Faith

Are You Lost?

/ Jason Morris / Leave a comment

This weekend, I was reflecting on how offensive and irrelevant the language of the church can be…to those inside and outside its walls.

I know that I’m guilty of using a vast amount of Christianese. So, any thing I say here, I’m also saying to myself.

How many pastors have you encountered that talk about sanctification, justification, salvation, and other churchy terms in a manner that assumes that everyone listening knows exactly what they are talking about? If you use words only seminary graduates understand, you might want to define them. It’s not wrong to use them, but give an explanation…help bring others up to speed.

How many pastors do you know that just say, “turn to Philemon”, without giving people a clue that a) yes there is a book of Philemon in the Bible, and b) that it’s near the back? Too often, we just simply assume that if you are here, you must know how to find the books of the Bible.

Then, the one that tends to set me off the most is referring to those outside the church as being “lost”. Of course, I’m not sure that our other terms are much better (non-believers, non-Christians, un-churched, de-churched, and so on). But, when we say, “The lost are those who don’t know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior”, those who agree with us get it. But, what about those we are referring to?

Many of the “lost” don’t know that they are “lost”. They may ask, “Lost from what?” They might be offended by Christians saying, “Wow, you are lost”, when they feel like they have it all together.

It’s one thing for me to say “I once was lost, but now am found.” It’s a completely different thing when I say, “You are lost and need to be found.” And, of course, we take this idea of the “lost” to another level when we go ahead and fully determine who is lost. Many may say that if someone is gay, he/she is lost…if someone drinks, he/she is lost…if someone listens to “secular” (another churchy word) music, he/she is lost…if someone watches Curb Your Enthusiasm, he/she is lost.

To be honest, there are times when I’m surrounded by Christians that I couldn’t feel more lost…I have a great relationship with Jesus Christ…I am a pastor…but there are times, due to the way Christians sometimes talk and behave that I feel like I just don’t fit in…that I’m lost. Then, I wonder, how many other Christians feel lost in the church?

So, maybe we could get creative and find new ways to refer to people. And, maybe it’s just that…having the humility, compassion, grace, and love to see people as people…rather than categorize them as “lost” or “found”.

Are You Crazy?

/ Jason Morris / Leave a comment

As the day of our second child’s arrival draws near, we have had many people ask what our plans are after we return home.

So, I thought I’d take a moment and briefly share our plan.

Over the past three years, we have been blessed by Center Chapel. They have allowed me to work from home. This has given me the opportunity to be with Sammie and “raise” her. It has been awesome and we have definitely seen the benefits of this situation.

With a second child on the way, we have realized that it is fairly unrealistic for me to “work” and watch both of the girls. We looked at our financial picture and determined that we could live off of my salary and Emily can stay home with the girls…which is something she desires to do.

So, officially Emily will be taking a leave of absence through the end of the school year. At that time, we will re-evaluate our situation to fully determine if we can make this a reality. We don’t foresee any problems, but we want to keep our options open. So, most likely Emily will officially resign in the summer of 2010.

If Emily were to return to work, half of her salary would be tied up in childcare costs. And, truth be told, we strongly desire to raise our own children. God has blessed us with the ability to do that. We have chosen a lifestyle that permits us to make these kinds of changes. Some choose to live in a way where both spouses have to work in order to pay the mortgage, make the car payments, and so on. I’m not downing that…after all, it is the American dream to have every thing we desire. However, we have chosen to live differently. We live in a nice house…but it’s not fancy. We live in a decent pocket of a below average neighborhood. We drive older cars that are completely paid for. And, we can live off of my modest salary (just to be honest…after 5 years in Muncie, I still make less than I did in Elkhart…obviously we’re not in this for the money…and I think God has blessed that).

Some think we’re crazy. We’ve heard the argument that, “in this economy, you just don’t know what can happen…so shouldn’t you both continue working?” We’ve heard the cautious, “Well, I hope it all works out and you can feed your children.” We have also heard some say, “Oh, we wish we could do that.” My response is that you can if you truly want to…if both have to work…you are probably living beyond your means. Emily’s cousin Bob once said to her that it’s always wise to live off of one salary…just in case something were to happen you wouldn’t be in over your head.

We aren’t entering into this on a whim. We have prayed about it. We have practiced living off of one salary. We have built up our savings to provide in the case of an emergency. We have seen God faithfully provide for us. We are stepping out in faith. We believe that God has called us to live differently. We believe that God has called us to demonstrate that there are different possibilities out there. We believe that God will sufficiently provide for our needs. We believe that this is what God desires for our family.

So, that’s our plan. You may think we’re crazy…and that’s okay…we probably think you are crazy! Just kidding…well, kind of!

Twitter???

/ Jason Morris / 1 Comment

I just don’t know about twitter. I’m going to give it a shot…follow some friends…maybe post some tweets from time to time.

Maybe I’m showing my age, but…do I really care to post what I’m doing all the time throughout the day? Do I truly care to find out what others are doing all the time throughout the day?

This is a new technology that many are utilizing to stay connected.

After listening to Mark Beeson talk about the importance of connecting with people (after all, that’s the business we’re in), I decided to give it shot. We’ll see…maybe it will last a week or a lifetime.

So, I’m up…follow me if you’d like…Jason Morris on Twitter.

Something to Think About

/ Jason Morris / Leave a comment

This morning, I received the daily verse and voice from Sojourners. I believe this verse to be one that might spark some prayer-filled thought and conversation.

While listening to the healthcare debates, I’ve found that one of the great concerns for many has been health coverage for illegal immigrants. I believe there has been a great deal of mis-information in this area of the debate. I believe this verse might inspire some to think of this portion of the debate differently.

You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.– Exodus 23:9

I am one who truly believes that quality healthcare should be available to everyone…regardless of race, sex, socio-economic status, citizenship, etc. I understand some of the concerns. Yet, I believe that if we truly see every person as created and loved by God, we would not want to withhold healthcare from them. Jesus call is for us to care for the “least of these”. I’m pretty sure he did not imply to put limitations on who qualifies as “the least of these.”

On Health-Care

/ Jason Morris / Leave a comment

As I’m listening to President Obama deliver his address to Congress, I continually keep coming back to the phrase, “Well said, Mr. President.” Now, let my ranting begin…

The plan continually comes back to a public option for those without health care coverage. I am saddened when partisan politics keeps some from supporting the idea of giving an option to those who cannot currently afford coverage. This is not about a take-over. Those in the health-care industry making ridiculous profits will continue to do so (however, the President does desire to hold this industry accountable…as it is a bit out of control…seven figure salaries, eight figure bonuses). This is simply about providing an option for those who currently have no options.

I would venture out to say that many of the career politicians whose campaign pockets have been fattened by big business and the health-care industry have not experienced what it is like to be unable to afford adequate health-care coverage.

Upon graduating college, I fell into the category of those who could not afford health insurance. Because I was no longer a student, I was booted from my parents policy. My place of employment, while working towards providing a health-care plan for it’s employee’s, did not have a health-care plan. The major problem was being able to find an affordable, high-quality plan for a small group of employees. So, that left me looking for single-person coverage. I made too much money to qualify for government-assited programs. I did not make enough money to justify coverage on my own.

For the most part, I’ve always been a healthy person. So, instead of purchasing insurance, I bought a membership to a health club and worked out on a daily basis. That worked for a while…until I got an illness that over-the-counter self-medication could not overcome. I found myself at an urgent care center because none of the family practice doctors in town desired to take on an uninsured patient. The cost of the visits, medication, and procedures to promote health wiped out any savings I had and made it difficult to keep up with my modest standard of living at the time (a one-bedroom apartment, a used car, and the usual utilities). And, that was only one mild illness. I found myself wondering how other individuals and families without health insurance managed to cope with illnesses and the costs of treatment.

I know too many people who are not following their dreams simply because they cannot afford health-care. They are in jobs that they despise simply because their art or call does not provide enough profit to supply adequate health care coverage for their families. I know of too many older adults who would have retired years ago, but have to continue working because they cannot afford or do not qualify for coverage. I know of too many people who simply go without treatment because they cannot afford insurance. And, I know of doctors who have their hands tied because the insurance companies dictate how they should treat patients. Enough is enough.

Currently, I am fortunate to have adequate, yet ridiculously expensive health insurance. While I am also fortunate that the church has to bear the largest responsibility for our coverage ($1,000), we are still responsible for over $600 a month for coverage (this will go into effect in October after Emily takes a leave of absence). Yes, our health-care plan costs just under $20,000 a year! I am thankful, yet this is out of control.

Reform is needed. Public options for those who go without coverage is needed. Referring to this as socialism is irresponsible! I better stop before I get out of control.

In reality, what troubles me the most is that this really indicates a great failure on the part of the Church. I believe Jesus said something about looking after the sick. All around the world, people are suffering because they do not have access to adequate health care. While the Church makes great strides in missional service, we obviously aren’t fulfilling our responsibilities to care “for the least of these.”

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'” (Matthew 25:36-40, The Message)