Even So, Keep Coming, Jesus

I recently heard a statement that made me sit straight up in one of those, “Aha! Of Course!” moments. Here it is: JESUS DID NOT COME TO EARTH TO START ANOTHER RELIGION.

Read the recorded words of Jesus in the Gospels of the New Testament and you will not find a single statement about an organizational strategy for starting a new religion.

Ø He did not declare where a headquarters should be. In fact, he told his followers to scatter from where they were and go to the remotest parts of the earth with his message.
Ø He did not establish any leadership certification ceremonies. In fact, he said that those who aspire to greatness among his followers must learn to be the servants of others.
Ø He did not establish any elaborate liturgies. In fact, he cautioned we should do our praying and giving in private (Matthew 6:1-6).
Ø He did not organize any capital funding campaigns for organizational expansion. In fact, he said his followers should simply give to the poor because laying up treasure on earth usually doesn’t turn out too well (Matthew 6:19).
Ø He didn’t acquire property for either himself or his successors. In fact, he predicted the complete destruction of the centerpiece religious edifice of his day.
Ø He did not develop any bylaws, dogmas, or rules of order. In fact, he said the only way anyone would be able to tell who is really following him and who is not is by how we love one another (John 13:35).

He did speak of “build[ing] my church,” but only in the context of affirming that the rock solid declaration that he was “the Christ, the son of the living God,” would eventually result in the demolition of the “gates of hell” (Matthew 16:18). The phrase “building the church” as we use it today is very different in meaning from what Jesus was speaking of when he turned the phrase.

So, if Jesus wasn’t starting a new religion, what was he up to? He was establishing God’s kingdom. The lead off request of his prayer time was “your kingdom come, your will be done “on earth as it is in heaven.” There it is! Jesus envisioned an earth encompassing “kingdom” that has been gaining momentum ever since. It is the influence of God upon our very movements, breathing and existence (Acts 17:24-28). I, like many who read this, have wasted a lot of time and energy trying to get to God through religious endeavor. But, I’m pleased to announce that coming to a neighborhood near us all is the kingdom of God. In fact, there is mounting evidence that it’s here already. Maybe you saw on national TV last evening how people across this country and beyond donated tens of millions of dollars to alleviate poverty globally. That’s real kingdom stuff! Even so, keep coming, Lord Jesus.

IF YOU'RE GOING TO CHANGE, EDITH, HURRY UP AND CHANGE!

Dan Sullivan, in his insightful booklet, How the Best Get Better (© The Strategic Coach, Inc.), makes the following observation: “All stages of individual growth come from having goals—desiring something new, better and different. At first, goals liberate and motivate us; once achieved, they hobble and hinder us. Working to achieve a set of goals motivates us to develop specific relationships, structures, and personal habits. Once the goals are achieved, these same relationships, structures, and habits—now firmly entrenched—become The Ceiling of Complexity that prevents the next stage of growth. People become the prisoners of their own success, sometimes for the rest of their lives (p.9). He goes on to say that only by establishing new goals are we then forced “to develop new relationships, structures, and habits.”

Assuming that Mr. Sullivan is correct, the question I must answer is, am I more about maintaining what I’ve already accomplished, or am I more about moving forward and upward in personal growth? The more I strive to consolidate gains and fortify already accomplished goals the less likely I will be to adapt sufficiently to produce positive change and greater success.

Change resisters want to hold fast to the norms of earlier success. They do so at great peril. Whenever one stops looking for ways to break away from the “stuff, details, complications, conflicts, and contradictions that come from doing things a certain way for a long time,” one stops growing. . When I stop growing, I start dying. It’s that simple.

I am challenging myself daily to do something new and different than I did yesterday.

BEWARE! ENVIRONMENTAL FUNDAMENTALISTS!

First, let’s get one thing straight. There is simply no intelligent argument in favor of destroying the environment, depleting precious resources, and leaving behind a mess others have to clean up. Leave it in better shape than you found it is a philosophy everyone can agree to. If the current debate over global warming reminds us all to be better stewards of the earth, well and good.

But I’ll be danged if I’m going to fall prey to another legalistic fundamentalism! I went down that route in my early exposure to fundamentalist Christianity and it’s taken me years to get over it. The fundamentalists are those who have rigid and judgmental attitudes of how a “righteous” person ought to live. The fundamentalist circles I was in evaluated people by whether or not they smoked tobacco, drank alcohol, went to dances, played cards and wore makeup. The “real” committed faithful didn’t frequent bowling alleys or pool parlors, they didn’t wear wedding rings, and the women didn’t wear slacks. The “true believers” regarded folks who did such things with condescension and condemnation.

Now I read in the April 9, 2007 issue of Time that there is a new list of 51 do’s and don’ts for those who want to be environmentally righteous. Among them are # 29 “Remove the tie” and #31“Wear green eye shadow” (p.89). And, not surprisingly, as with all such controlling systems, they have even figured out a way one can “Pay for your carbon sins” (#42, p. 94). Hallelujah! I can be “redeemed” simply by contributing money that “typically funds clean-energy projects”. Translation, contributions will pay the environmental religionists’ salaries.

God help us! The last thing we need is another fundamentalist religion on the planet. Especially one that won’t let me wear a tie when I want to—which is almost never.

THE CULT OF INDIVIDUALISM

Most of my adult life was lived in the wild west—Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota. These are places where the cowboy mystique is ubiquitous. John Wayne’s ghost lurks about every historical marker—places where Indians lived and cavalry rode. In 1977, I conducted a funeral for a man who had ridden on horseback all the way from Texas to Montana as part of the crew for one of the last cross-country cattle drives of the old era, circa 1906.

Many western folks are rugged individualists. Just give ‘em a home where the buffalo roam, and leave them alone. I confess that I embraced the romance of the west when I lived there. Yes, I wore a cowboy hat! That is, until it went floating down the Yellowstone River after I slipped on a rock while trout fishing. I have “cowboyed up” by participating in round ups and brandings. I owned a horse for a short time. His name was “Keno”. I even threw a few loops as a team roper just for fun.

The problem with all this is that rugged individualism is a dysfunctional way to live. It requires emotional detachment, repressed feelings, anti-social behaviors, pride and selfishness to be carried out successfully. The lonely cowboy romanticized in the paintings is lonely because he has few friends, is estranged from his family, and would rather be with cows than people.

As a way of life the cowboy mystique is fading into history. The modern replacement for it is suburbia. Just give me a home behind a fence with a well manicured lawn where a machine will answer my phone while I hide in front of my TV. This, too, I have learned is a dysfunctional way to live. And just as the old cowboys are a dying breed, so will the disengaged suburbanite fade into history. We live in an ever more crowded global village and we must learn how to be neighborly. We must become more and more our brothers’ keeper. Those of us who might prefer the good old days are going to have to grow up and get involved. Jesus’ words are becoming crystal clear... love God, love people, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the sick, seek justice for the oppressed, and do good to those who mistreat you. Individualism must yield to community.