Christian Heroes

As a history buff, I've always been fascinated by the way certain religious themes are played out with very different nuances in different eras of our past. Whether it is the Doctrine of the Atonement, or church administration, our forebears in different time periods have often reflected diverse understandings of these issues, while still attempting to maintain the integrity of the basic Gospel message.

One thing that has changed considerably is the image of the "quintessential disciple" - the heroic Christian ideal, so to speak. At different times in the life of the church, Christians have projected very different conceptions of what it looks like to follow Jesus with absolute consistency, in a way that deserves admiration.

For example, the early church existed in an Empire which was largely hostile to the message of the Gospel, and in that early time the MARTYR was seen as the hero of the faith. Not only Christ Himself but Peter, Paul, James, and early church administrators like Ignatius of Antioch were faithful even unto death, and as Tertullian once remarked, "The blood of the martyrs was the seed of the Church." By their deaths, Christian faith was preserved with integrity.

After Constantine, the church was beset with institutionalism, materialism, and nominal Christians who compromised on both doctrine and lifestyle. In that situation, the Christian ideal was the MONK who fled the temptations of the empire and went into the wilderness (or desert) to pursue a radical discipleship in solitude or in small, intentional communities.

In the Middle Ages, with the advent of the Crusades, the KNIGHT was the extreme disciple, willing to take up the sword and risk death, not for any personal or nationalistic pride, but for the sake of Christ's Church and the defense of the Holy Land. After the crusades, it was often the MYSTIC who devoted his/herself entirely to a life of spiritual contemplation.

The Reformation era produced the ideal of the REFORMER who, with prophetic voice, holds church doctrine and practice up to the umblemished standard of scripture, willing to risk excommunication and (at times) martyrdom for the sake of the Word of God.

Finally, the modern era seems to have upheld the MISSIONARY and SOCIAL REFORMER as the two types of Christian ideal. In both cases, their concern was not merely reform of the church, but the expansion of Christ's gospel through both evangelism and social action. Those who surrendered everything in pursuit of those aims have been greatly idealized in the modern church.

So after all this history, I just have two points to make:

1. Notice that Church Administrator has never been upheld as an ideal Christian vocation. Necessary, of course. Biblical, absolutely. But never the ideal. Why, then, do we in full-time ministry spend so much of our time, energy, and passion on administrative duties? If we are going to be leaders in the church who say "follow me as I follow Christ," should we not be more interested in modeling an ideal Christian discipleship than getting trapped in the quagmire of committees, budgets, business meetings, and worship planning? Can we not loosen our grip on administrating our churches, surrendering those responsibilities to trusted laymen and women, while we focus on living a more genuine Christian life among our people?

2. What do you think will be the "extreme disciple" of the Postmodern Church? I can think of two possibilities: The "worldly Christian" (ala Bonhoeffer) who lives in full commitment to the world and its systems but maintains complete Christian integrity; or, a "new monastic" who is willing to renounce the individualism and materialism of our day to live in intentional community with others. I'd be interested to hear more from you all.....but I think it's absolutely necessary to find "Christian Heroes" in our day.

Networking Opportunity

This blog is actually an invitation to all of you--especially those of you in the Pittsburgh Area--to a new ministry opportunity.

A group of younger pastors, mainly out of Pittsburgh Seminary, have come together and created a new network called Emergent Pittsburgh. They have a passion for creative, incarnational ministry and converting the church back to the missional vision of God in Scripture. Check out their website at www.emergentpittsburgh.org.

On Monday, September 10, they are holding their monthly "Missional Cohort" at the Urban Fusion Cafe in East Liberty, from 11 am to 1 pm. It's a great opportunity to get together for lunch, pray, and engage in conversation about postmodern culture, ministry, and mission. At the September 10th meeting, I have the pleasure of leading the discussion on Celtic Christianity as an inspiration for creative ministry among postmoderns.

I know you all probably already have way too much on your plates, but I just wanted to put this out for anyone interested in meeting other younger pastors, enjoying some fellowship, and getting encouraged in our vocational calls. If you are at all interested, please e-mail me at jkahl@bakerstownumc.org, so I can get you directions to the meeting and also some information on the discussion topic.

Have a blessed week ministering in His Name!

Reviving an Ancient Practice

For the past couple years I have been incredibly intrigued by an often-forgotten aspect of our past: Celtic Christianity. Recently, there has been an explosion of literature on that subject, and several of its spiritual themes are finding deep resonance with "postmodern" Christians. Indeed, I've found it to be incredibly valuable in my own walk with Christ, and I've used several of its practices with the youth of my church. One of these practices is the blessing, or benediction. While not exclusively Celtic, it does find a unique usage in Celtic spiritual writings. The word "benediction" (which we translate blessing) actually comes from two Latin words: bene (good, well) and dico (to speak). In its simplest form, a "benediction" is simply to speak well of something. We have often turned "benediction" (like so many other Christian practices) into a programmed, sanctimonious moment, in this case at the end of the service. It is something that only the minister does, and it is so formal and generalized that few people are truly "blessed" when it happens. In perusing their writings, I've found that the Celts had benedictions for everything...family members, friends, new babies, the elderly, the cow they were milking, the birds outside their windows, the fish they just caught, the field they were tilling for harvest. They believed that everyday words and language were powerful, and they wanted to be channels of positive spirituality in the way they talked. I have shared this practice with my youth several times. During retreats, on mission trips, or just in youth group, I will occasionally stand up and just start "speaking well" of each individual youth in front of the entire group. Sometimes I will tell them a spiritual gift that I see in them; other times I will praise them for a specific act that revealed Christ's love; other times I will make it more of a challenge for them to grow in some aspect of their lives. Whatever it is, I try to make it truthful and totally unique to each individual youth. Every time, something incredible happens. After I am done giving the youth benedictions, without fail, they start to give benedictions to each other. During one retreat, I allotted approximately 20 minutes for myself to do benedictions, and the process ended up taking nearly two hours because the teens just wanted to keep sharing. A similar thing happened this past June during the Work Mission Trip to Wesley Woods. Some adults might very well write that off as just touchy-feely, teenaged bonding experiences...but I disagree. Personally, I think it is an incredible alternative to what these teens see every day, including in our churches. I believe that in a world where so much of our conversations are reduced to pettiness, criticizing, fault-finding, gossip, and superficiality, it provided them with an opportunity to bless each other with deep truth and love. It enabled them to realize that Christianity doesn't just offer a free ticket into the pearly gates in the hereafter, but it also alters the way we should relate to each other in the here-and-now. The Celts are right: words are powerful things. I am humbled by how many times I've inappropriately used words in my relationships, when they've been curses instead of blessings. May God give me the wisdom to use words rightly: to practice the spiritual discipline of benediction, not just on Sunday mornings, but in daily life, that I might truly be a blessing to others. Psalm 19:14

The Life of the Beloved

I just finished counseling one of my youth who is seriously praying about possibly going into some aspect of ministry...specifically either youth ministry or mission work. I definitely sense a potential call in her life, and I have known about her interest in ministry for about a year. Still, in preparing to talk with her today, I went through some old books that have been crucial for me over the years as I have discerned God's call on my life.

One of those books is Henri Nouwen's Life of the Beloved. In it, he compares the call of the Christian to the communion bread in Christ's hands. In the words of the Catholic liturgy, Christ took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples. The book has challenged me to ponder how Christ has taken hold of me, blessed me, broken me, and then given me to the world.

Took: When were you totally grasped by the grace and love of Jesus Christ? For me, it was back in 1990, when I attended a youth meeting with some friends. I had been a church attendee my whole life, and my parents were and are faithful believers. But that night I heard a talk about the meaning of the Cross, and a challenge to give my all for Christ just as Christ gave His all for me. Up to that point, Jesus Christ was a historical figure I learned about in church--that night He became a Person Who was longing to be Lord of my life.

Blessed: How has God blessed your life? Specifically, with what talents and gifts has God blessed you that He might use? Unfortunately, I don't ponder the many blessings of God as often as I should, but I am so overwhelmed by His goodness. He has healed me of some very traumatic childhood wounds; He entrusted my care and nurture to wonderful parents; He provided a great education for me so that I could become as effective as possible in doing His work; and perhaps most significantly, He led me to an incredible godly woman who is a constant source of love and support for me. On top of that, He has given me gifts of teaching, counseling, writing, and music, and I am in a ministry that allows me to use all of those gifts for His glory.

Broken: How has God broken you of your pride and selfishness, and how has He broken your heart to the needs of others? One of my greatest experiences of brokenness happened right after I finished my Masters' degree: I was in an automobile accident that left me in a wheelchair for nine months. During that time, all of my plans for the future had to be thrown out the window as I had to accept a temporary helplessness. God used that time period to allow me to address some issues with my family that had been festering over the years; He taught me how it feels to be on the receiving end of ministry; and He reminded me that my plans are never the last word. At the time I was miserable, but in retrospect, it was one of the most spiritually forming periods of my life.

Given: How does God intend to give you to the world? What specific blessings is He telling you to share with others? When I initially sensed God calling me to seminary, I believed that it was either for the purpose of future graduate work leading to a teaching career...or to do youth and associate work in the church. I've been doing the latter for the past twelve years and God has graciously enabled me to see some of the fruit He has reaped through my efforts. In all these years, I always stubbornly refused to believe that He was calling me to be ordained, even though I was hearing it from professors, friends, and even my parents. For the past year I have been slowly realizing that, once again, my plans should not be the last word on the matter, and I've been noticing a slow softening of my heart. After some serious prayer and dialogue with some very trusted friends and mentors, I am convinced that God has indeed led me to make the decision to seek ordination. I believe that through that process, God can continue to use me in more effective ways for His Kingdom through the church.

So anyway, those are my answers to Nouwen's challenge. I hope they'll challenge you to ponder how you've been taken, blessed, broken, and given by Christ for His ministry in the world.

Myers-Briggs Mania

Of Horses, Carriages, and Drivers

Over my week-long hiatus, I read an interesting parable that inspired me and thought I'd share it with you. Eastern in its origin, the parable involves a carriage which represents the human body, a horse which represents human emotions, and the driver which represents the human mind.

We can all assume that along the journey there will be bumps and obstacles in the road. But if there is a malfunction along our own drive, the common sense thing to do is to check out the carriage first. Has it been maintained? Are its joints rusty? Has it been used often or has it been sitting around idle? For safe and efficient travel, certainly the driver (mind) must be alert and the horse (emotions) properly trained...but if the carriage (body) itself is in bad shape, the journey will still be messy.

I am convinced that the times in my life when I am most effective, emotionally stable, and mentally alert are when I am intentional about taking care of my body: eating right, exercising, and getting real rest. This doesn't mean that physical fitness automatically leads to spiritual maturity, or that striving for fitness should become an idolatrous replacement for godliness. But the bottom line is, in the biblical view of humanity there is no split between body and spirit; we humans are united beings, and what we do with our bodies WILL have spiritual, mental, and emotional consequences.

As a person in full-time ministry, it is natural for me to focus on the driver and the horse in the story. But sadly, far too often do I neglect the maintenance of the carriage. There are only so many hours in the day, I realize, but if this thing currently occupying my seat is truly a temple of the Holy Spirit, then I need to treat it with the same reverence and care as I do the sanctuary at Bakerstown United Methodist Church.

I hope this challenges you guys as well, but here are three things I think we all need to commit to in order to be effective ministers: We need to make sure that our bodies are properly relaxed, nourished and exercised, so that our carriages can make the journey of faith more effectively!

And in the words of the old Nike commercial: JUST DO IT!