neither religious, nor spiritual

We haven’t received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that comes from God, so that we can know the things that have been given to us by God.  - 1 Corinthians 2.12

There’s a lot of talk these days about people who claim to be “spiritual, but not religious.” This shows how we think “spiritual” should be defined. It seems that people who claim to be “spiritual” are people who seek to get deeply in touch with their inmost self, crafting a healthy and centered way of living.  For secular people who have made a step to seek out and live life this way, we cannot but applaud a healthy step in the right direction.  This is good for them, but it’s very different from how Christians ought to use the word “spiritual.” 

It’s important to understand this, because when Paul speaks of the importance of walking in the Spirit, we need to adjust our thinking away from worldly notions of what it means to be “spiritual.”  In the world, if someone has a vision of angels or a spirit guide, we would call that a spiritual experience, and such a person a spiritual person.  Paul does not, however, and when people boast about such experiences, he actually calls it “unspiritual” (Col 2.18).  In the world, if someone fed a homeless person, it wouldn’t be something spiritual, it would just be nice.  If someone overturns tables in the temple, they are also not spiritual in the world’s eyes, but rather, a “jerk.”  But Paul would call both of these actions and deeds “spiritual” if the Holy Spirit was operating within that person to do those very bodily actions (Rom 12.1).

Because the world defines “spiritual” in terms that are individualistic, independent, and nonmaterial, we need to stress some of the opposite of these things.  For Christians, spiritual living is not an individual pursuit of self-discovery, but losing ourselves by pursuing and discovering someone else, Jesus Christ, and the brother or sister he’s called us to love in each particular moment (which ends up in us finding ourselves).  Spiritual living is not about being independent and free of external “meddling,” but about helping someone else pursue their dreams (His dreams) rather than your own (which is true liberty).  And spiritual living, for Christians, is anything but nonmaterial – it’s a very bodily kind of life. These are God’s hands; this is God’s mouth. He works in the world through “such crude matter.”  Sorry, Yoda, move over.

Maybe, when we hear the word, “spiritual,” we can think of the daily disciplines to press on to know Christ more and more, the fears we ought to see conquered, the fight against injustice anywhere, the need to confess and repent, the enemies we love and serve in creative and disarming ways.  Maybe the word “discipleship” is more fitting, at least for us who find ourselves in Jesus Christ.

I’ll close with further thoughts composed by my seminary professor David Augsburger:

Spirituality is celebrating the dawn.  Discipleship sings in the dark. 

Spirituality is sitting in awe by the seashore.  Discipleship joins the dolphins. 

Spirituality is dreaming of flying.  Discipleship walks the distance. 

Spirituality loves the good neighbor.  Discipleship loves the enemy. 

Spirituality is knowing God’s plan.  Discipleship trusts when nothing makes sense. 

Spirituality is turning life sunny side up.  Discipleship turns the world down side up. 

Spirituality is finding inner peace.  Discipleship is making peace. 

Spirituality is integrative.  Discipleship is subversive.

And don’t forget – discipleship is much more dangerous than worldly spirituality. Vivamus periculose!

- Bo Bannister

"...the hell I merit."

I was struck recently by a rendition of Amazing Grace in which the first line had been changed from, "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me," to a grace "that saved a soul like me."  This was not the first time I had heard this version, but it had been years.  We do not like to come face to face with our own wretchedness, do we?  We do not like to know or admit (let alone, confess)how deep our need for a savior runs.  And therefore we cannot grasp how thoroughly loved we are - in spite of ourselves. 


 In our first two weeks of looking at Ephesians 1.1-10, it seems that the Apostle Paul is bent on taking us down to the bedrock truth of God's great love for us and the utter joy and delight - his good pleasure and will - with which he has enthusiastically blessed, chosen, predestined and graced us.  If we are afraid to admit or own "wretchedness", however, I doubt if we will ever be able to take this truth to heart. It is only when we see our sinfulness as it truly is that we come face to face with how truly good and loving God is.  While we were yet sinners Christ died for us. 


 A line from an old Puritan prayer puts it this way: 

O Lord, I am astonished at the difference between my receivings and my deservings, between the state I am now in and my past gracelessness, between the heaven I am bound for and the hell I merit. 

I pray we all get a glimpse of our own deep wretchedness, and that it may be quickly swallowed up by the expansive love of the God who saves and redeems us - a glipmse of the hell we merit, soundly overtaken by the heaven (and the New Heavens and New Earth) we are bound for.  This is where The Year of Living Dangerously begins!


To download last Sunday's Mission Briefing, go here.

hodgepodge

In last weekend's sermon, we were reminded that the worldview from which the Ephesian Christians had come was one in which people picked from a wide variety of beliefs, gods and goddesses.  It was a worldview based on a strong belief that both evil and good spiritual forces were at work in every area of life and the way to control these spirits and bring about the best possible life for yourself was through magic and manipulation.  In Christ, of course, all of this has changed.  Our victory over these "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" is found in Christ, not in magic or in using the right formula.

Our world today is similar.  We may not always understand the spiritual forces at work in our lives, but we do all understand that we live in a society in which we have many choices.  We can, like the Ephesians, pick and choose from a hodgepodge of religious, pseudo-religious and non-religious beliefs by which can, what we might call theological pollution.  Maybe you aren't all that tempted to bow down and worship the goddess Artemis or any of the other up to 50 gods or goddesses embraced by the city of Ephesus, but we all still live amid the theological pollution that is our society. We still face temptation to put our trust, our faith in lesser gods and goddesses all the time - as if they had anything to add to the finished work of Christ on the cross and risen from the tomb.


Today, take note of the "gods and goddesses" around you.  Where do you find them?  Where are their temples?  Who are their devotees?  What do they claim to offer those who bow down to them?  What does Christ offer instead that is better, more complete and unequalled? 

Here are two more images you can use for wallpaper on your phone as "dangerous reminders." If you want a higher resolution for your computer desktop, iPad or tablet PC, go here.   

dangerous reminders

This week, right-click on the image below and download it as the desktop on your computer or as wallpaper on your phone.  Let it remind you to live dangerously in 2012!

we call them VISION Cookies...

Life lived to the full begins with a gift - the gift of God's Son to us and for us.  Likewise, we're launching The Year of Living Dangerously in the same way, with a gift.  If you were with us in worship on Sunday you should have taken home a gift box.  Yes, it was a Chinese take out box, and yes there were cookies inside, but there were no fortunes or lottery numbers found inside of these cookies.  We call them Vision Cookies.  They have 9 different phrases from 6 authors on thoughts that speak to the life lived dangerously, faithfully and fully.  If you missed us on Sunday, there are still boxes left (and there is more in them than just Vision Cookies), and you can pick one up next week.

Now that most of you have hopefully opened up the gift boxes and have taken part in the cookies inside, what quotes spoke to you or challenged you?  How is God speaking to you so far in these very early stages of TYLD?

...and we're off!

Welcome to The Year of Living Dangerously (TYLD).  When we talk about 2012 as The Year of Living Dangerously at ECC, let's be clear about what we do and do not mean.  We do not mean, as Pastor Bo shared in his sermon on January 1, that this will be a year of living stupidly.  As he said, that is one way to live dangerously.  That is not what we mean or what we are after.  It is certainly not what Jesus is after!

What we mean is that when it comes to knowing God, following Jesus and pursuing God's purposes in the world, caution will not rule the day.  Obedience will rule the day.  Faith will rule the day.  Joy, life, love, service, righteousness and justice will rule the day.  These are not areas in which we should be cautious.  These are areas in which we should boldly go forth, trusting God and willingly going "off-road" when he calls us.

So much of life in our society is about playing it safe, calculating risks and covering all of our bases.  We do not like risk.  I certainly do not like risk - not enough to make it a way of life, at least!  However, I do believe that risk is an important aspect of faith.  The logo for this year incorporates a caution sign, of sorts, but it is a caution sign with a twist.  The sign shows a fork in the road.  It "warns us" of the landscape ahead.  There is a safe road and one that breaks through our overly-cautious approach to following Jesus.  Our hope for us all in this TYLD is that we "break through" to greater levels of faith, prayer, community, mission and discipleship.  We believe that doing so will prepare us for what God has in mind to do in and through us in the years to come.

How do you respond when you hear us talk about risk and living dangerously?  Does it challenge you?  Concern you?  Thrill you?  Tell us why by joining this site (on the right) and posting a comment.  Peace!

launching next Sunday!

In less than a week we will launch The Year of Living Dangerously!  Over the past few months pastors and council have been praying and sensing God's leading.  In our times of prayer four words have come to us: Discipleship, Prayer, Community and Mission.  In addition to these four words we have sensed God calling us to embrace 2012 as a year of preparation, purity and equipping.  If we are to be faithful and embrace the Missio Dei (the Sending of God) into the world, we need to be prepared.  This is all about becoming healthy disciples in terms of our relationships with God (prayer), with one another (community) and with our world (mission).  Our goal in all of this is that we all become better equipped to live out our faith and bear witness to the present and coming Kingdom of God in the 97% of our waking hours spent outside of ECC - passionately and effectively pursuing the purposes of God in the world!


Please join us in praying for ECC, The Year of Living Dangerously and all that God wants us to become in 2012.  We launch this Sunday, January 8!  I pray you'll not only be physically present, but truly present - in heart, mind and spirit, as well.  Sign up on the right to join this blog site and participate in the conversation!