I am a Recovering Evangelical--Day 4

God, in summarizing His Scripture, might say:

The Old Testament is where you fall short...everywhere.

The New Testament is what I've done about that.

On Day 1, we asked what Scripture said about a genuine reach from God and our evangelical role in it.

John 13:14:

Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.

A genuine reach from God--expressed through our evangelical posture toward fellow believers--would have in it this humility. Exhortation is not exhortation unless it inspires heart change. We are helping each other discover what the authentic and healing touch of Jesus looks like in our everyday lives.

Toward outsiders, those whom we are called to evangelize, we look to Colossians 4:5-6:

Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don't miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.

Not put them down.

Not cut them out.

Bring out the best in others in our conversation with them.

The superior, evangelical pedestal we sometimes speak from will make obedience to this Scripture impossible.

Compassion is embedded within washing one another's feet and bringing out the best in others in conversation.

Where do we fall short? Everywhere.

What has God done about it? Jesus.

Level playing field. No one is one up on anyone else, not even the most informed evangelical.

We can only dance this evangelical dance if we submit to the lead of our Partner. The Holy Spirit leads us in our demonstration of the Good News. Jesus is the dance; God is the Teacher.

Done well, it is a beautiful sight to behold.

My friend just sent me this prayer:

Lord God, only in your strength can I live a righteous life that pleases You. Please empower me!

God's strength is required to do evangelical right, hosting and joining others in our never-ending journey to heart change.

Comments are welcome at feedyourstrength.com.

I am a Recovering Evangelical--Day 3

Our pastor is relentlessly compassionate.

His compassion drives the worker bees crazy in a dizzying, happy sort of way.

Throw open the doors on Friday night and invite all the ladies of the community in for Chocolate Night. Don't notice that Mother's Day is two days later when we give all moms a beautifully boxed, delicious homemade treat.

Set up on Everett Street when it's closed down for Halloween trick-or-treaters and serve free (Nathan's) hot dogs to every person you see.

Take over Riverfront Park every July 4th and provide inflatables for kids, powerful music, more free hot dogs, and stay open until the fireworks begin. 

I have only begun to understand that Jesus is relentlessly compassionate.

Did you catch in yesterday's story (Day 2) that the religion scholars and Pharisees, in their cold, literal translation of the law (bringing the adulterous woman to Jesus for potential stoning), found themselves segregated from Jesus?

Does lack of compassion in reaching people with the good news of Jesus segregate us from Him?

People have left our church because they think the battle is with each other--you're not enough of this, you are too much of that.

The battle is within ourselves as evangelicals to destroy our haughty eyes and humbly submit to Jesus' School of Relentless Compassion.

Truth for the woman caught in adultery ("Go on your way. From now on, don't sin.") was only applied after Jesus freed the stage from religion scholars riding their high horses of superiority.

Compassion is the hardest work imaginable. Not only are you serving your heart out--you are asking God for surgical removal of the parts of your heart that look down on others for any reason. Then you are immersing yourself in invitational training so you can see people with a newly energized and radically pure heart.

Love 'em onto the Jesus stage where His truth shall set them free.

And recovering evangelicals? We, too, are welcome on the Jesus stage of compassion.

Comments are welcome at feedyourstrength.com.

I am a Recovering Evangelical--Day 2

Every one of us, at birth, holds an exquisite invitation in hand:

To what?

To

Something Better

The Whole of God is...an invitation.

That's how crazy He is about being inviting.

He designed a whole earth and earthly-creatures-called-humans operation around that one concept.

Staggering.

So why do we, as evangelicals, get on this high-horse, get-it-right-right-now-or-else, superiority kick when our number one characteristic should be that we present as inviting?

Throw out what you say until you have allowed yourself to be immersed in invitational training.

When Jesus evangelized one-on-one, He translated the law into a language of invitation (John 8):

The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone and said, "Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. Moses, in the law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?"

Jesus...said, "The sinless among you go first: Throw the stone."

Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. "Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?"

"No one, Master." 

"Neither do I," said Jesus. "Go on your way. From now on, don't sin."

His exquisite language of acceptance of who she was at that very moment was the vehicle through which He extended His ongoing, eternal invitation to Something Better.

The grace, the acceptance, was/is the stationary upon which God's invitation to Something Better was/is written.

If we are His party helpers, writing the invitations, let's use the right stationary.

Comments are welcome at feedyourstrength.com.

I am a Recovering Evangelical--Day 1

Evangelicals promote the Bible's revelation of Jesus Christ as the Redeemer, the Son of God, the Sole Interface with God to enter now and forever into relationship with Him.

I have been an evangelical for many years, deeply immersed in many things God.

Years (and years) ago I gave up my alarm clock, believing God called and calls me to be awakened by Him each morning to spend time together.

I have weathered many denominations, and many people have weathered my rocky portrayal of belief as I moved from "hit you over the head with it" to "how can I release my translation of it to better invite you to investigate it?"

A searing question comes to mind:

Have I ever pushed people away from God while insisting my words and actions were in the name of God?

I know the meaning of recovering.

A recovering alcoholic leaves alcohol. A recovering drug addict leaves drugs.

I am more like Overeaters Anonymous. They can't leave eating; they work to move away from the overindulgence that is unhealthy.

I am not leaving the evangelical world; I just want to move away from any of my practices that defeat rather than promote.

I see an overindulgence in evangelical circles where we put our beliefs and behavior up on a pedestal--designed to inspire--but in reality paint a disregard for the real person needing a reach from God through believers.

What does Scripture say about a genuine reach from God and our role in it?

Since language in and of itself is loveLESS, how do we insert invitation into our language? How important is invitation to God?

This series is a call to myself. I want to get it right on God's terms, not mine, not tradition, not anything other than Truth with God's capital T.

Just this morning, James 1:27 was in my inbox:

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress...

As evangelicals, we are representing a religion--Christianity. How can we become pure and faultless in such a way that those who watch feel drawn to investigate?

Lord, please for forgive my attempts to parcel up You, Indivisible God, into parts that misrepresent. Teach me the Whole of Your invitation.

Comments are welcome at feedyourstrength@gmail.com.

Throwing Ourselves into Joy Gear

An hour ago I was mesmerized by all things God.

Then the huge wave of to-do's, defeats, and impossibles crashed onto the shore of my thinking.

Monday...again.

It occurred to me to step back and find out if we have any power over this wave. Just yesterday, I wrote:

...the enemy of God is watching [us] closely, screaming discouragement and throwing obstacles. He knows he is powerless against every movement of God that we find and pray.

What is the prayer--the movement of God--that might throw me into joy gear today, overcoming that familiar feeling of the wave of despair?

Thank you for family, food, shelter, hot showers, things to do, people who care.

I praise You for being my Creator, my Savior, my very best Friend.

I believe You have my best interest at heart in all things that come my way.

I believe that I can give You my wave of despair and You will turn it into each next thing to do and help me find the joy in doing it.

I need help to stay in joy gear. Help me start my engine and begin there...at joy.

Joy...on a Monday.

Comments are welcome at feedyourstrength@gmail.com.

Egg Hunts and Prayer

You take your toddler on an egg hunt.

The hillside is dotted with bright colors and you cheer on your precious charge:

See the orange one? Put it in your basket. Good job!

You spot one hidden from easy view; you give a little extra help:

Over here...see? Lean down, a little bit more...there. You found it!

You triumph in the collection of eggs that grows in the basket, even if your toddler doesn't quite understand the goal. You know that in each egg is a ticket to something bigger, and you'll help him gather those tickets and turn them in for a prize.

We are God's toddlers on a prayer hunt.

The hillside of life is dotted with prayers, some hidden, some in full view.

God cheers on His precious charges:

See that prayer for your friend? Say it...good job!

He gives a little extra help for the hidden ones. They come into view when we spend a little more time listening to His coaching:

Let's dig a little deeper into your pain. Don't be afraid...I am right beside you to help you. We'll find it together. That prayer looks like your permission to let Me in your secret closet.

God triumphs in the prayer collection that grows in our basket, even if we don't fully understand the goal. He knows that inside each "egg," each prayer, is a movement of God, and He is ready to release those moves.

Isn't that astounding? We "find" the prayers, say them, and inside each prayer is something God has been waiting to do?

I imagine also that the enemy of God is watching closely, screaming discouragement and throwing obstacles. He knows he is powerless against each movement of God that we find and pray.

Delight in your prayer hunt today.

All that movement of God, just waiting to be set free...

Comments are welcome at feedyourstrength@gmail.com.