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A Great Thanksgiving Tradition
By Mark D. Roberts | Tuesday, November 17, 2009
In this post I want to tell you about a great Thanksgiving tradition. Yes, yes, I know Thanksgiving Day comes a week from Thursday. But I’m putting up this post in the hopes that there still might be time for some of you to act on what I’m about to recommend.
I’ll admit to a not-so-hidden agenda. I want to commend this the tradition I describe in this post to you as something you might wish to add to your yearly Thanksgiving repertoire. I guarantee that it will pay rich dividends in delight and expanded gratitude.
I can boast about this tradition without hesitation because it’s not something I invented. Rather, I inherited it when I came to Irvine Presbyterian Church. It was a choice fruit of the ministry of my predecessor, Ben Patterson. What am I talking about? A Thanksgiving Eve Worship Service.
When I was an associate pastor at Hollywood Presbyterian Church, we had a Thanksgiving day service. From 10:00 to 11:00 in the morning we gathered for prayer, song, and a brief sermon. Though I loved this service, the timing was inconvenient for many, who missed the service because they were cooking or driving to grandma’s house. Thus, in my first year as Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church, I was pleased to experience the tradition of a worship service on the night before Thanksgiving.
For the seventeen years I participated in that service, and it was one of my favorite events of the whole year. Why? Well, for one thing, because of the timing of the service, my celebration of Thanksgiving began in earnest at 7:00 on Wednesday evening. Thus my celebration of Thanksgiving was longer and fuller than when it started on Thursday morning. Moreover, I liked beginning my personal Thanksgiving celebration by remembering God. I have nothing against watching the Macy’s parade, eating turkey, and getting together with family, mind you. But I was glad to give God first place in the festivities. It seemed as if I was finally getting things in the right order when it came to Thanksgiving.
Another thing I enjoyed about our Thanksgiving Eve service was the multigenerational, family dimension. We included children from about four years of age on up. Many of them had a chance to participate, as I’ll explain in a moment. The presence of children meant that we had to plan a service with their interests and capabilities in mind. We included music that they knew. The sermon was short and relatively child-friendly. It usually involved interaction with the congregation, sort of a whole-congregation children’s sermon, if you will. With children present, the sanctuary was a little noisier than usual. But there was something wonderful about having the whole church family together on Thanksgiving Eve.
The content of our Thanksgiving Eve service was pretty simple. In the hour-long service we sang hymns (including “Now Thank We All Our God” and “Great is Thy Faithfulness”) and songs (including Matt Redman’s “Blessed Be Your Name” and “Let Everything That Has Breath”). There were Scripture readings and prayers.
Perhaps the central element of the service was an “open mike” time when we asked members of the congregation to share briefly that for which they were thankful. Children expressed their gratitude for their parents and pets. On the other side of life, I remember when one man thanked God for fifty years of marriage. Usually there were moments of laughter, like several years ago when my five-year old daughter thanked God for paper. (She was serious and upset when people laughed. She did have a point!) There were often tears as well, as when an elderly woman once thanked the Lord that her recently deceased husband was in heaven and suffering no longer.
Our other special tradition involved writing on a small piece of orange paper shaped like a pumpkin. We received our “pumpkin” when the service began. Then, throughout the service, we wrote down on the paper things for which we are grateful. Near the end of the service we brough our pumpkins forward and placed them on the communion table as part of a giant cornucopia. In this way every person participated tangibly and actively in shared corporate gratitude.
Following the worship service we had an informal reception, with hot cider and snacks prepared by folks in the church. It was a pleasant time of conversation and shared gratitude.
I would strongly recommend that all churches consider adopting the tradition of a Thanksgiving Eve service. I realize that some churches already do this. But many are missing out on a fantastic experience.
If you’re a lay person in a church and you’d like to encourage your pastor to adopt the Thanksgiving Eve Service tradition, you might send this post to your pastor. If it turns out that your pastor is unable to do this service because of family plans or whatever, it could easily be led by others.
I have lots of pastors who read this blog, so here’s my personal word to my colleagues: Our Thanksgiving Eve service was not only one of the best things we did as a congregation, but it was also one of my favorite services of the year. I got out of it far more than I put into it (partly because my sermon was short, and partly because the service was so rich). Believe me, the last thing I want to do is to make your life busier and crazier. But I am convinced that a Thanksgiving Eve Service promises returns far greater than the investment of time required for planning and leading.
If you don’t have time to plan a Thanksgiving Eve Service for this year, put it on your church calendar right now. You’ll be glad you did!
Topics: Thanksgiving | 10 Comments »
Earl Palmer at Laity Lodge
By Mark D. Roberts | Monday, November 16, 2009
Earl Palmer taught at Laity Lodge this past weekend, leading a retreat for Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church. I know that many of my blog readers are familiar with Earl, but if you’re not, let me give a brief bio. Earl, a Presbyterian minister, served in four churches, including Berkeley Presbyterian Church in California and University Presbyterian Church in Seattle, Washington. After his retirement from University Pres, Earl became the Preaching Pastor-in-Residence for National Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C. (You can listen to or download his sermons here.)
Earl is well-known as one of the finest Bible teachers in the world. He brings to the text, not only his extensive knowledge of Scripture and biblical languages, but also an incisive understanding of the world in which we live. Plus, Earl is perhaps the most enthusiastic Bible teacher I’ve ever heard. (He might tie for this honor with Dale Bruner.) When Earl speaks, I am never, ever bored!
Since his retirement, Earl has continued his speaking and writing ministry through Earl Palmer Ministries. One of his key efforts is providing leadership for The Kindlings Muse, which are “live, local events taped for podcast and featuring a live audience and round-table of thoughtful creatives and gadflies discussing ideas, beliefs and values shaping life today.” You can access these delightful podcasts from the Earl Palmer Ministries website as well as from iTunes.
During one of his lectures this weekend, Earl was talking about how the basics of the faith enable us to withstand the power of Satan. As an example, he recited The Apostles’ Creed in world record time. If you want to hear proof, check out this YouTube video:
Topics: Laity Lodge | 4 Comments »
Sunday Inspiration from The High Calling
By Mark D. Roberts | Sunday, November 15, 2009
The Purpose of God’s Judgment
Utterly disgrace them
until they submit to your name, O LORD.
Psalm 83 is one of those psalms we don’t know what to do with. It was written in response to the schemes of Israel’s enemies who sought to wipe out God’s people altogether. Thus this psalm calls upon God to protect Israel by defeating his enemies, destroying them (83:9-10), scattering them (83:13), terrifying them (83:15), and disgracing them (83:16).
Yet in the midst of a call for God to wipe out his enemies, Psalm 83 contains hints of redemption. Verse 16, for example, says, “Utterly disgrace them until they submit to your name, O LORD.” The Hebrew could be translated more literally, “Fill their faces with shame so that they might seek your name, O LORD.” In other words, God’s judgment is not merely punishment of Israel’s enemies or protection for God’s chosen people. Rather, it is also an occasion for those who oppose God to begin to seek him.
The glimmers of redemption in Psalm 83 become brilliant rays in Jesus Christ. He came to take upon himself God’s judgment in the cross so that all might come to know God. The shame that should fill our faces as sinners fell upon the bruised face of Jesus. I am reminded of the words of the classic hymn, “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded”:
O sacred Head, now wounded,
With grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded
With thorns, thine only crown;
How pale thou art with anguish,
With sore abuse and scorn!
How does that visage languish
Which once was bright as morn!
What thou, my Lord, hast suffered
Was all for sinners’ gain:
Mine, mine was the transgression,
But thine the deadly pain;
Lo, here I fall, my Savior!
’Tis I deserve thy place;
Look on me with thy favor,
Vouchsafe to me thy grace.
What language shall I borrow
To thank thee, dearest Friend,
For this thy dying sorrow,
Thy pity without end?
O make me thine forever,
And should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never
Out live my love to thee.
Amen.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: How do you pray for those in your life who oppose you? How do you pray for those who oppose God’s work in the world?
PRAYER: Gracious God, how I thank you for your redemptive purpose in history and in my own life. Your judgment upon sin leads us to seek you. And when we see how Jesus bore our shame, we are drawn to you in humble gratitude.
Today I want to pray for those who oppose you. O Lord, may those who speak against you discover the folly of their words. May they be confronted with your judgment and comforted by your mercy. May they see in Jesus the perfection of love and be drawn to you. May their sorrow over the things they have said to dishonor you lead them into a profound experience of your amazing grace.
All praise be to you, God of justice and redemption. Amen.
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This devotional comes from The High Calling of Our Daily Work (www.thehighcalling.org), a wonderful website about work and God. You can read my Daily Reflections there, or sign up to have them sent to your email inbox each day. This website contains lots of encouragement for people who are trying to live out their faith in the workplace.
Topics: Sunday Inspiration | No Comments »
Fall in the Texas Hill Country
By Mark D. Roberts | Friday, November 13, 2009
A couple of pictures I’ve snapped in the last week.
First, the Guadalupe River as it passes through Mo Ranch, a Presbyterian conference center near Hunt.
Cibolo Creek in the Cibolo Nature Center in Boerne.
Topics: Texas | 2 Comments »
THE BIRDS in Texas
By Mark D. Roberts | Thursday, November 12, 2009
No, not the Alfred Hitchcock movie. Rather, an invasion of Grackles in Kerrville, Texas.
One time I left my car in the San Antonio airport, cleverly parked under a tree for shade. Or so I thought. I turns out that was a favorite tree for Grackles. When I got back from my trip, I literally could not see out my windshield.
Beware of the Grackles!
P.S. Evan commented below about the noisiness of the Grackles. Yes, indeed. They are obnoxiously loud. You can hear them on this video clip:
Topics: Texas | 8 Comments »
Honoring Veterans Today
By Mark D. Roberts | Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Today is Veterans Day, a day set aside to honor those who have served in the armed forces of our country. Once known as Armistice Day, to commemorate the armistice that brought an end to the hostilities in World War 1, Veterans Day came into being in 1954 when Congress changed the name so that November 11th would be an occasion to remember all veterans. (Note: Officially, the name is “Veterans Day” not “Veterans’ Day,” since it is a day for Veterans, not belonging to them. Also, Veterans Day is meant to honor all who served in the military, in wartime or peacetime.)
This year, the celebration of Veterans Day is especially poignant, given the recent tragedy at Fort Hood. We are reminded of the courage of all who serve in the armed forces, as well as their willingness to put their lives on the line for our freedom.
President Obama has issued a proclamation, calling upon all citizens to recognize and care for our veterans. I thought I’d reproduce this proclamation here:
VETERANS DAY, 2009
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
We have a sacred trust with those who wear the uniform of the United States of America. From the Minutemen who stood watch over Lexington and Concord to the service members who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, American veterans deserve our deepest appreciation and respect. Our Nation’s servicemen and women are our best and brightest, enlisting in times of peace and war, serving with honor under the most difficult circumstances, and making sacrifices that many of us cannot begin to imagine. Today, we reflect upon the invaluable contributions of our country’s veterans and reaffirm our commitment to provide them and their families with the essential support they were promised and have earned.
Caring for our veterans is more than a way of thanking them for their service. It is an obligation to our fellow citizens who have risked their lives to defend our freedom. This selflessness binds our fates with theirs, and recognizing those who were willing to give their last full measure of devotion for us is a debt of honor for every American.
We also pay tribute to all who have worn the uniform and continue to serve their country as civilians. Many veterans act as coaches, teachers, and mentors in their communities, selflessly volunteering their time and expertise. They visit schools to tell our Nation’s students of their experiences and help counsel our troops returning from the theater of war. These men and women possess an unwavering belief in the idea of America: no matter where you come from, what you look like, or who your parents are, this is a place where anything is possible. Our veterans continue to stand up for those timeless American ideals of liberty, self-determination, and equal opportunity.
On Veterans Day, we honor the heroes we have lost, and we rededicate ourselves to the next generation of veterans by supporting our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen as they return home from duty. Our grateful Nation must keep our solemn promises to these brave men and women and their families. They have given their unwavering devotion to the American people, and we must keep our covenant with them.
With respect for and in recognition of the contributions our servicemen and women have made to the cause of peace and freedom around the world, the Congress has provided that November 11 of each year shall be as a legal public holiday to honor our Nation’s veterans.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim November 11, 2009, as Veterans Day. I encourage all Americans to recognize the valor and sacrifice of our veterans through appropriate public ceremonies and private prayers. I call upon Federal, State, and local officials to display the flag of the United States and to participate in patriotic activities in their communities. I call on all Americans, including civic and fraternal organizations, places of worship, schools, and communities to support this day with commemorative expressions and programs.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.
BARACK OBAMA
A few years ago, I put up a special prayer for Veterans Day. It was based on a prayer I found on the Presbyterian Church (USA) website, to which I added a few phrases (italics). I’ll close today’s post by reproducing that prayer here:
God of the ages,
We thank You for all who have served in the armed forces of this country.
We thank You for the freedom their sacrifice has earned and guarded for us. Help us to prize this freedom and use it well.
We ask You to bless all living veterans in a special way today, as well as the families of all veterans.
Comfort those who grieve for those who gave the last full measure of devotion.
Strengthen those who bear physical, emotional, and spiritual wounds.
Stand with those who provide care to them.
Move us to reach out to sisters and brothers who are veterans, or relatives of veterans, or who currently serve in the military.
We pray for the day when no one needs to serve in the military. Help us to live now in anticipation of that day, as people who long for peace, who pray for peace, and who seek to be peacemakers in this world.
We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Topics: Holidays | 3 Comments »
Check out TheHighCalling.org!
By Mark D. Roberts | Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Would you like to have access to literally hundreds of articles and audio clips that help you relate your faith to your work? If so, then you should check out TheHighCalling.org.
If you visit my website very often, no doubt you’ve noticed my “Sunday Inspiration from The High Calling” posts. These, as you may know, are borrowed from another website, TheHighCalling.org. I write a Daily Reflection for this website, a sister ministry to Laity Lodge and part of the work of Foundations for Laity Renewal. On Sunday I borrow the Reflection I wrote for TheHighCalling.org and post it on my site. Yes, it’s a bit of double dipping. 
Today I want to draw your attention to TheHighCalling.org, which continually impresses me with the quality and diversity of its content. I can say this without blushing or boasting because, other than the Daily Reflections and a rare article, I am not responsible for what goes up on TheHighCalling.org. This responsibility lies in the capable hands of my colleagues, Dan Roloff and Marcus Goodyear, under the overall guidance of our Director of Communications, Keith Mirrer.
Today, TheHighCalling.org features a radio spot by Howard E. Butt, Jr., founder of Laity Lodge. These radio spots usually feature an attention-grabbing story that illustrates some feature of “the high calling of our daily work.” They’re good for personal inspiration (also for sermon illustrations!).
One of my favorite elements of TheHighCalling.org is the interview. During the past six years, this website has included original interviews by leading Christians in a wide variety of fields, including: Eugene Peterson (theologian and Bible translator), T.D. Jakes (pastor), Ralph Winter (Hollywood producer), Ashley Cleveland (Grammy award winning singer), Wayne Huizenga, Jr. (owner of the Miami Dolphins), Francis Collins (now head of the National Institutes of Health), and Makoto Fujimura (world-renowned artist). The current interview is of Barbara Brown Taylor, most recently author of Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith.
Each week TheHighCalling.org includes helpful articles, Bible studies, and personal reflections, all having to do with the relationship between faith and work. Then there’s Rambin’ Dan’s blog. Right now he’s musing about the relationship between leadership and power. Howard Butt’s blog regularly features excerpts on his writings on a wide range of subjects.
If you would like to be notified through email concerning the ever-changing content of TheHighCalling.org, you can sign up for updates. You’ll get my Daily Reflection each morning in your inbox, and a weekly report of what’snew on the website.
I should mention that everything on TheHighCalling.org is free, except for a few items sold in the online bookstore. The purpose of this site is to get helpful information connecting faith and work to people, no strings attached.
I hope you’ll visit TheHighCalling.org today, and make it a regular stop on your Internet explorations.
Topics: High Calling | 1 Comment »
Sunday Inspiration from The High Calling
By Mark D. Roberts | Sunday, November 8, 2009
Honey from the Rock
“But I would feed you with the finest wheat.
I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock.”
In Psalm 81, the Lord invites Israel to receive the very best of his blessings. “Open your mouth wide,” he says, “and I will fill it with good things” (81:10). In order to receive this bounty, God’s people need only to listen to his words and walk in his paths (81:13). Then, the Lord promises, “I would feed you the finest wheat. I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock” (81:16).
“The finest wheat,” literally in Hebrew, “the fat of the wheat,” is that from which one makes the best bread and other baked goods. That which comes from the finest wheat is both tasty and healthy. “Wild honey from the rock” adds some zest to the bread. The psalmist may envision a bees’ nest under some rocky crag, from which one takes delicious honey.
As I think about Psalm 81:16, I’m impressed by God’s offer of wild honey. To be sure, honey has some nutritional benefits. But, unlike wheat, it is meant mostly to delight the one who eats it. Honey adds sweetness and joy to eating. So, without pressing the imagery of this verse too far, I think it’s true to say that God offers, not only nutrition, but also pleasure to those who hear and do his words. Sometimes we think of obeying God so much in terms of what we must give up that we fail to remember the rewards of obedience. Our God, who created honey and our ability to enjoy it, wants us to live a full, rich life, a life of genuine pleasure. This comes as we seek the Lord and follow his ways.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Do you tend to associate pleasure and enjoyment with God? Why or why not? When has obedience led to joy for you?
PRAYER: Dear Lord, today I hear your invitation to Israel as if it were for me. You are urging me to hear and follow your words, to walk in your ways. I’m to do this, not only because it’s right, which would be reason enough, but also because it leads to the best possible life. Obeying you is the way, not only of righteous and significant living, but also of joyful and truly pleasant living.
Help me, Lord, to delight in your good gifts, to enjoy them, and to give you thanks for them. Remind me even to savor my food, to relish the varieties of flavors you have created, yes, even the tastes of good bread and honey.
Thank you, gracious God, for your goodness to me, for filling my life with your grace. Amen.
P.S. from Mark: For a fascinating series of photos depicting the taking of honey “from the rock” in Nepal, check out this website.
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Would you like to receive a Daily Reflection like this one in your email inbox each morning?
Here’s how . . . .
This devotional comes from The High Calling of Our Daily Work (www.thehighcalling.org), a wonderful website about work and God. You can read my Daily Reflections there, or sign up to have them sent to your email inbox each day. This website contains lots of encouragement for people who are trying to live out their faith in the workplace.
Topics: Sunday Inspiration | No Comments »
Could Virtual Church Enhance Physical Church? Surprising Confirmation from the Pew Research Center
By Mark D. Roberts | Friday, November 6, 2009
Part 8 of series: The Challenge and Opportunity of Virtual Church
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The Pew Internet and American Life Project, a project of the Pew Research Center, has just released the results of a fascinating and timely study on the Internet and its effects on American social life. This study, called “Social Isolation and New Technology,” suggests that fears of the Internet taking away from face-to-face socializing are unfounded. In fact, according to the Pew press release: “People who use modern information and communication technologies have larger and more diverse social networks.” Thus, the findings of the Pew study “These new finding challenge fears that use of new technologies has contributed to a long-term increase in social isolation in the United States.”
The lead author of the study, Prof. Keith Hampton, observed: “This is the first research that actually explores the connection between technology use and social isolation and we find the opposite. It turns out that those who use the internet and mobile phones have notable social advantages. People use the technology to stay in touch and share information in ways that keep them socially active and connected to their communities.”
There is much in this study that is fascinating and relevant to my recent consideration of virtual church. For example:
Some have worried that internet use limits people’s participation in their local communities, but the Pew Internet report finds that most internet activities have little or a positive relationship to local activity. For instance, internet users are as likely as anyone else to visit with their neighbors in person. Cell phone users, those who use the internet frequently at work, and bloggers are more likely to belong to a local voluntary association, such as a youth group or a charitable organization. However, we find some evidence that use of social networking services (e.g., Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn) substitutes for some neighborhood involvement.
There is much more here to ponder. You can read or download the entire study from this webpage.
If the Pew report is anywhere near to true, then this should allay fears, including my own, about the potential negative impact of virtual church. It seems quite possible that a person’s participation in virtual church not only wouldn’t detract from his or her involvement in physical church, but that it might actually enhance or promote it. Of course the Pew study is just one research project. Many more will follow, I expect. But these results are encouraging.
And, in fact, consistent with some of my own observations. I have noticed, for example, how teenagers who in a former day would have relatively few relationships because they are shy now have an opportunity to make friends and stay connected with these friends through social media. I have also seen how these teenagers can use their online relationships as a base for in-the-flesh relationships. A shy person can build friendships through Internet social media, and then gain the confidence to be with these friends in person.
The fact that people want and need to be with people in the flesh is, I think, a fact of basic human nature. Internet relationships, no matter how real and genuine, will never fully satisfy the human need for relationship. Thus the Pew findings are not altogether surprising to me, though they contradict much of the popular wisdom from the anti-Internet folk.
Topics: Virtual Church | 3 Comments »
Michael Lindsay at Laity Lodge
By Mark D. Roberts | Thursday, November 5, 2009
Laity Lodge was honored to have as Dr. Michael Lindsay as a speaker at our recent Leaders’ Retreat. Michael is a professor of sociology at Rice University and an award-winning author. His recent book, Faith in the Halls of Power, has been highly acclaimed as a groundbreaking study of Christians who are leaders in business, government, and education.
Michael gave three stirring messages at the retreat:
• The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: When Faith and Power Meet
• Ties that Bind: Leadership and the Common Good
• Faithful Leadership: The Perils and Possibilities of Privilege and Power
His content reflected his in-depth studies of leaders, especially people of faith in positions of substantial power. Michael has interviewed presidents of the U.S., top CEOs, sports starts, media moguls, pastors, and hundreds of other influential people in positions of institutional and cultural leadership.
Speaking the to the Christian leaders gathered at Laity Lodge, Michael challenged us to be a “counter-culture for the common good.” He borrowed this phrase from the Rev. Tim Keller, Senior Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. Christian leaders are called to a distinctive, kingdom-shaped leadership. Yet we are not merely concerned about ourselves and our families, or even about our churches and businesses. Rather, our leadership is to be “for the common good,” for the betterment of all people. In this way we live out our calling to be salt and light in the world, an assignment given by Jesus himself.
According to Michael Lindsay, different eras of history and different cultures have valued different kinds of leadership. In certain times of history, for example, intellectual depth has been prized in leaders. Today, the ability to communicate effectively in our technology-drenched society is crucial. Yet Michael highlighted the power to convene as a crucial aspect of effective leadership in our day. Those who can gather groups of people to pursue a common vision will be able to impact our world in substantial ways. (This was good news, by the way, for Laity Lodge, where convening is our specialty!)
Though Michael plowed some new ground in his messages at Laity Lodge, you can find many of his insights and illustrations in his outstanding book, Faith in the Halls of Power. This book, nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, provides a unique look at scores of leaders who have a solid Christian faith. I highly recommend it.
I hear many speakers throughout the year, at Laity Lodge and elsewhere. Thus, as you might imagine, I can get pretty picky about what I like in a speaker, perhaps even overly critical. Michael Lindsay is undoubtedly one of the most interesting, insightful speakers I have heard in my life. A scholar with strong academic credentials (Ph.D. from Princeton, published his book with Oxford University, assistant professor at Rice), Michael is a superb communicator with all sorts of people. Plus, he’s a friendly, humble human being. It was great to have Michael at Laity Lodge, and I look forward to his next visit.
Topics: Laity Lodge | No Comments »
Is Virtual Church Enough? A Theological Response
By Mark D. Roberts | Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Part 7 of series: The Challenge and Opportunity of Virtual Church
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In my last post in this series I offered an existential response to the question: Is virtual church enough? I suggested that when you take away the physical aspect of church, something essential is missing. I supported this contention more intuitively and emotionally than theologically. Now I’d like to muster some theological support.
I would begin by pointing to some of the most formative truths of the Christian faith. God created the physical world and called it good. Physicality is not an inessential vehicle for spirituality, but is part and parcel of what matters to God and to us. This is why, in the end, God doesn’t incinerate the universe and take believing souls to heaven with him. Rather, God renews and restores his creation. There will be a new heaven and a new earth. The basic facts of creation and new creation suggest that physical life is extraordinarily important.
But the clincher, it seems to me, is the Incarnation. Christians believe that in order to save people and renew the cosmos, the very Word of God became human. And not just apparently human, as the Gnostics believed, but really and fully human. The Incarnation underscores the fundamental value of the material world and physical human existence. It was not enough for God simply to shout from Heaven: “I love you. I forgive you.” Rather, God chose to be born in a human baby, live a human life, and die a truly and horribly physical death on the cross.
Those who advocate the adequacy of virtual church wouldn’t disagree with anything I’ve said here, at least they wouldn’t if they’re orthodox Christians. But they don’t seem to see how the value of the material universe, combined with the fact of the Incarnation, suggest that non-physical, non-incarnational church could never be quite enough.
Here’s where my theological and existential arguments against the adequacy of virtual church converge. Christian theology says stuff matters; Christian experience says stuff matters. Sure, you can have lots of authentic experiences of church in virtual worlds. I fully expect that, in time, thousands of people will become genuine Christians through virtual church experiences, thanks be to God! But for these folk to fully experience what church is meant to be, at some point they’ll need to gather with other believers.
If they don’t, they will miss things about church that require physical presence. In my series dealing with online church (Internet-based experiences of physical church, such as streaming of worship services), I asked a number of questions I’d like to ask again:
• You could virtually observe a mission trip without being part of it, even supporting it financially. But how could you embrace orphans or build homes for the homeless if you’re not physically present?
• How can you lay hands on the sick and pray for them virtually?
• How can you actually embrace those who are weeping?
• How can you bring a meal to a person who is house-bound? (It wouldn’t be quite the same to order take-out and have it delivered to their home, would it?)
• How can you visit those who are in prison?
• How can you offer food to the hungry?
By pointing to the necessary inadequacy of virtual church, I’m not thereby saying Christians shouldn’t mess with it. Quite to the contrary! Here’s where I agree most strongly with some of the conclusions of Douglas Estes in SimCity:
It seems to me that real-world churches will accomplish ministry objectives that virtual-world churches and internet campuses will struggle to accomplish, just as virtual-world churches and internet campuses will accomplish ministry objectives that real-world churches will struggle to accomplish. . . . I also believe that the more each type of church steps into the other type’s world, the more unity and cooperation there will be. (p. 224)
Some physical churches do have a substantial online or virtual presence. And some virtual churches also have some kind of physical community. I wonder if, in the future, the Church of Jesus Christ wouldn’t be best-served by intentional partnerships between virtual and physical churches. Virtual churches could do what physical churches struggle to do, such as reaching people who spend much of their time in virtual worlds. Physical churches could do for virtual churches that they could never do themselves without having a physical aspect: provide contexts for real people to gather in real space for flesh-and-blood community and full-orbed sacramental worship.
Topics: Virtual Church | No Comments »
Is Virtual Church Enough? An Existential Response, Section 2
By Mark D. Roberts | Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Part 6 of series: The Challenge and Opportunity of Virtual Church
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In my last post, I suggested that, though virtual church has many benefits, a personal cannot experience everything church is supposed to be without being physically present with other Christians. Thus the potential for church to be fully real is there for physical church, but not for virtual church. No matter how wonderful and authentic a virtual church experience might be, it is never able completely to be church.
I’m not quite sure if Douglas Estes, who makes a strong, persuasive case for virtual church in SimCity, agrees or disagrees with me here. I think he disagrees, but I’m not positive. Nevertheless, his fine book shows, even in its effort to defend virtual church, some of the inherent inadequacies of virtual church. This is evident, for example, in Estes’ chapter on “WikiWorship” (pp. 103-134). There, he devotes considerable space to explaining how people might participate in the sacraments of communion and baptism in a virtual church. In several of Estes’ own scenarios, some sort of physical relationship with other people is required. Thus these are not fully virtual experiences. The options Estes presents for fully online communion and/or baptism are laden with difficulties, as Estes’ own critique shows. To be sure, some of what the sacraments signify can be experienced through the Internet alone, but something will always be missing: physicality, materiality, full human contact.
Estes makes strong arguments in support of the notion that water is not really necessary for baptism, or real bread and liquid for communion. I know this might sound crazy, but if you read Estes’ book, as I have suggested, you’ll be impressed with his points.
Yet I think he underestimates the extent to which the power of the sacraments lies, in part, in their materiality. Communion, for example, isn’t just a chance to signify and remember Jesus. It is an opportunity to experience and solidify that memory through consuming actual bread and drinking actual juice or wine. Baptism, when experienced by one who is old enough to understand what’s happening, involves physical sensations that amplify the spiritual meaning. When one goes down under the water and then comes up, there is an experience of something like dying and rising, and this experience simply cannot be duplicated emotionally through something one watches online.
And if one baptizes oneself in real water which participating in some virtual ceremony, though the water is real, that person will never know what it’s like to receive baptism. Rather, his or her experience will be that of doing it to him or herself. And this, I suggest, is theologically suspect and subjectively inadequate.
As soon as one solves the sacrament problem for virtual church by coming up with some physical church experience, then that makes the case: virtual church is not enough.
To this point, I have been making an existential argument for the inadequacy of virtual church, based on the experience of the sacraments. I recognize, as Estes rightly points out in his book, that Christians believe many different things about the sacraments and experience them in widely different ways. Yet one thing all Christians have had in common, at least until very recently, is the conviction that the sacraments necessarily include material elements and happen (almost always) in the context of physical Christian community.
If you take away materiality and physical community from the sacraments, you may have something that approximates them. You can still remember the death of Christ. You can still celebrate that fact that a believer dies to sin and is raised to Christ. But something profound is missing, something which, I believe, is not just optional, but essential to a full experience of church.
In my next post I’ll suggest a theological reason why I think virtual church can’t ever quite be fully church.
Topics: Virtual Church | 1 Comment »
Is Virtual Church Enough? An Existential Response, Section 1
By Mark D. Roberts | Monday, November 2, 2009
Part 5 of series: The Challenge and Opportunity of Virtual Church
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In my last post in this series I made what I consider to be the strongest case for virtual church. It is based on the fact that millions of people spend a substantial chunk of their lives in Internet-based virtual worlds. If Christians want to reach these people with the love and truth of Christ, then we need to be substantially present in these worlds. We need, in a nutshell, virtual church.
Yet is virtual church enough? Can it satisfy the biblical and theological requirements for what a church ought to be? Would we ever be able to say to somebody, “As long as you’re involved in a virtual church, that’s all that’s necessary. You don’t need to feel obligated to be connected to some sort of physical church as well.”?
I can imagine situations in which I might say something like this. It would be to people who, for various reasons, are precluded from participating in physical church. They might be in a place where they are physically removed from other Christians, for example. Or they might have some sort of physical condition that requires they stay away from other people (a Bubble-Boy experience). But these people are clearly exceptions to the rule, representing far less than 1% of all possible churchgoers. Thus, I cannot imagine saying to someone who is fully able to participate in physical church, “Don’t worry about it. Your virtual church experience is enough.”
As you know if you been following this series, I have not denied the reality of virtual church. It is real in many ways that matter. But, by definition, it always lacks one crucial dimension of reality, namely, physicality. In virtual church, people don’t gather in the same physical space. They don’t sing songs together in the same room. They don’t see each other with their eyes, or hear each other with their ears, expect, perhaps through digital media. People in virtual church never shake the hand of their pastor. They never hug their friends. They never actually receive the elements of the Lord’s Supper from another human being, and have that person say to them directly, “This is body of Christ, broken for you. This is the blood of Christ, shed for you.”
Yes, I’m aware that some of these experiences can be approximated online. And I acknowledge that certain aspects of Christian fellowship may even be stronger online than in the flesh, because some folks feel more freedom to share openly when they are not physically present with people. But I believe that what happens when Christians come together in physical space is essential to the full experience of church.
Let me put it this way. I believe that a person can experience much of what church is supposed to be in a virtual church. And I believe that a person can experience much of what church is supposed to be in a physical church. But I do not believe that a person can experience everything church is supposed to be without being physically present with other Christians. Thus the potential for church to be fully real is there for physical church, but not for virtual church. No matter how wonderful and authentic a virtual church experience might be, it is never able completely to be church.
Topics: Virtual Church | 4 Comments »
Sunday Inspiration from The High Calling
By Mark D. Roberts | Sunday, November 1, 2009
The Wrath of God
Pour out your wrath on the nations that refuse to acknowledge you—
on kingdoms that do not call upon your name.
Most Christians I know don’t like to think about the wrath of God. We rarely hear this language in worship services or small group conversations. It isn’t part of our daily devotions. The idea of God’s wrath seems foreign to the God whose love is revealed in Christ. And surely we don’t want to think of God’s wrath applied to us personally. Moreover, when Psalm 79:6 calls upon the Lord to pour out wrath on the nations that refuse to acknowledge him, this seems politically incorrect in the extreme. It sounds like the kind of rhetoric that enflames our world and leads to all sorts of terrors.
So when we read verses like Psalm 79:6, we are understandably uncomfortable. How are we to understand God’s wrath? How could we use this psalm in our devotions? Should we pray for God’s wrath to be poured out on pagan nations?
As you might expect, I can’t answer these questions adequately in this reflection. But I do want to make a few relevant observations. First, the wrath of God refers to God’s righteous judgment, not primarily to his feelings of anger, though the word “wrath” has this connotation. To call for God’s wrath is to ask him to execute justice on those who deserve it.
Second, God’s wrath, in this sense, rightly falls upon all human beings. As we read in Romans 1:18, “But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” Later in Romans we learn that we ourselves are worthy of God’s wrath: “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Rom. 3:23). This is bad news, to be sure.
Third, the bad news leads to good news. Jesus Christ took God’s wrath upon himself, dying in the place of sinful humanity. Thus Romans 5:9 proclaims, “[N]ow that we have been justified by his blood, we will be saved through him from the wrath of God” (NRSV). Because Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath, we are able to drink the cup of salvation.
Therefore, in our prayers and in our actions, we continue to seek God’s justice. But, recognizing that the nations who reject God are also those for whom Christ died, we pray for their redemption. In particular, we ask that God’s grace in Christ will be poured out on all people, including those who reject him.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: How do you understand the wrath of God? What feelings does this language evoke in you? Do you pray for those who don’t acknowledge the Lord? Are there people like this for whom you want to pray today?
PRAYER: Lord, you know how difficult it is for many of us to read passages like this one. Our tendency is to ignore them, to hurry on to something more palatable. Forgive us for failing to take seriously the full breadth of your revelation. Help us to know you more truly and completely.
Dear Lord, we do ask you today to execute justice on this earth. We think of nations where people are trapped in oppression and poverty, of tyrants who wield their power for their own personal advantage. We think of companies that ignore the needs of people in the greedy quest of profits. We remember fellow believers in countries where they can be imprisoned or killed because of their faith. In these situations, and so many more like them, we ask for your justice.
But, indeed, as we point the finger at others, we acknowledge our own sin and guilt. We have sinned, Lord, and are worthy of your judgment. Thus we rejoice in the good news of your grace through Christ. Thank you for giving us, not what we deserve, but that which flows from your boundless love.
As those who have received your grace, we pray for others who have rejected you. May they experience your justice in cross of Christ. May they be overwhelmed by your grace, turning from their sin and embracing your righteousness.
All praise be to you, God of justice and mercy, God of judgment and love. Amen.
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This devotional comes from The High Calling of Our Daily Work (www.thehighcalling.org), a wonderful website about work and God. You can read my Daily Reflections there, or sign up to have them sent to your email inbox each day. This website contains lots of encouragement for people who are trying to live out their faith in the workplace.
Topics: Sunday Inspiration | 1 Comment »
You Don’t See This Everyday!
By Mark D. Roberts | Saturday, October 31, 2009
A few days ago I flew from Los Angeles to San Antonio on Southwest Airlines. I was surprised to find the Southwest section of the terminal decorated for Halloween. Here are a couple of photos:
Topics: Holidays | 1 Comment »