Writings
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Just Lighten Up
Midtowns Mission
Midtown seems to attract people who are in pivot points in their life. Either a life change has been forced upon them or they are in the midst of a big life change.
People who are searching for something different with Church and community.
I like to think that we are a support to people who are in a pivot point. That Midtown helps to guide people through a difficult transition or decision in life.
Often times after the transition or decision becomes clear, they thank us and move on.
I think that’s really cool.
Many of the transitions that we experience from time to time are very positive but often times the symptom is discomfort. Life isn’t working. A feeling that God isn’t showing up to do what He’s supposed to do. That can lead to dissatisfaction or even depression.
I love how Brennan Manning uses the term “those people whose cheese is continually sliding off their cracker”.
Transition is really difficult and even more so if you have to portray an image that everything is ‘fine’.
But people here are refreshingly not afraid to be open with their own instability.
So the result is growth and depth. People who swing by here for a season usually seem to me to leave with a more mature faith. And those of us who stick around to welcome and love the travelers have also grown immensely.
And the result of that is a church group that reaches all over the world.
I believe that a lesson I’ve learned even more deeply here at Midtown is that if you want to have the biggest impact you don’t build a huge auditorium and try to pack it full of people.
You go deep with a smaller bunch of people. You toss out the things that only allow you to scratch the surface.
Because all of those people who depart here are taking the message of the Gospel and Grace and living it in their new communities. And I like to think that the people who they are coming into contact with are doing the same thing.
And thus The Message as Eugene Peterson likes to call it gets spread all over the world.
We at Midtown have a unique calling and purpose. Part of that purpose is to provide a home for the travelers.
For the people whose cheese is falling off their cracker. People who have no idea what God is up to with their lives. People who may be stuck and think that they don’t belong in a church.
People come here and see more honesty than usually happens in a church.
Intimacy Intro
For me Midtown was where God started getting it through my thick skull that His acceptance of me had nothing to do with how well I was doing at being a Christian that particular week.
I had heard the terminology of ‘intimacy with God’ and I wanted it. I wanted to experience Jesus all through my life.
The word intimacy is often used in a sensual way, but what it means is familiarity. To know personally. Like two old men who sit in the park together every day and play chess in the way that they have for the last 30 years.
In 1998 I left the business world to go on a cross country Young Life trip with high school students. We spent many nights on a tour bus and I remember a late night conversation with a couple of other leaders. All of us were in our mid twenties and single. It was probably 2 in the morning and we were talking about what we were looking for in our future spouse. As we were running through everything that our dream spouse would be endowed with, Randy, the area director who had been married as long as we had been alive said “ya’ll need to shut up. When you meet someone who accepts YOU for who YOU are you’ll marry them”.
Two thoughts immediately went through my mind….
1. I don’t think I could respect someone who accepted me how I am
2. The intimate marriage relationship that I wanted would have to be founded on acceptance.
That was rather frightening. God was going to have to seriously blind some poor woman.
The closeness I wanted with my future wife would be founded on acceptance. Not only would that person have to accept me, but I’d have to accept that person’s acceptance.
And that is what was also going on with me spiritually.
My difficulty and the barrier in experiencing the intimacy and familiarity I wanted with God was related to the difficulty I had with God’s acceptance of me.
That’s why this is so important.
Spiritual growth, discipleship, spiritual formation, growing to spiritual maturity – what Paul talked about so much is really growing in intimacy with God. And intimacy will never happen if there is uncertainty about acceptance.
Not only that, but acceptance naturally leads to intimacy. That’s what Randy was telling me. If someone truly accepts you and you accept that, then intimacy will occur.
That’s why this whole acceptance thing is so important and scary. That’s why we obsess over whether or not we are acceptable.
Our desire for intimacy in our relationships with people as well as with God is what makes us want to make ourselves acceptable. So we set out to make ourselves acceptable in all of the ways that we are taught to and if by golly we are doing a good job at it, we might put ourselves out there into the spotlight with the sneaking suspicion that we are living a lie. If we are not feeling like we are performing acceptably then we hide.
I’ve spent a lot of time hiding because of my own knowledge that I was blowing it.
Paul spends a lot of time on this because there were a lot of people out there trying to get people to make themselves acceptable.
Philippians 3:1 – Review Time
Paul states that he’s repeating himself. He’s written this before in earlier letters.
What Paul so desperately desired for them was that they would go deep together with God. He talked more about that than evangelism or giving or anything else.
Paul knew that in order to live like God’s child, there needed to be the intimacy of that kind of relationship. In order to have that kind of relationship, there needed to be acceptance.
The More Things Change…
There were a lot of super-religious people who were trying to get people to live up to the standard.
And so for the sake of argument, Paul throws himself up to the standard.
Paul’s Cred
Paul came from the best family, was raised right, was very obedient to the law, was well educated and was very successful at his career of condemning people and killing Christians.
He was the Pharisee version of ‘Robo-Christian’.
And that was the barrier between him and Jesus.
The things that we do to make ourselves acceptable – even to God, get in the way of our ability to experience God. They are counter productive.
To Paul, when he was really doing a good job at being acceptable, it was doggie doo-doo.
I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by Him. I didn’t want some petty inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ – God’s righteousness.
I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself.
We Need to Give Up
Steve Brown says “if you are obedient and you know it, my prayer is that you blow it big time.
God has a word for you: “lighten up”. Philippians 3:1. The spiritual journey is not the pony express.
************************************************************************************************************************************************ ¶ 12:19 PM 1 comments
Midtown seems to attract people who are in pivot points in their life. Either a life change has been forced upon them or they are in the midst of a big life change.
People who are searching for something different with Church and community.
I like to think that we are a support to people who are in a pivot point. That Midtown helps to guide people through a difficult transition or decision in life.
Often times after the transition or decision becomes clear, they thank us and move on.
I think that’s really cool.
Many of the transitions that we experience from time to time are very positive but often times the symptom is discomfort. Life isn’t working. A feeling that God isn’t showing up to do what He’s supposed to do. That can lead to dissatisfaction or even depression.
I love how Brennan Manning uses the term “those people whose cheese is continually sliding off their cracker”.
Transition is really difficult and even more so if you have to portray an image that everything is ‘fine’.
But people here are refreshingly not afraid to be open with their own instability.
So the result is growth and depth. People who swing by here for a season usually seem to me to leave with a more mature faith. And those of us who stick around to welcome and love the travelers have also grown immensely.
And the result of that is a church group that reaches all over the world.
I believe that a lesson I’ve learned even more deeply here at Midtown is that if you want to have the biggest impact you don’t build a huge auditorium and try to pack it full of people.
You go deep with a smaller bunch of people. You toss out the things that only allow you to scratch the surface.
Because all of those people who depart here are taking the message of the Gospel and Grace and living it in their new communities. And I like to think that the people who they are coming into contact with are doing the same thing.
And thus The Message as Eugene Peterson likes to call it gets spread all over the world.
We at Midtown have a unique calling and purpose. Part of that purpose is to provide a home for the travelers.
For the people whose cheese is falling off their cracker. People who have no idea what God is up to with their lives. People who may be stuck and think that they don’t belong in a church.
People come here and see more honesty than usually happens in a church.
Intimacy Intro
For me Midtown was where God started getting it through my thick skull that His acceptance of me had nothing to do with how well I was doing at being a Christian that particular week.
I had heard the terminology of ‘intimacy with God’ and I wanted it. I wanted to experience Jesus all through my life.
The word intimacy is often used in a sensual way, but what it means is familiarity. To know personally. Like two old men who sit in the park together every day and play chess in the way that they have for the last 30 years.
In 1998 I left the business world to go on a cross country Young Life trip with high school students. We spent many nights on a tour bus and I remember a late night conversation with a couple of other leaders. All of us were in our mid twenties and single. It was probably 2 in the morning and we were talking about what we were looking for in our future spouse. As we were running through everything that our dream spouse would be endowed with, Randy, the area director who had been married as long as we had been alive said “ya’ll need to shut up. When you meet someone who accepts YOU for who YOU are you’ll marry them”.
Two thoughts immediately went through my mind….
1. I don’t think I could respect someone who accepted me how I am
2. The intimate marriage relationship that I wanted would have to be founded on acceptance.
That was rather frightening. God was going to have to seriously blind some poor woman.
The closeness I wanted with my future wife would be founded on acceptance. Not only would that person have to accept me, but I’d have to accept that person’s acceptance.
And that is what was also going on with me spiritually.
My difficulty and the barrier in experiencing the intimacy and familiarity I wanted with God was related to the difficulty I had with God’s acceptance of me.
That’s why this is so important.
Spiritual growth, discipleship, spiritual formation, growing to spiritual maturity – what Paul talked about so much is really growing in intimacy with God. And intimacy will never happen if there is uncertainty about acceptance.
Not only that, but acceptance naturally leads to intimacy. That’s what Randy was telling me. If someone truly accepts you and you accept that, then intimacy will occur.
That’s why this whole acceptance thing is so important and scary. That’s why we obsess over whether or not we are acceptable.
Our desire for intimacy in our relationships with people as well as with God is what makes us want to make ourselves acceptable. So we set out to make ourselves acceptable in all of the ways that we are taught to and if by golly we are doing a good job at it, we might put ourselves out there into the spotlight with the sneaking suspicion that we are living a lie. If we are not feeling like we are performing acceptably then we hide.
I’ve spent a lot of time hiding because of my own knowledge that I was blowing it.
Paul spends a lot of time on this because there were a lot of people out there trying to get people to make themselves acceptable.
Philippians 3:1 – Review Time
Paul states that he’s repeating himself. He’s written this before in earlier letters.
What Paul so desperately desired for them was that they would go deep together with God. He talked more about that than evangelism or giving or anything else.
Paul knew that in order to live like God’s child, there needed to be the intimacy of that kind of relationship. In order to have that kind of relationship, there needed to be acceptance.
The More Things Change…
There were a lot of super-religious people who were trying to get people to live up to the standard.
And so for the sake of argument, Paul throws himself up to the standard.
Paul’s Cred
Paul came from the best family, was raised right, was very obedient to the law, was well educated and was very successful at his career of condemning people and killing Christians.
He was the Pharisee version of ‘Robo-Christian’.
And that was the barrier between him and Jesus.
The things that we do to make ourselves acceptable – even to God, get in the way of our ability to experience God. They are counter productive.
To Paul, when he was really doing a good job at being acceptable, it was doggie doo-doo.
I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by Him. I didn’t want some petty inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ – God’s righteousness.
I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself.
We Need to Give Up
Steve Brown says “if you are obedient and you know it, my prayer is that you blow it big time.
God has a word for you: “lighten up”. Philippians 3:1. The spiritual journey is not the pony express.
************************************************************************************************************************************************ ¶ 12:19 PM 1 comments
Accepting Our Rejection
Accepting our rejection
We are in a series titled “Accepting our Acceptedness”. God’s acceptance of us.
Part of accepting our acceptance from God involves learning to accept rejection from everyone who isn’t God.
We can’t truly accept and experience God’s acceptance without also accepting and even embracing rejection. (Sometimes rejection from God’s people.)
As we learn and grow in grace – we are faced with situations where we need to choose between what God is leading us to and what will impress or satisfy other people.
Accepting our rejectedness sounds like a bad thing and its not fun, but it is actually a very very good thing. When we experience rejection our experience of God’s acceptance becomes much deeper. We can’t fully appreciate God’s acceptance without rejection.
But we can rest in God’s acceptance and allow ourselves to be rejected.
The Key Story
When we moved in, we realized that the key to our back door fit into my friend Tony’s front door. Because we like each other we decided to keep that way – we have keys to each other’s houses anyway. And when Tony build his garage with an upstairs guys hang-out area for us guys in the neighborhood he used the same lock so I could go up there when I wanted to.
That key is really convenient and fun, but we are not like that key. If we fit with God we don’t fit into this world.
We are either a misfit with God or we are a misfit with the world.
Misfitness
This series was response to Richard’s message on the Island of Misfit Toys which is so cool because our acceptance is so closely tied to our misfitness.
We are misfits here because we were made to fit somewhere else. We are so perfectly and precisely made for God that there is no way that we can fit anywhere else.
Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it.
1 Peter 2
Background
Peter is writing to Jewish and Gentile Christians encouraging them because many were physical exile and all were spiritual exiles (misfits). Nero’s persecution was in full swing and they needed some serious encouragement and guidance.
He tells them they are accepted by God
4 Welcome to the living Stone, the source of life.
The Living Stone (Jesus) was Rejected
The workmen took one look and threw it out. God set it in the place of honor. Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God.
Peter reminds them that the foundation of their acceptance was rejected by men! Our acceptance by God means that we align ourselves with the one who was rejected by men.
We trust in the foundation that has been rejected and that is now true about us too.
Look! I’m setting a stone in Zion, a cornerstone in the place of honor. Whoever trusts in this stone as a foundation will never have cause to regret it.
To you who trust him, he’s a stone to be proud of….
For the untrusting it’s… a stone to trip over, a boulder blocking the way.
Stumbling Block
Have you ever wondered why grace makes people so mad? Grace (God’s unconditional acceptance) really is a stumbling block for people. People get really mad if you talk too much about God’s love.
Some people get really snarky when you say that God’s not angry – that he loves and accepts them.
Grace really is a stumbling block when we don’t embrace rejection – when we try to be accepted by people - when we get self-righteous.
Church leadership is a great place to become self-righteous. So many people to impress.
New Understanding of License
Graceful people often times get accused of license and because self-righteous Christians can’t stand grace. When I am being self-righteous, grace makes me mad.
That is a kind of license that is very familiar to me. License is an understanding of Grace without an understanding of rejection. License happens when you enjoy the grace that has been extended to you but you don’t allow yourself to be rejected so that grace can be extended from you to others.
People who really understand God’s grace are most accepting people out there. We are the first ones to extend grace to others who are imperfect and have been rejected by people for whatever reason.
God allows us to live in a place where we are misfits so that we can extend and live grace and extend it to others. In the way that Jesus accepted rejection so that he could give us grace we accept rejection so that we can give that same grace to other people.
Galations 2:11 – this occurred before Peter wrote this letter
2:11 Later, when Peter came to Antioch, I had a face-to-face confrontation with him because he was clearly out of line.
2:12 Here's the situation. Earlier, before certain persons had come from James, Peter regularly ate with the non-Jews. But when that conservative group came from Jerusalem, he cautiously pulled back and put as much distance as he could manage between himself and his non-Jewish friends. That's how fearful he was of the conservative Jewish clique that's been pushing the old system of circumcision.
2:13Unfortunately, the rest of the Jews in the Antioch church joined in that hypocrisy so that even Barnabas was swept along in the charade.
2:14But when I saw that they were not maintaining a steady, straight course according to the Message, I spoke up to Peter in front of them all: "If you, a Jew, live like a non-Jew when you're not being observed by the watchdogs from Jerusalem, what right do you have to require non-Jews to conform to Jewish customs just to make a favorable impression on your old Jerusalem cronies?"
Peter was unable to extend grace to the gentiles because he was concerned about being rejected by the Jews.
That’s what self-righteousness is.
I’m going to act self-righteous so you won’t really know how much of a mess I am. Then Jesus (grace) becomes a stumbling block.
I can’t enjoy God’s grace when I’m obsessed with being accepted anywhere other than Jesus.
Accepting Other Rejects
This is an invitation into rejection. When we open ourselves up to and embrace rejection by the world then we are able to extend grace to the world.
Part of being aligned with a God that was rejected by men means that we now align ourselves with those who are often rejected by people – those who are sometimes rejected by us when we are feeling self-righteous.
When we are aware of the fact that we are rejected by this world then we ourselves as one of the rejects and then we can extend grace to other rejects because we are reminded that we are both accepted by God.
Not beggers telling other beggers where to find bread but rejects who love and accept and extend grace to other rejects. ¶ 12:16 PM 0 comments
We are in a series titled “Accepting our Acceptedness”. God’s acceptance of us.
Part of accepting our acceptance from God involves learning to accept rejection from everyone who isn’t God.
We can’t truly accept and experience God’s acceptance without also accepting and even embracing rejection. (Sometimes rejection from God’s people.)
As we learn and grow in grace – we are faced with situations where we need to choose between what God is leading us to and what will impress or satisfy other people.
Accepting our rejectedness sounds like a bad thing and its not fun, but it is actually a very very good thing. When we experience rejection our experience of God’s acceptance becomes much deeper. We can’t fully appreciate God’s acceptance without rejection.
But we can rest in God’s acceptance and allow ourselves to be rejected.
The Key Story
When we moved in, we realized that the key to our back door fit into my friend Tony’s front door. Because we like each other we decided to keep that way – we have keys to each other’s houses anyway. And when Tony build his garage with an upstairs guys hang-out area for us guys in the neighborhood he used the same lock so I could go up there when I wanted to.
That key is really convenient and fun, but we are not like that key. If we fit with God we don’t fit into this world.
We are either a misfit with God or we are a misfit with the world.
Misfitness
This series was response to Richard’s message on the Island of Misfit Toys which is so cool because our acceptance is so closely tied to our misfitness.
We are misfits here because we were made to fit somewhere else. We are so perfectly and precisely made for God that there is no way that we can fit anywhere else.
Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it.
1 Peter 2
Background
Peter is writing to Jewish and Gentile Christians encouraging them because many were physical exile and all were spiritual exiles (misfits). Nero’s persecution was in full swing and they needed some serious encouragement and guidance.
He tells them they are accepted by God
4 Welcome to the living Stone, the source of life.
The Living Stone (Jesus) was Rejected
The workmen took one look and threw it out. God set it in the place of honor. Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God.
Peter reminds them that the foundation of their acceptance was rejected by men! Our acceptance by God means that we align ourselves with the one who was rejected by men.
We trust in the foundation that has been rejected and that is now true about us too.
Look! I’m setting a stone in Zion, a cornerstone in the place of honor. Whoever trusts in this stone as a foundation will never have cause to regret it.
To you who trust him, he’s a stone to be proud of….
For the untrusting it’s… a stone to trip over, a boulder blocking the way.
Stumbling Block
Have you ever wondered why grace makes people so mad? Grace (God’s unconditional acceptance) really is a stumbling block for people. People get really mad if you talk too much about God’s love.
Some people get really snarky when you say that God’s not angry – that he loves and accepts them.
Grace really is a stumbling block when we don’t embrace rejection – when we try to be accepted by people - when we get self-righteous.
Church leadership is a great place to become self-righteous. So many people to impress.
New Understanding of License
Graceful people often times get accused of license and because self-righteous Christians can’t stand grace. When I am being self-righteous, grace makes me mad.
That is a kind of license that is very familiar to me. License is an understanding of Grace without an understanding of rejection. License happens when you enjoy the grace that has been extended to you but you don’t allow yourself to be rejected so that grace can be extended from you to others.
People who really understand God’s grace are most accepting people out there. We are the first ones to extend grace to others who are imperfect and have been rejected by people for whatever reason.
God allows us to live in a place where we are misfits so that we can extend and live grace and extend it to others. In the way that Jesus accepted rejection so that he could give us grace we accept rejection so that we can give that same grace to other people.
Galations 2:11 – this occurred before Peter wrote this letter
2:11 Later, when Peter came to Antioch, I had a face-to-face confrontation with him because he was clearly out of line.
2:12 Here's the situation. Earlier, before certain persons had come from James, Peter regularly ate with the non-Jews. But when that conservative group came from Jerusalem, he cautiously pulled back and put as much distance as he could manage between himself and his non-Jewish friends. That's how fearful he was of the conservative Jewish clique that's been pushing the old system of circumcision.
2:13Unfortunately, the rest of the Jews in the Antioch church joined in that hypocrisy so that even Barnabas was swept along in the charade.
2:14But when I saw that they were not maintaining a steady, straight course according to the Message, I spoke up to Peter in front of them all: "If you, a Jew, live like a non-Jew when you're not being observed by the watchdogs from Jerusalem, what right do you have to require non-Jews to conform to Jewish customs just to make a favorable impression on your old Jerusalem cronies?"
Peter was unable to extend grace to the gentiles because he was concerned about being rejected by the Jews.
That’s what self-righteousness is.
I’m going to act self-righteous so you won’t really know how much of a mess I am. Then Jesus (grace) becomes a stumbling block.
I can’t enjoy God’s grace when I’m obsessed with being accepted anywhere other than Jesus.
Accepting Other Rejects
This is an invitation into rejection. When we open ourselves up to and embrace rejection by the world then we are able to extend grace to the world.
Part of being aligned with a God that was rejected by men means that we now align ourselves with those who are often rejected by people – those who are sometimes rejected by us when we are feeling self-righteous.
When we are aware of the fact that we are rejected by this world then we ourselves as one of the rejects and then we can extend grace to other rejects because we are reminded that we are both accepted by God.
Not beggers telling other beggers where to find bread but rejects who love and accept and extend grace to other rejects. ¶ 12:16 PM 0 comments
