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Reunited with friends. From Sept 20-22 I was in Arlington, Virgina with some friends from all different nations. We had great conversation about the story which frames the life of people committed to following Christ. It brought me back to one of the more formative classes at Point Loma Nazarene University--Biblical Theology.
There is beauty in hearing a Rwandan brother talk about Jesus and his faith alongside a sister from Burundi and an American sister who lives in Geneva. For me there is nothing quite like sharing questions and stories with people of other cultures. Together we looked at re-framing the Christian story we live from. Is it a story of "Fall, Christ, and Heaven or Hell" or is it more? It is more. It is a story of "Creation, Crisis, Calling, Christ, Church and Consummation". When I define humanity from the point of Creation rather than Fall everything changes! No longer is human life defined only by it's depravity but it's sin is found within the framework of God's good creation. How I treat others who are "good creations" with sin at work in them is different or should be different than how I'd treat one who is only a sinner. How I treat myself as one who is a "good creation" should be different too! Brian McLaren joined us to help lead our discussion. I had a blast and thoroughly enjoyed the rich conversation.
So I hear we North Americans do a lot of "processing" after important experiences. Not all people groups need "processing" time. Thanks Claude for pointing this out. So here is some reflection or "processing" from our weekend together:
When we live in cultures which give us a whole host of stories to live from we need to constantly be at work telling the Story of God. I'm challenged again to see God's story speaking into my beliefs and practices. It is fascinating how Jesus, the same Jesus, can speak through different means and show up in different contexts yet still transform people. Jesus can be so cross-cultural...so why can't we? Culture shapes our innards and does it without our permission. In order to be people who can live faithfully out of this Story of God we must also become people who can read the culture shaping our innards. These innards shape our beliefs and practices. Our innard shapping doesn't always jive with God's story and even causes us to know and live from God's story in mis-informed ways. So being with those who are altogether other than us becomes essential for our relearning God's story. Being with others who believe and practice different from us is essential, I think, for our following Christ. In the face of others we see ourselves as we are. Others reveal our blind spots. It is as if they are a mirror reflecting our own image back onto us. Yet through their lens we see ourselves as we've never seen ourselves before. This is why when people go on mission trips, go away to camp, work with the poor or spend time with people of other faiths, they often come home realizing how much their following Jesus needs to change. Others help us see ourselves so we can evaluate ourselves and our people within God's Story. When we are only around people who are like us, then we will only see the Story of God like we've always seen it.
Just some thoughts. Maybe you see differently and want to be my mirror!
4 comments:
Julene,
Great post. I think a changing context is a gift from God. I can even see by following the narrative of scripture how a constantly changing context continued to challenge the people of God to continually re-evaluate what it means to follow him. Scripture shows us a nomadic people, a slave people, a nation people, and exiled people, an occupied people; each time they had to ask themselves what does their faith look like now. How would they worship without a temple? What roll do outsiders and foreigners play in living out their faith during times of occupation and exile? The book of Acts continues this theme as the narrative asks, what do people following God look like beyond Jewish culture? The context never stays the same; because of this new questions have to be asked all the time as we are continually being shaped into God’s likeness through our ever changing context.
Maybe this is why I personally identify with the emergent conversation here in the west as our context is becoming more and more post-modern. But I can’t help but to envy your ability to take part in so many different contexts and benefit from the contrasts of so many different cultures. I love the insight these experiences give you and I am glad you are able to share them with us on your blog. Thanks.
P.S., next time you’re in the DC area send me an email; my wife and I would love to have you over or get together any way we can.
Peace,
James
I appreciate your thoughtful comments on how our Biblical narrative created space for changing contexts. I’m struck this morning by the space for grace in the lives of God’s people. God allowed people to move, even called forth for them to move and change positions and then did a new thing in them in new contexts. Sometimes the newness came forth out of the people turning back to God from their sin. Sometimes the newness was God’s decision to do something new!
I've been wondering lately about the post-modern conversation in the west and how it may begin to see itself in multicultural contexts there? The people (very few) that I have been in contact with who are in engaging in post-modern dialogue tend to be white middle class. Now, I'm in Korea and my scope of people from the USA is VERY narrow. Are there people who are engaging in this conversation who are not found within the white middle class? If there is, how are they helping the conversation see itself? How does the "shift" we see happening in the western church play out in the multicultural or urban settings among people who are not yet officially engaged in conversations we are having? My questions are coming from at least some ignorance and defiantly a ton of displacement from the US.
Julene,
I think it may be a fair criticism of the emergent church in the west that it is dominated by white middleclass people in their 30’s. It is what it is, and I fit right into that stereotypical category myself; though not quite middle class. I think this group has really experienced what they feel is a cultural shift from modern to postmodern and one thing it really has done was make us more self aware that we are not the only ones out there. I think the emergent church is fascinated by other cultures and is beginning to understand how the gospel can take various contextual shapes. While there are a few people from other cultures, besides us 30 year old white people, participating in the emergent conversation here in the west directly, I think the conversation itself is informed by many cultures indirectly. We want to dialogue with all kinds of expressions of faith and it does not have to be labeled “emergent” for us to want to learn about it. I think the conversation is ultimately still new but we are very interested in expanding it beyond our western/modern context because we are deconstructing our own western/modern context. I think we need to be informed more by other cultures, so again it is a fair criticism of a weakness that I hope will be something we can grow out of.
As far as how “the ‘shift’ we see happening in the western church plays out in the multicultural or urban settings among people who are not yet officially engaged in conversations” I myself am still trying to get my head around that. I think many of us in the emergent church are interested in things like social justice and helping the poor and the dynamics of community in urban settings. I myself live in the suburbs and commute into DC to work at Community of Hope which works with homeless and underserved families in the District. While this has been an eye opening experience I still feel I have so much to learn as I continually try to get my head around it. I love the diversity of people in the city and where I work; I interact with people of all tax brackets, political persuasions, and several different nationalities, languages, and faiths; and my parallel emergent conversations seems to help me as I build relationships in this context.
Maybe that is the best way to describe it, perhaps the emergent conversation is simply a parallel conversation within our culture that can help us better dialogue with other cultures. This in itself may not be enough but I think it is a good start. I agree with what you said in your post, that “there is nothing quite like sharing questions and stories with people of other cultures” as we look together “at re-framing the Christian story we live from.” I think this is happening, but the conversation is still in its infancy.
Peace,
James
Julene,
You are always the one reminding me of my cross-cultural ministry. I like what you said about the way other cultures help challenge us and the way we live out our faith. I remember a mentor telling me that there is a blessing in pastoring people who are not like you. Inviting it often is to go to people just like you, but the iron won't get us as sharp. I think she is right. But I think we have a long way to go in that. I was talking with one of our DS's who is open to the emergent movement and he was talking about students needing to know what kind of culture they were called to when finished with seminary (ie what culture they were from/used to). His thinking was that matches between churches and pastors are best when we have things in common. I can't say I welcomed his words. I even wonder if some diversity in our clergy and leadership might be the very fresh air that will breathe life into the church. My congregations who have not been like me have made me sharp in many ways and have taught me to love beyond what I was capable of. Those differences, while often frustrating me (as you certainly know), have also been what keeps me growing and challenges me to be other-directed. Thanks for your blog and your thinking and your willingness to share and create dialog.
Christa Klosterman
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