Mere Discipleship

Wow this book was GREAT!!! Here is a quick synopsis and some comments.


“Jesus was, in his divinely mandated prophethood, priesthood, and kingship, the bearer of a new possibility of human, social, and therefore political relationships.”
-JOHN HOWARD YODER-

1. Reenvisioning Discipleship

“Radical Discipleship”

“Christianity without Discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.”
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer-

Camp says that claiming ‘Jesus as Lord’ is a radical claim that is ultimately rooted in the question of allegiance, of ultimate authority, of ultimate norm and standard for human life. Christianity has to often sought to ally itself comfortably with allegiance to other authorities, be they political, economic, cultural or ethnic. He then goes on to explain what he calls the Constantine Cataract, which has so drastically affected our Christianity. He explains that the word Radical simply means ‘to the root’ so radical discipleship is an attempt to put Christ first as our norm of imitation.

God’s way of working
The Constantine Cataract has used the philosophy of ‘the ends justify the means’ to the detriment of the Christian faith. This philosophy has led to the justification for much violence in the Christian tradition, wars, crusades and the like. One response is the question ‘What would happen if everybody did or did not do that?’ This question is itself flawed and the wrong one. Instead we should be asking “What would happen if Disciples acted like Jesus?”

Pledging Allegiance to the Kingdom of God
The Christendom Cataract has also led us to believe that it is the Christian task to be in control, to run the world and to make things turn out right. Along with this we are taught that the power brokers in the world are the only major players in human history. Camp tells a story about a man who was a chaplain for the military who was told by the Chief Chaplains office that, “compromise is essential for becoming a successful military chaplain.” Camps says that “Robinson concluded that chaplains are not on military bases to bear witness to theological convictions, but to serve the military establishment: what was desired was a ‘morale officer’, the chaplain only succeeds in encouraging soldiers to accept the preferences of the state without question.” The question is one of allegiance and identity. The question ‘Who do you say I am?’ rings loud and clear. “Thus to reenvision discipleship without the cataract of Christendom requires that we renew our pledge of allegiance to the kingdom of God, revealed most fully in the way of Jesus, the suffering servanthood.”

2. What Disciples Believe

The Gospel: Repent for the Kingdom is at Hand
“The Constantine cataract makes the ‘Christian religion’ something ultimately unrelated to this world, to time, or history, or human culture, and instead makes it about the ‘other world.’” Instead we are called to love, serve, die, and be raised as Christ did. We are called to the practicing of patient forgiveness, reconciliation, serving, loving our enemies making sure our doctrine and ethics are inseparably intertwined. We are called to an eschatology of the already and yet not yet.

The Savior: The Slaughtered Lamb

“The alternative to how the kings of the earth rule is not ‘spirituality but servanthood”
-JOHN HOWARD YODER-

“The gospel is not an offer of after death life insurance, nor is it merely an offer of personal peace and serenity in the here and now.” As we proclaim the resurrection of the slaughtered lamb, we strike at the heart of fear because fear is grounded in self-preservation. The very identity of Jesus as Lord and Messiah is authenticated by his suffering and service.

The Church: The Body of Christ

“Suffering then, is the badge of true discipleship. The disciples is not above his master.”
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer-

Camp reminds us that we cannot attempt to beat the powers of the world at their own game. Christ has promised us that if the authorities persecuted him they will surely persecute his followers. Camp says that church is not just the right doctrines, fire insurance, or simply inner peace, this is what Bonhoeffer has called cheap grace. Instead the church must first and foremost be a community of disciples of Christ who is living loving forgiving an detaching the ways of Jesus. As followers we are called to a way of weakness, suffering and marginalization, reinterpreting our identity and existence in light of the cross.

3. What Disciples Do

Worship: Why Disciples Love their Enemies
Camp calls us to remember that our means are just as important as our ends. Our worship and ethic should reflect and build upon one another. “ In worship we ascribe praise, adoration, glory and honor to a God who loves enemies, who loves the unlovable, who loves us.”

Baptism: Why Disciples don’t make good Americans or Germans, or Frenchmen
Baptism is clothing ourselves with Christ. This new identity transcends race, economic class, ethic grouping and national citizenship. In baptism we are grafted into a ministry of reconciliation. Two parodies of this are “Nationalism and patriotism” which are “self-centeredness writ large, community habits that prepare us to do ‘whatever is necessary’, as our politicians put it these days, to ‘preserve our cherished way of life.’” Camp says that the nation uses all means necessary to do this using “public education, national holidays, churches, culture, media and even his child’s preschool.” Baptism teaches us to sow the seeds of the kingdom, which are forgiveness, repentance, justice, mercy, prayer and celebration

Prayer: Why Disciples Trust God Rather Than Their Own Calculations
Living by faith means living dangerously. One of the biggest points Camp makes is that the prayer in the New Testament doesn’t assume that walking in the way of Christ is an unrealistic, unattainable utopian ideal. This is important because many people have argued that texts such as the Lords Prayer and the Sermon on the Mount are idealistic, utopian and should not be imposed upon Christians as an ethic for life.

Communion: Why Disciples Share Their Wealth
Our communion with one another is an act of the community. The Eucharist is simultaneously sacrament, sign and sustenance. It is a remembrance of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The community shares its possessions realizing that all we have is a gift from God. We have been freely given grace and so we freely give.

Evangelism: How Disciples “Make a Difference”
Evangelism is the church being the church, our actions being the same as our words. “The gospel is not sectarian but a call to an indiscriminant, suffering love. “Evangelism is not about selling Jesus but showing Jesus, evangelism is not mere telling about Christ but about being Christ.”

The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture

The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture:
How Media Shapes Faith, The Gospel and Church

Shane Hipps who had previously worked as what he calls a “consumer anthropologist” came to the conclusion that “the most effective, award winning, and respected advertising is that which convinces consumers that a product or service will meet their spiritual and emotional needs. In this sense, the measure of my success in advertising was to promote a counterfeit gospel.” Out of that he decided to write this book.

Hipps contends that “the forms of media and technology—regardless of their content—cause profound changes in the church and culture.” Hipps argues against the commonly held cultural belief that the medium doesn’t matter.

“THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE”
-Marshall Mcluhan-

CHRISYTIANITY –IN A CENTRALIZED, ADMINISTARTIVE, BEUROCRATIC FORM—IS CERTAINLY IRRELIVANT.”
-Marshall Mcluhan-

The development of all media is the attempt to extend or exemplify the natural functions of our bodies. The natural tendency that Hipps warns against is our aptness to turn our gadgets into idols that create an upside-down relationship between the creator and the created. Hipps says, “ We are oblivious to the ways the medium, regardless of its content, reduces our capacity for abstract thought, makes us prefer intuition and experience over logic and reasoning, and revives tribal experiences in an individualistic culture.” The movies The Matrix is a great metaphor for this book.

The 4 questions we must ask of our media are;
1. What does the media extend?
-A previous body part, a previous medium, or even an emotion?
2. What does the medium make obsolete?
-What older medium has been replaced?
3. What does the medium reverse into?
-If pushed to the extreme what does the medium reverse into against its original intention?
4. What does the medium retrieve?
-What medium from the past is recovered?

“THE PRINTEDD BOOK ADDED MUCH TO THE NEW CULTURE OF INDIVIDUALISM. THE PRIVATE, FIXED POINT OF VIEW BECAME POSSIBLE AND LITERACY CONFERRED THE POWER OF DETACHMENT,
NONINVOLVMENT.”
-Marshall Mcluhan-


Hipps shows how much of postmodernism and modernism can be seen in the language difference between eastern and western cultures and that it is no wonder postmodernism has leaned toward Eastern Orthodoxy. Hipps says, “while a phonetic alphabet (American English) is linear, sequential and abstract, ideographic writing (Chinese Characters) is nonlinear, holistic, and intuitive.” With the development of the Gutenberg printing press the culture and worldview of the west changed. “This newly entrenched worldview was characterized by a strong emphasis on individualism, objectivity. Abstraction and reason, in contrast to the medieval worldview characterized by and emphasis on tribal, mystical and sacramental experiences.”

The Effects of Printing on Christianity
1. Enhances
Printing amplifies the notion of a personal relationship with God built around critical reason and analysis.
2. Obsolescence
Print changes communal faith eroding intuition and our appreciation for mystery.
3. Reverses Into
Print turns the gospel into a gospel for the individual and a set of abstract propositions.
4. Retrieves
Print recovers the Pauline epistles with the highly rational prose of Paul.


“TODAY WE EXPERIENCE IN REVERSE WHAT PRELITERATE MAN FACED WITH THE ADVENT OF WRITING”
-Marshall Mcluhan-

Hipps comes back to the Modern/Postmodern analysis saying that the modern metaphor has been print, which builds its knowledge on scripture, theology and then experience. This foundationalism is a linear sequential line of thinking that was birthed in the Enlightenment. The postmodern metaphor is more of a web of communication claiming knowledge is conditioned both by our experiences and our truth claims. The legitimacy of the web is determined by its coherence. Hipps says the Printed word is propositional, sequential, rational, linear (left brain) and is abstract in dealing with experience. Image is presentational, holistic, intuitive, non-linear (right brain) and deals with experience concretely.

The effects of Electronic Culture
1. Enhances
-A right brain encounter corporate approach to faith.
2. Obsolescence
-Electronic culture obsolescence our belief in a meta-narrative
3. Reverses Into
-Reverse into relativism
4. Retrieves
-Eastern Orthodox and Medieval Catholic spirituality
“Media are make happen agents not make aware agents.”
-Marshall Mcluhan-

Hipps says that the nature of God’s medium is the people of God who are a sign, an instrument and a foretatse of the kingdom who are called to be the body of Christ. He also talks about how the consumer driven church ahs lost God’s medium.

“THE NEW ELECTRONIC INTERDEPENDANCE RECREATES THE WORLD IN THE IMAGE OF A GLOBAL IMAGE.”
-Marshall Mcluhan-

Hipps speaks about the topic of community in the electronic culture and how we have become a tribe of individuals. Media has meant that we no longer need to share geography with other to share community. Our electronic culture creates empathy at a distance and spoils our appetite for the kind of authentic community which scripture calls us to. Hipps says “authentic community involves high degrees of intimacy, permanence and proximity. Authentic community will undoubtedly be marked by conflict, risk, and rejection. At the same time it offers the deepest levels of acceptance, intimacy and support.”

“WE MUST GET RID OF THE HEIRARCHY IN THE CHURCH IF WE WANT PARTICIPATION BUT WE DON’T HAVE TO WISH FOR IT. IT’S HAPPENING.”
-Marshall Mcluhan-

Hipps says, “Authority is often derived from information control. In other words, as access to information increases centralized authority decreases.” One of the things that the Christian community has done in the modern era has been the developing of a “Ready, Fire, Aim” mentality in that they are so quick to adopt the latest method and forget about asking how the method fits in the DNA of the culture and church. Hipps says “when we import prepackaged programs from ‘successful’ mega churches around the country, we assume they have already done the aiming for us.”

“THE NEW PREFFERENCE FOR DEPTH PARTICIPATIO HAS PROMTED IN THE YOUNG A STRONG DRIVE TOWARDS RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE WITH RICH LITURGICAL OVERTONES. THE LITURGICAL REVIVAL OF THE ELECTRONIC AGE AFFECTS EVEN THE MOST AUSTERE PROTESTANT SECTS.”
-Marshall Mcluhan-

Finally, Hipps touches on worship in electronic culture. Hipps creates an awesome illustration that I wont explain here, suffice it to say that he plays with the difference between Mac’s (Postmodern) versus Windows (Modern). Hipps says that the emerging video venues create an illusion of a celebrity spectacle. Hipps says that this new medium “conveys the unspoken belief that no one in the satellite congregation has the authority to speak to their context because preaching requires unique that only a few actually posses. We are called to a holistic understanding of worship that is relevant to the context and community it seeks to create. In closing Hipps calls for an ecology of worship that continues to ask the why questions about our media and how it shapes our faith, the gospel and the church.

The Power of Love

Ok, so I am reading a book, which I will write on later but I had to stop and give these words of wisdom.

"To our most bitter opponents we say:
'Throw us in jail,
and we will still love you.
Bomb our houses and threaten our children,
and we will still love you.
Beat us and leave us half dead,
and we will still love you.
But be assured that we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer.
One day we shall so appeal to your heart and conscience
that we shall win you in the process,
and our victory will be a double victory'"

(Martin Luther King Jr., "The American Dream")

"I always say that if we believe terrorists are beyond redemption,
we can rip out half of our New Testament,
since it is written by a converted terrorist
who became an extremist for grace."

(Shane Claiborne, "The Irresistible Revolution")

Myths America Lives By; by Richard T. Hughes

Myths America live by, visits 5 Key Myths that lie at the heart of the American experience.

1. The Myth of the Chosen Nation
-The Puritans understanding that they were God’s elect chosen above others.
2. The Myth of Nature's Nation
-The Enlightenment’s focus on Naturalism, Rationalism and Deism.
3. The Myth of the Christian Nation
-The Great Awakening’s push for a unification of American Christians.
4. The Myth of the Millennial Nation
-The anticipation of the return of Christ.
5. The Myth of the Innocent Nation
-The belief that whatever America does is righteous and just in its struggle against evil.

These 5 Myths that have been embraced by the American culture have led us to so many problems as Christians within the nation of America. The Myth of the chosen nation along with the Myth of the Christian nation have led to the continual validation of American Christendom and the justification for many acts of violence, acts of retributive justice, acts of oppressing the; alien, poor, orphan, widow and marginalized, and the confusing that the nation of America is actually about the business of the Kingdom of God, which it is not.
The Myth of the Nature’s Nation, which is fueled by the Enlightenment, leads to a false dualism of body/mind, public/private, religion/politics, and has led to many of our common debates between the Bible and science, the Bible and atheism, the Bible and deism, as well as the postmodern search for truth in something other than the meta-narrative of the Biblical narrative.
The Myth of the Millennial Nation has led to much of the ‘Left Behind’ apocalyptical theology, which attempts to take texts such as the book of Revelation as a literal description of the return of Christ. One may note that all predictions have come and gone and Christ himself said that nobody knows the time of Christ’s return. Christ speaks of His return as a thief coming in the night, a time that can be predicted or foretold by no one.
The Myth of the Innocent Nation has been used to justify many things that the U.S has done as it supposedly fights good and evil. (even though the nation is built upon a theology of deism) You may notice that much of what President Bush speaks about when he speaks on the topics of terrorism and foreign policy embrace this sort of ‘us’ V.S ‘them’, or ‘good’ V.S ‘evil’ theology. The assumption goes back to the Myth that America is in fact a Christian nation.
A recent research paper I wrote on the separation of church and state traces these myths, as they are involved in the forming of the separation between church and state. (email me if you want to read the paper and I will send it to you) I trace the Puritan Protestant colonies formation as they rebel from England and how they develop their own theology within Congregationalism /Denominationalism as they reject the Parish system of England that embraces the union of church and state. The religious toleration of the colonies as well as the felt need for the ‘liberty of conscience’ (William Penn) leads to the development of a deism that guides the civil government/religion. The Amendments to the Constitution as well as the Bill of Rights, which are highly influenced by Madison and Jefferson, set up a governing system built around a naturalistic deism and not Christianity. (Contrary to popular belief) This book is a must read for any person who considers themselves to be a Christian living in America, an American Christian, a person pastoring in America, or anyone wanting to understand the development and establishment of the American government.

Other books i have read on the topic:
Religion in America; seventh edition
The First Freedoms; Church and State in America to the Passage of the First Amendment
Church and State in American History; Key Documents, Decisions, and Commentary From the Past three Centuries
Sworn on the Alter; A Religious Biography of Thomas Jefferson
The Democratization of American Christianity

Presence Centered Youth Ministry by Mike King

Mike King begins his book by addressing the problem that many youth and young adults are leaving the church and never coming back. He visits his own past in the evangelical church as he experience the selling of the gospel of just another commodity to the consumeristic, individualistic culture, which sought to, “get people to heaven”. Mike says, “more than 80% of people who grow up in the church leave it when they hit their 20’s! As a person who is wanting to minister to the age group of young adults this is a tragic thing to think about. Unfortunately, this is something that I have experienced first hand. Some of the problems that he labels in youth ministry in the modern era include the lack of succession, the lack of tradition, the segregation by age, the decisionism in evangelism. One of the major problem of youth ministry is that it has been involved in the “beavior modification” techniques that have led to shallow decisions and in some cases what has been called the emotional rape of youth. Mike quotes a college student Justin as saying, “So many Christians have created a faith that fits into the American dream, a faith that is rarely challenged. I think many believe in Jesus because we the church, portray Christianity as easy. Postmodern youth don’t want a explanation of mystery and they realize and embrace the many paradoxes of our Christian faith. Mike says that the beginning and main goal of the youth pastor is to practice the presence of Christ, which first requires a intimate relationship with God. In fact “the primary goal of all Christians young and old is to commune with God, to place themselves in the presence of God.”(Brother Lawrence) Mike brings up the topic of being able to measure the love of ones neighbor by our love for God, which got me to thinking about how we can also tell ones love for God by their love for their neighbors. “The truest test of discipleship is the way we live with each other in the community of faith.”

Faith, which does not doubt is dead faith (Miguel de Unamuno, Philosopher and novelist)

Mike calls us to a ministry and personal walk with Christ that is holistic and embraces the body, mind, and soul. Mike addresses on of the problems we Protestants have had to deal with as a result of the Protestant Reformation, the problem of tradition. Pelikan says, “Tradition is the living faith of the dead, whereas traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.” Mike calls us to the tradition of our Christian brothers and sisters, reaching back to the early church and restoring the symbolism, metaphors, creeds, liturgy, sacraments and other aspects of our Christian heritage. He says we should be “moving from a life with a few sacraments to a life that is sacramental.” Youth ministry is a communal attempt to live life together with Christ as the center of our life guiding and shaping our rituals and practices a we allow God to restore the Imagio Dei within us. One of the ways we can do this is practice prayer with youth. Mike reminds us that if our relationship with God finds its communication in prayer we must allow for time of listening because any dialogue provides for a time for talking and listening. Mike introduces the practices of Imaginative Prayer, Examining ones Conscious, Respiratory Prayer, Prayer Rope, Prayer Postures, The Sign of the Cross, Praying with Icons, and Keeping the Hours. (www.sacredgateway.org) Mike then asks how we might us scripture in youth ministry, reading in a qualitative way embracing the sacredness of the text rather than just digesting it quantitatively in the speed reader fashion we approach most of the information that we encounter within our culture. We embrace the Bible by telling its story through sacred reading. Mike offers up the practice of Lectio Divina, as a great example of learning to read scripture in a slow contemplative and meditative fashion. I have personally found this practice very fulfilling myself both in personal use and communal use. It is amazing how individuals filled with the Holy Spirit can energize and encourage one another with their different perspectives and understandings on the same text. Mike introduces the practice of developing a Rule of Life, which orders ones life around daily, weekly, monthly and annual practices of life. It is a covenant with God to order ones life with Christ at the center of all that we do. Mike offers values that are useful in writing one Rule of Life, they are; stability, fidelity, community, proximity, and learning. The practices which shape our Rule of Life include but are not limited to; prayer, scripture, fasting, study, journaling, Sabbath Rest, Retreat, Pilgrimage, Body Care, Hospitality, examination of Conscious, Focal Points, Confession and Networking.

The key to much of this is found in the balance of both Orthodoxy, right thinking and Orthodoxy, right action. I think Mike hits it on the head when he quotes the Bible.

“Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing one another love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and one Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:1-6

Mike says, “a rule of life celebrates our joyful commitment to Jesus Christ and our desire to be habituated in the way of Jesus. A rule of life helps us become full participants in God’s inbreaking kingdom.” Last but definitely not least, we are reminded of “the art of the long view”, the practicing of ministry, which I invested in the long hall. It has been said that the average stay of any given youth minister at a church is an average of 18 months. If youth ministry is going to be taken seriously and practiced by presence-centered ministry, there must be a communal attempt to break this tragic statistic. In the end, “we must sit at the feet of the master and learn the way of Jesus.”

Mike King, does an excellent job at portraying youth ministry as it has developed in the modern evangelical setting and how it is evolving and changing in the postmodern culture. He offers valid and Christ centered Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy for youth ministers that has been long awaited and much needed for the youth of our generation. As a seminarian, follower of Christ and someone who is preparing to enter into ministry with the postmodern generation I found this book compelling, encouraging, challenging, vision casting and just plain old hard to put down. I recommend this book as a must read for the shepards and ministers of youth. Thanks Mike.

Other recomendations:
The Rule of Saint Benedict
The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
Postmodern Youth Ministry
The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life
Emerging Church, The