Man-Shaped God

A few months ago I found myself consumed with the determination of Spiritual Gifts. My guess is that every minister has been in that place at one time or another… looking for the perfect questionnaire; the perfect gift-list to prove that everyone’s got one. Administration, Teaching, Service, Giving, Hospitality, Shepherding, etc, etc. I was trying to fuse the gifts with the four personality types to find the correlation, and to help people understand how their dispositions can both fuel and obstruct their work for God.

But then in a moment of boredom I picked up Henry and Mel Blackaby’s book, "What’s So Spiritual About Your Gifts?" I have to confess, I didn’t even read a whole chapter, but my eyes did fall on a particular paragraph, that encouraged me to ask myself if the answers to my Spiritual Gift Questionnaire would have been any different before I was saved. I had to wonder. Was I dealing with a mere Christian regurgitation of a Career Assessment Exam? Was I ascending to the eternal truth of God, or chopping Him down to size?

When Karl Marx said “religion is an opiate for the people” he was absolutely right. An even better quote (although I don’t know the source) is, “God created man in His image, then man returned the favor.” Although Augustine implied (and Pascal echoed) that there exists within each our souls a God-shaped hole, we’re learning the hard way that you can’t fill a God-shaped hole with a man-shaped god.

Have you ever been taught a formula to relate to God? How about “Come to church every week, pray, read your Bible and give your ten percent, and God will take care of you”? Or this one: “Be a good, godly parent, and your kids will grow up to be courteous, successful and content.” Or else: “Just keep saying ‘God Bless America’ and our military will never be defeated (again.)”

Is God a vending machine? Is He a software program? We have all taken advantage of God’s faithfulness in the worst way. Just because He will never break His promises doesn’t mean He is a predictable God, racking His brain for ways to keep His children fat and happy.

I agree with the idea of the God-shaped hole. We humans recognize our emptiness, our neediness, and we have tried possessions, power, drugs, hobbies, romance, friendships, family, philosophy, fashion, food and on and on to finally feel fulfilled. But these things are not God-shaped. Ultimately, many of us find ourselves at the foot of the cross, surrendering everything to an infinite, mysterious, omniscient, compassionate, fearsome Spirit and discover that we are whole.

But soon we decide it’s too much work to live His presence all the time. We want the fulfillment, but the constant surrender gets annoying.

Have you ever wondered why Christians build grandiose churches, compose bombastic hymns, preach stirring sermons, and do anything necessary to gather large crowds of people? Is it the true handiwork of God? Maybe.

But for the most part, these are our divine imitations, our man-shaped gods. And if the world laughs at us like a 4-year old wearing his daddy’s shoes, it’s no wonder.

God Hates Fred Phelps (?)

“God Hates America”
“Too Late To Pray”
“God Is Your Enemy”
“America Is Doomed”
“Thank God for [Dead Soldiers, 9/11, IEDs]

Free speech run amok.

It’s hard to get angry at the news anymore. So much murder, death, corruption, spin, extortion, starvation, hopelessness… you can’t care about all of it and keep your nerves intact. Desensitization is the consequence of an information-soaked society.

But I’m sure my blood was not alone in boiling at the latest news from Crackpot Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. “Pastor” Fred Phelps, infamous for his leadership in the “God Hates Fags” demonstrations, is protesting not just the war in Iraq, not just the Bush Administration, but the soldiers and even the widows, declaring to the spouse of a departed, “You’re partly responsible for him being dead, woman.”

So, without bothering to ask any funeral attendees their opinion of the war, or of homosexuality, Fred and his crew are crashing the party, holding aloft their signs of contempt and derision. And I mention homosexuality because, for this crowd, that’s what it all boils down to. Fred isn’t really against the war, or the military, or their widows. He’s against “fags” and all those who tolerate them.

Not only is his rhetoric disgusting, it’s illogical. He has a knack for contradicting himself. His website claims that Jesus did not die for the unregenerate, including homosexuals, and that they have no chance for redemption. Yet he persists in picketing against them, demanding that they turn and repent. He thanks God for dead soldiers, and yet, as quoted above, blames widows for bringing dead soldiers about.

I answered a poll at Good Morning America’s website that told me I am among the unanimity of responders so far in believing that funerals should be off-limits to protesters. I can say with confidence that America is against people like Fred Phelps, and for legislation (being introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Michael Rogers of Michigan) to keep him and his ilk away from grieving friends and family.

We despise his message. We abhor his method. Do we hate Fred Phelps? Does God?

“For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have?” Jesus asks in Matthew 5:46. If we cannot love our kids when they’re insubordinate, our friends when they’re negligent, and our fellow citizens when they’re out of their minds, we have not loved at all.

And ultimately, if we find our love to be no better than Fred’s, I have only one thing to say:

“America is doomed.”

Part 4 Continued: TIME article

As a continuation of the current thread on House Church, I want to direct everybody to an article from the February 27 issue of TIME magazine called "There's No Pulpit Like Home." It explores the House Church Movement in this country in a very favorable light, so I think it adds a lot to the discussion.

Part 4: House Church

Have I got the trend for you!

You know what everybody’s used to doing? So easy, comfy, predicable? No muss, no fuss? Well you can forget about that, because the latest fad is tough as nails! It’s messy and frustrating! It’ll invade your privacy and give you a lot of extra work to do! It’ll make sure you never have more than you need and take away any chance you have of coasting through life! It’s fussy kids and dirty dishes and late nights sitting on folding chairs! Let me tell you, this is a fad that’s here to stay!

Ready to sign up? Sure you are. By the title you already knew I was talking about House Church, or as we at The Core call it, Home Church.

People such as George Barna (in his book, Revolution) are calling House Church a trend. Naturally, this is a loaded word, since the 20th century church has been through dozens of trends, none of which seemed to result in much serious change. The word “trendy” even presumes a short life upon that which it describes.

The Anatomy of a Trend

So what is a trend, really? I didn’t study this because I think you can all agree with me here: A trend is a shift towards a new, more desirable product, style or method. Many times it is only more desirable because it is new and fresh, and not because the product, style or method carries any extra empirical value.

But I believe you would be hard-pressed to find a short-lived trend occurring toward that which is inconvenient, invasive and messy.

Nevertheless, Home Church is finding itself on the bleeding edge of Christianity. So is it a new paradigm, or just a flash in the pan?

Paradigm Shift

As King Solomon is famous for saying, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Those who are serious about Home Church know that as well as anyone. They take a hard look at all the shadows of “newness” taking place in the Church and realize that we can’t win that game. The Church will never have the money or the manpower to compete with MTV, Hollywood and Madison Avenue. And consequently it seems that every attempt to be edgy just ends up in a desperate attempt to be no more than two steps behind popular culture. But even if it were possible, would it be good?

The Apostle Paul says, “Don’t conform yourself to the styles and fashions of the world. Rather, let God transform you and renew your mind.” That doesn’t mean that we should ignore what the world is doing. But it should cause us to ask ourselves who is our model (see my post on the First-Century Church.) We have to shift our eyes from watching the world’s every move, to focusing on the guiding of the Holy Spirit and the teaching of His Word.

The Church Comes Home

Some people will read the book of Acts and conclude that God has set up a veritable constitution for Church form and function. Personally, I don’t think that position would hold up in court. But we can’t ignore the heavy emphasis on relationships. If the Church exists for no other reason, it exists to bring people closer to God and closer to each other. So we absolutely must ask ourselves if our church experience is accomplishing that. When you go to a large building and sit in a pew and watch a religious show, are you drawing closer to God and other people? Maybe you are. I know I have from time to time. But it always seemed like it happened more by accident than by design.

I will concede that there are probably many ways to accomplish the building of the kind of relationships championed by the book of Acts, and really, the whole Bible. But when it comes to vulnerability, intimacy, accountability and community, there is nothing like inviting others into your home to eat together, worship together, talk together, and learn together. It builds a binding strength that doesn’t lend itself to the flightiness and ambivalence of the typical local body. It allows everyone to play a crucial role in the corporate work of God. And it forces us to, slowly but surely, lay down our defenses and learn how to love others (even the unlovable) with the love of Christ.

Now I need to hear from you. What are the challenges you’ve anticipated, experienced and/or overcome in regards to Home Churching? What are other forms and methods besides HC that can build such powerful bonds as those seen in the First Century Church? Is there a case to be made for pew-and-pulpit ministry?

If I throw in the sales tax and extended warranty is there any reason why you wouldn’t want to buy this trend right now?