land of the rich…

my second-grader blew my mind the other day.  at an age when parents assume the natural inclination of a young child is to be quite selfish…our daughter came home and told us what she had purchased with her hard earned points in her classroom auction.  as she stood in front of me with her backpack…she reached inside and pulled out a flimsy gardening hat and said, “dad, i used all of my points to buy a hat for grandma since she lost all of her hair through cancer treatment.”  as a father, I am not sure I have ever been more proud of my child and her selflessness.

honest conversations about Jesus’ perspective on wealth, greediness, and the rich are some of the most difficult to have in the church.  some may get upset and leave the church, or just quit giving their tithe if they are offended by how the preacher explains Jesus’ tough words on possessions.  there may be others who believe they are exempt from the difficult words of Jesus if they satisfy a “10% tithe.”  while these reactions are concerning for any professed follower of Jesus, maybe the most ignored reason why these conversations are so difficult…or why they fall on deaf ears…is that we believe Jesus is talking about rich people and we do not consider ourselves rich.

it is easy for us as Christians in the United States to dismiss the words of Jesus because we do not view ourselves as rich or as inherently greedy.  why would we think of ourselves that way?  we see movie stars, athletes, and other celebrities on television and convince ourselves that we are middle or lower class.  even closer to home we drive down our city streets and see people driving $35,000 cars and trucks and convince ourselves that we are not rich.  we make a meager wage.  we have a simple home compared to “the rich.”  we don’t drive the best or nicest cars comparatively.  we certainly do not view ourselves as rich by comparison in the United States.

if our means for comparison is limited by proximity (to those we live close to) it’s no wonder we do not view ourselves as “rich.”  our context shapes our thoughts and attitudes.  yesterday a lady on the radio said, “we don’t even view millionaires as rich anymore.”  wow…really?  we don’t view a millionaire as rich anymore?  how and when did a million dollars become so commonplace?  our lens for viewing wealth has made us quite myopic.  when we view ourselves as middle to lower class citizens…and when we are surrounded by others like us…we isolate ourselves from the broader reality of (and inequity of) wealth in the world.  if we don’t see the problem, then the problem does not exist.  it is easy to consume and hoard when our context is so limited and narrow.

to be amongst the top 10% of the richest people in the world you only have to have $60,000 in ASSETS…not money alone…ASSETS.  the top 10% controls 85% of the worlds total global assets.  all of this while 50% of the worlds’ adult population owns less than 1% of all global wealth.

we are the rich.  even those we consider poor in the United States are rich globally. 

can you imagine watching ten kids sitting at a table preparing to eat with each other.  in the middle of the table is a large supreme pizza cut into ten pieces.  one child takes nine of the pieces of pizza for himself…while the other nine children share one piece.  this sounds so exaggerated and ridiculous!  but it is a simple and accurate representation of the larger world that we live in.  what would you…as an adult…say to the one child that took NINE PIECES for himself?  SHARE!!!  QUIT BEING SO SELFISH!!!  you might even tell the child that he is out of his mind for thinking like that.  a scenario like this certainly makes one wonder how we operate by such a double standard.    

have you every heard a skeptic ask, “if God is so loving and compassionate then why does He allow people to die of hunger in Africa?”  maybe the problem isn’t God, but the people who ought to be continuing the blessing from God by sharing rather than hoarding and consuming more than we need.  in God’s economy, the rich do not get richer and the poor do not get poorer.  God blesses us so we can bless our brothers and sisters (see Deuteronomy 15).  although the previous scripture is direction from God to the Israelites as to how they are to take care of the poor in their land, i can’t imagine that God would not want us, as the Church, to care for the poor in the 21st century. 

there is nothing that would make a Father happier than to see His children giving everything they have so selflessly to anyone and everyone in need.

*the [living] room is a partner with New Song Mission in Brown County, Indiana.  New Song Mission will offer 3 to 9 foster homes and a school to abandoned children on 100 acres in beautiful Brown County and is currently in the process of beginning development.  through this caring community…children will experience the truth that nothing can ever separate them from the love and healing of Jesus.

over the next several months the [living] room would like to be a catalyst to help raise the necessary funds for the development of this God honoring mission.  without being too specific…New Song’s dollar target is in the millions.  would you please give a tax-deductible donation today.  send it to the address below and 100% of the funds will be given to New Song.  please email me at brandon@the-living-room.org if you have questions.

send a tax-deductible check made out to: 

The Living Room, P.O. Box 1358, Columbus, Indiana 47202

peace always…

brandon

Jesus was just a great teacher (ugh!)…

there will be many within Christianity that will offer criticisms and attacks on the central notions and claims made by Eckhart Tolle in his New York Times best-seller and Oprah Winfrey Book Club selection A New Earth.  and while Tolle sometimes twists the words of Jesus, misunderstands what “a new heaven and a new earth” actually means, and reduces Jesus to a wise teacher, Christian leaders should pause before going on the attack.

i am not an eckhart tolle apologist, nor am i a fan of A New Earth (and yes…i have read the book and am participating in the webinar with Tolle and Oprah).  in fact, any book or movement that strips Jesus of being the fullness of God in flesh and one who defeated sin and death becoming the firstfruits of new creation through bodily resurrection, loses my respect.  but…this book is wildly popular and it’s message is resonating, not only with those who have been disengaged from the Church for awhile and those who have never been associated with the Church, but with many people in the Church.

so what is the message of this book and why are so many, including those in the Church, latching onto it?  Tolle explains that humanity is facing a crisis and we are at the next evolutionary step.  we must evolve or die.  this next evolutionary step is to a higher consciousness and away from the egoic self.  the egoic self is the voice inside…i want…i need…me…me…me…I…I…I.  in order to begin that movement from the ego to a higher consciousness one must be in this moment.  listen to your breath…be here now…be in the moment…there is power in now.  once we can identify and leave the ego, we can find stillness in life.  we won’t be consumed by feeding our ego and the collective consciousness of humanity will begin to evolve into a Christ-consciousness which will lead into a new earth.  Tolle explains that the great teachers understood this and many of them tried to explain this to their contemporaries but were misunderstood.  some were even killed.  others were made into gods.  Jesus, he explains, spoke of this through his parables and teachings but his disciples misunderstood his message and ultimately deified him (made him a god).

Tolle believes all the world religions, in essence, are speaking of the same experience but each explain it with different terminology.  for instance, the ego to a Christian would be sin, higher consciousness would be the Holy Spirit, etc.  he says that there is inherent danger of language because it limits and categorizes, and this ultimately results in religions saying that their way of explaining it is the only right way, or that their way is exclusively and exactly the right way.  Tolle would suggest that religion is archaic and limiting because of the language and symbolism and the egoic power it creates, and people need to be free to pursue their own spiritual awakening that will lead to a higher consciousness.

i am going to switch gears here for a second to make a point to Christians in the Church.

many times when we talk about the parable of the Good Samaritan we are very quick to dismiss it as just a story of helping someone who is in need.  this is right, so far as it goes.  but…if we were to dig into the cultural aspects of what is going on in this story we would learn a profound truth.  jews hated samaritans.  and contrary to what many believe, the samaritans did not receive their name based on their geography but rather by the phrase “observant ones,” or  Shamerim, and later Samaritan.  they believed that their observance of the Law was the true religion over Judaism.  Jesus used a Samaritan to teach the Jews, who had in many ways forsaken their responsibility as God’s chosen people, a lesson in who they ought to be as God’s image bearers, as a light to the world. 

the profound truth and application that we can learn from this simple historical lesson is that God can use those who believe something radically different than the way and truth of Jesus (New Agers) to teach and help Christians rediscover the beautiful elements of the faith that we lost a long time ago and that the world so desperately needs, like peace, reconciliation, forgiveness, wholeness, completeness, beauty and a detachment from materialism and consumption, while finding the awe and beauty of nature and relationships.  this is not a statement in support of Tolle’s mix of a little truth and ALOT of lies, but please don’t miss this point…followers of Jesus OUGHT TO BE the ones known for justice, peace, reconciliation, forgiveness, wholeness, etc.  we OUGHT TO BE the specialists in these matters…since we are to be like Jesus in all things.

as a follower of Jesus, i am deeply disturbed by every false claims and assertion Eckhart Tolle makes about Jesus.  but as an honest person, i can not blame anyone but the Church for missing out on the life that God has called us into and the new creation he has made us to be, and missing out on every opportunity to share that richness with the world.  and unfortunately it is taking someone who reduces Jesus to a good and wise teacher, and who is convincing millions of people to buy into his new age thinking, to teach us and call us, as the Church, to deeper lives and richer relationships that look more Jesus.

the reason that so many people in the Church, as well as others, are interested in pursuing what Tolle is talking about and leaving the Church is multi-faceted and we could spend an entire book breaking down the issues and the problems within the Church.  let’s suffice it to say for tonight that people are hungry for answers, meaning, life, wholeness, completeness, joy, love, etc.  all of which are from God and embodied in Jesus Christ, but the larger society has lost confidence that the place to find those things are in the Church.  you see…the moment that we stop being the body of Jesus in the world by offering hope and life to the fullest…and start becoming a boxy, rigid religious structure that is more interested in tradition, dogma, ultra-orthodoxy, and entertainment…is the moment that people start flocking to shallow, syrupy, and empty philosophies.  and it is officially happening…in a big way.

 it is time for the Church to wake up.

 brandon

church as the means…and not end

response to a cnn.com article: Americans switching faiths/dropping out 

one of the things i have been thinking about lately is how we treat Church as the ends…rather than the means.  when we let our faith, our relationship with God, and even our emotions rise and fall based on “the event” on sunday…we have already taught people that our basis for judging whether or not i should “go to church” or “go to a specific church” or “if i even want to be associated with a church” also rises and falls based on a sunday service.  when our time, energy, and effort focuses on “the event”…church becomes the end….and not the means. 

so what do i mean by the church being “the means?”  the church, the body of Jesus Christ in the world today, should not be defined, evaluated, or judged by what we do or do not do on sunday…but by how well we, as the church, become Jesus to the world everyday through self-sacrificial love, service, justice, mercy, etc.  if the church becomes understood by the masses as “the means” through which the Holy Spirit works to continue on the redemptive work of God in our world…and we begin to understand that we have a HUGE ROLE in what God is doing to further His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven….then we have something more rich, more vibrant, and more purposeful that people will want to be a part of.  if “church” gets watered down to a show or performance on sunday…rather than understanding our role in God’s grand narrative of restoration…then people will turn from the church…and kids won’t stick around in a purposeless, empty, and inward focused environment.

the message that the article sends to me…as a parent…and as one leader of a church…is that the church, and we as Christ-followers, are an integral part in how God is working to restore and reconcile all things.  i want my kids to bring justice and mercy in our community and world through their self-sacrificial love and service.  i don’t want them to just “learn” about it by people telling them at a service on Sunday what it looks like…but to have them doing it with their hands and hearts, as well.  i want to model the life of Jesus to my kids in how i visit with the prisoner, homeless, and orphan.  i want my kids to know that God is a provider…but provides so that we can help our brother out rather than horde and consume for ourselves.  i want them to have a chance to be hands on in their generosity and help a child in Africa.  i want to model a rich and vibrant prayer life that is active, thankful, and expectant.  i want my kids to know and understand that learning and memorizing verses is only half of the deal…that it must be made flesh in our lives.  i want my kids to see the beauty of creation and that we are all stewards and caretakers of this beautiful world that God created.  what would be the point of my kids going to “church” on sunday for a lesson without jenny and i realizing that the church is the means through which we and our kids can be used by God to change the world?

the Christian life is so rich and deep and beautiful…and it is about us recognizing it as such.  it is so much more than rules, regulations, laws, and judgment…and more about living in the grace of the Creator and being a part of His amazing story of reclaiming, redeeming, and restoring through Jesus.  when we capture the beauty of what God intends the church to be…then and only then…will people want to be a part of something that they would give their life up for…and more people will be drawn into that adventure.  that is what i would give my life up for.

brandon