A New Earth

I've been reading a book called "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle. Oprah has been recommending this book and a couple of million of people worldwide are currently doing an online course. I chose to pick it up in part because the title "A New Earth" is a phrase borrowed from the pages of Scripture. Also, I knew that the book promoted a certain "worldview" (a belief system about the world in which we live)and I was curious to see if the belief system proposed in the book looked anything like Biblical Christianity. Well, I'm not quite finished with the book yet, but can say with certainty that the book is not starting from a decidely Christian worldview (although many aspects of the book touch on teachings and behaviors that Christians would agree with). I view Tolle sort of standing amidst a religious smorgersborgue and is arbitrarily picking and choosing which ideas and beliefs he'll choose to feast upon and which he will ignore. So he ends up with a worldview platter that consists of a spoonful of Buddhism, a portion of Christianity, a sprinkling of Hinduism and a side dish of Naturalism. One might look at the healthy portion of Christianity and think "sure, this is coming from a Christian perspective." However, this is simply not the case. Some of the most foundational truths in Christian thought (i.e. the atonement/Christ's sacrificial death and resurrection as the way to inner life and peace) simply are not part of Tolle's worldview.



Greg Boyd's book review blog on "A New Earth" that I recently read points out some of the major "red flags" that I had as well. Christians should be aware of as they pick up this book what aspects of it simply doesn't jive with the teachings of Jesus and the Scriptures. It's a little heady, but worth the read. Here's the link. Enjoy.

http://gregboyd.blogspot.com/2008/04/echhart-tolles-new-earth-book-review.html

On Earth Day

I think that celebrating Earth Day is fantastic. It's like honoring the work of a great artist. Whether or not we have a relationship with an artist when we step into a gallery and take in the breath-taking creativity we gain, in some way, a deeper appreciation and connection to the artist. Romans 1 reminds us that the creation itself reveals to the world the hands of an artist whose powerful and divine brushstrokes have left their marks everywhere.

Earth Day encourages us to honor the earth. . .and I believe we should honor it, but not as an end to itself. As we gaze upon the created splender it resonates honor and glory. But, it speaks not of itself. No, it simply reflects all honor and glory back to the one whom the honor and glory is really due. Indeed, the creation points to something much larger than itself.

Below is one of my favorite poems that I learned as a youth. I'm trying to have my boys memorize it.



Maker of Heaven and Earth (All Things Bright and Beautiful)


All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures, great and small
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings
He made their glowing colours,
He made their tiny wings;

The rich man in his castle,
The poor man at his gate,
God made them, high or lowly,
And ordered their estate.

The purple-headed mountain,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning,
That brightens up the sky;

The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden
He made them every one.

The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water
We gather every day,

He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well

Cecil Francis Alexander 1818 - 1895

Alpha: Head, Hearts, Hands, Habits

The Spiritual Formation Department has a four-fold emphasis in helping bring people to maturity in Christ. It's Head, Hearts, Hands and Habits. When each of these areas of the self is operating under the direction and headship of Christ, transformation becomes not only possible, but normative.

Now, I would be the first to say that no program or class has the power to bring about transformation. Transformation is the work of the Spirit alone. However, God does use tools to accomplish his purpose. And, Alpha has been such an effective tool in our church in helping to bring "head, hearts, hands and habits" under one umbrella. Let me explain.

Head: The Alpha Course offers weekly teachings that help people with no faith or who are new to their faith grow in the knowledge of God. Basic questions of life like "who is Jesus" , "why did He die" , "how should I pray" and "what is the church" are addressed. They help stimulate the mind to understand more about why faith in Christ matters.

Heart: After the talk each week, Alpha participants have a small group that they meet with for one hour. They stick in the same group with the same people for the eleven weeks of Alpha. During this time relationships are birthed. I always say that in Alpha, belonging actually proceeds belief. They feel included and embraced whether or not they have yet believed on Christ. And, that's the way it should be.

People's questions are un-earthed in a safe and nurturing environment. In the group setting head knowledge begins to mesh with heart conditions. It's not uncommon during an Alpha Course to have a person place their faith in Christ for the first time. Or have a group come out of a session passing klenexes and sharing hugs. I seen many a heart "strangely warmed" in the small group settings over the course of the last four Alpha Courses. It is truly beautiful.

Habits: Habits are birthed for the first time during Alpha. First, the habit of just coming to the course begins to set in motion the discipline of community. Then, usually by week five or six I've seen many folks begin attempting daily devotions. During the weekend away retreat, folks begin engaging the discipline of solitude and prayer for the first time ever. Almost always without any encouragement from me, folks begin attending church regularly and they start engaging in more fellowship with others more on Sunday mornings. These disciplines aren't practiced in a posture of personal peity or moral superiority, they are implemented out of a desire to change....to become a different person that looks more like Jesus.

Hands: Hands remind us that Christ came to serve humanity. We need LOTS of volunteers to run the Alpha Course. Everything from kitchen help to child care, to small group leaders and helpers to musicians. It's a daunting undertaking. However, one of the "rules" of the program is that once you have gone through the course, you can only be involved in the next course as a person who serves. So, this year's Alpha was so cool because a large portion of my volunteer base were folks who came to last year's Alpha Course. New believers, but eager Alpha veterans, this year's team of volunteers did childcare, helped in the kitchen, were small group helpers and took huge chunks of administrative responsibilities. Old, callosed hands of those who have been in Jesus many years grasped the baby hands of newborns in Christ who have been in our church less than a year and served along side one another for a common goal and all were blessed.

If you are a church interested in integrating head, hearts, hands and habits together in one effective program, I'd encourage you to check out Alpha.

Learning to write with the other hand

The process of Christlikeness is counter-intuitive. It goes against the grain of the fabric of self and our ego. Usually, for a new Christian whose set on following Jesus things get real messy before they get better.

Imagine a right-handed person penning their own autobiography. In the middle of the story a doctor diagnoses this person with severe arthritics in their right hand. It's debilitating and will create permenant paralysis if the writing continues. The only solution is to stop using that hand. "But", the eager writer pleads, "I'm in the middle of penning my life story. I can't quit now."

Now, imagine if the only sensible solution is that the author continue writing, but simply switch hands. This situation would call for him to learn to write using his left hand instead.

So, he surrenders to the doctors orders, dies to the use of his right-hand and places the pen in the other hand.

As he sits down to write, it feels quite awkward. It's uncomfortable. It takes intention and effort and energy and patience. The story he's writing continues, but looks messy on paper. It seems so terribly inefficient and stifling. There is daily temptation to go back to the old hand. Yet, the writer knows that despite the initial limitations and discomforts, it's the pathway to liberation and healing.

I think this is what it's like when we Embark on the Journey towards Christ. Following Jesus is like having to learn how to write (live) in a brand new way. It's not only difficult, but in many ways it disrupts and transforms the story we're penning all at once.

As a church, we must be highly intentional regarding those who are new disciples of Christ. For them their orientation must change. The way of Jesus is so clear and so confusing at the same time. People need guides and pathways to help them on this journey. At Hayward Wesleyan we have developed a course called Embarking on the Journey to help folks understand how Jesus is calling us to live in a way that seems counter-intuitive to all that we have known before.

There is nothing more rewarding for me than to be part of this intentional process. How does your congregation help folks learn write with the other hand?

The subversive way of Jesus

"Our Lord, when he wanted His disciples to grasp
the meaning of His pending death and resurrection did not give his followers a theory or a lecture. He gave them a meal".

What significance does this have to you?

Why a meal? Why not a theory or a lecture?

What might this say about our Lord?

On the church

What we think about when we think about the church matters. Growing up there were two misconceptions I used to have about church that tainted my view of my God, my self and others.

1. The church as a particular place. As a good Irish Catholic kid I used to believe that the church was a really holy 'place' held up by four walls. The church was a destination you frequented on Easter and Christmas and maybe a few other times out of the year if you were a good kid. Simply stated, the church was a particular place, not a peculiar people. One of the first things that I started realizing when I was baptized into Christ is that the church was a living, breathing entity. It was a organic community. It had a pulse and was on the move. . .in specific times and places (usually not inside those four walls) the church actually felt like a living human body or like a really big family. How exciting when I begin reading the Bible only to find that these were the precise metaphors Paul uses to describe the church.

2. The church as a gated community. After we left the Catholic church, we joined a "Bible believing" church. Although I have much good to say about this particular body of believers I definately began believing that the church was a gated community. You know those really rich homes that lie within suburban cul-de-sacs behind rought iron fences. Gated communities have always reminded me of places where the bad is quarentined to the outside and all the good is possessed by the few who have the privilidge to be an insider. In my experience for a season of my Christian walk it sort of felt like maybe the church was just one big gated community. Keep the bad out and the good in. Only problem with that paradigm is well....Jesus. Jesus liked to tear down rought iron fences of religiousity and self-righteousness. In fact, he was always wandering too far outside the fence. He even said that he came for the sick, the blind, the lame and the outsider. So, maybe the church isn't as much a gated community as it is a hospital. It's a place for the sick and dying to come and receive new life and health. Perhaps some are in the ICU, some are in surgery, some are in recovery, some in labor and some in physical therapy. But, the hospital is no respector of persons. It takes anyone with any problem at any time. It's a place where sickness and remedy come together. Where brokeness is replaced with wholeness. I like the metaphor as the church as a hospital. A hospital sounds a lot more exciting and more transformational than a gated city in the burbs.