Philip Yancey on Prayer
On p. 191 of Prayer: Does it make any difference? Philip Yancey reduces Jesus’ teaching on prayer to three memorable principles: “Keep it honest, keep it simple and keep it up.” He also suggests that you can get an insight about prayer by asking parents of young children what is the “correct” way for their toddlers to approach them with needs. The silliness of the question is a lesson about prayer, in which our relationship to God is always child to parent.
Man, that Philip Yancey can write!
The great evangelical weakness, pt. 3 - Poverty
I spent some time today talking to my good friend Carolyn about poverty. She works with it regionally and understands a lot about its causes. I hope she’ll write a guest post on the subject here soon. In the meantime, she helped me see some connections between our stalwart evangelical individualism and our lack of understanding about poverty. (See parts one and two in this series of posts).
Let’s say a guy comes by the church for food from the pantry (and let me make it clear that I’m making up these details, not trying to represent some specific real-life person). Because of the kindness and care he receives from Joanie M., he comes to church and accepts Christ. He even gets into some counseling and kicks his drug habit, which certainly contributed to his poverty. Because of our elevation of the individual, evangelicals tend to think that his problems with poverty should be over - or if not, it’s his fault. This is exactly where our belief in the power of self leads us.
But because this guy grew up in a culture of poverty, it isn’t so simple. He has a tenth-grade education, but he really stopped trying after fifth grade. He has few employable skills. He lives with five other people from his extended family who haven’t made the transition to faith with him, so he won’t get a lot of encouragement to clean himself up and get moving - quite the opposite. The house they occupy has had its water and electricity cut off many times for non-payment, so even staying clean and presentable for a job is a challenge. But he can’t leave that house since he has nowhere else to go.
Even more, he has some simple but chronic health problems - perhaps a recurring abscess tooth or severe allergies. Most of us would get treatment for such things and miss only a little work, but he has no health insurance and no money to pay for these basic medical services, so they may keep him from working regularly or even hamper his performance in a job-training program.
I could go on (and I hope Carolyn will read this and add to it) but the point is that saving the individual’s soul, while of eternal significance, is only the beginning. There’s a whole culture of poverty which still reaches out to enslave this man, and it takes the whole church community to pull him out of it.
And all of this is complicated further when race issues enter the picture, which is the subject for pt. 4…
The great evangelical weakness, pt. 2
I thought I’d get back to this topic sooner. Part 1 was more than two weeks ago.
Whether the issue is racism, poverty, missions or even salvation, we in the evangelical churches in America have a weakness that keeps us from seeing the whole picture. The weakness is our ingrained belief in the centrality and power of SELF. Call it rugged individualism or self-sufficiency if you like. Just know that it is a belief about our place in the universe that is part of the genetic code of Western civilization, and especially American civilization. Some of the loftiness expressions of this perspective can be found in our formative documents. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unailenable Rights…” These are wonderful truths, and the more we apply them, the better America is (and the better the world is).
The problem for evangelicals is that we fail to see BEYOND self when we think about poverty, racism, discipleship, etc. Here are some examples from discipleship:
- Communion: In our church we instruct people to take it as it is passed OR (for the extra-spiritual) to hold it and pray on your own to God before taking it at your own pace. But read through the Gospel accounts of the Lord’s Supper or look at Paul’s description in 1 Corinthians 11, and you’ll find communion primarily as a shared experience.
- Bible Study: It’s a given that Christians are people who have a regular quiet time for Bible-reading (or at least pretend to). Hey, I believe in this and we’d be foolish not to read Scripture at home since we have the opportunity. But from the days of the early church until well after Gutenberg, Bible-reading was first and foremost a communal activity. It isn’t so today.
- Gathering with the church: The congregation with the best music, preaching and youth activity gets the most business, so we at MHCC try to offer the best. Even so, in the consumer lifestyle (the ultimate expression of radical individualism) church is just one of many desirable weekend activities, and it’s only a small percentage who put the need of the Body to gather ahead of the right to choose among a hundred other things.
So how does this inform our thinking about race and poverty? Look for part three…
Sunday Seven: Interesting links from the past week
- RIAA names the top 25 piracy schools in the U. S. - Tennessee had another down year in football, but the recording industry says that when it comes to stealing music, we’re in the top five. Gotta be proud. From ArsTechnica via Crunchgear.
- MySpace may not fit Japan. MySpace, which launched in Japan in November, is all about self-promotion. This Wired article says the more subdued Japanese culture may not respond well.
- Kill Your iPod. This Relevant article gives good reasons for turning off the constant noise in your earbuds. Not that I’m going to do it…
- Why did Britney Spears shave her head? Slate wonders if it was it to avoid a drug test. Not that you should care.
- Tiny houses make minimal lasting impact on nature. If you’d like a nice vacation home somewhere, these tiny but stylish pads might be in your price range. From The New York Times via Signal vs. Noise.
- Addicted to email? No solutions here. This Network World article deconstructs a vapid 12-Step Program for breaking demon-email’s hold. The original list from Reuters shows how little thought it takes to be a tech columnist for a major wire service. Via Slashdot.
- Sayonara, Senior Pastor. I don’t think the title fits the job, and this post at Out of Ur shows why not.
Legacy: David Eubanks and Johnson Bible College
Cindy and I attended Homecoming at Johnson Bible College last night to hear David Eubanks preach his final Homecoming sermon as JBC’s president. Dr. Eubanks took office in 1969, and he was 14 years into his 38-year tenure when I came to JBC as a freshman in 1983. He will retire later this year. Many wonderful things were said about Dr. Eubanks last night, all of them true. One of the most interesting has to do with buildings.
It would be an understatement to say that the JBC campus has been improved during the Eubanks years. Practically every major building on campus was built since the mid-70s, and two dorms (the ones Cindy and I lived in) were built, torn down, and replaced in that time. Since Dr. Eubanks became president, the college transformed itself from a small huddle of old buildings on “the hill” to a widespread campus of first-rate facilities.
But the buildings aren’t the legacy.
One speaker (I think it was Ken Overdorf) pointed out that only one building remains from the days of Ashley Johnson, who founded the college in 1893, and that is the house the president lives in. But the legacy of Ashley Johnson extends to all the churches, missions agencies, schools, etc. that have been served by JBC graduates.
Dr. Eubanks has been an amazing builder who led JBC to become a modern, technologically advanced, academically excellent, competitive college. He leaves a campus that will bear his imprint for many years to come (including a building named after him). But his real legacy is described by the words that were repeatedly mentioned about him last night: Integrity, faithfulness, humility and service. Dr. Eubanks has left on all of us alumni an indelible picture of what a Christian leader ought to be.
The danger of being a change agent
I’m leery of finding too much wisdom in Machiavelli (for fear of appearing too, well, Machiavellian) but he sure got this right:
“And let it be noted that there is no more delicate matter to take in hand, nor more dangerous to conduct, nor more doubtful in its success, than to set up as the leader in the introduction of changes. For he who innovates will have for his enemies all those who are well off under the existing order of things, and only lukewarm supporters in those who might be better off under the new.” Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
This explains why, for example, no politician wants to take the lead on health-care reform or a new energy policy. We may need them, but too many of us are “well off under the existing order of things”.
In politics, in business, and in the church, successful leaders are those who can convince people that tomorrow is at risk even though today is pretty good. A rare quality, indeed.
PS - I found this quote today at the great blog Signal vs. Noise.
God’s family: Where no one stands alone
God’s family: Where no one stands alone - 2.18.7
Listen (stream) MP3 (right-click to save)
Series: Family for Dummies, Pt. 3 of 4
Comments welcome (see link below)
Sunday Seven: Interesting links from the past week
- In the Eyes of the Homeless. Another fine Relevant Magazine article by my favorite Wheaton College student, Jessica Friesen.
- Amen. My dad’s thoughts on recent news about global warming.
- BrowseGoods.com. I rarely promote commercial sites, but this way-cool interface which browses Amazon products may be the future of shopping. Don’t forget to use your click-wheel. Via GigaOm.
- TechPresident. Seems like just yesterday that Clinton/Gore made news for using email on the campaign trail. TechPresident tracks today’s candidates’ use of today’s web. Obama has nearly twice as many MySpace friends as Hillary. Via AmberMac.
- Do afternoon naps prevent heart attacks? If not, they should. From The Consumerist via Lifehacker.
- Y2K Lite. The daylight savings time bug is coming, and coming soon! Don’t bottle water, just double-check your computer clock and Google calendar. From Wired and my Dad.
- The Free Hugs Campaign. It may not end global suffering but it might add a little sunshine. JBCer Margaret Ferguson made me aware of this warm-hearted idea.
Philip Yancey on Prayer
I’m six chapters into Philip Yancey’s new book, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? I’ve been Yancey’s biggest fan for many years, and this book delivers all the good stuff I expected.
Today I ran across an interesting insight that Yancey borrows from Haddon Robinson. Picture the Garden of Gethsemane. Three men are resting peacefully. One is off by himself, agonizing in prayer, with the sweat dripping off of him like blood. You might reasonably look at the one, Jesus, and wonder if he really has the strength for the ordeal that lies ahead. If he is in such turmoil now, how can he possibly hold up when the real action starts? How will he possibly face his impending arrest and trial, to say nothing of the beatings and the crucifixion? Why can’t he relax and trust God, like his three companions seem to be doing?
But that, of course, isn’t the real story. After his heart-wrenching struggle in prayer, Jesus is ready - fully ready - for everything else that comes. He faces the final hours of his life with quiet strength. But the three disciples, Peter, James and John, are completely unprepared. When trouble arrives, they begin immediately to unravel. Soon they will flee into the night to leave Jesus with his accusers.
Robinson’s picture succinctly describes Yancey’s view of the meaning of prayer (at least through chapter six). In spite of all the difficulties we have with prayer (and Yancey deals with all of them), prayer is the ultimate act of faith in which our minds take on the strength of God.
Getting married? Ask some hard questions first.
The New York Times published an article in December called Questions Couples Should Ask (Or Wish They Had) Before Marrying. If you’d like to take a little romance out of your Valentine’s Day, you ought to look it over.
Actually, this is a great list of the type of questions I ask (or need to ask) on that first interview of pre-marital counseling. The Times list contains some good ones from the romantic (”Is my partner affectionate to the degree that I expect?”) to the practical (”Will there be a television in the bedroom?”)
I always ask both people to answer individually (on paper, without help from their partner), “Where/how will we spend Christmas this year?” If both assume they’ll spend it with their own family, there could be a significant problem. Also, the only time I ever got a derisive laugh during a sermon was when I suggested that people who are older than 25 (to pick an arbitrary number) should think about doing a credit and criminal record check on their intended. It isn’t romantic, but if someone is dragging a troubled past into the marriage, full-disclosure is the best way to go.
I found this list through the wonderful Lifehacker blog, and in the comments there you’ll find some more good questions for you (or your child) to ask of that apparent soul-mate.
