A Story of Ingratitude

Here’s a story I shared in church today. I shared this story today because this is thanksgiving week. This story was shared to me first by mom as an attempt to get me to return a favor, a service or, a compliment. Something that when I was a child, I was really bad at. I have to tell you, it worked. It worked more than the sharp pinches she gave in my kidney section or the severe reprimands on the spot.

The story goes as follows.

There was once a boy born of a single mom who happened to be a very poor woman. She loved her son, he was her world, so she fed and dressed him to the best of her ability by working real hard as a family maid. She had him in the best schools and sacrificed tremendously to educate him all the way up through Law School.

On his graduation day she ironed her ragged dress expecting to walk her son down the isle as his matron of honor. To her surprise, her son had invited his preppy girl-friend instead. So instead of causing a scene she found a seat in the middle of the auditorium to watch the ceremony. During the ceremony she laughed and cried as scenes from all the different phases of her son’s life ran through her head like a movie.

At the end of the ceremony the short old lady squeezed her way through the circle of people that were congratulating the man who had graduated at the top of his class. His friends were there, his professors were there, the owners 0f the law firm he interned at were there; smiling, hugging, posing for pictures and shaking his hand… and, there was this little old lady standing behind him pulling the back of his robe fighting for his attention. At one point someone in the circle pointed to the lady to which he looked and said: “- Hi Maria!” As he dismissed her, he looked back to the crowd and said “-She’s my maid”.

A short piece on sports and spirituality

I’m a sports fan and for a while I’ve been wanting to write a short piece on it. Specially about where sports interacts and intersects with spirituality.

I’ve often found myself comparing what happens in my soul when I play a soccer match, read the sports section of an online paper and, watch one of my country-men fight an MMA match with what I experience in worship, preaching a sermon or reading my Bible.

There are some similarities. If there wasn’t Paul wouldn’t've compared his ministry focus with a race or a boxing match.

I don’t know about you but, every time I go to a stadium or an arena of any sort it’s very clear to me that there’s a spiritual experience taking place. Worship is evident in the chants, emotional reactions, community expressions and, the feasting. I could even through the offering element in there if you want me to.

It’s funny how people will criticize organized religion because of all of the above and yet still pay their yearly tithe to their teams of choice, shout the name of their deities till they bust all their vocal cords, hug and drink with strangers and, practice apologetics to prove the existence of their team/ group/ player’s superiority. In many ways there’s no difference between a hard-core sports fan and a pentecostal christian.

We all have a longing to belong, an urge to triumph and a need to escape the boredom of reality. Sports therefore, become a great outlet for these needs. From this standpoint entertainment is extremely important for life in society. The romans understood it well as their famous slogan of “bread and circus” revealed.

As every good thing given by the Father of Light sports were given to us so that we would enjoy and stimulate these soul cravings. Like sex and food, sports point us to a greater reality. A reality where we can solve our crisis of belonging, quench our thirst for everlasting victory and find true meaning in the midst of the repetitiveness of reality.

Savior, save me from the things I most want!

Every once in a while I get tweets from colleagues that read more or less like this “yesterday, x # of people got saved! Praise Jesus!”. While I do rejoice that people are committing their lives to Jesus (and BTW – I do believe in public conversions and altar calls) there’s always been a counter question in my head. What do these people want out of salvation? Or better, what do people in general, want out of salvation?

To me, it’s hard to think that what they really want is a more comfortable place after death. In fact, most people don’t like to think about their death (if they do they are either very sick, very old or very weird), much less where they go after that.  I’m convinced that people want salvation here and now. Most people when they think of salvation think about making their way to a stable ground. They are after someone that will lead them to emotional, financial, professional, romantic and, relational stability. They want a Jesus that will take them “there” and that, even if he does not give them the job or the lover that they want, at the very least he will make them happy.

In my 14 years (10 of them as an ordained presbyterian minister) of ministry, I’ve seen many people come forward and have baptized many others that did not remain in the faith too long after their “conversions” or “baptisms”. In the cases that I can remember they left Jesus either because they got too much or received too little of the things they’ve always wanted. With too much Jesus did too little, and with the too little Jesus did nothing at all. Fair disappointment. After all, heaven for most people is a state, a stage, a person or, an object and Jesus is a savior that serves as a facilitator to get these things.

In juxtaposition, the Gospel presents salvation as finding God himself — nothing else. As a matter of fact finding Jesus means losing everything else. He said so. Heaven is finding a stable place with and in God while experiencing vertigo in all other places, stages and life relationships.

I conclude therefore that I believe and I want salvation now but, only the one that will save me from the things I most want.

 

Life hanging by a thread

Have you ever had the feeling that your whole life is hanging by just a very thin thread? That everything you’ve worked really hard to build can just crumble at any moment?

You’re not alone. There are days I wake up feeling the same way. When that’s the case my prayer to God is: -”Father, give me wisdom to keep things together! Help me not to screw things up! Help me not to waste away this one shot I’ve got!” Surprisingly, time will go by and I get no tips and advice from him. Which makes me think that he only shares these wisdom tips with guys like Andy Stanley or John Maxwell.

Instead, what I get from God when I pray my feelings out to him are two reminders.

1. That my life and the things I have are extremely fragile and that nothing in this world is meant to last. Today I was in a room full of pastors listening to another pastor that once had a large church. And as looked around the room I saw a guy in a wheel chair. Another one who had lost his family to a divorce. Another one that had filled for bankruptcy not too long ago.

2. That because none of these things were meant to last, they are no solid ground for me to build my life upon. While my family, my ministry, my health, my money are all great things, they are not made to meet the deepest longings of my heart. I am called to steward them well but exhorted not to build my identity around them. So that if  once day I  lose them (God forbid), they will feel like a blow to my branches but never a blow to my roots.

I guess God reminds me of these things so that I would always stay grounded on the truth of the Gospel which tells me that I am loved beyond all measure. That wether I have it all together or  have it all spread out over the floor, God loves me the same. Life can change but this will never change.

“On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand”.

Why the world is becoming more urban

I remember siting through a sociology class in my high school in Brazil as the teacher presented to us students the rural exodus phenomenon. His negative tone to the presentation connected well to our contextual reality for as many of you know, there are many urban problems in Latin America such as high crime, favelas and, unemployment. All world cities face variations of these issues.

For a long time I saw the urbanization of the world as something inherently bad. After all, God had created the world rural. In my imagination heaven was a place for plants, animals and human beings dressed in long white robes. While those things will probably exist in heaven (except for the white robes, of course), the Bible portrays heaven as an urban place with a main boulevard, streets, buildings and tons of people. Density, diversity and creativity are overtones of this depiction. Don’t believe me? Go read Revelation 21-22.

History does start in the garden but it ends in a city. A city that God is building and that one day he will bring down from heaven. A city that will fuse into our Metropolis (New York, São Paulo, Seoul…), will bring them all together into one mega-mega-mega Metropolis, will eliminate what’s bad in them and enhance to the maximum what’s already beautiful in them.

This changed things for me.

I guess for this reason its not all that bad that more and more people in the world move to cities. Its inevitable that this rural exodus intensifies. The reason why the world is becoming more and more urban is because history is moving us to the biggest and the greatest city of all – The City of God.

In the time being this makes me appreciate more and more where I live (God forbid I move to a farm town in the middle of nowhere!). It makes my adrenaline levels rise with the thought of engaging the mission of beginning this urban-fusion process here and now.

Ahead of the Sunday curve.

I’m sitting in my office with my feet on my desk reflecting upon where crossbridge should be in the next 5 years. I just came back from a lunch meeting I had with pastor Sam and Jeff Springer. Sam is our connections pastor and Jeff is the head of our leadership development team.

A year ago when crossbridge was launched, we used the first 4 weeks to introduce to our people our core values. One of the values we hold is Community. Community huh? What christian church doesn’t hold Community as a value, right? Well, many churches have Community as a value but it’s merely a desired value instead of being an actual one. How so? Many churches will say that they are about community but in reality, their practices reveal just the opposite. Community fits as something they would like to be about but actually they’re really about programs. Just look at where their money goes and where leaders and volunteers are deployed.

I recognize that it’s very hard not to have a program (call it purpose) driven church in America given the fact that individualism and consumerism are so prevalent in our culture. I also recognize that it’s very tempting to build nice programs because programs will attract more people upfront. What they will fail to do however,  is provide the robust christian character that only a small community is able to produce. They also fail to mobilize effectively the church to fulfill its mission to renew the world in the context of a city.

Here at crossbridge we have said from the beginning that we would try to resist programs to the best of our ability and strive to be a community driven church instead. I believe that God has been honoring our commitment. Our latest report shows that we have more people in groups than in our Sunday average attendance. 202 vs. 190. Pretty close but still more. It’s comforting for me to see that not only the discipleship process is working (to move people from worship to community) but also, that the groups are proving to be very efficient in reaching the unchurched. Many have started to attend our Sunday services because they first visited a group. Not to mention the fact that we have been able to mobilize at least 75% of our people to be physically involved in serving the city through some of our ministry partners.

So, if you ask me where I would like to see crossbridge 5 years from now, I would have to say – the same way. More groups of course but ,always keeping them ahead of the Sunday worship curve.

Now, if you would excuse me… I have to go lead a group.

City of Contrasts

Since I’m currently preaching a series of sermons on the theology of Miami, one of my leaders at Crossbridge emailed me this week a link to America’s Favorite Cities website. I love when they do this. It shows they are into the series topics and it helps my preparation. The website basically ranks cities into seven categories according to both residents and travelers. Here are some of the highlights of how Miami is doing both for its citizens and for the greater American community.

It ranked…

#1 as the most attractive city (people) while #29 as place for intelligence

#2 as the “most stylish” and “singles bar scene” while #28 in “culture”

#3 as “wild weekend” and #2 as hottest “spring break” spot while #28 place for families to have fun.

#5 as diverse while #27 as friendly

It also ranked among the top 5 of of “luxury stores” and “luxury hotels” while surveys have ranked Miami among the top 5 poorest cities in the country.

Surveys have also shown that while the vast majority of its habitants claim to Christians (mostly Catholics) Miami is the second most unchurched city in the country. Two weekends ago the Catholic Archdiocese here closed down 13 churches and I know as a fact that Presbyterians, Baptists, Anglicans and Methodists are in steep decline in the area.

It is indeed a city of many contrasts – reminds me of New Testament Corinth.

The ministry shift that my wife and I took from South America to Miami has been a smooth one because we got used to the sharp cultural contrasts. It’s very much like any given Latin American capitol. It’s clear that the cultural interchange between Miami and these cities is a strong one.

While some of the placings in the ranks might be caricatures of those who have felt they have lost the city to latinos, it clearly shows that we as the church have a lot of work to do. Miami is very far from reflecting the City of God (not the one in Rio, although not far from this one). If we could only harness the beauty, the diversity, the energy, the flavor and ,weather (?) to produce equality, justice and glory to Jesus… I’m sure it would affect positively not only a region but the future of America all together.

Let’s wait and see how we rank next year.

Reason for CityPulse.

Tomorrow I start preaching a new series of sermons entitled CityPulse on the theology of Miami. Everyone has a set of beliefs (which makes them a theologian) and those beliefs will dictate the way that life unfolds for them. It will influence how they spend their money, how the cary out their relationships, how they deal with crisis and how they live as citizens. Moreover, each individual is part of a community that influences their overarching beliefs. The great modern thinkers were right to say that environment influences behavior. That’s not all there is to it but if you live in New York long enough you’ll become a New Yorker the same way that if you live in Rio long enough you’ll become a carioca. I heard Tim Keller say many times that “cities are cultural shaping wombs” and if that holds true, the belief system of a city will influence the belief system of a region. In my opinion this series will be extremely important to us because I believe that Miami has the power to influence not only the Caribbean and Latin American region but the future of the United States. Statistics show that America is becoming more and more Latin. That means that even if American cities do not turn out to be like Miami, a great portion of the culture will be a reflection of the Latin American belief system. It will reflect its energy and deity.

For this reason I’ve decided to kick off the series by going after Miami’s gods. That was Paul’s methodology whenever moving to a city to establish The Church. We see him doing that in Lystra (Acts 14), in Phillipi (Acts 16), in Athens (Acts 17) and, in Ephesus (Acts 19). He did it both in synagogues and in marketplaces.

I believe that we (the church) are called to do the same but, in order to be effective we need gospel sensibility, much like taking a pulse and gospel prescription, since a pulse reading is insufficient to take care of the problem itself.

If you show up at church tomorrow, I’ll explain to you how this works. If not, you’ll be able to download it from our website latter.

Here were some of the readings that influenced my preparation.

- Leslie Newbigin’s interview entitled the “Gospel in a Culture of False Gods“.

- David Clarkson’s sermon entitled “Soul Idolatry“

- Tim Keller’s “Counterfeit Gods” to be released latter this month.

What do we miss out when we miss out on hospitality?

“An embrace involves always a double movement of opening and closing. I open my arms to create space in myself for the other. The open arms are a sign of discontent at being myself only and of desire to include the other. They are an invitation to the others to come in and feel at home with me, to belong to me. In an embrace I also close my arms around the others-not tightly, so as to crush and assimilate then forcefully into myself, for that would not be an embrace but a concealed power-act of exclusion; but gently, so as to tell them that I do not want to be without them in their otherness. I want them to remain independent and true to their genuine selves, to maintain their identity and as such become part of me so that they can enrich me with what they have and I do not”.

- Miroslav Volf

I believe that what differentiates an outward faced community from one that is ingrown and inward faced is the issue of hospitality. I believe that life and vibrancy always flows out of the openness of doors, minds, arms and hearts. Death comes as a consequence of closed doors, hearts, arms and hearts. It’s sociologically proven (I think) that countries that have closed their doors to other ethnic groups and cultures will grow old (in average age), resulting in the loss of their own culture. The very culture, they are trying to keep pure. Because when it comes to culture, architecture, books, culinary, territory, and even language, are proven not to be the best preservation tool. People are.

This principle translates equally to the church and the preservation of its essential message, the Gospel. In the first three chapters of the Bible, we are able to draw the same parallel. Out of the openness of the Trinitarian God, the world came into existence. Out of this same openness, humanity was created and invited to participate in the Trinitarian dynamics. However, we later read in that section of Scripture, that death entered into the picture as soon as mankind decided to follow the example of Lucifer. And that was, to BE their own gods, to focus on the desires of their own hearts and its craving for self-satisfaction.

Sef-satisfaction is the essence of sin and as Scripture points out clearly, “the wages of sin is death”. For those who have had the opportunity to go to Europe I’m sure it’s mind-bothering to visit Christianity’s cemetery. There, you will see buildings, books, museums, art pieces of a culture that once was. Why so?

Ecclesiologists and missiologists will generally agree that it had to do with an inward faced/ ingrown church that grew old, and irrelevant. A church that once was. Signs of this passing are beginning to show up in America where every year, less young people attend while at the same time more people drop-out to never return. Other statistics such as the number of churches closing every year are quite alarming, to say the least.

The city where I live in (Miami) is certainly a witness of this reality. The million-dollar question is: what is the church missing out? I would have to say that it’s the whole issue of hospitality.

When we think of hospitality we usually think as Tim Keller says, “of Martha Stuart”. He’s right. Google search the word and you will find resorts and vacations websites as well as, Martha Stuart stuff. Those are all good things however, that’s not what the Bible’s means when it speaks of hospitality. Mainly because when we think of hospitality we are really thinking about ourselves. We are thinking of places we would like to go, enjoy and be well accommodated and, people that are like us and that we find pleasure hosting and spending time with.

What the Bible means when it comes to hospitality is
a. an intentional lifestyle not something done once in a while
b. something to be extended to all people not just to people that are like us
c. more than just a few days of shelter and an open fridge, it means meeting all needs
d. not to be exercised with what can be spared for example, an extra bed, left-over food, pocket change. It implies in sacrificing your comfort in favor of others.

Bottom line is this. Hospitality is about others. Its about the neighbor and even the enemy. Through these lenses hospitality can be seen as the embodiment of the Gospel. This implies that If the church misses out on hospitality it will eventually miss out on the Gospel. And, a church without a palpable gospel has no business in being alive.

History will show that the times when Christianity thrived, were the times when the Church exercised radical hospitality to its neighbors and enemies. While there are indicatives that the church in the northern hemisphere at large is at the very least stagnant, the church in the southern hemisphere is thriving.

Reason? Many but one of them certainly is hospitality that flows out of a genuine understanding of the Gospel.

So… here I am in Miami 10 months into Crossbridge Church. A month before Immanuel was to shut its doors in order to allow Crossbridge to be birthed two weeks latter, I preached a four-fold series on Christian hospitality. Ten months latter we are still a community struggling with the concept of how to be a gospel-centered-hospitable church in our city. Nevertheless, with struggle comes growth and progress.

On my next post I’ll share some of that progress.
‘Till next time.
Cheers.

The dark side of planting in cities

It was half past midnight and I was sitting outside on my apartment’s terrace by myself, lighting up a cigar after a long, stressful and unresolved discussion I had had with my wife Beth. As I overlooked downtown Dadeland’s scarce skyline, a beautiful ‘cuarto-menguante’ shone down only to be soon eclipsed by an immense dark cloud. For those who know me, I am not usually sensitive to this kind of stuff but at that moment I felt smothered by darkness and audibly heard a voice that told me to leave. It felt too creepy, so I knew it wasn’t God’s voice I was hearing. This was one of the many experiences we have had since we moved to Miami. On another occasion our older daughter woke up crying uncontrollably for 2 hours at 3:00 A.M, just a few hours before I was supposed to preach a sermon on the spiritually oppressed hunchback lady. 

I came out of this “roof-top” experience reminded of three important things. 

That cities are dark places. Those who’ve been here know that Miami is a very bright and colorful city, quite an ironic contrast to the spiritual darkness that envelops the place. You can sense its weight when you arrive. I still feel it every time I return from a trip. If you can’t sense it, it’s because you’ve been in the hot tub for too long and do not understand why those who touch the water with their toes complain and turn away. The evidences are all over the place. Miami is the second least church-attended city in the U.S. (only behind Seattle, I think) with most of its churches struggling to barely keep their heads above the water. Like most global cities, people in Miami are well into their careers and, probably more than most global cities, people here live very superficial lifestyles and are very sexually active. When living among the people of your city it’s almost inevitable that you will be constantly tempted to bow down to their idols and live as they live. 

That church planting is a dark ministry phase. Miami is our third church planting experience, and I had forgotten how scary and lonely church planting feels can be, especially in the first two or three years. Most just-out-of-seminary prospects do not realize this because church planting is often presented to them as a flashy opportunity to idealistically conquer the world and to do whatever the heck they want. It doesn’t help when your role models are hip young pastors with six figures salaries and large congregations. The truth of the matter is that the Devil knows that church planting is the most effective way to establish the kingdom of God among the cities of men. It would be naive to think that he wouldn’t have a strong strategy of retaliation. It would also be naive to think that his targets are usually your fellow citizens and the people in your congregation, not you, your marriage and your family. We (planters) seem to think that he always sucks in the people of our city and churches into the culture’s idolatrous lifestyle but not us. 

That I need to be strengthened continually/constantly in the Gospel and to fire back in prayer. I was reminded how inconsistent and ineffective it is to preach the Gospel on Sundays and then neglect to apply it personally on a daily basis. I need the Gospel every day to bring by inward darkness under its light. I need the Gospel to expose me to my fragility, to my arrogance, to my unbelief, and to my limitations as a pastor. And only when I am exposed do I rediscover its truth that “he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear,” that “where sin increased, grace increased all the more,” and that “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” These reminders from scripture fortify my confidence to approach God in a bold way through prayer so that the enemy’s strongholds are destroyed as the church of Jesus establishes itself as a city on a hill within the cities of men.