What to do when worlds collide?

"So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer." (2 Cor. 5:16)

 I love these words from the Apostle Paul. They have been a source of conviction for me lately. God has been working with me on some personal prejudices for which I am ashamed to say still reside within me. But it is part of my quest to be "the image" of God in Christ and through the transforming power of Christ. 

I have been reading some mentally challenging work as of late and I would like to offer some nuggets of truth to help with a world that seems to be colliding internally. In my world I have to deal with a secular community that is anti-God, pro-whatever-sexuality-you-want, homeless squatters who look as healthy as a good horse but love living off my hard work and tax dollars, etc... I would love to show them what the Bible says about such things but...alas...they don't believe what I believe about the Bible and don't much care what it says. Hence, the collision that is inevitably coming. 

I quote from Lesslie Newbigin and The Gospel in a Pluralist

Society. This is from chpt. 5 - "Reason, Revelation, and Experience.

"In contrast to the long period in which the plausibility structure [in other words, the way a community determines if something can be true] of European society was shaped by biblical tradition, and in which one could be a Christian without conscious decision because the existence of God was among the self-evident truths, we are now in a situation where we have to take personal responsibility for our beliefs. When we do so we are immediately faced with the charge of subjectivity. In a consumer society where the freedom of every citizen to express his or her personal preference is taken as fundamental to human happiness -- whether this personal preference is in respect of washing powder [soap] or sexual behavior -- it will be natural to conclude that adherence to the Christian tradition is also simply an expression of personal preference.  The implication will be that claims to universal truth are abandoned and that we are back again in a relativistic twilight. The only firmly established truth is the truth of the reigning plausibility structure, which is bound to deny the Christian's claim that God has acted in historic events to reveal and effect his purpose for all humankind. 

How then do we deal with the threat of this relativism of consumer-oriented society? It is that one learns to live so fully within both traditions that the debate between them is internalized.  As a Christian so to live within the biblical tradition, using its language as my language, its models as the models through which I make sense of experience, its story as the clue to my story, that I help to strengthen and carry forward this tradition of rationality. But as a member of contemporary society I am all the time living in, or at least sharing my life with, those who live in the other tradition. What they call self-evident truths are not self-evident to me, and vice versa.  When they speak of reason they mean plausibility, but know what it feels like to live in it. Within my own mind there is a continuing dialogue between the two. Insofar as my own participation in the Christian tradition is healthy and vigorous, both in thought and in practice, I shall be equipped for the external dialogue with the other tradition.  There is no external criterion above us both to which I and my opposite number can appeal for a decision. The immediate outcome is a matter of the comparative vigor and integrity of the two traditions; the ultimate outcome is at the end when the One who alone is judge sums up and give the verdict."

To summarize:  What to do when world values and beliefs collide? Seek to understand and live out your Christian faith strongly so that through validated experience you can pass on your tradition of faith. Realize that other people do not share your reality. They don't see God in their lives. They have never knowingly experienced Him the way that we have. Their eyes are "blinded" so that they can only see the reality of this world and not God's. Seek to understand it so that you can live in the two. You cannot appeal to the Bible just as they cannot appeal to...whatever truth base they have. In the end God will be the judge of the true reality. Hope this helps. 

King Lute the 1st

In light of the the Tennessee couple who wanted to name their baby boy "Messiah" I've been thinking about asking my mother if it would be O.K. to change my first name to King:  King Lute the 1st. It has a great ring to it, doesn't it? Actually, I'm going to add it to my name so as to not offend my parents: King Daniel DeWayne Lute, the 1st. And hopefully in three or four months we can add Dr. to it with of course my ordination title: Rev. Dr. King Daniel DeWayne Lute the 1st. Thank God I didn't have this when I was in kindergarten but the thought of having six names is good for my self-esteem. I feel good about myself today. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOCNY9pJ850 

The problem is that Rev., Dr., and King are not first names but titles. They are words of honor given through hard work or through a society's favor. 

Some would argue that Latin American parents have been gracing their male children with the name Jesus for centuries and that would be true. I actually know several European men who have Maria (Mary) as their first or middle name. And we have recorded in Hebrew many children before the time of Christ whose name was Jesus or Joshua in hopes that they might be the actual coming Deliverer, the Jewish Messiah. 

But having the name Jesus and being called Messiah are two different things. It was either presumptuous, ignorance, or insensitivity on the parents part to call this young child "Messiah." In a non-religious context this would be like giving a child the first name "president." Yet another example of parents needing a lesson on social graces. I wonder how many First Nation parents have tried to call their baby boy, "Chief"? Or any Arabs by the name of Allah?

"Messiah" means "anointed one." It is a title given to Jesus as God's one and only Son and therefore is a nomenclature reserved for Him and Him alone in the Christian faith. 

Names do mean something. The Jewish people were careful to give their children names that connected to God or to events. In the book of Hosea we see God actually giving names to Hosea's children that were actually prophetic. My first name, "Daniel" means "God judges." 

These days parents are thinking about how "cool" it would be to give their child a name that will stand out and be unique from every one else (probably because they have such low hopes for their children). News flash! Seven hundred and sixty-two babies have already been named "Messiah." Seven hundred and sixty-two children are going to have to live up to a pretty high standard. 

I guess from a Christian perspective I'm tired of the world highjacking words and titles so that they gut them of their meaning, trivialize the meaning, or...make the word or title something contrary to their original meaning. 

If I were to have kids again I would probably try Dr. Seuss (Thing One and Thing Two) or some bizarre made up name. Perhaps I would try some of the non-letter names like the pop artist Prince chose (?, *,&, $, @) or better yet, just randomly choose something from Wingdings. 

What's in a name? Everything or apparently nothing except "cool". Your kid will have to deal with it for the rest of his or her life. Choose well. Choose with dignity and honor. Choose honorably. Choose graciously. Choose prophetically. Choose reverently. 

This has been a regal word from the Very Rev. Dr. (to be) King Daniel DeWayne Lute the 1st or as I'm known around the corn fields of Indiana, "Danny." Oh...and for those reading this and completely lost...my first name isn't "Pastor."

An Unholy Blemish

"Just as the Lord put aside the riches of His divinity, and by His poverty enriched man, offering to him the 'abundance' of His life and love, so too, man sets aside everything that has become life for him in this world, so as to establish all his being in readiness to be a dwelling-place for God."

In my recent research of evangelism techniques and revivals I have 
been amazed at the statistics the bear out the inflated successes of many of the so called "evangelism crusades" or "revival services." We have denomination records that bear hundreds of thousands of people who "claim" to have accepted Christ but not more than a month later the churches are still as empty. When contacted for discipleship opportunities they are disinterested and even hostile. Denominational cosmetology. 

There are those who will say that they made a decision out of emotional manipulation and others who will say that they honestly accepted Jesus but didn't know the package deal that it came with. In other words, embracing Jesus was simply an addition to the other gods in one's life. They didn't understand that embracing Jesus is not an addition to one's life but a radical replacement of one's life. It is moving from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. It is moving from the walking dead who stumble to the awakened who step with clarity. It is changing one's "make-up."

The more that I study and meditate on the real meaning of being "born again" and systems of thought to convey that meaning I find that I, too, have retained some unholy blemishes that I have sought to cover up. There are areas where I have brought in the gaunt, stillborn child and have not seen the rebirth, the new creation of God. 

I have tried to visualize this for motivational

purposes and it helps me quickly realize that I don't want to look like this in the spiritual realm. It is a mutation of what God desires for me. After all, what is a partially born-again person but one that is self-deceived. As the old saying goes, "You can't be a little pregnant. You either are or you're not." 

Embracing Jesus' wonderful love and sacrifice is the easy part. It is giving up the other gods that tend to be so difficult. It is a willingness to be seen without the cosmetics, the spiritual facades. 

May God grant us an awareness of our spiritual complexion. May we look into the divine mirror and find that which is dead and rotting. Deceived, we still believe that things will change, that we can transform the disease, that the same spiritual cream we've been using will eventually bring about the desired result. But it simply acts as make-up does - to conceal. May God grant us dissatisfaction until we experience the cure - a true change in our "make-up."