Bathed in Blue

Although it was after nine o'clock in the evening, light filled the sky and everything could be seen clearly! The storm had passed, and all that was left was the sound of rain water dripping of the trees. I had made my way to the back porch and taken a seat that I might enjoy the last few moments of daylight. A long day at work had taken its toll on me and my energy was drained. I looked out into the world that had just endured the torrent of a severe storm and, out in the distance, I saw the faintest sliver of the Sun just on the edge of the horizon.

It is easy to take for granted the beauty of God's creation. Far too often we miss it completely amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life and our technology-drowned culture. Tonight, however, I found myself in wonder of the beautiful landscape behind my home. I sat down and began to look around, intentionally looking for all that there was to be seen. It didn't take me but a moment to realize that the light that filled the air around me left the world curiously blue. I mean literally blue! It was if the sky above had reached down and laid itself upon the ground, or as if the rain that had fallen had first been filled with blue dye before being cast to the earth.

Now, there most certainly were colors other blue. There were vivid greens of the grass and trees, and there were various shades of browns, and there was even the occasional yellow. But all of these had seemed to have a bluish tint to them. It was a beautiful, and almost alien, sight that I couldn't help but stare at in wonder.

Soon afterwards, fireflies began to light up among the tress and in the grass. The yellow light of their abdomens seemed to be the only thing left untouched by the blueness around them, and it even seemed that they were yellower than ordinary fireflies and that they shined even brighter as well! There I stood and watched the beauty of that elfin world for as long as I could, waiting for the last bit of daylight to fade away and for all the blue to turn to blackness. I had the privilege of seeing the work of God anew and, for a brief moment in time, caught a very small glimpse of His glory and splendor!

I implore you: set aside the cell phone, turn off the television and the laptop, and take a moment to see the world around you. Perhaps you need to remember that there is this thing called "grass" that grows just a few feet beyond your doorstep, or perhaps that there are flowing things called "rivers" that you have neglected to swim in this (increasingly hot) summer. Even more importantly, perhaps you  need to take a moment to notice that creature that sits but a few feet away from you staring at his or her own computer screen which you have, most unintentional, forgot was present and was bestowed the title of "human".

We were made to worship God by living in and enjoying His glorious presence and His creation, but h can we do that when we can't even put down our not-so-smartphones to have remember the beauty of true friendship and the presence of real people in our lives. Stop looking at other peoples' Instagrams of the world and take a step outside your door. Maybe you will find a world bathed in blue and a thousand fireflies waiting to greet the night with you.

Grace and Peace,

Stephen

To Love and Learn

Lately I have been reading a great deal recently about the monastic life; I have been reading and meditating on writings from monks that have long passed from this Earth, but whose words have not. There is much left for me to read and great deal more to meditate on, but thus far I have found inspiration and significance in the writings of these phenomenal men and women who displayed such incredible devotion.

In the tradition of my youth, I was not encouraged to explore the writings and teachings of our spiritual forefathers, at least not the ones who came before the holiness movement. Anything that took place between the penning of Paul's letters and the mid-1800's was left unmentioned, unquoted, and unappreciated. It wasn't until college that I began to understand the importance and value of these unexplored works. 

I am not saying that everything written by the ancients was pure gold. Some of what was written is a bit far-fetched or twisted, but they are still worth our attention and time. Today I'm reading through a book called The Love of Learning and the Desire for God, which is a beautiful piece on monastic culture. 

One thing that struck me in the book was that there were aspects of the monastic life that I experienced in my years as a member of Pentecostal congregation. Throughout my years as a Pentecostal there was a focus on the celestial and heavenly realms, a strong theology of work and action, and a continual push for devotion to God. I was highly encouraged to continuous, daily prayer and worshipful action. The difference between the philosophies that I was taught and the monastics come down to the practical application and a distinct difference in their theology of learning. 

When I say "theology of work" I am not speaking of work ethic or vocation, though it does have some implication to both. I'm referring to the interpretation of, and response to, the words of James who said that "faith without works is dead." There are those that focus on charity as the means of working out their faith, while others vocally "declare victory over their lives," and others spend hours in prayer and meditation. The list goes on. Let's just look at the monastics and the Pentecostals. 

The monks expressed this in a very practical sense through praying the offices together at preset times and living in a state of intentional community and communal labor. Through the work of their hands to plow the ground, the work of their minds to study and contemplate, and the work of their hearts to discipline themselves to prayer and self-sacrifice, they live out their faith.

The Penties are not so different in theology. It is also strange that a group of people who are often the most critical of the Roman Catholic Church are actually the closest concerning the Holy Spirit's role in the life of the Christian!

Pentecostals often have a firm grasp on the need for daily and continual prayer, though in application it varies. They do not set times and do not follow a structure or order for prayer, and this comes out of a belief that prayer should take more effort than just the devotion of one's time and thoughts, but also the laboring of words. Thus many hours of my time in prayer where spent in silence and emptiness from lack of words to express my prayers, while many hours still where spent trying to formulate elegant words and in reflection of what I was saying. In this, the Pentecostal would greatly benefit from the structure of the offices as well as the carefully developed prayers found in the Book of Common Prayer, but at the same time the monastics would greatly benefit from the freer and self-expressive prayers of the Pentecostal found weeping face down on the floor. 

The two share deep devotion, and there are those who are misled in both groups. Everyone is broken, and sin works its way in to any crevice it can find. Because of this, we find brokenness in both groups and the disconnect between them. If we were to adopt aspects from both sides of the spectrum, however, we would find that the monastics would be even more effective in their ministry to the world, and the Pentecostals would be able to engage their world in greater measure, as well as be more fully integrated into the body of Christ. Perhaps rest of Christianity can then give more applause rather than shaking their heads in embarrassment, and maybe Penties can work along side their brothers and sisters without being looked down upon as the red-headed step child of theology and practice.

Grace and Peace,

Stephen

Leadership = Servanthood

What does leadership mean? Doesn't mean having power and authority to command; to determine the fates of others and to enforce ideologies at all costs? Doesn't mean being the popular guy and having a charismatic personality that stir the hearts of men and swoon those of women? Is it the one who bears vast depths of intelligence and can solve the hardest of inter-dimensional equations and explain why all of star trek and Dr. Who are improbable? Surely, these may be leaders, or at least given the title of "leader", but it is not
"leadership."

Leadership is service. It is putting one's self last and putting others first. It is taking the strengths, intelligence, charismatic speech, and wisdom for the sake of the whole rather than personal gain. It means sticking your neck out, making the hard decisions, taking risks, and much much more. The key is serving.

Like a captain that goes down with his ship, a leader doesn't bail in a disaster when there are other in his care still on board the sinking ship. He takes responsibility for the sinking ship, even if it wasn't him that made the mistake. He doesn't point fingers at the previous ship captain and blame him for the ships current state, especially after having had command for 4+ years.

Wait...

Moving on.

In terms of church government, which varies from denomination to denomination (and sometimes church to church) this is all the more true of leadership. Priests, pastors, bishops, archbishops, and popes--these all must take up great responsibility and as they move into higher positions of authority. The higher up, the more they must serve. The more of their time, energy, and gifting is demanded of them by God for the growth of the body. Thus the reason why I support Pope Benedict's decision to step down. His realization that his physical condition kept him from being able to serve the Christian world was greatly hindered caused him to step down to make way for one who could better accomplish this task of servant-hood. It was a great act of humility and honesty in the face of critical world.

In the denomination I currently call my theological home, there is an emphasis on the concept of leadership as servant-hood. Below is a rough diagram of the hierarchy of Anglican leadership. Notice how, unlike traditional diagrams of leadership/hierarchy, the point of the pyramid points down rather than up!

The head is the tail and is considered, though spiritual and theological sound, as well as being of spiritual discipline and maturity, but he is essentially the "least" within the Anglican Church. The people or "laity" are at the top because they are the ones served by all in authority. If we wanted to get really in depth here, we could add another tier at the top entitled "Non-believers", but that's another post entirely.

As are called to disciple, to lead, and, most of all, to serve. Even the laity of the Church is called to serve one another. If all you want to do is show up and get a weekly ego boost then you aren't pleasing God. You're just pleasing your flesh. Christ called us to serve!

Ideally, all of Christiandom would have this type of leadership mindset, but sadly it just isn't the case. Pastors across the world are put on pedestals and idolized. Mega-church pastors and televangelist worldwide are getting caught up in their ego and creativity, forgetting to serve the people in their charge. On the day of judgment, they will be held responsible for their teachings and their actions. For all of God's people that were put in their lives to be served and taught.

Let's go and serve each other and the world. Let's build church that are Christ-centered rather than pastor-centered. Let's remove the Americanized understanding of what a "pastor" or "preacher" is and put some "priests"/elders in charge who can get the job done and serve the people the way God intended.

Grace and Peace,

Stephen

Of Cars and...Freedom?

I hate riding in other peoples' cars for long periods of time. Not because I love driving, but because I feel trapped and deprived of freedom. Unable to get away...completely at the mercy of my host and his/her musical preference. It is an incredibly frustrating feeling.

There are certain places in this world and certain people that when present I can't help but feel robbed of freedom and individuality. This is sad because I often find that it's my own fault that I lack that freedom; failing to address what feel like intrusions, determine what truly are vialations of space and freedom, and to then speak up against the true intrusions.

Do you have people in your life that leave you feeling robbed of power; of freedom? Are there things that seem miniscule to most but really get under your skin? In what ways do you take action against such feelings?

Grace and Peace,
Stephen

Failing with Community

Last week I was talking to a close friend and he was expressing a great deal of pain over having  lost a job that he put forth a significant amount of effort and time to keep. He refused to tell anyone in the church he was attending or any of his closest friends in the area, save for me, what had happened. There in a car steadily cruising down 4th street, he spilled many bitter tears and he said, "I can't face them...I can't tell them that I failed."

As I sat in the car with him I felt my heart break with him. Sadly, I had not the words to encourage him. In fact, it seemed as though he simply would not hear the words I had to say. Sentences worked their way past my teeth as I tried to share and partake in his burden, to be there with him, but every time  I was thwarted in my attempt at being a friend and member of his community with words of pain that stated "you don't understand!", "I'm not like you, I'm not as smart as you", "I can't let them know, I just can't!", etc. It is not a shocker though. This is a common issue. I've seen this my entire life, and I have often behaved the same way. How do you tell the people you love and respect that you failed? How do you face disappointing those you look up to?

There lies a flaw in our understanding of relationship and community. In fact, the answer to my friend's struggle was simple. He merely had to remember that the ones that he held close in community love him. That's huge! It makes all the difference in the world to remember that the ones we love do love us in return. If they do not love us and respect us, then what reason have we to want to please them? And if they truly love us, then why must we fear their response at our failing?

Failure is an element of life that everyone experiences and every one hates, but not everyone deals with it well. I have personally struggled with the harshness of failure, even though since I was but a child I have struggled and fought to avoid failure. Sadly this left me refusing to partaking in activities or taking risks because of my fear of failure and overwhelming desire to avoid it.

Community-true community- exists as a living organism of relationship and love. This means that community is our primary source of support when we do fail, and if community fails to be there for us in the darkest eras of our lives, then it is a false community. Know and be known-that is the prerogative of community. If we are their for others in their pains, but refuse to share our own then we are knowing but not being known. Community shares the joys and the sufferings of life; not just the joys. If we choose not to share our sufferings with our communities, then we are guilty of denying them the fullness of ourselves in community; we become the wound, the void in that living organism. We deny them the right of knowing us fully, but even worse is the denial of the opportunity to be Christ in our lives!

If my friend could move past his fear and his pride, he could be dwelling in a place of security, safety, and love. Now, don't think I'm being insensitive to my friend. I recognize how hard it is to open up and be vulnerable, and I'm glad that he shared his pain with me! It is important to understand, however, that if he would only reach out to the rest of his community in which he has previously been so intimately connected with, he would experience the healing and support of community that is of Christ; through which Christ would speak to his heart and bring him life, encouragement, and love! I speak from experience in this matter, having refused to turn to others in the midst of darkness. As a result, I suffered more than was necessary and left myself susceptible to prolonged, undue sorrow; discouragement; and loneliness.

Remember, if your community truly loves you then they will want to be there for you! In fact, they might even find themselves hurt by your refusing to share. If they are not willing to be their for you or show you live, then it is time to recognize that you are in a false community and it is time to move on to find a true community of believers.

Grace and Peace,

Stephen