Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Controversy!

Jess: I hope everyone read the title of this entry in a sing-song Peter Griffin voice. If you didn't, please go back and read it again before moving on. This is extremely important to me...

Alright, so now it's time for Wes and I to tackle Rob Bell's new book, Love Wins. If you haven't heard about this book, I don't know where you've been. Bell's video promo of the book led to him being attacked as a heretic, not a Christian, and basically just a bad guy. He's been on Good Morning America, the cover of Time Magazine, and I don't even know what else since the publication of this book. And that's ignoring the internet (is that even possible?). Here's Bell's 2.5 minute introduction to the book.

Anyway, this book should be in no way shocking to any well-trained, intelligent pastor; it shouldn't even be that crazy for most Christians who have seriously considered their beliefs and have more than just a "blind" faith. Whether or not you believe in it is (for this paragraph, at least), irrelevant. The book's ideas should not shock you if you have spent your Christian life wondering who God is and what God does. Bell himself says, "...nothing in this book hasn't been taught, suggested, or celebrated by many before me." Yet he is being called a heretic on a daily basis. People are insisting that Rob Bell can't possibly be correct. Pastors are being fired for saying that Bell isn't necessarily wrong.

My biggest problem with this book isn't the book at all. I think it's well-written; Bell bases his argument in Scripture, history, and both past and current theologies. The points are fairly complex, yet he presents them in everyday, easy to understand language. A child could pick up this book and understand most of it. Yet what Bell says is tearing Christians apart--but doesn't everything? That's my problem. Wes and I have talked about this before: we're Christians. We're called to love God and love our neighbors. But how can we do this when we attack our neighbors for having opinions? For highlighting the many possibilities that God's love brings?

When we put God in a box, when we define who God is and what God can or can't do, that's when we're making our biggest mistake. I don't care if you agree or disagree with my belief that the prevailing message of God's actions throughout history is love. What I do care about is how you react through your agreement or disagreement. If you can sit down and have a conversation with me about the topic, great. If you sit me down and tell me I'm wrong and you're right, and that I'm going to hell because of my beliefs...not great. We as Christians are called to "make disciples of all nations." How can we do that if we're driving people away from Jesus? One of the greatest points Bell makes isn't about heaven or hell at all--it's that Christians are killing Christianity. We like to tell people what is and isn't true about Jesus, and for that reason, "Some people have so much baggage with regard to the name 'Jesus' that when they encounter the mystery present in all of creation-- grace, peace, love, acceptance, healing, forgiveness--the last thing they are inclined to name it is 'Jesus'"

So are we destroying the real, loving, saving Jesus through our constant need to tell people who and what God through Jesus is? I think so. I admire Rob Bell for his strength to put his name on this book. Many "Christians" today want to know that being a Christian is about going to church on Sunday, then going home and living just like they did before the Sunday service. Or they want to know that being a Christian is about telling other people their beliefs are wrong. But they don't want to hear that being a Christian being like Christ. Heaven forbid.

I have a hard time believing in a God who would lovingly send his son to die for the sake of all humanity, yet let most of those same humans spend an eternity in hell for the same sins. But I haven't yet come to terms with the possibility of God letting just anyone into heaven. It's a tough thing to accept. If God is loving enough to let me, a sinner, into heaven, then that means that God is loving enough to let let the people who made my life a living hell in junior high into heaven. Then God is loving enough to my neighbor who has never gone to church and has rejected God all her life into heaven. And that means that God is loving enough to let Hitler into heaven.

That's a lot to handle. But if Hitler sinned "too much" to get into heaven, where's the line? What if I commit one sin too many in my life? I hope that God is loving enough to accept Hitler into heaven, because that means God is loving enough to accept me.

Wes: So it seems like everyone is writing about this issue. Why not us as well? But, I must admit that no post of ours will ever hit the spot like Donald Miller's did. If you haven't read it, check it out!

Anyways, here's the deal. I've been struggling with the question of Heaven and Hell for years. The more I read Holy Scripture, and the more I grow in faith, the more I struggle with the notion of there being a place beyond death that is completely devoid of God's love. The more time I spend in worship of the Almighty, and the more I come to understand His love and mercy, the more I struggle with the idea that there is a place where God refuses to go, a depth that God refuses to dive, a realm where God refuses to give yet another chance of redemption to one of His creation. This does not compute for me. How can God be all loving and all powerful and still send people to Hell? Even more disheartening for me is this: How can God be all loving and all powerful and not allow redemption even for those in Hell?

This question started nagging on me when I was asked by a young man in my youth group whether or not God would ever forgive and redeem the devil if Satan repented. My by-rote answer was that God had condemned Satan to Hell for blaspheming and trying to usurp God, something that is unforgivable. But I started thinking over this and realized that I don't know if I believe that. Is the chasm between God and Hell so vast that His love cannot bridge it? One can always respond with something like, "Well Satan would never repent, so it doesn't matter."

Satan might not, I don't know. But I am sure that, given the opportunity, there's gotta be at least one person confined to Hades who would repent if given the chance. Would God really deny them the opportunity to receive His grace? Are we so bold as to claim a limit on God's love, even a limit so vast as Hell?

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: 'For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."--Romans 8:35-39

I have to hold on to these words. I have to believe that there is no place or state of being that is too far removed that God could not be there with us if we turned toward Him. Not even death. Not even hell.

But here's the kicker: As much as I pulled a message of comfort from Bell's book on this subject, and as much as it helped me to better articulate my faith struggles in this area, I fully believe that this was nowhere near his point in writing this book. Yes, he works to tackle the question of Heaven and Hell. Yes, he asks some tough questions and poses some interesting answers. But this is not the point of his book.

Rob Bell is trying to drive home the point that the Kingdom of God and kingdom of sin are present and prevalent in the world around us now. We are able to see--to even enter into--Heaven or Hell in our lives today. Like the story of the prodigal father and his two sons, we have the choice to either enter the party--to accept and live within the grace and love and justice of God as it is given to us in the here and now--or stay outside and rail against it. We have the choice
either to join with God in His saving works and revel in them or to refuse and live life on our own.

This book is about the now much more than it is about the then.

I hope that, whether you are like me and find a message of hope and love in this book or you struggle with his words and find hope in another understanding of the Gospel message, you are able to read this book for what it is worth and see it for what it is: one man of faith's attempt to convey part of his beliefs with others. Bell does not compel others to believe the same. He does not say that anyone must believe what he has written to be truth. He is simply presenting his findings and his understandings with others in the hope that this book will in some way help them come to a better understanding of their faiths. You don't have to believe him. You can even openly and adamantly disagree with him. But I pray that you can do it in the right way if this is the case. Talk through this book with someone who believes differently than you. Try to find some middle ground in it for both of you to stand on. And remember God called us above all else to love one another, so find love-based ways to interact with Bell, this book, and this situation.

Because the truth is God's alone. And whether or not we as Christians can agree on anything else, I pray that we can agree with the fact that God is love.

And love wins.

;)


You stay classy, World Wide Web!


-Jess and Wes

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Holy Week

Jess: As I have previously mentioned, Lent used to be my least favorite part of the church year. The high point during the whole season was Palm Sunday, because we went back to celebrating Jesus' great power and kingliness. I loved getting to wave my palm branch around, tickling my brother with it, and trying to remember how to fold it into a cross. The songs were great, and I remembered why I enjoyed church, rather than thinking about how depressing Lent was.

Even if I still held onto these particularly material things about Palm Sunday, I think Wes' sermon this Sunday would have knocked me out of that illusion. I'll let him talk about the substance of the sermon, but suffice it to say that Wes completely nailed the whole point of Palm Sunday. He brought us back into the reality of Jesus' life, death, and preaching.

I always loved Maundy-Thursday because most of the ones I remember, we did some sort of meal based on Jesus' last supper. We would sit around a table in the back of the sanctuary, and share the bread and the cup just like the disciples would have with Jesus. No one "played" roles or anything, we just shared a meal as a church family.

And the low point of the low season was Good Friday. The service was depressing, it was dark, and at the end, my dad always slammed a giant Bible shut and scared the crap out of me. I knew it was coming, yet I always jumped about a foot off my seat and almost screamed.

These days, I'm a little (ahem a whole freaking lot) more aware that there are reasons for the seaons we celebrate in the church. Without Good Friday, there can be no Easter. I am always saddened by how few people attend Good Friday services, yet the church has more people than any other Sunday on Easter. We are missing the point if we celebrate the high numbers on Easter and ignore the poor attendance on Good Friday. Jesus HAD to die before he could be raised and conquer death. If we are not willing to share the message of Jesus crucifixion and terrible, bloody death, does the resurrection hold any meaning at all? I'm not saying we should go out and spread the news that Jesus died a disgusting, humiliating, terrifying death and completely ignore its meaning. But it is important that we remember and celebrate Jesus' death, not rushing through the season of Lent or Good Friday to get to the good news of Easter. The death in itself is good news. Jesus died for my sins--for your sins--for all of our sins. Without that message, it doesn't matter that he rose again.

Well, there's my little preaching moment. Jesus died. But that's not the end...thanks be to God.

Wes: I would like to start out by saying that throughout this Lenten season, I've had the pleasure of spending an hour each Tuesday with a great group of people from the churches going through the book, The 24 Hours that Changed the World. It's about, you guessed it, Jesus' last day alive. We've been entrenched in the horror of this day, and one phrase has helped us pull through: It's Friday, but Sunday is coming. I am very happy to say that, after a 40 day season of being immersed in Friday, Sunday is almost here.

As Jess mentioned above, I tried to do something a little bit different for Palm Sunday this year. I moved all everything out of the sanctuaries of my churches. And when I say everything, I mean absolutely everything that was not nailed down was moved. The altar table: gone. The pulpit: gone. The cross: gone. The flowers, flags, pictures: gone. The only things left in the sanctuary by the time we gathered on Sunday were the pews and the people. (The pews would have been gone, but they are bolted in...). I showed up to service in a bright green polo shirt, jeans, and no shoes. Yeah. I was honestly worried that I would either be run out or the parishioners would get up, leave, and never come back.

My sermon focused on the fact that Jesus came into the world and turned everything that people wanted and expected on their heads, and that this is seen clearly in the Palm Sunday text. Instead of riding in on a warhorse, Christ comes in on a donkey. Instead of leading a victorious army, Christ is followed by a ragtag group of dirty, smelly fishermen. Instead of going to a palace or a military stronghold, Christ goes to the Temple to pray and teach. And finally, instead of raising up an army to spark a rebellion, Christ goes to the cross. The people of God understood their needs all wrong. They had an expectation that was not fulfilled, because Jesus chose to be the Savior they needed rather than the one they wanted. We, like the people of Jesus' time, need things turned on our heads every once and while. We need to be reminded why we come to church, and why Who it is that we are worshipping. The church is not the building we gather in. The church is not the paintings or flags or crosses or flowers that adorn the sanctuary. The church is the people of God.

We cannot lose sight of this.

If you want to read my sermon in its entirety, check out my other blog: http://flip-flopprophet.blogspot.com/. Realize, though, that this is not exactly what I preach, since I make a manuscript and then usually immediately deviate from it. :-)

Tomorrow's community Good Friday service should be epic. I'm sure that we'll have a follow-up blog about it and everything that the two of us have done for it in preparation and execution.

Well, happy Holy Week, everyone! I hope that God reveals to you anew the glory of the Risen Christ this Easter Sunday, and until then, remember, it's Friday but Sunday is coming!


You stay classy, World Wide Web!


-Jess and Wes

Friday, April 15, 2011

Playing Blogger Ketchup

Jess: I guess we've been slacking here for a couple of weeks, and we apologize greatly for that. Sorry, everyone. We'll call that our bad.

Not much has really happened outside of the normal routine at the Cain house. I've been babysitting about 30 hours a week, Wes has been going to class, church is going well, and we've actually been eating at our dining room table--which is kind of a feat. The only out of the ordinary
occurrence was a couple of deaths in the congregations, which I will let Wes explain.

We're gearing up for spring/summer, though, so I'm pretty excited about that. Sometime in the next couple of weeks, we'll be planting potatoes, beans, tomatoes, carrots, and peppers. I don't know how well it's going to fit in our little garden, so the final tallies might look different. I'll be bleaching the siding and cleaning the windows inside and out this weekend, as well. The house looks pretty neat right now because of all the flowers growing. We'll see about the whole outdoor work weekend, though. The forecast is full of rain, which makes it a little difficult to work outside. If it falls through, there's always the inside windows, dressers to polish, a faucet to fix, and more. I never knew how much went into having a house--especially an old house.

Other than that, I headed out to Ohio last weekend for my mom's bridal shower. We spent all four days talking, and I think we sort of drove her fiance, Chris, a little crazy. The bridal shower was a good time. I always love getting the chance to go back to my hometown and see my old teachers, friends, and congregants. I miss a lot of them, and I haven't been back since Wes and I got married, so it was a nice treat. Apparently, Wes DOES miss me when I'm gone, because, as he said,"I noticed how dirty the house gets when you're gone." It's so nice to be appreciated...

On the money end of life, things are going pretty fantasmically (yes, I made up a word). We're going to be buying our car at the end of next month, and we're going to pay half of it off UP FRONT! I'm so proud of us for spending this first half of the year working hard to save money, and it gives us great hope for the time we'll spend saving for our adoption application next year.

Well, that's all I have to say right now. Up next: THE Wes Cain.

Wes: Aloha everybody! I want to share with you some of the things that have happened over at the churches in the past couple of weeks.

So, as Jess mentioned, the big event, and the hardest with which to deal, was the death of one of the most beloved members of Crosswicks UMC. Walt Ellis was a wonderful man, and our worshipping community will not be the same without him. His funeral was last Friday, so while Jess was hanging out with her mom, I was trying to hold it together and be supportive for his wife, Nancy, and their family. The funeral was rough for me. It was only my second funeral to officiate, and it was the first one in which I knew and had a relationship with the deceased. Walt and I had shared many wonderful conversations during both my visits to his and Nancy's house as well as after church. I would always tease him about falling asleep during my sermons and he would always respond with a deep question or comment on my message to show me that he was not only listening, but engaging the sermon. I appreciated that more than he'll ever know. It was nice to know that someone cared enough about what I said and about the Word of God to talk with me about it after the fact. He was a good man, and even though our time together was short, I do miss him a lot. Any prayers you would like to lift up for his wife, Nancy, would be greatly appreciated.

Two weeks ago, I spent the weekend doing conference youth ministry stuff. On Friday, I had the immense honor of helping lead and teach a youth lay speaking retreat for the youth of the conference who wish to become more involved in the worship life of their faith community. We had a great time and I left feeling refreshed and excited about the ministry opportunities that are arising with this current generation. Amazing things will be happening. Mark my word. I also got to attend and help lead the spring meeting for the ministries for young people team, which is comprised of both youth and young adults from the conference. I felt kinda bad because I was extremely distracted during the meeting. I had just found out that one of my parishioner's father had passed, and then half-way through received news about Walt. I wanted to be there, and wanted to help the team engage in ministry, but my heart was elsewhere, breaking open for those close to me that I knew were suffering. As soon as they invent a way to be in two places at once, ministry will be so much easier... Just saying.

I am also very happy to announce that as of 10:20 today, my classes for the long-term semester are over! I have two weeks off to focus on church stuff--Yay Holy Week!--before I hit it hard with my short-term class. I honestly do not know what to expect in this class. It's a class on evangelism, and I'm really hoping that it is hands on and fun.

Well, that's all for now, folks! Tune in next week to hear about our Palm Sunday adventures! I am doing something a little... different... so pray that it goes well, and I'll tell you all about it in a few days!


You stay classy, World Wide Web!


-Jess and Wes