Is social justice becoming trendy?

This is a question that I've heard posed more than once lately. In a recent group discussion, someone said, "If Rick Warren is into social justice, you know it's in vogue!"

So is that true? Is it just a fad? Is Rick Warren's concern for the AIDS pandemic in Africa just something he's "into" for now? Is Bill Hybels' concern for racial reconciliation just a way for him to jump on the bandwagon?

Or is this the work of God? Is God beginning to convict those who in the past gave little or no thought to social justice? Is God causing a "revival" among evangelicals, but a revival unlike any we've seen in the past? And is God moving in the hearts of today's most influential Christian leaders so that others will hear and respond to the call for social justice?

I tend to believe that God is at work in his church. I believe that God is continuing to make us into the bride he longs for us to be. And I don't think we should dismiss what God is doing as a "fad" lest we miss what God is doing.

I, for one, don't want to miss what God is doing...

2 Things I Appreciate about Being Presbyterian

Can you believe it?! I'm actually gonna say something nice about the PC(USA)!

I know I tend to state my frustrations with the PC(USA) more than I talk about what I appreciate. And sometimes I feel like there is nothing to appreciate.

But that's not true. In the last few days, I've been reminded of at least two things that I appreciate about the PC(USA).

1) No fundamentalist upbringing to react against.

I already mentioned this in my last post, so I won't go into detail. Steve Taylor (the musician, not the emergentkiwi guy) once said that, even though he was a pastor's kid (like me), he never felt like he had anything to rebel against. His parents loved him. They weren't legalistic. They gave him breathing room.

This has also been my experience. I've never felt any urge to react because I've never had anything to react against. I've certainly grown, and I'm always open to exploring new ideas, but never out of a frustration with the sense that something has been shoved down my throat.

2) I don't have to be afraid to say something I shouldn't.

I'm in a group of pastors and ministry leaders that get together once a month to talk about whatever is on our mind. This Monday, we talked about God and country. One of the guys was recording the discussion in order to post it online. But halfway through he had to stop the recording because too many of us were saying things that those in our denominations or churches or places of ministry might not approve of.

Nothing heretical, of course. Everyone believes Jesus is God incarnate. Everyone believes Jesus rose from the tomb. Everyone believes Jesus has called us to reach out to our world.

But not everyone believes that we should have an American flag in our sanctuaries. Or sing "America, the Beautiful" as a worship song. Or celebrate Veteran's day as a holy day.

I think it's sad that we had to turn off the recorder because some of the guys were afraid that their higher-ups might hear what they say.

There's a lot that frustrates me about the PC(USA), but at least I know I won't be called a heretic or told I'm backsliding if I don't tow the party line. Come to think of it, the PC(USA) doesn't really have a party line.

So, there you go. Two things I really like about my denomination.

By the way, I can't stand the logo at the top of this article. Not because of what it symbolizes, but because it's just a boring logo. I really hope the PC(USA) gets a logo facelift sometime in the next few years.

Pastors who Drink and Cuss

I've got a lot to share about my time at the Revolution Conference, so I kinda feel like I need to be selective in what I talk about--just so don't drone on forever. If you want to know about the specifics of the conference, the main sessions, the seminars, and so forth, you can look at the Revolution Conference Blog.

One of the things I noticed was that it seems like a lot of people who are a part of this "revolution" that George Barna describes in his book--it seems like they come from a very fundamentalist/conservative evangelical background. As a result, a lot of their interest in this "revolutionary" kind of church is a reaction against a theology and spirituality that was strict, pushy, judgmental, narrow-minded, etc., etc., etc.

This was not my background. I know I complain a fair amount about my denomination, but as Presbyterians, my family was not particularly fundamentalist and I'm grateful for that. We did fall on the conservative side of Presbyterianism--but the even conservative Presbyterians look pretty liberal to a lot of other Christians.

So, my interest in the "revolution" has nothing to do with my background. It does have everything to do with finding more effective ways of helping people connect with God in a way that is deep, meaningful, and lifelong (I realize that this is also what drives those with a fundamentalist background).

The problem with a person's interest in the "revolution" being reactionary is that the pendulum can swing too far.

This is why I appreciate Brian McLaren's comments on this topic. I know that Brian's latest books have been fairly controversial, but at this conference Brian provided a source of groundedness and centeredness.

Here's a paraphrase of what McLaren said in one of the question-and-answer times:

A lot of times, when we react to something in our past we have a tendency to go too far in the other direction. Sometimes, because our past taught us not to drink, we start drinking more and more. But when we start drinking too much alcohol we become dangerous. Sometimes we react to stringent rules on sexuality by going too far in the other direction. But then we start damaging people sexually.... What the world doesn't need is a bunch of pastors who drink and cuss a lot.

I was so happy to hear him say this! There were times when I felt a little out of place with the crowd at this conference, but hearing Brian McLaren provide wisdom and act as a guiding light for all of us gave me great hope for the future of this "revolution."

I've got a pain in my...

My butt hurts.

You think I’m kidding, don’t you? I’m serious. I’ve been sitting so much these last two days that my butt is sore!

Here’s a timeline of my sitting over these two days:

Thursday, November 2, 2006

• 6:30-8:00 a.m. – Sit in D.G.’s car to drive to the airport in Louisville.
• 8:00-9:30 a.m. – Sit in the waiting area at the Louisville Airport.
• 9:30 (ET) - 11:05 a.m. (CT) – Sit in an airplane (this is actually 2½ hours).
• 11:05-12:30 p.m. - Sit at Chili’s Too for lunch at the Houston Airport.
• 12:30 (ET) - 3:30 p.m. (PT) – Sit in an airplane (this is actually 5 hours).
• 4:30-5:30 p.m. – Sit on a bus to downtown Seattle (after picking up luggage and rental car).
• 6:00-7:00 p.m. – Sit at hole-in-the-wall seafood place for dinner (after seeing the flying fish and the original Starbucks at the Pike Place Market).
• 7:30-8:00 p.m. – Sit on a bus back to the airport.
• 8:00-8:30 p.m. – Sit in the car to our hotel.

Friday, November 3, 2006

• 9:00-9:45 a.m. – Sit and listen to George Barna and Brian McLaren talk about the Revolution.
• 10:45-12:00 p.m. – Sit and listen to Rich and Rose Swetson talk about “Missional Pastor Revolutionaries.”
• 12:00-1:00 p.m. – Sit at lunch with D.G. at Peking Chinese Restaurant.
• 1:00-3:25 p.m. – Sit and listen to Barna and McLaren again.
• 3:25- 4:00 p.m.- Sit and listen to Christine Wicker talk about her journey as a non-Christian.
• 4:00-5:00 p.m. – Sit and listen to Sunil Sardar talk about the justice revolution in India.
• 5:00-7:00 p.m. – Sit at dinner with a bunch of other bloggers at the Fire Creek Grill.
• 7:00-9:00 p.m. – Listen to McLaren and others again.
• 10:00-11:00 p.m. – Sit in the bar/restaurant in the hotel and talk with D.G. and Todd Hiestand.
• 11:00-right now – Sit and write this blog!

Like I said. My butt hurts.

There’s a lot more I could say right now, but I’ll save that for next time. Let me just say that the Revolution Conference is great! I’m meeting some really great people and having an awesome time hanging out with D.G.!

And speaking of D.G., check out his blog for some pictures and other stuff about what we did.

Revolution, here we come!!

Just got off the phone with D.G. to finalize our travel plans for tomorrow morning. He'll be at my place to pick me up at 6:30 a.m. (woo-hoo! and I still have to pack!). And then we're off to Seattle for the Revolution Conference!

I'm really excited about this trip several reasons:

• I get to hang out with D.G. for four days!
• I've never been to Seattle, so that'll be fun!
• I get to meet a bunch of other ministry creatives!
• I get to see fish-throwing!
• I get to see the place that has changed the face of a generation--the original Starbucks!

Next time I post I'll be in Seattle!

I'm currently reading...

I usually appreciate knowing in advance whether a book is worth reading or not, and the only way to find out is to ask someone who has already read it. So I thought I'd start publishing what books "I'm currently reading..." in the sidebar. That way if anyone out there is curious if these books are worthwhile or not, just ask...

2 Sermons and a Crazy

Got a couple of new sermons posted on Sermon Cloud. They're both from a series that I'm doing on the Full Armor God:

"More Than Just Forgiveness" - A lot of times we limit our understanding of salvation to that initial experience of God's forgiveness. But forgiveness is only the first step. The larger experience of salvation is our restoration into the people that God created us to be.

"Sword of the Spirit" - "The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" is a weapon, not to be used against people, but against "the spiritual forces of evil." And it is to be used for our own spiritual growth: to give us clarity about ourselves and to equip us to live the Christian life.

And lastly, this is just weird...

Leonard Nimoy, "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins"