From a friend of a friend (thanks, Steve Flower!), I recently learned of the "Advent Conspiracy" (AC), which encourages churches to give at Christmas by being creative and blessing those in need by giving relationally as God gave his son to us at Christmas. No money goes to or through the organization. Everyone decides where and how they will give to those in need.
Following are bits of what I gleaned from a video the organization has created. I invite you to visit their website and to watch the video and learn more: http://www.adventconspiracy.org.
"Everyone wants Christmas to be meaningful. But, instead it becomes shop, shop, shop; credit cards; traffic jams; to do lists; useless gifts. Then off to church. Noel, Noel, Noel. Sometimes we're just glad to survive it. Did you know Americans spend $450 billion on Christmas every year. Every year. So we ask: How did Jesus celebrate?
"Jesus gave himself: relationally, incarnation, time, space, presence. Do you see where this is going? What if you bought fewer gifts? That sweater she won't like. That random gift certificate. That toy he doesn't need. And then, instead of buying that gift, give something valuable, like your time. Talk. Eat. Bake. Bike. Read. Play. Create. Craft. Together. Make gifts (like when you were a kid). And remember that money you didn't spend? What if you gave some of it away to the poor, the hurting, the lonely, the hungry, the sick, the thirsty....
"Let's face it, consumerism does not equal happiness, memories, meaning. Spend less on gifts. Give more presence. Love like Jesus....Worship fully....Give more. Love all. This is the season of advent. You are free to worship, live, breathe, give, laugh, celebrate, conspire. Enter the story."
Even though my family has not stopped exchanging gifts at Christmas, we have cut back over the years and have already been incorporating some of the ideas suggested by AC. My point is, I don't believe it's wrong to buy gifts for friends and loved ones, but as the advent season approaches, I do suggest we carefully consider how we use our resources to bless others.
The estimated $450 billion spent at Christmas is a staggering amount of money which could be used to change the world, and if we aim to put "Christ in Christmas," I believe we need to give some real thought as to the example he set for us during his time here on Earth.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Questioning Our Beliefs
Do you ever question what you believe and why you believe it? It is healthy to assess our beliefs from time to time, examining our traditions and religious attitudes. It helps us formulate what is most important to us and makes it easier for us to be able to articulate the tenets of our faith to others.
For example, no where in the Bible are we instructed to celebrate the birth of Jesus, and scripturally speaking, things like Christmas trees certainly never enter the picture. I'm not implying there's anything wrong with festive decorations, but the way Jesus established and instructed us to remember him is by partaking in the bread and wine of what has become known as communion. Christmas is a human invention, not something suggested by Jesus or even the writers of the New Testament.
I'm not picking on holidays, this is to make a case that certain things, like Christmas and Easter and other religious ideas, rules and laws we often embrace and passionately defend, are manmade, even if some of them have a small measure of biblical basis.
There are a great number of religious notions which are merely distractions and have little to do with the heart of the message of Jesus. I challenge all of us to think about how our opinions and points of view have been formed and whether or not the concepts we hold dear hold up to the gospel's rather simple message to love God and everyone else. We should all be willing to shine a harsh light on our religious opinions. Some of them will stand after examination, but many may need to be revised, adjusted or eliminated.
It is never wrong to question what we believe. In fact, it is quite necessary to continually think about our own interpretation of the will of God to make sure our focus is sharp and we are concentrating on what matters. Much of what the religious world has become passionate about doesn't hold up under close scrutiny. If our traditions and personal views become more important than our relationship with God and our love and respect for others, it is time to re-assess our religious opinions, time to separate the wheat from the chaff.
For example, no where in the Bible are we instructed to celebrate the birth of Jesus, and scripturally speaking, things like Christmas trees certainly never enter the picture. I'm not implying there's anything wrong with festive decorations, but the way Jesus established and instructed us to remember him is by partaking in the bread and wine of what has become known as communion. Christmas is a human invention, not something suggested by Jesus or even the writers of the New Testament.
I'm not picking on holidays, this is to make a case that certain things, like Christmas and Easter and other religious ideas, rules and laws we often embrace and passionately defend, are manmade, even if some of them have a small measure of biblical basis.
There are a great number of religious notions which are merely distractions and have little to do with the heart of the message of Jesus. I challenge all of us to think about how our opinions and points of view have been formed and whether or not the concepts we hold dear hold up to the gospel's rather simple message to love God and everyone else. We should all be willing to shine a harsh light on our religious opinions. Some of them will stand after examination, but many may need to be revised, adjusted or eliminated.
It is never wrong to question what we believe. In fact, it is quite necessary to continually think about our own interpretation of the will of God to make sure our focus is sharp and we are concentrating on what matters. Much of what the religious world has become passionate about doesn't hold up under close scrutiny. If our traditions and personal views become more important than our relationship with God and our love and respect for others, it is time to re-assess our religious opinions, time to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Making the Most of Each Day
Most of us have, likely, at one time or another, entertained the thought of how a day might be lived if we knew it was our last day on earth. Would it be spent quietly with friends and family? Or would it be used to do something adventurous and daring? Traveling? Reading? How could one possibly choose?
It's a safe bet most of us wouldn't go to work or school or attend to the often mundane tasks which consume many hours of each day. (I might update my status on Facebook, but I probably wouldn't check out everyone else's posts....sorry.) After some pondering, the question then usually becomes: If we would do things differently, then why aren't we living each day, right now, as if it is our last?
Of course, the answer is, for most of us, today is not our last day, and if it is, few of us know it. We will wake up tomorrow with bills to pay and a number of other practical pursuits demanding our attention. Few of us have the luxury of complete freedom to do as we wish.
One afternoon last week, as I drove to do some work-related errands, I contemplated what else I might prefer to be doing. After ruling out the impossible -- starring in a show on Broadway or living on a remote island somewhere in the northern hemisphere -- I decided what I do on a day-to-day basis is perfectly fine. I have part-time, low-stress jobs I enjoy, and I work with people I like. I am grateful I am able to freely seek God's kingdom and offer some small measures of service and help to others along the way.
Whenever my last day does arrive, I vow to have no regrets. I won't regret what I've done, even though I have made mistakes and missed opportunities to do what is best. Neither will I regret what I have not been able to accomplish, even though there is always something else to achieve.
Ultimately, when we think of living each day to its fullest, it is, perhaps, not what we do which matters most, but it is how we go about doing it: sharing love, joy, kindness and treating others as we wish to be treated. I won't spend my life longing to be somewhere else or doing something grand by the world's standards. I want to appreciate right where I am and what I have, and I believe that's how to make the most of each day.
It's a safe bet most of us wouldn't go to work or school or attend to the often mundane tasks which consume many hours of each day. (I might update my status on Facebook, but I probably wouldn't check out everyone else's posts....sorry.) After some pondering, the question then usually becomes: If we would do things differently, then why aren't we living each day, right now, as if it is our last?
Of course, the answer is, for most of us, today is not our last day, and if it is, few of us know it. We will wake up tomorrow with bills to pay and a number of other practical pursuits demanding our attention. Few of us have the luxury of complete freedom to do as we wish.
One afternoon last week, as I drove to do some work-related errands, I contemplated what else I might prefer to be doing. After ruling out the impossible -- starring in a show on Broadway or living on a remote island somewhere in the northern hemisphere -- I decided what I do on a day-to-day basis is perfectly fine. I have part-time, low-stress jobs I enjoy, and I work with people I like. I am grateful I am able to freely seek God's kingdom and offer some small measures of service and help to others along the way.
Whenever my last day does arrive, I vow to have no regrets. I won't regret what I've done, even though I have made mistakes and missed opportunities to do what is best. Neither will I regret what I have not been able to accomplish, even though there is always something else to achieve.
Ultimately, when we think of living each day to its fullest, it is, perhaps, not what we do which matters most, but it is how we go about doing it: sharing love, joy, kindness and treating others as we wish to be treated. I won't spend my life longing to be somewhere else or doing something grand by the world's standards. I want to appreciate right where I am and what I have, and I believe that's how to make the most of each day.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Increasing in Faith
Faith is an interesting thing. It is central to any belief system, and we know we are to "increase in faith," but how we go about doing that and what grown-up faith looks like can be a bit difficult to define or describe. Even the definition, as given in one place in scripture, seems almost vague: "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)
Growing in faith does not mean we get better at asking God for things until we eventually work our way up to getting everything we ask for. God is not a magic genie, bottled up in Heaven, waiting for us to release him so he can grant us three wishes. Perhaps we do grow in faith by asking for things and realizing if we don't get what we ask for there is quite likely something better for us than what we initially wanted or thought we needed. (Humans are notorious for thinking we know what is best going into every situation, but evidently that is not always the case, since we so often hear the phrase "hindsight is 20/20," which is often applied when we're right in the middle of dealing with the consequences of getting what we thought we wanted.)
It would seem a mature faith might not be about asking for material things at all, but about developing a relationship of trust, whereby we are ready to face problems without worrying about the worst-case scenario outcome. Fear and fretting are enemies of faith, and Jesus repeatedly told his followers not to give in to anxiety. Have you ever solved anything by worry alone? I don't know anyone who has. No one knows what tomorrow will bring for any of us, but the key is not to fear the unknown.
The Message Bible translates Hebrews 11:1 in this way, "The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see." Believers have a foundation on which we can rely, one which will not allow our world to crumble or our lives to fall apart. My dad was a carpenter, and many times I heard him say the two most important things when building a house were plenty of insulation and steel in the concrete. That may be about as good of a definition of faith as I know.
Growing in faith does not mean we get better at asking God for things until we eventually work our way up to getting everything we ask for. God is not a magic genie, bottled up in Heaven, waiting for us to release him so he can grant us three wishes. Perhaps we do grow in faith by asking for things and realizing if we don't get what we ask for there is quite likely something better for us than what we initially wanted or thought we needed. (Humans are notorious for thinking we know what is best going into every situation, but evidently that is not always the case, since we so often hear the phrase "hindsight is 20/20," which is often applied when we're right in the middle of dealing with the consequences of getting what we thought we wanted.)
It would seem a mature faith might not be about asking for material things at all, but about developing a relationship of trust, whereby we are ready to face problems without worrying about the worst-case scenario outcome. Fear and fretting are enemies of faith, and Jesus repeatedly told his followers not to give in to anxiety. Have you ever solved anything by worry alone? I don't know anyone who has. No one knows what tomorrow will bring for any of us, but the key is not to fear the unknown.
The Message Bible translates Hebrews 11:1 in this way, "The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see." Believers have a foundation on which we can rely, one which will not allow our world to crumble or our lives to fall apart. My dad was a carpenter, and many times I heard him say the two most important things when building a house were plenty of insulation and steel in the concrete. That may be about as good of a definition of faith as I know.
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