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the 13th Apostle

September 27, 2007

12paul As I was drifting off to sleep last night, I was struck by a thought that came completely out of nowhere.  The thought was this:

“Paul was the 13th Apostle because the twelve disciples represent the 12 tribes of Israel, while Paul represents Jesus’ ingathering of the Gentiles.”

The idea seemed odd, because I wasn’t really thinking about Paul or the Apostles before bed.  The day before, however, I had been talking with a university student about Luke 4 (the Jesus Manifesto) being the interpretive key for Luke-Acts.  Luke 4 securely establishes the lens of Jubilee for the rest of Luke’s two volume work. 

As the thought entered my sleepy consciousness, I remembered the earlier discussion with my student friend.  In Luke 4, Jesus not only claims to have come to bring Jubilee to the marginalized, but also to the Gentiles.  Paul is the tool Jesus uses to re-forge what it means to be “covenant people.” It is with Paul that Jesus’ mission to bring in the Gentiles gains traction.

Paul gets bad press these days.  But Paul gets to do something that Jesus never got to pursue in his three years of earthly ministry: focus his missionary efforts on the Gentiles.  Paul embodies God’s deep love for the Gentiles. 

In Luke 4, the townsfolk that Jesus grew up with wanted to kill him for insinuating that he, the Messiah, had come to bring Jubilee to the Gentiles (who are the oppressor).  He also insinuated that some of them, who are Jews, might be on the outside.   Paul (though certainly not just Paul), makes good on the Spirit’s wooing of the Gentiles.  Paul is, in a way, an expression of God’s heart for the oppressor.  Maybe that is one reason why we don’t like Paul these days.  With Jesus, we get to see Jesus’ clear heart for the poor and marginalized within Israel.  With Paul, we see, among other things, God’s hear for Rome.

Collaborative Blog, anyone?

September 26, 2007

Is anyone interested in becoming a co-blogger on Jesus Manifesto?  I feel like I get plenty of readers, and would like to offer regular content so that readership would actually increase.  But I can only usually crank out 2 good posts a week (if that).  I’d seriously consider adding a handful more co-bloggers that are sympathetic to the general vibe and themes of this blog and are able to write something every week. 

Does the idea of turning jesusmanifesto into a collaborative blog with 4 or more regular bloggers sound like a GOOD idea, or a bad one? 

Am I correct in assuming that having 1-2 posts daily would increase readership? 

I’m looking particularly for folks that have done blogging before on issues that fit with the overall focus of Jesus Manifesto.  If we got the right mix of bloggers, I’d also be willing to start a separate collaborative blog that allows us all to have equal ownership, and then I’d double post a lot of my content.

The IPODing of our faith…

September 25, 2007

image Just what you want.  When it comes to music, you can get just what you want. No need to submit to the lofty concepts of an album.  Just listen to your favorite 2 songs on that album.  Things like context don’t matter.  The artists message is secondary to your desires.  All areas of life seem to shift into the consumer paradigm, but especially entertainment.  No need to watch commercials.  No need to even own a tv.  Just torrent the episodes you can wait for, and use unbox or itunes for the episodes you need now.  Even netflix allows 17 hours of view-on-demand services if you can’t wait two days for that next dvd to arrive. 

I am the consumer.  I want what I want. Without the fluff.  When I want it.

The same could be said, I would argue, with our faith.

It all started with little numbers. We started adding numbers to our Bible so that it would be easier to find things…easier to quote our favorite passages of the Bible.  Then people started just reading those passages and ignoring other ones.  We even have a special coding system to reference these special little passages.  John 3:16. 1 Corinthians 10:13. 

With the development of software and the web, we don’t even have to flip pages to find those favorite passages.  We just type in this little code to jump right to those passages and you see just what you want to see.

We’ve always been selective readers.  But now it is easier than ever.  These days, you don’t have to even encounter the rest of the album of Scripture.  You can just download your favorite songs.

Q: What does this do to our faith?

***

By the way, I recommend the new “Books of the Bible” Bible.  It removes those little numbers and forces an actual reading of the text.

thebreviary.com glitch

September 25, 2007

For some reason, the morning and evening prayers from thebreviary.com aren’t showing up in my rss feed. 

At thebreviary.com, I use a wordpress plugin called “Scheduled Post Repeater.”  It’s a great little plugin that automatically changes the timestamp for the oldest post so that it will become your newest post.  In this way, the 28 day cycle of morning and evening prayers from the breviary automatically updates.  It is updating on the website, but apparently google reader doesn’t acknowledge it as a new post. 

Is anyone else having this problem?

Remembering Rich Mullins

September 20, 2007

image One of the most influential people in my spiritual journey has been Rich Mullins.  Not just for his music, but for his way of life.  Long before new monasticism became a “thing,” my wife and I seriously considered becoming members of the Order of Ecumenical Franciscans (like Rich).  That was in the late 90s, shortly after Rich’s death.  We ultimately decided against it, partly because of the anti-Catholic sentiments still common within our theological tradition.  But Rich opened up the door for us to reconsider things–who Jesus is and how we can best follow him. 

10 years ago this week, Rich Mullins died in a car crash.  I usually don’t like the stuff that Relevant Magazine writes, but I think this article did a fine job paying tribute. 

What did Rich Mullins mean to you?

Which of his songs most resonates with your heart?

Correspondence from the Front

September 18, 2007

image Below is an email conversation I’m having with Jeremy Dowsett, the pastor of Blacksoil.  I think our conversation is one that reflects a larger issue–the question of sustainability.  At the end of the conversation, I pose a couple questions.  I’d really love your feedback.

Hey Mark-

Jeremy Dowsett from Blacksoil in Lansing, MI. We connected over a few meals at your consumerism conference. Just wanted to check in and see how Missio Dei is going. Are you realizing the vision? Growing numerically? How is IV treating you?

I see from one of your blogs you’re wife’s pregnant. Congratulations.

Grow,

Jeremy

Thanks for the email.  Missio Dei is doing relatively well.  Lots of great ministry happening, but we’re still struggling with sustainability.  It is hard work and often we are a few hands short.  And we don?t have enough money in the bank.  But we’ll keep plugging.

InterVarsity is treating me fine.  Still working at fundraising.  This year we officially launched and I’m trying to gather a solid core of students to get something started.

How are things at Blacksoil?

Mark

Similar story. We started a “public” worship gathering in January, which makes us more like a church than a movement or an order. We are about to multiply our neighborhood group, so technically we have grown. But we’ve done so primarily by adding Christians to our numbers. I have several good relationships with pagans, some of which are pastoral in nature, but I have yet to see any conversion.

We are also far from sustainable. Right now my salary is heavily underwritten with denominational church-planting money that runs out in 08. I think I contacted you because the sustainability issue has been discouraging me lately and I was hoping to hear a “success” story. Of all the folks out there doing things similar to Blacksoil, you seem to really have your head on straight and be going after it aggressively. (I.e., if you can’t do it, I wonder if it can be done–not to sound un-spiritual).

I wish you and Missio the best.

Jeremy

Thanks Jeremy,

I’m humbled by how you describe me and Missio Dei. 

I’ll be candid with you.  It has been much harder than I ever thought it would be…In the beginning, I had enough funding.  But I don’t get paid by Missio Dei anymore.  And Amy left a good job to take a underpaying job in our neighborhood.  Through it all, I remain convinced that God is with us and delights in our work.  But the soil is stony…

We’ve had more lows than highs.  It has been hard and we’ve received few rewards.  We’ve seen some converts, but most of the folks that pass through never come back.  And finding co-laborers (Christians) to make a commitment to our neighborhood has been difficult.

Nevertheless, I’d still say its worth it.  I believe that the Church in America is sick.  I believe that the people in the West Bank need to see Jesus enfleshed before their eyes.  If our labor will help remind the Church in America of who she is–even a little–I think its worth it.  And if the people of the West Bank can at least say “I’ve met people who have shown me Jesus,” I think its worth it.  I just wish that it wasn’t so hard. 

The issue we’re facing is huge.  I think there are a lot of people like us out there.  We’re struggling to embody the Gospel in a way that isn’t likely to bring in the masses.  It isn’t likely to bring in the $$.  Figuring out how to make it sustainable is a profound issue and I wish I knew some of the solution.

Mark

Thanks for your candor. And yes, feel free to post this conversation.No need to keep it anonymous, there are no secrets here.

I appreciate, too, your reminder about why it’s all worth it. I guess, maybe, at bottom–while we’re being candid–that’s the part that has me discouraged. That is, it’s not so much the financial sustainability issue that’s wearing on me, and the spiritual sustainability issue. If we are in fact “enfleshing Jesus” in our respective contexts and, moreso, doing it in ways that are hopefully more radical (read: faithful) than the church-at-large in America, why so little visible fruit?

I think I remember that you come out of a charismatic background. I do not. But lately I’ve been wondering where the power of the Holy Spirit is in all this. It seems that those who are most faithful to incarnate the gospel, most thoughtful about how to be and say good news in their context, most radical about shedding the accoutrements of American mammon-worship, would bear the most fruit. (Now that I’ve said it so hyperbolically, I don’t think I belong in that category, but you get my point.)

If communities like yours (and hopefully mine) are doing a good job of “being Jesus,” why aren’t we seeing the reign of God come more substantively?

Jeremy

Great question. I’m not sure how to answer.  Except to say that I have hope that the fruit is coming.  I’d imagine that this is why Mother Theresa was depressed all the time.  Perhaps Dorothy Day or St. Francis or other spiritual “heroes” were deeply discouraged when they were laying the foundations for their ministries. 

Mark

QUESTIONS:

What do you think?  If communities like these are doing a good job of “being Jesus,” why aren’t we seeing the reign of God come more substantively?

If you can resonate with this correspondence: How have you sustained yourself? Your ministry? Any words of advice?

Concerns over Free Enterprise Lead to Sacking of Christian Professor

September 17, 2007

image I just read a fascinating article today in Christianity Today.  Colorado Christian University has fired a popular professor, Andrew Paquin.  CCU’s president, William Armstrong, has had concerns over Paquin’s perspectives on free market capitalism.  Armstrong wrote to Paquin several months before the firing saying that he found it “deeply troubling to hear you say that capitalism is inconsistent with the teachings of Jesus.” Read the article here.

In “unrelated news,” Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez is threatening to close the nation’s private schools unless they adopt socialist curriculum.

Both of these scenarios show us that education is often (usually) a delivery system for a particular political or economic agenda.  The second scenario sounds horribly oppressive, while many Christians would nod their head in agreement with Armstrong’s decision to sack Paquin.  The reality is that most Christians in America believe that the free market is a sacrosanct moral force for good in this world.  I think capitalism is usually better than the major alternatives, but that doesn’t mean it is good. 

Jesus cares about how we engage in the political and economic spheres of life.  But he isn’t in bed with any ideologies.  Instead, I believe that Christians can choose a different way.  We should never be comfortable with capitalism. It can never be compatible with the Way of Christ.  Nor can any other system. 

The Economics of Jesus

September 16, 2007

money changers A while back, I listed some alternative economic practices.  Here’s a summary of them (go here for more details).

  • Abolish the tithe…
  • Care for the poor in your midst…
  • Financial accountability groups…
  • Spend less than 50% of your church budget on staff, building, and office expenses…
  • Support local economies…
  • When buying “globally” buy fair trade…
  • Minimize waste, reclaim waste…
  • Share stuff…
  • Devote tax returns to the Kingdom, rather than to that “gotta have” luxury item…
  • Donate your best stuff, rather than your worst stuff…
  • If possible dump your car and use a combination of foot travel, bike travel, and public transit.

My co-conspirator Josh and I have started using Google docs more and more for online collaboration.  It is a very synergistic way of brainstorming-from-afar.  We use it for various ministry lists, descriptions, and action plans.  And we recently came up with more economic practices for Jesus followers:

  •  Whenever possible, foster a gift economy.  This goes beyond just sharing stuff.  Instead, it encourages people to give stuff without expectation.  For example, we have a weekly outdoor hospitality meal called the “Hospitality Train.”  We load up our bike trailers, go set up a solid meal, and feed ourselves, our friends, and strangers.  And we have encouraged folks to bring something to give away next time.  Our hope is that our free meal will help foster a gift culture.  We hope that, someday, a sort of Free Market will grow up around this economy.
  •  Christians should try to open source all of their intellectual property.  Instead of seeing our creations as our property, we should see it as belonging to the Body of Christ.  I believe that this is more faithful to our theology than assuming that we “need to work within the system.” We don’t anymore.  There are TONS of alternatives.  If you REALLY believed that your message is from God, then why should you make a profit off of it?  There is only one real challenge to this (and I believe it is a valid one): you’ll get a wider audience if you publish through the mainstream publishing companies or release music through a record label, etc.  In this case, we should feel free to use such methods, but always fight to make things available for free or cheap as we foster a better alternative.
  •  Garden with friends and share the bounty. 
  •  Supplement your gardening with Community Supported Agriculture.
  •  Share housing. Yep…I sound like a hippy.  In some places like San Francisco, housing is SO expensive that many conventional and normal people share housing in order to afford living in a home.  In Minneapolis, housing is cheaper, but it is still economically beneficial to share housing.  It frees up money for other things, fosters sharing of resources, encourages hospitality, and helps us live the way that most people in the world live (and the way folks in America lived before the 1940s).
  •  Start making and fixing more things yourself.  I grew up in rural Minnesota.  I grew up sucking at all those things that country kids were supposed to be good at: engine repair, agricultural skills, fixing stuff, building stuff, etc.  But compared to most of my friends who grew up in the suburbs or the city, I am a master among men! When you don’t know how to make stuff or fix stuff, you take things for granted.  And when you take your “things” for granted, you become wasteful and you begin to take your wealth for granted.  Don’t throw away that old chair, FIX IT.  Don’t throw away that rice maker…FIX IT.  Don’t throw away that bike, FIX IT! Don’t buy that Chinese food…MAKE IT YOURSELF.  Don’t go out and buy that $300 bookshelf…MAKE ONE! Making bookshelves is the easiest thing in the world.  Trust me.
  •  If you can’t make it or fix it, buy it used. I know it looks crappier than something new.  But you’re spoiled and should deal with it.  Stop caring about shiny appearances and take some pride in the fact that your simpler living frees resources for better things.  
  •  Instead of investing in your future, invest in the futures of others through micro-financing. Liberating Waste
  •  Reclaim Christmas as a celebration of Christ, rather than a celebration of affluence.  Celebrate a “Buy Nothing Christmas” or give away stuff at Christmas. 

If you have some that you’d like to add, you can comment here or visit our Facebook group page.

The Death of Facebook

September 15, 2007

Earlier this week, during our InterVarsity metro team meeting, Richard boldly claimed that Facebook only has one good year left.  We all nodded in agreement.

I really, really like Facebook.  It is amazingly helpful in staying up to date.  But it is becoming too much like Myspace.  It isn’t very customizable, and what customization it allows opens you up to crap and trash.  It is just a matter of months before cheap, unethical business begin creating personal profiles and start spamming folks and making friends requests.  Every day, I get Myspace requests that lead to porn.  No thanks.

Today, I read the following in my Wired rss feed:

Google is going after Facebook. A leaked video contains details on Google’s plans to integrate a number of its offerings (think Picasa, GTalk, Calendar, Reader and more) into what the movie refers to as “activity streams.” Activity streams can be subscribed to by friends, creating a way to track and update what you and your friends are up to, a la Facebook’s feeds.

If Google integrates its technologies together, creates a customizable profile page, and allows you to integrate it with things like your blog, I’ll gladly center my web networking there.

Technorati tags: facebook, google, myspace

Not Peace, but Division: Walking the Line Between Subversion and Embrace

September 14, 2007

A while back, one of my readers made the following observation:

mark, i hope you don?t mind my frankness?

but you seem determined to revolutionize something. it?s like part of your identity. it?s curious. but it may get in the way of doing what we?re really supposed to be doing. which is to love one another.

am i missing something here? i certianly could be, and very likely am? please enlighten me?. i?m listening?

216293029_a797aabb44_o I’d like to take a moment to respond.  I’m doing it here (rather than in the comments section) because I want to make a point that I feel is worth sharing.

Indeed, I am determined to revolutionize something.  I do feel it is part of my identity–at least part of my sense of calling and ministry and gifting.  And I fully recognize that it may sometimes get in the way of loving one another.  But as risky as it is for me to challenge the sorts of things that I do on this blog, I think it is far riskier NOT to challenge them. Let me explain:

On August 19th, the lectionary passage was Luke 12:49-56.  In the passage, Jesus states:

I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.

These words are provocative.  And even more provocative are the words from last week’s passage:

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters?yes, even life itself?such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

These passages clearly build on one another.  They actually seem to harken back to earlier OT passages that speak of this division as one that divides families.  This doesn’t seem like a loving Jesus!

Or does it?  While Jesus uses the word “hate” I don’t believe he is overturning all of his other teachings on love.  Instead, he is calling for allegiance. Radical allegiance.  Now is the time when people must decide whether or not to confess Jesus as their Lord.  He did not come to bring peace and ease; his work would inevitably arouse opposition to the progress of the gospel even within families.  Even as wealth can keep us from following him (Jesus talks about the perils of wealth often), so too can our family ties.  But if we love our families, and love God, we need to radically ally ourselves with Christ.  Otherwise, we cannot learn what he has to teach us.  We will always be limited by our meager love that is constrained by our inability to truly lay everything down in sacrifice at the feet of the One who embodies love.

We, like Jesus, are called to wreak havoc…to not only be peace makers, but also trouble makers and rabble rousers. We the church are all to often too divisive with foolish things, but refuse to take a stand with important things for fear of causing division or making trouble.

And so, even as I challenge and push and seek to revolutionize things, I do so in love.  I love the Church enough to ask her to lift her head high.  I love the Church enough to ask her to be faithful to Christ.  I don’t abuse the Church–I challenge and rebuke and encourage and exhort. 

You see, love both embraces and subverts.  It not only brings unity, but also division.  Not only healing, but pain.  This is because love always calls to commitment.  It isn’t simply sweet and nice, but also painfully hard, and usually sacrifice.  Simply put: love costs.  And the high price of love can either be a aching delight, or a piercing terror.

This isn’t license to be a jerk.  I know I can sometimes come off that way or go overboard.  And I know I should balance my challenging posts with hopeful ones.  But I see a church that is in Babylonian Captivity.  I see a church that needs to make a choice. 

In Revelation, the voice of the angel calls out:

‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’ 
She has become a dwelling for demons
and a haunt for every evil spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.

For all the nations have drunk
the maddening wine of her adulteries.
The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,
and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”

Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
‘Come out of her, my people,’
so that you will not share in her sins, 
so that you will not receive any of her plagues…’

I know all of this sounds excessive.  I know it is a bit melodramatic.  But I believe the Church in America has become to intertwined in the American Dream.  And as a result, we have failed to love mercy and seek justice.  We have commodified Christ.  And we need to be rebuked and challenged.  Not because the Church in America irritates me, or that I don’t love her.  But because I love her way too much to see her in captivity. 

Any comments/challenges/questions?

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