Category: Faith

So, looks like you can get a doctorate in Ministry to Emerging Generations now.

Jesus commands his followers to “go and make disciples of all nations.” Fulfilling the Great Commission in a rapidly changing, post-Christian world requires the church to think seriously about responding to the unique “nation” and culture of young people living in our midst. We need also to develop effective paradigms for understanding and reaching cultures of future emerging generations. In fact, the label “Emerging generations” is no longer limited to just teenagers. In addition, “adolescence” is no longer limited to those whose chronological age places them in their middle and high school years. Our growing understanding of early, middle, and extended adolescence has expanded the boundaries on both ends, resulting in a world where youth culture is shaping individuals in the emerging generations from birth through young adulthood.

This track will help those ministering to the emerging generations – youth pastors, children’s ministers, college/young adult ministers, and pastors – to work through the practical implications of living obediently to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ in today’s rapidly changing cultural context (including the changes yet to come). Members of the cohort will be equipped to embrace the task of “dual listening” as defined by John Stott: “We stand between the Word and the world with consequent obligation to listen to both. We listen to the Word to discover even more of the riches of Christ. We listen to the world in order to discern which of Christ’s riches are needed most and how to present them in their best light.” (The Contemporary Christian)

What the what?

I mean, I get it. I get why a seminary would create this program. It seems relevant. I’m sure there are a lot of pastors out there who want the kids to get off their lawns; I’ve met a few of them. And there’s been plenty of pop-theology/pop-psychology/pop-whatever books written on the subject – enough so that critical mass has been reached and stuff like this is going to explode all over the place. They’ll read a few books by Rob Bell, visit an “emerging” church that’s not self-sufficient but seems “hip”, write a paper, start a Twitter account, pat themselves on the back, and call it a day. They’ll get a degree to hang on the wall and some more college debt hanging around their necks, the seminary will get some extra tuition, and everyone wins.

Well, actually, nobody does.

There’s just so much silly inherent in this, I don’t know where to start. First off, this is just a screams out-of-touch-old-person talking to kids, in a program that won’t work. Secondly, post-Christian/changing cultural contexts sets off red flags for me. It assumes that there was some cultural context that was “Christian” and that we are, today, moving beyond that. It’s a silly reading of history because it ignores, well, basic reality, that cultural contexts of the past have been romanticized in this country and that those of us who do not fit those cultural contexts are, somehow, just brand new (like my brown skin is some kind of unexplained, and new, birth defect). It also ignores basic facts like, how, the percentage of foreign-born people in the US is finally returning to historical averages – and that the last fifty years, with it’s super low number, was the exception, not the norm. It also makes the assumption that the celebrated “nones” of today are any different from the thousands of years of C-and-E Christians that the church has experienced. The difference is that they don’t mind calling themselves “nones” now – a willingness that is important to acknowledge but doesn’t change the fact that the church has been dealing with this stuff since forever. And the simple fact is that none of this stuff came out of a vacuum. The “reality” of today comes from somewhere. If you want to blame someone, blame thirty years ago. The seeds of our reality was already there – even if you try to romanticize it away.

And this will not actually make a difference to anyone in the “emerging” generation. I’m willing to speak for all of us, right now. I’m willing to make generalizations, right now. I’m willing to stand up on the mic and say, with a loud voice, that this nonsense won’t work. And it won’t work because it says a lot of nothing. By labeling the “emerging generations” as “the nations,” you’ve already defined them as the outsiders. By poorly mixing discipleship with the Word, and ignoring the BAPTIZING part of the Great Commission, you’ve automatically assumed that these emerging generations do not belong with the “true path.” They are on the outside and this program is designed to, somehow, bring them inside, and make them part of the righteous. It masks faith with culture under the pretex of being open and new. This is silliness. We’ve just gone through Christmas, worked our way through Epiphany, and we’re about to see Jesus turn water into wine. If anyone has been paying attention to the lectionary, they’ll notice that there isn’t a lot of “bringing into the fold” that is being done in these stories. Rather, God seems to be breaking into the social contexts that we’ve created. And this is important – because if all social contexts are open to be broken, then all are objectively on the same level. Faith ends up being open to everyone, even those in the “emerging generations.” And I don’t see the Magi, or the shepherds, or the party goers being told to change their cultural or generation status at the door.

It was a little before 11 am on Thursday when my supervisor called our church administrator and, like the way of all flesh, I was drafted for a task that my life experiences, in theory, have provided me with the right tools. That evening, I would take the church’s projector and be the techy for that evening’s speech by Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, THE Sarcastic Lutheran, and head pastor/founder of House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver, Colorado. I was excited. I’ve been hearing about her ever since I started my seminary track and I wanted to see her in the flesh.

So, I did. And I enjoyed it.

The talk was part of a Project Connect retreat called “Listen! God is calling!” A handful of young adults thinking about church leadership were in attendance. Even though it wasn’t well advertised by our synod, the audience included that handful, and roughly fifty seminary students, pastors, high school students, and me. And, like all good church congregations, I sat by myself in the second row. But that was a-ok with me. I wanted to not be distracted by the hair of anyone in front of me.

I was hoping that Rev. Nadia would tell her story – and she did. She did a great job with “I” statements – this was her story, not “our” story. It was a story of her journey, her church, her experience of the law and gospel. I swore I heard a little Dr. Wengert in her when she kept saying that she’s willing to be thrown infront of the bus of law – and just how awesome Lutheran theology, and God’s grace, is. I’m glad she mentioned that because I’m with her on that one. We, as a church, need to do a better job at tooting our own horn. The Lutheran perspective is awesome. More than awesome, really. And it should be shouted from the freakin’ rooftops.

But scattered throughout her talk, panel response, and Q&A, were tidbits of data and theories that I wrote down. The fact that her church is only 4.5 years is important to note – and that they’re hoping to be self-funding in 18 months. The idea of shared leadership in the liturgy, democratizing the space, and a pro-participation model towards liturgy has helped her church. Her church is a place that can hold pain and, yet, express and experience carnival within the gathering. And her church is rooted in a model of authority where authority is shared and given. I don’t think this would work in all churches but it was neat to see how it worked in her community. I also thought it was neat that she shared her experience that, as a church planter, how she goes, the church goes. If she’s anxious, the church is anxious. If she’s great, the church is great. And it tied into something she’s been talking with her intern about – the notion of holding “space” for the congregation.

This is something I experienced when I presided for the first time. And, really, it is different than preaching, surprisingly. By being the focal point of the congregation, I, in many ways, found myself holding their space. I held whatever they brought to church that day: their certainties, their love, joys, pains, sufferings, doubts – and even their distractions as they checked their email on their iPhones in the middle of the sermon. And I’m sure since I actually believe that the ritual I’m participating in is worth something, that the breaking of bread, the singing of songs, the hearing of scripture, and the fellowship with one another – we are not only being the church but we are having faith, and gospel, done at us – I felt a spiritual, physical, and emotional weight just holding all that energy in that place. And I think it’s different being an intern and holding that space and being a called pastor. A called pastor is put into that place by the congregation. The congregation is giving that pastor that authority and responsibility to hold that space. For an intern, like me, I’m not called by the congregation to be in that space. I’m given the opportunity to learn and experiment with what it means to hold that space. As much as I enjoyed it, I was a partial interloper to that experience. It was a temporary jump into that space – a jump with a time limit. It’s possible, and I have no evidence to back this up, that ordination by the church – an external call and the giving of the stole – actually helps shore up the individual to hold that space that they are called to hold. Without that external call, that external promise through the church, and without the help of God, this holding of space…well..the weight of it all, week after week, would just plain be unbearable.

I’m glad I saw her and I’m glad she’s part of the church. I’m glad for all the work she’s done. And I’m glad that not only does she turn off certain aspects of the church (she’s punk rock, what what), I’m glad that she, at least, proclaims a story that is big enough to not be limited to who she is. In the ELCA, she has a lot of hype. Her church is big news. Her church is sexy. She, herself, is exotic, in the not-your-typical-Lutheran, way. But her story isn’t the only story – even if our current church promotion seems to act like her story, and other churches like hers, are the wave of the future/the only way the ELCA will survive/death to all who are not similar, etc etc. I hope everyone in the audience took to heart her story as an example of how our stories can actually breathe life into the capital C Church. Because if we’re unwilling to share our stories, why should we expect anyone to actually listen to the Story?

Delievered at Advent Lutheran Church. Lessons and Carols. Isaiah 9:2-7; Luke 1:26-33,38; Luke 2:1-14; Luke 21-36; Matthew 2:1-11; John 1:1-14

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So ‚Äì here we are ‚Äì in an intermission of sorts ‚Äì halfway through our lessons and our carols. Each time we’ve encountered the words of God’s story ‚Äì words that were read and lovingly spoken out loud – and we responded in song. We started with Isaiah, and we sang; we then heard Gabriel’s greeting with Mary, and we sang; we heard of the census and Jesus’s birth; and we sang. And now we just heard of Jesus’s circumcision, his naming, and presentation, of Simeon and Anna, and the Temple ‚Äì and then there’s me ‚Äì before the song; before we all gather together, join our voices , and sing ‚Äì there’s this ‚Ķ this intermission ‚Äì but unlike a Broadway show ‚Äì the curtain is still up ‚Äì and….and there you all are ‚Äì staring at me ‚Äì in this moment before the song.

It’s a strange space, really, to be right here, right now ‚Äì and ‚Äì it’s a little intimidating. I wonder if it’s like how Mary felt ‚Äì right when the angel appeared ‚Äì before Gabriel spoke; before she heard the words of promise; before she sung her own song ‚Äì a song we heard during Advent. Or when Zechariah heard of the promise that was coming in John ‚Äì right before he disagreed with the words of the angel ‚Äì in that moment before the action; before something happened; before the words come. Or maybe this is kinda like how Jesus looks back on his life because ‚Äì the Christmas story, the story of Jesus’ youth ‚Äì it’s a story where Jesus doesn’t actually do anything. Sure, Luke has that story about Jesus running away to the Temple when he’s twelve ‚Äì but, other than that – we hear a lot about what happens either because of Jesus or what happens to Jesus. He’s born ‚Äì swaddled ‚Äì circumcised ‚Äì named ‚Äì carried ‚Äì put into the arms of people that he doesn’t know ‚Äì he’s blessed, prayed over, but there’s nothing about his cooing, crying, laughter ‚Äì or any of the baby things he did. Before his ministry ‚Äì his early life, to us, is a mystery ‚Äì a moment before his voice, before his action, before his obedience ‚Äì before the Cross ‚Äì before his song.

I grew up in Colorado ‚Äì and my high school, Arapahoe High School ‚Äì Go Warriors! – had a relationship with the Arapho tribe in Wyoming. Each year, the son of the chief would come down from Wyoming and give a scholarship to a member of the graduating class. So this son would stand up on the podium in our football stadium ‚Äì with his back to all our parents and guests, facing 500 suburban kids in rented gowns and hats ‚Äì and he just waited. Everyone’s eyes were fixated on him and he waited. And waited. In the space between his introduction and his speech ‚Äì in that moment before his song ‚Äì there’s this….energy ‚Äì the kind of energy that only silence can bring ‚Äì an energy that fills the air. Even nervous laughter, or the wisecracks from my friend, or a distant car honk couldn’t interrupt it. Nothing could cause that space to end ‚Äì nothing but his words ‚Äì his spoken words. And we all sat there ‚Äì and waited with him ‚Äì until he spoke.

I learned later that what finally caused him to close that open space was an eagle. Next to the football field, behind our backs, was a small creek with elms, oaks, and Aspens. And as he looked out over us ‚Äì after a few minutes ‚Äì he saw this eagle fly out ‚Äì and then he knew that it was time to speak. It’s funny, because I don’t actually remember anything that he said. But I do remember that pause.

The Christmas story ‚Äì as we see it expressed in our lessons today ‚Äì in the voice of Luke, the magi of Matthew, and the opening lines of John ‚Äì all were written decades after Jesus’s death and resurrection. Scholars will argue until the end of the time, how these authors put these writings together ‚Äì what their sources were, how accurate they were, the communities they wrote in, what their motivation were ‚Äì what was it that filled the space before their songs. And we, gathered here, will spend our time reading these stories ‚Äì God’s stories ‚Äì and spend our time with these stories in our own pauses ‚Äì in our own spaces before our completed songs. Because that’s the amazing thing about Christmas ‚Äì and why Christmas isn’t just one day long ‚Äì because God chose to be born ‚Äì to live ‚Äì in that pause before the song. So much of Jesus’ story ‚Äì his years as a child ‚Äì his years before his ministry ‚Äì it is a mystery. It’s unknown. And that unknown space ‚Äì it’s a space that wants to be desperately filled. Even in the early 2nd century ‚Äì people wanted that story filled. They wanted to hear about how God lived life on earth ‚Äì what wonders he did ‚Äì what powers Jesus showed ‚Äì what fame was won. They wanted to see the greatness of God living ‚Äì conquering ‚Äì overpowering ‚Äì the space where we live our lives – before the healing ‚Äì before the travels ‚Äì before the loaves and fishes ‚Äì before the eating with outsiders ‚Äì before…before the Passion and the Cross.

But the space before that ‚Äì that space before Jesus’ song is very large and very quiet. The space between Christmas and Easter ‚Äì it is large. We don’t know about Jesus’ relationships. We don’t know his education. We don’t know if he spoke Greek, if he spoke Hebrew, if he had a favorite toy, a favorite friend, or if he ever got turned down when he asked someone out. We don’t know his hurts ‚Äì his joys ‚Äì his frustrations. We have this very large pause ‚Äì but I find it to be a very grateful pause ‚Äì because it is not static ‚Äì it’s active ‚Äì dynamic ‚Äì a space big enough to hold all our fears ‚Äì joys – loves ‚Äì loss ‚Äì and this space ‚Äì this space is held ‚Äì not by the baby Jesus, or the child Jesus, or the infant Jesus ‚Äì but the risen Jesus, the resurrected Jesus – the promised Jesus ‚Äì the Jesus who lived a human life ‚Äì a life filled with holes ‚Äì and secrets ‚Äì and stories that did not come down to us ‚Äì but stories that are our stories ‚Äì our true stories. And Jesus holds that space wide open ‚Äì because it is in in that space where God builds a space for us. The Christmas Story isn’t a story about us making space for God ‚Äì of letting go and letting God ‚Äì but is a story of God being God whether we wanted it or not; of God being big enough to have a space for all of us – and all of who we are ‚Äì not as we wish we were ‚Äì but as we truly are ‚Äì right now. That space ‚Äì that unknown space after Jesus’ birth and before his baptism ‚Äì is our space; it’s our pause; it’s our moment before our completed song ‚Äì and it is in that space where our song is joined with Jesus’ song. Emmanuel ‚Äì God-with-us, God-for-us, God-with-the-space-for-all-of-us ‚Äì that is the Christmas song. That is our song. And that is our daily gift ‚Äì a daily gift that, unlike Christmas Day, or 2012, or even the twelve days of Christmas ‚Äì does not end.

Amen.

Delievered at Advent Lutheran Church, Manhattan; December 24, 2012; 4 pm Family Service.

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Why start our Christmas story – about the birth of this little Jewish boy – born to a dad named Joseph, a young mother named Mary, in the small town of Bethlehem – why start it, a thousand miles away, in Rome?

Because that’s where Luke starts the story ‚Äì with a decree made by the Roman Emperor Augustus that the world should be registered. Scholars disagree on whether this actually happened ‚Äì but I think it’s more important to ask why Luke starts in Rome ‚Äì and not in Israel; or Jerusalem; or, well, anywhere near Bethlehem. We end up there ‚Äì but we start, first, in Rome. And, to be perfectly honest, this Christmas, I haven’t really thought much about the Roman Empire. Well…actually…that might not be true. I think I did order a Caesar salad recently. And I thought about ordering a pizza from Little Caesar’s ‚Äì you know ‚Äì one of those five dollar deals – but…that’s about it. For me, the Christmas story never stars in Rome ‚Äì-

But, for Luke, it does.

That Roman Empire ‚Äì it stretched from Europe, through the Middle East and Norther Africa ‚Äì we’ve seen the movies I bet ‚Äì with the huge shiny soldiers ‚Äì shinning golden bright ‚Äì with long red capes, huge biceps, sharp swords and spears ‚Äì and with that armor that gave them the allusion of chiseled and perfect six pack abs. And that helmet! With the large red plume ‚Äì like some kind of gold, bright, shiny, rooster ‚Äì if I was wearing that complete outfit right now ‚Äì I’d probably be twice as tall as I am. Or, at least, I’d look like I was. I’d look strong ‚Äì mighty ‚Äì tough ‚Äì maybe a little ridiculous ‚Äì but I’d look powerful; like a soldier; like a fighter ‚Äì like someone that can protect you. If I was standing up here, with my bright armor, sword, giant spear, and red helmet ‚Äì standing right next to baby Jesus in our Nativity set ‚Äì that scene would send a much different message that we see, right now, with that beautiful tree, right there.

And that image ‚Äì of the Roman soldier ‚Äì that image is important to Luke. In Luke’s day, fifty years after Jesus died and was risen from the dead, Rome had just put down a rebellion in Israel, destroyed the temple, and its armies were spreading throughout Syria, Iraq, and Turkey. Rome wasn’t invincible ‚Äì but it carried itself like it was. As the armies marched forward, factories back in Italy were stamping out statues and paintings ‚Äì images of Rome and the Emperor ‚Äì and shipping them all over the world. These images were Rome’s advertisement ‚Äì delivering to everyone this idea that the Rome was strong ‚Äì powerful ‚Äì fantastic ‚Äì someone that deserves your respect, love, obedience, and hope. And all that hope centered in one person – the Emperor of Rome.

Our most famous image of Augustus ‚Äì the one you’ll see in books ‚Äì was made when he was older, partially blind, and sickly. But in that statue ‚Äì he’s wearing huge armor, he looks ultra strong, and young. He’s the model of what an Emperor should be ‚Äì able to conquer our enemies, feed those in need, and lead troops into battle and to win victory after victory. And this was another image stamped out in factories and delivered all over the Empire ‚Äì an image that was meant to be placed in homes, in marketplaces, in temples ‚Äì an image meant to be worshiped and glorified. This guy ‚Äì this manly man ‚Äì that was where we are to place our hope, our faith, our trust in. He is worthy of your love. He is the man you are suppose to listen to ‚Äì who will help you ‚Äì who will provide for you ‚Äì who will protect you. This guy is the hope of the entire world.

And Luke flat out says that isn’t true.

The hope of the world isn’t in the one with the biggest weapons, the most troops, or who has the most wealth and power ‚Äì the hope of the world isn’t in the one who can use a census to discover who to tax or where soldiers can come from. The hope of the world isn’t in the human being who is the best looking ‚Äì or who is able to photoshop themselves and use images to make themselves appear strong, powerful, and worthy of our love and adoration. No – the hope of the world is in that which, in comparison with the Emperor of Rome, is insignificant, helpless, and powerless ‚Äì a newborn baby ‚Äì a baby who isn’t in armor, but in cloth ‚Äì who has no army ‚Äì who has no power ‚Äì who is born not in the center of the world but outside of it ‚Äì and who, as a newborn baby, had a very high chance of dying before he was five. This baby was no Emperor ‚Äì and, according to the world, there was, and is, no hope in him.

The story of Jesus’s birth is never just about a baby; the story of Jesus’s birth is about our expectation of what Hope should be. We expect Hope to fit a certain image ‚Äì to be a certain way. The Emperor of Rome stamped and delivered images of that Hope all over the Empire ‚Äì a hope that was grounded in the power that money, weapons, and politics can bring. And everyone expected that this is who the savior should be. Of course the savior would be a soldier ‚Äì of course they would be able to raise troops and money and wage wars ‚Äì because how could a savior not do that? How could a savior not have the experience, the knowledge, the power to fight all the battles we need that savior to fight? To fight against those who oppresses us? Those who look down on us? Those who treat us with contempt and teach us to hate ourselves? The Savior has to come ‚Äì has to come ‚Äì with the strength, and power, that we don’t have ‚Äì to match power with power ‚Äì to defeat all of that. That’s the only type of person that could truly save us ‚Äì save all of us ‚Äì from the world and from ourselves. No newborn babe can do that.

[Insert an off-the-cuff sermon illustration about a little toddler who ran up to me during the sermon and baby Oliver, who was sitting in the back.]

I think…rather than having a fifteen foot tree overlooking Jesus – a fifteen foot Roman soldier might be a better image ‚Äì because that’s what is happening on this day. Our vision of salvation ‚Äì that which we build ‚Äì that which we believe gives us hope ‚Äì that which we think God wants us to believe ‚Äì that is being confronted, right here, by a newborn babe. The meeting of our world with the divine is not in war; not in weapons; not in money or power; but in a baby. On that day ‚Äì and on this day too ‚Äì this is our good news ‚Äì and our great joy ‚Äì that in the little town of Bethlehem, this town where no power resides, where no giant army is stationed, where no Emperor lives ‚Äì Jesus is born, right there. Glory to our God in the highest ‚Äì for coming not as an adult, or a giant, or a golden, armored soldier with a sharp sword, and a long spear. No ‚Äì Jesus came to us delievered in bands of cloth ‚Äì swaddled ‚Äì powerless ‚Äì weak ‚Äì in need of love, care, and parents who would protect him. The Savior comes into our midst ‚Äì a soldier and Emperor of a different sort ‚Äì an Emperor that we do not expect ‚Äì and for that, may all of God’s people say Amen.