spoiled bananas, throw away my grocery receipts, hang up my dry cleaning, and get ready to eat overpriced airport food…i am constantly reminded the world is broken, yet in its disparity, has potential for so much hope…
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Authenticity · Church · Writing
