Promises

Re-creation

This passage was sent to me today. I dug and thought it worthy of being posted here.

God is never finished with creation, and God is never finished with us. We are constantly being re-created and we are invited to join God as co-re-creators of the world.  This re-creation happens in our attitudes and spirits as much as in the physical world.  We re-create when we replace hate with love, hurt with healing, despair for hope.  Our prayers beckons re-creation. We join this re-creation as we ask God do anew in us what God has done throughout the centuries. We pray for sight returned, babies born, lives revived.  We seek mercy unmasked, love unimpeded, and faith remade.  We join with all creation in seeking re-creation. For we know that all creation has been groaning for remaking right up to the present time.  And even we groan to be released from pain and suffering. We wait for God to give us our full life as children, including renewed bodies; we eagerly look forward to this freedom.
 
Doug Pagitt
Body Prayer

As I climbed, backpack carefully packed on my back I spotted a rock on the ground that was shiny held promise in the shimmering sun and so I picked it up and placed it in my pack. It wasn’t very big, the weight wouldn’t bother me, but as I climbed higher into the mountain pass there were other rocks that held equal promise. Each I would pick up and examine before placing them in my pack.

As I travelled those miles through beautiful mountain meadows and craggy mountain passes the weight of my pack grew heavier and heavier upon me, and still I found more rocks to pick up because I couldn’t live without them.

Finally, jumping off a small ridge on the trail the combined weight of the rocks became too much for me and I fell and found I couldn’t get up. I’d picked up more than I could realistically carry. I was done. I couldn’t go on.

Emotionally and spiritually the picture above is how I too often live my life. It is certainly how the alcoholic / addict lives theirs. My assumption is that these tendencies are part of what it means to be human; a result of choices made in the Garden of Eden many generations ago. If step four is our first surrender and housecleaning, step ten is merely our daily surrender and house cleaning.

There are so many things I pick up during the day: resentments against my boss, my wife or my kids; a shot of pride – taking credit for an accomplishment that was really a gift from God; and a long list of expectations of how I am supposed to be treated and catered to. I need to lay these things down promptly if I am to enjoy the journey. Bill Wilson, founder of AA writes:

We can’t stand it if we hate deeply. The idea that we can be possessively loving of a few, can ignore the many, and can continue to fear or hate anybody, has to be abandoned, if only a little at a time.

We can try to stop making unreasonable demands upon those we love. We can show kindness where we had shown none. With those we dislike we can begin to practice justice and courtesy, perhaps going our way to understand and help them.

Whenever we fail any of these people, we can promptly admit it – to ourselves always, and to them also when the admission can be helpful. Courtesy, kindness, justice and love are the keynotes by which we may come into harmony with practically anybody. When in doubt we can always pause saying, ‘Not my will, but Thine, be done.’” …. (Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous: Alcoholics Anonymous World Service, 1953: NY, NY. Pg 92-93)

 Jesus said something similar in the lingo of his own day:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. 35 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. 36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?* 37 Is anything worth more than your soul? Mark 8:34-38 (Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved

Peter said it this way: “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7 (Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.)

 All of these encouragements are toward the same end: letting go of things we don’t need to carry. The message of the Bible is incredibly humbling and freeing at the same time: “You are not God. Quit trying to be God. Simply be who I made you to be, and in so being, be free.”

 A story is told of a gold fish that used to look at the humans outside of his fish bowl with such envy. “I want to be like them. I want to be free. I don’t want to be confined to this bowl. I want to see the world and take my place in it.” So one day he started swimming around the bowl with all his might. He swam faster and faster until he finally jumped out of the bowl. He landed on the table, out of the water, flopped around and then died.

 Sometimes freedom isn’t what we want it to be. The 10^th step is all about learning to be free in completely counter-intuitive ways – by “taking up our cross and following Jesus” in the way of the cross; finding resurrection that always follows such a death.

 The trouble with us as humans, at least with me is that I have a very short memory, about 24 hours long. That is why Jesus urged me to repeat this process daily, and why Bill Wilson called it a daily inventory. Following Jesus is not a one time event. Giving up my own life to follow Him is not a one time event. It is a daily, sometimes hourly event precisely because I forget.

 For me it takes the form of gratitude. The Biblical writer addresses this as well. Paul states: “Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess 5:16-18 -- Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.)

 Gratitude is a sign of my surrender to God’s rule over and design for my life. It says, “Let me be thankful for all you give to me; whether I like it or not. Help me find you in the details and be grateful for all that you offer me.

 Step ten is really about a daily walk with God. It is part of God’s process of sanctification, and His purifying process in my life.

 

Love Wins

Rob Bell has a video clip out introducing his new book, Love Wins.

I posted this clip on Facebook and then immediately posted a link to a CNN article that reviews the pushback against Bell’s apparent universalism (the idea that everyone is saved) . I do not know if Bell is a Universalist or not. I haven’t had a chance to pick up his book yet. I fear that many of the people that are attacking him don’t know what he has to say either, but that is an altogether different issue.

Because I know people that know him (though I don’t personally) I can say without hesitation that Bell is passionately in love with Jesus; is committed to living in Jesus’ Kingdom so long as he breathes; that he loves and cares about people very deeply. It figures, given what some are saying about him, that is not enough, however. 

Immediately friends began to comment about the topic. You can see the whole thread here. Me -- I'm pretty agnostic about it. My friend said what I think better than I could:

"...I am not so concerned with whether there is a heaven or hell. I am not living to avoid one or go to the other. I am living for one who is worthy of all my devotion no matter what happens after. I am not afraid of deception or heresy, ask the tough questions, but in the end I think the best way to ask the question is to change the direction the question is sent. Jer. 17:9 ("The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,and desperately wicked.Who really knows how bad it is?" Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved. ) is often quoted without even finishing the verse, much less adding the next one (Jer 17:10 "But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.") and certainly not adding chapter 31. I don’t think I will know the mysteries of God so much by searching him out as by asking him to search me out. Inviting him into the deep waters of my own heart to search me and reveal me. Than I have more and more freedom to know him and the power of his resurrection. I don’t testify to the goodness and love of God to help people avoid hell or to earn rewards in heaven. I will testify because he is good and full of love and both his judgements and mercy are right. Let him be God.The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,and desperately wicked.Who really knows how bad it is?" -- Kent or Melanie Hempel

That being said, in the comment thread I was asked to explain my problems with Hell. And so here I sit typing...

In order to do so let me re-tell the gospel story as I understand it, in short-form fashion: Before there was a single star in the heavens or a galaxy to hold them, there was an eternal party going on. God -- the Almighty Three-in-One was having a blow out, and in the midst of this eternal, blow-out party he decided to create others who could join in the party. Even creation was a selfless act of love. He created so that we could all party with Him.

Now the Almighty Three-in-One was completely selfless. His holiness ("otherness," or "aboveness") came from the fact that he was simply "LOVE". His creation proved not to be. Indeed, we proved to be all about self -- self-aggrandizement, self-centeredness, egotistical, narcissistic, and fearful that we would be found out to be less than we needed others to think us to be. We were moving faster than warp 9 away from LOVE and love; toward complete isolation.

Then in an act of amazing grace, the Almighty Three-in-One intervened. God died. He came and in the greatest act of love ever, let selfishness, fear, hate, envy, pride, deceit, murder, betrayal and isolation win. The eternal party that had never previously been interrupted came to a screeching halt. Mourning ensued for three days. But death couldn't hold LOVE, and LOVE burst fromt he grave in a life-giving resurrection. By surrendering to the forces that stood against love and by dying LOVE won. 

It was made clear by God himself that the only way that life could ever be found by us was through the death of self. And the only way we could ever trust enough to die was because He did it first, and was willing to give Himself to us so that we could follow in His steps. If, as He fills us, we trust him enough to kill ourselves each day we find life that transcends the death we'd been living in our own power. If there is one truth in the gospel story it is this: Death always proceeds Resurrection. 

So what does this have to do with hell?  Let me try to explain: In the West we have been taught to think that life is about a series of bounded sets. The Christianity I grew up in taught me this. So long as I believed the right things, said the right prayers, and occasionally did the right things, my eternal destiny was certain. I could rest in the loving hands of my Saviour Jesus who was faithful to never let me down.

This belief sprung out of a Foundationalist philosophy that taught that there was ultimate truth out there we could capture and rest our faith upon. In so doing we would be standing on a Rock and our faith could be sure. Lots of people still live in this head space. I do not think they are wrong though I don't understand them. That is simply how they process the world. They still trust. But they trust differently than me. That is OK.

I process the world differently. Brian May, the lead guitarist for Queen, and a Doctor in Astro-physics, wrote a dissertation tracking space dusts' path through the universe. He found that everything was moving away from the centre. He argues that we are moving outward toward something he calls "complete isolation."

I think that he is right and that the physical is a mirror of the Spiritual. I've come to view spirituality as being about a "Centred-set" rather than a "bounded-set". At the centre is the Almighty Three-in-One, who continually beckons us to join his eternal, once-interupted party that shines more brightly than any star in his multi-lit universe. Meanwhile, so long as we stay on the trajectory of self that we find ourself on, we move toward complete isolation and loneliness. We become gods of our own reality, cut off from all other life. To me that is hell, for it is life without LOVE or love which flows from LOVE.

The only way we find life is through death. "If you want to save your life, you must lose it..." Jesus said (And then He demonstrated what He meant). I don't think he was kidding. I can think of nothing more horrid than clinging to life only to find ultimate aloneness and death. In my understanding, this hell is the natural consequence of our own desires. 

I don't think this violates the intention of Scripture. But I could easily be wrong. This is simply a word constructed picture that works for me to explain an eternal reality I won't fully understand until I pass through the veil myself.

Into this framework, I can accept some people who don't even know the name of Jesus choosing love, never knowing that it is because of Jesus' sacrifice they discovered love in the first place. While others who claim the name of Jesus choose against love and for themselves.

When Jesus came he lived outside of the box of what Jews thought a Messiah should look like. Many rejected him because he didn't look or live in a way that matched up to the pictures they'd been raised with that a Messiah looked like. So they missed him. Looking back we can see that they simply misinterpreted the pictures given all those years before in the Old Testament.

I wonder if we are not guilty of doing the same thing. We force the words of the Bible into our cultural understanding of them and miss what God was really trying to say. In so doing we communicate poorly and people tune us out. I know I do that all the time, despite my best efforts not to.

Hell to me is not so much about wrath and anger. My understanding is that all God's anger at how I betrayed him was poured out on Jesus at the cross. No, my understanding of Hell is that it is a natural consequence of turning our backs on LOVE and love and the Almighty Three-in-One giving us what we ask for.

A biblical exegesis of step 9

Step 9:  Made Direct Amends to such people wherever possible except when to do so would injure them or others.

          Though I shouldn’t have been, I was quite surprised when I began looking at the Biblical directives to make amends – “confess”. My mind went immediately to a well known passage in James, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” (chapter 1 v 6. Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved. ) This passage has long been important to me because it plays a significant part in my Mum’s story of asking the elders at church to pray over her for healing and having the cancerous tumor in her abdomen disappear literally, overnight.

            The passage has drastic connotations. Normally when we “go to church,” we put our game faces on. People sitting next to us in the pews know very little of what is really going on in our lives. The idea of a “shared life” is as foreign as living in the Falkland Islands (unless of course you’ve lived there or currently live there.)

            It is a shame that we have lost the reality that what unites us is not our strength and shared “victory in Jesus,” but rather our brokenness and need of His power in our life every day to simply live the way that He designed us and asks us to. Instead of sharing the reality of a marriage in crisis and kids in rebellion we feel the need to manage our image and pretend that we’re leading our perfect middle class family through the rough seas of a broken planet. We want others to think of us as better than we are because when we look at others, they seem so much more “put together” than we feel. The James passage is in direct contrast to this and gives us a way to live in real relationship that is so counter-intuitive to our natural way of thinking.

            Now, while all of this is true, it does not quite get at the specific directive of the 9^th step. “Confession,” in this instance, is not about “making amends.” It is about being honest and being real which are bigger principles we need to grapple with before we ever get to the action of making amends. This is not to say that God has nothing to say on the subject, but like His disciple Martin Luther, he has a way of saying things all over the place so we hear them all over the place, if we will but listen.

Below are a few more of His words on the subject.

"Or suppose you make a foolish vow of any kind, whether its purpose is for good or for bad. When you realize its foolishness, you must admit your guilt.5 "When you become aware of your guilt in any of these ways, you must confess your sin. -- Lev 5:4-6 (Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved. )

Here is the scene, The children of Israel have left Egypt and are in route to the Promised Land. God is giving them direction on how they are to live life together. Very early on in his list of instructions (kind of like a list you leave for your teenagers when you are leaving them at home for the first time for a weekend) of how to live together. Here is my paraphrase, “When you are stupid, admit it and make it right.”

We all do stupid things. Many of us do them again and again. When we fall into this pattern we lose trust with people around us. When we make promises and don’t follow through. When we continually do same irritating thing that bothers or wrongs our co-workers or family members. When we keep making mistakes that cost our teammate’s games or trophies, it has become too easy to merely say, “I’m sorry.” It loses its meaning. Words evaporate in the air and all that is left is disappointment and a building vow never to trust that person again.

The writer of Leviticus says, “Confess your sin.” Now to a 21^st century reader those three words are loaded because the word, “sin” is loaded, and “confession” is misunderstood. “Sin” here is simply missing the mark. And confession has in implied, “it won’t happen again” attached to it.

In AA members are taught a simple formula, “I was wrong. I hope you will forgive me. How can I make it right?” Those outside of twelve-step fellowships could learn from this.

Feeling badly about what you did (I’m sorry) means very little, really. You can feel badly for a whole gamut of reasons: people think less of you, you feel less of yourself, you hurt someone, etc… Why you are sorry is anyone’s guess. Acknowledging wrong however lets people know that you know you are not perfect, and that you screwed up. Asking how you can make it right lets them know you want to make up for what you did to the best of your ability. God has more to say on this a little later.

 In Num 5:6-8 (still more or less the same section of Scripture as Leviticus) God has this to say: "Give the following instructions to the people of Israel: If any of the people—men or women—betray the Lord by doing wrong to another person, they are guilty. 7 They must confess their sin and make full restitution for what they have done, adding an additional 20 percent and returning it to the person who was wronged. 8 But if the person who was wronged is dead, and there are no near relatives to whom restitution can be made, the payment belongs to the Lord and must be given to the priest. Those who are guilty must also bring a ram as a sacrifice, and they will be purified and made right with the Lord.* (Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.)

 Here God is a little more specific: Confess your sin and then make restitution to those you wronged – 120% of the cost of the wrongdoing. And if the person and / or his family is no longer alive give the 120% to God.

 Someone may ask why God has this in his list of instructions and God answers in the Psalm 32:3-5: When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. 4 Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.Interlude  5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, "I will confess my rebellion to the Lord." And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.(Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved. )

 This was a lesson that I learned too late in life: I confess because it is good for me. I do not confess for the good of the other person. I confess in order to maintain my own connection to my Creator. I do not have the power to break the connection of the person I wronged or re-connect it. I only have the power to keep my connection in place. I do not make amends for the other person. I make amends for me and in so doing restore my connection to my Creator and allow for the possibility of ongoing relation to the other person. Our ongoing relationship ultimately relies on their relationship with their Creator. The only way any of us have any relationships at all are if God is in the middle either intentionally or completely unrecognised – but that is another post in and of itself.

 We will end with 1 John 1:8-10: “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.(Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.)

 Part of being human in a fallen world is a demand to be god. We live in a universe that is running away from its centre. Scientists tell us that there was a big explosion and since that moment in time each piece of the universe is moving at extraordinary speed toward complete isolation, away from all other created objects, away from that awful explosion that sent us careening out of control away from our Creator. (Well the scientists don’t say that last bit.)

 We are but microcosms of the macro picture. We too in our natural state are moving away from the centre, which is our Creator, and in so doing we can’t help but move away from our fellows. It is simply the trajectory that by our nature we were created on. The only way to find true union is to change trajectories, turn around and move back toward the centre, toward union with God and our fellows. That requires the death of our natural self which wants to be self-sufficient and is grandiose and fragile.

 Our natural trajectory is way off the mark. In and of itself it is leading us toward a world of aloneness and pain. God’s word for it in John’s letter is “sin”. I find that the word is unhelpful though because it is so loaded. Word’s have pictures and “sin’s” word picture for me and many like me simply doesn’t work.

 To get a better picture of what God is saying that does work, I’ll accept: sick, going the wrong direction, got on the wrong freeway, self-centred, ego-centric, etc… because all those words paint a picture that I can accept. John may say, “If we say we have not sinned…” I will say, “If you think everyone is not ego-centric and self centred…”

 Come on, we all have, we all do… the 9^th step is simply about admitting how broken and foolish we are. We can laugh on the back side of things… “You know what an idiot I was… I remember when…” everyone laughs because we’ve all been there. That is confession.

 

That is the 9^th step. I need to add one note here. The end of the 9^th step states: “Except when to do so would injure them or others.” Above I stated that the reason we make amends is for ourselves. Now while this is true, it is true within the confines of love.

 It is wrong form me to unload my dump truck of guilt on your head so that I can feel better about myself knowing that in so doing I am turning your world on its head and destroying any foundation you may have.

There are Christian counsellors here in my city that argue that a complete “dump” has to be made for restoration to occur. I could not disagree more. I love you first, and in loving you I tell you the truth, and commit to being completely truthful with you, but I do not dump on you. Perhaps that should also be explored further in another post.

What is important is that we recognize that Bill Wilson figured some things out when he wrote these steps down that allowed alcoholics and addicts that wanted recovery to find a way to connect with God and find life free from drugs and alcohol. Those same steps can work for anyone that wants to connect with Jesus.

 

Two Authorities

From: As Bill Sees It

Many people wonder how A.A. can function under a seeming anarchy. Other societies have to have law and force and sanction and punishment, administered by authorized people. Happily for us, we found that we need no human authorities which are far more effective. One is benign, the other malign. There is God, our Father, who very simply says, "I am waiting for you to do my will." The other authority is named John Barlicorn, and he says, "You had better do God's will or I will kill you."

 << << <<      >> >> >>

 The A.A. Traditions are neither rules, regulations, nor laws. We obey them willingly because we want to. Perhaps the secret of their power lies in the fact that these life-giving communications spring out of living experience and are rooted in love. (1. A.A. COMES OF AGE, P. 105 2. A.A. TODAY, P. 11)

I posted this because of my previous posts on authority. there were so many questions from well-meaning "church people" who simply baulk at the idea of authority that is lived out daily in 12 step rooms. Bill Wilson in his usual crisp and clear manner seems to go to the heart of the matter.

I can't help but think that we have too long neglected the role of the Spirit (cf Jer. 31.31) because of a tradition handed down by earthly authorities that created human authority in reaction to very real problems and confusion left over by a church that was making a mess as it tried to live faithfully in those early centuries. 

Historically speaking, the real problem hit when Contstantine co-opted the church for the State's and his personal gain in the 4th century. In one fell swoop, authority in the church was turned on its head. I realize that more words need to be written on this and after I finish writing on the steps I will certainly revisit the subject.

The 5th step's indictment

From the very beginning of our story, the result of our attempt to be like God is a compulsion to hide from each other and from Him.

Gen 3:1-13

 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, "Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?"

2 "Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden," the woman replied. 3 "It's only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, 'You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.'"

4 "You won't die!" the serpent replied to the woman. 5 "God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil."

6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man* and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?"

10 He replied, "I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked."

11 "Who told you that you were naked?" the Lord God asked. "Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?"

12 The man replied, "It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it."

13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, "What have you done?"

"The serpent deceived me," she replied. "That's why I ate it."

Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

What we know to be true of ourselves; what we fear about ourselves – that “we are not as strong as we think we are,” leads us to hide, and then, if discovered, point our fingers at others attempting to shift the blame. We know we are broken and in need of repair; that if people knew what we knew to be true about us, they would abandon us to our own company. We think – no, we know – that if others knew what we knew, we’d die alone with no friends or family to mourn or miss us.

One way of describing the redemption story is that it is a story of restoration of relationship – an end to the necessary hiding away of our secrets. In this story, God provides a way for people to come out of hiding and into the light. As they do they discover love, joy, freedom, hope, and peace.

Recovery is about bringing out into the light the hidden and secret lives we live internally. It is about giving voice to the selfishness; acknowledging the narcissism; admitting the grandiosity, childishness, and oversensitivity. Recovery gives a forum for people to heal the wounds of shame by telling others what they swore they would never tell anyone, and being loved for doing so.

This is the place that the church is supposed to shine. James tells us: “Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed.” (James 5: THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.). Peter encourages us: “Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.( 1 Peter 4:8-9 Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.). We don’t do this in the church very well.

 The thing that frees me to truly love is that I know I am truly loved. I am not loved because of my accomplishments, my looks, my intellect, or my charisma. I am loved because others share my weaknesses. They see my weaknesses in themselves and so they love me; for to reject me would mean a rejection of hope of redemption for themselves. Because I know I am loved no matter what; I am free to love. I am free to confront. I am free to face rejection of others. None of it matters because I am loved and that is enough.

 This is the core of the 5^th step. All our shit is laid at the foot of the cross. It is laid bare. We don’t bury it from our own view or try to hide it from God. Another human being who has travelled the path ahead of us helps us negotiate the sea of crap that we fear will drown us. They help us see things we are incapable of seeing on our own.

 The only way we can take this step, turning from shame to grace, is because the 5^th step comes after the 2^nd. Many who attempt a fourth and fifth step drown in the stench of their own shame. Their god (idol) is too small to handle their filth, and cleanse them. Their 2^nd step was lacking.

 For the follower of Jesus, this is where we glory in the cross. Many in the church today acknowledge the cross verbally and give it a cognitive and cursory nod, while never allowing the reality of God’s cosmic grace and forgiveness to affect their own attitudes toward those around them. This is the experience of many with the visible church. It is probably it’s most stinging indictment, and has driven countless numbers away from Jesus to any other idol that will offer them a temporary reprieve from the sting of their guilt and shame.

 

A Twelve Tradition Church?

Today Shell and I hosted a conversation about the 12 traditions I created the following paper as a starting point for our discussion. I made one change that was suggested already in Tradition 12. I work things out by writing and getting feedback. It happened tonight. Lets see what happens here.

Twelve Traditions for the Church

Tradition 1:    Our common welfare should come first; the Kingdom of God depends on our unity. This demands humility and acknowledges our own humanness.

“The church couldn’t be more divided if God had commanded it and Christ had prayed for it.” – Rich Read.

The Church has tried to force unity around perceived strengths rather than acknowledged and shared weaknesses.  It tends to focus on what it thinks it knows rather than a shared experience of “not knowing, searching, failing” and still being loved.

We tend to disregard the journey focusing our attention on the destination. In so doing we miss much of what God has for us, and we tend to make our journey an imperative (“you have to do things my way,” or “believe what I believe”) rather than simply a story of how we’ve encountered the living God.

If our common welfare comes first this means that we need to walk with each other, and share in each other’s journeys rather than try to tell each other how to walk. Unity means sharing our experience, strength, and hope as we encounter God – wherever we encounter Him.

In a very real sense, salvation is found together, in our shared story rather than my individual story. Together we will create a living theology that breathes and changes as our world changes that expresses God’s infinite love for Himself and for us in ongoing relationship.

Tradition2:     For us there is but one authority – a loving God who exists in eternal, perfect loving relationship. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.

"This is the brand-new covenant that I will make with Israel when the time comes. I will put my law within them — write it on their hearts! — and be their God. And they will be my people. They will no longer go around setting up schools to teach each other about God. They'll know me firsthand, the dull and the bright, the smart and the slow. I'll wipe the slate clean for each of them. I'll forget they ever sinned!" God's Decree.  Jer. 31:33-34 (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)

 

The idea that each of us can really know God – indeed that this is what He wants – is a dangerous idea because if followed to its conclusion it destroys the “clergy class.”

This passage’s promise is for now. We hire people to help us “know God” better. Maybe because it is easier; maybe because we don’t really believe that we can know Him without paying them. We are scared that we’ll miss the boat if we don’t do it right. God is too important to mess up. We better do it right. We better hire the pro’s to make sure we don’t screw it up. In so doing we can miss Him altogether. That is the sad irony of our choice.

We will meet God as we share life and our journeys with one another. God is big enough to speak through the child, the mentally challenged, the broken, and the simple. We simply need to listen and trust the Spirit to move in our midst.

God will govern. People won’t. The Spirit will make this happen. So long as we hold fast to tradition 1 we should be OK.

 

Tradition 3:    The only requirement for membership is a desire for more of a relationship with Jesus.

Caesar demanded people pronounce, “Caesar is Lord.” No follower of Jesus could ever make this pronouncement and so often they were thrown to the lions or given over to the sword.

St. Paul states that no one can ever say, “Jesus is Lord,” apart from the Spirit of God working in their heart and life. (1Cor. 12:3) This is probably the best measure of whether a Christian will share communion with another – can they say, “Jesus is Lord?” If they can, invite them in and sup with them; Fellowship with them and worship with them for they are your brother or sister.

For our purposes, someone belongs to Christ when they say they belong to Christ. The question of Lordship – indeed the question of relationship – is answered by surrender.

“Here is my life Lord, have with me and do with me as Thou wilt. I trust you, and where I don’t help me to trust more.” It is here that we find the solution to all of our problems. The more we trust, the more trust is demanded of us, and the more grace is given to trust more, and our relationship with God grows.

 

Tradition 4:    Each congregation should be autonomous except in matters affecting other congregations or the Kingdom of God as a whole.

Each congregation will be wise to tend to its own issues, allowing other congregations to tend to theirs. If a partnering congregation is violating the traditions laid out here then they may need to be called to the carpet if it going to affect Kingdom work.

This tradition goes back to the idea that no one governs but God. This being the case, let God govern each congregation. Congregations need to let the Spirit mold other congregations however He chooses.

Tradition 5:    Each congregation has but one primary purpose – to carry the gospel to those still suffering and in need of hope.

Let’s be clear, when God said the Church was the “Body of Christ,” He meant that it was to carry on the work the physical man, Jesus; which He performed during his three year ministry.

If we can understand Jesus’ purpose, how He lived and what He did, we will be well on the way to discovering how we are to live together.  Jesus came to proclaim good news to the broken and the desperate. We are to do the same.

We are to proclaim hope in faith; live joyously in peace; and live such good lives that people will want what we have. When necessary we might even use words.

 

Tradition 6:    No congregation should endorse, finance, or lend our name or Jesus’ name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property or prestige divert us from our primary purpose.

There will be no political platforms allowed. There will be no social movements promoted. We will not participate in the Kingdom of this world in any of its forms. The Kingdom of this world is manifest through any attempt to “take power over” another person or community. This is central to all the traditions.

 

Tradition 7:    Every congregation ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.

No grants will be written. No matching funds accepted. Nor will we engage in any fundraising activities outside of the congregation.

Tradition 8:    The Church should remain forever non-professional. But we may employ people for service and administrative positions that allow the church to function.

The gospel needs to be free. For our purposes, professionalism is defined as “paying people to proclaim the gospel,” or “counsel those in need of the gospel.” This tradition insures that anytime someone needs to meet Jesus, he will be introduced free of charge. The gospel needs to be free.

Having said that, child care may need to be provided; at some point administration may be necessary and so workers in support and service related positions may be paid to make the mission of the congregation run more smoothly. Stipends may be given to cover travel and housing expenses of speakers.

Tradition 9:    We ought never to endeavor to be organized, but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.

Too often people end up serving the structures they create to make their church run smoothly. The structures meant to serve them end up being cruel task masters, stripping away the joy of service and giving. People feel they are serving the machine rather than the people the machine was created to serve.

This tradition fights against this tendency. Twelve tradition congregations need to be minimalistic. Service boards can be created where necessary. They serve the congregation as a whole, answer to them, and are temporary in nature, disbanding after the task is completed.

Tradition 10:  We have no opinions on outside issues hence our name (and the Name of Jesus) ought never be drawn into public controversy.

Intrinsically connected to tradition one and six above, this tradition makes sure we focus on our primary purpose and keeps us out of the court of public opinion.

Tradition 11: Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we always need to maintain anonymity at the level of press, radio, TV, films and the internet.

If our message is true; if the Spirit of the Living God really does transform our lives; it will be self-evident. We will not have to argue people into the Kingdom of God. People will see that we have discovered life and want in. This has to be at the heart of everything. Either Jesus is who He said He was; capable of what He claimed; or He is not. Our lives will be judged by those wondering about His claims.

For too long the church has wanted its words to proclaim life rather than its life to demonstrate the changes wrought by the Spirit in them over time. We are committed to the latter and firmly reject the former.

 

Tradition 12:  Humility (A complete disregard for our positions, standing, or value in the Kingdom of the earth) is the Spiritual foundation of all our traditions ever reminding us to place principles above personalities.

In the original traditions the word is “anonymity.” It might still fit here. There were three primary reasons for anonymity in the original 12 step / 12 tradition fellowships: 1) to protect the alcoholic from public humiliation 2) to protect the fellowship from bad publicity, and perhaps most importantly 3) To remove social status from the recovery rooms.

For our purposes, protecting the anonymity of the individual is not an issue. However, the next two reasons might be.

Many will argue that we need to protect the congregation from the idiocy of individual followers of Jesus.  When a person does something embarrassing that could damage the name of Jesus, it is far better if they don’t proclaim themselves to be doing it in the name of Jesus or His body on earth – the Church.

All of us can probably agree that there can be no “outside status” in the Kingdom of God. A doctor and a janitor are equals – both in need of as much grace as the other. A stay at home mom needs as much grace as a high powered executive. The world’s status positions cannot exist in the church.

Theology and the Fourth Step

Note: This is a really long post. I am sorry for that. I hope it proves helpful though. I quote extensively from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous Here. 

I don't think many people other than alcoholics really know what AA, and other fellowships which have followed in its footsteps, teach. This is meant to begin to remedy that. Bob Seger kicks it all off with Lock and Load off "It's a Mystery" released in 1995:

Theology and the first three steps

Words we need to know with simple definitions:

·        Regeneration: “God granting life to those who are spiritually dead…”

·        Justification: “God (imputing – giving us) making us look like Jesus when we stand before the Father so he doesn’t judge us for being selfish, self absorbed, ego-centric, beings…”

·        Sanctification: “A process by which the Spirit of God makes us more like Jesus as we move through our life journey…”

·        Glorification: “What we are going to be like in the life to come – physically perfect, emotionally and mentally sound, spiritually connected…”

All these words relate to the study of soteriology in theological discussions. In the Baptist world of my upbringing, the order of “salvation” was: justification, regeneration, sanctification, glorification. The narrative went like this: We believe and are justified; our justification grants us new life (regeneration) so that we can begin the journey of sanctification. Eventually we all die and are glorified with Jesus at the resurrection.

As I studied during my time with InterVarsity I realized the Baptists ordered their theology incorrectly. It may seem like a small difference but my new found reformed theology stated that God gave us new life (regenerated us), so that we might believe and thereby be justified, beginning the process of sanctification which culminated in glorification.

In my reformed world, if God granted new life people would automatically believe. They had no choice. They were predestined to new life. While that statement might be true it is practically dangerous and unhelpful. There is no hint of it ever being announced to people not already in the church.

It is equivalent to telling a young person that pro-athletes are all predestined; and if they are predestined, they will make it to the NFL, NBA, MLS, NHL, or MLB. No, in this model, if predestination is true it is a message that is to be announced to the pro athletes in the middle of their career: “You need to know that all your hard work, your discipline, you natural abilities are not what got you here… it was God’s grace…”

This really isn’t a discussion about the predestination of anyone to anything. It is about these theological words and what they have to do with recovery and addiction. Every active addict is spiritually dead, worshipping the idols of his/her addiction. Every recovering addict will tell you this. Recovering addicts will also marvel at why they were chosen to escape when so many are held in addictions destructive vice-like jaws, unable to get the monkey off their back, destroying everything and everyone around them, including themselves.

They are given a gift when they reach the point of utter despair and turn, crying out to their higher power to save them because they realize their gods are killing them. Theologically speaking, they are given enough life to see that help is available if they ask. Not all do, and not all stay the course once they do. Rather they turn back to their addiction unable to clear its snapping teeth. 

Others though find new life and new hope, trusting in their higher power to give them another day sober each and every day. Completing their first step: acknowledging their powerlessness and unmanageability (spiritual death), they begin discovering the life that alluded them. Turning to God (justification) they discover life, inch by inch, as they back away from the hell that engulfed them. They begin to learn how to live (sanctification) as they take each of the steps and begin living in the solution rather than the problem.

Ephesians and the steps

The first three steps flow most easily from Ephesians 2:1-10. The passage could almost be referred to as “An Addicts Path”.     

Eph 2:1-10

And you 1 were A dead 2 in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you A formerly walked according to the 1 course of B this world, according to C the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in D the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all A formerly lived in B the lusts of our flesh, 1 indulging the desires of the flesh and of the 2 mind, and were C by nature D children of wrath, E even as the rest. 4 But God, being A rich in mercy, because of B His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were A dead 1 in our transgressions, made us alive together 2 with Christ (B by grace you have been saved), 6 and A raised us up with Him, and B seated us with Him in C the heavenly places in D Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing A riches of His grace in B kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For A by grace you have been saved B through faith; and 1 that not of yourselves, it is C the gift of God; 9 A not as a result of works, so that B no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, A created in B Christ Jesus for C good works, which God D prepared beforehand so that we would E walk in them. (NASU)

There are very few addicts out there who don’t see their addiction as death. They wouldn’t find the phrase, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins…” distasteful.” Looking further down most would merely nod in agreement, “…we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind…”

The active addict knows they are dead. They can make no choice apart from their addiction. They are powerless and their lives have become unmanageable. They are unable to make “life choices.” If they are lucky they come to this realization. They come to step one. Their flesh is messed up. Their mind is messed up and they are without hope – dead.

But then comes step two: “But God being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive…”

This is the message of the steps, “I can’t. God can and will.” Following on from that comes the rest, “We have been raised…for we are His workmanship… created for good works… so that we would walk in them…”

Life happens when we surrender to this reality: “I can’t cause I am dead; but  God can and will because of his incredible love, so I am to love even as He loved me.” As we turn our life and our will over to God we find the life that He has planned for us that is so much better than the life we planned for ourselves, because it really is life.

With this groundwork laid, in the next post we’ll talk some theology and try to make sense of the steps with theological words. Ir maybe we will make sense of theological words by using the steps. (Whichever comes first.)