That's Not Okay With Me...
According to the last census, Detroit is the most African-American city in the US. Bordering Detroit is Livonia, declared the whitest city in the US by that same census. Eight Mile Road is a border land inhabited by Chaledeans (Iraqis, mainly Christian) who have their own closed community. I could go on and on because the tribal lines everywhere here and those lines are walls; and woe be unto anyone who wants to breach them.
That's not okay with me.
Jesus launched a revolution where he replaced 600+ laws on religion with a new rule: "The only thing that matters is faith expressing itself in love" (Galatians 5). Since that time Christians have scurried to make new laws, new walls, new barriers.
That's not okay with me.
We sit in worship with people who look like us, who like the things we like, and with whom we are comfortable. Outside are single mothers, rockers, slackers, addicts, the divorced, the slaves of consumerism, gray minions of corporate America, skateboarders and.... you get the idea. None of them will ever feel comfortable with our ways or in our buildings. In those rare instances in which they want to be a part of us, we force them to become us first! They have to be more like us, agree with our preferences, and behave themselves.... then and only then are they allowed access to the Kingdom.
That's not okay with me.
My neighborhood is full of young couples with children. Toys, bikes, swingsets, and forts are in every yard but ours. We are the old folk here. On Sundays, only a couple families from this subdivision go to worship. None go with us and none will consider driving the 20-30 minutes it takes to get to Rochester Hills from our home. They won't go with me, so should I leave them to their fate?
That's not okay with me.
Dearborn Heights, an area about a forty minute drive from my house, has the largest concentration of Muslims of any place in the US. Drive another hour south and, just as you leave Toledo and enter the flat northwest corner of Ohio, there is a huge and opulent mosque reminding you of who has congregated here. Reaching Muslims is difficult (always) and can be dangerous (rarely). Chances of success are small. Most people write them off, turn slightly away from the swarthy man boarding the bus or the plane, stand next to them in line at Meijers, saying nothing, and then go to a segregated, safe place on Sunday and sing "Anywhere with Jesus."
That's not okay with me.
If I have to form evangelistic small groups to target each of these people for Jesus, I'm okay with that. If that makes some of my brethren nervous because their comfortable, predictable church order is changed around and their preferences (and ease) are no longer the greatest priority, I'm saddened by their attitude, but I'm okay with that, knowing that doors swing both ways and keeping them in and happy means keeping out everybody else. I will not trade one soul for a million, not if it is over a matter of taste and tradition rather than a plainly stated "thus sayeth the Lord."
I'm just not okay with that.
Will we fail? Yes. Probably several times. But the greatest failure of all would be to keep doing what we have always been doing and expect God to change everybody else in the world so that they will look, like, and think like us... and then magically come in and sit quietly with us at church. It would require ignoring the Great Commission, the Revolution of Jesus, and the facts of the gospel. It would require us to shrug our shoulders and consign the rest of the world to hell.
That's not okay with me. Is it with you?
That's not okay with me.
Jesus launched a revolution where he replaced 600+ laws on religion with a new rule: "The only thing that matters is faith expressing itself in love" (Galatians 5). Since that time Christians have scurried to make new laws, new walls, new barriers.
That's not okay with me.
We sit in worship with people who look like us, who like the things we like, and with whom we are comfortable. Outside are single mothers, rockers, slackers, addicts, the divorced, the slaves of consumerism, gray minions of corporate America, skateboarders and.... you get the idea. None of them will ever feel comfortable with our ways or in our buildings. In those rare instances in which they want to be a part of us, we force them to become us first! They have to be more like us, agree with our preferences, and behave themselves.... then and only then are they allowed access to the Kingdom.
That's not okay with me.
My neighborhood is full of young couples with children. Toys, bikes, swingsets, and forts are in every yard but ours. We are the old folk here. On Sundays, only a couple families from this subdivision go to worship. None go with us and none will consider driving the 20-30 minutes it takes to get to Rochester Hills from our home. They won't go with me, so should I leave them to their fate?
That's not okay with me.
Dearborn Heights, an area about a forty minute drive from my house, has the largest concentration of Muslims of any place in the US. Drive another hour south and, just as you leave Toledo and enter the flat northwest corner of Ohio, there is a huge and opulent mosque reminding you of who has congregated here. Reaching Muslims is difficult (always) and can be dangerous (rarely). Chances of success are small. Most people write them off, turn slightly away from the swarthy man boarding the bus or the plane, stand next to them in line at Meijers, saying nothing, and then go to a segregated, safe place on Sunday and sing "Anywhere with Jesus."
That's not okay with me.
If I have to form evangelistic small groups to target each of these people for Jesus, I'm okay with that. If that makes some of my brethren nervous because their comfortable, predictable church order is changed around and their preferences (and ease) are no longer the greatest priority, I'm saddened by their attitude, but I'm okay with that, knowing that doors swing both ways and keeping them in and happy means keeping out everybody else. I will not trade one soul for a million, not if it is over a matter of taste and tradition rather than a plainly stated "thus sayeth the Lord."
I'm just not okay with that.
Will we fail? Yes. Probably several times. But the greatest failure of all would be to keep doing what we have always been doing and expect God to change everybody else in the world so that they will look, like, and think like us... and then magically come in and sit quietly with us at church. It would require ignoring the Great Commission, the Revolution of Jesus, and the facts of the gospel. It would require us to shrug our shoulders and consign the rest of the world to hell.
That's not okay with me. Is it with you?
posted by PatrickMead @ 7/07/2006 01:36:00 PM
10 Comments:
At 7/07/2006 03:56:00 PM ,
Anonymous said...
It's not ok. I'm even tired of hearing the label WITHIN our tribe of this person or that church or that university being "liberal" or "conservative" and how we should go there or not go there because they do this or don't do that. Guess what people call me? I'm considered by most to be a 'gasp' fundamentalist!
I believe God created this world in six literal days and there's going to be a tribulation followed by a rapture followed by more the wrath of God followed by a 1000 year reign and then the judgement, that it might be ok to use instruments in worship seeing that Revelation describes the saints holding a harp on a crystal sea singing before the throne of God and I homeschool because I think God expected parents to educate their children. Now you know.
Does everyone in my church or tribe agree with me? No. Do I respect that others don't agree with me? Yes. We give and take and study and talk but we still manage to function very well as a body without letting those issues build walls. There's just not enough of us to do the work. We need to grow. Why haven't we grown?
A teenager came home not to long ago and told their parents that our tribe was too condemning of others and that someone who isn't a Christian wouldn't feel worthy to sit with us. This teen had heard other teens in the church saying they shouldn't be hanging with sinners, not that this teen joined in the sin, just that they walked and talked with them. This teen even had a Bible study with some of those sinners. This teen invited one of those sinners to church camp. Someone in the church made a comment that they didn't want the church paying for non-members to go to camp, not that this sinner wasn't paying their own way anyway. It wasn't right for non-members to take advantage of the church. That sinner didn't hear the comment but the teen did. That sinner and that teen almost didn't come to camp. That sinner was baptised today. That sinner's mom said she needed to make some changes in her life, too.
In no way do I think the majority of us think this way, and the people that said those things probably weren't thinking about what they said. We need to think.
At 7/08/2006 08:29:00 AM ,
David U said...
PM, I have been on the road and I am just now catching up on my blog reading......WOW! This may be your best post EVER! Brother, this was a POWERFUL post! It calls me to look for ways to evangelize in my neck of the woods. I may not have any mosques around, but there are plenty of other people who don't know the Lord. Thanks for the encouragement!
Keep bringing it!
DU
At 7/09/2006 06:05:00 AM ,
Stoned-Campbell Disciple said...
I appreciate you addressing both the race and class issues in your post. Bigotry is not always based on race but class. We need the gift of the Spirit to cross these lines and make a difference in the poverty and divisions that run so deep.
Interestingly enough on July 7 I also wrote on my blog about John Perkins, a man who has suffered much over racial reconciliation and ministry to the poor. I invite you to drop by and tell me what you think.
http://stoned-campbelldisciple.blogspot.com/
Shalom,
Bobby Valentine
At 7/10/2006 05:43:00 AM ,
Lee Hodges said...
Patrick, I agree with David that this may be your best post ever. God delights in breaking down walls. He delights also so in those who are willing to be used by Him to break down those walls. God Speed! my brother to you and those willing to working with Him.
At 7/10/2006 06:39:00 AM ,
Anonymous said...
Patrick, I’m going to stick my neck out and be a bit of a contrarian here. All of the comments so far have been overwhelmingly positive, and they have seemed to focus on the old Church of Christ in which doctrinal uniformity was our idol. I come from a different background. I don’t give a flip about changing around things at my church. We’ve been through a lot of change, and it has all been good, I think. (I attend a church that is the focus of a lot of negative attention in Church of Christ circles because of our changes.)
I'll be positive, too, but there are some things I question about this blog, Patrick. On the one hand, I hate the walls, too. I want to reach out to everyone, not just those who look and act most like me. I often wish my church looked more like the world and less like my own particular suburb. I take steps to break down those walls, and my church does, too.
And yet . . . When I think about how my church looks—or any church—I also think that a church is a voluntary association. All the people are there because they want to be. They are there because there is something they want, or want to do, or something that makes them feel comfortable. Should it surprise us or bother us if the folks in our churches have much the same culture?
I’ll give an example. Here in Texas we have cowboy churches. They’re out in the country, usually in little white clapboard buildings. The preacher will be wearing jeans, boots, and a pearl snap Western shirt. Most or all of the members will drive up in pickups wearing jeans and boots and cowboy hats. The music will be very country-western. There will usually be a silhouette of a cowboy kneeling in prayer with his horse behind him. Cowboy churches are great—if you like that style. They appeal to a certain culture and a certain style. I don’t go to one because I don’t particularly care for that style. It’s not my culture. I don’t own a pair of boots or a cowboy hat (although I do have a pickup). I don’t enjoy country music.
Is it wrong that my church doesn’t look like a cowboy church? I don’t think so. Is it wrong if my church doesn’t look like an African-American church? I don’t think so. Now, if my church doesn’t look like an African-American church because we preach racism, that’s wrong. If we even feel racism and transmit that feeling, that’s wrong. But if we simply don’t have a style that appeals to African-Americans, is that wrong?
And yet . . . I still wish my church looked more like the world. I want to strengthen ties between all believers. I want to see only people’s hearts, not their epidermis. I want to hear them cry out to Jesus no matter how that cry is expressed. I want to take the Gospel to all people wherever they are, whatever their culture. I just can’t be disappointed in my church or any church because its style appeals more to one group of people than to another. Paul tried to be all things to all people, but did he do it all at once? Maybe the secret is in small groups. Perhaps that gives us the means to reach out to more cultures and styles at the same time.
Just thoughts for the gristmill. Maybe others have better thoughts.
At 7/10/2006 10:11:00 AM ,
salguod said...
Patrick,
Your post brought back memories. We lived in Dearborn, near Warren and Schaefer, for a year back about 13 years ago. We were surrounded by arabic signs and folk. It felt weird sometimes, but it was mostly OK. They're just people too.
In the 3.5 years I spent in the Detroit area I was amazed at the division in that place. We moved to Columbus 10 years ago, I think things were starting to change. We haven't really been back since, it sounds like there's much work yet to do.
At 7/10/2006 10:53:00 AM ,
PatrickMead said...
Danny, I think we agree far more than you might think. I think cowboys need to be reached for Jesus and, if that means we make a cowboy church, go for it! However, in every cowboy community are non-cowboys. I will never forget the sensation that ran through me when I was in central Texas -- in the middle of cow country -- and saw a small pocket of Goths on the street. Within a few hours I saw Skaters clumped, moving together in a defensive herd like wildebeasts on alert to lions. They need a church, too. BECAUSE churches are voluntary associations, we have to create a way for people to agree to be a part of it.
Like I said, I think we're on the same page here. Even if we aren't, thanks for the comment.
At 7/10/2006 11:27:00 AM ,
Anonymous said...
Patrick, I KNOW we're on the same page. I love what is going on at Rochester. And I love the new unity (not uniformity) that is emerging in the church. Just look at what happened at the North American Conference of Christian Churches (that's an approximation of the title). There's lots of unity being restored between the Churches of Christ and the Independent Christian Churches. We do things differently, but we preach the same Gospel. That's what counts--reaching the lost.
At 7/10/2006 11:54:00 AM ,
Keith said...
Patrick, more of us need to take a stand against the status quo when it pertains to spreading the good news. Thanks for the challenging comments. Your blog is always a blessing to me.
Keith
At 7/10/2006 09:58:00 PM ,
preacherman said...
I loved your post and enjoyed reading your blog. Lee let me know about your blog and I would love for you to add to the discussion on my blog. It is Emerging Church, Purpose Driven, What Next, Help. I think from reading your blog you would bring wisdom and insight to the discussion.
Again, excellent post and great blog.
I look forward to reading more of your blog.
God bless you as you serve Him.
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