What Are We Doing Here? PLAYING

Remember when everyone got to play? Ability or willingness didn't matter back in elementary school. Everyone took their turn at the plate in kickball. We all grabbed an instrument from the bucket in music class. The art teacher gave everybody a lump of modeling clay. Aaahhh....the good old days. What if we could recreate them in our church communities? What if everyone got to participate? That seems to be the idea from the descriptions of church in the Bible. God has this funny idea that every person in a church community has a part to play. But how?

SHARING OUR ABILITIES
Diversity is a beautiful thing- and not just when it comes to skin tones. God designed church communities so that each of us brings something valuable to the table. Each person has different gifts, abilities and experiences. If we don't use them, then the community is missing something. One struggle some of us have with this idea is that we don't see how our skill set works on Sunday mornings. What about those of us who don't like kids, aren't musical and don't do public speaking? When and how do we get to play?

Important questions. A couple of thoughts. First, don't reduce the church community what happens on Sunday mornings or in our meeting space. Since we are the church, our participation in the community happens wherever we go. Second, if you are unsure how you can use your abilities for God- start asking. Ask God. Ask those around you. And get ready when the answer comes.

SHARING OUR RESOURCES
When it comes to money and possessions, there's a trend that starts in the beginning of the Bible and carries through to the end: God tells people to give away some of what they get. Not only does the pooling of our resources allow us to accomplish more collectively than we can on our own, but it gives each of us the ability to feel included and be invested in our church community. And if Jesus is right that our hearts are where our money is, then that's a good thing.

SHARING OUR STORIES
Ever noticed that "in church" one person- usually the pastor- does all the talking? Isn't that weird? In a group of 50, 500 or 5000 people, we only hear one voice. Yet, God is at work in the life of every person. Each of us is learning, questioning, changing. And our stories need to be told so that we can learn from each other and grow together. No, every person isn't meant to teach- or won't want to do the public speaking thing. But, we can share our stories all the same. On a blog. Via email. With friends in smaller groups.

SHARING OUR PASSIONS
One of my favorite artists wears this tattoo on his forearm. What do you notice about it? Probably what's missing. Although the piece has structure (the outline and boxes) and content (the imagery), it isn't quite finished yet. There's room for something else. The tattoo won't be complete until some future inspiration occurs. Sounds a lot like our church community to me.

Although we have a strong sense of overall vision (structure) and some ministries in place (content), we're choosing to leave some things blank. Why? Because we've got a strong sense that God has dreams for our community that we aren't aware of yet. Opportunities that we haven't imagined. And when they come, we want to make sure there's room.

And how will they come? Brace yourself. Maybe through you. Although we can't take on everything, we want to pay attention to the dreams and passions that God gives the members of our community. For example, our involvement with a mission in Haiti and a ministry to the homeless in downtown Raleigh came as a result of the dreams and passions of folks in our body. Our leaders didn't try to figure out how to start those things. We simply paid attention to the people God brought into our midst and the passions they had. So, speak up and dream out loud. Every passion may not get expressed as a formal ministry of CNX (and doesn't need to), but we'll do our best to journey alongside you.

REFLECT:
Q: In your past experiences with churches, did they "let you play"? If so, what did that look like? If not, why not?

Q: There's a stat in churches that says 20% of the people do 80% of the work. Why do you think that is? Whose fault is it? How could we shift those numbers?

Q: Do you have a sense of what your spiritual gifts might be? If so, how did you discover them? What other skills, abilities and resources has God given you to "play" with?

Q: What part do you think God has for you to play in our community as we try to connect with Him, each other and our world? Are you playing this part right now? If not, how could you get started?

Q: Do you have any recurring dreams, passions or burdens that might be from God? Have you told anyone about them?

What Are We Doing Here? HOPING

A few weeks back my family and I went to the beach. The scenery was great, but the weather didn't really cooperate. Even after the rain broke, the wind was so strong that you could literally lean into it and be supported. Isn't that the same thing many of us are trying to do with God?

We're leaning in- and HOPING that God will be there to meet us. We're doing our part by actively re-imagining and experimenting with the ways and people of Jesus. Now we're hoping that God will do His part and show up. For what it is worth, we aren't just hoping in the dark. Jesus has a pretty good track record of showing up. Take Easter for example.

WHEN WE'RE NOT EXPECTING HIM
The first person to see the Jesus alive on Easter morning was a lady named Mary. She showed up at His tomb early. She expected to find a corpse. The missing body rocks her world- not with hope, but fear. Mary talks with angels and it doesn't even register. She meets Jesus and thinks He is the hired help. Although Mary should have expected to see Jesus alive again, she didn't. And Jesus showed up anyway. Don't you just love that? If so, hold on- it gets better.

WHEN WE HAVE DOUBTS
After Jesus appears to Mary, He shows up to His disciples- the inner circle of followers. They are thrilled to see Him alive. Well not all of them are. Thomas had run to the corner store when Jesus dropped by, so he missed the show. Thomas' friends are trying to let him catch a bit of their hope buzz, but Thomas isn't having it. This is where we usually talk about Thomas in and with derogatory terms and tones. But maybe we shouldn't. After all Thomas only asks for what everyone else had been given. He isn't content to live vicariously through others' encounters with Jesus. He wants his own. Sound like the kind of spirit the church needs more of. And the best part? Thomas' questions and doubts don't keep Jesus away. And neither do ours. Jesus shows up because He wants Thomas- and us- to know Him.

WHEN WE DON'T DESERVE IT
Ever had a rough patch in a relationship? The kind of stretch where you were always saying and doing precisely the wrong thing? If so, then you've walked in Peter's shoes a bit. Peter was one of Jesus' closest friends, but during the last day of Jesus' life Peter made one mistake after another. (John 13:5-11, 36-38; Matthew 26:36-41; John 18:10-11, 25-27) Jesus died before Peter ever had a chance to aplogize. I'm imagining that Peter beat himself up quite a bit over failing his friend. Now that Jesus is alive again, maybe Peter is even thinking that things will never be the same between them again. Surely he didn't deserve a second chance after deserting Jesus in His most difficult moments. Maybe Peter didn't deserve love, acceptance and restoration- but Jesus gave it to him anyway. Kind of gives underserving people like us hope, huh?

REFLECT
Q: Have you ever seen God show up in your life? What happened? Why
did you think it was God?

Q: Are there any special hoops you think you have to jump through for
God to be real in your life? (Ex. If God is going to show up for me,
then I have to _________)

Q: Which of the people in John 20 & 21 do you relate the most with and why?

Q: What are you hoping to see God do in your life? Your family and
friends? Your church? This city? The world? (Be as specific as you
can. Use your answers to craft a prayer to God.)

What Are We Doing Here? RE-IMAGINING

Ever seen a commercial with James Dyson (of the vacuum fame)? He explains how he became an inventor- FRUSTRATION. He got tired of things he used on a regular basis not working properly. The concept was good, the execution was poor. So Dyson re-imagined them- finding a new expression that functioned.

Isn't this the same journey we are on as people of faith? We've had negative, hurtful, boring, impotent experiences with the versions of faith/church/Jesus we were given. Yet, we keep coming back. Why? We know the concept is good. We just need to do some re-imagining.

IS GOD GOOD WITH THIS?
While the idea of finding an expression of faith in Jesus/church that works for us today may sound appealing, it might also give us pause. How does God feel about re-imagining? Is this heresy? Is the lightning bolt coming for us? Hardly. There's a recurring cycle of re-imagination in the relationship between God and humans. The Old Testament pulses with this rhythm. People have powerful experiences with God and pledge themselves to Him. But then they drift and settle for a version of God/faith/life that is a mere shell of what was intended. God waits for them to ask "what are we doing here?". They don't. So, eventually God gets their attention- usually through pain and hardship. They re-imagine. And the cycle begins again.

JESUS THE RE-IMAGINER
Jesus liked to shake things up. He was on a re-imagining mission. He asked people to think re-think what they had been taught. He challenged their version of what a life that honored God looked like. Jesus screwed with their theology. Not only is Jesus ok with re-imagining. He was all about it.

THE FLEXI-CHURCH
After Jesus leaves, His followers band together in communities. These communities grow and spread around the world. They adapt to each culture they take root in. Finding fresh expressions. Becoming all things to all people. Timeless truth works in many templates. Substance flows into different styles. Love translates into every language. And the re-imagination continues in re-formations and re-vivals.

RE-CONSTITUTION
Some fret that re-imaging will lead to watering down the message of Jesus. While this concern is valid, we fail to forget that our current versions of God and expressions of faith may not be complete either. As Christian thinker and activist Brian McLaren put it recently.

"Some will worry that we're watering down the Gospel. We're saying that the Gospel already got watered down. We need to re-constitute it."

If our current version of Jesus doesn't lay claim to every area of our lives- He's already watered down. If His teachings don't turn our world upside down- they're already watered down. If our churches aren't infecting our cities with the love of Jesus through acts of kindness, humility and compassion- they're already watered down. Time for some re-constitution.

RE-IMAGINATION HOW TO'S
A fresh expression of Jesus/faith/church may be appealing, but how do we start? Maybe with some IDEATING. Thinking, dreaming and talking certainly play a role in re-imagining. But eventually we want to do stuff. Jesus wants the same thing for us. We tend to think about faith and belief as a cognitive thing. For Jesus it was much more hands-on. His recurring invitation was TO ACTION. Jesus offered us a relationship and a new way of living that is discovered AS WE TRY IT FOR OURSELVES.

ARE YOU SURE?
Ready to do some re-imagining? While we may be frustrated and hungry to find an expression of faith/church/Jesus that works for us today, we should be warned that this isn't a clean and easy process. Just as Mr. Dyson's lab is probably littered with failed prototypes and his calendar is full of scratched out target dates, re-imagining takes time, patience and a lot of work. Ready to go?

IDEATE ON THIS:
Q: How has your view of faith/church/Jesus changed through the years? How many re-imaginations have you gone through?

Q: What has been missing or unsatisfying in your previous experiences with faith/church/Jesus? What hasn’t worked for you?

Q: Why have you stuck with/come back to Jesus/church?

Q: Are you ready to get “hands-on” in the ways of Jesus? With the people of Jesus? Why? Why not?

Q: What could you do to “follow Jesus” or “take on the yoke” of his teachings this week?

RGA On WORK

From Sex to…Work???
Feels a bit uneven doesn’t it? Although work isn’t a hot button topic, it is something most of us spend about a third of our lives doing. Pile on top of that the fact that our working lives can be a major source of stress, and it’s easy to see why God would have a lot to say about our need to be productive. The overarching message in the scriptures on this topic seems to be that WORK IS GOOD.

Made To Work
One of the first things we learn about God in the Bible is that God is busy. God is working, productive, active. As a part of this work, God creates humans, places them in a paradise, AND gives them work to do. Catch that, paradise and work are congruent terms in God's design. Not our usual picture of utopia, huh?

Working Pays Off
Why do most of us work? The default answer is: because we have to. And while it is true that working helps pay the bills, could it be that we work for other reasons?

In hard work there is always something gained, but idle talk leads only to poverty. (Prov. 14:23)

What do we gain from working, besides money? Character. Experience. Discipline. Fulfillment. Self-Esteem. Satisfaction. Maybe work isn't such a bad thing after all. And it is probably important to note here that our most fulfilling work may not come with a paycheck, but rather as we use the passions, gifts, abilities and experiences to serve others. (I'm tempted to talk in terms of "ministry" here, but realize that most of us would opt out thinking this doesn't apply to us. However, I believe Jesus would strongly disagree.)

Work = Worship
Do those words even go together? Isn't worship just what we do in church gatherings? Gratefully no. The scriptures picture worship as anything we do to show honor, respect, affection and even submission to our Maker. Including work. Since work consumes so much of our time and energy, this is good news. Go to work thinking that God is really your boss and see if it doesn't change the way you work. And by the way, it may also change other's opinions of you (and your God too).

Laziness Is Bad
Although the book of Proverbs has lots to say about our need to be productive, it speaks more frequently against laziness. (18 times in 31 chapters) If work is good, then an unwillingness to be productive and contribute must be bad. More than bad, the Bible equates laziness with stealing. Laziness steals from our employers. An unwillingness to work can also steal our dreams. And the cumulative effect of laziness can rob us of our futures.

REFLECT:
Q: Do you usually talk about your work in positive or negative terms? Are you more prone to see the goodness of work or the frustrations first?

Q: What do you do to pay the bills? Is this your real “work” that you feel God has given you to do? If not, what is? Do you have an outlet for that?

Q: What opinion might your boss, co-workers and clients have about God/Jesus based on the way you work?

Q: Have you ever thought about your work life as a valid and vital form of worship? In these terms, what is your working life saying to God?

Q: Have you seen God give you opportunities to help others see Him or experience His love through your job?

SCRIPTURE DUMP:
Genesis 2:1-3, 7-8, 15; Proverbs 14:23, 12:11, 13:4, 22:29, 25:13, 18:9, 10:26, 21:25, 24:30-34; Colossians 3:22-24

RGA On SEX (2)

From Theory To Praxis
I believe that God will let us do pretty much anything we want- even the stuff that breaks His heart and destroys us. But it doesn't mean that God wants it that way. Just seems to be a pesky consequence of free-will. To counterbalance this, God speaks wisdom into our lives that can help us avoid bad choices and the brokenness that comes with them.

Drink What's In Front of You
For much of the book of Proverbs, Solomon (the author) is a sniper- firing off one or two sentences about each topic. He breaks the pattern when it comes to sex- spending the better part of three consecutive chapters (5-7) calling us to use this gift wisely. One way to summarize his counsel is: enjoy the expressions of intimacy that are available to you today. If you are married, pursue oneness (sexual and otherwise) with your spouse. Married people aren't just allowed to be intimate- they need to be. If you are single, pursue (non sexual) intimacy with God, friends, family, your faith community, etc. God isn't trying to deprive us pleasure, but to ensure that we avoid the pain that comes from misusing this gift and put ourselves in a position to fully enjoy our sexuality.

But What About?
While God gives us very specific guidelines about how to use our sexuality, that doesn't mean that there are easy, single answers to every question on this topic. This week we invited some folks from the Connections Community to submit some questions about sex. Here's a summary of what we received:

How do we make sex a holy thing and acknowledge the spiritual component of it?

How do we teach our kids about sex from a spiritual standpoint? How can we create an atmosphere of openness in our homes so that our kids will feel comfortable asking questions and having conversations about sex?

What does God think about birth control? Are we interfering with the gift of being co-creators?

How do we find the right balance in reveling in the wonder of sexual intimacy without letting it become self-serving or distracting us from our relationship with God?

What (if anything) can we do to help folks who have been abstaining from sex because they aren’t married make a smooth transition to engaging in sexual intimacy? How do you flip that switch from “this is wrong” to “this is good and you need to do/like it”?

How should a married couple go about setting sexual limits in their relationship? There are lots of ways to be sexually intimate with each other- are some inherently right/wrong? What do we do if one wants to be intimate in a way the other doesn’t?

What does it mean for a single person to honor God with their sexuality? Does being single mean we are non-sexual beings? Are some forms of sexual intimacy ok for non-married people?

We usually talk about sexuality in terms of intercourse and climax. How would God want us to expand that definition?

Do men and women view sex differently (generally speaking)? What insights would each gender offer the other?

Has the church made sex taboo? If so, how? What problems has this led to?

Use these questions as fodder for conversations about sex in your own circle of friends. And use the comments feature to add your own wonderings and/or share your perspectives.

RGA On SEX (1)

Messages about sex are everywhere- in our art, on the news, as the centerpieces of many marketing campaigns, etc.. Since all of us are sexual beings, talking about sex is good and natural. But are all of the messages we are handed about sexuality good, true or helpful?

Something Is Missing
"What were you taught about sex during your formative years?" I posed this question to a group of friends. The responses were similar. My friends were given instruction about the physical mechanics of sex and the boundaries of this act. They felt their education was incomplete. They wanted to know more about the WHY of sex. Why are we made this way? Why are sex drives so strong at times? Why is sexuality capable of being either incredibly satisfying or disappointing? My first pass to the question of why is this: We are sexual beings because we are made in God's image. Our sexuality gives us the ability to be somewhat like him.

Nakedly Intimate
Take a second to read over this portion of the creation account. Did you catch the way God describes Himself? In plural terms. One of the great mysteries of the scripture has to do with this part of God's nature: One God with three expressions (Father, Son, Spirit). Three divine personalities with a level of intimacy that allows them to be one. To pass this same gift on to us, God creates us- in His image- male and female. Why are we sexual creatures? What is this gift for? We can be wholly and holistically intimate with another person.

Co-Creators
What do we find God doing in the beginning? Creating. As people made in His image, God shares the power to create human life with us through our sexuality. This isn't a statement about whether all sex should lead to children or the validity of birth control. Just an observation that God could have created another system for the multiplication of the human race. Instead, He makes us co-creators through the gift of sex.

More Than A Baseball
When I was 10 I got a baseball autographed by my favorite major league team. In awe, I put it in a plastic case and only took it out to show off to my friends. Eventually I forgot about the baseball. Several years later I was cleaning my room and found the case empty. I "persuaded" my brother to tell me where it was. He produced a brown, tattered ball from his closet. Turns out that he and his buddies were playing catch in the street one day and their baseball went down the sewer. Looking for a replacement, they used mine. Talk about a difference in perspectives. My brother just saw a baseball. I looked at the same bundle of leather and saw something sacred. Yes, it was a baseball- but it was so much more than that.

Sounds like the gap in views of our sexuality, doesn't it? What if sex is more than just a physical act? What if in addition to the physical sensations, there is something deeply spiritual about sex? What if sex is a reflection of the image and glory of God in us? Would it change the way we used this gift?

Part 2 On The Way
That may be enough for now. Chew on those ideas and I'll be back shortly with some practical thoughts about how we use our sexuality in ways that reflect God's image.