The cult of personality

Recently, I was told that two very prominent leaders of large churches resigned suddenly. One because he lied about having cancer and God healing him whereas he never had it in the first place. (That alone should be something to be thankful to God for !) The other was very prominent teleevangelist who had to resign due to a relapse in his alcoholism and some sex related pecadilloes.It saddens me because in the wake of all this, there will be bitterly dissapointed, heartbroken, cheated followers who, for some of them, will turn into cynical opponents of everything that represents Christianity. There will be some who will doubt the validity of all said, done and prayed for in the name of Christ. There will be a fallout and someone will alwyas pay.It's why I found myself drawn to Calvinism in recent years. Years of man centered worship, people and youth centered activities led me to cry "Where is God?"And the answer was simpleGod was always there. We displaced him and made idols of ourselves and others. So, it's odd that he becomes almost the lender of last resort while he should have been the primary source of everthing ( to use to banking analogy)God was always there but we found him boring. So we preferred a repackaged God in a man who uses phrases like a religous Emeril Largesse (go watch the Food Channel!). Bam! Pow! We laugh and think the power of God is flowing through this man. We are titillated, excited, warmed in our hearts, tickled to our toes......for what purpose?We have become addicted to the repackaged God and the most blasphemous word in the modern church is "boring". But that is a perception, not a reality. And you make it your reality by reinforcing that. Think about it for a momentYears ago, this would have bothered me. It doesn't so much anymore, but as I said above; it saddens me.  Since I became a Calvinist, it's my opinion that as long as we displace God from total sovereignity; these sad episodes are as likely to be repeated as many times as movies are on HBO.

Megachurch? Nyet! Nyet!

It's not a secret among those who know me that I am not really a fan of large churches. The more I hear that your church is so big that it has it's own coffee chain or that it needs WiMax instead of Wifi due to it's size; I start furrowing my eyebrows. Now, you might say I'm prejudice. You're damn right about that.I like the little mom and pop shops in quaint villages that I grew up with, in Australia. I hate Mid-Valley Megamall. I like the slow food movement, and have boycotted Mickie D's quite successfully for close to a year. I like small churches where I don't have to worry if I've pissed off the 'Christian' security guy in black. Yes, I'm prejudiced.But I will say something about large churches: I like your large parking spaces. Small chruches are in the suburbs and parking is a nightmare at times :-)If I feel the need to worship in a large setting, I'll sign up for a rally, concert or an event like Passion; which I fully support..But that doesn't happen very much. And honestly, I used to be part of a large church in Damansara and it didn't do anything much for me. In the midst of that humongous crowd; there was this strange sensation that everyone was as disconnected with each other, as though there were all these electrons zipping around each other but none of them colliding or colluding. Honestly, it felt emptyI think the model should have these electrons circling a nucleus; and that nucleus is God: the centre of everything we do or zip aroundSo, while I appreciate the fact that large churches have large bands and the music sounds better because they have the resources and the talent pool, I can't help wondering if a bit of that magic (if I may use that word in a Christian context) is missing..Sometimes I wonder, that if we just decided that it was all about God first. And my brother and sister next,  and me last. That those wrong notes played, or luke warm coffee after service didn't matter a darn; we would be closer to the Kingdom of God....and that mom and pop shop which used to serve that great vanilla sponge cake.

A Mongo for Christ

Yesterday when I was worship leading, the worst thing that could happen to a Wleader occured - major stoning in the congregation. A sea of blank faces throughout the first set. Now, I know all the reasons; maybe there was sin in me, or my team, maybe we had too much pride, maybe we put the congregation's reaction over God's approval, maybe...

Then I stopped rationalising.

When I teach in the gym, I can be one of the most theoretical and patient teachers. I care that you learn. I want you to learn. Nothing gives me more pleasure as a teacher when I see that you 'get it.' But if you've seen me fight; you see a different side. You see a brutal, aggressive attempt to rip you apart. But oddly, there's no malice. It's just that I'm direct and efficient

And it was that side that came out yesterday before the closing song. I berated the congregation for that lack of response. And questioned their commitment to want to be at church, to worship, to whatever. I was direct and brutal; in short, I was a mongo, a lumbering thuggish guy with a club as my mediuim of oration

We live in a society that can be too nice and politically correct. And that has affected the church as well. As a consequence, we sometimes refrain from saying things that should be said for fear of giving offence.

The Old Testament prophets never cared about this. They called a spade a spade. Ezra pulled his own hair out at his people's lack of repentance. Jeremiah said in effect, "I'm not going to pull MY own hair out!", and pulled others instead. Jesus frequently offended...well, just about anyone. The gospel of Christ is an offence to some; remember that

In boxing, I have to hit you sometimes. And you will have to learn how to take a hit. It's the same for me. I can be molly-coddled by the darn nicest coach in town but someday, if he really cares for me - he will have to hit me. That's boxing

And that's the way of Christ. You are not meant to sit in your nice chairs rolling through five songs. It's my job to lead you to worship - but I can't make you drink the water. And my responsiblity is to take you there, point it out to you, shout at you if I have to because I love Christ first and his followers second. But I have to do it because I now see why God made me a mongo. A mongo for Christ

Deus Abscondus?

The latin phrase above refers to the notion that our God is hidden, or has removed himself from us. In the Bible, there are references to our sin being a reason as to why God might seem absent to us at times. Other times, he willingly chooses to do so to enable our faith to grow.

Sometimes it is difficult to see God at all in the world. In the movie, "Tears of the Sun", a U.S Navy platoon led by a cynical, battle hardened lieutenant is asked to evacuate a mission. When they set off, a priest wishes them " May God go with you". The lieutenant casts a wry small and answers: "God has left Africa"

When one looks at the atrocities in Rwanda, Sudan or Angola; one might come to the conclusion that God has left Africa. When a Georgian woman looks at her bombed out house and dead children; who can blame her when she says that God has left Georgia. Or when you walk the streets of an inner city slum and see the down and out of society; has God left our city? Or more personally, when you pray for healing and it just doesn't come; and your loved one passes away - has God absconded?

I admit I have a hard time telling people that God is still around in the face of all this. I have even less time for my fellow Christians with their loopy eschatology theories that promise a new earth after this one is razed. Raze this one? Dudes, it's already burning to the ground. And rather than doing anything about it, the ones who claim to be Christians are washing their hands off the whole thing and curiously acquiring material wealth; an odd behaviour for those about to meet King Jesus in the sky

If I was an observer from outer space, the most likely observation that I would have on earth is that they are a young race in need of careful supervision and intervention because they do not seem capable of running affairs properly. But who would run this? God? But where is he? Why is the God of the Bible, in terms of revelation, so..if I may use the word...fickle?

He storms in when he wants to but remains curiously private; revealing himself within a tribal semi-nomadic race. He does it through prophets, signs which require interpretation rather than appearing in person and succintly declaring and proving once and for all that he is God. So, even if he is not Deus Abscondus, he is remarkably shy for a large God

No one loves me but Jesus - debunking a few myths of a cell group

In my last post, I may have come across as a little Pollyana-ish with regards to cell groups. I have never said, and will never say that cell groups are certaintly the absolute sure-fire places where it's group hugs and back slaps all night long and everyone comes out feeling all warm and fuzzy.

Far from it.

I have been in cell groups in the past where I was tempted to fake a seizure just to get out (I decided against it because they would just start praying over me and that would have prolonged the agony...). I have been in one where someone tried to punch me. And i was the CG leader. (How's that for contending da faith, Balboa?)

So, not all CG's are equal. But somehow, people come in with certain assumptions , and I want to debunk these myths:

1. I will be accepted immediately

No, you won't. Not if you're a jerk. Not even if you are a Christian jerk. Because no one likes one and at the end of a hard week; rest assured that if you bring an attitude to a cell group, someone is going to want to Bible bash you; and not in the theologically approve manner either

2. There are no cliques

There are always cliques. There will always be. Get used to it. Your mum and dad is a clique. They take you everywhere, include you in most things, except when they...uh,you get the idea. The number one fear of someone going into a cell group is - rejection. You think that you when you walk in there, you'll see a couple flirting with each other, two guys talking about some obscure hobby that only they and 3 others in the world know anything about; and two other members who eye you up and down contemptously, judging you all the time.

In other words - they all have a clique and have zoned you out. As Christians, we try not to do this but we do mimic the world, and anthropologically, there are strong reasons for being cliquish. The 12 disciples - were they a clique? James and John? Jesus and Peter? The gospels talk alot about them both.

A good cell group will recognise that it has to have a balance of being both open enough to give the chance to an outsider to come in without compromising the integrity of it's aim: to focus on becoming more Christlike. Notice I said nothing about being warm, touchy feely or stuff like that. Why?

3. Acceptance is automatic

The seeker movement (with a great deal of influence from secular group therapy teachings) tries to convey the notion that a cell group should be openly inclusive and accepting of anyone that wants to come in. That notion is slightly falacious

When the church was being persecuted in the early days, they met behind closed doors and were very careful of outsiders trying to join as no one was sure if they were genuine or spies. Therefore, whoever wanted to join had to prove themselves as sincere, genuine lovers of Christ

Bearing the family name of Christ carries a responsibility. It is less a membership card to a country card and more of draft card to war. It's serious business. No one forces someone to go to a CG; it's an honour and a privelage. And we in recent times have devalued it so that it's sold so desperately like a 50% off pastry near closing time.

If you want in - show us you are serious. Now, in our society, we tend to value those who speak out more and a more assertive. The extroverted ones. What if you're quiet and are an introvert? But if you're an introvert -why do you want to be part of a group of extroverts anyway? :-)

Whether you are quiet or not. Everyone craves intimacy and acceptance. To do this, you have to open yourself up and run the risk of going against a fundamental human reluctance to be vulnerable. How you do this - is up to you

In a nutshell, cell groups are a perfect representation of the imperfect. Bickering, whining, weak, neurotic people who need grace more than anything. But hey, didn't that sound like the 12 disciples? It's all the more reason why I think cell-groups are so important. They give us an opportunity for us to depend more on God and less on ourselves. To take each other as crutches rather than live in denial that we have two good feet when in reality we are crippled.

But there is one who heals the lame

And his name is Jesus

Seegeephobia-what's the cure?

I have to admit that I suck at evangelism. Recently, a friend asked me what I was doing one Friday night and I told her that I was about to go to my small group. When I invited her, she politely declined, saying that she didn't function well in small groups

Now, mind you that this is someone who is no stranger to church stuff. She knows what a cell-group is and probably attended many in the past but now is not. But I also know that for many non-christians, the concept lands somewhere between somewhere between weirdsville and just weird. And the general impression, even for Christians, is that it's bunch of bored people talking Jesus stuff until they can go for supper.

At times, a CG can be pretty boring. And scary. You are sitting in a group with a bunch of people, some of whom you don't know very well, that you are encouraged to go Dr.Phil sharing caring with. So, is this is the way to spend a Friday night?

Damn right it is. You see, part of the beauty of a cell group is that it's the only way you can get introduced into the incredible awesomeness of a christian community family safely. The key word is 'family'. You don't always enjoy being with your family, and you have disagreements at times but when it comes down to the crunch and you need someone to help you out..blood is thicker than water

So too, Christ's blood binds us in small pockets of family called a cell group. We learn about head the head of this family, Jesus, in study; sometimes it's interesting, other times, not so. We share, awkwardly at times, defesively others until we realise that those walls that we have so cleverly built up come slowly tumbling down.

There is no love when there is no authenticity. And there cannot be authenticity without love. A good cell group doles this out, and the measure of a good group is not so much what techniques the leader uses but rather how much the leader and the group loves Christ.

The cure for my friend is simple. She must take the plunge. There is no love without risk and no one can scuba dive without submerging first. If you don't, you'll always snorkel on the surface admiring the view from the top but never quite getting up close.