This message was shared on Sunday, November 17, 2013 at Christ United Methodist Church in Lafayette, IN.

Last week, Pastor Scott talked about the radical kingdom of God being a present reality. The kingdom isn’t some distant place we can fly away to some glad morning when this life is over. The kingdom is here and now. Today, we’ll be talking about what it looks like when we live as a people called and sent to partner with God to represent the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

We might find ourselves asking the question, “Well, what does that look like”? What does the Kingdom look like? The Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven looks like Jesus.

Jesus, the humble servant King…if you’ve spent any time in the church, maybe you’ll remember this story: just before his betrayal, humbled himself to take on the position of a servant and washed the feet of his disciples. You see, the disciples were gathered with Jesus to share a meal and everyone was waiting around for the servants to come and wash their dirty, smelly feet. You can imagine the scene…the disciples waiting, noticing that no servant would be coming, looking to see who would admit that they were really the least among them. No one wants to be at the bottom of the pecking order. And, then, the Great Teacher grabs a towel and basin, gets on his knees and washes the feet of his disciples…doing the job of the lowest servant. The Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven looks like Jesus.

Jesus ~ the humble servant King who was tough on the religious folks, but kind, caring, and compassionate to the least, the last, the lost, and the most notorious sinners of his day. The kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven looks like Jesus.

Read Matthew 20:20-28

• This mother & her sons, what were they focused on? Position…status…outward appearances…power…authority…honor…glory
• Why were the disciples upset? Was it because they couldn’t fathom making such a request of Jesus? Or were they upset because they hadn’t thought of it themselves? Remember, these are the same disciples who sat around waiting for someone to wash their feet.
• Jesus uses the opportunity to talk about seeking power, authority, position, and status.
• Those with power, authority, position, and status like to show off and order others around
• And Jesus says these powerful words, “That’s not the way it will be with you.”
• So, who are those with power, authority, position, and status in our world today? Political leaders, heads of industry, the wealthy…
•  And, let’s be honest, it’s easy to get caught up in the drive for power, authority, position, and status – even in the church
•  When I was right out of Ball State, working as a youth minister, I was convinced that what I was doing was more important than any other ministry in the church. I was “saving lives” and would point out statistics that showed how important it was to reach people with the hope, love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness of Jesus before the age of 18. Therefore, what I was doing was more important than any other ministry
•  When you are the associate pastor, you want to be a senior pastor
• When you’re a senior pastor, you want to be the senior pastor at a larger church
• When someone else gets a sweet pastoral appointment, we wonder what kind of dirt they have on the DS or Bishop – because the person certainly be qualified
•  Isn’t it the same in the business world – if someone gets a raise or a promotion, they didn’t deserve it as much as you did
• How many of us, in our pursuit of power, authority, position, and status have ever put someone else down in an attempt to feel better about ourselves? How’s that working for you?
• And, what about our kids? Like this mother – we want the best for our children – whether they deserve it or not. So, when our kids fail – it was the teachers fault, the coach’s fault, some other kids fault…certainly our perfect children weren’t wrong?
• And, in the midst of our pursuit of power, authority, position, and status, Jesus says these words, “That’s not the way it will be with you.”
• The Kingdom of God looks like Jesus, the humble servant King
• Jesus give us an example of the radical Kingdom of God
•  In this passage, He essentially says, “Don’t worry about power, authority, position, and status. Usually those with power, authority, position, and status use it to abuse, manipulate, and take advantage of those beneath them. That’s not the way it will be with you. Listen, the grass is not always greener on the other side of the street. Embrace where you are and who you are today. Instead of desiring this worldly status of greatness, consider the radical kingdom of God. If you desire greatness, learn to serve. If you want to be first, be the last; we are not here to be served, but to serve.”

The radical kingdom of God isn’t self-seeking, self-absorbed, inwardly focused ~ it’s outwardly focused where we are consumed with loving God, loving others, even our enemies, and serving all.

We have the opportunity to serve others every single day – if we simply open our eyes and respond.

Richard Foster, in his classic book on spiritual disciple “Celebration of Discipline”, writes that, “Service enables us to say ‘no!’ to the world’s games of promotion and authority. It abolishes our need and desire for a ‘pecking order.’ Jesus declared, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you.’ He totally and completely rejected the pecking-order systems of His day. How then was it to be among them? ‘Whoever would be great among you must be your servant…even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve.’ Therefore the spiritual authority of which Jesus spoke was an authority not found in a position or a title but in a towel.” (Foster, Celebration of Discipline, pg 110-111)

Too often in the church, we get inwardly focused. We spend our time and energy on self-care. We get busy with good things like prayer groups, Bible study, attending worship, small groups, programs, retreats, committee’s and Sunday school. These things are great, but if it doesn’t result in a transformed life where we desire to partner with God to love and serve all…if we’re doing these things and neglecting our neighbors…if we’re doing these things and looking down our noses at those who challenge us to consider the least, last, lost, and poor among us…we might be wasting our time on these good things.

I’m convinced that we, as individuals and collectively as the church, can transform our community and world if we take Jesus’ call to become servants of all seriously…Imagine the transformation that could take place if we all picked up our towels…

The radical Kingdom of God looks like Jesus, the humble servant King, who calls us to give up our seats instead of looking for the places of honor.

The radical Kingdom of God looks like Jesus, the humble servant King, who challenges us to not seek honor and glory for ourselves, but only for God. Who tells us not to serve in order to receive a pat on the back, to get noticed and have our ego’s stroke…but out of hearts of love for God and neighbor.

The radical Kingdom of God looks like Jesus, the humble servant King, who humbled himself to the point of giving up His life that we might have life.

So, what are you willing to give up in order to better serve our God and neighbors?

Here are some practical ways we can all serve in the coming days. Now, I’m not saying you should do all of these, but find a few things that you can do…and do them.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner –

•  Insist on going last (there are benefits to this…but do it unselfishly)
• Offer to make plates for some of the older folks
•  Offer to make plates for small children so parents can relax and enjoy themselves
• Sit at the kids table
• Invite someone who might not have a place to go to join your family celebration
• Make a gift (large or small) towards our “Dimes for Turkeys” program that will provide meals for over 20 families in our community.

Volunteer in the community – whether it’s through the church or another organization, sign up to help with…

• Feed the kids
• Feed the people
• Jubilee (20 families)
• Kids Against Hunger
• Mission Guatemala (visit the website, sponsor a child to promote education, health, nutrition, etc)
• Be a greeter/usher
• Help with Childcare, youth, Sunday school
• Community meals
• Big Brothers/Big Sisters

I’m really passionate about Kids Against Hunger – mainly because I’ve seen the program at work both here in our community and through Mission Guatemala. We’re doing Advent Coin folders to help raise funds for our packing event on MLK, Jr. Day. This program asks you to give a quarter a day throughout Advent – maybe for some of us that’s a stretch…you could do a dime, a nickel, a penny – maybe for some it’s not enough of a stretch and you should give a $1, $5, $10 a day…whether your gift is 50 cents or $500 each gift is equally important and goes a long way to feed the hungry in our community and around our world. Sign up for the packing event through our website.

• Give to UMCOR to help with relief efforts in the Philippines.
• Make or buy dinner for a neighbor
• Write an encouraging note to someone
• Visit the hospital, nursing home, or some of our shut-ins
• Consider going on one of our mission trips to Guatemala in May, June/July, or February of 2015

Listen, some of us have been so blessed that we open our full pantries and refrigerators and say, “We don’t have anything to eat.” Or we open our full closets and dressers and say, “I don’t have anything to wear.” So, clean out your cabinets and cupboard – donate. Clean out your closets and dressers- donate.

PRAY for our seasons of giving opportunities – that our efforts to serve our community and world through Dimes for Turkeys, College Care packages, Jubilee, and Kids Against Hunger would transform the lives of those who serve and those we have the opportunity to serve.

Now, I’m going to get personal because I’m going to talk about our spending habits…Christmas is rapidly approaching…

Consider matching your Christmas spending with a financial gift to the church or another charitable organization. Or maybe matching seems a bit extreme…so tithe on your Christmas spending. Whatever you spend on Christmas, give 10% to the church or a charitable organization.

Here’s the deal, in 2012, the average family spent $749.51* on Christmas. That’s the average. Some spend a lot more. Some spend a lot less. We’ll spend over $2billion** on wrapping paper. So, when we start groaning about the church talking about money…it’s personal because, for many of us, it’s not a money problem…it’s a faith problem…it’s a priority problem. We have been so blessed…not so we can hoard for ourselves and give each other sweaters that we don’t want or need…but so we might be a blessing. Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing my girls faces light up when Santa delivers on Christmas – But doesn’t it seem like an odd way to celebrate the birth of our humble servant King?

So, if we tithed on our Christmas spending, that’d be an average of $75, that’s 300 meals to feed the hungry…don’t you think that’s what the radical Kingdom of God looks like? What’s a better way to honor Jesus this Christmas…Feeding the hungry…providing food for those in need…making someone else’s life a little better…

The Kingdom of God looks like Jesus, the humble servant King, who calls us to give our time, our talents, and our treasures to serve and bless others.

Now, some of us don’t have much money – well, give your time.
Some of us are too busy and don’t have much time – well, give your money.
Some of don’t have time or money – give your prayers and encouragement- and consider take a look at how you use your time and finances because there might be a problem…Regardless, we all have something to give.

None of our efforts will transform our community and world for the good of the Kingdom if they aren’t surrounding and supported with your prayers.

So, what will you give up in order to serve?

May we embrace the call of Jesus, the humble servant King, that we might become humble servants…that by our words and more importantly by our deeds, we might make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

*http://myfamilyfinances.net/2012/11/average-family-spending-on-christmas-gifts-2012/
**http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/12/wrappers-delight-a-brief-history-of-wrapping-paper/266599/

Every now and then, it’s healthy to blow off a little steam. If we continually attempt to suppress various thoughts and emotions, we run the risk of hitting a wall, blowing up, and damaging relationships. So, once in a while, I use this blog as a vehicle to go off on some rants in an attempt to blow off steam. Many of those posts end up getting deleted or heavily edited…but, not today. Therefore, I should take this opportunity to issue a disclaimer that my views expressed in this blog do not necessarily represent the views of…my church, my conference, my denomination, other Christians, Bozo the Clown or Ted Nugent. Also, because I have a tendency to swear, I have done some self-censoring. I mean, the words are still there…but I used some of the “#$%” bulls#$% so my mother will be a little less-offended! It’s like my grandmother used to say, “Don’t dress your swear words up in Sunday clothes. Just say what you mean.” Another disclaimer: My grandmother never said that!

Today, I find myself extremely annoyed at cookie-cutter Christian responses to, well, anything. After checking my Twitter feed and seeing the high amount of Christian cliche advice, I felt my stomach turning. I found myself imagining what the world would be like if we, as Christians, stopped saying and doing ridiculously stupid and offensive things. Here are some examples of statements that really annoy the s%^& out of me…

A tragic event takes place…and the “Christian response” is to say something along these lines:

– “We may not understand it now, but it’s all just a part of God’s plan.” Seriously? That’s just a bunch of bull s%$# we say to make ourselves feel better. God’s plan is life, love, joy, peace, hope, mercy, compassion, wholeness, perfection…That tragic event that just took place, um, that’s not really consistent with “God’s plan”. God’s plan was perfection, beauty, and harmony in the garden. Humankind screwed that up…and therefore, s#$% happens and blaming God is a cop out.

– “Romans tells us that God works for the good of those who love him.” This is another attempt to indicate that the tragic event is somehow a part of God’s plan. Some use this passage to indicate that God allowed the tragic event to take place in order that we might become more dependent on God. Jesus! That’s a pretty twisted and sick picture of a God of love, grace and mercy. Can God work in and through all things? Absolutely. Did God cause or allow some tragic event to take place in your life in order to get your attention? Probably not. The reality is, I’m not God…I cannot fully comprehend God. So, I will do my best to not try to give God credit for something God never intended.

– “God just needed another angel.” I know that this statement is used to help alleviate our pain and suffering…this is the kind of statement that we make when we simply can’t explain any other logical reason for whatever took place…But, is God really that needy? When I read the Bible, it seems like God is pretty secure and not really some kind of co-dependent, whiny being that snatches up our loved ones in order to make itself complete. The reality is that, most likely, you needed that person more than God does…because, like I’m saying here, God doesn’t need anything.

Suppose you’re having a bad day because someone at work is being difficult, and your Christian friends say something like this:

– “Well, Isaiah 54:17 tells us that no weapon formed against us shall prosper.” Really? Well, if the weapon that is being formed against you is an AK-47, you better start running because that s*%$ will f&*% you up. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had some weapons (usually in the form of words) formed against me that have prospered (in that the damage done still stings years later).

– “You are only facing these trials because of an un-confessed sin.” An un-confessed sin is causing this bad day (or whatever “trial” you happen to be facing)? Seriously? Okay, then let me confess my sin. My sin, right now, is judging your prideful, mean-spirited, judging, egotistical, fake a#$. I wasn’t looking for your judgment…I was just hoping to blow off a little steam to a friend that I thought could simply listen and not be an a#$ about it.

These are just a few examples of the many cookie-cutter Christian clichés that annoy the s%$# out of me. And, they are everywhere…books, Facebook, Twitter, churches, anywhere two or more are gathered…

Now, to show a little bit of grace, I know that these comments are well-intended. Those making these statements are truly just attempting to help alleviate your pain and suffering. However, what if these little cookie-cutter Christian cliché statements that we’ve been taught actually do more damage than good?

Personally, all these statements do is make me feel worse because they indicate that not only does whatever my current situation happens to be suck, according to my Christian friends, this loving, kind, caring, and compassionate God I have chosen to follow is the cause of my current state of suck-dom. Awesome! When I’m having a bad day or going through a difficult trial/tragedy and someone makes one of these statements, I simply claim bulls#$% and then proceed to dismiss everything that person says.

So, maybe the answer is to just simply be honest…To admit that we don’t have all the answers…We don’t know why this is happening…To stop blaming God.

When a tragic event happens, instead of blaming God (because, let’s be honest, that’s what these little cookie cutter statements do), maybe we should say, “Yep, this sucks. I don’t understand it. I’ll pray for some sort of peace and understanding. But, I know that, right now, that seems pretty empty. So, I’m sorry you are having to endure this really s%$#ty situation. It sucks. But, I’m here for you…to listen, to get you some food, to keep other people away from you, or to just leave you alone…whatever you need.”

Maybe we should check our egos and theological credentials at the door and admit that we don’t fully understand it and that we simply don’t have the answers. Instead of telling people what they might want to hear…rather than quoting (and often mis-quoting) Scriptures and using them out of their intended contexts to try and shine a little bit of holy light on a crappy situation, we should just say, “I’m sorry you are having a bad day. What can I do to help?”

In light of all that is going on in regards to Syria, I find hope in this prayer…”O Lord, deliver us.”

“From self-righteousness that will not compromise, and from selfishness that gains by the oppression of others. O Lord, deliver us. From the lust for money or power that drives to kill, O Lord, deliver us. From trusting in the weapons of war, and mistrusting the councils of peace, O Lord, deliver us. From hearing, believing, and speaking lies about other nations, O Lord, deliver us. From suspicions and fears that stand in the way of reconciliation, O Lord, deliver us. From words and deeds that encourage discord, prejudice, and hatred; from everything that prevents us from fulfilling your promise of peace, O Lord, deliver us. Amen.” (Prayer for Peace with Justice Sunday, from the United Methodist Book of Worship, page 428)

One day, we will “study war no more.”

Dearest Reader, again, this will be a rant. I will most likely offend you. I will go ahead and clarify that I am wretched sinner. I am not perfect. Oh, and neither are you.

By now, it’s old news. Miley Cyrus “shocked the world” with her performance at the MTV Video Music Awards.

And, to be honest, I’m simply annoyed with all of the “outrage”. Parents, conservative religious groups, and Will Smith (by way of pictures and meme’s) have shown their disapproval of the performance. Was it awful? Sure. Do you have every right to be outraged? Yep. Do I think we should pull the planks out of our own eyes first? Absolutely.

So, why am I annoyed?

Well, because none of us should be surprised. Didn’t we all see this coming? I mean, when Billy Ray was pushing his daughter into the spotlight after he failed to follow up “Achy Breaky Heart” with another hit, we should have all seen the writing on the wall. Let us think back to other performances that have attempted to “shock” us…Madonna, Britney, Christina, etc…the bar has been set pretty low. MTV has no moral filter (Jersey Shore and Teen Mom are solid evidence of that).  We simply should not have been surprised. As I watched, I simply thought, “Wow. This is a really pathetic and desperate grab for attention.”

In the end, Miley was successful. More people are talking about her than they are the lack of bands, JT’s marathon performance, Macklemore’s beautiful words on human rights, and how no one in the audience knew who the two guys from Vampire Weekend were. And, let’s not forget…Robin Thicke…the married man, Robin Thicke was there too and was a full participant in all of this. It’s not like he was surprised. He knew what was going to happen. Why are we focusing on Miley and not so much on Robin?

Now, it would be easy to start quoting Scriptures like 1 Timothy 6:10 (the love of money is the root of all evils) and say that the pursuit of fame and fortune has led to ruin. But, that seems like a cop out. It’s too easy.

The reality is this…where were we? The Cyrus family have talked about Jesus often throughout their career. So, where has the church been as it seems things started going wrong for young Miley (let’s remember, she’s still just a kid…I believe she’s 20)? Where have the pastors, youth workers, and strong Christian women to speak into Miley’s life been? Maybe they’ve been there and have largely been ignored? However, my guess is that those voices of positive influence simply haven’t been there. I’m guessing there haven’t been too many who have pulled Miley aside to let her know that there is a better way. So, Monday and Tuesday we criticize this behavior…and yet we did nothing to prevent it. And, we probably aren’t doing anything today to prevent future incidents.

So, let’s be honest about part of the reason why I’m annoyed. Dancing aside, more people should be outraged with the overall vocal quality of the performance. It was awful. And, by the way MTV, where were the bands? It was like karaoke at Applebee’s night!

However,  what I find most annoying is this…many of those who are outraged by Miley Cyrus’ performance pay a lot of money to allow their daughters to perform similar dance moves in similar costumes. The only difference between Miley’s performance and some of the elementary, middle and high school dance team routines I’ve seen would be the presence of Robin Thicke. Think about it…revealing outfits? Check. Over-the-top make-up? Check. Booty shaking that makes people uncomfortable? Check. Stripper-esque moves? Check. Twerking? Check. Loud-screaming fans (called parents in the dance world)? Check.

It’s like me…I’ll get offended by the colorful language used in some of my favorite music and films. Yet, I often put together strings of obscenities that would make Lil’ Wayne blush. So, my outrage seems a bit mis-directed.

We’ve got a bit of the “plank eye” syndrome. We call out what we see in others but fail to own up to our role in all of it.

So, should people be outraged with the Miley Cyrus performance? Of course. But, we should be honest enough to do a reality check within our own lives.

We can criticize Miley, Robin, and MTV. But, are we justifying similar behaviors in our own lives?

Hopefully this serves as a reminder that we have a role in all of this. So, what are we doing to speak words of hope, truth, love, acceptance, and encouragement into the lives of the young people in our world?

 

Disclaimer- In the typical style of “Tuesdays with Morris”, this will be a rant. I make no apologies!

This week, after a friend showed me a book he received anonymously, I have been thinking about the way we throw around the word “truth” within Christian circles.

We confidently label various statements and positions as “the truth”. We use the word “truth” to establish our authority on whatever topic we happen to be dealing with. We quote a verse of Scripture, make an opinion based statement, and say “that’s the truth”. However, in reality, most of our statements and positions that we label as “true” are simply an interpretation of what we believe to be true.

Visit your favorite Christian bookstore (online or a local store) and search for books that have “truth” in the title. You will most likely be overwhelmed. Now, look at the contents of the books. Many of the authors will disagree with one another on what “truth” is.

I mean, authors like John Piper and Mark Driscoll are going to have extremely different ideas of “truth” than Brian McLaren, Tony Jones, and Rob Bell. Of course, McLaren, Jones, and Bell are very careful with the word “truth”. And, all of them would disagree with Joyce Meyer and Joel Osteen.

So, what is “truth”? In our pluralistic society, truth is largely relative. What is true for me, may not be true for you. Truth is extremely hard to define.

Now, some will say, “Jason, you are a pastor. Therefore, you should believe in absolute truth.” My response would most likely be, “Well, maybe. I don’t know. I’m pretty sure this journey I’m on is called faith…not ‘absolute truth’. I mean, so much of what I believe to be true is heavily debated…even within my own theological tradition. So, yes, there are certain things I believe to be ‘true’. Yet, at the same time, I’m honest enough to say, ‘I could be wrong.'”

Whenever I hear the phrase “absolute truth”, I remember a conference breakout session led by Tony Jones. He was talking about truth and asked the question, “What is absolute truth?” Someone in the audience replied, “Something that cannot be debated.” Jones built on that and asked, “So, what are some of the absolute truths within Christianity.” People began to share things they believe to be absolutely true…And, Jones challenged us to think. Someone said, “The virgin birth.” Jones replied, “Okay. But, you defined absolute truth as something that can’t be debated…and we’ve been debating that for years. What else is absolutely true?” The crowd quickly quieted down.

I guess, when I see books with titles like “The Truth About Marriage”, I feel like the books should either have the word truth in quotation marks or include a disclaimer that explains that what the author labels as “truth” is simply his or her interpretation of what they believe to be true.

So, how do we handle things when what we believe to true differs from others who also claim to be followers of Jesus?

Can we just agree to disagree? Do we have to be “right” all the time? Can we realize that most of the things we claim to be “the truth” are minor issues in the grand scope of what it means to be faithful in our relationship with God and one another?

What do you believe to be “true”? Any chance you could be wrong?