I
am going to talk about “Re-thinking Your Gospel.” This notion covers a a range of topics in
which Christians in America in 2012 try to regain an understanding of the Good
News we have in Jesus Christ. I will
not, in this talk, attempt to define “rethink your Gospel.” Rather, I will demonstrate a model which
promotes a renewed and deeper understanding of rethinking and reconnecting with
the Gospel. This model, at is core, is
about doing ministry with children who are materially poor but exceedingly rich
in Spirit and discovering in that ministry that all participants are poor and
when it is done right, all get fed.
I begin by recommending to you the
book The Next Christians by Gabe
Lyons. Lyons was invited to the office
of a movie producer who wanted to tap into the Christian market. She asked him to make sense of the 21st
century American Christian (p.29).
Haley, the producer was not herself a Christian, but she was very
interested in Christians as consumers – in this case as movie-ticket buyers.
Lyons explained that his research on
the book he co-authored with Greg Kinnaman, UnChristian,
led him to several groupings. There is
not just one prototype Christian, but a variety of types.
He begins with a group he calls the
Separatist Christians. First among these
are the “insiders.” They listen to
Christian radio, drink coffee from Christian mugs, send their kids to Christian
schools, and watch Christian films. They
don’t smoke, cuss, drink or chew, and they don’t go with boys or girls who do.
Lyons’ second group among the
separatists he refers to as Culture Warriors.
They want the 10 Commandments displayed on the courthouse walls,
abortion to be illegal, and marriage to be between a man and a woman and no
other arrangements are acceptable as far as marriage goes. These Christians are determined that America
will be a Christian nation. And they’re
willing to fight for that.
I should say as an aside, I agree
with the position taken by culture warriors on many topics. I am pro-life. And, like the insiders, I wear witness wear
clothing and I drink Jesus-coffee from Spiritually inspired mugs. In each of the categories Lyons presents, I
see some good things. But their emphasis
and their methods are sometimes different than mine, sometimes very different.
A third category of separatist
Christian according to Lyons is the evangelizer. These folks want to win souls for Christ no
matter the cost. To illustrate, Lyons
tells of a zealous evangelizer who moves into a new neighborhood not knowing
that neighborhood’s strong sense of unity and fellowship at Halloween. Without learning that community’s value
system, he hands out gospel tracts to trick-or-treaters. His intention is to share Jesus with his
neighbors. But those neighbors were completely
turned off. In his zeal, he alienated those
he wanted to see saved. It was because
of his method.
Insiders, Culture Warriors, and
Evangelizers are all what Lyons describes as separatist Christians. A second category Lyons has observed are
cultural Christians. The first category
in this group is made up of what he calls blenders. As their name indicates, they want to follow
Jesus, but they want to do it in a way that will allow them to be the same as
everyone else. Lyons writes, “Complete
with a Starbucks style coffee shop, Disney-like children’s programming, and a
worship experience that rivals a Coldplay concert,” they want to do church in
this culture’s language.
Besides blenders, in this second
category, the Cultural Christians, Lyons lists philanthropists. Their main concern is to make the world a
better place by doing good things and giving money to worthwhile causes. They tend to say very little about the
salvation we have in Christ, the importance of the cross and resurrection. They kind of live in the Sermon on the Mount. Their favorite verse might “when you do unto
the least of these, you do for me.” It is in these parts of the gospel that the
philanthropists find their drive.
Again, let me reiterate, I agree
with much of what the blenders and philanthropists say. We should translate the gospel so that it is
intelligible in our culture. We must
give to good causes. And, we must also
remember these five categories come from Gabe Lyons. I happen to like his writing a lot, but he’s
a guy like us. He’s reading the Bible
and the world around him and trying to make sense of it. We can be inspired by his ideas and we can challenge
at the same time.
The reason I begin with his
observations is I do think he does a good job of showing where these approaches
to following Jesus are flawed. His sixth
category, obviously the one he is promoting, is the Restorer. He says,
“Restorers exhibit the
mindset, humility, and commitment that seem destined to rejuvenate the momentum
of the faith. … Telling others about Jesus is important to them, but conversion
isn’t their only motive. Their mission
is to infuse the world with beauty, grace, justice, and love. … Restorers seek
to mend the earth’s brokenness. They
recognize that the world will not be completely healed until Christ’s return,
but they believe that the process begins now as we partner with God.
This idea that restorers are, as the
book is titled, The Next Christians,
or more specifically, the Christians who will do the most good for the faith in
the world in this new century is an idea that appeals to teens and 20 and
30-somethings. Can we find holes in
Lyons’ book? Probably. But whether or not what he says is completely
right, I think a lot of young people either in the faith or open to Christ
think the way Lyons thinks. They won’t
be argued into the faith by a talented apologist. They won’t be attracted by a tearful
emotional appeal. They won’t be follow
Jesus just because their parents were church goers. But they do want to be part of something
meaningful. I think what I share this
morning is one example of the type of meaningful activity that will (1) attract
talented, energetic people to Jesus and His work, and (2) will by the grace of
God and leadership of the Spirit accomplish much for the Kingdom.
Keeping the view of restoration in
mind, I turn to another book, this one written around 65 AD. I am talking about the Gospel of Mark.
As he
was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him,
“Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but
God alone. You know the
commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall
not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your
father and mother.’” He said to him, “Teacher,
I have kept all these since my youth.” Jesus, looking at him,
loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the
money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for
he had many possessions.
The man who ran and kneeled before
Jesus asked a basic question that most people asked. How can I live forever? We might frame it differently, coming from a
worldview so shaped by medieval thought.
How do I go to Heaven when I die?
However it is asked, the basic notion is the afterlife. Is this life all there is? Is there more? Is that “more” whatever it might be, better
than this? If it is better, how can I be
sure I’ll get it?
Jesus’ interlocutor felt pretty
confident. “You
know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery;
You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud;
Honor your father and mother.’”
“No sweat,
Jesus. I have got it covered.” He’s thinking his own righteousness is
secure. His eternal life is a slam-dunk. The Jesus delivers the pop he didn’t see
coming. The man is feeling pretty
good, but Jesus says, not so fast, my
friend. “You lack one thing; go,
sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure
in heaven; then come, follow me.” At
this point Mark says, the man went away grieving. Why?
He had many possessions. He was a
rich man. He wanted eternal life but not
at the expense of his possessions.
Please note,
the primary lesson here is not that we should give all our possessions to the
poor and follow Jesus. Anyone who would
qualify as middle class in the United States qualifies as wealthy in most
countries in the world. This is not a
talk damning the wealthy. In this
passage from Mark, Jesus does not damn the wealthy. In fact, he loves the man and he sees that it
is the man’s wealth that is preventing him from having the riches God offers
all of us. Giving his possessions to the
poor would have been a freeing act. Once
that wealth was out of the way, the man would be freed to follow Jesus.
What Jesus
calls each of us to do is to remove the stuff in our lives that blocks the path
between us and him. For a lot of
Americans, that stuff is our material stuff – our money and our
possessions. All of it should be used
for God’s glory and for expanding the kingdom.
If my possession don’t have the potential to be used by God and if they,
and I include money in this, occupy God’s place in my life, then it all has to
go.
What did Jesus
say the man was to do after he gave all his stuff away? He was to come and follow Jesus. He ran up all desperate to know the secret to
getting into Heaven or the key to eternal life; Jesus said forget that. Follow me.
That is the essence of Christianity and the only hope for any kind of
life. We must follow Jesus. And we must get rid of anything and
everything that prevent us from following Jesus.
To review – we
have Gabe Lyons telling us that 21st century Christians, especially
those who are under 35 (rough estimate), are going to be restorers who try to
partner with God and mend the earth’s brokenness. We have Jesus telling us in Mark’s gospel we
need to follow him and remove anything that impedes our efforts to follow him;
and I suggest for a lot of Americans the materialism that defines a middle
class life is a major impediment. Where
are we then? How do we get rid of the
stuff that blocks our path to discipleship and once that’s removed, how do we
partner with Jesus to mend the earth?
That question
is key when we imagine what it is, “it” meaning the Gospel. We cannot understand “Gospel” until all the
junk that impeded our path to following Jesus is cleared away.
The model I
will propose can play a major role in clearing away the junk that clogs the way
to discipleship. It is a model that I
know you can repeat in your church.
Before I get to that,
though, I have to talk about mission trips.
I have always liked the idea of going on a mission trip. When I was in college, I heard about people
in youth ministries and campus ministries going all kinds of places – places I
had not been. And somehow I got it in my
mind that my Christianity was not robust enough and radical enough unless I
went on mission trips. To be a really
super Christian I needed to go on several.
I was born in Germany moved from there when I was just 6 months
old. My dad was in the U.S. army and was
stationed there and that’s why Frankfurt is my birth city.
My family’s from
Michigan. I lived there from 6 months to
12 years old, with one year in Texas, again because of the army. At 12, we moved to Roanoke, Virginia where my
parents still live. So, when I was in
college and heard about all kinds of wild mission trips, I was a novice
traveler. I had been to exotic places
like Ohio and West Virginia. I even went
to Atlanta once. Wow!
I had to go on some
trips, man! I did that. With the Virginia Baptists and with my seminary,
I traveled. I spent a week preaching in
Mexico City. I spent a month shadowing a
missionary in Bolivia. During this time
and the decade that followed, I learned to think critically. I read a lot about Christian missions. And I came to a conclusion I am sure many of
you have heard and realized. The amount
of money it takes to send an American overseas for one week could go a lot
farther if it were sent directly to Christians in Mexico or China or wherever.
Additionally, what good
can someone do if they know nothing of a culture? When I went to Mexico, I had never been
outside an English-speaking country. I
had no experience preaching. The
Virginia Baptists sent me down there to preach 6 revival sermons. I can only assume the pastor they had for the
trip had to cancel last minute and they had to send someone and I was
willing. Years later, as these questions
rolled around in my mind, I had to wonder if short-term mission trips have any
value at all?
Then I read one of the
most important books I have ever read besides the Bible. It is called When Helping Hurts by Corbett and Fikkert. First off, this book confirmed my worst
fears. Many short term Christian mission
trips do more harm than good, and I had been on trips like that. With the best of intentions and desire to die
to self and follow Jesus, I have in my life participated in trips that at least
from a structural perspective did not do much good. In the same way that God speaks even through
lousy sermons, I suspect God accomplished something on those trips, but in
spite of me. So were my days of missions
trips over?
A second benefit from When Helping Hurts is the definition of
poverty. The authors write, “Poverty is
the result of relationships that do not work, that are not just, that are not
for life, that are not harmonious or enjoyable.
Poverty is the absence of shalom in all its meanings.” By this definition, the rich man in Mark 10
is poor – suffering from poverty of relationship and poverty of values. You and I are poor when we objectify our
neighbor who is Libyan. He must be an Islamic extremist who longs
for the death of Americans. We are
poor when we generalize about Chinese Communists. They
all desire to dominate the world economically and they’re all Hell-bound
atheists. We are poor when we
demonize those who support one political candidate: he’s trying to make America a socialist nation. Or the other: he’s an elitist who doesn’t care about the poor.
When we understand that
poverty is defined by broken relationships and all are hurt, our approach
changes. I am not a wealthy American
trying to give my money to help a starving African so he can have money and
have wealthy American life. I am a
broken sinner and I am seeking God’s healing and I know I’ll understand it as I
love my African brother. Part of my
salvation story comes in me loving him.
Part of his salvation story comes in him loving me. That relationship-building: that’s where God
is at work.
“Salvation story,” sounds
odd, doesn’t it? Don’t American evangelicals
think of salvation as a moment? If
“salvation” refers to the moment I realize Jesus died for my sins and in that
realization I put my faith in him and thus assure myself of a Heavenly
eternity, then, yes, salvation might thought of as a moment. But Jesus sent his disciples out to help
other people become disciples. We are
not on a mission to get people into Heaven.
We’re on a disciple-making mission.
Following Jesus does not happen in a moment. It is a lifetime, a story. I am proposing that a major part of that
story demands that Christ followers leave their comfort zones and familiar
environs and head out into the world to meet Jesus in places that had
previously visited.
But this demands more
than just heading out into the world.
There has to be purpose and direction.
Once Corbett and Fikkert establish that poverty is about broken
relationships and is a result of sin, they identify three forms of poverty
alleviation: relief, rehabilitation, and development. One of the biggest reasons so many mission
efforts fail is they provide relief when development is needed. Those they are helping never grow independent
or even have the chance. The system of
help renders the poor dependent and they don’t develop. So, they stay poor. Offering relief when what is needed is
development leads to helping that hurts those who are helped.
The good news from this
book, for me, is I knew what to look for: ministries of development. I didn’t know if this would ever mean
overseas trips for me, but I started down a path that has landed me in place
where I go to Ethiopia every year. And I
firmly believe what we are doing truly helps and has long-term potential.
This path began when I
got married to an extremely mission-minded woman. From the start I was impressed by my wife
Candy’s dogged determination to help poor children. I was also grateful for her amazing attention
to detail. We were in our 30’s when we
married and when a child did not come that first year, we decided adoption was
the way to go. In 2005, we adopted I__ from Russia using the America World Adoption Agency. Through same organization, we adopted H__ from Ethiopia in 2009 and M__ from Ethiopia in 2011.
International adoption is
a great thing, but it is another talk for another day. It helps – that one kid. It does not change the community or the
broken systems that landed that child in an orphanage. However, international adoption did lead me
to learn about Children’s Hope Chest.
This group is a smaller
version of World Vision and Compassion International. Hope Chest provides child sponsorship. A financially able person contributes $34/a
month. That money goes to provide a
child with a school uniform and supplies and also a meal each day. For many kids in the program it is their only
meal of the day. When you’re a sponsor,
the very minimum participation is your monthly contribution of $34. You want to do more than the minimum. So, you write letters and people in Russia
and Ethiopia and Uganda and wherever translate those letters into the native
language so they can be read to the child you sponsor. As that child advances in school, he learns
to read your letters himself. As he
advances more, he learns English and eventually, he writes to you in his own
hand, without aid of translator.
Your participation is
letter-writing. You send your
money. You send care packages with
simple gifts. You pray. Oh, you pray for
your child. And the benefit of this not
just for your child but also for his community and country is he stays there. He is in school, because of money you send,
he gets educated, and after 12 years, he’s ready for college. He is equipped to stay right there and be an
agent of positive change in his little Asian of African town or village.
What I wondered is this. How could our participation go deeper than
just the financial contribution, the prayer, and the letter-writing? In 2009, my wife went with a group on a Hope
Chest trip. They visited a dozen care
points in Ethiopia. When she came home
we prayed about our church “adopting one of those carepoints.” In early 2010, someone who was from one of
those care points, someone who converted to Christianity there and was
disciples by a man who had come out of Isalm to be a Christ-follower was in the
United States and we had him speak in our church.
That day that he spoke,
50 people in our church signed up to sponsors.
All the sponsors were connected to children in the same care point – one
Candy had visited. I had the vision. We would go beyond the contributions, the
letters, the prayer. We would travel to
Ethiopia and spend a week with these children.
We would spend a week laughing with them, loving them, and providing
support and encouragement for the adults who cared for them. Those Ethiopians were all evangelical
Christians. The care point is called
Grace Baptist Church. We could connect
with them and we could come back and visit every year.
Would it work? When Candy and I adopted M__ in 2011, we
visited the site. We asked the pastor of
Grace Baptist and the leadership team who cares for the kids – “Do you want us
to come?” This is a crucial
question. We Americans should not assume
our presence makes things better. I
tried to ask this question of Pastor Tefera in as clear terms as possible. He emphatically said, “Yes, come, spend a
week with us and these kids.” OK, so,
we’ll come, but what will we do for a week?
I came up with a simple plan of a Bible school. We’d have games, crafts, and a Bible
lesson. We would buy some sheep and
slaughter them and give the kids a feast.
Pastor Tefera, “Is this plan OK?”
He is the leader. When we all get
on the metal bird and fly back to America, he’s the one who is with those 160
hungry kids every day. He has to be the
leader through and through. We come to
serve, love, and support him as he serves, loves, and supports these kids. “Pastor, is this plan OK?” Yes, it is OK. Come.
We have now done it once,
April of 2012. The trip was
amazing. And for me the confirmation
that we’re on the right track came when I met our sponsor child Zeyiba. My wife Candy handles most of the letter
writing. She sends Zeyiba letters and
photos. Immediately, Zeyiba showed me a
picture Candy had sent, pointed to Candy, and said her name. I have done sponsorship for years through
Compassion International. I have at
times wondered, does this make any difference at all? Does my money really go to help this kid in
Rwanda or Kenya or wherever? When I
stood there in Kombolcha, Ethiopia with Zeyiba, and she held a picture my wife
had sent and she knew Candy’s name, I knew we were on the right track.
My dream is to go back
every year and stay with it and stay with Zeyiba until she graduates from
college. Over the course of that time,
she and I will help each other recover from our poverty of relationships. Together, we will learn what it means to
follow Jesus. She will help remove some
of the stuff that blocks my discipleship path.
I will make sure she stays in school.
My dream is to take a
group from my church back to same spot to be with same kids every year. When I addressed the children during our week
there, I asked them, “Am I looking at the future president of Ethiopia
somewhere in this crowd?”
I firmly believe this
model of a group of people in one church sponsoring a group of kids in the same
care point and visiting those kids each year for a 10-15 year period is a repeatable model. It is a model that can be copied by churches
large and small. It is a model that
participates in evangelism. Many in our
care point are from Muslim families, and they come to Christ. It is a model with the potential for
long-term good in that it provides not only evangelization but also
education. It is a model that puts the
power where it belongs; in God’s hands working through indigenous leaders with
American visitors in a servant’s role.
It is a model that if you participate in it will expand your view of who
Jesus is. He is a lot bigger than what
we can see looking through our small North Carolina window. Our window is not a bad view of Him, not bad
at all. But, I want to see more of
Jesus. And sometimes doing that means
spending significant time with people very different from me.
I recommend this model
wholeheartedly. In it or a mission like
it, we meet God in new places. We follow
Jesus where he leads instead of fitting him into our lives. And we learn the Gospel in dramatic new ways.
