A Week Later: Thoughts from Collyde Summit 2013

It’s been over a week since I attended the Collyde Summit in Princeton, NJ. Now that I have had time to process everything (and forget some things), there is one particular lasting impression that I have after attending.

As you may or may not know, my mom passed away this past October, and, while I have had time to reflect, there are often reminders of her absence. I had been feeling that as of late, and the Collyde Summit allowed me to reflect more on her absence.

I was most impressed by one individual, and, while much of the Summit was valuable, this session was the most (for me). Makoto Fujimura is a renown artist particularly in the Christian community. Thus, he often sees things differently, creatively. I was most impressed by one statement he made about the Parable of the Sower. At one point in regards to suffering, Makoto asks: “What is soil?” and then answers: “It’s dead things piled on top of each other.” For Makoto, the parable is not about the sower but about the soil. The dead things or the suffering in our lives becomes the soil for the gospel to take further root.

We often resent the suffering in our lives. We often resent the pain. We think it’s a hurdle to God’s power, but, as Makoto reminds us, our suffering is a chance for God to work. It provides the place for the gospel to become rooted in our lives. We can choose to allow it to take root or reject it. We can allow God to plant the seed and tend the soil; or we can use our pain as an excuse to keep him at a distance. As Makoto put it:

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Blogging the Collyde Summit Friday and Saturday #collyde13

I will be blogging the Collyde Summit this Friday and Saturday along with my friend, Tim. I am particularly excited about Phil Wickham leading music on Friday evening. Phil has been one of my favorites for a long time, and I have yet to see him lead music before. As much as I am interested in the main sessions, I am equally anticipating the labs by Makoto Fujimura and Joan Ball.

I encourage you to follow us on Twitter (@evancurry & @tg24) or our blogs as we offer a positive but fair perspective about what God is doing through this conference.

#collyde13

@collyde

Collyde 2012 Highlights from Collyde on Vimeo.

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The Height of Pride

There’s not many life lessons one learns from Batman: the Animated Series, but I do remember one episode in particular where Bruce Wayne is receiving ninja training. After his opponent Kyodai defeats Bruce, Kyodai says something cocky to Bruce when the sensei drops Kyodai to the floor and reminds him,

There’s always someone better, Kyodai.

That stuck with me. I don’t know why but it did. Years have gone by since I watched that episode in my parents’ living room, but I have seen countless attempts by many (including myself) to be the best. Sure, the best athlete, singer, dancer; but, I mean, the testimony best. It’s the reason why so many of us hated testimony time at youth group. Did you ever notice how the kid present at the mic always did more drugs, committed more crimes, was further away from God than the previous kid?

I’ve had people say to me: “You don’t know what it’s like you never [fill in the blank]…had parents as bad  as mine, grew up in a neighborhood like mine, experienced pain like mine.” The answer usually is, “No, I haven’t.”

But, if there’s always someone better, there’s always someone worse. There’s always someone who has a worse life, worse parents, worse story to tell. As much pain as I’ve experienced in the past year with the death of my mom, there’s always someone who’s suffering worse than I. Let’s allow our stories to humble us, not give us reason for pride. Perhaps the height of pride isn’t believing we are the best but that we are the worst.

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Was Jesus Crazy?

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye,…but I say unto you, That ye not resist evil.” What does he mean? Does he mean that factors having to do with physical survival are trivial or of no consequence? Is this emphasis merely the counsel of suicide? It seems inescapable that either Jesus was infinitely more realistic than we dare imagine or, taking his words at their face value, he is talking as one who has no understanding of the basic facts of life…It is reasonable to assume, then, that he speaks out of understanding and that his words cannot be lightly disregarded, however devastating they may seem.

-Howard Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited

Thurman calls us to a C.S. Lewis-type of decision (i.e., either Jesus is liar, lunatic, or Lord): either when Jesus in his “You have heard it said…But I say to you…” is crazy or he is in touch with reality–no matter how devastating that reality may seem to us. So, was Jesus crazy or was he on to something?

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A Final Embrace

I find myself agreeing with the writer of the article below. This is both a haunting and moving image of two people embracing each other unto death.

Every time I look back to this photo, I feel uncomfortable — it haunts me. It’s as if they are saying to me, we are not a number — not only cheap labor and cheap lives. We are human beings like you. Our life is precious like yours, and our dreams are precious too…

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Missional = the new legalism?

The sad result is that many young adults feel ashamed if they “settle” into ordinary jobs, get married early and start families, live in small towns, or as 1 Thessalonians 4:11 says, “aspire to live quietly, and to mind [their] affairs, and to work with [their] hands.” For too many millennials their greatest fear in this life is being an ordinary person with a non-glamorous job, living in the suburbs, and having nothing spectacular to boast about…

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Bill O’Reilly the Theologian?

This was first shared with me by my friend Thomas from Everyday Liturgy.

Martin Bashir really takes on Bill O’Reilly’s ridiculous suggestion that Christ died because of taxes:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/martin-bashir/51279729#51279729

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Why Rob Bell Matters to Me Even If People Think He Doesn’t. Response to @tg24, @gklimovitz, and maybe @fitchest

My friend, Tim, was the first to respond to my post on Rob Bell’s comments on gay marriage in his post “Why Rob Bell Matters to Me.” In his post, Tim put Tony Jones and himself (?) on one side of the debate and David Fitch and I on the other. In Tim’s words, he and Tony believe Rob Bell matters but David and I don’t. Then my friend Greg jumped in with an indirect challenge to evangelicals (and me?) in his post “Rob Bell Has Come Out…with a new book. O yea, and as affirming of gay marriage, too.”

I’d like to respond to both thoroughly but as pastors they only work on Sundays :) , and I’m busy Sundays so I will offer a brief response here. I also wanted to say something to the effect of “Shut up, you stupid heads,” but that argument stopped working once I went into seminary.

First, Tim. Tim among other things suggested I didn’t believe Rob Bell matters and challenged my (and David’s) understanding of community accountability when he said:

I think what else bugs me is this “Who holds him accountable?” question that’s been circulating feels a lot like “Who can we contact to get him in trouble because he has stepped out of line?” or “To whom do go to tell on him?” As part of the generation who is suspicious of “organized religion” I like there are people who are working outside the system. As one who is employed by the system, I hope to bring redemption/reformation to it.

I never claimed Rob Bell doesn’t matter. I actually think he does. If Rob Bell came out and said he loved the Philadelphia Phillies, I’d buy the same hipster glasses and potentially ruin my 20-20 eyesight in his honor. However, when any Christian makes divisive statements, they should be held accountable. Scripture claims that Christians belong to one another. So, yes, Rob Bell belongs to me, and I to him. If we treat his statements like they happen in a vacuum, we are in dangerous waters.

Also, anyone’s claim that Bell’s readers hold him accountable is like saying that social media is real community. Community guides us and oftentimes slows us down. I’d hate to have said what I wanted to (as many might say, speak authentically) ten years ago to have been heard out loud. I’d might not have the job I have now if I did that. Community can actually slow us down and sometimes that’s a good thing.

Let’s also not forget that the community help Rob Bell get where he is, and now we are upset that he’s being critiqued by those same people? Community’s a give-and-take. It’s a back-and-forth. That’s what makes it ugly sometimes, but other times it makes it beautiful.

I don’t want to have someone to “go tell on” Rob Bell. As much as it might sound like that to Tim, that’s not my intent. Tim could be accused of stating, “You can say whatever you want, and we don’t care.” These reactions to criticism of Bell can stem from a poor understanding of sola scriptura, believing that the sense of Scripture can be understood apart from the Church. Where’s the concern for faithful reading? Where’s the concern for the body?

Now, Greg seems to think Rob Bell and Barth sound similar. I at times believe Greg falls subject to thinking that Barth was the first to say something and so anything that sounds like something Barth said came from Barth’s head. Greg also think evangelicals have pushed Barth, Origen, Richard Rohr, Hans urs Von Balthasar to the margins. This is untrue. I’m reading Balthasar right now! Has Greg ever been to an evangelical-missional conference? :) If so, he wouldn’t have made it through a day without Barth or Rohr quoted.

However, that’s a point for another day. I’d like to challenge Greg’s point about:

I also think what many are talking about is envy and fear. Critics are envious of his ability to speak with authenticity and clarity what many of us, maybe most of us, are actually thinking. They envy his ability to communicate the gospel in a way that actually draws cynics and skeptics into the community of faith others have been trying to preserve and defend for so long. Many envy his creativity and reputation with artists, poets, film makers, the Dalai Lama, and Desmund Tutu, who are working for the transformation of creation. Many may envy that God is actually at work in the other, the different, the liberal, and those who do not fit within labeled theological boxes.

Sounds to me like Greg needs a hug from an evangelical. (I would be glad to impart this to him if he would ever get back to me with a date for lunch!) Sure, some of Bell’s critics (read for Greg “evangelicals”) are fearful and envious. However, some of his critics don’t know they are critics because they don’t know Bell exists (for those people Bell doesn’t matter, Tim!). And some of his critics just don’t agree. And some of his critics like me love him and just disagree with his method here. We could reverse Greg’s argument back to Greg that critics of evangelicals are envious of the growth of conservatism globally.

Ultimately, my concern is pastoral. Rob Bell can say whatever he wants, but pastors and church leaders (people who are connected to a larger body) have to deal with his statements on Sunday. Rob Bell is like the guest speaker at a retreat. He can say whatever he wants and walk away (don’t get me wrong: I love that about guest speaking!). When the speaker leaves, the body is there to discern, sift, and engage the information, but the speaker goes home and sleeps through the night. As pastors (well, Greg’s a director, technically…but not for long!), I’d think Tim and Greg would resonate with that.

In summary, Rob Bell matters to me: (1) because he is a brother in Christ and we belong to each other, (2) because community matters, and (3) because of the pastoral dilemma his statement creates.

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Pope Francis Speaks on Mercy and Forgiveness

I’ve been teaching a class on forgiveness, and it was cool to see the new Pope speak on the same thing. Movement of Holy Spirit?

Pope Francis on Forgiveness

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Rob Bell, Marriage Equality, and The Church

The news came out a few days ago that Rob Bell spoke out for marriage equality recently during his time in San Francisco. Among other things, here’s what Bell had to say regarding gay marriage:

“I am for marriage. I am for fidelity. I am for love, whether it’s a man and woman, a woman and a woman, a man and a man. I think the ship has sailed and I think the church needs — I think this is the world we are living in and we need to affirm people wherever they are.”

I don’t really want to speak directly to marriage equality/gay marriage here (the web is the least productive way to proceed). David Fitch, CMA pastor and professor at Northern Seminary, stated the following on his Facebook page yesterday which shaped the way I am approaching this:

“Who is Rob Bell speaking for/to in affirming gay marriage? His (former) church? Christians at large? The press? Culture observers? Gay Christians (in Grace Church SF)? Why or who should be paying attention to him? and Why? More and more I’m seeing Christian leaders who have no congregation/people they’re accountable to (who yet carry media/publishing driven leadership) create division with pronouncements. This results in damage to the church’s wherewithal for witness in a world that sees all this. I don’t know if Rob Bell is to blame (for the media) but I do think we Christians should not encourage this nonsense. (On the other hand, I can listen to the Pope differently because he stands within 2000 years of a tradition so that he cannot make statements without being accountable to it). When we listen to a Christian leader we should first and foremost look at place of ministry/accountability from which he/she speaks. What say you? agree?”

I think I’m leaning toward agreement with Fitch on this one. A pastor flying solo and taking a stance on a politically sensitive topic without accountability to a local body or denomination is detrimental to the life of the Church. I have been a supporter of Bell, in that, I think we’ve come down on him way too hard in the past (and I don’t expect anything to change here). But I think I’m with Fitch on this one.

Do you agree with Fitch too? Why?

[Tony Jones writes a response to Fitch]

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