Weblog
Saturday, 26 April 2008
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Moving to WordPress
As you can tell from my screwed up header, Xanga has frustrated me one too many times. I should have listened to Spangler a year ago! So I've moved my blog to freakinmissionary.wordpress.com. I hope to see you there. I copied my previous post there since I'll be continuing that topic.
Friday, 25 April 2008
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Making Peace with the Church
Any serious believer has to come to a point in his/her life of making peace with the church. Many young believers are "at war" with the church. Of course this is all understandable. Perhaps nobody has described this phenomenon better than Richard John Neuhaus, the Lutheran turned Roman Catholic who edits a culture and religion journal called "First Things" (no pictures, small type, you gotta be a real intellectual to read it - I don't).
Here are some excerpts from his old book "Freedom for Ministry", written largely for pastors but applicable for any serious believer struggling with the church.
The tension between the theological or spiritual defiinition of Church and the sociological fact of Church is acutely embarrassing....In talking about Church and ministry we should show a healthy respect for the way things are, holding our visions of the way things ought to be in tightest tension with existing reality. Only in this way can the existing Church be prodded, urged, seduced, and loved into approximating a bit more closely the Church that ought to be....Although most of us have, no doubt, eminently sound plans for re-forming the churches in greater conformity with his intention, we are responsible for these mutilated, separated, pedestrian churches that comprise his Church. That is, we are responsible for the millions of people in these churches who are the object of his reckless and redeeming love.
To be sure, we all deplore the superficiality, the cheap grace, the caricature of Christian discipleship that mark some of the most successful peddling of the gospel in our time. The hustling that dominates "the electronic church" of religious broadcasting, the mile-long cathedrals of glass made possible by the avoidance of controversy, the multimillion dollar commerce in books that reinforce every prejudice and stereotype - all this is repugnant on many scores. And yet, and yet: through all this, millions of people are receiving a more adequate and truthful view of the world than they might otherwise have...No matter how bastardized we may think the form of the gospel is, they are at least brought within the circle of Christian discourse where the understanding of the gospel can be deepened and fulfilled in Christian discipleship.
Thinking about the Church today is plagued by a mood of anti-institutionalism that pervades our culture. We too facilely posit form against reality, the institutional against the authentic. Institution is simply another word for social endurance. Even the most spontaneous and prophetic of movements cannot last unless they find institutional form...I have never understood what people mean when they talk about "the institutional Church". There is no other church of historical or social significance....The "real" Church of Jesus Christ is not to be posited against, is not an alternative to, this Church of empirical experience. The true Church is the Church truly seen.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Whom you would change you must first love"....Too often movements for change fail not for lack of analysis, nor for lack of commitment, but for lack of love.
Enough for now, but I think Neuhaus is wise in what he says here. As I said before, the church is what it is. We can dream and work for what we think it should be, but the reality is messy. We can't change it without touching it. We can't affect it by avoiding it. Most of us would rather talk about the mess than get our hands dirty. More to come.
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
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25 Days and 7 Years
According to a recent study of North American Protestant mission agencies, the average length of time spent in pre-field training of new missionaries is 25 days. On one hand, this mortifies me. Taking the gospel into another culture is incredibly complex. Just living in another culture is too much for many. How are 25 days of training going to prepare someone adequately to even begin this process? Have we lost our minds? Are we playing games with other cultures? On the other hand, I guess the truth is that much is learned on the ground anyway. However, I'm still appalled. Think of what medical people go through, or even military personnel. Isn't the task of missions just as complex? Shouldn't we require more front-end preparation?
This reminds me of the faith missions that began after the Civil War. "Faith missions" is sometimes seen as "dumb missions" in that many people ventured out without much planning and training. Yet for all they lacked in such training and education, they made up for in devotion and incredible perseverance. Was there a lot of zeal without knowledge? You bet. Did they do many dumb things that set back the progress of the gospel for decades? I think so. But they persevered. The founding of agencies like Africa Inland Mission and Sudan Interior Mission are good examples of this. To many observers, the founders were fanatics, taking unnecessary risks and causing unnecessary loss of life. But the rest is history. Both groups went on to become major players in Africa.
The most important ingredient for a missionary is "it". People either have "it" or they don't. Unfortunately, I have no idea what causes some people to get "it" and others not. "It" is mission passion and vision, that basic mission motivation that isn't distracted by the world. Some have it and some don't and no matter how hard I try I just can't figure out how some get it and some don't. Maybe God wants it that way. If we knew how to give "it" to people, we'd screw it up somehow.
The same report said that the average length of service for long-term missionaries is 7 years. Again, I'm scandalized by this. Many missionaries will tell you it takes that long just to begin to really understand a culture. Three or four years to really learn a language well and begin to grasp the idiosyncracies of a particular culture. Maybe this is one reason why some missionaries never have the kind of success they had hoped for. They leave before they've been able to sink down roots. Related to this, it seems a lot of the best missionaries leave great ministries in order to come home and get a PhD or something. How many missionaries do you know who've spent 20+ years in one area? I have to really think hard to think of one.
Again, if the people have "it", length of time is somewhat irrelevant. Some missionaries can do incredible things in just a few years. But for most, not even having "it" will make up for long-term presence. I wish people would have more pre-field training (INSIGHT students are better trained in basic missiology than most missionaries!). I wish they would stay longer than 7 years. But above all, I wish they would have "it". If we could just give "it" to people in a 2-hour seminar, I'd be rich and the kingdom would be way ahead of where it is.
Monday, 21 April 2008
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I blog, therefore I am
After an almost two month hiatus, I renew my existence today. I blog, therefore I am. To blog is to be. Why return now? The main reason is embarrassing but true. Someone recently told me that they missed my blog. The insecure Blogger inside my inner being latched onto this utterance in lightning speed and instigated the thought process that leads me here. "They missed my blog. They NEED my blog. They need....ME! How can untold millions survive another day?" Such are the self-delusions of anyone who justifies wasting time on a blog. Long live bloggers!! We matter, baby!
OK, a little more than necessary, but hey, it's been two months. I'll have to do some catch-up. But I end with a happy report that Caleb Campbell, an INSIGHT student from a few years ago finishing up now at Biola, has recognized the superiority of 80's rock. He's big into Journey and we had an enjoyable conversation recently talking about their biggest hits. My personal favorite is "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)". It's refreshing to know that young people can see truth and recognize it as such. If only the rest of you would see the light and be "born again".
One more. I recently sat through "Pride and Prejudice" and "Sense and Sensibilities" and "Room With a View". I have three daughters and "Masterpiece Theatre" is cheap. Why do modern women like these films about helpless women saved in the end by a man? It's so...Victorian! Please help me understand this one, ladies. What is the appeal? In reality, you'd all cry yourselves to sleep at night if you lived in those stifling days, wouldn't you? Do you deep down want a man to save you? Does your heart flutter at the thought? For some reason I thought modern women were over that. Maybe not?
Tuesday, 26 February 2008
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Breaking the Silence
Wow! I went a whole month without blogging. I still don't know why. Whenever I notice someone stop blogging, I assume they're depressed or extra-busy, but neither of those would apply to me this past month. It's been a great month. In fact, I could have blogged about a TON of things. Maybe I felt overwhelmed, who knows. Anyway, here's the short list of what I've been up to:
- INSIGHT started back up. Things are going great. Crackin' the whip on young hide. Sweet.
- I attended an "Organic Church" conference. This has occupied much of my thought life since.
- We're very close to moving back in to our old/new home. Meanwhile, the place we are staying now had major repairs (as in removing some of the foundation with a jackhammer and repouring it) while we were in it.
- A former student, Bethany, visited and another one, Emily will come soon.
- I went to my first NASCAR race. Yes, it was redneck heaven. The stereotype holds.
- I spoke at two Perspectives classes. Fun, but that kind of show-up-speak-leave stuff doesn't fit me.
- My wife discovered Craigslist and I have a check ledger to prove it. I got a chiminea for free. Some of you don't know what that is - its an outdoor fireplace, kind of, thingy...
- I've thought of a million ways to make INSIGHT better. Two of them are realitstic.
- I taught my girls how to sing, "We're not gonna take it. NO, we ain't gonna take it. We're not gonna take it anymore". Beauty. Yes, for you young pups, its an 80's tune by Twisted Sister. I dare you to go find it.
- I thought of posting my most-listened to songs on this blog, but was too embarrassed to do so.
- I've developed short fits of rage whenever I see people being passive. Something needs to be done, but they just sit there. Aarrgh!
- I was driving north on the 110 recently on a clear night with the LA skyline in view and thought, "I love LA". It's starting to get hard imagining living anyplace else.
- My house is noisy but I love having kids in my house. Once in a while when Cathie and the girls leave for a trip or something, I'm incredibly lonely within a day or two. It's gonna really suck when my daughters fall for some moronic schmuck and leave me.
- I think American voters are largely clueless about the issues (I know I am) and will vote on the basis of superficial things like looks and image. Obama is a shoe-in for President. Not to say I think he's all looks and image, just that he wins in those categories over the others. Reagan was flashy, Bush Sr. had little competition, Clinton was flashy enough to be dubbed "slick Willy" and Bush easily had more swagger than Kerry. Looks and image always win. Bush and Gore were about equal, which explains the tie.
- I still wake up with a yearning to understand God's kingdom more and my role in it.
As you can see, I'm no wiser than before, but life is full and mostly beautiful.
freakin_missionary
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- Name: Dave
- Gender: Male
- Member Since: 5/26/2006
