You Can Handle the Truth

One of the best movie lines of all-time is Jack Nicholson’s response to Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men: “You can’t handle the truth.” Premiere Magazine has it rated 92nd on their Top 100 Movie Lines list. They didn’t ask for my views so I won’t quibble, but come on, 92nd? These are the same people who listed Bond. James Bond as 51st. I rest my case. Obviously they couldn’t handle the truth either. Speaking of truth, what is it exactly? Who is the arbiter of truth? Is truth relative to humanity? Is it possible to answer these questions without first completing two advanced degrees in philosophy? This is an arena that few people tread with success. Even Jesus chose to not answer Pilate’s direct question: What is the truth? (John 18:38).

I am a huge fan of Jesus so I will admit bias at this point. I believe Jesus knew the answer to the question. I also believe Jesus could have avoided a horrible death by providing an answer that would have made it easier for Pilate to reject the capital intentions of the Hebrew leaders. The silence of Jesus had a purpose, although it’s anyone’s guess as to what that purpose was. The most quoted guess focuses on the necessity of Jesus’ death for the salvation of humankind. That could be filed under the category of “lowest possible hanging fruit.” Surely Jesus was silent for reasons other than his impending death. A hypothesis put forth by N.T. Wright is intriguing. It is his belief that the silence of Jesus was meant to highlight the collision of postmodernity (truth) and empire. Since Bishop Wright and I exist on different intellectual planets it was necessary to read his text multiple times and to finagle (most certainly a word Wright would never use) with his meaning of Postmodern. Once you get past that, it’s downhill all the way (right)!

Wright defines postmodernity as the question: “What is truth?” He sees the quest for truth as both colliding and colluding with the established world order that depicted itself as the true hope of humanity. He pits Rome as the personification of the “perfect world order” against Jesus as truth that transcends even the greatest plans of humankind. Rome saw itself as the ultimate prescription for the world. Many Hebrews bought into this possibility and as a result further distanced themselves from truth. This suggests Jesus was silent before Pilate in order to signify the absolute transcendent power of truth. Thus, truth is inherently spiritual and cannot be controlled or dispensed by humans, even if their intentions are pure. On that same note, hope cannot be placed in the instruments of empire if it is to survive. The lesson is actually simple: Great empirical intentions ultimately fail. Does this make them wrong? No, in many ways the world is a better place as a result of empires. On its best day, however, the Roman Empire was never the truth. Truth stood before them, they just couldn’t handle it.

MM (handling the truth since 1964)

I Can't Hear What You're Saying for What You're Saying

It is common to hear psychologists and counselors state that the primary obstacle to healthy and wholesome relationships is poor communication. It would be hard to argue with that premise, especially when one remembers that communication is more than the use of words. This must be a fabric in the mosaic of human DNA as the New Testament regularly mentions toxic speech practices and subsequent damage. Read James and you’ll have a sudden urge to use mouthwash; and he was writing to Christians! Of course, if your mother washed your mouth out with soap you already know that bad language has consequences. That happened to me so many times that I regularly blew bubbles when I coughed or sneezed. If you’ve ever been hurt by words you know firsthand the power of the tongue. Chances are you have also inflicted damage upon someone else with careless talk. Sadly, words go in both directions with ease. Words may seem to be free and easy but in reality they are neither.

Kathlyn and Gay Hendricks are psychologists who have published seventeen books on communication and relationships. The following is a distillation of their seven keys to great communication:

1. Listen generously (like James wrote, “be quick to listen and slow to talk”)
2. Speak unarguably (use statements of fact rather than assigning blame)
3. Appreciation (there needs to be a 5-1 ratio of appreciation to complaint)
4. Turn complaints into requests
5. Admit that you may also be part of the problem
6. Pick your battles wisely
7. Never invalidate someone’s feelings just because you don’t share them
   

It’s hard to argue that listening more and speaking less is a plus; or with seeking the positives in people rather than taking the easy option of pointing out their shortcomings; but the biggest lesson might be in not invalidating someone’s feelings. A feeling is what it is and refuting its reality won’t make it magically disappear. A kind word of appreciative affirmation might do the trick, however. So if you ever reach a communication quandary, ask WWJD (What Would James Do)? The answer will be simple: shut up and listen; always be nice; don’t complain; and if all else fails, shut up and listen. Sounds like a plan to me.

MM

Jesus Loves You, But I'm His Favorite

There is a t-shirt design that reads Jesus Loves You, But I’m His Favorite. I know this because I own one and wear it from time to time. I have yet to wear it without receiving a comment from someone I don’t know. Sadly, most of the comments have been voiced from the “who do you think you are” side of the aisle. Apparently many Christians don’t believe that I am Jesus’ favorite human. My response is always the same: “Hey, what can I say, the truth often hurts.” The conversation normally ends at that point, but the irony persists. I’m not vain and I’m not a theological nutcase. I know that Jesus loves everyone equally (let’s all sing along now, red and yellow, black and white…) but I am also convinced that Jesus loves each of us in a way that is so personal, so intimate, so individualistic, that it’s possible for each of us to feel we are His favorite and all be correct.

I wear the t-shirt mainly to elicit conversation with seekers, the almost-interested and assorted other levels of non-faith persons. I prefer to talk about matters of faith with people who haven’t yet found their place or their purpose in life. If I get to choose between an encounter with a born-again, Bible-believing, “washed in the blood” Christian and a “lost” person, give me the not-yet-found guy every time. I like to exist in a “no church words” environment and many Christians cannot resist using a minimum of three in every sentence. Sharing one’s faith is not about talking about religion or using church words, it’s about telling your unique story. If a t-shirt like mine throws you into a tizzy, you aren’t likely to tell a compelling story about personal faith. If my t-shirt leads someone to ask, “Dude, are you really his favorite,” a door opens to a conversation about God’s love. People need to know that God loves them and has a purpose for their life; they do not need to be told about a list of rules that must be followed. Grace isn’t about rules…it’s about freedom and peace. That would make for a great t-shirt design!

MM

USTABE

In the South people tend to shorten statements and words whenever possible. We save a lot of time in the South by doing so, although we are also prone to speak slowly and add a few syllables here and there, so any time saved is often lost later in the same sentence. Ustabe is an example of a Southern contraction. “I ustabe faster than I am now.” A cousin of ustabe is ustacould. “I ustacould eat doughnuts all day long and not gain weight. I ustabe skinny but now I aintnomore.” O.K., maybe it’s only my relatives that speak like this, but regional dialects are not the point of this treatise. Whether you say “ustabe” or “used to be” is a matter of choice. The real intent isn’t on contractions but on statements of past performance. When a person says they were formerly able to do something it suggests they cannot do so any longer. To some degree this makes sense as the natural life cycle of aging necessitates the reduction of many actions. A person over a certain age cannot do all of the things they were able to do twenty years earlier. Aging brings restrictions that are often hard to overcome. Dreaming dreams of a better future and goal setting should not be added to that list however. This would be true for people of any age.

Ustabe is not a derivative of the Greek language. The closest thing to this in scripture might read “I ustabe an unrepentant sinner and now I’m free in Christ.” As they say in the trade, “that’ll preach.” We are to be new creatures in Christ and as such we must have a future focus. Dwelling on past failures is not productive to spiritual growth. Focusing on past accomplishments and assuming we no longer have what it takes to make a difference is simply unscriptural. There is no retirement age for our faith lives. There is also no such thing as too small a contribution to God’s Kingdom. It doesn’t take a village to progress a church, it takes a congregation. Congregation is plural and implies everyone. All people have something to share and to contribute. But, God won’t make us do anything. Having a future view and seeking to make a difference is entirely up to us. Coasting is allowed but is not encouraged. Too much coasting will ultimately lead to a ustabe church.

It’s not the mountain we conquer but ourselves. Sir Edmund Hillary

None of us will ever accomplish excellence except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Let us not cease to do the utmost, that we may incessantly go forward in the way of the Lord; and let us not despair of the smallness of our accomplishments. John Calvin

MM (ustabe lost but I aintnomore)

Cup' A Joe For Ya'?

Americans love coffee. On average Americans drink three cups of coffee each day. What demographic group drinks the most coffee you ask? Surprisingly, it’s not the uber-trendy young adults often seen on television in cool coffee shops, it’s the over-60 crowd. I’m guessing you won’t see a television show about older friends hanging out at Geezer Perk. Who’s next in daily coffee consumption? It’s the 40-59 group. This is hard to believe if you’ve been in one of the swanky coffee establishments lately. Even in a recession the crowds are large and normally on the younger side. Obviously coffee is a multi-generation beverage.

There is also a new language spoken in today’s coffee world. As a purveyor of extremely mild coffee I do not shop at the trendiest spots, nor do I understand the unique language spoken there, but my wife does and upon her request I recently pulled up to a drive-through and placed her order. She told me what she wanted and I remember staring at her in stunned silence. I want a grande skinny mocha caramel latte light whipped. “I thought you wanted coffee?” It is coffee. Sir, may I take your order? “Uh, yeah, it’s a, uh, what was that again?”

You know the world is spinning a bit too fast when it takes seven words to order coffee and coffee isn’t one of them. Where has simplicity gone? Would someone please slow down this merry-go-round ? No, because it’s not possible. We have seen more change in the past fifty years than in all of history combined. It’s stands to reason that we will experience even more in the near future. But, come on, how many cable channels do we need? Do we really benefit from being connected 24/7? Do kids really need to become skilled in every gaming system that exists? Would we all benefit from a slow walk in the park? It’s not my place to answer these questions for others; my job is to begin the conversation and steer it toward the arena of faith. So, ponder what Jesus might say about today’s speed-of-light-lifestyles? Assess the toll that stress has taken due to our deepening dependence on being connected. You know it’s getting out of hand when the laws for texting while driving are the same as driving under the influence of alcohol. It might be time to slow down, take a breath and order a cup of coffee…plain coffee!

MM

So Many Churches, So Many Choices

Ever wonder why there are so many churches in today’s world? Ever wonder why there are so many different types of churches in today’s world? Well, join the crowd as the mailing list on those questions is quite long. This is especially true for people who are familiar with the formation of the Christian church in the first century. In the beginning there was but one church, and those who worshipped, prayed, studied, and served were Christians. The one church was all about following Jesus. Overtime there were disagreements and subsequent schisms, some small and some large, and the result became the myriad total of different Christian expressions prevalent today. Today it is more likely that a person views themselves as being a _____ rather than as a Christian.

The most recent issue of benign division relates more to worship styles than to denominational or theological squabbles. Sadly, churches across the spectrum have engaged in internal strife over the style and format of worship services. All of this began after a couple of visionary pastoral leaders began churches in places where the historical and hyper-traditional worship formats no longer attracted unaffiliated younger adults. In Chicago and in Southern California these new approaches to “going to church” began to reach large numbers of people and a new strategy for evangelism and discipleship was born. Being “bandwagon-prone,” churches all over America began to copy the styles and strategies of these two mega-churches. In some places the new insights and practices worked well and churches became successful in reaching adults for Christ. Conversely, many churches and eager pastors all but destroyed their churches by instituting new worship styles. The old adage just because it works in one place doesn’t mean it will work in every location was lost in the translation and many people suffered in the process.

Traditional, Blended-Traditional, Contemporary and Emergent churches are all excellent options for reaching people for Christ, which is after all what we are called to do. It’s not that it takes all kinds of people, it’s that there are all kinds of people, so we should have unique worship and church options for all of the different types of people who need a relationship with Christ. One option isn’t better than another option, just different. Each option is valuable and obviously God-inspired. The only rule is to not be nutty. If you are a nutcase pastor leading a nutcase church you cease being a viable option for positively impacting the Kingdom.

In a nearby state there is a church that plans to burn non-King James Bibles on Halloween, along with books by authors who have been influenced by Satan. The Reverend Nutcase in this church deems Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Mother Teresa and Billy Graham as offensive writers and plans to burn their books along with Bibles not written in Middle English. I’m thinking of sending him a copy of one of my books so I can be in the company of the aforementioned Christian giants (which may be my only shot). Nutty Christians do not profit God’s plans to reach the millions of people who desperately need Him. So remember: unique churches with unique worship styles are good; nutty churches aren’t.

MM

Dear Earth, You're Only as Old as You Feel

The latest archeological testing has determined that humans did not evolve from apes after all. The 1994 find of a four-foot tall female skeleton in Ethiopia and the just released intensive testing have laid to rest the long held belief that humans evolved from a prehistoric ape. Archaeologists searching for the “Missing Link” now have to regroup and begin looking for this common ancestor of both humans and apes. Those aren’t the only scientists thrown for a loop as a result of this earth shaking discovery. Scientists who date the Earth’s age are also scrambling to find their calculators as our planet is now believed to be even older than previous research had indicated.

Theology will not be immune to this discovery as both protests and affirmations will flow from the two sides of the creation versus evolution debate. Creationists see the world as being only 6,000 years old and reject all tenets of evolution. On the other end of the spectrum are those who view the earth as being millions of years old and who readily accept many of the teachings of evolution as long as it is stated that God was intimately involved. In the middle are those who have no clue and are happy to admit it. Truth be told, that’s the best location to be in the midst of all the rancorous debate. Many of today’s best scientists are swimming upstream against the current after these findings were published. World class scientists held to the ape-to-human evolution track for most of the twentieth-century, only to be proven wrong by one find. Now they know how meteorologists feel on a regular basis. Creationists will continue to say that all of this is hooey and that carbon dating is a hoax. And the fight goes on.

So let’s find a middle ground and settle this silly fight over something so mysterious, so ethereal, and so abstract that we couldn’t possibly understand the actual truth anyway. Here’s the simple answer: GOD DID IT! If God created this rock we live on six billion years ago or six million years ago or six thousand years ago, the real story is that God did the heavy lifting. If God created dinosaurs (which most certainly existed as I saw the skeletons at Fernbank) and they died out, what’s the big deal? If humans and animals looked differently millions of years ago so be it. We’d look different today if we had to forage for food and run from saber tooth tigers and flying lizards with big teeth. No one can empirically prove God or God’s path from day one of creation to today, so why fight about it? These fights are not good for God’s Kingdom.

So go with God. God created all things and God did it in and through God’s dimension. The details are not important enough to fight over. God did it and that’s all that matters to me.

MM