Rethinking Community - Part 2

I heard a professor share recently that people who struggle with shame know that God “loves” them but experientially feel as though God doesn’t “like” them. That same sentiment is often expressed in the church (albeit masked as a joke) as “I love you in Christ, but that doesn’t mean I have to like you” (or for that matter, be friends with you).

So what does it mean to be part of a Christian community? What are our obligations to and expectations of our fellow Cross church members? Or to be more direct – is there an obligation to not just “love” but also “like” our fellow church members? OR is that an unrealistic and unhealthy expectation?

What do you think?

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

If you recognize the title of this blogpost, then you probably have already watched Steve Jobs commencement speech given to Stanford’s 2005 graduating class. (If you haven’t, you can check it out on Youtube.) It’s an amazing speech – personal, inspired, authentic. Jobs’ core message is neither original nor unique; others have shared similar sentiments in different contexts. But the combination of Jobs’ charisma, his captivating life story, and his [unparalleled?] contributions to technology – makes listening to Job's speech feel like you're listening to a spiritual message.

Which brings me to this question: In what ways is the Gospel message singularly unique? Or is the Gospel just a different version of an inspired commencement speech? Or to put another way, what should the Christian’s response be to a message that aspires to give you hope for the future (i.e. providence), inspires you to follow your inner voice, seeks to find meaning in suffering, and challenges you to live each day to the fullest – all without the need for God and Christ?

Share your thoughts.

Rethinking Community - Part 1

Quick. Think of three people from Cross Community Church (other than your family members and the pastors). Now imagine you’re out for a leisurely walk around town and you run into one of the three people you just thought of. If someone (a stranger) saw the two of you together and asked, “How do you know each other?” – what would you say? How would you respond?

My guess is that most of us would answer something along the lines of, “We go to church together.”

It seems to me that most, if not all, human relationships are varied and complex. It’s rare when a single association defines an entire relationship; our co-workers are also our friends, our siblings can be business partners, etc. But even in complex relationships, there’s usually one primary association that largely defines and shapes that relationship – and that association/relationship is the one we usually identify when we introduce people to someone else for the first time. Yes, Esther is my friend, but I still introduce her as my wife.

Every personal relationship has some measure of obligations and expectations and these expectations and obligations vary depending on the relationship. We have expectations/obligations of our co-workers and they are different from the expectations/obligations we have of our parents.

So here’s my question to all of us at Cross: If many (some? most?) of us define our primary relationship with one another as “going to the same church” –what kind of expectations and obligations do we have of one another? Can authentic community be built upon a foundation of “mutual church attendance?”

What do you think?

Don't Think About Elephants!

There is an old advice that is given to new mountain bikers where you are told "don’t look at where don’t want to go; look where you do want to go."  Sounds obvious, but what happens is that people see something hazardous coming up -- a cactus, a stump, a barbed wire fence running along the side of the path -- and their focus actually makes them run into the obstacle!  (This happens all the time, and the technical reason is because the act of turning to look at something shifts your weight to turn the bike in that direction.)  So what are supposed to when you see something scary coming up?  Well, look at where you do want to go.

I was reading something that said that telling people "don't be afraid" when they encounter a fearful situation can have the same effect. You say it enough time, and now you all you are thinking about is how afraid you are.  It is one thing to be aware that one should not be afraid, but you don't stop being afraid because you say "don't be afraid."  (How do you get someone to think about an elephant?  Well, tell them, "don't think about an elephant.")  You need something else.

According to Sister Maria in The Sound of Music, when life gives us thunder, we ought to think of 'a few of my favorite things.'  It isn't bad advice, and not far from the biblical one (which makes sense, since she was, after all, a nun).  When God calls upon Joshua to lead the Israelites after Moses (C'mon, really? Those are some big sandals to fill!), He encourages the fearful Joshua by saying "Do not be terrified, and do not be discouraged" but immediately follows it with "For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."  In other words, yes, this is scary, but now, remember something that will take that fear away -- I am with you.


Which is exactly the same thing Jesus tells his disciples in the upper room discourse in John.  Which is exactly the same thing we are told now when we encounter challenging situations that make us hesitate obeying God -- loving a neighbor, telling the necessary truth to someone, forgiving an enemy, etc., etc., etc..

Now stop focusing on the things that make you fear, and turn back.  Look at the path set before you by the One who brought you here.