Category: Blog

The image of the stained glass window of 16^th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama hangs behind the worship platform in my church in Portland, Oregon. The picture displays Jesus with outstretched arms and hands—the right hand halting oppression and the left hand opened and offering forgiveness. The stained glass window was given to the church in Birmingham by the people of Wales after the bombing of the church orchestrated by the KKK on Sunday morning, September 15, 1963. The horrific bombing killed four young African American girls.

I thought about that incident and the stained glass window this past Sunday as my pastor preached on Luke’s Gospel. Jesus brought reconciliation—his ‘right hand’ halting oppression and his ‘left hand’ offering forgiveness—throughout his ministry. Our church is seeking to live into that reality—living between Jesus’ two outstretched arms.

In view of Jesus, it is right to say that reconciliation that does not pursue justice is not truly reconciliation and justice that does not pursue reconciliation is not truly just.

This burden for justice and reconciliation is too great to bear on our own. Only Jesus can bear the burden. But that does not excuse us. Jesus carries our burden and longing, halting oppression and offering forgiveness. His actuality makes it possible for us to live into this reality, no matter how hard it seems, as we live between his outstretched arms.

I’m speaking on these and related themes this week at the Mosaix 2013 Multiethnic Church Conference.

This piece is cross-posted at Patheos and The Christian Post. Comments made here are not monitored. To join the conversation, please comment on this post at Patheos.

The other day my world religions class visited a mosque. The Muslim lecturer and friend of mine asked: “Is one [who is a Christian] losing Jesus when one converts to Islam?” He responded by saying that one does not lose Jesus, but gains Muhammad. It was interesting that this Muslim leader claimed that Muhammad is not greater than Jesus on his Muslim view, even though he is the final prophet. According to the lecturer, the reason why Muhammad is seen as the greatest of the prophets is because the prophetic import of his teaching is universal and final, not local or temporally conditioned. Moreover, he established his community of followers during his life. So, the finality occurred during his life, not after it. According to the Muslim leader, Muhammad’s life is so well documented during his life that one has sufficient authority for all teaching and practice. Given that Islam is not on this Muslim leader’s view a new religion, but the continuation and fulfillment of all true religion, its finality is not one of qualitative superiority, but of quantitative fulfillment by way of succession—bringing everything together. In fact, according to the Muslim lecturer, the first pillar—Declaration of Faith—is not a distinction, but a reminder: Muhammad is not the Messiah, as in equal with God (deified); rather, Muhammad is God’s messenger.

I was struck by what this Muslim leader said. One of the questions I raised came in response to his claim that a Christian does not lose Jesus in converting to Islam. I asked, “Could a Christian say that the Muslim who converts to Christianity does not lose Muhammad, but gains Jesus?” My Muslim friend objected, since for him that would entail accepting the doctrine of the Trinity, which he said Muslims reject. It would also entail for him affirming Jesus’ death by crucifixion, which he also rejects.

The exchange showed how important it is to get clear on the meaning of terms. We need to be clear on what we mean by Jesus, Christian, and Muslim, for example. Certainly, my Muslim friend and I hold to different definitions of Jesus and Christian, and view the cross in dramatically different terms. For my Muslim friend, a true prophet could not die on the cross, whereas for me, the great prophet Jesus died on the cross to bring about a new order of reality in his resurrection.

Certainly, the cross is not the only issue that generally separates Christians and Muslims. Nonetheless, it is certainly central to the discussion. Here I am reminded of Lesslie Newbigin’s claim in The Gospel in a Pluralist Society:

If it were true, as the Qur’an affirms, that Jesus was not crucified, then indeed he would simply be one of the messengers in the series that culminates in Muhammad. But the earthly mission of Jesus ended on a cross. The corn of wheat had to fall onto the ground and die. The new reality born of that dying, the new creation of which the risen body of Jesus is the foretaste, is of a different nature. It is not simply a prolongation of the life of Jesus. It is the beginning of a new epoch in human history in which the guiding clue is held in trust for all by that community which lives by the life of the crucified and risen Jesus.[1]

According to Newbigin, the cross conveys finality—death to the old order of life. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead reveals a new epoch. The Christian community participates in the life of the crucified and risen Jesus. There can be no going back to the old order—life lived prior to and apart from Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Rather than converting to some other religious tradition, we are converted anew each day as the Christian community as we live into the reality of Jesus as the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 22:13).

While for Islamic scholar Daniel W. Brown, it is disputed that the Qur’an denies the crucifixion, still he argues,

The cross remains the point at which Islam and Christian theology clash not just because the Qur’an denies the crucifixion (a disputed point), or because Muslims reject its historicity (some do not), but because the cross, viewed as the ultimate self-manifestation of God, demands a response of faith—Jesus is Lord—that the Muslim reserves for the revelation of the Qur’an. Ultimately, Muslims and evangelical Christians are divided over whether the character of God is most clearly revealed in a perfect life culminating in redemptive death or in a perfect book giving rise to a perfect life.[2]

What difference does it all make for Christians that we have been converted to the new order that arises out of the death of the resurrected Jesus? If the character of God is most clearly revealed in a perfect life culminating in redemptive death, what does it entail for those converted to the Jesus way? In short, I cannot be engaged in prolonging the old order but must live according to the new order of being. Easier said than done. While short and succinct, it will take a great deal of unpacking with one’s life to get at the contrast between the old and new orders. With this in mind, we must ask: what is the old order, and what is distinctive about the new? More to come.

This piece is cross-posted at Patheos and The Christian Post. Comments made here are not monitored. To join the conversation, please comment on this post at Patheos.

The multi-ethnic church movement is not some passing fad. It is more than a two-day conference. It is here to stay.

I am looking forward to participating in the Mosaix 2013 Multi-ethnic Church Conference November 5 – 6.  A thousand people will be coming together in Long Beach, California to interact with one another on the subject of the multi-ethnic church from various perspectives in service to Christ.

My plenary talk will be “We Shall Overcome” and I will be presenting a workshop called “Owning the Pond Together.” Here I will claim that “Community transformation involves redistribution of relational need, responsibility, and resources. This workshop will address race and class tensions bound up with the myth of scarcity that impact churches negatively today, and how to get beyond this for Kingdom impact in the communities we serve.” I will be developing further themes that first appeared in my book, Consuming Jesus.

I am excited to hear and engage friends, John M. Perkins, author of Let Justice Roll Down, and Soong-Chan Rah, author of The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity, among many others.

 

Here are some words of commendation from earlier endorsements I wrote for other conference presenters’ works. Can’t wait to hear them speak!

Derek Chinn’s 1 + 1 = 1: Creating a Multiracial Church from Single Race Congregations:

“You don’t need to be a math wizard to understand 1 + 1 = 1 by [Derek] Chinn . . . Based on biblical wisdom and practical advice gleaned from years of experience in leading a multiracial congregation, this timely and strategic book helps lead the way in resolving church growth and racial problems and puzzles for the sake of church transformation through the gospel of reconciliation.”
Christena Cleveland’s Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces That Keep Us Apart :

“In Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces That Keep Us Apart (InterVarsity Press), [Christena] Cleveland helps readers view people of diverse cultural backgrounds as God’s gifts, not thorns in the flesh. She provides invaluable insights, practical recommendations, and tools to help the Christian community identify and address the dynamics that fracture Christ’s body… My hope, ultimately, is that Disunity in Christ will create new momentum toward fulfilling Jesus’ prayer for unity amongst his followers. Those involved in building and supporting multiethnic Christian communities will be moved by Cleveland’s stories, perspectives, and gracious spirit. Her book will, I hope, help us resolve generational, economic, political, and theological differences—and teach us to see that, truly, we are better off together.” (Read my full review of this book at Christianity Today).
Mark DeYmaz’s Ethnic Blends: Mixing Diversity into Your Local Church, co-authored with Harry Li:

“Ethnic Blends is a prophetic, Christ-centered road map that offers practical, pastoral wisdom on how to form multi-ethnic congregations. Mark DeYmaz and Harry Li are redemptive voices crying out in a wilderness of homogeneity for the church in all its ethnic diversity to be one as God is one. I thank God for their biblical vision and mission and firmly believe that Christ’s church will bear more authentic witness to the world that God has sent his Son the more we heed the authors’ multi-ethnic church claims.”

David Stevens’ God’s New Humanity: A Biblical Theology of Multiethnicity for the Church:

“This book isn’t politically correct. It’s biblically correct. The church is God’s New Humanity in union with Christ Jesus. This driving conviction has a profound bearing on how we see ourselves and how we approach diversity in the body of Christ. We need to come to terms with the radical call to unity envisioned by God’s breaking down dividing walls between people through Christ’s atoning work and our new life in the Spirit. Drawing from the whole counsel of God, my friend Dr. David Stevens has provided an invaluable resource to the church in responding to the New Testament mandate for ecclesial existence: We are to experience and model our New Humanity identity in Christ rather than revert to our old ways bound up with various forms of societal separation. In God’s New Humanity—the church—there are no ethnic, economic, and related divisions. So, be one as God is one.”

These and other conference participants will be drawing our attention to what God is doing in cultivating a church that is truly multi-ethnic. This is no passing fad. It is more than a two-day conference in Long Beach. Along with a host of practitioners and academics coming together this coming week, our hope is that the multi-ethnic church will be coming soon to places near you – established by Christ and served and led by Christians of diverse ethnicities – people just like you.

This piece is cross-posted at Patheos and The Christian Post. Comments made here are not monitored. To join the conversation, please comment on this post at Patheos.

Note: Today I had the opportunity to give this address on behalf of the Faculty during a special chapel in honor of Dr. Daniel Lockwood on his last day as President of Multnomah University, where I teach.

Just the other day, someone asked me concerning US Presidents: Can one respect the office without respecting the person? President Harry Truman told General Douglas Macarthur when Macarthur walked in 45 minutes late for their meeting on Wake Island in the Pacific that he did not care what he thought of the person Harry Truman, but that he would never again disrespect his Commander in Chief. Fortunately and providentially for us, we don’t have to worry about respecting the office or position and not the person. We were exhorted this morning to be on time for this chapel in honor of Dr. Lockwood, not simply because of his position, but also because of his person.

Dr. Lockwood, we will miss you dearly. In the few moments granted me on behalf of the faculty, I want to share with you some of the reasons why we will miss you so.

Your Christ-centered confidence.  You announced a few weeks ago your resignation from the office of President at Multnomah University because the cancer you have battled for nine years will soon take you home. While we were not surprised by your confidence in Christ, we were blessed by how you took that opportunity to encourage us all to have confidence that our triune God providentially cares for each one of us. We can trust in him. You have been unswerving in this confidence over the years. May that same confidence in Christ permeate each of our lives and our institution in the coming months and years.

Your courage. Just as you have battled cancer, you have battled challenging times in Christian higher education, as you have led the way in seeking to transition Multnomah University on how to provide biblical education that serves various needs educationally in a host of disciplines to equip a new generation of Christian leaders for the church, academy, and marketplace here and abroad. As with your cancer, this has not been an easy challenge. But you have been willing to face the complexities and the obstacles head on in order to help us serve the church and society in a Christ-honoring way.

Your biblical conviction. In keeping with your unswerving commitment to Christ, you have been unswerving in your commitment to Christian Scripture. Your biblical conviction is not something we shall ever take for granted, but seek to cherish as we diversify our curriculum, integrating our biblical faith with robust learning in a multiplicity of disciplines for the sake of our mission to impact the church and the world in our day through our graduates.

Your compassion. I have been moved on many occasions by your support to take that Christ-centered confidence and biblical conviction to our society. You have supported your faculty to be unswerving in our biblical commitments while at the same time reaching out to engage relationally an increasingly diverse culture that has so often found in Evangelical Christianity rejection rather than love.  You have wedded biblical truth with Christ’s incarnate love. Not only have you supported us in seeking to wed truth and gracious love, but you and Mrs. Lockwood have modeled it to us in a variety of ways over the years. Here, let me speak personally. A few years ago, when my wife and I were facing one of the gravest challenges of our lives, you and Mrs. Lockwood reached out to us and our children one Christmas season and showered us with so much compassion. Your personal touch as the persons that you are only adds exponentially to my respect for you as you have filled the office of the President. I will miss you greatly. I know that you have showed the same care toward others in our midst. Your cancer won’t keep you down. We take you with us in our hearts.

Cancer won’t keep you down at the resurrection of the dead. Cancer can’t keep you down in our lives as we move forward. We take you and these qualities with us as we move into the future as individuals and as an institution.

This piece is cross-posted at Patheos and at The Christian Post. Comments made here are not monitored. To join the conversation, please comment on this post at Patheos.