Fred Peatross challenged me more than he’ll know last November 14, when he observed on his blog entry titled Jesus:

Something I’ve noticed amiss in the many good emergent church blogs, including this one. They don’t talk much about Jesus. Spend some time looking and let me know if I’m correct.

I took it to heart. I tried to do better. But I get carried away with a tide of current interest and events just like everyone else. And, pretty much like everyone else, I fail to relate those items to a question like “What would Jesus think?”

The sad news is, it’s not just the blogs. I did a quick search (control + F in Windows; command + F on a Mac) of the home pages of some publications to see how often the name Jesus or Christ (when not part of the word “Christian” or the name of a church/denomination) appeared on them:

• Christianity Today – Jesus: 1 time … Christ: 0 times
• Christian Century – Jesus: 0 times … Christ: 0 times
• Christian Chronicle – Jesus: 0 times … Christ: 0 times
• Gospel Advocate Magazine – Jesus: 0 times … Christ: 0 times; last updated June 2002
• New Wineskins – Jesus: 3 times; 2 were in the titles of books for sale … Christ: 3 times
• Zondervan.Com – Jesus: 0 times … Christ: 3 times
• Heartlight – Jesus: 3 times … Christ: 0 times

In spite of how crowded with good stories and articles these pages are, I only found 13 instances of “Jesus” or “Christ” appearing in them.

Go ahead. See for yourself. Check other publications. Check blogs. Check Web sites of ministries. Link to them in the comments below.

See if Fred wasn’t right on an even bigger scale than he might have imagined.

That’s a grabber of a headline, isn’t it?

I’m not done with going to church, being a member of a church, praying for the church or being grateful for the church. Not by a long shot and may God forbid that I ever am.

But I am done with talking about the church on this blog.

It’s not like I’m going to accomplish anything by it. If I somehow persuade others to see the church my way, I’d be failing miserably in my attempt to persuade them to see it Christ’s way.

I’ve come to the conclusion that for me to critique the way the church looks is like a single cell – having suddenly been given the gifts of sight and cognition – seeing the whole body (of which it is only a tiny part) in a mirror and then criticizing the way that body looks. In looking back at some of the things I’ve written here, I feel I’ve been guilty of some of that.

I’m part of the body, the bride of Christ. Everything in this little cell that is me should long for Him, grateful that He sees the bride as beautiful; worthy of dying and living for. My goals should be to grow old looking more and more like Him; to support the other cells in their development.

Maybe there are white blood cells in this body which help others fight off the infection of sin. Maybe there are red blood cells which bring nourishment and vitality to others. Maybe there are stem cells that help in the adaptation to what is needed in the body. I’ll be glad to be whatever kind of cell is needed!

But I don’t want to be cell that turns against others, trying to conform them to what the body isn’t; spreading spiritual malformation and sucking the life and resources away from what should be growing, renewing.

I don’t want to be a cancer.

If I’m not saying what Christ said about His kingdom, I have nothing to say.

I have all due respect for the apostles and missionaries and evangelists and saints and martyrs of the first century and after. They lived in a different world from mine. I don’t have the confidence that I can always rightly translate what they shared about life in the body at that time to this century … and I must confess that I’m not fully confident that they had it all “right” either.

But I am confident that Jesus spoke for the ages. And His concern in speaking seems to be for individuals sustaining each other in the attempt to live a holy life before God.

Please hold me accountable to the commitment I’ve made here. Please forgive where I’ve strayed from it before I realized what I was doing.

I do love this body I’m in.

In 1999 I was asked to lead a “prayer and blessing” for Mother’s Day at Highland Church of Christ in Abilene, and I didn’t exactly know what that meant. I turned it over to the Lord in prayer, consulted a bit with elder John Willis (who was to read a passage and lead another prayer at the service), and put pen to paper in hopes that the Spirit would supply the words I lacked. John intended to read from Isaiah 49. This is what I read that Sunday morning in May:

We call God our Father in our prayers and our private meditations, but we don’t often think of Him in “motherly” terms. Yet, that is exactly how God chooses to express His tender affection and compassion toward His children when Isaiah speaks for Him in chapter 66, verses 12 and 13:

“For this is what the Lord says: ‘I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees. As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you, and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”

It’s my privilege this morning to lead us in a petition to God for a blessing on those who give us birth, give us homes, give us love and give us themselves. If your mom is nearby and you’d like to hold her hand while we ask this blessing together, please do.

May the Lord always bless mothers like Eve
… who may have been suprised to find they are with child
… who courageously approach motherhood for the first time ever
… and some who later must cope with the untimely death of a beloved child.

May the Lord always bless mothers like Sarah
… who may have laughed at the thought of having a child later in life, but take the job seriously
… who may not see their child married, or see their grandchildren in this life, but have faith that they can still become the mother of nations.

May the Lord always bless mothers like Hannah
… who want a child so badly that they never cease to ask God’s blessing in this way
… who are willing to give up their children to adoption by another family for a chance at a more blessed life
… who dedicate their children to the Lord’s work and His house.

May the Lord always bless mothers like the prophetess Anna
… who may possibly never have children of their own
… and who, without a thought of bitterness, fast and pray for others at the Lord’s house,
… and give Him praise for the children others have and bring there.

May the Lord always bless mothers like Eunice – and grandmothers like Lois
… who teach their children Bible stories
… who tell them of God’s love and will for them
… and give them the gift of a faith as strong as Timothy’s.

May the Lord always bless mothers like Mary
… who meet the challenge of rearing a child very different from His brothers and sisters
… who may have felt a degree of estrangement from a child who describes his companions as his “mother and brothers and sisters”
… but who never stop believing in – and supporting – their children … even at the foot of a cross.

May the Lord always bless mothers … but especially on this day, which is also the Lord’s day. For “as a mother (who) comforts her child” has God so loved.

For all mothers we thank You and praise Your Name, Father; and all these blessings we pray through the Son who expresses Your love to us in its most eloquent way.

Amen.

Even if you don’t do anything else worthwhile today, please take a few moments on your knees on behalf of Ira, infant son of Joe and Laura Hays.

Yeah. I’ve posted One Christian’s Affirmation as a separate, one-page blog.

Which doesn’t preclude the possibility that I might update, change, revise, amend, improve, clarify, edit and otherwise modify what I’ve said there.

And in case you’re wondering why I’ve strayed from my usual style of liberally citing with links to Bible Gateway, I’ve decided that the accounts of Jesus’ temptation in the desert make it abundantly clear that even the devil can quote scripture to his own purpose, so with one small exception I haven’t quoted any. Exactly.

Feel free to disagree, agree, and better yet WRITE YOUR OWN! If nothing else, it will tell you about yourself now and later when you look back on it. As I commented on another blog a few days ago, I think creeds are great.

Everyone should write one.

… when there was a question about new leadership, we’d consult God by rolling dice in complete faith that He would speak in the outcome of the roll. (Acts 1:23-25)

… we’d preach powerfully in many languages so that people, near panic, would ask what they should do to be saved. (Acts 2:37)

… the church would gather every day instead of just Sunday (or Saturday evening). (Acts 2:46)

… we’d sell our stuff and provide for those among us in need. (Acts 2:45; 4:32)

… we would, therefore, enjoy the favor of the people around us. (Acts 2:47)

… we’d fear lying to the Spirit and the church about our giving on pain of death. (Acts 5:1-11)

… we’d fear trying opposing proclaimers of good news on threat of blindness. (Acts 13:6-12)

… we wouldn’t hesitate to hop a ride with a foreign stranger and explain perplexing scriptures and we’d baptize folks in whatever body of water God provided when they asked. (Acts 8:26-39)

… we’d make sure that foreign widows didn’t go hungry. (Acts 6:1-7)

… we’d witness to both Jews and Gentiles. (Acts 10)

… we’d benefit from the prayers and prophecy of women as well as men. (I Corinthians 11:1-10; Acts 21:8-9)

… if we were of good character, we’d study the scriptures daily to double-check what our ministers told us. (Acts 17:11)

… we’d have visiting ministers who stayed, at most, only about three years; who would have a self-supporting job on the side; who might be highly-educated in religion or fishery management or medicine or not. (Acts 20:31; Galatians 1:18; Acts 18:3; II Corinthians 11:8; I Corinthians 9:11-13)

… those traveling ministers would select our elders. (Titus 1:5)

… we’d pay the really good elders. (I Timothy 5:17-18)

… ministers would resolve to preach nothing but the crucified Christ. (I Corinthians 2:2)

… some would travel the known world to do so. (Matthew 20:18-20)

… some would risk arrest and death to do so. (Acts 7:54-60; Acts 4:1-30)

… we’d pray with unshakeable faith to speak boldly anyway (Acts 4:31)

… when we had questions of doctrine, we’d convene to discuss them – probably at Jerusalem, since we’re such sticklers for detail, then we’d agree on a response, and stick to it consistently. (Acts 15:1-35)

… we’d select missionaries and mission fields by consulting the Holy Spirit, then commission missionaries by praying and laying our hands on them. (Acts 16:6-10; 13:1)

… we’d do the same with others who serve (Acts 6:1-7)

… we’d greet one another with a holy kiss. (Romans 16:16; I Corinthians 16:20; II Corinthians 13:12; I Thessalonians 5:26)

… at our potlucks we would all wait to eat until it was certain that everyone was served. (I Corinthians 11:33-34)

… we’d ask our elders to anoint the sick with oil as well as pray for them. (James 5:14-16)

… we’d give no special honor or regard to the wealthy among us. (James 2:1-7)

… we’d probably be banished as an organization by the government and jailed and executed for disloyalty to it, so some of us would be meeting secretly in catacombs among tombs and on the lam when we had to. (Acts 8:1-3; 9:20-25;

… the rest of us would be meeting in homes and synagogues. Acts 20:20; Romans 16:5; I Corinthians 16:9; Colossians 4:15; Acts 14:1; 17:2; 18:7)

… some would be tried before high government officials, giving them the chance to talk to them about Jesus. (Acts 5:17-32; 21:11, etc.)

… we would do the good that we know ought to be done, to avoid sinning. (James 4:17)

… people who would accuse us would see the good we do and praise God. (I Peter 2:12)

… we would be eager for Christ to come quickly. (Revelation 22:20; II Peter 3:11-12)

… miraculous things might well happen among us. (Galatians 3:5; Romans 15:18-20)

How are we doing so far?

Some time back, at Easter and just after the opening of The Passion of the Christ – when the church I attend was still committed to consistently beginning its worship with a greeting and call to worship and prayer; it no longer is – I was asked to word that greeting. It occurred to me how much of a challenge that really is, especially when there are many guests and visitors expected.

Many are not Christians, and they see Christians at work and elsewhere pretty much as people like themselves. But, if they gather in a building with religious purposes, Christians start doing a lot of really strange things … like aliens from a different world entirely. Our guests and visitors have no way of knowing how right they are to perceive us that way!

I took a cue from a brother whom I very much respect, who once gave a greeting that closed with an encouragement for visitors to ask the ministers or elders later about anything that took place during the service that they weren’t familiar with.

I decided to front-load the explanation as concisely as I could, and this – from the handwritten notes I just rediscovered in my briefcase – is what I said:

“Three years ago on a Sunday morning before Christmas, I was privileged to call this congregation to worship and I spoke of Christ coming to earth as ‘God’s most extravagant gift.’ I think those of us who experienced the movie The Passion of the Christ this week now have a very graphic picture of how much that gift cost. And even though the movie is peppered with moments you won’t find in Scripture or this church’s traditions, I would have to say that it is a powerful witness.

“If you are visiting with us, the family of Christ here welcomes you. If you’re with us for the first time,perhaps because you were invited by friends to the movie showing, you have probably already figured out that they asked because they love you – not just for yourself – but because you (like all of us) are someone for whom Christ died.

“You may notice that we do some things differently than other churches and fellowships. We will celebrate communion this morning, as we do every week, remembering – as Jesus asked – His body broken like bread for us, and His blood which flowed like wine for us.

“We’ll read from the Bible, to hear what God says to us through it.

“We’ll hear a message of encouragement from our preaching minister.

“We’ll sing praises together and share in the blessing of fellowship in song without any musical instruments, seeking to worship simply from the heart. Some of us feel strongly about this, and others do not. What we all agree is that God, His Son and His Holy Spirit deserve our praise.

“We will take a few moments to offer gifts to God that support the work of this church and many other ministries all over the world. If you’re visiting, we don’t want to discourage you from giving from the heart just as we all seek to do, but please don’t feel pressured or compelled to do so.

“If you have any question about anything you experience here this morning – or anything you saw and heard at the movie showing – or anything that’s troubling you, please feel free to ask. We’ll study and pray and struggle with you until your heart is at rest on the matter.

“I honestly don’t know whether it is by chance or God’s design, but our year-and-a-half study of the Gospel of John on Sunday mornings brings us today to the events chronicled in the movie The Passion. Our minister’s message this morning is titled ‘The Most Immoral Act of All.’

“Now let’s begin our worship together speaking to God in prayer through the intercession of His Son Jesus, and the interpretation of His Spirit for the things we have no words to say.”

Then I led a brief prayer. Looking back, there are things I probably would have phrased differently; some I might omit entirely.

But I still think that in our greeting time as gathered Christians we should remember – at least from time to time – to show hospitality to the aliens and strangers among us.

That must surely be how they regard us.

I said something that was a bit controversial right at the end of Sunday School class last week that prompted a murmur from the back of the room. I’m not wise enough to be able to interpret whether that murmur was approval or disapproval. But I ain’t taking it back, no matter which it was.

We were talking about interpretation of scripture in our “God’s Holy Fire” series. I said that I have a rule-of-thumb that I employ when I find myself defending my views and interpretations: Am I defending them because I believe they represent the one and only way to do or view something that is pleasing to God? Because, I pointed out, if that’s true I can get in a lot of trouble very quickly.

My example was prayer, borrowed from the class teacher (an elder of my age) from earlier in the discussion. Is there one and only correct way to pray? If so, is it in a closet? An upper room? With head bowed? With face upraised toward God? With arms upraised as well? Kneeling? Standing? Sitting? Prostrate?

How can we be absolutely certain that any scriptural alternative is the one and only way to view or do – and still please God? Are a lot of our “either-or” logical boxes really “both-and”s? Could some of them be “neither-nor”s?

So much of the “doing” questions have to do with worship. I’ve even heard defenders of a given “one way” call upon the Old Testament admonition to carry and not touch the Ark of the Covenant, and point out the penalties that resulted from disobedience.

I go back farther, to something that I’m convinced was related to worship rather than porting God’s earthly throne with due respect. I go back to Cain and Abel. As nearly as I can tell, neither was commanded to sacrifice. The urge to do so – to thank and worship God – simply welled up in their hearts and each expressed it according to his character. One expression was favored over the other – but God reassured Cain that if he did what was right, he would be accepted. And there was a warning about sin trying to master him.

The point? Worship came from the heart. There was something wrong with Cain’s heart. Nothing has changed. Worship has always taken the form of being a sacrifice of thanksgiving and recognition of God’s glorious providence. It still has to do with blood poured out. Practice became precedent. Precedent became custom. Custom became prophecy. Prophecy was fulfilled. A sacrifice was made that ended all others; yet ideally we still respond with sacrificial praise that can add nothing to God’s glory. But it comes straight from the heart.

In fact, I would venture to say that the condition of the heart is the most important factor we can contribute to worship.

Can we offer worship with a pure and undivided heart of thanksgiving and praise if we can’t perceive the good that God is doing among us in many different ways? Can we do so while appointing ourselves the feng shui experts of worship? (I believe that feng shui is Chinese for “I don’t like the way you’ve done things here.” I could be mistaken. But I’ve been one of those “experts” and I don’t ever want to go back to being one again.)

Maybe the same thing can be said about the “viewing” questions.

Is it grace that saves us? Faith? Baptism? Obedience? Or all of the above, plus a few more? Or is it Christ?

Is the Bible inspired by the Spirit word-for-word? In principle? In purpose? In completeness? In essence? In totality? In part? Or is it simply inspired?

Is God all-knowing and all-good and all-powerful? Some combination of the preceding? Mostly all three? Unquestionably perfect? Or just incomprehensibly God?

I know that inquiring minds want to know. I know I do. So I keep searching, seeking, asking, knocking, trying, stumbling, feeling myself lifted up – over and over and over. I may never know all the answers. But I will grow, and I will learn, and I will do whatever it takes to find God’s heart and draw closer to it.

And there is, without any possible fallacy in believing it, one and only one extraordinary Way to get there: His Son.

There’s a growing number of folks posting online their conviction that the emerging church is just a fad.

I was going to post a few links as examples, but you can read more than anyone needs to by simpling Googling “emerging emergent church fad”.

Some go so far as to call it a movement (most of the folks involved simply call it a conversation) and lump it in with WWJD, Purpose-Driven, Promise-Keeping, 40 Days Of, and anything else you’ve ever heard of that has enjoyed a bit of success.

My problem with being so sure about that is the same one Gamaliel had.

About the church itself.

You remember Gamaliel, don’t you? Paul’s teacher? The fellow who, in Acts 5:29-41, stood up in (and to) the Sanhedrin when they wanted to put Peter and the other apostles to death.

But the examples he gave were well-known failures, not successes: defeated revolutionaries Theudas and Judas of Galilee. Gamaliel’s advice?

“Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

Even the Sanhedrin was wise enough to yield to that advice and let them be – even though they threatened pain of death if any of the apostles ever spoke in the name of Jesus again.

It seems to me that the people conversing in emerging terms aren’t saying that the old ways of presenting the Story don’t work anymore. They’re just saying they don’t work for everyone. They’re not trying to change the Story; just the way it’s told.

In fact, they sound to me a lot like Gamaliel’s student Paul, who said:

“Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” — I Corinthians 9:19-23