Well put piece by Brian McClaren.

He’s right. When we refer to what a Christian should look like, who are we talking about? I know most of us would say Jesus, but is that really how we live our Christian lives. Depending on where you stand at times, can often color your outlook. I see Christianity very differently as a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary than someone from another seminary. I see Christianity very differently as a member of a PCUSA church, than someone from a non-denominational church. I see Christianity very differently not only living in America, but also living in California, in contrast to the rest of the world and the rest of the country.

I agree that there must be both “pioneers and settlers” in Christianity, and I think that the two help bring stability to the whole.

The topic of Wal Mart was a lighthing rod on my recent mission trip to Mexico, and so I would be interested in your perspective on this article, and on this topic.

There are those on one side who think Wal Mart practices business in an unethical way from low wages, to sweatshops. And on the other side are those who believe Wal Mart promotes family values and brings an affordable alternative for families.

So I wonder if the question is not really about Wal Mart, but more about capitalism in general. Not a question that says capitalism is all bad or good, but rather that asks, what are the ethics involved in capitalism? How can one operate ethically in a consumer society that always demands the lowest price, at the expense of a working class? How does one operate ethically in a system where anonymity is commonplace: Where we buy our products without any thought to the worker?

I was told I should read The Soul of Capitalism last month while I was standing on the top of the larget pyramid in Mexico, and looking out over the new Wal Mart. And I am definitely speaking out of my area of knowledge when it comes to economics, so I know that I must read more up on this topic.

“If we would follow Jesus we must take certain definite steps. The first step, which follows the call, cuts the disciple off from his previous existence. … The first step places the disciple in the situation where faith is possible. If he refuses to follow and stays behind, he does not learn how to believe.”
–Dietrich Bonhoeffer/ The Cost of Discipleship

Discipleship has been a topic that I have been wrestling with a lot. Mainly because discipleship is such a buzzword (much like community). Everyone talks about wanting discipleship in the church, in their lives, but sometimes I wonder if we really understand what it means. We have ideas, but I think that lot of our ideas about discipleship are more cultural, than they are Biblical. We tend to think of discipleship in terms of steps, which in return will produce results. Immediate results. We want it now. Instant discipleship. Eugene Peterson discusses this issue in his book A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society. The title sums up the message of discipleship, which is a “long obedience in the same direction.” Interesting that Peterson uses the phrase of the German philosopherFriedrich Nietzsche from his book, Beyond Good and Evil, where he states, “The essential thing in heaven and earth is . . . that there should be a long obedience in the same direction; there thereby results . . . something which has made life worth living.” Discipleship is not something that allows for shortcuts. If shortcuts is what we want, than discipleship is not for us. It does not allow for that.

The word disciple (mathete in Greek) means someone who is a “learner…who is apprenticed to another.” In discipleship, we are learners, who learn from Jesus Christ. When we follow Him, and take up the call of discipleship, we become apprenticed to him. Like any apprenticeship, it involves close study, long hours, trials, experiments, successes and failures. It involves a close intimacy, often involving one on one learning, or small group learning. Apprenticeship is just not something that can be done in a large group. Discipleship becomes impersonal and non-intimate when it takes place in a large crowd. I would even argue that discipleship for the most part can not take place in a crowd.

You understand this in your own life. When you were in college (or those of you in it now) you may have had a large lecture hall with hundreds of students, and you were lucky if you even showed up to class. Now my students just take the notes from online, and may occassionally show up to the class. Not much apprenticeship or learning takes place in this environment. That is why when students become more serious about their major and begin to think about graduate school or a future career, they tend to want to take up a teacher assistant position, or intern in an environment where they can get hands on experience. The same is true of discipleship. We only truly learn what it means to follow Christ when we move out of the crowd and into a more intimate and relational environement where learning, and apprenticeship can truly take place. There are many reasons for this, though I will take them up in another post.

But the call of Jesus Christ upon our life is a call that moves us out of the crowd and into a relationship with Himself and others, where we live and learn together what it truly means to follow Christ. No text teaches more thoroughly on discipleship in my opinion than the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. It begins:

Matthew 5:1-2 (NIV)
The Beatitudes
1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:”

There is this idea where Jesus sees the crowds that are now following Him. And who can blame them. His popularity by this point has begun to grow, as he has moved from town to town healing people, casting out demons. And so the crowds follow Him. But for true discipleship to take place, I believe Jesus sees that there must be this calling out of disciples away from the crowd, away from the masses. And so the passage again says (this time in the Message):

Matthew 5:1-2 (The Message)
You’re Blessed
1When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down 2and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:”

Interesting nuances that Peterson brings out in the text. Jesus sees huge crowds following Him, and so he climbs a mountain, calling out to those who are truly committed to Him, to follow Him. This is where the crowd and disciples are separated. This is where committment and discipleship is separated from group thinking and popularity contests.

These disciples whom He has called will be His companions that He lives in close, intimate relationship with. He will be their teacher, and they will be apprenticed to Him as they learn what it means to be a disciple. I believe this is how discipleship often begins. Jesus has put a call upon your life, and He is asking you to step out of the crowd and away from the masses so that you can learn from Him. Discipleship can not be learned in the crowd, because it requires no committment…because there is no relationship in a crowd. But moving out of the crowd into a group, or into a one on one partnership, requires relationship. It requires committment.

Jesus has called you out of the crowd, up to the mountain so that He can begin a relationship with you, and teach you all that He knows. Not so that you can keep it to yourself, but rather, so you can go back down the mountain and become a teacher to those in the crowd. It is interesting that a mountain is what He climbed, and that those who wanted to learn from Him followed Him up, while the others stayed below. Climbing a mountain is hard work, so most of us don’t climb. Discipleship is hard work, so most of us don’t become a disciple.

The beautiful thing about this passage, and about discipleship is that it requires you not to live up on the mountain, only soaking in mountain top, camp experiences. Rather, it requrires of you that the true work of discipleship is in the world. So the disciples will not stay on the mountain, but will descend, and will go out into the world. Discipleship is a call upon your life that demands of you to go back out into the world, but this time as an apprentice to Jesus Christ, and not someone who is lost in the crowd. Jesus does not forget about the masses, but rather has given us some of the responsibility of being a disciple to them.

But more on this another time.

As we begin this dialogue on discipleship, there are some books I want to recommend. I have already listed above, Peterson’s book, “A Long Obedience…….” No one writes better on discipleship than Eugene Peterson. Where some pastors and theologians are content with programming and quick steps, and instant salvation, Peterson understands the long, hard, grueling work of following Christ, and of being a disciple and making disciples. That’s why I recommend and love his new book, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology. It is amazing. Like discipleship, this book is a slow, long read, that must be thought through, and read over and over again. I must also talk about Dietrich Bonhoeffer because his work, The Cost of Discipleship, is one of the seminal works in this area. It transformed my life when I was in college, and it continues to do that.

Looking forward to the conversation…..

Cameron, who is Summa Aesthetica, and I, talked on the phone yesterday about the selection of the new Pope, and we both came to the conclusion: That this must be the right choice, because everyone in the mainstream media is up in arms about the selection. They’ve made conservatism to be some degenerative, and dangerous disesase. It is just so obvious that the secular world does not only not get conservative, Christian people, or their values, they are almost stupified, and fearful I think over the amount of power the Pope, and conservatives have in this world. Power in the sense, that Christianity is able to draw people together, in a unique way, to live a different life than what the world pushes for. That scares people. And after watching the morning TV show, “The View” this morning, it was obvious that the world doesn’t get it, and they would rather bash the Pope if possible.

For some great reading on the new Pope, check out all the postings by Hugh Hewitt.

Cameron posted a great, and simple post this morning…below:

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Habemus papam!

(Preemptive apology…this post is necessarily short due to other writing deadlines)

We have a pope! Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was elected today by his fellow Cardinals to serve as John Paul II’s successor. He chose the name Benedict XVI, which could be in honor of the previous Benedict, the WWI era pope who was a staunch opponent of the War and served as a reconciling figure between conservative and modernist elements of the Church. Or, perhaps he intended to invoke the memory of Benedict the great monastic figure whose rule became the standard pattern for Western monasticism (this was my initial impression before I read anything about Benedict XV, and it may be way off the mark).

The big question that is floating around: what should we think about the new pope? Was this a good choice? I am cautiously optimistic, for a few reasons.

I would like to think that we can be reasonably hopeful, trusting that the selection was in some way guided by Providence. I do not want to be too rosy on that point–there are plenty of examples that might give one pause.

Also, to quote a professor whom I respect: “I am not entirely sure what to think of him yet, but he has one thing going for him…all the right people hate him.” The fact that he makes certain people nervous is a good sign. While I do not count myself an archconservative, I do not want someone in the driver’s seat of the biggest church in the world who likes change for change sake. I am glad he is counted as a conservative, especially by people who would sell the soul of the church for the sake of relevance.

Finally, if he was a trusted advisor and friend of John Paul II, that says something important. I am more than willing to support Benedict XVI. May God guide him as he leads the Roman Church.

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posted by Cameron Jorgenson at 8:00 PM | 0 comments