Christianity With Hardly Signs of Life

It doesn't take long to read any of the four Gospels and notice something that sticks out. People were almost violent to get to Him. Huge crowds made their way wherever He went, especially when He intentionally strayed from well populated areas. Take the cripple who couldn't get into the home where Jesus was staying. His friends boosted him to the roof and clawed through to create a hole large enough to lower the man down on a mat. Even Jesus Himself stated that people were forcing their way into the Kingdom.

Now, if you live in America or the west in general, look around, particularly in the churches. Where are the throngs of people violently trying to make their way in? When's the last time you even heard of someone clawing through the roof of the First Baptist Church to get inside to hear the Good News and be restored?

What we normally see are churches that pop up, grow, stabilize and then decline, split like a zygote and turn into either a wedding chapel or a pizza joint. We get excited about numbers, baptisms, enrollment, new ministries, a stray Christian movie or two. Not that any of these things are necessarily bad or not to be celebrated, but when you compare that with throngs of people bursting through the door and clawing their way through the ceiling, these things seem mundane and devoid of any vibrancy. Do you really anticipate seeing vagrants and invalids busting down the door to get into the church that has begun to study John Piper's Desiring God series or has a seminary president come speak as the guest preacher? Again, don't misconstrue (as we Christians love to do with the uncomfortable or unfamiliar), I like Piper and if Danny Aken came to speak at our church, I would go, but not to the point to where I would claw through the walls to get in. Seriously, not even close.

So what happened to us? After all, Jesus left us with the promise that in His Name we would do far more and the Kingdom would manifest itself and grow like yeast working itself through a lump of dough. But instead, we re-invent ourselves, over and over again, with little difference. We run campaigns and do new ministries, which are ironically a lot like the prior ones, except with new hair or "dude" thrown in for good measure, to attract the younger demographic. Oh, of course we do have the snake oil salesmen and saleswomen that do talk about the Kingdom manifesting itself, but when you listen, it turns out to be about nothing more than money, a raise, a new car or super-human health, which triggers the gag reflexes. None of this is the Kingdom I read in the Gospels. It simple isn't even close. And that is what I long for. But I can't even begin to be anything but depressed unless I sort of try to figure out how our fire got put out. I do see us growing and rapidly, but it’s not here. It seems to be almost everywhere except here. I have been to Africa and got a taste of what I see in the Gospels. I have heard missionaries talk of outpourings, huge numbers of conversions, Mosques turned into churches in the most dangerous places a professing follower of Christ can live. But here, where Christianity is legal and a church on almost every street corner, the vibrancy isn't there, outside of it being contrived.

I have a few ideas why we are in this sad shape and I also have to admit that these ideas are far from original. In fact, much of it I originally heard from my own pastor and after reading Scripture in that light, I was 'ruined' so to speak. Once you see truth, you simply can't unsee it, no matter how hard you try. And I believe that if we could at least confess of our deadness and understand where it comes from; maybe we can see the same vibrancy of His Kingdom that is rampant all over other parts of the world.

First of all, I think we are far too Greek in our knowledge than Hebrew. When a Hebrew talks about knowledge, it is understood to be both cognitive AND something you actually live out. The Greeks loved the cognitive aspect of knowledge, but fell short of it having much to do with daily life. The Romans had little use for speculation and were all about the practical. But instead of having a bunch of cognitive knowledge that didn't touch life, they ended up retrofitting knowledge claims to fit the life they already considered desirable. In other words, the Greeks liked to understand concepts and didn't care if it was something to be lived out while the Romans started with a life they considered virtuous and retrofitted all knowledge to fit that lifestyle. Both end in sad results.

When Jesus talks about knowing, it is ALWAYS in the context of both understanding and living out. And once lived out, only then is it fully understood.

If there is anything in this note I wish you to walk away with and never forget it is the last two sentences above.

Propositional truth is something you initially comprehend, then you live out in the warp and woof of life, and only then you truly understand it, know it, own it. It involves all of you, mind, body, spirit and social context. So, being an intentional follower of Christ yet unintentionally Greek or Roman in our thinking, we as evangelical Bible-believing Christians either stay up in the lofty vestibule of doctrinal truths, out of touch with real life, or we cling to the familiar, the traditional, and retrofit doctrine to fit it. And both lead to deadness, even if the numbers increase. And that's because unless you handle the actual Gospel of Jesus Christ, it has a shelf life and by looking at a lot of churches these days, the expiration date is long past due. It's the reason why we are hypocrites to the watching world (of course, all are hypocrites, but that's another topic) and it’s the reason why all our Christian talk has long since lost its relevance with daily life. It's not that the things referenced in our language are irrelevant, but that in our shallow understanding of these things, we cling to language to get out our sentences and to stay on topic, even if it is powerless. And the reason our understanding of Scripture is shallow is because we focus on only cognitive understanding, at best, or retrofitting doctrine to fit our familiarity, at worst. And in either case, no one listens, cares or bothers.

That should convict us. I know it does me.

When you see people in the church try to split it up or run off a pastor or other members, in almost every case, these people could quote you Scripture frontwards and backwards, even though it would defy their behavior. And what I described above is the best thing I can come up with to explain their actions. They cognitively know Scripture, but they are ignorant of it, because they've never bothered actually living it out to do, as Jesus commanded, find out if His teachings are from God or only from human understanding. Some of the meanest people I have met know their Scripture and can quote it on demand. But listening to what they quote seems hopelessly disconnected from their actual lives. How about loving God with all you are and loving your neighbor? What we usually see are churches that focus on the other, treat other people like hell and call it love, or we see churches that ignore the first, contrive the second and make sure everyone sees it. And in spiritual realms, these actions are like hackings, impalings and buckshot wounds through the souls of lives, all over REAL important things, such as musical instruments, PowerPoint aids, popular controversies or devolving into nothing more than a glorified political movement.

So, what can we do? It seems the obvious thing is to do more than study Scripture. We should actually start trying out Scriptural truths in our lives, starting today. I think by doing so, two things will emerge. First, we will discover that Jesus' teachings are from God, rather than human ingenuity. Second, we will see just how enslaved we have been to our vested self and petty interests, as well as how we have trained our mind, body, soul and social context to serve those interests, rather than to serve others for the sake of the Kingdom. Since I began to try putting these teachings in place in my life, I have discovered both of those things. I have also discovered other things, like certain emotional triggers that used to control my words, actions and my general outlook. And although those triggers are still there, I can separate myself from them, captivate them and try to bring them under the dominion of Christ's truth. All of the sudden, Scripture is more than a suit, shiny shoes and a program. It is a living, vibrant and exciting life, far more exciting than I thought it could be.

For those of you, who, like me, could interpret a sort of legalistic bondage in anything I wrote, let me try to defuse that right now. My walk with Christ REQUIRES I deal with failure. Failure is a prerequisite for victory. Failure is necessary. Not only are we to not avoid it, we can't avoid it. We have fallen into a weird view where if it involves any participation on our part, we deny grace and consider it something akin to legalistic bondage. Legalism requires enslavement to outcomes. It works through human ingenuity to manage opinions and appearances to that end. Jesus commanded us to obey, but also understood our failures and weaknesses. His atonement on the cross and His resurrection from the dead means failure isn't fatal, even if it is required, if we are to be honest and serious about putting feet to Scripture.

I think if we start thinking differently, understanding the true Gospel of Christ and as a result, understand ourselves better, there is no telling where we go from there. If I can just take Africa and use that as my sole personal experience, I can at least tell you that you have never experienced true amazement, excitement and life drama. He cannot be contained or controlled. In that sense, He's wild and untamable. And when we earnestly become His apprentices in this manner, expect the unexpected....and expect it with the three aspects of His Spirit ...power, love and sanity.

The Demons Cleanthes & Epicurus

Notwithstanding my beliefs, consider these demons as pandemic neuroses, if it helps. But grant me the patience to indulge in a bit of this language to illustrate a point or two.

Through my own struggles as well as my observations, I see two demons rampant within human life: Cleanthes and Epicurus. Each one has its own methods, but both have the same result in destruction and decay of human life. Those possessed by Cleanthes, as well as Epicurus, willfully do so out of the need to manage all outcomes and appearances. But once one gives in to either, the incredible amount of energy and intellect expended on the methods they use can amaze, even if it carries destructiveness with it.

Cleanthes is a spirit that requires control. His words are stoic and proud. But those terms are window dressing for a deeper desire to control everyone and everything. A person possessed by Cleanthes has a tendency to be abusive, controlling and manipulative. Although Cleanthes can posses anyone, religion is a great avenue and wonderful fodder for his methods. But outside of religion, Cleanthes runs rampant. His name is spread, and disciples made, in areas of business, politics and social networking. Wherever you see the nervous and accelerated energy to control, roll over, destroy or manipulate, you are seeing his gospel at work. This disciple comes across as terrifyingly moral and ready to correct. Yet, I think it was Sigmund Freud or Carl Jung, or some other famous thinker who stated, of all the heads they unscrewed, not one time did they not find someone terribly afraid. Fear of the future, the unknown as well as our own security and significance can drive us into the arms of Cleanthes. And once there, his promises of rectitude are alluring and although they always end up very bitter-sweet for us, the bitter may sting us, but with just enough sweet to keep us going, planning, strategizing for the next step. And the sweetness of any success employed by being an apprentice of this demon leaves a bigger desire for more satisfaction. There is an unquenching thirst to drive longer, harder and speed it all up. Of course, there is no satiability, just more desire. The projects either fail, causing disappointment, or succeed, causing emptiness and disillusionment. But Cleanthes, upon the despair of his disciple's wake, whispers in his or her ear, "don't look back. it's all about you." Those words have a fatal draw for a will that tries to take care of itself. Once allegiance is made to Cleanthes, getting away is practically impossible. As a result, people are used up, resources are expended and a wake is left behind a trail of business plans, political platforms and new ministries.

Epicurus works through a different angle. If Cleanthes plays on our desire for significance, Epicurus plays on a fears for security. The world is a very harsh place. Having it full of people possessed by Cleanthes in powerful positions doesn't make it seem any less harsh. In any case, we tend to want to curl up and hide somewhere for a while....close the blinds and turn off the phone. But this sort of resignation isn't always anti-social. People can get energy from solitude or from social gatherings. And neither is a stumbling block for this demon. Epicurus has his ways of working the hopelessly social as well. His tools of the trade are the allure and subsequent hammer of our hurts, habits and hang ups. Sexual addictions, chemical dependencies and just self-possessed desires for an ambiguous satisfaction are tools the disciple of Epicurus illicits. His disciple also ends up with bitter-sweet results, with the same mixture. The fix is momentary and the desire that was their before the fix, shows back up, stronger and deeper than ever before. Rather than the Cleanthian disciples outward control of other people in order to move onward and upward, albeit things turned upside down, Epicurus destroys his disciples from the inside by alluring them into a false sense of security through sex, drugs, food, work, revenge, requiring more and more with diminishing returns. Whether the disciple is wealthy and famous or poor and invisible, he makes no distinguishment other than using those circumstances to his benefit in their personal destruction.

Both disciples are bent on destruction. Cleanthes' disciples destroy others before they turn on themselves. Epicurus' disciples avoid the middle step and begin destroying themselves right away. Both end up, outside of redemption, in the human garbage dump, along with all the contracts, buy offs, dirty needles and broken relationships. Both disciples are capable of choosing otherwise. Despite the draw within and the circumstances without, there are other ways. But because of a prevailing feeling of ultimately being completely alone, it seems impossible to ignore their whispers. Both types of disciples will cleverly hide the despair behind the facade of saccharin-like satisfaction, which is sometimes cleverly deceptive and at other times, hardly more than thinly transparant to even other disciples of that ilk. But the facade has to continue because admitting defeat, giving up and giving in seems almost suicidal to them. The grip tightens. It will be death rather than admitting a deep and profound misery and surrender. New distractions or another project or soap box may help in steering clear, but the distractions must continue to be better, projects more intense and political banners far more enveloping to keep out of those dangerous waters.

The Great Physician is the only antidote and the last place these disciples will turn, were it not for a divine nudge. Although His words, "Come to me all you who are weary and heavily burdened and I will give you rest for your souls..." makes cognitive sense to them, they have convinced themselves they are in no need of this cure. In fact, they have deluded themselves into actually believing the tricks they invented to avoid resignation. In fact, they have convinced themselves there isn't any such thing as a soul, as if somehow reducing themselves down to an organic structure will eliminate the despair or make it illusory. Of course, by doing that, then they can no longer distinguish between reality and imagination. Pain hurts, but contending it is all in the mind leaves them fragmented. This is probably why The Physician always stated that He came for the sick, rather than the well. Of course, in context of those sayings, you can tell that the 'well' were simply Cleanthian disciples disguised as pictures of health. The fact is, all are disciples are one or the other, and know, deep down, that if something doesn't happen soon, it will be a sad end. But aside those words The Physician calls out for those in need, His harsh words are recognized as well: "Be quiet! Come out of him!" Of course, that's hardball, and so long as these disciples can avoid hardball, as well as The Great Physician, all will remain as it does.

He calls out to them. He calls out to us. As one who has been a disciple of both demons, I am living testimony of all that I have written above and declare to all disciples of every dark force that The Great Physician, Jesus Christ, can and does heal. He has the power to eliminate the bondage described and, although circumstances may seem the same, inside of us, we are changed and calm, with a peace that passes understanding. This is salvation and it is available now. It doesn't matter if we are already serving these demons within a religious context. Come to Him. Leave all your burdens at His feet and become a new sort of disciple. One that restores and rebuilds, rather than destroys.