Thoughts from Atlanta

I missed posting last week because I was away on a disaster relief mission trip to McDonough Georgia, just south of Atlanta. A church in the town wanted to lead an outreach in their county to some of the poorest residence in their community whose houses, that were in bad shape to begin with, were badly affected by all the rain and flooding of the past months. They invited a team of Canadians down to help get their project kick started and so a team of us from across Canada met down south and went about getting work started (and completed) on about 14 different projects. There was a lot of work to be done as we sought to reach out in the name of Jesus and provide tangible expressions of love and concern as we helped some people with their greatest physical needs. A week like this also provides many opportunities to express why it is that we were their doing what we were doing. We were able to share about the kind of things that Jesus wanted to do through his followers, including reaching out and helping those in need. This often, in turn, leads to opportunities to share about who Jesus is and what He has done for us. As me meet physical and material needs, we often have the opportunity to share about spiritual needs as well. We shared with those whom we were serving as well as having a very unique opportunity to share with a group of young men who, because of trouble with the law, were working with us as a part of their community service. I believe that the efforts of our group from Canada, and of the local church with whom we were working had a very positive influence on a number of the young men, many of whom came back to help even after their mandatory hours where served. One youth actually made a profession of faith in Christ.
One of the most exciting things to come out of the trip, however, was a sentiment that was shared at an appreciation breakfast held on the very last day. I had already left to drive the 16 hours home, but those who were in attendance shared about the heartfelt thanks that was expressed. This is a part of the e-mail report I received:
"The Mayor and their states representative were both at the breakfast and thanked the Canadians for being the catalyst for stimulating their community into action. We completed 14 projects and they plan to keep going to do some more. People that seemed to have slipped through the cracks are now in touch with help organizations such as meals on wheels, church groups, counselling, home maintenance, and home care to see that they are properly looked after."
What I was most excited about was the fact that our trip may have been a catalyst for the community and the local church to see the needs in their own community and the possibility of continuing to do something about it. The reality is that in a short one week trip their is only a small dent that one team will ever be able to make. When one sees the amount that needs to be done it can actually be overwhelming to the point that I can begin to ask, "what is the point of doing a short term trip?" There was one house alone, owned by a man who had polio who had all but given up on life, not to mention his house, that we could have worked on for a year. One week is just not enough. We were able to accomplish 14 projects, not bad in and of itself, but if this was the beginning of something longer lasting in which the local church continues doing this kind of work in their own communities then the trip was a huge success.
I have been reminded of that famous mission verse in Matthew 28:19 in which Jesus commands his disciples to "go and make disciples of all nations..." The "go" here is a participle (going) making the real command "make disciples." Our efforts at disaster relief may meet physical needs, but it requires someone to stay behind after the week in order to continue to build the relationships and to engage in discipleing people. What a great thing to hear the the local churches were inspired to keep on building upon what was started. This does not, however, take away from the idea of going but rather broadens our understanding and the need to go. It is perhaps best translated "as you are going..." which really means that we are to consider ourselves on mission everywhere we go, for what ever reason we may be going. In other words, in all that we do, whenever, for whatever, we are representing Christ. This does not take away from the need for people to intentionally go places for the purpose of missions, whether long term as missionaries or for short term projects. Rather, we should be adding a sense of intentionality to all that we do that whether we go to Atlanta or down the block we go with purpose.
After this last trip I find myself pleased by the work we were able to accomplish in the name of Jesus, and am excited about future trips that might be in the works. I am especially pleased to think of the effect that it may have had on the local churches who seemed inspired to keep this work going. I am also thinking about how the members of my church might begin to do this same work here in our community. Who are the individuals that are slipping through cracks here? Who can we be assisting in the name of Jesus? What positive impact could we have here in Milton that might lead to opportunities to make disciples?

Art and Evolutionary Psychology

I caught the first part of an interview on CBC's Ideas the other night. The interview was with Denis Dutton, The Art Instinct: Beauty, Pleasure and Human Evolution. Dutton looks at art from a evolutionary psychology perspective, arguing that the love of beauty is inborn and shaped by evolution. The Washington Post summarized his perspective this way: "The premise of Dutton's work is that this instinct for art isn't an accident. Instead, he argues that our desire for beauty is firmly grounded in evolution, a side effect of the struggle to survive and reproduce."
After hearing the interview on CBC, I found myself thinking about how we all truly see the world through specific filters, or presuppositions. We approach the way we see everything with certain preconceived ideas that often lead us to observations and conclusions about the way things are that directly align with those ideas. It is amazing to me to see how wide ranging the theory of evolution has become. It is no longer simply a debate in the scientific realm with those discussing the origins of life and the universe. It has become a worldview through which all things are considered and explained, even going as far as to explain art.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I rarely enter into the evolution/creation debate. I don't find it particularly helpful or edifying, and the very antagonistic debate between those at the far end of the science/faith spectrum is unhealthy. That debate also fails to recognize that there is a spectrum between the two antagonistic poles, along which the discussion between science and faith often happens in a far more healthy, productive and civilized fashion. Perhaps it is because I am a person of faith and an artist, however, that I was intrigued by the ideas from this interview and would like to share a different perspective.
I have not read the book, and I recognize that a radio interview cannot contain the fullness of the ideas in the book. But in response to the general premise that art is grounded in evolution, I would offer an alternative idea. I fully admit that I too come to the discussion with a presupposition, the existence of a creator God and that I would describe myself as having a biblical worldview. With this in mind I look to the opening chapters of Genesis, the first book in the bible and see the inspiration and the explanation for an innate desire to create within the human race. The opening words of Genesis state that "In the beginning God created..." and what follows is a very poetic account of how the universe was created by God. Some of the key ideas that flow from these verses are that God exists, that God created everything and that God did so with intentionality and design. It is here that I see the inspiration for the creative desire. The one who created the universe, including humans, was Himself the ultimate creator. Because of this fact we can believe that creativity has value and is worth pursuing.
Those opening chapters of Genesis also inform us that God "created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:27) If humans were created in the creator God's image, then it logically follows that humans too would have such a desire to create.
We can see therefore, that the inspiration and explanation for the innate desire within the human race to create is God Himself, in whose image we have been created. The reality of sin, which affects all of fallen humanity, is certainly at work and can be evidenced by much of the art that is created. This does not change the reality, however, that creativity within the human race can find both its inspiration and its explanation in God himself, creator of the universe and in whose image we have all been created.

The Soap Opera Gospel

You can learn a lot about how our culture in general views religion by seeing how it is portrayed in Soap Operas. After all, anytime there is a death, a wedding, sometimes a baptism and always when someone is dying there is some token chapel/church scene. Last week I caught an episode of General Hospital (please don't ask why, let's just move on) in which a family was preparing for the baptism of their new baby girl. There was an absolutely great line when the babies older brother (who is about 10 I guess) declares that a baptism is like a "free pass to heaven." It was amazing because, in the mouth of a 10 year old, the writers could blatantly express what is a common notion of spirituality. Although many might not express it so outright, there is a common belief that eternal life is somehow attained or guaranteed by some religious ritual, often baptism. If we look to the words of Jesus himself, however, it is clear that there is no ritual that can achieve such a state, but only belief in Jesus. Jesus himself stated in John 3...(I know many of you are expecting 3:16 so how about 3:18 for a change) 18: "Whoever believes in him (Jesus) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." The name Jesus is a combination of the short form for God's divine name and the word saves in Hebrew and thus literally means "Yah Saves" (God saves). To reject Jesus is to thus reject the means for salvation provided by God himself. That salvation is accomplished through the sacrificial death of Jesus, which Jesus had alluded to earlier in John 3:14 and is clearly in view here. Thus salvation according to Jesus is by faith alone - a faith in who Jesus is and what he has done for us. Salvation is not accomplished by performing any ritual, no matter how meaningful and significant, including baptism.
We do read about baptism in the New Testament and it is certainly a significant and important ritual. It is important to note that in each case that we read about baptism it is a ritual that closely follows an individual coming to faith in Jesus. One comes to faith in Christ and then follows that by being baptized which then becomes a visual symbol which helps to express and make public ones faith and commitment to Jesus. That to me is when and how rituals can be powerful, when they help point us towards truth. Sadly, there is the danger that rituals become the thing we focus on and miss the truth to which they are supposed to point. It reminds me of my two dogs. To the elder dog I can throw something, point and yell "whats that" at which point he turns around, looks and runs to retrieve the reward. When I do the same for my younger dog, as soon as I point she becomes transfixed upon my finger and never does recognize that there is something beyond my finger. Often it seems that our rituals are much the same, failing to point us to the deeper truth and reality toward which they are supposed to lead our attention.
In response to the young character's declaration about baptism being a "free pass into heaven" I would respond that there is in fact a "pass" to be had, but it is by no means free. It cost Jesus his life. As Paul writes "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures..." (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). It is this reality that our baptism helps to symbolize and express. Again Paul states "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." (Romans 6:4)