Back in 2009 I had a post that explored the idea that while Jesus learned the trade of carpentry, he did not use many carpentry metaphors when talking about the kingdom of God.  

After further reflection on this idea more thoughts have been stewing in my brain.  

Not only did Jesus not use much carpentry language he also did not use much fishing language to talk about the kingdom of God.  It is interesting to me that Jesus did not use much insider language with his parables.  

Jesus used a lot of farming metaphors, wedding metaphors and even the occasional sheep metaphor.  These are the images that the followers of Jesus, the crowd that surrounded Jesus, could understand because it was their world - their images.  

I can understand how the disciples never seemed to "get it" even though they were with Jesus all the time.  

He was using language that was rooted in the life experience of the non-believer and the crowd.  He did not spend much time trying to appease or create insider language with just himself and the twelve.  

Is this not a way to consider the mission of the church?  

Too often we gather on Sunday morning expecting the same things that we who attend, understand and "get". We use insider language and even are fearful to change things because we might "upset" the most faithful members.  So we continue to do what we do in order that those who are in the church can be comforted and those who are not in the church can continue to feel like church is, at best, weird.  

What would it look like to take a model that we might find in the way of Jesus?  What if we created a church that was so concerned about connecting with those outside the church that those in the church would even be willing to "not get it" like the twelve disciples.  

Do you get or understand Jesus, or are you like the disciples and continually scratch your head wondering what the heck this Jesus guy is teaching and saying?  

Cooking Christian

Everyone needs to eat. As such, people need to cook. When I cook something I "get fed" and I feel good about my cooking. I get new recipes to try them out, discover there are somethings that I like and others that I do not like. I get a measuring cup to ensure I use the right amount of oil, I have an oven thermometer to ensure the temperature is correct and I get a scale to ensure my cakes are not too dense but remain fluffy. I get some books that talk about cooking and begin to work on my knife skills and even master flipping things in a pan. I am able to provide for myself as I cook and I believe that the point of cooking is to provide food.

There are many of us Christians who view the Christian faith in this way. We go to church and Sunday school. We read some books and drop an occasional prayer at Thanksgiving or during a crisis. We believe that the point of doing these things is to be "fed". When worship does not "feed us" we do not attend.  When Sunday school is not "nourishing" we bail. When the church does not give me the "recipes" for living a good life or when the "recipes" that are heard do not work - we think church is point less. When the church no longer meets my "needs" I find it difficult to lift my head off the pillow on Sunday morning. For many of us, the point of Christianity is to be fed and feed others. Why else would you go though all those spiritual disciplines if you do not "get something out of them"?

I am not sure if the point of Christianity is to be "fed". I am not sure the point of Christianity is to learn how to live life in such a way that we get our needs met. I am not sure the point of Christianity is to learn how to cook.

I wonder if the point of Christianity is to learn to be a chef.  

It is foundational for all chefs to learn to cook, but not all cooks are chefs.  

The point of many chefs is not just to be fed, but rather to bring new and beautiful and tasty things into existence. The chef is aware that the creation is not something that she did on her own, the chef is aware of the dependence upon others we all share. She did not grow the food or water it or even harvest it. She did not process or even deliver the food.  The chef however, did co-create something wonderful and appetizing that only existed in part before she worked her "chef magic".  

Chefs cook with trust and faith and failure and hope and anticipation and guts in order to bring something of beauty into the world.  

 

Cooks just make food.   

Christians are those who strive to be chefs and will not settle for cooking. And there are many people in the world who are wonderful chefs, who do not take the name Christian.  

The call for Christians is to stop looking to be fed by being a "cooking Christian". Rather, create something beautiful, enliven the world with textures, infuse flavors in your relationships.

For goodness sake, be a chef and you will be fed.  

When average is fantastic

There is a little movie called "Little Big League" in which the owner of the Minnesota Twins dies and gives the ownership of the team to his grandson, Billy.

(For all you nerds out there Luke Edwards was indeed the same kid who played Jimmy in the in The Wizard, and owned they guy who owned a Power Glove in Mario 3 to win the championship)

Billy is a big fan of the Twins and has gone to every home game with his grandfather his whole life.  When he becomes the owner, Billy fires the Manager of the Twins and hires himself to be the new manager.

The hilarity ensues.

Billy turns out to be baseball wise beyond his age.  While only being about 12 years old, Billy's baseball knowledge rivals that of Tommy LaSorda.

However, before Billy was the manager of the Twins, Billy was (and still is) a fan of the Twins.  His favorite player is Jerry Johnson.  Johnson was/is Billy's idol and was at one time a powerhouse of a player for the Twins and in the League, despite Johnson's recent slump in production and quality of play.  Johnson, has not done well for a while and everyone can see it, but Billy is unwilling to accept that his idol is no longer the powerhouse of a player he once was.

One game Billy sends Johnson up to the plate with words of encouragement and adoration.  Johnson swings and connects.  He makes it to first base with ease.  Billy goes nuts and turns to his assistant coach, Lou, to say, something to the effect, "See Lou! Johnson still has it."  Lou's response, "Hey kid, when was the last time you got this excited for someone who has just hit a stand up single, while going 2 for 25 at his last at bats?"

That was the straw that broke in Billy.  He decided to let his idol go and Johnson is no longer a Twin.

I wonder if my beloved church is like Johnson?  I wonder if I am like Billy and I become excited when the UMC hits a stand up single?  I wonder if I am blind to a reality that others see, an organization that continues to strike out time and time again and is unwilling to admit it and move on?

I fear that I will grow into a preacher that is like Johnson and the congregation is like Billy.  I fear I will lose touch so much so that when I am average it is seen as fantastic.

It is my prayer that I will work to ensure that the UMC will not settle for average.  It is my prayer that I would continue to strive to bring my best and acknowledge when I no longer "connect".