Do you remember your first day at school, or first day at work, or even your first day at church? Whether you knew a few people or not, you arrived in a new place, uncomfortable and out of place. Maybe even excluded from the “in-crowd”. Many of us know what it’s like to be a stranger, with all the awkwardness and self-consciousness. You may even have felt that it was impossible for you to ever be accepted in this place where some people are accepted and others are not.

In the book of Ephesians, Paul reminds the believers that all of us (as Gentiles) were once strangers:

…remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
Ephesians 2:12

Look at the strong words: “separated”, “alienated”, “strangers”, hopeless and without God. This is how we all were, lost in our own sin, separated from God. But the good news is that God reached out to us–the death and resurrection of Christ made it possible for us to be included:

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 2:13

Isn’t that great news?? Jesus made it so that we could have a relationship with God. And Paul goes on in the same chapter:

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.
Ephesians 2:19

See, it’s the character of God to take excluded people and to bring them into relationship with Him. His inclusive nature brought Him to pay the ultimate price so that we could be part of His household.

Paul goes on to say that the church’s job is to reflect this message to everyone, so much that even the angels can see:

…through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 3:10

See, the church’s job is to embody this inclusive nature of God. Every week at our church groups there are newcomers who come. They are strangers, possibly unbelievers, who are out of place and alienated from the community we all enjoy. Will we be the kind of church that Paul describes in Ephesians, who embody the message of inclusiveness to everyone?

Everybody likes to be included. We all are prone to having cliques, to having exclusive clubs and leaving others out. Most of us know the thrill of being included, and the pain of being excluded. So why do we still form exclusive groups in our church and exclude those we don’t want around? Why do we have cliques and invite only an elite few to be part of our parties and get-togethers? What is wrong with this picture?

Let’s look for the excluded, the strangers, the people without hope, and bring them into our community in the name of the gospel!

(modified from my article published in the most recent issue of Evergreen SGV’s OnLine newsletter)

Imagine I was working at the “Lost Children” office at Disneyland. My job is to take care of kids who have been separated from their parents. The kids are scared, definitely lonely, and might have some special needs.

Let’s say there are two boys who come in. One is very young, dressed in rags, and seems like he has a learning disability. He’s been crying so long his voice is gone, and he won’t sit still. He’s just a lot of work for the office staff to take care of.

A second boy comes in, who is calm, not crying, and well-dressed. From my conversation with him, I find out that he has very wealthy parents. I tell myself, “there might even be a handsome reward for me if I take care of him.” He’s well-behaved, making jokes, and just a fun kid to be around.

Now, let’s say I spent all of my time with the second boy, because he’s easier to take care of and there might be some nice reward for me. And on top of that, the office staff and I ignore the first boy who probably needs your attention more. You’d probably think that it would be selfish to do that, that I would not be doing my job faithfully.

The early church was encountering a similar situation. See the words of James 2:1-4.

My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

James was urging his brothers and sisters to think beyond themselves and to care for those cannot reward them. Likewise, our love needs to go beyond those who love us back. Like the Lost Children office, our churches have many people coming in, many of them scared and lonely, looking for a place to belong. Some of them may have hurts and quirks that are difficult to deal with. Will we as a body of Christ be faithful to our calling and love them the way the Bible teaches us to, even when they cannot offer us anything in return?

Let’s not pick and choose who we associate with, based on what they can do for us. Can you imagine what our churches would look like if we embodied the words of James 2? Can you see the welcoming, redeeming place that the body of Christ could be?

Lord, please continue to work in our hearts to be a loving, redeeming, inclusive body of Christ that loves those who others would never love. God, may You move us to shed our selfish attitudes about who we associate with so that the power of Your love is unmistakable in our lives.  Amen.

So recently I realized that my spirit is bent towards criticism–I tend to look for faults and vices in others and dwell on them pointing them out to them and others.  This critical spirit might make me feel a little better about myself in the short run, but my constant bitterness towards the shortcomings in ends up being unhealthy. I dwell in my own negative feelings, alienate others, and ultimately distance myself from God.

What would happen if I decided to focus on the grace of God working in others? Sure, nobody’s perfect, but that includes me too. I have so much evidence of God working in me. Can I choose to call attention to the things that we can thank God for? How would my heart transform towards others? I wonder if this would help to cultivate a spirit of humility and gratitude in my own heart.

Growing up, Mom would frequently shout “Simple Obedience!” when we would be slow to respond to her calling to come to dinner, clean our rooms, or do our chores. She questioned why we had to hesitate at all. After all, we should just obey as soon as we hear her command.

In the same way, why do I hesitate when I read God’s word? What do I need to ponder about? I’m convicted, but am I obedient?

Do I “Go and do likewise?” Do I care for the widow and the orphan? Do I pray for those who hurt me?

Jesus gives us some very clear teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 6. Don’t be like the hypocrites! It is both a warning and a command.

So, just for clarity’s sake, and to provide a good self-evaluation, let’s turn it around and see what Jesus has to say about “how to be a hypocrite”:

1. Tell everyone about my acts of righteousness.
   Make sure everyone knows how  godly I am by telling people how much I give, how much I serve in ministry, how much I help those in need. Of course, I make sure people think I’m being humble by saying “Wow, I’m so tired from serving in ministry all weekend.” or “I’d love to buy those girl scout cookies, but I give so much to the church already.”  Or even be more subtle like tweeting “Everybody, I’m helping out with the youth retreat, going to be gone all week!“
   Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. –Matthew 6:1-2
    
2. I should remember to do my “Quiet Time” and flowery prayers in front of everyone.
   Where will I be seen reading my Bible and praying with my hands wide out in a godly posture? Where will I know people will see me and all my godliness? I should whip out my Thesaurus and impress people with my vast vocabulary when it comes to praying out loud! I should make sure to use words like “omniscient” and “kenosis”. I should definitely talk about my Quiet Time all the time so people remember how spiritual I am.
   “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. –Matthew 6:5-8
    
3. I should make sure everyone knows about my godly disciplines.
   Did I mention that I fast and pray every hour? “Check out the verse I’ve been ‘meditating’ on!” or “Guess how many people I evangelized to this month?” The possibilities are endless.
   When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. –Matthew 6:16-18
    

I’ve been guilty of all of the above. It’s been quite sobering to evaluate my actions and words. Why do I try so hard to justify myself in front of others? Can I trust that God’s rewards for secret acts of righteousness, done only for love of Him, are much greater than the temporary praise of man?

As American churchgoers, have we have gotten so used to reading or listening to the Word of God and doing nothing about it? We say “Oh, that’s a convicting message!” or “Wow, that’s quite a tall order!” but then we end up going back to our lives as usual, living in our lukewarmness, never really fulfilling God’s call on our lives, ignoring the words of Jesus to live in extraordinary ways.

Francis Chan in his book “Crazy Love” writes that we are conditioned to hear the Word without responding: In a recent interview about the book:

We’ve conditioned ourselves to hear messages without responding. Sermons have become Christian entertainment. We go to church to hear a well-developed sermonand a convicting thought. We’ve trained ourselves to believe that if were convicted, our job is done. If you’re just hearing the Word and not actually doing something with it, you’re deceiving yourself.

I remember preaching on Luke 6 and I brought up the passage that says: “do good to those who hate you.” I told the congregation to think of someone that hated them, and I asked: Are you willing to go do something good for them? Will you do that? Yes or no? I said, tell God right now, “No I will not do that.” We’re not willing to make that statement because we don’t want to say that to God, but we’re doing that everyday.

We don’t think it through because we’ve developed a habit of listening to the Word of God and not obeying it. If we take Scripture literally and if we actually apply it, we won’t have what our flesh desires, so we walk away sad or we run to the church where no one else is doing it, but they seem okay with that.

I wonder if I have lost the value of simple obedience to God’s Word. Or did I ever really have that?

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. –James 1:22

Can I determine myself to simple and quick obedience?

No one ever receives a word from God without instantly being put to the test regarding it. We disobey and then wonder why we are not growing spiritually. Jesus said, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” ( Matthew 5:23-24 ). He is saying, in essence, “Don’t say another word to me; first be obedient by making things right.” The teachings of Jesus hit us where we live. We cannot stand as impostors before Him for even one second. He instructs us down to the very last detail. The Spirit of God uncovers our spirit of self-vindication and makes us sensitive to things that we have never even thought of before.  --Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, July 27

This past week one of my favorite fast food chains was giving away free food items during certain times of the day. I was so excited about this that I was telling everyone I knew: I put the news on my facebook wall, sent out an e-mail, and told people I ran into. Free food! What could be better? Everyone should know about this.

Then it dawned on me: if everyone should know about free food, then how much more should everyone know the gospel? If I am so quick to tell everyone I know about this great deal, why do I hesitate to tell others about the greatest news, the gospel of Jesus Christ?

I’ve always been bothered when churchgoers say that they want to go “deeper” in Bible study or want “the real meat” when it comes to approaching the word of God. First of all, I’ve found it insulting to the people currently leading the Bible study in question. It’s as if their hard work and preparation in leading people to the word of God was somehow inadequate. It wasn’t good enough. These people felt that they were above this. On top of that, it seemed to me like a very selfish request, as if they didn’t care about others who needed more “foundational” studies. For these reasons, it offended me greatly. I have always found these words upsetting.

However, it recently dawned on me the true meaning behind my uneasiness with this notion of looking for “real meat” or going “deeper.” Ed Stetzer in Breaking the Missional Code clarifies this for me eloquently (emphasis mine):

Ironically that “deep meat” is often a focus on the obscure or unclear in Scripture rather than the life-changing nature of what is clear. The irony is that most people crying for “meat” are really crying for minutia. They want to learn deeper truths about the times of the rapture rather than how to live the Christian life. True meat teaches people how to be transformed by the renewing of their minds so that they will live like Christ, love like Christ, and leave what Jesus left behind…but believers often think it is more important to [learn] about controversial subjects rather than transformational truths.

My seminary training has helped me to learn and sort through the minutia and theological controversy. I can discuss lapsarianism, dispensations, and the Zwinglian view of the Eucharist all day. But if that is what I am doing, I have failed. Jesus calls me to love God with all my heart, and then to love others.

The measure of a follower of Jesus is not how much theology they can discuss; it is how much they reflect the character of Jesus Christ, imitating Him. Are we putting His commands in action and transforming our behavior?

²²Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. –James 1:22-24

Dr. Henry Holloman at Talbot is famous for saying “It’s not about your spiritual “IQ”, it’s about your spiritual “I do!” Are we always looking to learn as much as we can about the antichrist, double predestination, or the hypostatic union? Or are we letting God change our hearts so that we can impact others for His kingdom?

The people who had the highest theological IQ during the time of Jesus were the same ones that Jesus constantly condemned for their hypocrisy: the Pharisees. If we are trying to go “deeper” and get more “meat” without being changed to do good works and love others in the name of the gospel, then we are a group of Pharisees.

The passage in Hebrews about solid food is within the context of acts of righteousness:

¹³Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. ¹⁴But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.  –Hebrews 5:13-14

Will we arrogantly say that we want more, that we are above all this simple stuff? That we want to create a “spiritual” elite group of people who have all head knowledge but without the hands and feet of Christ?

Or are we willing to die to self and consider the spiritual nourishment that our pastors and Bible study leaders have (by submission to the Spirit’s leading) offered us? Will we let the word transform us and live our lives like Jesus did, caring for the less fortunate, loving people with the good news, creating an inclusive environment that is redemptive?

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
–Ephesians 2:10

Tonight at the Asian-American Caucus for the American Baptist Churches biennial convention, Pastor Ken Fong of Evergreen LA discussed the task ahead for our churches. While the event was in the context of the AA American Baptist churches, the challenge applies to all Asian-American churches. Pastor Ken laments that our churches are generally stagnant, struggling; or dying. What do we do? How can we become the redemptive and transforming communities we talk about?

Pastor Ken directed us towards a paradoxical principle: “To go forward, think backwards.” In other words, start with the end in mind.
Instead of talking about structures and programs, think about people.

What kind of people has Jesus always wanted to send into the world?

• A kingdom-bringing people: living proof of God’s coming on earth.
• Fountains of grace rather than legalism.
• Bringers of reconciliation, peace, hope, and justice.
• “Heroic apprentices” of Jesus Christ to embody the good news.

Then, what kind of Asian-American churches do we need in order to raise up these kinds of people?

• Churches with a compelling vision of God’s future
• Willingness to die to self so we don’t become too complacent, self-righteous, and comfortable.
• Willingness to partner with others, because anything truly for God requires more than we have and more than we know.

Then, what leadership do we need for these churches?

• Pastors who are humble enough to know that all of us are followers, and that Jesus is our leader.
• Pastors who model our need for Jesus, not just talk about it.
• Pastors who truly believe that Jesus is alive today, and wants to use His entire body to love and change the world.

]]> http://danielkeng.wordpress.com/2009/06/27/ken-fong-on-the-task-ahead-for-asian-american-churches/feed/ 0 Daniel http://danielkeng.wordpress.com/2009/06/22/dont-blog-it-do-it/ http://danielkeng.wordpress.com/2009/06/22/dont-blog-it-do-it/#comments Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:41:48 +0000 Daniel K. Eng http://danielkeng.wordpress.com/?p=512 ]]>

Dan Kimball write a reflection article for Leadership Journal this week  and convicted me to stop just talking and blogging about the kind of ministry I want to have, but to go out and do it:

Do It, Don’t Blog It | LeadershipJournal.net.

I suddenly faced a decision. Do I go home and read blogs about being missional, or do I go to the club and actually be missional? It sounds like an easy decision, but it wasn’t. In all honesty, part of me truly wanted to go to the comfort of home and just sit in front of my laptop.

Theories and definitions and debates are good, and they have their place, but could they be getting in the way of actually being on mission? After reflecting on my own habits, I concluded that in my life they were. I realized that I had subtly gotten drawn into the very thing I found so troubling about the Facebooking worship leader and the inattentive college students. I still read blogs and write one, too. But I’m trying to be much more intentional about finding balance and keeping my priorities right.