Inner Compass: Tom Wright on rethinking life after death

Inner Compass is a program produced by Calvin College that features interviews with leading thinkers and writers.  In this interview, author, scholar and speaker N.T. Wright speaks about the traditional Christian views of heaven and hell, resurrection, and new creation and his book "Surprised by Hope: Rethinking heaven, the resurrection, and the mission of the church."

Book Recommendation: Surprised by Hope, N.T.Wright

In a much needed book, author and scholar N.T. Wright (also known as Tom Wright) former bishop and currently a professor of New Testament and Church history, reframes the concept of the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven.  Recovering a more accurate image of the Kingdom idea proclaimed by Jesus, the gospels, and in the Pauline epistles, he brings Christians back from simply thinking about the kingdom of heaven as some future disembodied existence that we look forward to when we die.  This view tends to diminish the relevancy of life on this earth.  In the lectionary readings for the month of July, the concept of the Kingdom of God is primary, and this book is an excellent read to help us understand a more robust concept of what God is doing in this world and how we participate in it.  Very readable, it is the kind of book every Christian should pick up and study.  What is the significance of the teaching of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus?  How should we understand the idea of the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven?  What is new creation?  This book is significantly thought provoking and a very important corrective to many Christians current thinking on heaven in what Wright has comes to term "life after life after death".  

Proper 12 "Kingdom Postcards" Matt 13:31-33, 44-52

click on this link to access sermon "kingdom postcards"

To obtain the kingdom of heaven is the supreme concern for humanity, St. Paul said that he counted all things a loss to gain Christ.  In this week's lectionary reading, the gospel of Matthew presents five pictures of what the kingdom of God is like.  Each picture gives us an image and a promise that the kingdom of God holds, a promise for the present, not just the future.  Biblical scholar N.T.Wright does a masterful job in his book "Surprised by Hope" reframing the concept of the Kingdom of God, in this sermon I quote an excerpt from that book, he writes, "what you do in the present-by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbor as yourself–will last into God's future."  The hope of the kingdom of God is not something for some after-life, it is both a hope for the future, but also a living hope for the church today.  Is this something that we pursue?  Do we hunger and thirst after being kingdom people, to be transformed by the Holy Spirit so that we can embody the kingdom of God?  These parables encourage us to be like the person who finds a pearl and sells all to possess it, or rather to be possessed by God.  This portion of scripture encourages us to value this above all else, because in giving up everything else we find that we have indeed come to possess what matters most and what places everything else into a divine perspective.

Book recommendation: Christian Doctrine, revised edition by Shirley C Guthrie Jr.

If there is one book that I would recommend for every Christian to read in the area of Christian Doctrine, it is this one.  What began as a church school curriculum for use by adults in the 60's primary with the lay reader in mind, has become a classic in seminaries and colleges.  While the book is written to interpret the ecumenical Christian faith as summarized in the Apostles creed and is written from a Reformed-Presbyterian perspective, it encompasses a broad array of Christian theology including Eastern Orthodoxy, catholic, and the reformed theological influence of John Calvin, Karl Barth, Jürgen Moltmann.  Liberation theologians Gustavo Gutiérrez, Leonardo Boff, Juan Luis Segundo, African American theologian James Cone, South African Allan Boesak, Feminist theologian Rosemary Ruehter, Sallie McFagues, Letty Russell, and Jacquelyn Grant are all cited in the author's preface.  The author also includes the influence of reformed confessional statements like the Declaration of Faith of 1976, and Brief Statement of Faith 1991.  

It is an easy to read text, laid out in the traditional format of the apostle creed.  The book does not examine doctrine as a static systematic mental exercise but ties doctrine directly to the reality of life as lived in our society, our church, our homes, our places of work and worship.  It connects theology with the deeper questions that we seek in life lending to chapter titles such as "What are we doing here?  The doctrine of creation", "Why doesn't God do something about It (the problem of evil)","Who are we? The doctrine of human beings", "Is God against us? The doctrine of the atonement","Living or dead, the doctrine of the church."  Guthrie presents options, laying out how the church historically has approached different doctrine and does not push one particular view on his reader.  Guthrie invites the reader to engage the different issues and problems raised by each doctrinal loci, while at the same time, addressing areas where Christians have in the past gone down theological paths that should be avoided.  

There are study questions after each chapter that encourage groups to delve into deeper engagement.  What makes this book of Christian doctrine stand out is a particular perspective, the wisdom by which Guthrie approaches the entire matter of Christian doctrine, the respect for the historical ecumenical catholicity of the church, and Jesus as the center of all Christian theology.

Amazon.com "Christian Doctrine"

Why Millennials are Leaving the Church

I believe that this article first appeared in 2013.  I think it reflects an article that bears reflection.  

Why Millennials are Leaving the Church

By Rachel Held Evans, Special to CNN

(CNN) – At 32, I barely qualify as a millennial.

I wrote my first essay with a pen and paper, but by the time I graduated from college, I owned a cell phone and used Google as a verb.

I still remember the home phone numbers of my old high school friends, but don’t ask me to recite my husband’s without checking my contacts first.

I own mix tapes that include selections from Nirvana and Pearl Jam, but I’ve never planned a trip without Travelocity.

Despite having one foot in Generation X, I tend to identify most strongly with the attitudes and the ethos of the millennial generation, and because of this, I’m often asked to speak to my fellow evangelical leaders about why millennials are leaving the church.

Armed with the latest surveys, along with personal testimonies from friends and readers, I explain how young adults perceive evangelical Christianity to be too political, too exclusive, old-fashioned, unconcerned with social justice and hostile to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

I point to research that shows young evangelicals often feel they have to choose between their intellectual integrity and their faith, between science and Christianity, between compassion and holiness.

I talk about how the evangelical obsession with sex can make Christian living seem like little more than sticking to a list of rules, and how millennials long for faith communities in which they are safe asking tough questions and wrestling with doubt.

Invariably, after I’ve finished my presentation and opened the floor to questions, a pastor raises his hand and says, “So what you’re saying is we need hipper worship bands. …”

And I proceed to bang my head against the podium.

Time and again, the assumption among Christian leaders, and evangelical leaders in particular, is that the key to drawing twenty-somethings back to church is simply to make a few style updates – edgier music, more casual services, a coffee shop in the fellowship hall, a pastor who wears skinny jeans, an updated Web site that includes online giving.

But here’s the thing: Having been advertised to our whole lives, we millennials have highly sensitive BS meters, and we’re not easily impressed with consumerism or performances.

In fact, I would argue that church-as-performance is just one more thing driving us away from the church, and evangelicalism in particular.

Many of us, myself included, are finding ourselves increasingly drawn to high church traditions – Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, the Episcopal Church, etc. –precisely because the ancient forms of liturgy seem so unpretentious, so unconcerned with being “cool,” and we find that refreshingly authentic.

What millennials really want from the church is not a change in style but a change in substance.

We want an end to the culture wars. We want a truce between science and faith. We want to be known for what we stand for, not what we are against.

We want to ask questions that don’t have predetermined answers.

We want churches that emphasize an allegiance to the kingdom of God over an allegiance to a single political party or a single nation.

We want our LGBT friends to feel truly welcome in our faith communities.

We want to be challenged to live lives of holiness, not only when it comes to sex, but also when it comes to living simply, caring for the poor and oppressed, pursuing reconciliation, engaging in creation care and becoming peacemakers.

You can’t hand us a latte and then go about business as usual and expect us to stick around. We’re not leaving the church because we don’t find the cool factor there; we’re leaving the church because we don’t find Jesus there.

Like every generation before ours and every generation after, deep down, we long for Jesus.

Now these trends are obviously true not only for millennials but also for many folks from other generations. Whenever I write about this topic, I hear from forty-somethings and grandmothers, Generation Xers and retirees, who send me messages in all caps that read “ME TOO!” So I don’t want to portray the divide as wider than it is.

But I would encourage church leaders eager to win millennials back to sit down and really talk with them about what they’re looking for and what they would like to contribute to a faith community.

Their answers might surprise you.

Rachel Held Evans is the author of "Evolving in Monkey Town" and "A Year of Biblical Womanhood." She blogs at rachelheldevans.com. The views expressed in this column belong to Rachel Held Evans.

  Liturgy (λειτουργία) means "the work of the people" originating from the Greek denoting the public duty of citizens.  In the Old Testament it is used for the worship in the temple, in the New Testament it is also used in Luke 1:23, (of Zechariah's service in the temple) Phil 2:17,2:30, Heb 8:6, 9:2 translated as ministry, service, or worship.  While it refers to the services, rites, sacraments, of the church, it also carries the idea that it is our participation in worship as we recall the words of the church in our worship.

Too often the we do not see worship as being something that we participate in.  It is easy to become a spectator at worship thinking that the minister, or the priest, the choir, are the actors performing for our benefit.  Christian worship rather is a collective worship in which all participate, having been called by God.  Together we sit in silence and praise, together we pray, listen, read, respond, confess, rejoice, cry, and wait.  Together we are refreshed, renewed, forgiven, empowered, and sent to live in the love and grace of God to share the love that we have so freely received.  We connect not only with believers living today, but with the church of the past, the Communion of the Saints. We cannot make the mistake to think of worship in terms of "contemporary" or "traditional", one form that is liturgical, and one form that is not.  It is  usually best to avoid the terms "contemporary", "blended" and "traditional" as all worship has elements that are both ancient and modern.  All worship that is God centered worship is liturgical, sacramental, and confessional whether it utilizes harp, organ, strings, or drums, guitars, brass, or synthesizer.

Below is an article written by professor Rev. Dr. Michael Van Horn that is a very well written description of worship in the Christian tradition, it describes the various aspects of the reformed worship service and how those components connect with our theology and life.  I post this as it is an excellent guide for us to read as we prepare for worship.

What is Worship?

By:   ~ The Rev. Michael Van Horn, Ph.D.

Human beings were created for worship. The triune God has invited us to share in His life, and Jesus, our High Priest, leads us into the presence of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our celebration of worship is the central way we make ourselves present to what God has done and is doing through Jesus Christ.

Worship should never be a spectator sport. We are invited to engage as whole people in the public service of remembering God's covenants with His people. The liturgy is not our words, but the Church's words, given to us by a gracious, self-revealing God. We need worship, as one writer says, because we need the "weekly practice at not being God" and discovering just who the one true God is. It is only with this vision clarified that we can ever discover who we are, and flourish as human creatures. A service of worship church contains four basic elements: The Gathering, the Word, the Table, and the Sending. Each of these elements intentionally forms us into the people of God, mindful of God's gift of Himself:

1. Gathering as the People of God –

We come together, out of our various and distinct places of service in the world, to be joined together as one people with one purpose; to be re-oriented to God's life and God's world.

Silence - We pause briefly to hush the "noise" of our lives, recalling that, left to ourselves, we have nothing to say to God.

Call to Worship and Invocation - Here we recite our purpose for gathering and are reminded that we come only at God's gracious invitation. For this gift, we can only respond by saying "thank You."

Confession of Sin and Words of Pardon - We do not come before a holy God on our own terms. We have sinned. We have hurt others and ourselves. Confession is honesty about who we are in the light of who God is. We confess our sins together, with the whole Church, because we do not stand alone in our brokenness. Yet, we come to confession not to grovel in anxiety, but to empty our hands of our own "solutions" so that we can receive God's gift of promised forgiveness in Christ.

Peace - As forgiven and reconciled people, we have been called to a ministry of reconciliation in the world. Since God has forgiven us, we can forgive others and live at peace with them. We start with the family of God, speaking words of peace in Christ, and continue by extending that peace in all our relationships and choices.

Praise - Learning again that God has met us in our need, and has abundantly forgiven us, we celebrate in songs of gratitude and joy. Once again, these are not merely our words, but words given to us by God in His Church.

2. Listening to God's Word

The center of our worship is the revealed speech of God. God has spoken to His people "words of eternal life," and we take time to simply, reverently, and humbly listen to what God is saying. The Scriptural story is our story, as the people of God. This is a story of people caught up in God's grace, human faithfulness and failure, and God's constant loving kindness toward us.

Scripture – There can be as many as four passages from Scripture read,  (Old Testament, a Psalm response, New Testament Epistle, and a Gospel reading). These texts, often taken from a three-year lectionary cycle, are shared in common by Christians from many denominations around the world. Here we remember that God is speaking to all of us, the whole people of God, and our response at this Word is one of gratitude: "Thanks be to God!"

Sermon - The sermon is a prayerful attempt to proclaim the Word of God within our lives together as followers of Jesus Christ. God's Spirit continues to speak to us, and we are compelled to hear the daily call to faithful discipleship.

Creed - Biblical worship always includes response. In our affirmation of faith, we are invited to corporately affirm what the Church proclaims. With this confession, we join our voices to the Church around the world and throughout time, saying, "Yes Lord, we believe, and will obey."

3. Gathering at the Lord's Table

Here we begin to act as obedient disciples, through giving of our lives, interceding in prayer for others, and sharing in the meal that identifies us as people of the kingdom - the body of Christ for the world.

Offering - Like the rest of the worship service, the offering is a meaningful symbol. By giving to the ministries of the Church as an act of worship, we are acknowledging a deeper, larger reality: All of life is a gift from God. What we joyfully give in worship should keep us mindful that everything we have is a gift of God and should be used for His glory.

Prayers of the People - God has ordained us to be priests. Part of that priesthood is the work of intercession. In the prayers of the people we begin the lifelong task of bringing before God - through the ministry of Jesus, in the power of the Spirit - the needs of the world, the church, our communities and families, and ourselves.

The Eucharist - Communion is the reality of participating in the life of God through the gift of Jesus Christ to us. Here we give thanks to the Father for His work of creation and redemption; we remember the Son, Jesus, for His life-giving life, death, and resurrection even as we await His coming; and we ask for the presence of the Spirit to join us to the life of Christ and to transform us into kingdom people, who seek to live lives of justice and peace in the world, until the day the Kingdom of God fully arrives.

4. Going out into God's World

Worship makes "sense" of the world, inviting us to see and do the world God's way. The end of the service is really a beginning: the beginning of a life of worship in which we love God and neighbor, seeking to "do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God."

Sending - Having heard God speak, having learned the Good News, having been nourished at the Lord's Table, we have been commissioned for the work of Jesus in our homes, places of work and play, in the whole creation. The "sending" offers words of direction - marching orders - for the people of God: "Go in peace to love and serve God and neighbor." We have work to do.

Benediction - Yet we must always remember that the work that must be done is really God's work. We need God's grace and blessing to fulfill our calling as the Church in the world. The final words should ring in our ears, and burn in our hearts every day of life as our primary identity: "The blessing of God Almighty, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit be with you and remain with you always."