Tag Archives: Culture

Living in the Land of OZ: Three Ways for the Church to Posture Herself in a Foreign Land

09 Tuesday Apr 2019

Posted by in Christian Life, Church, Gospel, Kingdom, Leadership, Ministry; Leadership;, Mission, Theology

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The influence of Christianity upon Western society seemingly has become a past experiment. As the Enlightenment experience failed—failing to eliminate all societal ills and bring about a human utopia—so too has the “Christian Nation” or Christendom failed. As a result, the church has struggled with this shift—and now find herself, in many ways, confused as to her role and posture in a pluralistic, secular, post-Christian, and skeptical environment. In other words, the church in North America has finally realized they are no longer in Kansas but in the land of OZ (or biblically speaking, in Babylon). And now believers and churches across the denominational spectrum are asking the question, “What do we do?” 

Believers and churches across the denominational spectrum are asking the question, What do we do?

In many ways, the North American church in the twenty-first century finds many similarities with the people of God in Jeremiah 29. [The dissimilarity that I must point out is that God was in a covenant relationship with the nation of Israel, whereas America is not.] Jerusalem had fallen. No longer did Israel experience cultural and national hegemony. Now in captivity, Israel experienced life as a sojourner, alien, and minority. They were marginalized. Obviously, many saw their newfound position as difficult, demoralizing, and depressing.

In response to their newfound foreign environment, they had a few options with regards to how they would posture themselves towards the larger culture. First, they could have just faded off as a sub-cultural hermit—sitting and longing for the ‘good ole days’ as they faded into irrelevancy. Second, they could have taken a more antagonistic, resentful, and angry approach, one that was mean-spirited, violent, and intolerant. Second, they could have bashed the Babylonians over the head with the Torah. Third, they could have accommodated the Babylonians—thinking “if we can’t beat ‘em’, join ‘em’.” Or, they had a fourth option—God’s option. They could seek the peace of the city.

Embedded within this Spirit breathed option, there are at least three particular ways the people of God were (and are) called to seek the peace of the pagan land.

1) Live here as if you were living there. We are to live everyday normal lives as if we were living in the homeland. God informs His dazed and confused people to, “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease” (Jer 29:5-6). In other words, God tells them to live here as if they were living there (back at home)—faithfully tilling and cultivating both land and family while they multiplied in the land. Seeking the peace of the foreign land begins by living faithfully as if we are in the homeland. [Keep in mind that for believers today, our “homeland” is the new city where Jesus will have made all things new (Revelation 21).] 

God tells them to live here as if they were living there.

2) Live to bless, not curse. God expresses that His people take up the task of blessing the pagan nation. This is quite remarkable! The people of God were to live as a blessing, praying to the Lord on behalf of the nation as they seek the flourishing of the pagan city. For in the city’s flourishing, God’s people will flourish. While the scope of this article does not permit me the time to dive into the notion of “blessing,” this vision, nevertheless, harkens back to both Genesis 1 where God blesses humanity (Gen 1:28) as well as the prophetic promise God made to Abram, “through you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Gen 12:3). Blessing a pluralistic and pagan city means believers will work for and towards the common good in a way to bring flourishing and functionality to every sphere of life.

Blessing a pluralistic and pagan city means believers will work for and towards the common good in a way to bring flourishing and functionality to every sphere of life.

3) Live faithfully, not forcefully. We are to strive for faithfulness, rather than striving for world change. In this passage, there is nothing about seeking the transformation of the city. God doesn’t ask them to work towards transforming Babylon into a theocentric (Jewish) nation. God doesn’t ask them to transform the Babylonian culture and cultural practices to those that more align with the Torah. While change may very well take place, God’s call to His resident aliens was a missional posture of faithfulness—faithfulness in all areas of their life, as they seek God and the welfare of the pagan city. 

God’s call to His resident aliens was a missional posture of faithfulness—faithfulness in all areas of their life.

In applying this notion to the cultural context of the church today, please don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. I completely agree that the gospel is transformative; the gospel changes individuals, families, cities, and even nations. To a certain degree God did bring change in Babylon through the faithfulness of people like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. My point is that the goal for the people of God is faithfulness to God and to His call, work, and mission in the world.

In neither Testament does God ever assign the task to His people of world change or city transformation—forcing people to believe and behave like the people of God. 

The mission of the church is to witness and make disciples. We witness and make disciples by working as ambassadors for the kingdom of God, serving as agents of blessing for the city, and inviting people to follow Jesus as their King who is in the construction process of making all things new. In sum, we simply share and show the gospel of King Jesus!

The mission of the church is to witness and make disciples.

In closing, may the church today—in finding herself in this foreign land like Dorothy found herself in the land of OZ—seek to live faithful lives reflecting the characteristics, attributes, and signs of God’s kingdom life in our homes, vocations, relationships, and ethics. May churches seek the “welfare” of the foreign city, living as agents of blessing rather than antagonistic, mean-spirited, angry, resentful and defensive agents. And finally, may we take the posture of faithfulness—faithfully calling people to follow Jesus. 

The Tale of Three Seats in Light of Good Friday

14 Friday Apr 2017

Posted by in Christian Life, Good Friday, Gospel, Uncategorized

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I debated whether to write this blog given the time-sensitivity of the story, but in light of Good Friday I feel at liberty to do so.

This past week, United Flight 3411 with service from Chicago to Louisville experienced a turbulent pre-flight exchange between a passenger and some police officers when he refused to give up his seat to a crew member. Many have seen the shocking video whether through the news or social media.

Before I go any further, let me first say that I was disheartened at how the situation went down and the force that was used to eject the patron (Dr. Dao) from the seat. It’s amazing that something like that happened for a routine flight. Second, I don’t know the whole story. Sure, I’ve seen media reports and news casts that have discussed it, but I wasn’t there, so I don’t know every detail.

Now that’s out of the way, I do believe there is a deeper story when we probe the scenario with the information we do have. And it is the tale of three seats.

The tale of three seats is one of inconvenience.

Seat #1:

The first seat is the patron (Dr. Dao) who was physically removed from his seat. He was already on the plane and was fully ready to get home because he had work to do the next day. The compensation vouchers United was offering him wasn’t enough to inconvenience him. Rather than getting out of his seat and talking to his lawyer, he chose to sit and let them physically remove him.

Seat #2:

The second seat is the patrons who witnessed the entire ordeal go down. Once again, I wasn’t there, so I don’t know exactly what happened and how things were communicated. But I have some experience with an overbooked flight. In my experience, the airline came on the intercom stating that they had an overbooked flight and that they were accepting volunteers to give up their seat in exchange for a monetary voucher to be used at a later time. I could be wrong, but I am sure something like that happened. And when there were no volunteers they started randomly selecting passengers.

For argument sake, let’s say they didn’t do that. Let’s say that they by-passed asking for volunteers and went straight to random selection. After the lengthy exchanged with the Dr.; after the threats from the officers; and during the physical altercation, it seems to me, that another passenger would have had enough and stood up and offered their seat. But from the information we have, that didn’t happen. Maybe it did, but I haven’t read or heard an account of that happening.

Once again, it seems the amount of compensation United was offering nor the awkward altercation with the Doctor was enough for any other passenger to be inconvenienced and give up their seat.

Seat #3:

The third seat is the airline industry and the employee that needed the seat in which the Doctor sat. Once again, I don’t know the entire story (and yes this is a theme for me in this blog) nor do I know why the four employees (or crew members) needed a seat. What I do know is that both United and the crew member weren’t willing to be inconvenienced.

There we have it. The tale of the three seats is one of inconvenience. This story exposes how our culture loathes being inconvenienced.

Our cultures’ disdain for inconvenience exposes the raw reality that as human beings we want to do what we want to do when we want to do it.

In short, we don’t want anyone else controlling us—because we might not like what they ask us to do. And if we do offer to inconvenience ourselves, it is usually for someone we know, love, respect, or work for. We might even be inconvenienced if our hearts are moved with compassion for someone in a tough predicament.

But by in large, we would rather anchor our souls to convenience even to the point of being uncomfortable rather than relinquish our rights to inconvenience and avoid a situation that might make everyone uncomfortable.

Enter Good Friday:

Today is Good Friday, the day Christians set aside to remember Jesus—their Savior who was nailed to a wooden, splinter-filled cross for the sin of the world. When you think about doing things that are convenient, going through horrific torment and being nailed to a wooden-cross almost naked for all of Jerusalem to see doesn’t make the cut. In fact, it is the exact opposite—it is super inconvenient.

In Philippians 2 Paul writes the following,

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

The cross speaks of how Jesus inconvenienced Himself—how He gave up His comfort, His seat, and His life—so that humanity might be saved. We must remember, Jesus didn’t have to do what He did. Paul says, in the passage quoted above, that Jesus was God. Yet, for our sake He didn’t count equality with God a thing to be grasped. Rather, He chose to yield up His life, empty His life, in exchange for our salvation.

As believers who cast our minds to Calvary as we commemorate Good Friday as the day Jesus substituted His life for us by hanging on an old rugged cross, let us also not forget that three days later (as we will celebrate Sunday) He rose victoriously from the grave. Therefore, because He is risen, because He is alive, because He lives through us (through His Spirit), let us—as Paul encouraged believers—have the same mind as our King. Let us be willing to be inconvenienced for the glory of God and the good of others.

Being willing to be inconvenienced may mean we give up our airline seat to someone else. It may mean that we invite that friend to Easter service with us this coming Sunday. It may mean we give up an hour each week and serve our church in some way. It may mean that we commit ourselves to a small group. It may mean that we go out of our way to make things right with our spouse. It may mean that we give up some of the luxuries of life so that we can direct more finances to advancing the mission of God. It can also mean a host of other things.

In closing, I pray for all involved on Flight 3411 and especially Dr. Dao and his recovery. I also hope that we can learn from this tragic event. And one of those things I hope we learn is that the tale of three seats reminds us of how much our culture hates being inconvenienced. Yet, in light of our culture’s resistance to inconvenience, let us be also reminded of Good Friday.

Good Friday reminds us how our Savior and King—who knew no sin—over two-thousand years ago inconvenienced Himself by being nailed to a tree for us to be raised to life with thee.

May those who follow Jesus, be willing to follow in His footsteps by relinquishing our convenience and rights in order to live for the glory of God and the good of the world.

Jack Bauer and Christian Discipleship

27 Tuesday May 2014

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I don’t know about anyone else, but I was thrilled to see the show, 24, come back on the air. I remember when the first season of 24 came out—I was hooked. For me, it is easy to get hooked with the 24-hour day format, the intense drama and suspense, and the unstoppable hero, Jack Bauer. Jack Bauer is sort of like the Chuck Norris of the 21st Century. You don’t want to mess with Jack Bauer—even the dark is afraid of Jack. [Ok, I know, that was lame]. As I have begun watching season 9, I cannot help but to draw some similarities between the character of Jack Bauer and (true) Christian Discipleship. Here are six similarites, in no particular order, between the character of Jack Bauer and what true Christian discipleship should be.

  1. Jack is serious about his calling. Whether Jack is officially working for the government, or a government fugitive, he believes his duty is to protect the United States and her leaders, and hold people accountable for their injustices.
  2. Jack is sacrificial about his calling. He willingly offers his life for the sake of others. In fact, he is willing to break the law and break policy to save others, as well as to subject himself to the consequences. He relinquishes his freedom for the sake of others’ freedom.
  3. Jack is determined to complete the mission. I think this is one of the things that resonate with me. It doesn’t matter how tough, difficult, costly the mission, Jack is determined to see it through. And he is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish the mission.
  4. Jack is caring towards others. Throughout the seasons, he cares about those around him, both his family and his friends. Not only that, I always find it odd that when he holds innocent people hostage he is so cordial and nice to them. He says, “please,” and “thank you.” I could only imagine if that was real life what would be going through people’s minds.
  5. Jack is seen as both a blessing and a curse, a traitor and a patriot. Since his allegiance is to his calling (mentioned above) there are times where the U.S. government sees him as a threat and a nuisance; then when all the dust settles, and disaster is avoided (because of Jack), they thank him personally, privately, or from a distance.
  6. Jack is offensive against the enemy. He understands the enemy, and the threat the enemy poses. Since his goal is to stop the advancement of the enemy’s mission, he doesn’t wait for them to attack, he takes the battle straight to them.

These traits of (the character) Jack Bauer should be traits possessed by followers of Jesus. Just think if believers and churches were like Jack Bauer.

  • What if followers of Jesus were serious about their identity and their calling as the redeemed saints of God who have been called out of the world only to have been sent back into the world to reflect the glory of King Jesus by living and sharing his gospel in all aspects of their life?
  • What if followers of Jesus were sacrificial about their calling and mission that King Jesus has sent them on? What if they were truly willing to pick up their death sentence (the cross) and follow Jesus wherever he leads? What if the church was willing to break their own rules, red-tape, traditions, preferences, and policies for the sake of the glory of God and his mission in the world? What if followers of Jesus relinquished their freedom for the sake of others’ salvation?
  • What if followers of Jesus were determined to accomplish the mission of taking the gospel to the nations? What if we didn’t back down or quit when things got tough, but we pressed on all the more—doing whatever it takes?
  • What if followers of Jesus really cared about others, both in the church and outside the church? What if we treated others with great care, concern, and honor? What if we highly valued the life of others, both spiritually and physically?
  • What if followers of Jesus were really seen as both a blessing and a curse, just as the first century church was? What if we were a blessing to those whom we served, aided, loved, and encouraged; while at the same time we were seen as a curse to those who felt threatened by the influence and impact of the gospel through us?
  • What if we were truly offensive rather than passive in our engagement with the enemy—the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4)? What if we took the battle to him, on his turf, in the larger culture? What if we didn’t operate as if we were on an isolated island away from everyone else, but really lived sent lives individually, corporately, and institutionally? What if we engaged in everyday life, in everyday spheres of life?

If we followed Christ as the character Jack Bauer lived out his calling, I believe the church would see greater results of people coming to know Jesus. I believe the church would see a larger, deeper, and wider impact in their communities and cities. I believe the church would experience the power of God in ways they haven’t seen in quite a long time. As it sits, there are not that many Jack Bauers, nor are there that many workers for the harvest. Nevertheless, it’s not too late to begin right now being this type of church, this type of follower of Jesus.