If you’ve been around egm for a while, you know that the arts are important to us — from the traveling children’s play we’re working on right now to visual representations of the text as we read through the Bible together as a congregation, you can see that we believe that God uses artists in special ways to communicate his message.  Historically, the church as an institution has had a strong presence in the art world - during the renaissance, most of the work produced was commissioned and paid for by the church.  From Michelangelo to Handle, DaVinci to Mozart, art and the church have been pretty closely intertwined.

That doesn’t seem to be the relationship these days, though.  In fact, the “art” world and the “church” world often seem at odds, not trusting each other, and pretty sure they don’t need each other, either.  It seems pretty clear, though, that for those of us who believe that it is our job as Christians to shape our culture, that art is an important way to do that; when we step away from the art world, we lose our ability to speak into and through it.  We embrace art at egm not only because we believe that it enriches our worship and communal experience, but because we believe that it is a way that we can speak outside of our walls, into a culture that is immersed in visual and narrative art forms that shape what they want and what they believe to be true.

How do you bring together worlds that distrust each other?  The art world fears censorship, fears unambiguous or black/white truths, fears being forced into an orthodox box, yet has a profound interest in spirituality and mystery.  The church often fears the ambiguity of art, fears that profound egalitarian impulse that refuses to say one thing is better than the other, yet celebrates a God that has a whole universe to testify to his artistry.  These “worlds” need each other because these people need each other.

This week I got a call from an arts council that was looking for artists to participate in one of their events.  How cool is it that a community organization thinks about the church when they are looking for artists?  And how cool is it that we have so many amazing, creative, and spiritually willing people in our congregation, that we can have a long list of artists to suggest?  We are blessed.  Keep praying for these two worlds, the church and the arts — pray that God is glorified when they meet.  As they seem to be doing…. again.

–
Jodi Cole Meyer
Director of Outreach and Arts

A friend of mine, Rob Joustra, wrote a great piece for the blog “After Hours“.  I thought it was worth passing on to you:

Last week I trundled across a 2002 article in, of all places, The Journal of Biblical Counseling that takes a good critical look at the evangelical blockbuster, The Five Love Languages. The article: Love speaks many languages fluently.

In sum, it argues that there is good merit to the metaphor of love language, but like too much of evangelical literature on relationality and community it assumes that with the right disciplines, therapies and understandings our marriages, relationships, families (etc) can become sites of intimate communion which fulfill our desires as human beings. And nothing could be further from the truth. This “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” is a market for self-interested, love starved individuals looking for the latest fill of the “love tank.” It suggests: my desires are ok, you just need to learn how to meet them. But what about when my desires are manipulated or distorted (see especially Paul Williams onCapitalism, Social Justice and Desire)? What if the life goals, the love we crave and the way we organize our lives has gone awry? The Lenten call for penance speaks prophetically in the midst of this therapeutic celebration.

The fundamental problem is not that we are estranged from each other, but that we are estranged from God by whose estrangement all of our relationships and institutions are broken. And it is only by this kingdom renewal, in community, that we can come to know intimate relationships. The problem is not ultimately that our families do not know how we give and receive love, it is that we do not know God and that we are bitter and vengeful when we find our human relationships cannot fill the void of creations’ wounds.

At Jubilee I talked about “Doing Public Life and (still) Believing Stuff.” The print version is in the latestComment. This is what I mean by rooted cosmpolitanism. This is what Henri Nouwen means when he writes that, “solitude is the very ground from which community grows” and this – I think – is what the Christ means when he tells us we can only love others, because we have been loved first.

“If you and your church were to disappear off the face of the earth tomorrow - would anyone in the unbeleiving community around you notice you were gone?  And if they did notice - would they say we are really glad they are gone or - gee we’re going to miss them.” -Keller-

When I read this quote by Keller awhile back I had to stop and ponder this question.  Would the world, or even our local community of Hudsonville, Zeeland, and Jenison know if the people at EGM were no longer here?  One way to go about answering this question is to think of the people that we encounter each day.  Would the people that we encounter at the coffee shop, our work, the gym, post office, library, or at the kid’s sporting events care that we’re gone?  And when we’re gone are there needs (socially, economically, psychologically, etc) not being met in the community that is left directly related to our abscense?  Does society and the direction of our current culture/community change without us in it?

The answers to questions like these make us look at our lives and reflect on the level of integration we have with God’s story.  See, because if our story is actually God’s story, then the community left would not only notice, but they would be crushed by our departure.  All areas of society would combust, because the very agents for change and restoration have been taken out of them.

The church, as the people of God gathered by the Spirit, have really dropped the ball on this topic. We are gathered by the Spirit, but gathered to what end? The church can’t just exist inside of itself for the glory of the institution, or for the pride in our religiousity.  No, the church exists to train, equip, and turn its face toward the world.  This is what Jesus calls us to as His disciples.  We engage in culture.  We enter God’s mission of restoration in His good but fallen world.  Things like our career, our encounters at the coffee shop, our book clubs, sports, arts, and education all exist as areas that we serve in.  We don’t just serve other Christians, but we serve the world, and through and in our serving we display the power and proclaim the message of the Gospel.

Jesus came to serve, not to seek power.  Too often Christians seek power, rather than serving.  The ironic part is that by serving, many times one is exalted into power.  The reason this happens is because serving is attractive to the world regardless of religious affiliation, because it serves a need for everyone in our culture.  Whether people realize it or not, when Christians work to restore each aspect of creation be it sex, architecture, or economics, those areas improve because it is now utilized for its’ intended and original purposes.  Jesus served the many needs of the culture in His time.  In every area He walked there was glory brought to the Father.  So He calls His people to do the same, and we do so out of recognizing that through His redemption Jesus rescued us from the greatest tragedy of all, ourselves.

As a redeemed people, we turn our faces to the world and through serving and overall civility we work toward the restoration of all things back to their intended and originally created purposes.  If this happens, I promise you that the world would not only look at us and say, “Man, I really miss those guys,” but would say, “Man, those guys were essential to have throughout all areas of life, their God was truly transformational, a real servant, a giver of true life.”

Sin is ugly.

Today I’m reminded of the high costs involved in making the story your own.  I am a part of the collateral damage.

Today I’m reminded that not everyone cares or is actively pursuing a restoration of all things.  I am a part of the collateral damage.

Today I’m reminded that because of sin we are, by nature, self-centered, individualistic, and prideful.  I am a part of the collateral damage.

Today I’m reminded of God’s covenants with His people, and that they will not fail like human covenants are so prone to do.  I am a part of the collateral damage.

Today I’m reminded of the eternal hope found through Jesus Christ, and take great joy in the fact that everything will someday be restored back to Him.  When another’s sin goes off like a bomb and those around us are dying one piece at a time, I will choose to stand up amongst the rubble and say:  “I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.  He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.  He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.”  That is, only after I ask “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?  Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”

You are not the master of your fate, you are not the captain of your soul, and yes…as Reverand Doornbos stated this past Sunday, “There is a high cost to doing business with stories other than truthful ones.”  I tell you this because I am a part of the collateral damage.

For more than a decade there have been guiding principles that stand behind our desire to make passionate followers of Jesus.   A few weeks ago I was talking with some people about these guiding principles and someone who hadn’t seen them laid out before commented that although they had never seen them in print they had watched as leadership had been willing to hold on tightly to these principles–even when there was a cost involved.

I thought it would be good to put these principles out again, just to remind all of us of what they are.

• This is a place for empty and broken people.
• All are invited to come and become passionate followers of Jesus.
• We believe in multi-generational interaction and ministry as often and in as many ways as possible.
• We believe that ministry outside the “four walls” of the church is as important as what happens inside the “four walls”.
• We have a “loose grip” on the resources God has given us.  Therefore we see our facility as an important resource to be used by the community, as well as, the ministries of EverGreen.
• We believe all space in the church is “shared space” so no one has their “own” room or “owns” the church when they are using it.
• “We can do so much more than we think because God’s power enables us.”
• Failure is not “having something not work,” it is not “having tried something we should have tried.”

Every once in a while someone asks me about the passage in 1 Corinthians 11 that deals with the Lord’s supper. There is that verse that can is very disquieting, 1Cor. 11:27 “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.” What does one do with this verse and who can dares to take communion in the light of eating and drinking judgment on yourself, after all, even the most committed and faithful of us never gets the faith completely right. Knowing this I’ve talked to some from very conservative traditions who have never taken communion for fear that they will eat and drink judgment on themselves.

We’ve been doing our sermon based small group studies for almost 6 months at egm.  I thought it would be worth letting you in on a little secret this many months in: you are getting a theological education every time you do one of these studies.  By theological education I mean we are being taught how to ‘think Christianly’ about all of life, public and private, and about how to work with Christian distinctiveness.  The role of these studies, therefore, is to form us into a certain kind of people.  A people who whether we are at work or parenting, being a spouse or AYSO coach, or whatever it may be brings the mind and heart of a disciple to bear in all situations.

The truth is this is harder than simply learning 6 steps to a joyful life or 3 steps to better relationships.  This is a process that takes time, thought, and struggle.  It is also a process that lasts a lifetime and one that take a community to pursue (I can learn 6 steps to a great marriage on my own, but it takes a community to think through how to do our lives with a Christian distinctiveness).

So as you go forward with your small group studies keep thinking “This is forming me into a disciple of Jesus who brings to bear his perspective and heart in all situations.”  It is a harder path to take, but finally like a great basketball player who after much practice can make the right moves without a thought, so we will be so molded that we make the right moves that bring glory to God and hope to the world as we walk through life.

“…the very point of salvation is the reweaving, enriching, and renewal of creation! The Spirit of God is not only a preacher but also an artist, a gardener, and a banker…”

I’ve wandered away from the book of Esther for a time, but I don’t want to leave people wondering forever so today Esther makes a reappearance on the blog. So far we’ve seen a foolish and silly king, while Esther has shown herself to be both the goddess of love and of war (check last post on Esther). As the story continues we also find something else, that Esther’s rescue of the people of Israel feels like an improper rescue i.e. it lacks all the clean lines of morality, the proper references to God and more. We like our biblical rescues to be Disneyesque, but a close read of Esther takes it out of Disney and into a movie we wouldn’t want our children to go to. Let’s take a look:

Be that as it may, we’ve got this nice Jewish girl in the harem of a gentile king. Now what—well, God seems to get to work. Mordecai and Esther make their choice and now God works in the context of that choice. Look at Esther 2.When the king’s order and edict had been proclaimed, many girls were brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the king’s palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem. The girl pleased him and won his favor. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven maids selected from the king’s palace and moved her and her maids into the best place in the harem. Esther 2.8-9 NIV Go back to Daniel 1. But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel…. Daniel 1.8-9 NIV God at work, at work making the officials favorably disposed toward his kids who find themselves in foreign situations. Now again, most of us are more comfortable with Daniel here, with God stepping up to the plate for Daniel, after all, he’s a good guy, who is determined to stay faithful to God no matter what the cost. Esther on the other had as we are told in Esther 2.10, hides the fact that she is Jewish which probably means that unlike Daniel who struggles to stay pure, that Esther probably eats food she ought not to eat, does things she ought not to do, and doesn’t pray in the manner prescribed, and a bunch of other stuff besides.

Perhaps the greatest irony in this is that back in Israel Ezra is decrying intermarriage (Ezra 9.10-12). While he cries out, Esther is making all the right moves to do what Ezra says shall not be done. And Esther does it at a time when things really are not desperate (they will be, but she doesn’t know that). And when times do get desperate Esther tries to get her uncle to find another way to deal with the situation (Es. 4.12-14). Mordecai’s take, relief and deliverance will take place for the Jewish people, I think the best option is for it to come through you as the queen, I think that maybe God has put in you in place for such a time as this—but if God doesn’t use you, he will rescue us in some other way. If that is the case, then why doesn’t God choose another way, why does he continue to work through Mordecai and Esther who have made choices that would make many of us blush?

The answers don’t come in the book. Maybe God is just letting us know that he will do his work, even through imperfect people. Maybe God is letting us know that he will do improper rescues that need some forgiveness in the midst of them. Or perhaps God knows and understands that in life choices are not always as easy as we’d like them to be, that life is not as black and white as we’d like it to be and he wants us to know that when we struggle with making the right choices that seek to honor him, to live in a way that brings about his kingdom, that when we do that he can still work through our less than perfect choices. Whatever his reason, an improper rescue is the way of this day and the author never takes the sharpness off and lets us move back into the world of disney.