Not Easy but Simple

 The more I know the more I realize how much I do not know. The more I experience the more inexperienced I feel.  Being a disciple of Jesus is a bit like that. You begin the journey towards faithfulness feeling you know what you are getting into, but then the demands of discipleship sharpen as it digs into life.

Following Jesus will most certainly invite you to become disencumbered: to become free from hardship and unnecessary attachments. What at first is an invitation to greater freedom, the realization of attachment becomes evident. Fear of being without can quickly turn into a fear of letting go. The invitation to let go is simple. The response is not so easy.

Following Jesus will most likely introduce you to people you never expected to meet. What is at first an invitation to broader fellowship can turn into discomfort. Uncertainty pokes away at friendliness. The stranger disappears. Outsiders become new friends to embrace. The invitation is simple – open your heart to God’s love. The follow through however, is not so easy.

Following Jesus will in all probability include a journey into the unknown. What at first feels adventuresome can become disconcerting as you are continually called to embrace the unfamiliar. Mystery becomes an unwelcome companion. Craving for the familiar deepens. But the faith you yearn comes alive in the context of the unknown. This is where trust is developed. The invitation is simple – follow me, but the step of obedience is not easy.

Following Jesus is simple, but not always easy.

What We Already Know

The beginning of a new year is a natural time for people to reflect about the future. That reflection often includes searching for a sense of direction from God. As individuals and congregations we search to understand how and where God wants to lead us through the coming year.

While such an exercise is a very worthwhile endeavour I have found that it can also cause us to avoid the obvious. When in the atmosphere of grand discernment, searching for direction of what we do not know, it is easy to overlook and act on that we do know. Future options can seem more exciting than current reality.

When I set aside time to seek God’s direction for the future, I have come to realize that I often already know the answer before I begin the time of prayerful search. Sometimes it is an answer that I am avoiding. Then my time of prayerful discernment is merely a stalling tactic. Sometimes it is an answer I am rejecting. Then my time of prayerful discernment is actually an exercise of disobedience. During such times God has felt silent and distant, turning my time of contemplative prayer into annoyed frustration. But God would not cooperate with my stalling or disobedience. Asking God for direction may well result in becoming aware of what we already know.

A good way to begin a new year might be to take stock of the directives God has already placed in our hearts. In fact our straining economic context and post Christendom societal environment may allow the latent directives of God to become more obvious. Two directives in particular seem obvious to me.

The first is to grow in restraint. This is a particular directive that has remained suppressed by the church in North America for some time. Whether it has been clouded over by the values of materialism or buried under a mountain of misinterpreted blessings, or rising consumer debt and the quickening illness of the earth, God’s call for restraint is becoming more obvious. North American lifestyles of overconsumption should not be justified or encouraged. God calls us to freedom from unbridled appetites. The joy of restraint awaits us.

The second is to grow in compassion. When faith in God is routine in society, the church can afford to dictate boundaries. But when faith in God is sidelined by secular values, the church does not have the luxury to be selective. Survival of faith communities will depend on embracing all who God will call. And when we open ourselves up to this missional reality, we may discover that God never did abide by our boundaries.

As the People of God let us respond to what we already know and determine to grow in restraint and compassion.

Missed Opportunity

I am feeling a little defeated. Waves of regret lap up against me like the rising sea. It isn’t guilt that I am wrestling with. It is feelings of disappointment.

Last year at this time I was at COPS17, the UN Climate Change Forum in Durban, South Africa. The hope then was to increase the number of Canadian Church Leaders who would attend COPS18 this year in Doha, Qatar. But to my embarrassment not one church leader from Canada has been able to attend. We asked the church representative from El Salvador to carry our voice of concern.

I feel like we have allowed good intentions to erode into lost opportunity.  I can still hear the pleas from last year. ”We have no more time,” expressed a delegate from Nigeria. “If we cannot agree on a second commitment of the Kyoto Protocol, let us lay it aside and prepare ourselves to die.”

The task remains. We still need to find solutions to decreasing our negative impact on creation. Church and civic leaders must give voice in asking governments for real change to our corporate systems of consumption. I applaud the recommendation issued this week:

Recommendation of African Leaders on the occasion of the 18th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate:

We can not continue with the same models of development , economics and amoral conduct in the global system of governance  and multilateralism.  Not only must we address the evident causes of climate instability, its impacts, and support those most vulnerable - we fundamentally need a model of living which is anchored in good faith, compassion, respect for nature, an adherence to the scriptural guidance of our role as stewards and custodians, not of consumers of the Earth's beauty and abundance.... Success in  the climate negotiations must speak directly to the well- being and sustainability of the least developed countries.

- South African Council of Churches

I am grateful that the church is still actively present at the negotiations in Doha. I am grateful that El Salvador agreed to carry our voice. But I can’t shake the feeling that we have requested others to do what we should be doing.

I’d love to hear your responses, your thoughts, your comments and observations of how churches should engage this pressing matter.

Creation Care and Worship

It is fruitless to get caught up in a discussion about the credibility of climate change science. This debate will continue for some time. Yet faith communities do need to be engaged in discussions of creation care.

                       

I am beginning to realize that creation care is naturally lodged within a theology of worship. True worship, encompasses generosity, restraint and compassion. These values are critical to creation care. Indeed it is their opposites – greed, recklessness and apathy – that threaten the health of the earth and its inhabitants. It is people of faith, especially Anabaptist faith, conditioned and committed to live lives of worship by loving God and their neighbour that are most logically positioned to lead the way in seeking climate justice and creation care.

Anabaptism, with its focus on discipleship and service has always resisted a one dimensional understanding of worship. Menno Simons wrote; “True evangelical faith cannot lie dormant. It clothes the naked, it comforts the sorrowful, it shelters the destitute, it serves those that harm it, binds up that which is wounded.”

Such an understanding of faithfulness to God will naturally lead us to express commitment to the other. It is an alignment to the directive expressed by Jesus in Matt 22. When asked which the greatest commandment of the Law is, Jesus replied by saying: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. This is the first and greatest commandment and the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself.” If you follow this directive it will be impossible to ignore the compassionate imperative of creation care.

According to a report by Willie Reimer and Bruce Guenther at the 2012 Mennonite Central Committee Canada annual general meeting, every night one billion people – one sixth of the world’s population – goes to bed hungry. The growth of global undernourishment can be largely attributed to the increasing number of people affected by environmental disasters such as drought, flooding and storm surges. An estimated 250 million people are affected by climate related hazards in a typical year, according to Reimer and Guenther, and that is projected to grow by 50% to an estimated 375 million people a year by 2015.

It is difficult to worship God and ignore these dynamics. If there is even a chance that our Canadian lifestyle patterns contribute to the suffering of global neighbours, our adulation and reverence to God will compel us to seek correction and express compassion.

The developed countries of the world hold 25% of the world's population, but consume 75% of all energy, 85% of all wood products, and 72% of all steel produced. (http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/handouts/ethics/wasting_away.cfm)

Canadians are consuming at a pace that is 2.5 times greater than the average global citizen. (http://planetpanels.com/human-consumption-and-the-earth-logged-hours/).

Our love for God obliges us to express generosity, restraint and compassion.

Generosity: because with the Spirit of God in us, we can’t help ourselves from being generous. Restraint: because we yearn for greater surrender to God not a defeat to self-indulgence. With the Spirit of God in us, the discipline of restraint is joyfully embraced. Compassion: because disregard for others is intolerable. Inaction is unacceptable. With the Spirit of God in us we cannot help but push aside apathy and become engaged.

Creation care is neighbour care. And neighbour care is a vital expression of our love for God.

Looking for the Essentials

When I was a pastor, going to the church office on mid-week mornings was always a risky thing to do. I never knew how much time I would have before someone stopped by to chat. I was my own receptionist, so a visitor was an unavoidable interruption.

One regular visitor would always inquire what I was working on. However, my answer of “working on the sermon,” would result in a response of ‘good, then nothing important.’ I was never quite sure if there was a touch of sarcasm in this response. Nonetheless, the visitor would then sit in my office and begin a lengthy conversation. As irritating as it often felt back then, I am beginning to wonder if it is somewhat prophetic.

Despite recognising the importance of lay involvement, worship services still place a lot of focus on the message. Indeed other aspects of the service usually support the theme of the sermon. The sermon is considered the main instructional component to the worship experience.

As I continue to try and understand the future we are living into, I am beginning to wonder if the sermon will have less importance in a church’s worship service. I am not suggesting that the instructional purpose of the sermon is to be rejected, but rather when, where, and how that happens may need to change.

In a recent meeting of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), each denominational leader was to bring along a young adult. This made for some rich table conversations. A survey released earlier this summer by EFC revealed that young adults do not place a high value on sermons when choosing which church to attend.

One of the researchers described visiting a congregation that is attracting young adults. The worship was similar to most other contemporary services, and the sermon didn’t stand out either. When asked what made this congregation so attractive, the young adults responded by saying, “the authenticity.” The leaders of the congregation did not hide their personal struggles or their short-comings. This honesty was not only refreshing, it also positioned pursuing faithfulness as a common pursuit, rather than an exceptional endeavour of the spiritual elite. It is something that everyone struggles with, but that anyone can participate in. What a wonderful invitation to Christian discipleship.

Another congregation intentionally met with young adults who had left the fellowship of the congregation. The pastor was openly seeking to learn what they could have done differently. The pastor asked what programs would have helped keep them in the church. Finally one of the young adults responded, “I didn’t want a program. I just wanted to go out for a coffee with you.”

This is not to suggest that pastors determine whether or not young adults stay in the church. But the church in the future will probably be less programmed, and the sermon may not be a central feature of the gathered community’s worship experience. However, these are two aspects of pastoral ministry currently requiring a lot of time and energy.

As I look back at my years as a pastor, I wonder what it would have been like if I didn’t have programs to maintain and sermons to prepare. I certainly would have had a lot more time for informal and unscheduled conversations. And that would probably have been a good thing.

                        

It’s The Right Thing To Do

The choir travelled 50 kilometres on foot. When they entered the church compound they burst into song. They came with nothing, but with it made the most beautiful music. Their rich harmony filled the air. It was a symphony of souls, and it gripped my heart. 

No better salute could be given to the 100th anniversary of the Mennonite Church in Democratic Republic of Congo. There was no need for instruments, sheet music, or worship CD’s. The number of choirs that came to celebrate was dizzying. To celebrate this way was simply the right thing to do.

This scene epitomises the experience of my African summer, a journey that took me to DR Congo, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Kenya. In each setting I connected with the global Anabaptist church and celebrated the church in solidarity.

I grew up in a time when the relationship between the churches in the global north and the global south was modelled on a needs-based relationship. But my African summer revealed to me something different – something I already knew, and yet continue to understand.

In most Christian expressions today, the church in the global south is larger than the church in the north. This is also true for the Anabaptist church. Church planting is now as common in Africa as Sunday morning worship – a ministry often sustained by entrepreneurial pastors who use small businesses as a natural and necessary way to fund their ministry. The Anabaptist church in DR Congo is 225,000 strong (compared to 31,000 in Mennonite Church Canada). In Ethiopia it will soon be reaching 500,000. It’s too easy to measure success by numbers alone, but neither can such growth be discounted. We in the west are no longer needed in the same ways we once were. 

I am not suggesting that our relationship be halted. Our generosity is still incredibly important. But it does require reconsideration. We are no longer needed in the same way – but we are wanted. Our solidarity is still important. Our recognition is significant.

This maturing relationship with the global church in the south reveals areas of growth still necessary in us. While we are no longer needed in the same ways, I fear our North American faith expression requires need to motivate us. Generations in the global north have for decades understood the church in the south as one in perpetual need. Our sense of call has been nurtured in need. Generosity was awakened by need. Will our faith find expression if no longer motivated by need? Is a completely needs-based generosity a healthy and faithful foundation on which the church can build a future? Or can we be generous simply because it is the right thing to do?

Thankfully, a mature relationship of equals fosters other motivators. Strong relationships understand mutual responsibilities. Healthy relationships embrace joyful and loving duty. As global brothers and sisters, we have responsibilities. As part of the global family of faith we have duties: a duty to share, to seek and express global justice.

We express love and solidarity to our global family of faith because it is the right thing to do. We evaluate our lifestyle choices because that is how God’s people behave. We embrace sacrifice as an expression of our spiritual worship. Need no longer drives us. The overflow of God’s love and our love for God propels us. 

A lost cause?

I don’t think I am delusional, but as the leader of a national church, I sometimes feel as though I am romanticizing a lost cause. I serve a collective within the context of individuals. I depend on the communal while appealing to the private.

Rather than dismiss the disengagement I encounter, I seek to understand it. There is often great wisdom within the expression of disillusion. Disappointment reflects a loss, discontentment a cherished hope. And so I welcome these gifts. I ponder the future, as mysterious as it is. I consider the past as selective as it is recounted.

Such a gift was given to me recently. The following statement was included in a quite supportive and encouraging email:

I would be like most people in our church and have a love/hate relationship with conference.  We love the idea of belonging to something bigger than ourselves and speaking with one voice and sharing common theological and ecclesiological ground.  But we find quite a large disconnect between what goes on in the offices and what goes on in our daily congregational life.  And because of that disconnect, I end up not trusting what comes out of the office.  I just smile, roll my eyes and ignore what’s being said and sometimes snicker to myself how people think they’re being relevant (please forgive my snarkiness). 

Another email conversation offered the following:

As it relates to this conversation - I think distrust and disconnect might come from just not knowing/not being in relationship with anybody from MC Canada.  I don't think we otherwise have ongoing trust issues with Mennonite Church Canada.  If anything, we might feel indifferent because Mennonite Church Canada has little-to-no impact on our lives as a church.

I treasure these comments.

At a recent event, Stuart Murray, the British author of The Naked Anabaptist, told of entire denominations in Europe planning for their discontinuation. These leaders have even identified the dates. When I heard this in the company of many pastors and leaders, I wrote them down. One of the pastors saw me writing and asked; “What date did you write down?” I laughed at the witty comment but grimaced at the conjecture.

I understand the common dilemma of pastors in a context where few people are interested in denominational identity. I remember it well. But still something feels restless within me.

Intuitively, individualism and isolation feels wrong. But practically, it seems preferable. We warn against it from our pulpits, but prefer it as congregations.

I am not interested in defending an institution. But I am interested in nurturing a historical movement. While some congregations are distancing themselves from Mennonite/Anabaptist identity, other new emerging leaders are discovering Anabaptism and yearning to recover its expression.

I look forward to more conversations so that together we can discover what God requires of us as a collective community of faith that is striving against the principalities and subversive powers of individualism and privatization. May God grant us the wisdom and strength we need.