Why "Evangelism" Is a Horrible Idea

     Last night I went out to hang with some homeless friends under a bridge, and I witnessed something that broke my heart: A couple hundred of "the least of these" standing hungry and broken beneath a bridge, waiting for a bite to eat that they might no longer be hungry, or a cup of water to drink that they might no longer thirst. Only a few feet away were tables covered with good food, clean water and intact clothing, and it would seem for a moment as if all their needs were about to be met. Until the guy praying for the meal breaks off his prayer to start preaching.
     Don't get me wrong, I'm not against preaching... I'm a preacher. I believe in the power of words to bring home the timeless truths of God. Jesus himself preached, as did Peter and Paul. I did however, have a problem with this. As the multitudes stood waiting, helpless to leave unless they wanted to go yet another day without a meal, he yelled at the top of his lungs, shouting about hell and condemnation and telling these people how absolutely terrible they were. Every now and again a verse of scripture was interspersed through the clamor, but when it was heard I wept, for the words of Christ were horribly misrepresented as they emanated from this man's mouth. It was clear to me and those who I was with that the only thing this "gospel" was doing was hardening these peoples hearts.
     Think with me for a moment, how did Jesus do ministry? He sat down and ate with sinners, he developed genuine relationships with people and loved on them. To the "religious" folk who wanted to condemn he spoke harshly, but to the lost and the broken he showed love. This is what we must do! We must meet people where they are at and love them unconditionally. Jesus did not tell us to, "love your neighbor until he converts and stop loving him if he doesn't," but to "love your neighbor as yourself" and to "love one another as I have loved you."
     What would it look like for us to love unconditionally? To reach out and to treat those whom society has marginalized like a human being? That's all they want! Imagine what it would be like to go through life being judged constantly people assuming that you got to be where you are at because of drugs, alcohol or laziness; people treating you as if you where somehow inferior--sub-human because of the circumstances you have fallen upon.
     Or even imagine for a moment that you find yourself without a job, without a home and without a friend because of bad choices you have made. And now, no one will even look you in the eye! Imagine for a moment the brokenness, imagine the despair. Now imagine for a moment that someone looks you in the eye and says, "good morning friend, is there anything I can do for you? Can I get you food or water? Perhaps some clean clothes? Is there some way I could be praying for you today?" What if someone were to ask your name... a name that had become unfamiliar to your own lips from neglect, because no one cared to ask. What if you were treated like an actual person bearing the Imago Dei and dearly loved by your Creator?
     Would not this give you hope? And if this were to happen consistently, wouldn't you wonder, "what makes this person so different? Why do they care so much about me? They say they're 'just a group of folks trying to follow Jesus, and he told us to love people so that's what we're doing...' What if there's something to this Jesus person?"
     Friends, preaching's all well and good, but its not going to validate itself! You can talk and talk until you're blue in the face but if there is nothing to lend credence to your words other than the words themselves, then the words won't have a whole lot of impact. It is a changed life that will bear witness to the truth of your words, a life changed by Jesus and inspired to follow in his footsteps by loving people without limits or conditions.
     And what if they don't respond to your kindness with anything more than a smile and a thank you? We keep loving them! The love of God is not conditional on conversion, and ours shouldn't be either. We're called to feed the hungry, even when they are our enemies (Romans 12:20) and to clothe the naked (Matthew 25:35). For Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40 ).
     So do I think we should even preach to the poor and marginalized when we go to serve them? Well, in the traditional evangelistic sense? No. I believe our lives of love and service are to be our witness and these things will speak far louder than our words ever could. The church has gotten a bad rap, we're hypocritical don't you know? And we judge and condemn. We don't actually care for those who we preach Christ to, we just want them to convert, be baptized and go home.
     The truth is, if people believe that about us they will want nothing to do with what we have to say or the Jesus we represent. We must first prove in a very real and tangible way that we genuinely love those who we profess to, and that we care for them holistically. Don't mistake me here, the key word is genuinely. This isn't some new-fangled evangelism scheme to make converts. Listen: In order to convince people you genuinely love them... we need to genuinely love them! We're not pretending to love people so that they'll believe us and repent, I can't say it enough--Love is not conditional upon repentance! We're to be about genuinely loving people because that's what Jesus was about. Does genuine love mean that eventually we address spiritual needs? Yes. But we do that from a place of friendship, not detached sunday-school street-evangelism.

God's Wrath as an Expression of His Love

     An interesting quote from Pacifist theologian Miroslav Volf in regards to the nature of God's character and how his anger does not contradict or work against his love, but is rather and expression of it.

      "I used to think that wrath (anger) was unworthy of God. Isn’t God love? Shouldn’t divine love be beyond wrath? God is love, and God loves every person and every creature. That’s exactly why God is wrathful against some of them. My last resistance to the idea of God’s wrath was a casualty of the war in former Yugoslavia, the region from which I come. According to some estimates, 200,000 people were killed and over 3,000,000 were displaced. My villages and cities were destroyed, my people shelled day in and day out, some of them brutalized beyond imagination, and I could not imagine God not being angry. Or think of Rwanda in the last decade of the past century, where 800,000 people were hacked to death in one hundred days! How did God react to the carnage? By doting on the perpetrators in a grandparently fashion? By refusing to condemn the bloodbath but instead affirming the perpetrators basic goodness? Wasn’t God fiercely angry with them? Though I used to complain about the indecency of the idea of God’s wrath, I came to think that I would have to rebel against a God who wasn’t wrathful at the sight of the world’s evil. God isn’t wrathful in spite of being love. God is wrathful because God is love."

 

Viewing Rob Bell Through the Lens of the Gospel

     Rob Bell, a prominent evangelical pastor and writer, has been accused of heresy and Universalism due to the trajectory of his teaching, and his latest book Love Wins. Controversy started as a response to a promotional video created for the book, and a number of interviews in which he denies the existence of Hell. Bell claims, in the end, God’s love wins everyone over, and those who don't choose Christ in life will be won over after death.
     My prayer is that instead of jumping to conclusions, people would view his work and teaching through the lens of the Bible, keeping in mind the central tenets of our faith. Namely: Jesus is the Christ, fully God and fully man, and all scripture is inspired by God and was recorded accurately through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
     Having established this, it is important to be aware that Jesus discusses Hell more than any other person in scripture. In Luke 16:19-26 Jesus tells a story about a righteous beggar who goes to heaven, and self-indulgent rich man who goes to hell. In Matthew 10:28 Jesus says not to fear man, but to fear instead the judgement of a God who can “destroy both soul and body in hell.” In Matthew 13:41-42 Jesus says “The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
    These are just a few of the many recorded instances where Jesus discusses Hell. If we accept Jesus as the Christ, and as the incarnation of the trinitarian God of the Bible, then we cannot doubt His words. Jesus says that sinners go to Hell, and in John 14:6 and several other places in the gospels he says that He is the only way to Heaven. Those who will not put there faith in Him face the “wrath of God against unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18).
     It is in this that Christianity separates its self from the rest of the world, and this belief is far from socially acceptable. But the reality that “whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life" (John 3:36) rules and shapes the Christian worldview. The Bible teaches that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Furthermore, Romans 6:23 tells us that “the wages of sin is death,” but goes on to tell us that there is hope, “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
     In every instance, the Bible is very specific in saying that Hell is a reality, and the only way to avoid it is through a saving, persevering faith in Christ Jesus. Given this, are the claims Bell makes in his book and teaching heretical? Having not read Love Wins myself, I do not wish to contribute to that controversy. In fact, I sincerely hope that despite the publisher's description and promotional video Bell's book does have its roots in biblical truth. However, based off of the responses by pastors I love and respect, and reviews of the book, that does not seem to be the case. If his claims are what they seem to be, then he is teaching a false gospel.
     My prayer for you who are reading this, and the main purpose of this letter, is that you would not join in the condemnation of this man whose teaching has served to edify many, including myself and many in my home church. Instead I encourage you to pray for him, that he might find his way home to the Father. And, that if you choose to read Bell's book, that you would view its claims in light of Biblical truths, and in the context of the core Christian doctrines.

Facebook Christianity

     Facebook Christianity... you probably know what this is, but if you don't, I will define it for you. Its when someone appears to be passionate about their faith through quotes and statuses and blogs that they post on various social networking sites. The irony in this is that many cases the words being typed onto a screen do not reflect the lifestyle that the person typing them is living.
My point is this: it is far easier to tweet about a bible verse or a evangelistic message than it is to live it. Now as I say this I want you to keep in mind that technology is a powerful tool. With the advent of social networks thousands of people can connect at the speed of light, and thoughts and ideas can be exchanged in an instant.
     Imagine if such ability to connect with people across the globe and share ideas had been possible in during the European Enlightenment Era, or the Protestant Reformation, or the Awakening... The world as we know it would be drastically different because great thinkers and theologians would have the power to conference and build on each others ideas, even share entire works of literature instantaneously. However, no matter how great or powerful and idea may be, it comes to nothing if it is not put into practice. Can you see where this is going?
     On the other hand, an idea put into practice can be revolutionary. Take for example, the recent revolution in Egypt. It started with an idea, a dream of a better home, a place for freedom and democracy, where all would have rights. The idea hit the web, appearing on Facebook and Twitter. In a short period of time the idea was viral among people the age of myself, the majority of my readers, and perhaps people a few years older. These young men and women began organizing protests via internet, posting political blogs, sharing ideas... starting a revolution.
     If they had just stopped there then it probably would have died out over time, just another idea in a long string of incredible but impractical ideas. But they didn't stop there, they put their ideas into action. That is what truly started a revolution. And their passion and perseverance made the revolution a success, they are now taking the first steps onto a long road of reforms.
It started with and idea, spread through instantaneous communication via social network, culminated in action, and ended in success. Do all revolutions that follow this path succeed? No. But I know of one that is guaranteed to.
     Because God has given us His Word, we know that the gospel will ultimately prevail.  That the work of sanctification that is being done in us will lead to our final justification when Christ returns, so long as we continuously put our faith in him. As long as we recognize our dependence on the Gospel, as long as we feed on it daily, and realize that we cannot save our selves, and live for the glory of God with joy (see Romans 1:15-18).... of course, that is another blog post entirely.
     What I mean in saying that is this: we have a task set before us, a commission to share the gospel with the lost and broken to the glory of God. It is a task that we do not have to be ashamed of because the gospel will ultimately prevail (Rom 1:16). Why then not start a revolution? Why not stand up and say that the direction society is going in is leading to self destruction, why not recognize that these trials and tribulations we face are the wrath of righteous and just God against unrighteousness, why not share the good news that their is hope and salvation in Christ Jesus, and that by the power of grace death becomes a gateway to paradise, futility and suffering become pathways to holiness, punishment is transformed into purification, and the power of sin is replaced with a growing love of righteousness. This is a revolution that cannot fail!
     A friend of mine wrote this on my last blog post, he said "Whenever I read what you say, I can only think of one much older and much more experienced. I don't know why. You just SOUND like a... religious leader, for lack of a better term."
     The fact that he put emphasis on sound works out nicely, because I want to point that out. Now, I don't believe that this is necessarily what he meant by this, but I'm making a point. I can write like a religious leader all I want, but am I living the life of a leader? Does my life reflect my blog? There is a radical love that we are claiming to know on our Facebook accounts, that we tweet clever sayings about, and yes, even write long redundant blogs posts about. The question is do we really know that radical love? Because a radical love cannot leave us unchanged. Are we truly allowing the love of Christ pervade our lives, every aspect of them? Are we truly living our lives to the glory of God to the extent that 1 Corinthians 10:13 commands us to? The very reason we were created?
     My challenge for you and I is this: Lets start our own revolution. The ideas are out there, God gave us a fantastic book as the final word, and there are thousands of theological resources on the web, get to really know God, really trust Him, and begin to develop a deeper relationship with Him. But lets not wait until we think we have all the answers. We will never have all the answers in this life, and we probably won't in the next either. Earnestly seek out truth, but the, the time is now to live radically for Christ. Not tomorrow or the next day. As a pastor friend of mine likes to say "Someday is the busiest day in human history." We will always be works in progress, but by the grace of God we have an opportunity even in the midst of our own brokenness to share the love of Christ with a lost and broken world.

A Retreat, A Pilgrimage, and The Reality of Glory

     There is an overwhelming peacefulness to Cape Cod that pervades your soul. The atmosphere is quiet and calm, and the area is rich in character and history, not to mention national beauty. It is a great place to go and relax, spend time with family, and refocus. Often times I overcrowd my schedule and I don't allow myself a second to breathe. I end up "squeezing in" God, so to speak. Which of course is a very dangerous thing. When we "Squeeze God in" to our busy schedule we develop an attitude that is counter-productive to spiritual growth. That is: God is no longer a priority. Instead of being an ever-present and developing relationship, God becomes someone to whom we pay attention to if we have the time.
     Back in March of 2011 I visted the Cape for a week. It was a retreat for me of sorts. I got an opportunity to spend time with some family, read, think, reflect, and study God's word. At the end ofa great week of rest and refocusing, we took a trip up to Orleans, Mass, where we visited the Church of The Transfiguration, which is maintained and used by an ecumenical order of Benidictine Monks know as the Community of Jesus.
     The first thing we noticed upon entering the campus was the genuine kindness of the Monks. Simply put: they radiated Joy, the kind of joy that can only come from a life lived for the glory of God. In fact there whole community is built upon the foundation of bringing about the glory of God among all peoples. That's one of the reasons they are an ecumenical community. As Paul begs the early church to do in Philippians, they are of "one mind, intent on one purpose." Catholics and Protestants, Methodists and Calvinists all come together, reconciling liturgy and worship from all traditions together and putting minor differences aside to come together and enjoy, worship, delight in, and glorify the one eternal God.
     The church itself is a work of art. It tells the story of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, and displays how Christ relates as the central figure in all of scripture. The most commanding fresco is in the front of the church, in the great dome above the altar. It displays Christ as the King of Kings, as he will appear on the final day. From him flows a depiction of the river of life, and sitting beneath him, in the river, are four books representative of the gospels, the first line of each gospel is written on them in Greek. The river collides with the floor and flows out into a beautiful image of Gods creation, spreading out down the center aisle and ending in the baptismal chamber which is an intricate artistic rendering of the Trinity.
     As I stood beneath the image of Christ spreading his arms out over his creation and I stood in awe of the beauty and intensity of the moment, I noticed a few things. One being that the image was both comforting and discomforting. Its commanding presence brought into mind God's sovereignty, and the reality that he needs to be present and dominant in our lives. That presence also reminded me that that reality is not always comfortable. Christ was and is a radical, he disturbs us from our complacency and inspires us to action, one cannot encounter Christ and remain unchanged: Either we are radically transformed, or we harden our hearts and turn away, unwilling to make the changes or accept the gospel as the power and glory of God to transform our lives (Romans 1:16-17).
     The second thing that crossed my mind was that even this image, this church, this beautiful, powerful, artistic, inspiring, worshipful rendition of Christ and his story, can not come close to the glory, beauty, and majesty that will be revealed to his called and beloved on the day of his return...

I can't wait.

A conversation with Al Capone

     I lived in Lowell for eight years, grew up there. Those streets played a big part in making me who I am, formulating the person I am becoming. It's funny because I hardly remember them. That is to say, I remember walking past kids fighting on the street on my way to school, I remember the dirt and the crowded streets, I remember the Catholic school I attended for a while and the nuns that ran it. but I remember very little of the good. Kerouac Park, Expresso's pizza, all the time I spent with my family and friends in the city.

    One good thing does stand out in my mind, and one person. I grew up in the Catholic church, and while I never claimed the faith as my own, and my dad did not know Christ at the time, my mom had always been Catholic. We attended a church on Bridge street called The Church of Saint Michael. My mom told me that the reason we had made it our home was because the first time I heard the Reverend speak, I told her I wanted to go there. I didn't really know why, I just did.

     The Reverend's name was Father Albert Capone. And while the irony of his name (although he purposely pronounces it differently) did not escape me, there was something about him that drew me to him. He was compassionate, wise, and confident with great faith, and just by hearing the sound of his voice you could tell that he was a man of God. It's hard to explain the feeling you had when you were around him, but he just wasn't like other priests.

     One particular thing I remember about him was that he wasn't afraid of my questions. My CCD teacher used to tell me that I asked far too many, the Father later told me it was just because she didn't understand herself. Father Capone would answer my questions, every last one of them. I thought it was the greatest thing ever at the time, because Priests had always told me the same thing: "You don't question God!"

     Recently my family and I started visiting Lowell again. My mom decided to make a go of being a pen and ink artist (and she's doing an excellent job of it I might add), and so she joined the Arts League of Lowell. This of course means that her work is in several galleries in the area, so we travel back and forth quite a bit. It's funny, because I hadn't thought about St. Michael's or Father Capone for years, but the other day he just popped into my head, and I felt a prodding to go see him.

     Today, before my mom's artist reception, I went over to the rectory to visit. He welcomed me in with a big smile and listened with growing excitment as I told him about my life in nashua, my finding Christ, and my pursuit of ministry.

     After we had exchanged stories he began talking to me about a variety of things. While he was of course, mildly disappointed that I had not come to faith within the Catholic church, and my visit wasn't to tell him I was joining the priesthood, he rejoiced that I was now looking to serve God in ministry. He then gave me some advice that I had not gotten anywhere else. The first thing he told me was to balance my life. He stressed it as very important, reminding me that I was still young, and that Jesus did not start his ministry until he was 33 for a reason. That time between is a learning process, and Jesus later used ordinary everyday things to explain his message. He explained to me that Christ needs to be the center, but there's no reason you can't still do things you enjoy. In fact, with Christ as your center your enjoyment of these things should be magnified in him.

     We then got into a discussion about the Bible, and he told me that there was a difference between reading the bible, and praying the bible. The Bible is God's word, and we can't get so caught up in theological nuisances that we fail to hear God's voice. At the same time, it's important to immerse ourselves in scripture, in the historical context of the writing, taking in every word so that we understand it as best we can with the guidance of the spirit. The better we know His word, the better we know His voice. The more we know His voice, the easier it is to hear Him speak, and to recognize the things that are not of Him.

     I'd heard something along these lines before but this struck me anew. Those of you who know me well know about my sudden "discovery" of the scriptures and how intensely I have been studying them of late. I had to sit for a moment and think, I'm not just studying facts, I'm learning the sound of God's voice... am I leaving room among all of the theology for God to whisper to my heart? I'd encourage any reader to ask the same question.

     Our discussion pressed on, and soon we talked about the way that we lived life. There is no subject I am more passionate about than living for the Glory of God, in finding my deepest joy in him and letting that overflow as love in every aspect of my life. Once again, I found myself challenged by a man much older and wiser. He told me that it was a temptation to Preach what we think we should be preaching instead of what we are living. That didn't make sense to me for a minute, but then he explained further. If a Preacher is preaching what the bible teaches, and what all people should be doing, but is not doing it, his words are empty and hollow. And he is hypocritical. His life speaks much louder than his words ever could.

     I find my deepest joy in Christ... most of the time. But sometimes other things usurp His place and become an idolater. Sometimes ever when my deepest joy is in Christ I find myself living in a way that is contrary to what I know I should be doing. In other words, I think my deepest joy is in Christ, but life is speaking volumes to disprove that. When your deepest Joy is in Christ love, kindness, selflessness, and a desire to share that joy is the natural result. I cannot share the concept of surpassing joy with you if my life doesn't reflect that at least 90% of the time. Or rather, I could, but you wouldn't believe me.

      Finally we discussed something I saw as a flaw in my own character: my tenacity when it comes to things like theology, and my challenging argumentative spirit... what I call being an overzealous Evangelical. He told me that in the Catholic Church, the Apostle Paul is always pictured as carrying a sword. He asked me if I knew why. I told him I assumed it was because he had persecuted Christians. Father Capone told me that that was partially the reason. Paul was a man of extremes, as he saw that I was from my testimony and who I was now. When he persecuted christians, he went all out. And when he preached the Gospel, he went all out. He was an overzealous Evangelical. And it was because of this he was imprisoned, and from this imprisonment he learned a new way to go about things without loosing his passion. The Spirit showed him how to use that extreme passion to spread the Message without smashing people over the head with it. Likewise, my tenacity and challenging spirit was a gift, and was part of how God created me for a reason. My job was to learn how to best use that in a way that glorified God the most, without jumping on people and biting off their heads.

     Before I left he told me one last thing. I didn't find God, he had been with me all along, all I did was notice that he was there.

     It was true nine years ago and it was true today, no one understands me and how I work better than Father Capone does, and I just wanted to share some his wisdom with you all. I think it applies to more than just ministry, I think it applies to every aspect of life. And to any non-believers out there, God's been with you through everything. Just turn around and see Him waiting for you, it will be the best decision you'll ever make.