Idealism vs. Realism

By Scott Wetzel

“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”  John 14:12 (NIV)

One of the on going battles in the world we live in is the idealists vs. realists.  Sometimes it’s a political battle that results in name calling (socialists vs. capitalists, entitled vs. hard working), sometimes it’s a physical battle, but ultimately it’s a spiritual battle.

I’m battling that right now.

My wife and I were speaking to a pastor friend of ours and he sparked some inner turmoil.  We were talking about church planting and the subject of artsy churches vs. linear churches came up.  Obviously, it struck a chord with me.  You’d know that if you read my blog last week.  It’s still striking a chord with me.  But it’s becoming more and more personal. 

I’ve noticed something in American Christianity that is a bit frightening to me.  We’ve pared down the Holy Spirit and made Him be something that’s personal.  Now, I’m not saying the Holy Spirit isn’t a personal entity.  What I am saying is the Holy Spirit isn’t JUST there for us.  He’s there to alter the reality of the world.  Whenever that aspect of the Holy Spirit gets talked about, though, I notice people trailing off and squirming uncomfortably.  We are a little scared of the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives us.  We like to be filled with the Holy Spirit but don’t overflow or people will see.  We do the same thing with love a lot of the time.

Jesus didn’t die, rise and ascend just to show the power of God.  He did this so He could be a personal advocate for us to the Father.  When we pray in His name, for His glory, He will champion our cause.  We don’t need a priest anymore; we just need our friend, Jesus.   But that’s not all.  He sent His Holy Spirit to not just be our personal guide so we can make realistic decisions that will make us into good little middle class citizens.  He sent His Holy Spirit so we can be the hands and feet of Jesus.  That means that we’ll probably have to make some pretty uncomfortable decisions.

I’m there right now.  I don’t like making uncomfortable decisions.  In fact, I don’t know what the right decision is.  So I’m waiting for a minute.  But in the back of my mind I keep asking what I would do if I were ACTUALLY the hands and feet of Jesus.  I honestly don’t like the answer.  I’m not sure if that’s a denial of what God wants.  I’m not sure if the cynicism of American Christianity has caught up with me and I’m basing my decisions on realism and not on idealism. 

I’m pretty sure God really wants us to be idealists.  He set up His creation to be ideal.   We were created to know good and not evil.  The realists in the garden ruined that one by deciding they should tow the line.  He wanted us to be idealists on the road to the Promise Land but, again, the realists ruined that one.  He wanted us to be idealists when His Son came to earth but, one more time, the realists ruined it.  Are we doing that again?  If we are, are we ruining God’s plan for this earth?  Did Jesus pray “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” as a metaphor, or did He really intend for us to bring the ideal to this world?

Obviously these are all rhetorical questions.   In the end I can only come to this conclusion:  Idealism is what God desires and realism is what the enemy convinces us to accept.

The Linear Chosen

By Scott Wetzel

 “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” Is. 43:19 (NIV)

  

It seems like the world as a whole has taken the lazy way out when it comes to art.  Hollywood remakes old movies.  Pop music isn’t any different today than it was 20 years ago.  Country music isn’t any different today than pop music was 20 years ago. Thomas Kincaid is still painting the same shack with the same sunset.  Even the styles we dress in are rehashed from eras gone by.  There is a crisis of creativity.

And I haven’t helped much with that.  I’m afraid to break out of the mold.  Maybe it’s my upbringing or maybe it’s peer pressure, but I don’t like to stray too far from path.  People that are only acquainted with me might balk at this next statement, but extending my creative wings is scary and painful. 

To me, the scariest place on earth to be outside of the box is in church.  In fact, some of the loudest complaining I’ve ever heard is in the church.  It’s a rare occasion that I’ve been to a club to see a concert and someone complains about how loud the music is.  Or been to a conference where there is a speaker and people complain that they didn’t get fed in the way they thought they should.  People go to those places for a reason…it’s to extract an energy that they don’t get from listening to a record or reading a book.

We go to worship services for the same reason.  We are there to experience God in a different way.  In a communal way.  We fellowship with other believers, worship with the Body of Christ, and hear the Word of God in a new light.  But if it’s a bit different than last week, we get upset and begin to shore up the purse strings or look for a different church home.

It’s as though the system has been set up for the Linear Chosen.

Now we’re in a pickle, though, because we’ve decided to settle.  We’ll stifle our creativity within the confines of the church in order to keep satisfied those that aren’t willing to reach outside of the box.  In the process we’ve lost all of the artists to the enemy.  We’ve alienated creative thinkers.  The church of the left brain is in session while the church of the right brain is struggling. 

Don’t we serve a God of the whole brain?  Doesn’t God love linear thinkers as much as He loves creative thinkers, and vice versa?  I believe that God created everyone to worship Him in unity, not because all of our brain processes work the same, but because He is the common denominator.  Can’t we have liturgy AND creative thinking?  That’s what God does.  He’s the same yesterday, today and forever, all the while He’s creating and molding and shaping.  Let’s let the church be an image of God.  

From Death to Life

By Scott Wetzel

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Rom 8:28 (NKJV)

Little Rachel Beckwith decided that she didn’t want presents for her 9^th birthday.  She had heard about an organization called “charity: water” and wanted to have her friends and relatives donate to that cause instead.  Charity: water is a non profit that builds wells for those that don’t have water in the drought stricken countries of Africa.  Access to clean water is a huge issue that we all take for granted in this country.  In other countries, however, water is scarce and disease is spread through dirty watering holes.  Rachel’s goal was to reach $300. 

She had raised $220 by July 20^th, when the car she was riding in was involved in a 13 car pileup on I-90.  The rest of her family escaped with minor injuries but Rachel was critically injured.  On July 23^rd, her family decided to remove the life support and Rachel passed away.  This story could have ended there…but God has bigger plans than anyone could ever imagine.  You see, Rachel wanted to do something for the world, not so she looked good, but because she loved God and saw people through His compassionate lens.

That Sunday, the pastor of their church announced that they would reopen her donation page for charity: water.  A few thousand dollars were donated.  Then the local media picked up on it.  Then the national media picked up on it.  A little girl’s wish to make $300 to provide clean drinking water for people in Africa has brought in over $1.25 MILLION as of this week.  Not only that, but her organs were donated and a man in California has a new lease on life because he received her kidney.  He has said that he will continue to take up the cause of charity: water in her memory.

It’s the ripple effect.  I’m not saying God took the life of this sweet child.  I don’t believe that God kills children to create change.  This world, however, is dark and things happen that we can’t explain.  Life is filled with changes and tragedies that God didn’t initially intend.  The human mistakes caused by a flawed nature created a ripple effect that led to the death of one person in a 13 car pile up.  That one person was a 9 year old girl that had a zeal for life and love for people she didn’t even know.  Her loss of life will lead to thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people having a chance to live.  Her selflessness in life will create an eternal consequence.  Her short time on Earth has advanced the kingdom of God immeasurably.  We create ripples in everything we do.  Those ripples can either end in death or bring life.  When we love God, do the will of the Father, and strive to be like Jesus, all things will work for good.

I don’t know about you, but I’m convicted by this.

Afraid

By Scott Wetzel

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”  1 John 4:18 (NIV)

I woke up a little confused in a Dodge Neon next to a broken down Ford Econoline van in Plankinton, SD.  We had left from Sioux Falls the night before and this was the second issue we’d had in the 98 miles we’d traveled.  The first was right outside of Mitchell, SD, when our van caught on fire.  It had already been an eventful trip.

The evening before, right as we were leaving, I’d let the other guys on the trip know that I wasn’t sure I believed in God anymore.  I was definitely through going out of my way to follow Him.  He wasn’t all that real to me and I was convinced He may have never been.  So, after some rough apologetics from my two moving companions, we agreed to disagree and started our two vehicle parade towards sunny Seattle.

Back to the muggy morning in Plankinton: the van had started to make a terrible screeching noise right as we reached the exit, so we’d pulled into what looked like a small convenience store.  When we walked around it (in the middle of the night, mind you), we found that there was a mechanic attached to it.  We decided that’s where we’d camp out and that’s why I woke up in a Dodge Neon next to a broken down Econoline. 

The convenience store was open, but the mechanic didn’t appear to have arrived yet, so we walked in and inquired about when he’d show up.  The lady looked up from a black and white TV and said he’d be in around 10.  Then she said some words I’ll never forget:

“Someone is blowing up New York”

She pointed to the small screen and we saw what appeared to be the World Trade Centers on fire.  It was surreal...but we were certain it wouldn’t affect us.  We were heading to the opposite side of the United States.  We were starting new lives.  I was leaving behind the teaching of my youth and emerging as something different.  I guess I didn’t realize it but so was the rest of America.

The day before my faith had finally crashed to the ground.  My life then had the possibility of either producing the fruits of the fear and unknown or producing the fruits of freedom brought by true Love.  I feel like America had the same possibility the next day.

That day was a turning point for this country.  It started out as confusion, turned to compassion, then anger.  Now it’s hoarding.  I guess all of these were based on initial fear, right?  I mean, every one of the feelings that have happened, cultivated, grown and blossomed since 9/11 are all based on fear.  We’ve never really moved out of fear mode.  We helped each other right afterwards because we were afraid of what could happen if we didn’t.  We were angry and attacked people of other cultures and religions because we were afraid of what would happen if we didn’t.  At this point, we’re so afraid of people taking our hard earned money and possessions that we’re hording it all.  We’ve become pockets of single entities and, somehow, are still clinging to the word “community”.   The Word of God tells us that when there is Love there is no fear, because perfect Love drives out fear.  My hope for you and me is that we can allow perfect Love to drive out the fear of death, the economy and politics in each and every one of us.  My prayer is that this September 11 we can finally rise above the mixed feelings caused by evil in the world and allow God’s Love to conquer.

Dropping Politics

By Scott Wetzel

“He said, "You've observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It's not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage." Mat 20:24-28 (The Message)

Is our country going to Hell because of our leadership?  Is our economy going down the tubes because of a lack of Christian political involvement?  Do we need to have strong Christian influence in the government in order for our nation’s eyes to turn back to God?

Here’s the big question:  Did Jesus come to change things from the top down or from the bottom up?

You’ll notice something really interesting about Jesus.  He had every opportunity to influence the politicians, rulers and political heavies of the day.  He could have lunched with kings.  He could have had fund raising dinners with princes.  He could have won elections by landslides.  All He would have needed to do was pull rank.

But He didn’t do that.

He became friends with hookers, drunks, tax collectors and blue collar workers.

Interestingly enough, He did everything He could to NOT gain political clout.  He told people not to tell of His miracles.  He spoke in cloudy metaphors.  When He was at the most popular, He stopped feeding the crowds.  He gave people what they needed, not what they thought they needed.    He wasn’t helping pad people’s retirement funds; He was getting them JUST enough to get through that day. 

We’ve put so much power into the hands of our politicians that we’ve allowed it to define our faith.  Whether it’s about abortion, social justice, marriage, economics or anything else, we’ve professed our faith with our voting ballots.  Here’s the truth of the matter:  our problems won’t and can’t be solved by people in powerful places.  It starts in the hearts of His followers.  It spreads from us via compassion and servitude to those around us.  The Kingdom of God is not going to come to Earth because of legislation.  It’s going to come to Earth because of His power.  We can try to legislate God’s will into the people of this nation, but all that will cause is animosity.  It can only happen through the weakness of His people.

Revival doesn’t start by electing Christians into positions of power.  It’s never worked that way.  Whenever Christians get the power we ruin it.  There is a reason for that.  God doesn’t want US to have the power and the glory.  He’s the only one that deserves it.  That doesn’t mean Christians shouldn’t run for office…it means we need to stop depending on them and start responding to God.