Speaking of Jesus: The Art of Non-Evangelism by Carl Medearis

This is a controversial read...and yet I was challenged by it.  Meaderis' book wrestles with the idea of speaking of Jesus versus the (somewhat Western) mentality of event-evangelism: the sharing of our faith and bringing someone to conversion.  He contrasts a lifestyle as a Jesus-follower and the label of "Christian," or "Christianity."  His research and experience shows that people respond positively to Jesus, but negatively toward things labeled "Christian." 

Missiologists have wrestled with this idea for years - and Meaderis' experience living overseas shows how he has wrestled as well.  Put one way, this book is a kind of missiology on witnessing but in popular terminology and writing style.

First - I will review the positives - the things that challenged me.  At the end, I will share a few concerns. 

The strength of Medearis is his simplicity: bringing us back to JESUS, not religion.  As a missiologist might say when bringing the message of Jesus to another land:  bring the seed, not the whole tree.  Medearis nails this.  Leave the doctrinal explanations at home - stick to Jesus.

"The gospel is not a what. It is not a how. The gospel is a Who. The gospel is literally the good news of Jesus. Jesus is the gospel. ...E. Stanley Jones continues this thought in his book The Christ of the Indian Road: “The sheer storm and stress of things had driven me to a place that I could hold. Then I saw that there is where I should have been all the time. I saw that the gospel lies in the person of Jesus, that he himself is the Good News, that my one task was to live and to present him. My task was simplified.”"

In the West, we suffer from what one might call "control-freak Christianity" - our attempt to understand, explain and systematize all things of our faith - and then we err by trying to be sure anyone who wants to 'join our Christian club' understands all of those points too.  Meadearis reminds us, "Are we saved by our brains or our hearts?"  In other words, when we look at the life of Jesus - He did not explain all points of doctrine or 'make converts' - He simply invited people to follow Him.  That true discipleship changed them. 

Meadearis reminds us that Jesus was hardest on those who were religious, not those who were messy.  He was attracted to those who could acknowledge their need.  Medearis regularly asks those he is sharing with whom Jesus might prefer to 'hang out with' - and when the individual assumes its Medearis - he corrects them quickly.  "Jesus would go home with you," he says. 

One of the author's favorite hang-outs was a coffee shop/book store where some of the most "un-christianized" people in Colorado Springs hang out.  He asks - if Jesus were here today, where would HE hang out?  right here.  I agree wholeheartedly.  Jesus would not visit our mega-churches.  He would most likely be visiting bars on Christopher Street, or speaking words of hope in South-East Asia's slums and brothels.

When I personally read the words of Jesus - I often feel as though I fall so far short.  Jesus' rebuke of the Pharisees often describes me so much more often than His words to the ill or the outcast: Medearis says it this way:  "Perhaps … those who think they’re “in” or that they know the way or have the truth need a bit of shaking. Legalism is the enemy of Jesus. ...as soon as our attitudes shift from a humble “knowing” of Jesus to a know-it-all type of arrogance, we’re toast. We will be on the rebuking end of Jesus’ words."

Meadearis calls believers to simplify their idea of 'witnessing' - to love and listen to people, speak freely and often and boldly of Jesus and how He has changed your life.  Stop the Christianese and the endless explanations.  Let people be attracted to the Person of Jesus and begin to follow Him. YES.

I agreed with most of what Medearis has to say.  My one word of caution is that Medearis focuses almost completely on the beginning of walking with Jesus - on sharing with the lost and seeing them come to a place of discipleship of Jesus.  He does not address what brings believers to maturity - nor is it the purpose of his book.  There is a place and a need for solid doctrine.  Sometimes - we can develop a sort of reverse-pharisaism that sounds uber-spiritual because we choose to toss out the extras and "just keep Jesus."  Meaderis borders on this attitude - at least that is my perception. 

My other word of caution is that Jesus is the Gospel - and so we must not forget the completeness of the Gospel and the urgency of sharing this good news.  Yes, Jesus personifies the Gospel - but one cannot understand the power of that Gospel without grasping God's standards and laws and the price to be paid for sin that was spelled out in the Old Testament. 

My take-away application from this book is to speak loudly, boldly, freely, and lovingly of JESUS and how He has changed my life.  I love the idea of "leaving breadcrumbs" for Jesus - toss them out and see who picks them up and says - I want more! 

Yet - I find that one of the most effective forms of evangelism is to take those who respond to the "taste" of Jesus that was offered: and bring them into a small group study that begins in the Old Testament and works through key passages until the Person of Jesus is discovered by the participants.  Engaging the Word of God directly and personally changes people, and often - brings people to repentance and into the arms of Jesus. 

Well...this was a long blog post.  I read this book in about one day.  Its not a hard read.  It will challenge you and step on your toes - but its worth reading.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Kings Cross - by Tim Keller

There is never enough space on this blog to capture the fullness of some of the best books that I have read.  That is true now. 

The Kings Cross captures the Gospel story by going page by page through the book of Mark, giving not only the message of salvation - but an example of a life lived that gloried in service, and exalted in self-sacrifice.  Below are some of my favorite nuggets - and I will comment on how they impacted me. 

"...there are two ways to fail to let Jesus be your Savior. One is by being too proud, having a superiority complex—not to accept his challenge. But the other is through an inferiority complex—being so self-absorbed that you say, “I’m just so awful that God couldn’t love me.” That is, not to accept his offer."

Whether you struggle with superiority or inferiority- Jesus extends His offer of salvation to all. 

"There’s something else Mark wants his readers to think about. Isaiah says the Messiah will come to save us “with divine retribution.” But Jesus isn’t smiting people. He’s not taking out his sword. He’s not taking power; he’s giving it away. He’s not taking over the world; he’s serving it. Where’s the divine retribution? And the answer is, he didn’t come to bring divine retribution; he came to bear it. On the cross, Jesus would identify with us totally. On the cross, the Child of God was thrown away, cast away from the table without a crumb, so that those of us who are not children of God could be adopted and brought in. Put another way, the Child had to become a dog so that we could become sons and daughters at the table....Don’t be too isolated to think you are beyond healing. Don’t be too proud to accept what the gospel says about your unworthiness. Don’t be too despondent to accept what the gospel says about how loved you are."

The idea of the sacrifice of Jesus grows deeper and deeper throughout this book - defining not only our salvation story, but also the way in which we ought to live it out with one another.  Taking pain and rejection onto onself, 'eating' the pain and struggle - so that another might be free and full of joy. 

"But here is Jesus saying, “Yes, I’m the Messiah, the King, but I came not to live but to die. I’m not here to take power but to lose it; I’m here not to rule but to serve. And that’s how I’m going to defeat evil and put everything right.”...Jesus didn’t take power; he gave it up—and yet he triumphed. On the cross, then, the world’s misuse and glorification of power was exposed for what it is and defeated. The spell of the world’s systems was broken."

Keller repeats this theme in the book:  "All real, life-changing love is substitutionary sacrifice." 

When I hear stories of radical change, radical community-sweeping change: it doesn't revolve around a great preacher or powerful person or a strategic method: It revolves around a person who has been so captured by God, is so in love with Jesus, and so absolutely filled with the Spirit that he/she gives themselves away completely - meaning the loss of self, power, reputation, status, and more.  This is radical, life-changing SUBSTITUTIONARY SACRIFICE - that is only sustainable in our lives because Someone Else has done it on our behalf first. 

"Jesus says, 'My power is always moving away from people who love power and money. My power is always moving toward people who are giving it away, as I did. Where do you want to live?'"

The biggest impact of this book on my life was a renewed and deepened determination to submit with every ounce of my being to His glorious redemption in my life.  As one person put it, to be "thoroughly converted."  To open up the areas where pride and selfishness continue to control me, and to invite the Spirit in to 'clean house' and continually change me.

"Submit with every fiber of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown.." - C.S. Lewis...quoted by Keller in this book

Daring Greatly by Brene Brown

We are "hard-wired for connection," writes Brene Brown.  This is how we were designed to live.  But what happens when SHAME permeates our being?  Generally, it drives us away from connection with others.  And yet, "vulnerability is the core, the heart, the center of meaningful human experiences." Shame makes us want to hide from others, crushing any sign of vulnerability.  But this is a catch-22: without appropriate vulnerability, we cannot meaningfully connect with others. 

What to do?  We must learn to spot the way that shame creeps into our lives, how to react to it, and how to move forward in meaningful connection with others.  And as believers - we let Jesus carry all shame.

Brown is a shame & vulnerability researcher.  Yup.  She indicates in this book that she attends church and has a spiritual side - but she does not give specifics, so she does not necessarily write from an evangelical Christian perspective.  That being stated, there is much to learn from her research.  I believe that much of what she teaches can be Biblically supported - God has wired us to connect with others, and has designed a Gospel that disempowers shame - Jesus took it for us.

Here are some nuggets I took from the book -

"When shame becomes a management style, engagement dies."  - so true!  As leaders, parents, bosses, etc. - we must learn when and how we receive or give out shame so that we can intentionally choose another approach. 

"What we know matters, but who we are matters more." - I've heard this kind of idea before, but when it comes to shame - it relates to the way that I make others 'feel' around me.  Do they feel supported, loved, or even confronted with truth and mercy?  Or do they sense my critical spirit?  My impatience?  My sense of superiority? 

Brown writes about the "scarcity" problem - that we are never "enough" - fill in the blank with your preference.  Never thin enough, strong enough, smart enough, safe enough, etc.  When we enter relationships and life from a foundation of "not enough" - then we are operating from a place of shame.  This issue of a lack of 'worthiness' is a common human experience.  The most important issue is how we respond to this feeling. We conciously or unconciously try to make ourselves 'worthy' through various methods and strategies - but in the end these strategies fall far short.  We try to hide our 'unworthy' sides - but Brown points out that this is actually hindering us from connection with others - which is ironically where the solution lies.

Brown defines Shame - "...the fear of disconnection - it's the fear that something we've done or failed to do, an ideal that we've not lived up to, or a goal that we've not accomplished makes us unworthy of connection.  i'm not...good enough...I'm unlovable.  I don't belong.  ...Shame is the intensely powerful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love and belonging." 

Vulnerability is not weakness.  Vulnerability is "uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure."  "Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage.  Truth and courage aren't always comfortable, but they're never weakness."  Literally, in latin, vulnerability means 'capable of being wounded,' whereas weakness means the "inability to withstand attack or wounding." 

Vulnerability is what opens our lives and hearts to others for meaningful, wholehearted connection.  To love, to live, to do art or sing or write poetry, to engage instead of running away, to try and start a business, to share an opinion when it might be rejected - all of these are examples of vulnerability - and so many more.  But what makes vulnerability so fearful is that we are afraid that we are NOT ENOUGH. 

"We love seeing raw truth and openness in other people, but we're afraid to let them see it in us.  We're afraid... that what we have to offer isn't enough without the bells and whistles, without editing, and impressing."  Brown describes the crux of the struggle: "I want to experience your vulnerability but I don't want to be vulnerable.  Vulnerability is courage in you and inadequacy in me.  I'm drawn to your vulnerability but repelled by mine." 

But here's the kicker:  experiencing vulnerability is not a choice.  "...regardless of our willingness to do vulnerability, it does us.  When we pretend that we can avoid vulnerability we engage in behaviors that are often inconsistent with who we want to be.  Experiencing vulnerability isn't a choice - the only choice we have is how we're going to respond when we are confronted with uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure." 

To grow in vulnerability - we must grow in our shame-resilience.  Brown describes several ways to do this.  As a believer, I would emphasize that our ultimate resilience to shame lies in the cross.  Jesus paid for me, lived the life I wish I could have lived, and has nailed it all to the cross.   My level of belief in this profound truth is equal to how bravely I choose to live free of shame.  Brown does indicate that guilt and shame are different.  Guilt is "I have done something bad," shame is "I am bad."  Salvation deals with our "badness" once and for all - we are now Saints robed in His righteousness.  Therefore, we can approach life from a place of 'worthiness,' and deal appropriately with guilt.

Brown describes four steps to cultivate shame-resilience:  (1) recognize shame and understand its triggers, (2) practice critical awareness - reality check the shame messages, (3) reach out - own and share your story with trusted others, and (4) speaking shame - talk about how you feel and what you need from others when you feel shame.   

Brown does not promote undiscerning vulnerability - its about "sharing our feelings and experiences with people who have earned the right to hear them."  Its part of trust.  We are not obligated to be vulnerable with those we do not trust.

I could go on and on...but I think you get the summary of this book.  What it impacts the most for me - is my leadership style.  If I want to seed a culture of vulnerability - then I need to be willing to be exposed within my own team.  Brown includes this statement in her book:  "There's actually some very persuasive leadership research that supports the idea that asking for support is critical, and that vulnerability and courage are contagious.  In a 2011 Harvard Business Review article, Peter Fuda and Richard Badham use a series of metaphors to explore how leaders spark and sustain change. One of the metaphors is the snowball.  The snowball starts rolling when a leader is willing to be vulnerable with his or her subordinates.  Their research shows that this act of vulnerability is predictably perceived as courageous by team members and inspires others to follow suit."  Research also shows that a shame-resilient work  culture nurtures creativity and openness to feedback, whereas shame kills innovation. 

This is a long summary - and I'm nowhere near capturing the strength of this book.  I highly recommend reading this book - take it with a grain of salt and overlay Biblical teaching and you will benefit deeply.  I think its a great idea to talk about what you read and learn with a trusted friend or spouse in order to grow in your awareness of shame and the role it plays in your life. 

The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness by Tim Keller

Gospel-humility.  Definitely one of my goals.  But how?  When one pursues humility directly, it is elusive.  It becomes a focus in and of itself, which is counter-productive to the whole idea. 

Tim Keller addresses this is in his short but power-packed booklet on Self-Forgetfulness.  Our egos are always busy - looking to fill themselves up on something.  We are usually over-inflated or under-inflated...but either way, we are puffed up on the proverbial 'hot air' instead of filled up with the 'solidness' of Christ.

Keller builds his talk on the book of Corinthians - Paul says that he cares very little if he is judged by any human court and he does not even judge himself! 

Keller states,
"Gospel-humility is not needing to think about myself.  Not needing to connect things with myself.  It is an end to thoughts such as, 'I'm in this room with these people, does that make me look good?  Do I want to be here?'  True gospel-humility means I stop connecting every experience, every conversation, with myself.  In fact, I stop thinking about myself.  The freedom of self-forgetfulness.  The blessed rest that only self-forgetfulness brings." 

and...

"A truly Gospel-humble person is not a self-hating person or a self-loving person, but a gospel-humble person.  The truly gospel-humble person is a self-forgetful person whose ego is just like his or her toes.  It just works.  It does not draw attention to itself." 

C.S. Lewis states that humility is not thinking less of oneself, but thinking of oneself LESS. 

In  true Gospel-Christianity, the VERDICT of Christ's righteousness leads to our performance; our performance does NOT lead to the verdict.  We are declared righteous. 

Keller closes his booklet with this...
"Like Paul, we can say, 'I don't care what you think.  I don't even care what I think.  I only care about what the Lord thinks.'  And he has said, 'Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,' and 'You are my beloved child in whom I am well pleased.'  Live out of that." 

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality - Pete Scazzero

Loved this book.  I suppose I say that about all of the books I read...I guess because each one is kind of like a new friend:  you can learn something from all of them, even if they have some faults.  (Maybe that is why I don't like to give my 'friends' away...and my library grows too large!  haha)

I appreciate Pete's vulnerability - his willingness to lay before the public eye his weaknesses and even failures as a father, husband and pastor.  I don't look upon him harshly - I see only the path that we are all walking as believers:  believing the Word, praying, etc - but still noting that our struggles don't disappear.  The struggles of our world are intense and we feel as though we lack the tools to fight well.  We find our humanity is all too apparent and wonder where victory is.

The basic cry of this book is to SLOW DOWN and GROW UP and live the life God has designed for you only.  He repeatedly emphasizes that you cannot be emotionally immature and spiritually mature at the same time. They are integrated.  Knowledge alone does little to transform us unless we slow down, and allow the Spirit to reveal hidden strongholds and emotional 'allergies' that have followed us through life.

I could quote and list MANY things that impacted me but I will share just this one that list that hit me square in the heart:  a list from St. John of the Cross: "the seven deadly spiritual imperfections of beginners that must be purified."  And yes, I'm a beginner - I've been a believer for 32 years, have 6 years of Bible training and countless hours of conferences and sermons, and I am still a beginner:

1. Pride: they have a tendency to condemn others and become impatient with their faults.  They are very selective in who can teach them.
2. Avarice: they are discontent with the spirituality God has given them.  They never have enough learning, are always reading many books rather than growing in poverty of spirit and their interior life.
3. Luxury: they take more pleasure in the spiritual blessings of God than God Himself.
4. Wrath: they are easily irritated, lacking sweetness, and have little patience to wait on God.
5. Spiritual Gluttony: they resist the cross and choose pleasures like children do.
6. Spiritual envy: they feel unhappy when others do well spiritually.  They are always comparing.
7. Sloth: they run from that which is hard.  Their aim is spiritual sweetness and good feelings.

Ouch.  'Nuff said.

One final application from this book - He recommends praying the "prayer of examen" by St. Ignatius Loyola at the end of each day.  This discipline asks us to stop in prayer before sleep each night and look over the events of the day with Jesus - and to stop and ask where we were walking in the Spirit or not.  I often drop in bed exhausted and 'save my praying' for the morning - but i would like to change that habit to a more mindful watching of my heart throughout the day. 

Sorry this is so long and quick - as someone once said, "I don't have enough time to write less."  So this will do for now...perhaps more thoughts will follow.

Grace Through the Ages - by Dr. Bill Smith

Grit & Grace: One New Yorker’s Thoughts on this newly released daily devotional...

I consider myself a New Yorker now...six years in this city will change a person.  One tends to find themselves more defensive, more on-edge, and less trusting than perhaps previous lifestyles have led them to be.  As a follower of Jesus Christ, I want to mirror Him to others but find myself struggling against the grain.  To be gracious and kind when the world around you is rough and rude - how is that possible?

Bill Smith, in his poignant, kind and sometimes ironic tone, identifies the only real transforming ingredient of our lives: the grace of God. While I read this devotional, I see glimpses of the character of a God Who blows me away with His gracious response to rude, disrespectful, and demeaning human beings: i.e., ME.  The only way I can live as a daughter of Him in this messed up world is to know the transforming power of an unimaginable grace that has been levied on me.  Just like the parable of the forgiven but ungrateful servant, I face a choice to pass that grace onto others OR show the world that I have not yet really and deeply understood just how much I have been forgiven.

The next time someone pushes me on the subway I'm going to try and remember that.

The Tipping Point - by Malcolm Gladwell

The basic idea of this book is that epidemics spread based on ingredients that are often different than what we'd expect.  And no, not medical epidemics per se, but whenever anything 'goes viral' and suddenly moves from a small, cloistered few to a large, sweeping point of interest.  One illustration in the book is how hush puppies made a comeback, from a small group of eccentric fashion-forward people in the East Village of NY to a country-wide fashion phenomena. 

Gladwell's points were few, but heavily illustrated.  I have to admit that I'm of the temperament that would prefer less illustration and more direct writing...however...the illustrations did help me understand his points more deeply.  Still, I think I could have skipped a few illustrations and still come away with the basics of author's ideas.

The Three Rules of Epidemics - The Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context.

The Law of the Few - Social epidemics are "driven by the efforts of a handful of exceptional people."  ...how "sociable they are, or how energetic or knowledgable or influential among their peers."   These few can have a powerful, far-reaching effect when the idea or product they are promoting engages with the two other rules of epidemics.  Three kinds of people help move ideas to epidemics:  connectors, mavens, and salesmen.  A  connector is someone who is well networked, and seems to 'know everyone' and continually be introducing one person into another network or world.  Connectors spread ideas through the simple fact of being linked with a wide variety of people.  Mavens are those who are the watch-dogs of quality, and will research and correct those who miss the mark.  Mavens are rare, but they delight in correctness for its own sake and will insure that a company knows about his/her presence.  Mavens promote products they believe in and speak loudly both about those they like and those they dislike.  The concept of  the salesman is a bit self-explanatory.  True salesmen can sell 'ice to an eskimo,' and in so doing, be part of the spread of an epidemic. 

The Stickiness Factor - this is Gladwell's attempt to describe that illusive something that forms the difference between a commercial that is entertaining, and a commercial that not only makes us remember the specific product but also want to buy it.  Stickiness is what makes something more enduring, memorable, and effective.  "Stickiness means that a message makes an impact.  You can't get it out of your head.  It sticks in your memory."

The Power of Context - "The power of context says that human beings are a lot more sensitive to their environment than they may seem."  Gladwell uses the 1984 NYC subway system as an example.  Dirty, ridden with crime, and full of graffiti, it wasn't exactly the kind of system that promoted public pride.  Fare-jumpers were common, and police didn't even bother with them.  The whole system was broken, and the public knew it.  But when the system came under new management, things changed.  One of the very first actions of the new manager was to clean every subway car, scrub off the graffiti, and keep it that way.  What?!?!  When crime and broken trains and fire were rampant every day, why the focus on cosmetics?  Because - the CONTEXT that patrons were in every day bred a lack of responsibility and ownership.  The system was abused because the graffiti sent the message that nobody was minding the store.  As soon as someone began to mind the store, things began to change.  This idea suggests that for an idea to stick - we are extremely susceptible to our environment and the messages it sends.  Epidemics can be fueled by context.

I agree with Gladwell that the power of context is enormous, while I do think that the author went a bit TOO far in his application of the idea.  While context influences us all more than we realize, we are still responsible for our own actions and must therefore have an outside source to help us know what is right and wrong.  Gladwell describes a murder that takes place on the subway in that time frame and why, in his thinking, some of the 'blame' went to the context that the gunman was in every single day.  Again, context IS powerful and I cannot deny that - but BECAUSE it is powerful, as a Christian, I believe that is why we must have an even more powerful 'context' in which to think, act and live.  For me, that is the Word of God and the Holiness of the God I serve that dictates my actions.  We are all susceptable to decline based on context, but we still make personal choices. 

As a Christian, there are plenty of things that I would like to see become an 'epidemic.'  Church-planting and missional lifestyles.  Gospel-based thinking and actions of mercy.  Scripture-memory and engaging prayer.  Justice for the down-trodden and food for the hungry. 

From a Christian perspective, I think that what Gladwell is describing captures some of the ways that God uses His own people to move ideas from small pockets into large networks.  As a leader, I want to think intentionally about these three 'rules' and where they might apply in my own context.  What is my role?  Who else do I need on my team in order to move big dreams into reality?  Where can I find a Maven, a Salesperson, and more Connectors?  What makes my vision 'sticky' for the Body of Christ in NYC?  And what context do I need to either 'create' or act in defiance of in order to see movement happen?