Why Young People (Alone) Are Not the Future of the Church

A few weeks back we celebrated the birthday of the church, when 120 people (Acts 1:15) were filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and took to the streets sharing the good news of Jesus (Acts 2).  All of Christendom - currently around 2.2 billion people! - grew from that small group, and this humble beginning made me wonder about two things.  First, how many of these 120 were young people?  Of course, we have no way of knowing, but it seems likely they were all adults, and many of them were probably older adults (by that day’s standard).  The second thing I wondered was:  “Did their age matter in any way?” and the answer to this second question is much easier.  It didn’t matter a bit. 

The growth of the early church, fueled by the Holy Spirit, is a matter of simple mathematics.  If more people join the Church than leave, the Church grows.  This is true regardless of the ages of those in the Church, and those joining.  By the same token, if more people leave the Church than join it, the Church dwindles.  Again, regardless of the ages of those involved.

So a church full of young people will die if it doesn’t have more people joining than leaving.  And a church full of old people will grow if it does have more people joining than leaving. 

I point this out because there is a widespread notion that “young people are the future of the church” and this partial truth can be dangerous for a couple of reasons.  First of all, it places the entire weight of the future on a certain age bracket, and that’s too big of a burden to dump on any one group.  And secondly, it absolves all older people from any responsibility to be the future.

To be clear, young people are the future of the church, but so are old people, middle aged people, and those generations yet to be born.  Everyone who walks through our door or shares in our fellowship is our future. 

You who are reading this are our future as well.  Even if you keel over dead upon finishing this article (please don’t!), you are still part of our future.  There is a neglected Christian doctrine called “The Communion of Saints” which says that all believers, past, present, and future, are connected in the community of faith and part of our fellowship.  All believers shape us throughout the past, at the present, and deep into the future.  In other words:  Those who have passed on continue to shape us in powerful, and mysterious ways, and are still very much part of our fellowship and our future.

So none of us is allowed to dump all the responsibility for the future on “young people”, or any fraction of God’s kingdom.   We all share that responsibility, and we all matter together.  And whoever you are, whatever your age, there’s no excuse for sitting on the side lines. 

I suspect that some congregations, by embracing the idea that “young people are our future” are disappointed when a visiting older person walks through their doors.  “We need young people!  How can we grow if we don’t get young people?”  People can sense when they're met with disappointment and they won't come back.  Instead we should be thrilled to pieces when anyone walks through our doors.  We should welcome, honor, and enjoy all people God sends our way.

We are blessed at Maple Avenue because we do have folk of all ages sharing in our fellowship, and that is exactly as it ought to be. Young people alone aren’t the future of the church.  We all are together.  So let’s roll up our sleeves and start shaping a future worthy of God’s Kingdom.

Yours in Christ;

David

To Helsinki and Back

If you’ve ever lost your wallet then you should appreciate this story.  Back in 2013 the Readers Digest magazine tried a fascinating experiment in honesty.  They went to 16 different cities around the world and in each city left 12 wallets lying around as if lost.  The wallets were dropped in parks, near shopping malls, on sidewalks, etc, and in each wallet was a name with a cell phone number, a family photo, coupons, business cards, and the equivalent of $50. 

Overall, 47% of the wallets were returned, (although some cities faired far better than others) and contrary to what some may expect, age, gender, or economic status seemed to matter little.  There were honest, and dishonest, people in every pigeonhole. 

The top six cities included the only American city (New York) to be tested.  They are: 

1. Helsinki, Finland (Wallets returned: 11 out of 12)

2. Mumbai, India (Wallets returned: 9 out of 12)

3. (TIE) Budapest, Hungary (Wallets returned: 8 out of 12)

3. (TIE) New York City, U.S.A. (Wallets returned: 8 out of 12)

4. (TIE) Moscow, Russia (Wallets returned: 7 out of 12)

4. (TIE) Amsterdam, the Netherlands (Wallets returned: 7 out of 12)

The bottom six are as follows:

7. (TIE) Bucharest, Romania (Wallets returned: 4 out of 12)

7. (TIE) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Wallets returned: 4 out of 12)

7. (TIE) Zurich, Switzerland (Wallets returned: 4 out of 12)

8. Prague, Czech Republic (Wallets returned: 3 out of 12)

9. Madrid, Spain (Wallets returned: 2 out of 12)

10. Lisbon, Portugal (Wallets returned:1 out of 12)

I’d love to try this wallet experiment in Terre Haute, although I’m not particularly keen on putting $600 at risk.  But if I were to do it, I would expect the people here to rank among the top 6.  Maybe I’m overly optimistic, but I think this is a good place, full of good people.

What I found especially interesting were the reasons the honest 47% gave for returning the wallets.  Most of them said things like this:

“Of course we returned the wallet. Honesty is an inner conviction."

“My conscience wouldn't let me do anything wrong. A wallet is a big thing with many important documents [in it]."

"I am convinced that people should help one another, and if I can make someone a little happier, I will."

“I saw the photo of the mother with her child. Whatever else is important, a photo like that means something to the owner."

"My parents taught me how important being honest is. Once I lost an entire bag, but I got everything back. So, I know what it feels like."

"If you find money, you can't assume it belongs to a rich man.   It might be the last bit of money a mother has to feed her family."[1]

Nobody said: “I returned the wallet so I can go to heaven when I die,” or “I had to do it because God was watching.”  Nobody said “I returned the wallet because the Bible told me to,” or “I wanted to impress my minister.”  In fact, while many of the honest folk were almost certainly Christians, they didn’t tend to refer to their faith at all when explaining their moral choices. They did the right thing because they wanted to do the right thing, and because they had feelings of empathy and concern for the person who had lost the wallet.

Christian morality is really about becoming that kind of person, one who sympathizes with others, and genuinely wants to make the world a kinder place.  I’ve always seen the heart of Christ-like morality to reside in two of Jesus’ core principles:  “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Luke 6:31 NRSV); and "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  (Mark 12:31 NRSV).  These are really two ways of expressing one truth, which is basically “empathize with people and treat them nice.”  And in practicing these principles, it’s ironic that some non-Christians are more “Christian” than some Christians.

If you find a wallet, return it.  If a cashier gives you too much change, say something.  If you can prosper by harming another, resist the temptation.  And don’t do these things out of fear or selfish desire.  Do them because God, through Christ, has changed you into the kind of person who wants to do these things.

And in this way we people of Terre Haute can give Helsinki a run for the money.

Yours in Christ;

David

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[1] http://www.rd.com/culture/most-honest-cities-lost-wallet-test/

The Place Of The Resurrection

For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.  (2 Corinthians 5:14-15 NRSV)

One of the holiest sites in Christendom is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which is said to be built over the hill where Jesus was crucified (“Golgotha” in Greek or “Calvary” in Latin), and extends to the tomb where Jesus, according to tradition, was buried.  It is, in other words, thought to be the actual site of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ!  Not surprisingly, there is a large influx of Christians from around the world visiting this church every Easter. 

Unfortunately, since this is prime real estate for many Christians, the location is in high demand.  There are six Christian faiths who lay claim to the location, (Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Roman Catholic, Coptic Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox, and Syriac Orthodox) and through the years they have clashed over its use.  During the Easter season when crowds swell, tempers tend to flare and fist-fights often erupt.  

During Easter prayers in 1970, Coptic monks momentarily left their post on the rooftop monastery, which allowed the Ethiopian monks to swoop in, change the locks, and take it for their own. So the Coptic’s placed a chair outside of the disputed area in protest, keeping watch for an opportunity to move back.  In 2002 this Coptic guard made the mistake of moving his chair into the shade, resulting in a fight that left 12 holy men injured.  In September 2004, Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox clerics had a fistfight (with at least five injuries) after a Catholic left a door open during an Orthodox service. And as Easter approached in 2007, three of the groups responsible for the 10-stall rest room could not cooperate long enough to repair it, resulting in the stench of sewage filling the building.  In 2008 police were called to stop a fight over a Greek Orthodox priest being ejected from the premises by a rival faction.  And from later that same year you can see a video on YouTube of Armenian and Greek Orthodox worshipers violently clobbering each other during a celebration of the “Feast of the Holy Cross.”. 

All of this highlights the irony of Christians embracing the physical location of the resurrection without actually letting it happen in themselves.  It seems that for many people the resurrection of Christ is only an event that took place in Jerusalem, almost 2000 years ago, and that’s that.  In contrast, the New Testament tends to view the death and resurrection of Christ as an event that also happens to us, and changes us in very dramatic ways.  It takes place in our lives, and occurs whenever we let it happen.  In Christ our old life dies on the cross and we are raised to a new and better life.

Put another way, we’ve reduced the resurrection to an interesting doctrinal belief when it ought to be taking root in our hearts and completely overhauling our lives here and now. 

As you get this newsletter you’re probably thinking that Easter is over, but nothing could be further from the truth.  Easter has just begun.  And it is reflected in the new love and grace that flows from our lives.

Christ has risen, and he lives in you and me! That’s the real power, and glory, of Easter.  And if Christ hasn’t risen in your heart, here today, then you’re looking for Easter in all the wrong places.

Easter and a Controlled Substance

I like to try different kinds of food, but there’s one food I’ve never had largely because it’s pretty much illegal in the United States of America…at least if you prepare it authentically.  If you’re of Scottish origin you know immediately what I’m talking about.  I speak of the beloved national dish of Scotland:  haggis.  Haggis has been illegal in the US since 1971, when the USDA ruled that the lungs of livestock “shall not be saved for use as human food."  Because lamb’s lung (along with the heart, liver, and stomach) is a key ingredient in haggis, it’s been very difficult to obtain legally since then, to the dismay of die hard Americans of Scottish heritage.

 If you’re not Scottish, you’re probably wondering, “Why in the world would anyone want to eat such a concoction?”  Good question!  While the origin of haggis is obscure, a very plausible explanation is that people came up with the recipe out of necessity.  There wasn’t anything better to eat, and so hungry folk took the food that nobody else wanted and turned it into something good.  The same necessity accounts for the birth of “Soul Food”.  Slaves were given the throw-away food provisions nobody else wanted.  So they ingeniously figured out how to make what they were given delicious.

Haggis (along with Soul Food), reminds us that sometimes life can dish out misfortune, and we’re forced to make due with less than ideal circumstances.  And haggis reminds us that at times like that, it is possible for our misfortune to be turned into a blessing.

In a real sense, this is one of the powerful messages of Easter.  Jesus was served a terrible dish. He was arrested even though he’d done nothing wrong.  He was beaten and hung on a cross.  He died, and was buried.  The people who had placed their hope in him were devastated.  They scattered in fear and panic. 

Then Easter came.  Christ rose from the grave.  And the ignoble defeat was turned into a glorious victory!

Easter showcases the power of God to take tragedy and misfortune, and turn these things to the good.  And Easter demonstrates that this power of God extends into human beings themselves.  God can take broken lives and discarded people and raise them to new life.  Just look at Peter and Paul, or any of the 12 Apostles.

Easter is the redemptive, transforming power of God breaking into our world and our hearts through Jesus Christ.  And this life-giving transforming power of God can’t be stopped by all the forces of darkness, or death itself.

Scottish and British officials have been after the US to lift the ban on haggis ingredients for years, and it’s currently under consideration.  But whatever the decision, there is good news.  You can make haggis illegal, but you can’t stop God’s power to bring good out of the worst of circumstances through Jesus Christ!

Christ has risen.  So Bon Appétit.

Meeting Robin Hood Again for the First Time

As a youngster weaned on the The Adventures of Robin Hood (the television series staring Richard Green and the Errol Flynn movie) the hooded outlaw and his merry men were persistent companions growing up.  Like many my age, I read  The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Harold Pyle, and had to see the 1973 Disney movie, (although I still don’t know what was gained by Disney turning the whole cast into animals?)

But Robin goes back way beyond my childhood several hundred years, and one of the interesting things about him is that you can trace the development of his character over the centuries.  From early on, the outlaw was considered a devout Christian, and I think his stories give us a glimpse into what being a Christian meant in medieval times, and may help us think about what it means for us today. 

The very earliest surviving Robin Hood ballad is called Robin Hood and the Monk (from around 1450).  Here’s my retelling of that medieval tale (which can be found in the original Old English at http://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/robin-hood-and-the-monk).

One day in early May, Robin Hood (“Robyn Hode” in the Ballad) and his companion Little John (“Litull John”) are talking about what a great day it is.  Robin is feeling pretty feisty and wants to celebrate by going to church.  "Hit is a fourtnet and more," seid he, "Syn I my Savyour see;” or “It’s been over two weeks since I’ve seen my Savior”.  Being a big fan of the Virgin Mary, Robin decides to visit the Chapel of St. Mary’s in Nottingham.  He is warned that he better take 12 men with him, since he’s a wanted man.  But he disregards this advice, traveling only with Little John.  On the way Robin loses an arrow shooting bet with Little John and refuses to pay up, so they quarrel and part.  Robin goes on alone.  At the Church he is recognized by a monk whom Robin recently robbed.  The monk runs to the Sheriff and informs on Robin.  The Sheriff arrives with his men, Robin fights them, and is taken captive.

Little John hears of this, and organizes the Merry Men into a rescue party.  On the way they encounter the treacherous monk, and when they find out what he did, Little John kills him, and Much the Millers Son kills the monk’s “little page” to keep him from talking.

John smote of the munkis hed,
No longer wolde he dwell;
So did Moch the litull page,
For ferd lest he wolde tell.

Or, if I understand this correctly:

John cut off the monks head

And he died,

And Much killed the little page

To keep him quiet.

Then, taking the monk’s papers, Little John goes before the king pretending to be a helpful citizen who just happened upon the dead monk.  The king sends him to fetch Robin Hood from the Nottingham jail.  Little John kills the guard, frees Robin, and they escape.  Robin’s grateful, and Little John affirms his allegiance to Robin, and the story ends with Robin and his merry men good buddies.

What does it mean to be a Christian in this 500 year old story?  Robin loves to go to church!  He’s also a big fan of the Virgin Mary.  There doesn’t seem to be much of a conflict, however, between his faith and not honoring his bets with his best friend, or robbing people—even monks.  His band of merry men also don’t seem to have a problem with killing the monk in cold blood and his page as well.  But they are loyal to each other, forgive each other, and risk their lives for their loyal band.

Over the years one can see Robin’s character grow.  He stops reneging on his bets.  He quickly becomes famous for “robbing from the rich and giving to the poor.”  He and his friends stop killing people for revenge, or to silence them.  And every generation tells new stories about him, making the bandit of Sherwood Forest their own, redesigning his character to fit the values of their time. 

I’m not sure what the appeal is.  Maybe it’s our tendency to root for the underdog?  Maybe there’s a bit of an outlaw in each of us?  But whatever the reason, the adventure continues to this day, and I’m pleased that Maple Avenue is hosting the world premiere performance of The Ballad of Robin Hood, by Dr. Tom Johnson! The story and music are totally original, and we’re excited about this addition to the Robin Hood cannon.

I’m looking forward to meeting Robin Hood again for the first time, and checking out his most recent incarnation.  I hope you are as well.  Be sure and get your tickets for our March 4, 5 and 6^th showings, and let’s see what this iconic figure has to say to us in this totally new take on a very old friend. 

In God’s Peace;

David

Christmas In The Dumps

"Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned."  (Matthew 4:15-16 NRSV)

The modern celebration of Christmas owes quite a bit to Charles Dicken’s short novel: A Christmas Carol.  Everyone’s familiar with the iconic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, the grumpy miser, who undergoes a change of heart and is reborn on Christmas day.  But also important is the unsung hero of the story:  Bob Cratchit.  If you think about it, Bob has plenty of reasons to be depressed and discouraged.  He has to work on Christmas Eve, and barely gets Christmas Day off.  He scrapes out a living, and can’t even afford a decent meal for his family on Christmas Day.  He has six kids, and they aren’t going to have many, if any, presents to open on Christmas morning.  One of his children, Tiny Tim, has serious and expensive health issues (with no health insurance) and the child may not live much longer.  And Bob works for one of the worst bosses ever, in a stressful and cold job, where he’s undervalued and over worked.  Bob has an amazingly bad life, and yet, with all these reasons to be depressed and discouraged, Christmas still blesses and enriches his life.

Christmas is for the Bob Cratchet’s of the world:  people who are having a difficult time with life.  As Matthew puts it, quoting Isaiah 9:2:  the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.  Christmas is for people sitting in darkness; people living in the region of death.  In Matthew’s day, these words were spoken to a demoralized nation living under the cruel and oppressive rule of Rome.  These people “who sat in darkness” are the kind of people we sometimes refer to as being “down in the dumps.”  And the hopeful words in Matthew reminded them, and us, that the birth of Jesus is especially for these hurting folk. 

Jesus comes to those having a rough time.  He is a light shining for those who grieve the death of a loved one, those struggling to make ends meet, those who are sick, those who battle anxiety and depression.  Jesus comes for the people who have the cards stacked against them, those who are on the outside, rejected and abandoned.  Christmas is primarily for people who are anything but “successful” by the world’s standards. 

Ironically, the people for whom the gift of Jesus was most given are often the people who have the roughest time with the Christmas season.  Many people experience this time of year as an annoying and distressing distraction.  So I think it’s time for the dump-dwellers of the world to unite and reclaim the holiday!  Don’t let the happy plastic people hijack your Christmas, or define its meaning for you.

If you’re sad and depressed, if you’re anxious and hurting, if you’re having a rough time, Christmas is your holiday!  Go ahead and claim it.

Of course, there is still darkness in the world, and many continue to live in the shadow of death.  Christmas doesn’t make the problems disappear.  But it does remind us that we don’t live in total despair.  There is a light shining.  The light is in Jesus.  And this light brings us hope and grace so we can rise above the problems and pain of life.  The light shines, even down in the dumps, and it’s there that we can best see it beauty.

So “Merry Christmas” to those sitting in darkness.  Christmas is for all of us, but it’s especially for you. 

David

Who To Vote For

I’m going to tell you who to vote for regarding the upcoming Presidential Election.  But first you’ve got to put up with my political rambling.  Here is:

Every four years the American people begin a process which I’m very proud of, and which horrifies me at the same time.  We begin that process of nominating and electing the President of the United States of America. That process has now begun, and the news media is having its pre-election field-day, following candidates, analyzing polls, and dividing the American people into polarized camps.

I’m proud to live in a democracy, but I find the whole political process uncomfortable, and even distasteful.  And as we brace ourselves for the coming onslaught of negative political ads, I thought I’d take a moment to talk about politics and faith, and specifically how we as a family of faith can avoid being sucked into the negative atmosphere that tends to permeate political discourse.

While there are a number of Americans who seem to want politics discussed from the pulpit, I’m not a big fan of mixing Christianity and political ideologies.  So here’s why I think we need to keep partisan politics out of the Maple Avenue Pulpit.

1.  Churches that become political are in danger of losing their tax exempt status.  In other words, freedom of expression guarantees my right to preach political sermons, but doing so could jeopardize our congregation’s non-profit status.  Obviously this law isn’t enforced very often, and it’s easy to find congregations and clergy who ignore it with no bad consequences.  Still, I intend to respect this separation of church and state.

2.  We live in a politically diverse congregation, and I’m proud of this fact!  We have strong Republicans and we have strong Democrats.  If we start dividing up into political teams it would harm, or even destroy, our ministry together.  For that reason it is essential for us to focus on our life together above our political agendas.  In fact, I’m going to go so far as to say that our joint ministry is more important than our political agendas. 

3.  Our ministry is more important than political agendas because we seek first the kingdom of God…not the kingdom of Democrats, or the Kingdom of Republicans, or the Kingdom of Independents.  The Christian faith must always rise above our narrow political ideologies, and whenever Christianity becomes entangled with a particular political stance it gets dragged into the political mud.  Jesus was not a Republican, and neither was he a Democrat.

4.  Because we’re rising above politics, we need to respect each others political views.  We are citizens of the United States of America and we have a duty to be politically informed and vote our conscience.  But whenever I come to believe that the person on the other side of the political fence is just crazy, doesn’t make any sense, and doesn’t need to be heard, I’ve destroyed any possible dialogue and unfairly demonized that other person.  In a church we need to operate under the assumption that all sides of a political debate have some valid points to make and are worth considering.  In a church, we don’t always agree but we always respect one another.

I do have political opinions and I have no problem sharing them--especially if you ply me with coffee and ask me privately.  I’m sure the same thing is true of most of our members.  But in a church we operate by a different set of rules than others in the world, and we must always resist the temptation to get sucked into political divisiveness.

So here’s where I tell you who to vote for.  After careful consideration, vote for the person you think is best qualified to lead our country.  I’ll respect you and your decision, and I hope we can all do the same for one another.

David