Contexting

Donald Miller Is A Liberal

I've spent the last couple of minutes reading through Donald Miller's blog. In case you've been under a rock for the last couple of years, Don is the author of  four books (that I know of) including Blue Like Jazz, Searching For God Knows What, and To Own A Dragon. He's intelligent, articulate, and eloquent, and a generation of Christians across the country are finding their post-evangelical voice in him.

Miller didn't grow up in the evangelical subculture, and therefore doesn't (can't or won't) speak the language of modern Christianity. Because of his willingness to question even the established basics of religion, he (and a crop of wannabes) are viewed with suspicion by many Church leaders who hear echoes of Christian liberalism in Miller's postmodern "Christian Spirituality." Don further convolutes things for the traditionalists by wading into the realm of politics and social issues.

Don Miller led a prayer at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in August, and has spent the last few weeks on the campaign trail with Barack Obama. He is open about the concerns many conservatives have with Obama's political positions. He takes a lot of criticism from conservatives who have love to call him names. (In evangelical circles, "liberal" is worse than "heretic.")

I hear that Don lives in Portland, which is my new home town. I'd love to meet him for coffee. He seems like an interesting person that I might be able to relate to. I respect him for doing what he feels is right, even when it isn't the popular thing.

Don, if you read this, drop me a line.

Ask For Help

Maybe it's the desire to not be a burden on anyone. Mayne it's pride. Maybe it's the attitude of, "I'm here to minister, not be ministered to."

Whatever the reason, missional Christians rarely ask for help from the people they're trying to know, love, and serve. It's a shame, though, because asking for help can be an excellent way to get to know people. Personal influence can flow both ways, you know.

I'm not talking about asking for handouts (that's second nature for many believers.) Neither am I saying that we should make up a "need" for our friends to meet. The truth of the matter is that all of us have needs, and all of us need to be useful and helpful and needed. Asking someone for help allows you to demonstrate the value of community. It shows humility. It makes a relationship a partnership.

Some areas in which you might consider asking for help:

• Looking for friends in the area (guys to watch games with, play frisbee, video games, etc.)
• Throwing a party (BBQ, birthday, holiday, no reason)
• A job around the house
• Learning a skill (carpentry, scrapbooking, training a dog)
• Understanding a concept, idea, or world event
• Help watching the kids
• Finding a group of people to study the Bible with

Be sure to avoid asking for money, overwhelming your friend, or becoming a pain in the neck. You don't want people to run when they see you coming.

Good luck.

Abstract Realities

Time. We used to "allow six to eight weeks for delivery." Now, we're text messaging our friends from the drive-through. In the age of instant, "eternity" is hard to imagine.

Love. Easy to understand if you're in it, harder if you feel like you have to pay for it. These days, we love ice cream and we love the latest romantic comedy that depicts love as a fairy tale ending or a casual one night stand.

Peace. Even in the absence of war, people don't live like they know peace. We've got inner struggles, interpersonal conflict, and public disagreements. When there aren't any bad guys around. the good guys shoot at each other.

Hope. We hope the bus arrives soon. Hopefully, we're safe for now. For millions of Americans, hope is nothing more than a political slogan on a bumper sticker.

Truth. Truth is a many-sided thing that nobody tells (at least not all of it). Truth is hard to come by, especially after revisionism, spin, advertising, and diplomacy get their hands on it.

Faith. Forgiveness. Family. Evil. Sin. Beauty. God. We're using the same words, but we're not saying the same things.

Uncool

Contexting is not trying to make yourself, your church, or your faith into something cool. Your church will never be cool enough. Ultimately, it is a gathering of people who are called to live (and die) for Jesus among people who find that idea ridiculous.

Contexting is doing the work to insure that the Christianity you live out communicates spiritual reality (our need, God's provision in Christ) to the people around us. It means publicly working out your salvation, allowing others to observe, experience, and (hopefully) be blessed by our faith.

Just wanted to make that clear, lest anyone think that coolness is the goal.

Recession Proof

We hold loosely to material possessions.

We routinely give our money away to the poor.

Our treasures are in heaven. We realize that what we have is temporary.

We don't worry about tomorrow. We've been promised that our needs will be supplied. 

Nothing that we have is ours to keep. Good stewardship is very important to us.

We don't deserve even the things we've worked really hard for.

We provide and accept help, but we're committed to owe nothing to anyone.

According to Matthew 6, we're recession proof.

Debate

It used to be that you could convince people through debate. Poke enough holes in the logic of your opponent's argument, and it's left untenable. Expose an error, inconsistency, or contradiction, and the other guy loses. Their side is left with no choice but to abandon their position and agree with yours.

Not anymore.

These days, people aren't convinced through debate. Present someone with all the facts and verifiable evidence in the world, and they'll still believe what they want to believe. That's not to say that you can't be convincing. You can. But being convincing is a lot different from being good, right, logical, honest, or articulate.

The presentation is as important as the content. Marketers know this. Lawyers know this. Politicians are all about this. Too bad Christians don't get it. They're still busy debating. They try to prove God's existence (no faith necessary!) or pit facts against hype. They get "Amens" from those who already agreed with them, and objections from those who didn't. Nobody is moved.

If you really want to convince people that they need to have a relationship with God through Jesus, add scripture to your conversation (chapter and verse not necessary). According to scripture, faith comes by hearing the word of the Christ. While it sounds foolish to some, the gospel has the power to change people's minds.

Information Junkies

In premodern times (and places), information was hard to come by. Nobody knew what was going on in other parts of the world (many debated whether there even were other parts of the world). People were starved for information. They made decisions based on what little they had, and the credibility of the messenger determined whether the information was reliable or not.

Of course, our problem is the opposite. We have too much information. It's everywhere, but we can't get enough. We're constantly googling, surfing, watching, and listening. Even when we're not looking for it, it comes streaming in- radio, television, newspapers, magazines, billboards, internet, email, spam. Our need isn't for more information, it's for a filter. We need the tools to be able to discern what is useful, good, and true, from all the other noise out there.

Our addiction to information both good and bad has many implications for missional living:

-You have to establish a context. On the web, everything is categorized and tagged and followed with a link to similar items of interest. If you have a message to share, you've got to provide enough meaning, relationship, and application cues to be sure that people know how to process that information.

-The messenger is still important. We love to latch on to sources of information that we can trust as reliable (in the "we like the info they provide" sense, not the "this info is always accurate" sense). It takes effort to filter the flow of information, so it's comforting when we think we can be more passive. If I'm a fan of, say, Christiane Amanpour, (or Sean Hannity, or Brian McLaren, or Tim Challies) then I can turn off my filter when I allow her to be my source of info.

-The means of communication affects the message. There are appropriate ways to use a handwritten note, a bullhorn, and a full-page ad in the newspaper. Skywriting, maybe. Sign language, sometimes. Bumper stickers, every once in a while.  Spam, never. How the message is shared affects how it is heard and received.

Explain Why

If you explain to your children why they're being disciplined, they might not like it, or even understand, but they'll learn.

If you explain why you pray before a meal, your dinner guests will learn something about your relationship with God.

If you explain to your employees why they have to do what you're asking them to do, you may see some enthusiasm.

Explaining why we listen to a sermon every Sunday at church (even if there isn't a good explanation,) will help your churchgoers see value in your teaching style.

There may be no good explanation for why we spend time over the holidays with loved ones we hardly know, but an explanation of the thought process that got you there will help your family understand you better.

An explanation of why you don't mix baking soda and vinegar will keep you from having to clean up a big mess.

Explaining your thoughts on a political, social, or theological issue will demonstrate that you're not just mindlessly regurgitating what you heard on talk radio. Or it might prove that all you're doing is mindlessly regurgitating what you heard on talk radio.

Unexplained rules, traditions, actions, routines, expectations, and protocols have no meaning. Take time to explain the whys, and people may start to value what you do.

The Missional Home

A generation ago, families maintained a room in their homes for entertaining guests. The "formal" living room," was less lived-in, and therefore supposed to be more comfortable for outsiders. In many ways it was a stage- a well-decorated set for the performance of welcoming guests without exposing them to the more personal aspects of the family's life.

These days, few homes have a formal living room. Maybe it was the TV that brought its demise, or the the need for more daily usable space. You don't need a formal space to entertain friends, but the intimate experience of having people in your home is an excellent setting for sharing life and building relationships. Consider these ideas for making your home more comfortable for guests:

 Living Room

• Make people the focal point, not the TV. Hide it in an entertainment cabinet or mount it a little higher on the wall than normal. This will keep your plasma monstrosity out of the way until you need it. Configure the chairs and sofas to face one another, not the TV.
• Fill the room with conversation pieces, rid it of distractions. Fill the shelves with books you'd like to talk about (think fiction and photo-books over systematic theology). Hang interesting art and family photos. Play (softly, in the background) music that's meaningful to you. Remove anything that's weird or that doesn't have a story. Keep your crotch-sniffing dog out of the room, and clean out the cushions of your couch!
• If there's not enough seating, you should sit on the floor. It frees up a seat for your guests, and shows them that it's okay to sit on the floor.
• Try lighting the room with small lamps rather than ceiling or track- lighting. This helps the space feel smaller, warmer, and more comfortable.
• Your house has a smell that you're so used to you can't smell it. Be sure it's a good one.

Backyard

• An outdoor living room can be a great place to entertain guests. Arrange some weather-resistant furniture in a large circle, string up some white Christmas lights, and you're set to hang out with friends in the back yard. Tiki torches and fans in the summer and and a fire pit or chimenea in the colder months can be great for setting the mood and keeping guests comfortable.
• Outdoor dining can be great, too. Find an old dining table on Craigslist, and use candle light to make your barbecues a little more elegant.

Bathrooms

• When guests arrive, even if they've been in your house a time or two, be sure to do a "tour" of the house. The tour will let them know what parts of the house are private and will insure that they know where the bathroom is. 
• Be sure guests can use a well-stocked (soap, toilet paper, towels, etc.) restroom that offers a bit of privacy.

Kitchen

• If you will be eating together, reserve some of the (light!) kitchen prep work for a guest. This will allow you to talk while you're making dinner, and gives them something to do besides watch you chop vegetables.
• Offer guests something to drink. Repeat the offer often, and don't assume- sweet/unsweetened tea, milk and sugar in the coffee, ice or no ice- be sure to ask. 
• Unless dinner is ready when your guests arrive, provide light snacks that go with whatever you'll be having. 
• Offer coffee and/or tea after the meal. If you're not a coffee/tea aficionado, practice making them before you entertain.

Tip: Before guests arrive, remind yourself of their situation. Try to remember what they do for work, where they're from, the names of their pets, and how many brothers and sisters they have. These things help communicate that you know and care about them.

Pray for the friends you invite. Pray that you'd have encouraging words to say to them, and that they would feel welcome, understood, and accepted in your home. Pray for opportunities to talk about things that really matter.

Intentionality

Being missional means being intentional. It means that you do whatever it is you do with a sense of purpose (1 Corinthians 10:31). It means thinking through the implications and ramifications of what you do and how you do it in order to live in the fullness of what God's intentional plan for humanity. Most of the time, our selfishness gets in the way of our purpose. Things like ministry and sacrifice don't usually happen on accident.

Intentionality begins with constant contact with God (1 Thessalonians 5:17). If you want to have Him guide what you do, you ought to listen to Him.

Sure you contemplate the big things. Major decisions, big purchases, life-and-death sorts of things. But intentionality should apply to the little things, too. Where do I buy groceries, and what do I buy? Is the lowest price my highest value, or is good stewardship more complex than that?

What you do affects other people. You never get to stop looking for win-win solutions to life's problems. If you truly understand your role as an agent of redemption in your community, your bottom line can't be your own well-being.

Good or bad, you're setting an example. People are watching you. They see when you leave a mess or waste time or cut in line. Life is public, and if you're intentional about it, you can communicate a lot about what's important, and what's right by your actions and attitudes.

So be intentional. If you don't do things according to your (God's) purpose, you'll end up doing them according to someone else's.