Being Change: God Can't Save the World Without Us

When I was a kid, I remember being taught about Paul Bunyan.  Do you?  Statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox can be found in different parts of the country, the oldest being in Minnesota.  Have you ever visited one of those statues?  What do you remember about Paul Bunyan?  Check out this video for a refresher.

Why do we have Paul Bunyan stories?  Why do we tell the stories to children?  He was not an historical figure, after all – so why get so much attention?

Paul Bunyan’s stories are an example of American Folklore.  The stories are of historical interest because of their enduring popularity which also shed light on the aspirational values espoused by the those who created and shared the stories.  Paul Bunyan stories were more than entertainment around a logging campfire – he was a reminder of the American spirit and therefore an inspiration to follow, all offered in a memorable, fantastic package.

There are stories in the Bible that work the same way.  The first six chapters of the Book of Daniel are looked upon by leading scholars as Jewish folklore – the factuality of whether or not a literal Daniel and his friends existed is not really where the power of the story lies.  One scholar notes:

“Although some of the court details seem, at first sight, to be impressive, most scholars argue that the Daniel stories as well as the stories of his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah are fictional accounts that represent the folklore of the diaspora communities. Furthermore, these details are something that a healthy imagination could create, drawing from the gossip and speculation of the surrounding peoples under Persian occupation. There was similar speculation about the pomp and circumstance of the Persian court among the Greeks as well” (Daniel L. Smith-Christopher, “The Book of Daniel,” In New Interpreter’s Bible, edited by Leander E. Keck, Vol. I–XII. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994–2004).

This may be disturbing for some readers who have been taught to believe that the stories in the Bible – if they are not clearly labeled as parable – must be factually accurate.  That perspective is historically new, however, and does not reflect the earliest understanding of biblical texts held by our Jewish ancestors generally and Jesus specifically.  The real power of the stories we will look at over the next several weeks is not about God miraculously saving people from burning alive in a fiery furnace or from hungry lions, or about dream revelation and interpretation.  The stories didn’t resonate with the earliest Jews for that reason, but for quite another: subversion.

While the context of the Daniel stories in chapters 1-6 places him centuries before the birth of Jesus, the stories actually circulated and developed throughout those centuries and finally became organized a century or so before Jesus was born, when the Roman Empire was gaining control of the Mesopotamian region.  What we think of as Israel today was a piece of land that ran with blood throughout its history.  Once scholar estimates that somewhere around 200 wars took place on its soil during the time the Jewish people lived there before the Common Era. The stories in Daniel resonated with the Jewish people because every storyteller and hearer only knew what it was like to live in an occupied land.  For hundreds of years, the name of the empire changed from the Assyrians to the Babylonians to the Persians to the Hellenists and finally to the Romans.  Israel was an organized, unified country with clear governmental structure for fewer years than the United States has survived.  There were only a few kings who presided over the unified nation before it divided and eventually fell apart.  The Book of Daniel was popular – and subversive – because it shared stories of how to live in occupation while honoring their culture and religion and challenging their oppressors.

The first chapter tells the story of how Daniel and company got to the foreign kingdom in the first place – they were removed from Israel!  Exiled.  Not their choice.  Once in the new land, they were put through a program which sought to erase their sense of identity as Jews while giving them new identities to go along with their new zip code.  Thus, they were given new, non-Jewish names.  These are not cool new nicknames – this is removing their very names, similar to what took place in American slavery.  Sometimes the occupation empires are cast in a favorable light which may give a false impression that being in exile isn’t so bad.  That would be a mistake.  The stories we will explore are life-and-death-on-the-line stories.  Those in exile have no rights – their lives hung in the balance.

The first act of non-violent resistance we encounter in the Daniel tale has to do with his diet.  He refused to eat the food provided by the court because it apparently violated his faith commitment (pulled pork sandwiches, perhaps?).  Refusing to eat was to risk his life.  He asked for a trial period to see if his diet would produce better health performance results than the local fare.  It turned out that it did.  Daniel’s diet won the day.  This may seem innocuous to our eyes, but it wasn’t.  This was an act of defiance, an act of rebellion, and in this case the powerless Jew outsmarted the Babylonians who held all the power.

Most of those who are reading this are not in an exile like that experienced by Daniel.  We have not been forcibly removed from our homes and taken to a different land and required to abandon everything we hold dear – even our names – and required to embrace a new culture.  Yet we can still relate to Daniel because when we choose to follow Jesus, we follow him into a type of exile.  The exile isn’t anywhere near as harsh as that experienced by our faith ancestors, but ours, like theirs, requires us to be thoughtful about the choices we make as people living in this world but not of this world.  The Way of Jesus is different than the dominant culture in which we live.

My guess is that there are some attitudes and behaviors that have crept into your life that you know don’t really fit with Jesus’ Way.  Can you name them?  I am certain that all of us who have been born and raised in the United States have adopted some “isms” that don’t fully fit with the ethos of Jesus.  Capitalism.  Consumerism.  Militarism. Racism. Sexism. Classism. What other “isms” would you add?   These are often unchecked, and we end up looking more like the “isms” than we do Jesus.  We typically don’t check them unless something bad happens that wakes us up or when we choose to actually study the Way of Jesus and adopt it.

Here’s a challenge for you: for the next week, drop at least one the attitudes and behaviors you know are incongruent with the Way of Jesus.  Be aware of what makes the dropping difficult – what pressures are keeping you stuck in unhealthy patterns?  What will replace what you’ve let go?  Some of the things you will drop are heavily supported by our culture – especially things related to consumerism.  We are constantly barraged with commercials encouraging us to buy new stuff and eat unhealthy stuff all the time.  Record your experience so that you can learn from it.  Are you up for this subversive Daniel challenge?

Check out this interview with Tracy Lamb who has been the Executive Director of NEWS for nearly fifteen years. What a great service they provide an incredible vulnerable segment of our community!

God Can't: God Needs Our Cooperation

Thomas Oord’s book, God Can’t, has taken us on a journey that has helped both deconstruct some unhelpful and probably unexamined theological beliefs, and has also served to offer insight into new ideas that work toward reconstructing a sound theology as it relates to God, free will, determinism, and evil in the world.  Oord has encouraged us to embrace the following ideas: God can’t prevent evil singlehandedly, God feels our pain, God works to heal, and God squeezes good from bad.  In conclusion, Oord addresses one last piece that we need for our reconstructive purposes: God needs our cooperation.

This concept may make us extremely uncomfortable if we hold a belief that keeps God powerful in the sense that God doesn’t really need anyone or anything to do whatever God wants to do.  We may be more comfortable with the more popularized concept that God invites us to cooperate, which is quite different.  Oord notes:

Many people accept the less radical form of this fifth belief. It says God invites us to cooperate with God’s work to promote healing, goodness, and love. We can participate in God’s plan to make our lives and the world better… The more radical form says God needs us and others for love to win. Our contributions are essential to establishing overall well-being. Without cooperation, God cannot attain these positive outcomes. Creatures play a necessary part in God’s goals to restore creation and help us all flourish (Oord, God Can’t, 95).

Oord understands this cooperative dance with God as indispensable love synergy:

Indispensable love synergy. Synergy means energies or actions working together. It comes from the Greek word synergeo, and biblical writers use it to describe creatures working with God. Indispensable indicates that God requires creaturely cooperation for love to reign. Neither God nor creatures generate positive outcomes alone. The “love” in “indispensable love synergy” identifies God’s way of working and how we must respond to experience true happiness. God needs our positive responses to foster flourishing… Not even God can save the world singlehandedly… Indispensable love synergy implies that what we do matters. Really matters. Our lives are not extraneous; our actions are consequential. We make an ultimate difference — to ourselves, to others, and to God. Our lives and actions count! (95-96)

If we have eyes to see this, we realize this is the dominant reality throughout the Bible.  Even in the Jewish myth of Noah and the Ark, God doesn’t drop a container ship out of the sky ready to load up the animals.  Throughout the Bible people experience the nudge of God to move forward with what God is doing.  God needed Abraham to move away from his homeland to what would become Israel in order to create a new faith community and people.  God needed Moses to go back and challenge Pharaoh.  God needed Joshua to lead the charge into the Promised Land. Fast forward: God needed Jesus to say “Yes!” countless times to communicate, model, and embed the Good News with those he encountered.  God needed the disciples to do the same to move the Good News from a very localized Jewish movement to a global, multi-cultural phenomenon.  Oord notes, “Indispensable love synergy says creatures must cooperate with God for love to reign. My friend Nikki nicely sums up what’s at stake: ‘If God needs me to co-labor with God’s loving plan, then the people around me literally need me to act. They need me to do what God wants done to bring about peace, harmony, justice, etc.’” (104).

Because God’s love is uncontrolling, and because God is Spirit, God needs physical people with hands and feet and mouths and wallets with open minds and hearts to follow God’s lead.  How do we foster cooperation with God in indispensable love synergy?  Oord:

The psychologist-theologian Mark Gregory Karris captures the meaning of love synergy when he talks about “conspiring prayer.” In this form of prayer, “We create space in our busy lives to align our hearts with God’s heart, where our spirit and God’s Spirit breathe harmoniously together, and where we plot together to overcome evil with acts of love and goodness.”… Karris says the traditional view of petitionary prayer considers God the sole agent of change. It’s like rubbing a rabbit’s foot and hoping something magical happens. “The petitioner believes that if she prays hard enough and with the right words along with the right behavior, God will, without any cooperation from other agencies, instantly fulfill the request.” By contrast, says Karris, conspiring prayer “is a collaborative dialogue, a friendship, a two-way street, an intimate dance between lovers…” When I pray, I share my worries, concerns, requests, and more. I “listen” for a still small “voice,” believing that although I may be mistaken, that “voice” may be God calling me to love a particular way. I ask God how I might play a role in establishing compassion and justice in the world. I thank God for working beyond my small sphere of influence. And I often commit to imitating the loving ways of Jesus (105).

I appreciate Oord noting that he may get it wrong.  Truly, we all have the capacity to both get it right, kind of right, and really wrong depending on how clogged our ears are with our personal inculturation.  The Apostle Paul penned a verse that, properly translated, gives up hope even if we are off at times:

We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose. (Romans 8:28 Amplified Bible)

God is our partner, working a plan with unconditional and uncontrolling love as God seeks to work with us in the renewal of all things.  When I was wondering whether I should stay put as a pastor in Illinois, or start a new church in the Kansas City area, or come to Napa, I called a seasoned pastor to get his input.  He said that if I had done all the due diligence work necessary, was doing my best to discern God’s voice, and my intentions were to honor God, I really couldn’t go wrong.  God would work with me in the decision I made.  That brought great comfort.  Still, the process can be laden with real fear and anxiety, as Oord admits:

I sometimes fear what government or religious leaders might do to me and others. I fear I will succumb to unhealthy desires for fame, power, and wealth. I’m afraid my children will make foolish decisions. I fear I’ll die before I grow old, although I fear the aches of growing old too! I’m afraid I’ll make sexual choices that hurt my wife and others. I fear what the earth will be like for me and others because of climate change. I fear violence, war, and torture. I’m afraid I’ll be betrayed or falsely accused. I fear I’ll grow tired of fighting for what’s right. I’m afraid my past choices will hamper future happiness. And more (111).

What might God be calling you to do?  Not as a polite invitation, but because something needs to be done?  Sometimes events that shake us shape the need we are invited to meet.  A lot of people enter the field of psychology because they experienced trauma and want to help others who have had traumatic experiences, too.  Some are struck by a need they cannot ignore, and they act.  Darlene Tremewan noticed 100 years ago that some members of our church needed food and our Food Pantry was born!  Jeni Olsen was wrecked by two teen suicides that happened pretty close to each other, and Teens Connect was born.  My friend saw a need to meet in the slum of Huruma outside Nairobi, Kenya, and Furaha Community Centre went from a back-stoop tutoring program to one of the top schools in the region (thanks significantly to CrossWalk, I might add!).  Some of the most recognizable charities in the world were born similarly – someone saw a need and felt a nudge from God.  Fred Teeters has had a growing concern regarding immigration, and is working to get involved in doing something to help those who are here for asylum awaiting their court date.

These larger, high profile concerns that God needs our help with are inspiring, and yet we need to also recognize the more common experiences that are also critically important, as Oord notes:

I don’t want to imply that only dramatic acts of courage matter. Sometimes the best we can do is far from heroic. In the midst of horrific evils, depression, and pain, the best we can sometimes do is stay alive. Saying, “I’m still here,” may be the most loving action we can take. Taking another step or another breath may be all God asks of us, given our circumstances… Whether acting heroically, simply staying alive, or something in between, God smiles when we affirm our self-worth (114)… Because I believe God does not and cannot control, what I do every moment makes a difference. When I’m confident and accomplishing goals, my life matters in ways that seem important. On days I’m feeling low, depressed, or not confident, my life matters in ways that simply amount to living another moment, taking another breath, moving another inch… And that counts too (116).

When we know we are truly needed to respond to a situation, the human race often responds with great enthusiasm.  World War II caused an entire nation to sacrifice in ways that simply would not have been considered apart from such a need.  When natural disasters strike, people respond to the need with great generosity, as we have witnessed firsthand.  When we really see the need and that we are needed, we tend to move, don’t we?

My friends, the needs abound in the world, and they are not going to go away by themselves or by God waiving a magic wand.  Out of uncontrolling love, God desires to see every evil addressed from the greatest, most obvious examples to the most private, personal sources of pain.  God cannot heal it alone.  God is not passively inviting you to join in on such significant, make-your-life-meaningful work.  God needs you.  And you need the work.  The La-Z-Boy, couch potato life is not living, it’s existing.  It doesn’t deliver for you and it certainly doesn’t serve to make the world a better place.  God needs you and you need the role you play.  Significance and meaning contribute to a flourishing life.

What are you sensing God saying to you?  What is the need?  What is the nudge?

May we share the insight of a spiritual giant from the 16th Century, Teresa of Avila (104):

Christ has no body but yours,

No hands no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world,

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,

Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,

Yours are the eyes, you are his body.

Questions to Process

1.       How do you feel about the idea that God needs us for love to flourish?

2.       Why do the No God and All God views fail to establish that our lives matter?

3.       Why does the view that says God could control mean God is condescending?

4.       What does the relentless love view say about the afterlife?

5.       How does God work to protect us?

6.       Why does it matter to say our lives — every one of us — matter?

7.       How might God be calling you to cooperate?

God Can't: God Squeezes Good From Bad

Thus far in our series engaging Thomas Oord’s helpful concepts from his book, God Can’t, about the nature of God and how it intersects with the real world we live in, we have learned that God can’t prevent evil singlehandedly (because God is Spirit and not a physical being and God’s love is uncontrolling), that God feels our pain (and we can feel God feeling our pain with us), and that God works to heal everything as much as possible (given physical limitations and varying levels of cooperation with the breadth of creation).  We focus now on another question that many faithful people struggle with when they face really challenging situations: how do we make sense of the awful things that sometimes happen to human beings – is God behind them in any way for some grand purpose?

In the Spring of 2001 I rolled by brand new little red sportscar heading down into Pope Valley beyond Angwin.  The car was totaled, and I walked away with a bunch of staples in my head after my scalp got ripped open from dragging on the pavement after my sunroof blew out.  I was a bit out of it for a few days afterward.  I led a service later in the week on Maundy Thursday, where I shared the experience with the crowd.  One well-meaning person came up to me at the close of the service and said, “God must have really been trying to tell you something to go so far to get your attention!”  I felt so comforted by her kind empathetic words.  It reminded me of the words of Jesus, “Greater love has no man than this, than to cause his friends great harm in order to make a point.”  Good luck finding that verse in the Bible!

I would not be surprised if you have received similar feedback from well-meaning friends and not-so-well-meaning enemies alike.  Or perhaps you’ve made a similar statement to someone when it hit the fan for them.  Or maybe you’ve asked yourself that question after going through something awful.  Perhaps you really wanted good feedback and posed the question to Facebook?  We lose a job.  We get in a wreck. We get a bad medical diagnosis.  We lose our investment due to a crooked investor.  We lose a loved one.  We have a string of bad luck.  We get rejected by a loved one.  Earthquakes, tsunamis, wild fires, hurricanes, tornados ravage the earth, wiping out peoples lives.  Diseases like HIV/AIDS devastate and threaten some parts of the population more than others.  Could God be pulling some strings to make these things happen to communicate with us?

Oord recalls the work of Joni Eareckson Tada, who experienced a tragic diving accident that left her paralyzed from the neck down.  Her story is well known in the Evangelical world, where she has become a popular author, speaker, and artist.  Her theological construct explains her accident as God’s will for some greater purpose.  She further came to believe that God was punishing her for her sin with lifelong paralysis that then led to her extraordinary life of ministry.  She was 17 years old when the accident occurred.  She was pretty sure she would have become involved in even more sinful behavior in her college years, and thus this cleansing (of sorts) prevented her from damaging herself and others further.  She refers to a couple of verse to make her case:

And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. – Ephesians 5:20 (NLT)

“My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and don’t give up when he corrects you.
For the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” – Hebrews 12:5b-6 (NLT)

It appears from these two texts that we are to be thankful for even the horrific things that happen to us and humanity in general (since it must surely be God’s will), and that we should interpret the hard things as loving punishment from our Heavenly Father.  In an earlier chapter, Oord noted that God’s love has to be at least as good as human love, that there has to be some level of congruency between the two.  It does not make sense for a young woman to be thankful for being sold into prostitution by her extremely impoverished parents who need the money to put food on the table.  It does not make sense to thank God for widespread starvation, for terrible natural and man-made events that take scores of human life.  Oord offers a nuanced understanding of the meaning we can get behind:

“If God doesn’t want, cause, or allow evil, we are not obligated to thank God for it. Evil is not part of a divine conspiracy. Making sense of gratitude requires that we believe God cannot prevent evil singlehandedly… Victims needn’t say, ‘thank you, God,’ because evil occurred. It wasn’t God’s will. But they can believe God works in every situation, trying to squeeze good from the bad God didn’t want in the first place. They say, “In spite of pain and tragedy, I’m grateful for the good that is in my life, good that has God as its source” (Oord, God Can’t, 81-82). 

As for the idea of “punishing discipline as truly loving”, I mean, come on.  Will that logic hold up in our court of law?  Why would we imagine it would hold up in God’s court?  Oord:

“Good discipline does not mistreat, abuse, or humiliate. Helpful discipline uses nonviolent measures. Healthy discipline of children involves teaching them the negative consequences that come from unhealthy behavior. Good disciplinarians warn of the harm that comes from wrongdoing… If the discipline mentioned in Hebrews is like instruction from a fitness trainer, life coach, or tutor, we understand discipline as positive. Positive discipline isn’t imposed. It’s non-coercive instruction, correction, or training… A loving God disciplines us in non-coercive ways for our good. God’s discipline isn’t punitive; it’s instructive and encouraging. Good discipline promotes well-being by training us in ways that help us live well” (85-86).

Recall that the Bible is not one book but rather a collection of 66 books with a variety of authors from a wide range of life experiences, education levels, living in different times and cultural contexts, writing in multiple genres.  There is not one theology expressed in the pages of the Bible, but several, with differing views on the character and nature of God.  While the general theme of God’s love, grace, and faithfulness is very evident, the particulars of how that plays out are considered differently depending who you are reading. 

One story that seems to validate Joni’s claim is that of Joseph in the book of Genesis.  His father, Jacob, made it clear to his ten brothers by his actions that Joseph was the favorite.  Joseph likely flaunted it a bit which didn’t help.  After awhile, the brothers had had enough.  They sold him into Egypt’s slave trade, thinking they’d never see him again.  Good riddance.  Joseph went through some incredible trials while a slave.  He was falsely accused of attempted rape, which landed him in prison.  He put his leadership skills to use while there, and was gracious to some fellow prisoners he hoped would return the favor on their release.  But it took forever and a day until it panned out.  Eventually, Joseph won the trust of Pharaoh who gave him nearly unlimited power and authority to rule with his wisdom, which ended up saving Egypt and much of the world from global famine.  His brothers caravanned to Egypt to buy food, and ended up coming face to face with their brother, who they did not recognize.  Joseph eventually revealed his identity to them and said, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Gen 50:20).

When we read Joseph’s statement, it is easy to agree with him, isn’t it?  And it seems as if Joseph was convinced this whole thing was God’s plan: brothers selling their sibling, false imprisonment, all for future good.  What do you think?

Thomas Oord offers insight here:

“A better translation of this passage overcomes this misunderstanding. That translation supports the view that Joseph’s brothers wanted him to suffer. But it does not imply his suffering was God’s will. This translation says God uses evil to bring about good.

‘You wanted to harm me, but God used it for good,’ Joseph said to his brothers.

God took what God didn’t want and squeezed good from it. God brought good from bad, positive from negative, health from hate. God redeemed” (79).

What a very different rendering of the passage!  This, of course, jibes with Oord’s construct of God’s uncontrolling love.  Oord continues with alternative thoughts on how to get our head around the terrible things we sometimes experience in life:

“I believe God uses suffering to mature us. And God responds to evil by helping us and others in positive ways. But I don’t think God causes or allows suffering and evil for this purpose. After all, evil doesn’t always produce a mature character. Pain and suffering sometimes bring positive results, but sometimes they don’t. Adversity may lead to maturity, but not always. Enduring and persisting can but don’t necessarily form resiliency.

“This is a better way to think about God and evil. It stands between, on the one hand, believing God is either uninvolved or doesn’t exist and, on the other hand, believing God causes or permits horrors with some purpose in mind.  This better way rejects Joni’s view that God punishes. It opposes her view that God allows what He hates or hurts those He loves. It denies that God designs evil with some goal in mind.

“This better way accounts for the good that sometimes comes after evil by saying God works with creation to wring right from wrong. God does not singly decide whether to protect us from pain and destruction. Instead, there are natural negative consequences to sin, evil, and some accidental events” (91-93).

As I think about all of the things Oord is encouraging us to consider, I remember my car wreck.  I never thought that God caused it – I knew it was my oversteering to avoid a deer that led to the accident.  Therefore, I never entertained the idea that God was trying to tell me something by totaling my car.  However, I do recall laying on the side of the road while an off duty EMT put pressure on my wound while we awaited the arrival of an ambulance.  I remember not having any fear of death whatsoever through the entire experience.  Most clearly, I remember coming to grips with how close a call the wreck was, how much worse it could have been, and it gave me pause.  Laying there, I was reassessing my life priorities.  I made the wreck a meaningful experience in the process. 

Instead of wondering what the meaning of your particular crisis might be, as if it were divinely appointed, how about a better question: how are you going to make your pain a meaningful part of your life?  Richard Rohr, in his book, Everything Belongs, encourages us to allow all the parts of our lives – especially those painful parts we usually avoid or reject, and allow them to speak to us, to help us grow.  All the parts of our personal stories are, after all, part of our story.  All provide fodder for growth and understanding, even integration, which serves to free us to be grateful – not for the trauma, but for the growth we have experienced in our meaning-making process.

How are you going to cooperate with God to squeeze good from your bad experiences?  How are you going to cooperate with God so that you might grow and create meaningfulness from your painful past?

Questions to Process…

1. When has suffering produced mature character in your life or others? When has it not? 

2. What’s the problem with saying “everything happens for a reason?” 

3. Why might some think discipline should be abusive? 

4. Why should we say an uncontrolling God does not punish? 

5. Why does it matter to think there are natural negative consequences to sin and evil rather than seeing negative consequences as God-caused or allowed?

6. Why do some people think natural disasters, accidents, or illnesses are God’s punishment?  

7. Why is it important to be thankful not because of evil but in spite of it? 

Hidden Interstices

Rev. Doug Avilesbernal, Executive Minister of The Evergreen Association of which CrossWalk is a part, shares about the counter cultural and counter intuitive Way of Jesus that chooses to love enemies as the way to transform a world of adversaries into one that is more oriented toward peace. Note: on the front end of the talk, Doug gives a description of who The Evergreen Association is and how it operates differently than most similar organizations.

God Can't: God Works to Heal

The two big ideas Oord has offered so far in his book, God Can’t, are first, that God can’t prevent evil singlehandedly (God doesn’t have hands since God is Spirit, and God’s love is uncontrolling), and second, God feels our pain (and the more ways we open ourselves up to the Presence of God, the more likely we are to experience God’s empathy and compassion).  Now, on to the third big idea from Oord: God works to heal. “God responds to evil by working to make things better. The healing God pursues for us can be emotional, physical, relational, or spiritual. Restoration takes many forms” (Oord, God Can’t, 57).

 There are a number of stories that share accounts of God healing through Jesus.  This one seems particularly relevant as we wonder about God’s work in the area of healing:

      14 When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them, and some teachers of religious law were arguing with them. 15 When the crowd saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe, and they ran to greet him.

     16 “What is all this arguing about?” Jesus asked.

     17 One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk. 18 And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid (weak). So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.”

     19 Jesus said to them (the disciples), “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

     20 So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth.

     21 “How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father.

He replied, “Since he was a little boy. 22 The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”

     23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”

     24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

     25 When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil (unclean) spirit. “Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak,” he said. “I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!”

     26 Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.

     28 Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?”

     29 Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by [fasting and] prayer.” – Mark 9:14-29 NLT

 Matthew remembered Jesus’ concluding comments to the disciples a little differently, saying,

 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” – Matthew 17:20-21 NLT

 Have you ever prayed for something as hard as you possibly could, with as much faith as you could, maybe even trying to cut a deal with God to secure the outcome you wanted?  Have you ever had that prayer answered with a “no” that you didn’t get the role in the musical or play you wanted, you didn’t get the position on the team you wanted, you didn’t get the grade you wanted, or accepted into the college you wanted?  Or perhaps the “no” meant the relationship you were praying for was not going to recover to health and it was over.  Or maybe it meant that you didn’t get the job you wanted, or the promotion, or the offer you put on the house.  Or it meant that you didn’t get the results on your medical tests you wanted, and it means a really challenging future for you.  Or it meant that someone you dearly loved did not heal from their disease or injury, and they died.  Have you ever had this happen to you?  I sure have.

 Because I grew up in the church, I was very familiar with the story of Jesus healing the kid plagued by some condition that caused convulsions and grand mal seizures, which they attributed to demon possession (what else could they possibly imagine as the cause?).  The disciples tried to handle it but were failing.  Jesus rebuked them, calling them faithless, then went on to tell the father that anything is possible for those who believe.  Jesus then healed the kid.  The take home lesson many people walk away with?  If you don’t get your prayer answered, it’s because you don’t have enough faith, or you didn’t pray or fast (enough).  Some add to the equation unconfessed sins that are prohibiting God from healing: since you failed to tithe, or stop smoking or drinking or swearing or stealing or masturbating or lusting or dishonoring your parents or keeping the Sabbath holy or (fill in the blank), God is not going to heal your loved one from their disease, because God is that petty and God’s love and care are, therefore, conditional.  Have you ever heard this line of thinking in some fashion?  Have you ever struggled with this issue of God’s apparent healing of some and not others?  I sure have.

 In response, Oord offers Four Steps to Understanding God’s Healing Work.  First, Oord notes that God is always present to all creation and always loves to the utmost. God is omnipresent and omniloving.  He offers a great slap-in-the-face, wake up statement for those of us who are looking around, waiting for God to do something: “God never intervenes, because God is always already present!... The God who always loves is already working to heal. We don’t need to cajole, plead, or beg. No need to grovel or crawl on all fours, cowering in hopes that God will relent and come to the rescue. God doesn’t enter a situation from the outside as if previously away on other business… God is always at work everywhere healing to the utmost possible, given the circumstances” (63).  Perhaps instead of wondering if God is present, we should learn new ways to recognize the presence and work of God that is always at hand.

The second step to embrace is the idea that God works alongside people and creation.  Oord notes, “To say, ‘God works alongside’ does not mean God only works indirectly. God knows us personally and loves us specifically by working to heal directly… ‘God works alongside’ people and other entities in creation means God is never the only cause in any situation. Other agents and causes — good, bad, or indifferent — also affect what happens. We are relational beings in an interrelated universe, so we’re always affected by others. We live in a social network” (64).

The third step is to recognize that God cannot heal singlehandedly. Oord: “When we understand that God cannot heal singlehandedly, we solve the problem of selective miracles. If God always works to heal but cannot control anyone or anything, it’s not God’s fault when healing does not occur (65)…  Because God can’t heal singlehandedly, lack of cooperation or inopportune conditions in creation thwart God’s restorative work” (66).   Related to the healing passage we started with, Oord offers clarification regarding the “you lack faith” concern: “Believing that God needs creaturely cooperation or the proper conditions does not mean everyone ill, abused, depressed, suffering, sick, or dying does not have cooperative faith (67). When we or other creatures cooperate or when the conditions are suitable, God heals. Thanks be to God! When creatures fail to cooperate or the conditions are not suitable, God’s efforts are frustrated. Blame creation!... Prayer alters circumstances in our bodies and world. It presents new opportunities for God to heal.  Prayer opens up new possibilities for God’s love to make an actual difference (68). ‘Instead of believing God is uninvolved, perhaps we should believe God is always guiding but never dominating, always influencing but not manipulating’” (72).

The fourth and final step Oord offers is to trust that God’s uncontrolling love extends beyond death.  He notes, “We continue living beyond the grave because God’s loving presence empowers continuing experience after our bodies die. There is a future life free from our current bodies and physical conditions that resist God’s work. Our dream of existing without bodily pain, abuse from others, trauma, and other evils can one day become a reality” (69)!  This is one of the gifts of the witness of Jesus’ resurrection – the unlikely Messiah who was defeated by the Jewish leaders and the Roman Empire ended up being victor over death itself, and therefore took the championship!  We are so accustomed to the idea of life after death that the entrance of such an idea for common people is lost on us.

So, what do we do, then, with unanswered prayers and people left unhealed?  It depends.  If I ravaged my body with alcohol abuse and ruined my liver, or chowed down an extra crispy bucket of KFC every day for 40 years and clogged my arteries, I can’t get too mad at anybody but myself for my failing health.  In that case I have thwarted God’s efforts to heal me.  Praying for global peace seems like a worthy cause (it is), yet peace is unlikely if the people involved are more interested in defending their territory to the death than extending life through mediation.  We can have confidence that Jesus was known to be a healer, and that there are examples today where people experience healing.  What is not known are the list of variables that factor into the equation.  With this rubric, however, we can stop blaming God for not doing anything, because God is doing much more than we likely realize.  How many people have had their lives extended because of medical breakthroughs from brilliant minds trying to understand how to be more helpful?  Many breakthroughs require incredibly powerful paradigms to be shattered.  Herculean effort in some cases.  Don’t you think the Spirit of God might be involved in that kind of work?  As for the passage we started with, how about we allow the writers (and Jesus) to speak from a First Century vantage point?  Maybe the dynamic changed when Jesus got involved because he was the rock star and not just one of the groupies.  Let us not forget that the healing didn’t last forever.  Every single person Jesus healed eventually died.

Sometimes the healing prayers we lift up are related to our physical life.  To get really practical on the physical dynamics of healing, I need to be aware of how I am cooperating with the healing nature of God in my body?  I am asking God to do all the work while I continue bad habits that thwart God’s healing work?

Sometimes the healing prayers we lift up are related to our emotional life.  How are we cooperating with God on that front?  Are we choosing to be aware of what is happening inside, or are we hoping that ignoring our inner turmoil might somehow help?  Are we seeking any help with this from professionals equipped to help us and God heal emotional pain?

Sometimes the healing prayers we lift up are related to our relational life.  Casual, acquaintance-level relationships require little or not work to maintain because they are often confined to a very limited part of our lives (work, the gym, school, etc.).  The relationships that mean the most, however, take work to deepen and grow.  That’s because they do not allow for hiding our crap.  We can get away with a lot in other relationships because they are sort of like Facebook friends who only see what we want them to see.  In our more critical relationships, we are seen and we see – the veneer is off.  Lynne and I are empty-nesters, except for summers when at least one of our kids will be home.  We are more in love with each other than ever.  But we dis not get here simply because the kids went to college.  We have worked through a lot of stuff together, and have had to own a lot of our own crap on our side of the street.  It is hard work.  But this is our most important relationship with another human being.  We have at times not cooperated with the healing work of God and have paid the price with times we did not feel very connected, or anger was swept under the rug, or frustration swallowed.  Those were and are difficult times. When we have chosen to be humble with ourselves, each other, and God, however, we have experienced God’s Spirit softening us, opening us up, loving us into deeper love with each other.

Sometimes the healing prayers we lift up are related to our spiritual life.  Do you sometimes feel distant from God, like God is just not around or caring?  If we believe that God is always active and present, loving us and feeling our pain, and works toward our healing, we have to at least look at what we are doing in our lives that might be hindering or encouraging our spiritual relationship.  What are we doing to foster our relationship with God?  If we aren’t really doing anything differently than what has not worked in our past, why would be expect any different result?

Of course, we don’t always get our prayers answered during life on this plane.  I’ve walked with hundreds of people through the grief of losing a loved one.  I have lost people to death that I prayed for desperately.  It is excruciatingly painful.  The hope issued at the resurrection is real.  There is a final healing that I believe really does take place for us which Jesus spoke into.  While there remains a lot of unknown about what exactly that experience is going to be like, we can take from Jesus that it will be fully immersed in the Presence of God, which can only mean the reigning quality in the afterlife is love.  Those whose bodies were ravaged, whose lives were cut short, who experienced horrible trauma yet have now gone forward are, I believe, truly at rest.  Living with that hope gives me great strength.  That hope is very strong in me because I have nurtured my relationship with God and have experienced healing in various forms in this life – why would I be any less confident that more and better await us in the next experience of life beyond this flesh?

How is this framework sitting with you?  I am feeling freed.  I am feeling like this makes a lot of sense.  I am feeling more hopeful with this construct than those that may have felt more powerful but really didn’t deliver deep or lasting peace.  I hope you are feeling freed as well.

Questions to think about (Oord, God Can’t, 75)

1.       From your experience, what good arguments do the Deniers of healing make?

2.       What good arguments do the True Believers of healing make?

3.       Why might people feel inclined to add, “If it’s your will,” when praying for healing?

4.       Why might people like or not like the claim God always works alongside creation when healing?

5.       What’s at stake in believing God cannot heal singlehandedly?

6.       Why does it matter to believe God can’t control our cells and other bodily members?

7.       What importance does life after death play to understanding healing?

 Fifteen Myths and Realities of Healing (Oord, God Can’t, 73)

 1.       Myth: God healed long ago but doesn’t any longer.

Reality: God always works to heal; this was true in the past and true in the present.

 2.       Myth: God may not heal until we beg or pray hard enough.

Reality: God works to heal even before we ask.

3.       Myth: To heal, God supernaturally intervenes in our lives.

Reality: God is always already present and doesn’t need to “come into” our lives or circumstances.

 4.       Myth: We should add, “If it’s your will” to prayers asking God to heal.

Reality: It’s always God’s will to heal, so this add-on phrase is unnecessary.

 5.       Myth: Our pain, suffering, and abuse are part of God’s preordained plan.

Reality: God’s plan does not include causing or allowing evil.

 6.       Myth: God only loves sometimes and is only present in some places.

Reality: God always loves everyone and is always present working to heal.

 7.       Myth: God is the only cause of healing.

Reality: Creaturely causes — whether small or large — also play a role in healing.

 8.       Myth: God can heal singlehandedly.

Reality: God cannot heal singlehandedly, because doing so would require God to control creatures or creation. God’s love is inherently uncontrolling.

 9.       Myth: There is natural healing, healing by doctors, and divine healing.

Reality: All healing involves God and creaturely causes.

 10.   Myth: God selects whom to heal and whom will suffer.

Reality: God wants to heal everyone, but creaturely conditions or lack of cooperation frustrate God’s efforts.

 11.   Myth: Those not healed did not have enough faith.

Reality: Those not healed often have plenty of faith, but their bodies or other factors prevent healing.

 12.   Myth: God controls cells, organs, and larger entities in our bodies and the environment.

Reality: God expresses uncontrolling love to all creation, great and small.

 13.   Myth: Our prayers for healing don’t make any difference.

Reality: Our prayers alter the circumstances and may open up possibilities for God’s healing.

 14.   Myth: There is no hope for those whose healing is thwarted by actors, factors, and circumstances.

Reality: There is hope, but some healing must wait until after our bodies die.

 15.   Myth: God only heals in heaven.

Reality: God works to heal in this life. When we, our bodies, or others cooperate, or the conditions are right, we are healed now.

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God Can't: God Feels OUr Pain

Before we jump further into Thomas Oord’s book, God Can’t, let’s review just a bit from last week. The principle he put forth last week was that God can’t prevent evil singlehandedly.  This is in part because God is Spirit – God doesn’t have literal hands to intervene.  In addition to that, we are not created as robots, and God does not temporarily roboticize us – we are truly beings with free will.  This does not mean God is inactive or indifferent, which leads us to the next chapter’s principle.

This week’s thesis: God feels our pain.

Does God empathize with us?  Does God show compassion – to suffer with us?  God’s love is assumed in a lot of churches – what do you think?  Psychologist Carl Rogers defines empathy as entering the “perceptual world of the other and becoming thoroughly at home in it, [which] involves being sensitive, moment by moment, to the changing felt meanings that flow in the other person.”  Compassion means to suffer with someone.  Have you ever pictured God like that?  Why or why not?

As Jesus followers, we look to Jesus for a clue on this.  He was connected to God in a way I don’t think has been replicated before or after.  So much so that others referred to him as the Son of God.  While there is ongoing debate as to what that means exactly, suffice it to say we believe that when we see Jesus walking around, we are seeing the face of God.  Jesus was one who was born into poverty and knew what it was like to live on the bottom rung of the social ladder.  Yet he became the embodiment of love and grace, being empathic with those who struggled, and offering compassionate help where he could.

One of his greatest parables gives us an example of what compassion looks like.  The Good Samaritan had every reason to pass by a beaten up, half-dead Jewish guy on the side of the road heading down to Jericho.  But he didn’t.  He stopped (unlike the lip-service religious folks who reasoned their way out of helping).  The thrust of the story is about generously loving and caring for another – even if that “another” is a loathed enemy.  This brilliant parable was a real stretch for Jewish audience, and continues to be for us as we are given a model for generosity expressed, and also a glimpse of how, when we are beaten down by life, are loved by God.  The good, loving, generous servant in the story chose to enter the beaten man’s pain and suffering and take it on himself.  Empathy led to compassionate service: “An empathetic God not only feels our suffering but also prompts others to love in specific ways.” (Oord, God Can’t, 41)

Oord recommends we consider what he calls the Crimson Rule.  We are familiar with the Golden Rule that calls for people to do unto others as they would want for themselves.  The Crimson Rule invites us to suffer with our neighbor as an act of empathetic compassion.  One the greatest examples from Jesus’ life was his horrific execution:

“In his painful death on a splintered cross, Jesus points to a God who suffers with us. In Jesus, God identifies with those gashed and feeling godforsaken, the homeless and the hurting, the depressed and destroyed. In Jesus’ crucifixion, God shares in the suffering of the world and thereby shows solidarity with victims. Jesus reveals a God who empathizes.” (Oord, God Can’t, 43)

He goes on to note that God, who is the source of such love and empathy, is witnessed by others as being fully capable to be with us, to hear our hearts cry, and will never grow weary or run out of love:

 “God’s heart breaks by what breaks us. But this heartbrokenness does not lead God to despair. The God of perfect empathy never gets depressed to the point of immobility. The God of all consolation never suffers empathy fatigue. God’s sensitivity and emotion never lead to evil, because God’s nature is love…  God responds to all that is negative, frustrating, and painful with resilient hope. Pain, suffering, and agony never alter God’s everlasting love... God feels our pain… and can handle it.” (Oord, God Can’t, 39)

If God truly feels our pain and joins us in it, is this something we can experience?  How can we feel God feeling with us?  Before Oord offers half a dozen tips that might make feeling God feeling with us an experiential reality, he calls to our attention a handful of theological perspectives that may get in our way of such a dynamic.  Some have adopted a God-is-a-Brick-Wall orientation whereby God is around but completely impersonal.  Others have an Eye-in-the-Sky view, which is actually a functional Deism that keeps God in heaven without much involvement on earth.  The CEO-of-the-Universe paradigm has God only caring about the biggest picture possible, without concern for how related large-scale decisions might impact those on the ground.  The opposite of that would be the Micro-Manager view of God that portrays God as one primarily interested in the minutia of our lives.  This can lead into the Clean-Freak view that makes God so holy and pure that God doesn’t want anything to do with our dirty selves.  Finally, Oord noted that some can hold a Mob-Boss view, where it’s really good to be faithful family and friends of God, but woe to you if you are not!  Which views have you held?  How have they helped as well as limited your relationship with God?

God’s loving empathy can be experienced.  There are some time-honored practices and perspectives that seem to foster such experiences, as Oord notes.

·       Ministry of Human Presence: Counselor.  Sometimes it is a professional counselor or pastor whose role it is to listen deeply and reflectively and speak back into your life. I have had paradigms shift radically because I sense a word or phrase from a “pro” that seems to be coming directly from the heart of God.

·       Community of Care: Church at its best.  In this space we come together as people who want to seek and be sensitive to the Spirit’s guidance in our lives.  Odds are better this kind of community will conduit the presence of God than many other types of communities. “We all need community. Unswerving solitude stunts growth; those who persist alone perish alone. We need relational arks that promote health and healing. We need places and people who express God’s empathetic love (Oord, God Can’t, 48).

·       Mindfulness/Meditation/Prayer: “Prayer unmasks our false selves, and we encounter God as we really are. We are people loved by God, in need of transforming grace. We can engage others who face the same internal challenges” (Oord, God Can’t, 49).

·       Experiences in Nature. John Muir in Yosemite: “The place seemed holy, where one might hope to see God.  So after dark, when camp was at rest, I groped my way back to that altar boulder and passed the night on it – above the water, beneath the leaves and stars – everything still more impressive than by day, the falls seem dimly white, singing Nature’s old love song with solemn enthusiasm, while the stars peering through the leaf roof seemed to join in the whit water’s song… Thanks be to God for this immortal gift.” – My First Summer in the Sierra in The Wilderness World of John Muir, Edwin Way Teale, ed. (Mariner Books, 2001 [1911]).  Many people experience the presence of our Ground of Being when in the heart of nature.  This makes sense – why wouldn’t we expect to more likely experience the Creator when we immerse ourselves in creation?

·       Visual Arts, Music, and Movies.  Art in general is one human’s expression of their experience offered to the world.  In my experience, the arts need not to be overtly “Christian” or “religious” to be used of God to communicate empathy and compassion.  Sometimes instrumental music (no lyrics) is able to convey and draw such great emotion that it seems as if the music is itself a form of prayer to God, an act of sighing and groaning that Paul referenced in his letter to the Roman church.

·       Love of a Child.  Jesus gave us the right to think of God as a loving daddy that is engaged with his kids.  Children can serve as meaning-makers for parents.  Understanding God’s love for us both in the inherent love one’s children have for their parents, and the immediate, unconditional love parents often feel for their kids grounds our faith in loving trust.  I would include furry kids as well (as well as other types of pets that show devotion to their owners).  In my experience, dogs seem to love their “people” unconditionally, giving us love as well as providing an object for our affection.  Cats, on the other hand, serve to remind us of our selfish propensities…

Last week, we engaged the idea that there are simply some things God cannot do – driven from internal dynamics (not external).  Now we add to that a character trait of God – that this Higher Power truly feels our pain and joins us in it. 

How does this resonate with you?  What new way of engaging God might you adopt to help you move forward in faith and life?

Questions to Consider

1.       Why do you think some people believe God is unaffected and unemotional?

2.       How have bad views of God led you away from affirming God’s loving empathy?

3.       What’s the problem with saying a loving God who could prevent evil singlehandedly would choose instead to suffer with us?

4.       How does thinking of Jesus’ love help us believe God is loving?

5.       When have you felt God’s love, and what sparked that feeling?

6.       What obstacles hinder us from feeling God’s love?

7.       Which of the six practices mentioned near the chapter’s end do you want or need?

God Can't Singlehandedly Prevent Evil

It’s Just Chocolate Chip Cookies.  My parents are good people who did what they thought best in raising their four children.  We were solidly Middle Class, living in a suburban home in Overland Park, Kansas in the 1970’s.  Our basement floor was covered in carpet samples my dad got super cheap.  The orange shag was my favorite – an allusion to my future love of the San Francisco Giants, perhaps?  We grew up with good boundaries and were taught by example, mostly, what being a good person looked like.  We all turned out to be pretty decent people trying to do some good in the world.  And we all love food.  Especially sweets. Probably because we didn’t get sweets very often in the Overland Park years. 

Usually we got to have ice cream on special occasions like birthdays or if grandpa and grandma were in town and we got some vanilla to make our apple pie a la mode – a double treat.  On July 4th we would make home-made ice cream.  What better way to celebrate our nation’s independence than make the creamy stuff of the gods independent of Zarda’s Dairy.  Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day also brought with it some delicious tooth-decaying creations.  Beyond special occasions, we didn’t eat sweets.  My parents didn’t have us eating sweets often for a handful of reasons which included cost, health, tooth decay, weight, and that my mom had a tendency to hide the sweets and forget where she hid them, or eat the sweets before they made it to the table!  We did have a cookie jar which was rarely filled.  When it was, we knew it was essentially off limits.  Mom patrolled the jar and also performed quality control as needed – somebody had to!

I was taught from an early age to respect sweets.  To cherish them. To not over-indulge.  To not take other people’s sweets.  To even share sweets with others.  Good, wholesome Kansas sensibilities, all born out of my parents’ love for their children, wanting them to become healthy, wise, responsible adults.  When we were young, mom was there to determine how many sweets were appropriate.  She put the cookies or pie on our plate, scooped the ice cream, and also took things off if we took too much.  If we got sick on sweets as young kids, she would share the blame since she was right there to do something about it.  Mom could not be everywhere, of course, so there were times when things went awry.  One day not long after Halloween, I was left alone in our basement for a period of time.  Alone with my thoughts, my Halloween candy haul, and my brother’s bag of future dental bills as well. I always knew my brother to be generous, so I knew he wouldn’t mind sharing his candy with me.  Boy, was he generous!  He gave be two pieces of candy for every one of his!  Very Jesus like.  Except that he wasn’t around, which made it a clear case of theft.  I literally got caught holding the bag and had to give him back all the candy that I did not Trick-or-Treat for, plus some sort of punishment that I do not recall.  Had my mom been there, she would have prevented me from stealing in the first place and would have used physical action to wrest the bag from my death grip.  Even more, if she were present and I took candy from my brother’s bag, she would then be an accomplice, and in some way responsible for my brother’s candy deficit.  But she wasn’t there physically, so she wasn’t complicit in any way – this was all on me.  She reportedly loves my brother just as much as me (somehow), and wasn’t there to protect him, either.  He was hemorrhaging calories unawares.

I am now a grown man, and my mother is no longer in close enough proximity to monitor my sugar intake.  She still loves me and is in the Top Five list of people who care about my health the most.  She can only hope that I will remember the good lessons I learned growing up, and that I will grow in wisdom as I reflect on who I am and who I want to be as I face the choices that come my way.  The wisdom she gave resides in me, and she loves to hear from me.  And, I might add, she knows that now and then it is right and good to eat sweets in abundance for the simple pleasure of eating sweets!  Anyone who knows her knows she’s no cookie Nazi…

In his book, God Can’t, Tom Oord makes the case that God can’t prevent evil singlehandedly.  He notes that the word “can’t” is not the same as “won’t”, which assumes that God could if God wanted to thwart evil.  “Won’t” means God would then choose to allow evil to take place that God could keep from happening.  Our small human brains have collectively determined that such behavior makes a person an accomplice on some level to the evil performed.  “Can’t”, however, means that God is not able to prevent evil for some reason.  This is much more than semantics.  This is a very substantive difference he is noting. Oord notes, “Because God’s love self-gives and others-empowers, and because God loves all creatures from the most complex to the least, God cannot control. God loves everyone and everything, so God cannot control anyone or anything. This means a God of uncontrolling love cannot control evildoers to prevent their dastardly deeds” (God Can’t, 24).   “Can’t” means God’s hands are tied in some way. 

One way in which God’s hands are tied is the fact that God doesn’t have hands to tie!  God cannot physically constrain anyone to do anything because God is Spirit, as Jesus himself noted (John 4:24). “A bodiless, universal spirit cannot do what embodied creatures sometimes can. Despite having no body, God is present and active in all situations. Divine power is direct but persuasive, widespread but wooing, causal but uncontrolling. God’s loving activity makes a difference without imposing control or using a divine body” (Oord, God Can’t, 27).  Another reason God cannot prevent evil singlehandedly has to do with God’s character of love.  The constraints on God’s capacity are not external, but internally derived.  Love does note demand its own way (1 Cor. 13:5), as seen in Jesus throughout his ministry – he honored people’s freedom to choose as an act of love.   And another reason God cannot prevent evil singlehandedly is because God created everyone and everything with true freedom in mind: free will for us and a version of it for every aspect of creation.  Like my mom not being in the basement when I was ravaging my brother’s Trick-or-Treat bag, she could not prevent what was happening, and we all became aware (soon enough) that I had the capacity to freely act according to my own sweet-tooth-driven, greedy, self-centered will.

Are we without help in a world where evil seems to run rampant?  Not at all.  God can’t prevent evil singlehandedly, which implies that cooperating with others might make a difference.  Like my mother who did her best to influence me, in effect, to become like her, so God desires that we grow into God’s image – our True Self and greatest potential.  I am sure my mother at times hopes that I remember the good things she taught me.  Paul noted that the law of God is written on all people’s hearts – the goodness of God is part of us whether or not we know it.  And, anytime I want to connect with my mom – for help on something or to simply stay connected, my mom is more than happy to be available.  This is true of God as well.  When we call out to God, I believe God woos us toward love at its depths.  God can’t prevent evil singlehandedly, but that does not mean that God is uncaring or inactive.  Quite the contrary.  God is the very source of love and care, and God’s activity as Spirit can influence us and others greatly if we’ll have it.  Oord puts it beautifully here: “When complex creatures cooperate with God, good things happen. Love flourishes. Peace blossoms. Astonishing miracles can occur. When complex creatures fail to cooperate with God, evil happens. Unnecessary pain and pointless suffering occur.  The demons dance. Because a loving God did not make us and others robots, good and bad are possible” (God Can’t, 28).

What is your relationship with sweets?  How do you determine how many sweets you might enjoy?  You are free to choose, of course, and you are free to steal others’ cookies (although there will be consequences). You can also choose to drill deeper into your being and wonder what is aligned with your True Self as God’s reflected image.  You can go further and ask God to give you insight and strength regarding your cookies.  All of these behaviors apply if you eat too many cookies that you bought or made honorably or even if you steal them – seeking your True Self and God’s Spirit to guide you makes a difference.  And if someone steals your cookies, God is with you to pick up your crumbs, remind you of who you are, helping you become your True Self and giving you strength and direction as Spirit. 

There is great freedom in this way of thinking.  Freedom to stop blaming God for what God can’t do.  Freedom to take responsibility for our actions.  Freedom to understand others’ actions as their own.  Freedom to draw near to God for insight, support, and strength to move forward in our becoming.  The Spirit of God is active and present with us all: “God acts like a loving suitor.  Nothing can stop God from inviting us, moment-by-moment, to a loving relationship. God’s uncontrolling love is uncontrollable! But we can choose not to cooperate. We can fail to say, “Yes!” When we do not respond appropriately, the mutual relationship of love God desired is thwarted. God’s will is not done on earth as it is in heaven. But “Yes!” leads to abundant life” (God Can’t, 33).

The invitation toward love and life is constant.  How are you hearing it?  What does “Yes!” mean to you beyond simple emotional assent? What does “Yes!” look like played out in your life?  What are you going to do with this now?

God Can't: Introduction

Before I talk about some of the areas we will delve into in the God Can’t series based on the book by Thomas Jay Oord of the same name, I need you to do some preparatory work.  I will explain why after you take the following two assessments. *

What are your thoughts about free will? 

Circle your answer for each statement.

Strongly Agree <-> Strongly Disagree

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9

1.       My exercise of free will is limited by my upbringing.

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9

2.       Because of my background influences, I have no real free will.

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9

3.       I will have free will all of my life.

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9

4.       I have free will in life, regardless of group expectations or pressures.

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9

5.       My behaviors are determined by conditioning and life experiences.

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9

6.       My choices are limited by God’s plan for my life.

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9

7.       My wealth, class, race, and gender determine my decisions and behavior.

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9

8.       My choices are constrained by God.

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9

9.       I am free to make choices in my life regardless of social conditions.

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9

10.    I have total free will.

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9

11.    My free will is limited by such social conditions as wealth, career, and class.

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9

12.    My decisions fit into and thus are limited by a larger plan.

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9

13.    My present behavior is totally a result of my childhood experiences.

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9

14.    God’s will determines the choices I make.

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9

15.    God has my life planned out.

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9

16.    My behaviors are limited by my background.

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9

17.    When things are going well for me, I consider it die to a run of good luck.

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9

What words describe God?

Rate each word using the following valuations:

1: The word does not describe God.

2: The word describes God.

3: The word describes God particularly well.

1.       ___ Absolute

2.       ___ Active

3.       ___ All-wise

4.       ___ Avenging

5.       ___ Blessed

6.       ___ Blunt

7.       ___ Charitable

8.       ___ Comforting

9.       ___ Considerate

10.    ___ Controlling

11.    ___ Creative

12.    ___ Critical

13.    ___ Cruel

14.    ___ Damning

15.    ___ Dangerous

16.    ___ Demanding

17.    ___ Democratic

18.    ___ Distant

19.    ___ Divine

20.    ___ Eternal

21.    ___ Everlasting

22.    ___ Fair

23.    ___ Faithful

24.    ___ False

25.    ___ Fast

26.    ___ Fatherly

27.    ___ Fearful

28.    ___ Feeble

29.    ___ Firm

30.    ___ Forgiving

31.    ___ Formal

32.    ___ Gentle

33.    ___ Glorious

34.    ___ Gracious

35.    ___ Guiding

36.    ___ Hard

37.    ___ Helpful

38.    ___ Holy

39.    ___ Impersonal

40.    ___ Important

41.    ___ Inaccessible

42.    ___ Infinite

43.    ___ Jealous

44.    ___ Just

45.    ___ Kind

46.    ___ Kingly

47.    ___ Lenient

48.    ___ Loving

49.    ___ Majestic

50.    ___ Matchless

51.    ___ Meaningful

52.    ___ Meek

53.    ___ Merciful

54.    ___ Moving

55.    ___ Mythical

56.    ___ Omnipotent

57.    ___ Omnipresent

58.    ___ Omniscient

59.    ___ Patient

60.    ___ Passive

61.    ___ Permissive

62.    ___ Powerful

63.    ___ Protective

64.    ___ Punishing

65.    ___ Real

66.    ___ Redeeming

67.    ___ Restrictive

68.    ___ Righteous

69.    ___ Safe

70.    ___ Severe

71.    ___ Sharp

72.    ___ Slow

73.    ___ Soft

74.    ___ Sovereign

75.    ___ Steadfast

76.    ___ Stern

77.    ___ Still

78.    ___ Strong

79.    ___ Supporting

80.    ___ Timely

81.    ___ Tough

82.    ___ True

83.    ___ Unchanging

84.    ___ Unyielding

85.    ___ Valuable

86.    ___ Vigorous

87.    ___ Weak

88.    ___ Warm

89.    ___ Worthless

90.    ___ Wrathful

91.    ___ Yielding

Reviewing these two assessments – even without knowing quite how to score them – will give you a rough idea where you land on two areas of interest: your take on free will versus determinism and what adjectives you use to describe the nature of God.  Knowing these before we launch into thoughtful consideration of some deep theological weeds is critical if you want to be helped by this series.  If you don’t do this preliminary step, this series over time will be largely forgettable.  I mean that quite literally.  Because until we know what we believe, we really can’t believe otherwise.

From the moment we are born we take in loads of information and organize it into complex construct.  Since we are raised by human beings, we are naturally influenced by them – our eyes are radically shaped by their perspective, and so, therefore, are our constructs.  When we entertain new information that doesn’t fit into our constructs, we first engage it with curiosity.  However, if the new information cannot fit within our existing conceptual framework, we will reject the new information as absurd, and may even forget we ever heard about it.  When we first identify our construct so that we can compare and contrast the new construct with our existing one, we have the opportunity to truly compare them to one another and allow the new construct the capacity to transform or even replace our existing one (especially if that new concept is affirmed by supportive community over time).  Until we know what we believe, it is highly unlikely that we will believe otherwise, even to our detriment.

The new bus terminal in San Francisco provides a good example of this phenomenon in action.  The beautiful, new $2.2 billion terminal that was supposed to be a model for the future for other large cities trying to encourage mass transportation usage opened with great fanfare about a year ago, and then closed six weeks later after a maintenance worker noticed a massive crack running through a girder that was holding up a ceiling/parking garage as well as a deck for buses.  Luckily, the problem was caught before any large structural failure took place.  After expert evaluation, all involved recognized that the problem had to do with what the construction workers (or their supervisors) believed about the welding and cutting holes in steel.  They believed it didn’t make any difference which came first.  It turns out, however, that it made the difference between success and failure.  The information was likely available, and the engineers likely made a notation about how important it was that the welding preceded the hole cutting.  But if you have in your mind that it doesn’t make any difference, will you believe it does?  In this case, nope.  You can read the article here.

Until you are aware of what you believe, you will not likely believe anything else.  There is just not any room for it.

Most of us only acknowledge a problem when we can no longer ignore it.  Our drinking has caused too many problems.  Our anger is destroying relationships.  Or the realization is so profound that we cannot see the world the same again. This was the case for Jesus.  We’re not sure about all that went into the transformation, but his message was profoundly different from that which was being peddled around him.  So different that the system he was challenging killed him.  For a taste of his new ideas, read his famous Sermon on the Mount, where nearly everything he said challenged the status quo.  Jesus was a radical with radically different thoughts about God and life.  So was Paul.  As was the disciple, Peter.  Each of whom had their worlds turned upside down after they saw something they couldn’t unsee.  Unfortunately, it is often only when we are brought to our knees that we are humble enough to finally see, finally listen, finally change. 

Taking the above assessments is a proactive way to get into a mental space where you can think through what you believe so that when you hear something different, you can truly engage it and consider new constructs that will be helpful in your life and faith.  If you don’t bother with such a waste of time and energy, don’t worry: the human experience brings crises in abundance that will strain your construct like a parking deck and bus platform on a transportation hub in San Francisco.  Hopefully you will recognize the crack and fix it before the whole thing collapses…

 *The first test is the Free Will-Determinism Scale (Stroessner & Green, 1990), and the second is Adjective Ratings of God (Gorsuch, 1968).

2019 Ask Anything

The Process Behind the Answers

In the Christian tradition, Jesus is our role model for understanding what it means to live a faithful life that is full of meaning, purpose, fruitfulness, and of course, God.  He was referred to as a Rabbi, and based on his teachings, we can clearly identify that he employed a process espoused by the rabbinical tradition of his day.  In short, this would mean that he placed value in the scripture as a time-tested-and-honored remembrance of how the Jewish people were experiencing God.  The writers were surely humble and prayerful in their recording, and God surely was moving through them in the writing.  The text is about God – God is the story – and therefore it is sacred text.  And yet all of the fingerprints were left on the pages – all of the context was left there for all to see, which is a very good thing.  The ancient rabbis believed there was as much Spirit flowing in the writers of the text as in the readers and interpreters of the text.  God gives the interpreter insight as to understanding the meaning and how to apply the text as we carefully appreciate the original fingerprints/context and our own paradigms that filter everything we see and think about.  The text was not to be worshiped, but rather worked over and worked into our lives.  This is why Jesus felt free to offer new interpretations of scripture and its application – much to the chagrin of the leaders who had been teaching otherwise!  It’s partly why he got killed.

My approach to the Bible is in line with Jesus.  I treat it as incredibly informative and authoritative, but only when understood with context in mind, which sometimes makes an enormous difference.  The rabbis felt free to disagree with each other, to completely ignore passages they couldn’t make out, and to value multiple conclusions and applications regarding specific texts.  When I think about the issues of life and faith, I factor in what the Bible says in context, the character and nature of God (as best as I can), what I am sensing the Spirit saying to me in my context, and what other voices are saying in their context (scholars and colleagues).  Sometimes that leads me to very unorthodox conclusions, which I think is warranted at times, since orthodoxy itself originated hundreds of years after Jesus’ ministry, within a context that surely influenced the outcome (as is the case for every “amendment” to orthodoxy ever since).  My answers, therefore, are not proof-texted, but rather a reflection of what I believe to be responsible Christian praxis – and application of what I sense to be the Way of Jesus.

Ask Anything Answers

1.       Angels appeared in scripture. Do you believe angels intercede in healing or situations to help people?

a.       I believe God is actively engaged in the world toward redemptive ends which include bringing healing in many forms to a wide range of personal, community, and global concerns.  Some people may experience that activity as the presence of an angel(s) for whatever reasons.  Belief in angels or not does not, in my opinion, matter a whole lot because the end is the same: God is active.

2.       Is it the devil/Satan working in people that creates evil deeds, or people who propitiate evil ideas themselves? Some evil deeds are explained by mental illness, but what about people who plan and propitiate evil?

a.       There is no doubt that evil exists in the world.  Those who were living in Jesus’ era had developed a way of explaining evil by personifying it with the Satan figure (whose character and role evolved throughout scripture).  I don’t resonate with such personification, mainly because I believe it severely limits our understanding of the roots of evil and therefore may hinder our ability to address them.  There are lots of reasons people carry out evil in small and large ways.  Selfishness seems to be a common theme, which makes sense because the Spirit of God invites us to always be mindful of others as much as ourselves.

3.       What is the definition of heaven?  If there is no hell but separation from God, what is heaven?

a.       There are a range of images for what heaven may be like.  All metaphors describing what it might be like to be in the full presence of God.  The idea of a literal hell needs to be revisited in light of biblical research chronicling the motivation and development of the concept beginning a few centuries before Jesus was born.

4.       Some people believe in being reunited with loved ones or others from their lifetime in heaven. If that is so, what about those of us who don’t want to be reunited with family or other people who harmed us, such as pedophiles?  Are pedophiles ever forgiven?  Does Matthew 18:6 apply to any harm to children? What assurance do we have of peaceful eternal life without those people?

a.       The Apostle Paul uses a metaphor of a refiner’s fire to describe what happens at the end of our lives which reveals what we’ve made of our lives.  I like it.  There is room for the most broken person who is left with only their soul, yet for those who build their lives with the Spirit’s lead, there is great beauty revealed.  Our “family reunion” views are metaphor depicting a happy, hopeful future, but it remains a metaphor.  For those longing for the reunion, there is good news – it will be better than that.  For those who cannot fathom heaven like that, there is good news – it will be better than that.  In the Christian tradition, we trust the teaching and modeling of Jesus.  We place ourselves and our hope in his care.  What more graceful hope could we possibly have?

5.       How am I to understand other religion’s “God” when our God loves us all. Is their God real?

a.       Every religion is trying to make sense of the world, life, faith, the future, etc.  When we get stuck on the details of the specific doctrines, we see great separation.  When we listen to the mystics from those same traditions, we get unity: God is love, peace, joy, life – we are tapping into the same Ground of Being.  When we worship religion, we’re in trouble.  When we worship what religions are trying to help us seek, we worship the same Greater Other. Aside: When you’re hearing hatred, you are not likely hearing God.

6.       Pastor Pete, you’ve said in a YouTube video that Jesus can be viewed as a demigod, rather than THE GOD incarnate. How is that reconciled with John 1:1? And would you say the same thing about other gods throughout history – that they were “with God in the beginning?”

a.       What I was highlighting was something we very easily overlook as Christians 2,000 years removed from Jesus’ birth.  As Matthew and Luke tell the Jesus story, God in some fashion got Mary pregnant, making it a divine-human baby.  This was welcome news to a non-Jewish audience who were accustomed to such beliefs from their Roman and Greek mythology.  It added to Jesus’ credibility in their eyes.  BUT! The idea of a Jewish-demigod-Messiah was appalling – they would never believe such a thing.  I mentioned it to encourage a bit more roominess in our thinking about the mystery surrounding what was going on in Jesus.  As for John 1:1, scholars understand that the Word refers more to the anointing Spirit rather than Jesus’ physical person.  The Word is that agency of God that comes. Inhabits, and speaks to the world.

7.       Is there any sin that is unforgivable? If so, what are the unforgivable sins? Whose sin was worse, Peter’s denial or Judas’ betrayal?

a.       The Bible speaks of denying the Spirit as an unforgivable sin.  I think forgiveness is a bigger deal for us than God.  We can’t really “own” forgiveness until we are on the other side of sin where we recognize what we’ve been up to and seek to turn it around (the meaning of repent). It’s not that God is unwilling to forgive – it’s that we are still messing things up willfully and therefore unable to see what we’re doing and be open to reconciliation.  In that sense, God’s hands are tied – God is waiting with grace once we come to our senses.  Hard to know which sin was worse – both suck.  Both are reminders of what well-meaning, Jesus-loving people are capable of.

8.       Why does the Church focus so much on original sin from Genesis?

a.       Because Paul created the idea to provide a biblical/theological rational for Gentile inclusion.  Original Sin is a Christian concept, not Jewish.  We shouldn’t be focusing so much on it, frankly – it was derived for a purpose that we have coopted for our own theology.  I think Paul is rolling in his grave about this.

9.       Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? What if he didn’t?

a.       The classic answer rooted in orthodoxy is that he had to die so that a final sacrifice could be made on our behalf – he became the substitutionary atonement that satisfied God’s need for justice to keep heaven holy, pure, sin-free, etc.  This idea did not come readily to the disciples.  It took years for them to figure out what to do with Jesus’ crucifixion.  Substitutionary atone and paying the ransom was the answer that made sense to them.  However, the Bible is ultra clear that God in no way shape or form desired or ever dictated human sacrifice to be made to atone for sin.  Soooooooo, that makes the idea of Jesus’ death-as-God’s-means-of-atonement troubling, at best. Jesus’ whole life and teaching was about the grace of God in its beautiful depths.  If he would have died at a very old age after a long life of ministry, and then appeared in resurrected form to his disciples, my guess is that we would be talking about the beauty and depth of God’s grace just like we are now, but without the need for substitutionary atonement.  Shocker: God was gracious and forgiving before the cross.  The cross became a new symbol for grace – but it did not change God’s level of graciousness. 

10.    What’s CrossWalk’s position on divorce?

a.       Divorce is an extremely excruciating experience that nobody signs up for on their wedding day.  It signals the brokenness of covenant, trust, shared dreams, and much more – which is why God hates it.  We should be compassionate with those who are involved in divorce at all levels instead of legalistic.  People need love here, not a spanking.

11.    Does God laugh?

a.       Of course!  What other explanation could there be for thunder?

12.    What is the good history of the Baptist Church?

a.       We started out as people who read their bibles freely and interpreted it as they saw fit, which led them to believer’s baptism.  Baptists have also at times been instrumental in the work toward freedom from slavery and for civil rights.  Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Baptist preacher.  Recently, however, as conservative dogmatism has increased, Baptists are more associated with being judgmental jerks that only care about abortion and gay marriage, and who is going to hell.

13.    What is the point of life given its brevity, followed by a never-ending eternity?

a.       The point of life is to experience the gift of life to its fullest potential with the hope that when this life gives out (we die), we will return to the very source of life (God).  The Good News is that no matter what cards we are dealt, God is with us, loving and leading us toward that greatest experience of life that ultimately has absolutely nothing to do with how much money we make or how we look or how much we weigh or how many Facebook friends we have or…  In the Christian tradition, we believe that way of life was modeled by Jesus, who was all about stretching, kneeling, gracing, incarnating, connecting with God, choosing God over self, all for the purpose of new life, restoration, resurrection here and now for everybody, always.  Pretty compelling.

14.    What are your views on the death penalty?

a.       I think it’s a bad idea for a number of reasons.  First and foremost, dehumanizing one person allows us to dehumanize many, many more, which is an afront to the core idea that we are all created in the image of God.  Second, there is no evidence that the death penalty reduces violent crime.  Third, there have been cases when the wrong person was put to death. Fourth, it is an unbelievable waste of money.  Nobody sentenced to death in our country dies next week – maybe next decade after appeal after appeal is attempted.  Life in prison without parole is a much more fitting sentence that saves a lot of money.

15.    How does this church guard against “giving/serving burnout”?

a.       Some ministries are more prone to this than others.  Children’s ministry, in particular, is very prone to burnout.  So, we try to limit how often our volunteers and staff serve, and try to keep tabs on their health.  We also try hard not to impose guilt or shame on anybody who needs to step away. As a pastor in a field where burnout is really high, I try to build balance into my life with regular days off and vacation.  If I am modeling balance, there is a better chance we will not overly celebrate workaholism in the church.  There are no bonus points for ruining our lives and families in the name of the Lord…

16.    What’s the best approach to reading the Bible?

a.       Slowly, thoughtfully, and methodically.  There is value in reading the whole thing so that you have a clue what’s in there.  But, in case you haven’t noticed, it’s a pretty big book – a collection of 66 books.  I would start with one of the Gospels and simply read it through slowly – stopping often to reflect on what is being said.  Journal about it.  Getting a good commentary can be very helpful in uncovering the context and nuances that would otherwise be missed.  I think The New Interpreters One Volume Bible Commentary and the Harper Collins Commentary are great additions to anyone’s library.  Making Sense of the Bible by Adam Hamilton is a book we sell here – it’s a very good guide.  Pete Enns also has a book on the Bible that we will sell in 2020 when the paperback comes out.  Read it as if you are reading someone else’s mail.

17.    What role does the Eucharist play here at CrossWalk?

a.       An infrequent one, unfortunately…  If you are coming from a Catholic or Episcopal background, the infrequency of communion may be startling.  I’d like to change that, but need some help to make that happen.  The Baptist tradition generally offers communion once a month.  The reason for the difference has much to do with where emphasis is placed on worship elements.  In the aforementioned traditions, communion is really central, where in most Protestant traditions, the teaching of the Bible is most central.  If you love communion, let me know so I can recruit you to a team to make it happen!

18.    How can CrossWalk embrace mysticism and the Divine Feminine?

a.       We’re certainly open to it and working on it.  The upcoming class on meditation will certainly help.  I’m a mystic myself, and love Richard Rohr – so there is plenty of motivation coming from my office. 

19.    Best way to deal with difficult people?

a.       Really good boundaries and a lot of prayer.  Get the book, Boundaries, by Townsend and Cloud.

20.    What’s a good ten minutes to start my day?

a.       I think it is very wise to incorporate into the beginning of the day solitude/silence/stillness, sacred input (devotional, scripture, listening to spiritual’ish music), reflection, and resolve to be your healthiest self.  This centers us, grounds us in God, and reminds us of who we are capable of becoming.

Everybody Always: Child

Jesus said some key things about children that address our personal spirituality, who we are choosing to become, and the people we should be reaching toward.

Everybody Always: Jeni Olsen, Founder and Executive Director of Teens Connect

Jeni Olsen changed her life because her heart would not let her do otherwise. Her story is so compelling, and her work so important!

Everybody Always: Love Even the Difficult People

We come up with all sorts of reasons to limit the love we give to others. There is wisdom in caution, and yet we are simultaneously invited to go deep with love in our pursuit of becoming love. Bob Goff shares just how far he went in his belief in the power of love and how it worked out.

This video includes some meditative thoughts at the front in that was used for a communion service before the Bob Goff portion, and concludes with some final thoughts from Pete.

Everybody Always: What's In Your Bucket

We can become like Jesus, experience great intimacy with God and fruitful impact on the world in which we live. We can become love with the help of choosing what we fill our lives with. Bob Goff invites you to be wise with your bucket…

Due to copyright issues, only the audio is available.

Everybody Always: Don't Play It Safe

Today we heard from Bob Goff on the necessity of taking wise risks in our lives if we truly want to live the life we’re capable of and made to enjoy. May you be encourage to loosen up!

Do to copyright issues, we cannot offer the video of Bob’s teaching. But, we can give you the meditation from yesterday - enjoy!

Everybody Always: Immigrants

Today we welcomed Karla Marquez for an interview with Pete. She has done extensive work with undocumented immigrants in Napa, and shared some of what they are going through. Her experience helps us better understand what this segment of our population faces as our US immigration policies have shifted over the years.

Everybody Always: Liberty and Justice for All?

What do you recall being the primary reasons motivating the United State’s Declaration of Independence?  These were deep political issues of the day that moved the leaders of our colonies to put their lives on the line for what they deemed a better future.

What do you imagine will be among the most important issues debated in the 2020 Presidential Election?  If you were running for president, how would you land on the key issues?  What is the reasoning behind your position?

My stomach turned as I watched a high profile pastor tell his congregation who to vote for in 2012, especially since I knew that a number of years before he would have singled that same candidate out as apostate, who could not be trusted given the faith tradition of which he was a significant leader.  Other churches have invited politicians onto their stages to promote their flavor of partisan politics – both on the red and blue side of the aisle.  I gladly join the chorus who want politics out of the church.  In an eye-opening book entitled To Change the World, author James Hunter notes that religious groups have become the useful idiots of political parties: Evangelicals in service of the Republican party, and more progressive churches for Democrats.  Recent polls regarding support of President Trump and Republicans in general certainly affirm his assertions.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could just stick to the Gospel like Jesus did?

In Luke’s remembrance, Jesus taught from the Prophet Isaiah to set the tone for his forthcoming ministry:

Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
     When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:
     “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
     for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
     He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
     that the blind will see,
     that the oppressed will be set free,
     and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”
     He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”
     Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” – Luke 4:14-22 NLT

In Matthew’s account of Jesus’ life and ministry, we read the following:

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. – Matthew 4:23

And then a little later, basically the same thing:

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. – Matthew 9:35

But then, at some point, John the Baptist – the guy who baptized Jesus and told everybody he was the guy to follow, began to wonder if he made the right choice, as the following verses display:

     When Jesus had finished giving these instructions to his twelve disciples, he went out to teach and preach in towns throughout the region.
     John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”
     Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen— the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” And he added, “God blesses those who do not fall away because of me.” – Matthew 11:1-6 NLT

What would prompt one like John the Baptist to question Jesus’ role?  In a word, politics.  What Jesus was doing and saying conflicted with John’s way of seeing the world politically.  In fact, he probably thought Jesus was way too political, period.  If we walked in his shoes, we probably would, too.

When we hear words like Gospel, Good News, and Evangelism, we might naturally think first of Jesus and the movement he started.  In fact, however, he was stealing terms that already flooded the market.  There was another group that used these same words when they rolled into town: the Roman Empire.  What was their Gospel (which means Good News)?  The Pax Romana.  Want peace and prosperity? Put your trust in the Empire and in its Emperor (who liked to be called Lord and God). When Jesus’ audience heard him use phrases which included “Good News”, they immediately knew he was challenging Rome.  Not only that, when he was calling himself the one anointed by God to bring the Good News, he was essentially calling the Emperor himself a fraud.  When he invited people to follow him, he was in effect guilty of insurrection.

What would it look like if Jesus was engaged in his ministry years today, in Napa, CA?  You might hear him say something like this:

     I have been anointed to Make America Great Again!  The Kingdom of God is here to bring liberty and justice for all.

Anyone who heard what he said would immediately recognize that he was challenging President Trump, and the United States of America.  Any fans of President Trump and the United States would be immediately on edge, because Jesus’ words were unequivocally politically challenging and unsettling.  If Jesus then went on to heal people – making it obvious that God was working in him – it made his threat legitimate.

But the Roman Empire and her emperor were not the only powerful presence to be challenged in word and deed.  In what is considered his great sermon – the Sermon on the Mount – Jesus said some challenging things that don’t ping our radar: But I warn you – unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven! (Matthew 5:20 NLT). And then he went on, using the phrase in different ways, “You have heard it said, but I say…”  Do you know what Jesus was doing here?  He was saying that he had a new interpretation of the faith.  Do you know where he was saying this?  In Galilee.  Do you know who was ultimately in charge of interpreting the faith for Jewish people everywhere?  The High Priest and his “court”. Do you know where they resided?  Jerusalem.  With his words, Jesus was directly challenging the authority of another political group: the Jewish leadership, who were given authority by the Romans over the people of Israel to carry out the religion and keep people in line.  They even had their own courts and military-type presence. 

Think about how it would fly if a catholic priest began gaining notoriety as a teacher, and then began boldly saying, I know the Pope said women couldn’t be priests, but I’m here to tell you God thinks it is fine.  So is marriage for clergy.  God has anointed me to tell you this.  You might think he was nuts, of course, but then what if he follows his words with miracles – pulling off healing that only the Spirit of God could bring about.  Now he has your attention.  Returning to Jesus’ ministry, what if you were in love with the Temple and its traditional way of thinking and being?  You would feel challenged, and maybe even threatened by Jesus’ politics.  And the fact that God was obviously with him only made his presence even more troubling.

Political powers eventually killed Jesus.  They saw Jesus as a threat, and they took care of business. If only Jesus hadn’t been so political…  Why did he touch that third rail?  Didn’t his mom and dad teach him never to talk about politics or religion? Or was Jesus’ death the cautionary tale that gave rise to the social-setting advice?

Jesus wasn’t trying to play politics.  He wouldn’t sink that low.  While he surely used words in his teachings that were provocative, he wasn’t interested in playing on the field of the Roman Empire or even the Temple.  He had a higher source that guided his steps, what he called the Kingdom of God (or Kingdom of Heaven).  Whenever he spoke of it, he was referring to what things were really like in God’s mind – what really mattered, what values were most important, etc.  In one passage he said, “I only do what I see my Father doing” (John5:19). If he were here in the flesh among us today, he would be the same.  At times both political parties would cheer him on, until he pointed out the corruption in both.  He would not endorse a candidate either, because his allegiance is to something and someone much more important than the President of the United States, the Pope, the American Flag or the Christian flag.  It is the Kingdom of God that drives him, and always will, which at times will lead to new interpretations of long-held, time-honored traditions, and including people who once were excluded.  The Spirit of God flows from the Kingdom of God.  Jesus didn’t worry a lot about Rome or Jerusalem because neither were his home or goal.  He really did march to the beat of a different drummer, playing a totally different rhythm that Rome and Jerusalem couldn’t pick up.

This, my friends, has implications for any of us who dare call ourselves followers of Jesus.

The first implication has to do with our primary allegiance.  The Temple fell at the hands of the Roman Empire in 70 C.E.  Eventually the Roman Empire fell, too.  We don’t have those two powers in our face these days.  But we do have our country, the United States, and we do have the Christian religion.  Both are modern day empires in their own rite, wielding power for good and ill all over the world.  Do you love your country?  Do you love your religion?  I bet you do if you’re reading this.  Do you love the Way of Jesus?  Which is primary for you?  One quick way you can know is whether you’ve seriously asked yourself where Jesus is at odds with your political party, faith tradition, or its leaders.  If you’ve never asked, you have, by default, made something else primary.

The second implication I want to have us consider has to do with the “So what?” factor.  Is it possible that we have been on auto pilot regarding our primary allegiances, and on what Jesus’ Way is all about?  If we have been, my call to us is to WAKE UP!  Discover what the Way of Jesus entails and follow.  This will require curiosity on our parts.  If you don’t know whether the Way of Jesus conflicts with your political views or religious views, this simply means you are asleep at the wheel.  So, again, WAKE UP!  Jesus didn’t do everything he did so we could nap our lives away – he did it all so that we would experience the transformation that the Spirit of God brings to our lives, and that we would get further transformed by helping others experience restoration individually and collectively.

You probably know your party’s and religion’s position on a range of issues.  What does your thoughtful, prayerful study of Jesus’ Way lead you to believe would be the Kingdom of God position on the critical issues of our day, which may or may not include the key election issues undergoing debate?  Surely the following would be on the list (and I encourage you to add more):

·       Immigration of refugees, asylum seekers, and hopeful workers.

·       Nationalism, capitalism, globalism, and the US’ role in each.

·       Climate change.

·       Military: defense spending and our international involvement.

·       Denuclearization of North Korea and Iran

·       Gun control and violence.

·       Equality and equity for all people regardless of race, gender, and sexual orientation.

·       Income inequality and disparity.

·       Healthcare.

·       Foreign influence regarding US intelligence and elections.

·       Transparency and freedom of the press.

·       Character and demeanor of our highest elected officials.

·       Taxation: who gets breaks and for what purpose?

When we begin to discover where Jesus departs from our chosen political and religious leanings, it is at that point that we have a choice to make about who and what claims our highest allegiance.  And once we have a picture of that – and if we choose the Way of Jesus – it will necessarily lead to appropriate attitudes and behaviors that will conflict with your religious and political parties.  Faith isn’t simply about inner peace.  Our spiritual practices are meant to renew our minds, transform our hearts, and give us vision from the heart and mind of God so that we what we do with our lives is rooted in the same way as it was for Jesus.  Discover anew the Way of Jesus.  Prayerfully process the important issues of our day.  Then, taking the lead from Jesus, do something with your new understanding.  May you be a voice, a presence, for the things that mattered to Jesus and God.  May your hands and feet go places and do things like Jesus did.  May you be known for your deep and abiding love that permeates everything you do and guides your thoughtful steps.

Everybody Always: Interview with Coach Bailie

As part of our Everybody Always series, we are graced to have Coach Bailie with us to talk about a part of our "everybody" that does not always get represented: the LGBTQ community.

Everybody Always: Catch People on the Bounce

This week we tuned in to Bob Goff via video for his insights into how we become love with those a few rungs out on our sphere of influence. For your benefit, below are some quotes and “homework” we provided during our service. If you’d like to listen to what Bob Goff said, click play to the right or subscribe to our podcast.

Quotables from Bob Goff’s Video Teaching

•       Instead of telling people what they want, tell them who they are.

•       Recognize that God made people just like God made you – and God made you to know others.

•       The best way you can express your faith to people is to tell them who they are becoming.

•       God found you right where you are, and you can find other people the same way.

•       The story of the Gospel is that [in] Jesus [God] jumped out of heaven to be with us.

•       Talk about the right stuff behind people’s backs: who they’re turning into, not who they used to be.

•       Don’t let shame distance you from God, and don’t let it distance you from others.

•       Follow Jesus to people who are hurting – who have hit the ground hard – and catch them on the bounce.

Which of the above quotes is especially relevant to you today? Why?

What do you feel compelled to do in response to today’s teaching?

During the week…

Read the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)

There is a whole lot in this story to chew on.  The father in the story is a metaphor for God, and the two sons sure seem to reflect our human tendencies.  In a world that was hyper focused on keeping score, the father chose to focus on mercy instead.  The younger brother came to his senses, came home and received it.  The older brother never left the property yet was never really home, and never really embraced the love that the father had for him all along.  God’s love is truly unconditional and unlimited in breadth and depth.  Will we come home to receive it?

Questions to think about…

1.       In what ways can you relate to the “score keeping” nature of the older brother?

2.       In what ways has God shown you mercy like the younger son?

3.       How do you respond to the idea that God threw a party for the younger son?

4.       How does this parable challenge your vision of others?

5.       Do you think the older brother ever joined the party?  What would you do if you were in his place?

Questions for chapters four through six of Everybody, Always…

1.       Does your Christian practice feel more like “faith” or compliance?

2.       Is there a relationship where you’ve let shame create a barrier between you and someone else? What would it look like to heal that divide?

3.       What does it mean to build a “kingdom” rather than a “castle” when it comes to accepting others who are different from you?

4.       What are some ways to love the difficult people in your life “thirty seconds at a time”?

5.       Why is it so important to react to those who have failed with compassion and understanding instead of disapproval or indifference?

Everybody Always: Daddy

When we come to a place where we realize that God is truly loving in the deepest possible way, it makes it a lot easier to open up to God. (Versus a fear-based religious perspective – the parable of the talents).

Jesus did a lot of his teaching using parables, short stories that carried great meaning and inherent challenges.  One of his parables has a major point that has been largely missed, perhaps especially by “can-do” Americans.  Here is the Parable of the Talents from Matthew 25:14-30 (NLT):

     “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.
     “The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.
     “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’
     “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
     “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’
     “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
     “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’
     “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
     “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

We read this and freak out, wondering if we’re doing enough to warrant a high five from Jesus.  Freaking out, however, means we’ve already missed the point, and actually serves to make the point Jesus was making about the character and nature of God and about how God longs to interact with us.  The thrust of the story is that we, as the servants, have been entrusted and encouraged by the Master – a great honor that we miss in our fear of underperformance.  The problem with the servant who blew it was that he never really understood what had really been given him – trust and support.  Because he missed that memo, he lived his life way below his capacity. 

Bob Goff shared an interesting insight in his book: Don’t tell people what they want; tell people who they are.  He says that we are constantly told what we should want – by our parents, friends, church, employers, marketers.  But we become who we are told we are.  Jesus was doing that sort of thing with this parable, telling his followers who they are: beloved and entrusted servants who are encouraged to risk on that love and trust.  If somewhere in the recesses of your mind you are living your life and faith afraid of God’s wrath, you’ve probably missed Jesus’ memo (and the primary thrust of his life and teaching).  God is love, and God loves you.  Once we get that, it makes it a whole lot more likely to fulfill the first and greatest commandment to love God with everything we’ve got.

When we know we are inherently and unconditionally loved by the very source of life, it makes loving ourselves and feeling loved a whole lot easier.  The Apostle Paul was writing to a church that was caught up in performance and comparison, and had gotten away from the whole point about love.  His “Love Chapter” (1 Corinthians 13 - MSG) is quoted often at wedding ceremonies:

     If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.
     If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing.
If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.
     Love never gives up.
     Love cares more for others than for self.
     Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
     Love doesn't strut,
     Doesn't have a swelled head,
     Doesn't force itself on others,
     Isn't always "me first,"
     Doesn't fly off the handle,
     Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
     Doesn't revel when others grovel,
     Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
     Puts up with anything,
     Trusts God always,
     Always looks for the best,
     Never looks back,
     But keeps going to the end.
     Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.
     When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.
     We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
     But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

In my personal experience, when I am in touch with how much I am loved, I seem to be able to reflect Paul’s sentiments much more naturally than if I’m not in touch with love.  When I feel unloved – mostly because I’m not paying attention or distracted by pain – I really struggle to love myself and others as Paul describes.  Being in touch with how much we are loved is essential if we want to live into the second greatest commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves.  I wonder if one of the reasons we sometimes suck at loving our neighbors is because we don’t love ourselves?

Do you remember how Jesus referred to God?  He often spoke of God as his father.  But he also did an audacious thing: he called God “Daddy”.  Nobody called God that.  It was nearly heretical to use a term of such familiarity for God.  Yet Jesus did.  I think he believed it for himself, which gave him the confidence to do a lot of bold stuff – a lot of high-risk investments, reinterpretation of scriptures, and hanging out with “questionable” people.  He knew the love was there.  The love informed how he thought.  As he no doubt reflected deeply on God’s love, he surely realized that God felt this way about everybody, always, which made it so much easier to love people.  Jesus became love incarnate because he heard the words from God that he was loved.  He became love.  So can we.

I want to invite you to consider using a different name for God as you pray this week: Daddy.  Just see what happens.  Who knows, maybe using such a familiar term will help you realize how safe and loved you are, and maybe that will lead you to love yourself as you should, and maybe that will lead you to see everybody, always, as brother and sister, and maybe that will lead you to love them as your heavenly Daddy has loved you.  May it be so.