Bob Kaylor

The Art of Woo (Sermon for 5/4/08)

Acts 1:1-14

This Sunday is "Ascension Sunday" on the church calendar, the Sunday before Pentecost that commemorates Jesus' "ascension" into heaven. When I was in Jerusalem last January we went to the Church of the Ascension on the top of the Mount of Olives (which is now a Muslim site). Inside the stone dome there is a rock which is supposed to be "the" rock that Jesus stood on when he floated up to heaven in the clouds…or at least that's how the story goes.

In reality, Luke's vision of the ascension of Jesus isn't so much about Jesus disappearing into the heavens as much as it is about ordering a new reality for the disciples. Most people reading this passage have concluded that Jesus went up in some kind of heavenly elevator and would return again one day to take the rest of us up in the clouds in the same way. It's here, however, that we have to read the context to understand what the ascension means.

Throughout the Bible, the distance between heaven and earth is not about up or down or how far away. Biblically speaking, heaven and earth are the two halves of God's created world, two interlocking dimensions. The ultimate goal, according to the preaching of Jesus, was that these two interlocking dimensions, close to each other but veiled, would become one which is what we pray for in the Lord's Prayer. The resurrected body of Jesus, according to Luke and the other Gospel writers, was the first (and so far only) object which is at home in both spheres, looking forward to the day when everything will be renewed and joined together.

To say, then, that Jesus was "lifted up" does not mean that he went somewhere out beyond Mars, but that he was being exalted and was going into God's space, God's dimension. The "cloud" is an important clue here--for in the Scriptures the appearance of a cloud is most often equated with the presence of God (Moses and the Israelites followed a pillar cloud by day, Isaiah saw God within the "smoke" and cloud of the Temple). To say that Jesus "ascended" is a way of saying that Jesus has gone into God's presence in the body until the day when all of us will be resurrected and live in the fully revealed presence of God.

If we get a little deeper into the historical context as well we see this even more clearly. Luke's readers would know that when a Roman emperor died, it was tradition for someone witnessing the death to say that they had seen his soul leaving his body and going up to heaven. I've not been there, but I read that in Rome if you stand under the Arch of Titus and look up you can see a carving of the soul of the emperor Titus (who died in the 80s AD) ascending to heaven. The message was clear to everyone at the time: the emperor was becoming a god, and his heir would thus be known as the "son of god," which is a very good title if you want to seize power and run the world. In Luke's account, however, there's a very clear sense that the emperor is being upstaged. Jesus did not ascend into the heavens, leaving his body behind somewhere and passing on his divinity to an heir. Rather, his whole, renewed, resurrected, bodily self was ascending, meaning that he was and still is the true ruler of the world, indeed the whole created order. Separation and succession weren't part of the story. It's a powerful distinction that we have to understand if we want to know what Luke's first readers understood.

Why is it important to understand it this way? Well, it has to do with the mission for the disciples in the earthly dimension. Jesus wasn't telling them to prepare to follow him into a faraway heaven, nor to prepare others to do that. A lot of Christian theology has focused on this incorrectly. The good news of Jesus is not simply that if one believes or prays the right prayer you will go to heaven when you die. It's a much larger vision than that, a vision about working to join the two halves together. The good news of Jesus is contained in his teaching about the Kingdom of God, the completion of everything, the restoration of God's goodness and peace and light for the whole sphere of creation. The risen Jesus had shown that it was more than possible by defeating death and revealing the life of resurrection. Now it was the disciples' turn to carry on the work of making the Kingdom a reality, doing what Jesus had done in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Christian gospel was never about escaping the world, but about redeeming it with the blessing and example of the one true King.

With that theological review in the back of our minds, let's look at the action here. Jesus pulls his disciples, the new and reconstituted Israel, together for final instructions. They are wanting to know the whens, whys, and wherefores of his return. In that sense they're very much like the Left Behinders who look at every political situation and see a clue to Jesus' return. "When are you going to restore the kingdom of Israel?" ask the disciples.

Jesus gives them a direct answer--essentially, don't worry about that. It's amazing to me that despite Jesus' instruction thousands of Christians continue to do just that, painting others as enemies and basing their theology on a kind of bunker mentality, sequestering themselves from the rest of the world while waiting for Jesus. I've had many conversations with people caught up in this kind of speculation to the point that they were so heaven focused that they could do no earthly good. It's that earthly good, however, that Jesus tells his disciples to focus on.

"You will be my witnesses," says Jesus, "in Jerusalem (the city), Judea (the surrounding country), Samaria (the neighboring country that the people of Israel hated) and to the ends of the earth (which, at that time, meant the whole Roman Empire). The word "witness" here is a strong one--it's "martyreo," the root of the word "martyr." They were to be fully invested in living and proclaiming the resurrected Jesus that they would share in both his glory and his suffering. Their response to the ascension was not to simply continue looking up at the sky, but to go to work. It's one of my favorite scenes in the Bible when the disciples are still standing there slack-jawed at Jesus' ascension when the angel comes and says, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing here staring into heaven?" It's time to do some earthly good by bringing the life of heaven you've seen in Jesus into the world. They were to do it by bringing the good news.

That's essentially what "evangelism" means--bringing the "euangellion--good news." Interesting that churches don't like to use this word anymore. When I first came on board here we tried to establish an evangelism team but nobody really wanted to lead it or be on it. It was suggested to me that we should call it "outreach" or "hospitality"--anything but the E word.

Admittedly there's some wisdom in that. Evangelism conjures up images of aggressive hard sell tactics. I was raised on that kind of evangelism. A couple of weeks ago there was a special on 48 Hours called "The Lord's Boot Camp," which was about a missionary training center in Florida that trains teens to do evangelism around the world. I am an alumnus of that particular organization. When I was in high school, I went to Scotland on an evangelistic team. We spent two weeks in the Florida swamps training, learning to present the Gospel as one might try to sell a car but with graver consequences if you as the buyer walked away from the sale. We were trained to start with the question, "If you died tonight, do you know where you'd spend eternity?" (a Platonistic question if there ever was one). This was a question you were supposed to ask almost immediately--no how do you do, no idle chit chat. Teen Missions approach, like so many evangelical Christians, appeals to the logical thought process that goes something like this: If I die tonight, I don’t want to go to hell. The way to avoid hell is to put my faith in Jesus Christ, the one who died and rose for my salvation. Therefore, I will trust Jesus and go to heaven.

Does it work? Well, God uses a lot of different channels for grace, so we can't rule it out completely. But the Gospel is not about an insurance policy, and Jesus is not a commodity to be sold for our benefit. Evangelism like that is about body counts. We used to have to come back every day after traipsing around the parks of Glasgow and report how many conversations we had and how many converts we had nailed down. I was very interested in reading books about Vietnam at the time and I remember thinking there was a real parallel idea of success--it's all about winning through attrition. I watched this special on CBS and was reminded of this when one of the teenage girls walked a tired and weeping senior citizen in a wheelchair through the sinner's prayer and then immediately said to the elderly lady, "Congratulations, you're going to heaven. I need to go get a form."

This was not the kind of "witnessing" I think Jesus had in mind. If we take his Kingdom message seriously, then evangelism is really about enlisting people in a world-changing movement of grace, announcing the salvation of the whole world through the liberating, resurrecting power of Jesus. Presenting that message is not about coercion, but about an invitation. In fact, we might say that it's all about the "woo."

G. Richard Shell and Mario Moussa, who both teach at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, have written a book called The Art of Woo. But what is woo? Woo is relationship art — the ability to win people over without coercion, using emotionally intelligent persuasion. When we think of "woo" we think of romance, but it goes beyond that. Think courtship, invitation, solicitation. Woo applies not only to someone we want to know better, but to any relationship. Charles Lindbergh needed woo in order to attract backers for his trans-Atlantic flight. Nelson Mandela used it to lead a peaceful revolution in South Africa. Business leaders practice woo every day. Bono used it to convince conservative Senator Jesse Helms to back debt relief for Africa. The singer didn't approach the senator with facts and figures, but talked instead about Jesus' deep concern for the poor. This touched the deeply religious senator.

Motivational books urge you to “sell yourself” to your bosses and colleagues. But The Art of Woo advises you to present your ideas with self-awareness, matching a personal style to your own particular strengths and weaknesses. Evangelism isn't about selling Jesus, but about wooing, winning, and welcoming others on to the journey that is moving toward the redemption of the whole world.

So, how do you woo? How are we to share our faith in Christ and do real and biblically sound evangelism that really makes a difference in the lives of people? This is a huge challenge, but fortunately there’s help! Notice the promise of Jesus: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,” The word “power” here is the Greek word dynamis, the root of the English word “dynamite.” This is a robust and earth-shaking force, one that can topple earthly kingdoms and clear a path for God’s kingdom. This power is to be exercised in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth. Filled with this Holy-Spirit-energy, the apostles are to evangelize, take the good news — the evangelion — of Jesus Christ to every corner of the world.

Holy Spirit power--that's something we need if we're going to woo. Jesus was telling his disciples that they would be going into some far-flung and possibly dangerous places. They'd need their "woo" on in a big way. But if you look at a lot of preaching throughout the rest of the Book of Acts, you see that their wooing was most often couched in personal stories. Peter tells the crowd at Pentecost what he had seen on Easter Sunday, Paul tells the story of his encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road. It's the stories that were compelling to those in the ancient world, and it is stories that are key to the art of woo.

Think about it, guys if you're trying to get a girl to like you do you begin by giving her all your vital statistics, laying out a rational four-step plan telling her how being with you will alter her life? Do you do relationships by a formula? No! You tell your story and you listen to hers. That's woo--bringing two people together around a common story.

That's what evangelism really is…telling your story of how following Jesus has changed your life. When we’re trying to woo someone for Jesus, it’s essential that we speak from experience.

• We talk about the ways in which Christ’s teachings have guided and challenged us in our work and family life.
• We speak of the times and places we have sensed the presence of the risen Jesus.
• We express thanks for Christ’s gift of forgiveness, which has lifted the burden of our guilt and helped us to move forward.
• We share an experience of uplift and inspiration from a worship service or small group gathering.
• We tell of a time we saw the face of Christ in an unlikely person.

The key is to be an eyewitness, right along with the apostles of Jerusalem — to speak from our own personal experience.

I started doing my reading for my doctoral program this week and the first book I read was the spiritual autobiography of Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk who became prominent as a teacher of spiritual wisdom and faith. Reading the book and looking at Merton's childhood and young adulthood, you'd never guess that he would have ever become a Christian, much less a monk. It's the compelling story of his slow, long-term encounters with God, however, that are a compelling witness. When we tell our stories of faith, we're engaging in the art of woo.

The question is, though, do we have a story to tell? Have we had a passionate encounter with Christ that we want to share? The United Methodist General Conference has been meeting in Dallas this past week and one of the topics on the agenda is the declining membership of the denomination. There's always much hand-wringing over this and most of the time the solution is to try and throw money at another program or idea that will change things. To me it's all so much smoke. The problem is quite simple--Christians are afraid to tell their stories or, perhaps more precisely, they've not nurtured a life-changing relationship with Christ to the point that they even have a story to tell. John Wesley once wrote that his biggest fear for the people called Methodist was that they would have the form of faith without the spirit and power of it. We've got a lot of churches, but not a lot of dynamis. That has to change.

That change begins with us. Notice that after the disciples received this instruction from Jesus and went back into the city they didn't immediately start planning programs or hiring consultants, nor did they pick a couple of people to do all the work while the rest sat back and waited. It says "they all joined together constantly in prayer." It was during one of those times of prayer, we learn in Acts 2, that the Holy Spirit came upon them with dynamic power and they began to witness boldly.

Truth is, we can't woo others until we've been wooed ourselves by God--and that only happens when we devote ourselves to prayer. A few weeks ago I talked about a vision for our church that involves us getting back to basics, and one of the most basic basics for Christians is prayer, asking God for a movement of the Spirit and allowing ourselves to be equipped as dynamic witnesses for our community, our region, and the whole world.

So, I'd like to extend an invitation to you to learn about prayer and to be in prayer. Prayer is something we all need to be taught, so I'll be inviting you to come and learn with me. I'll be scheduling several prayer workshops throughout the summer--different kinds of prayer, different experiences. We'll be announcing those opportunities shortly. One that's coming up is the Sacred Writing Workshop in June which is an opportunity to learn how to pray by reading and writing psalms. We're also scheduling a week to have a prayer labyrinth here at the church, which is a form of walking prayer. I want to make prayer our focus for the summer, so watch for these opportunities.

Secondly, I'd like to invite you to come and join in prayer together on a regular basis. I, for one, would love to have some folks pray with me in my office before each worship service. Would you be willing to do that? I'd also be excited to have someone organize a regular weekly prayer group that can meet here or anywhere. Maybe God is calling you to do that this morning.

When Jesus ascended, he didn't leave us alone. We have access to the dynamic power of the Spirit if we'll only ask for it. We can be powerful witnesses if we'll only deepen our own encounter with God. My sincere belief is that if we follow the model of the early disciples, we'll not only be experts at the art of woo--we'll be a church that "wows" people into God's Kingdom.

Sources:

Homiletics, May-June 2008

Wright, Tom, Acts for Everyone, Vol. I, Westminster-John Knox Press, 2007.

Random Notes for a Monday

Been on the road this past week at my seminary alma mater where I'm set to begin the Beeson Pastor doctoral program in August. It's a very exciting opportunity, though it will require a lot of reading, thought, and writing--three things I am fortunately wired to do. I came home with a pile of 16 books to work through between now and August, so watch the blog for some reviews. They range from classics like the spiritual autobiographies of Thomas Merton and E. Stanley Jones to some more recent books about spiritual leadership.

Beyond that, here are some of the things I'm tracking:

• My friend and editor at Homiletics, Timothy Merrill, has an important post on his blog about the deteriorating political and human rights situation in Zimbabwe. It's too easy for us westerners to merely shrug our shoulders at these situations while people are in deep trouble. We need to pray and we need to get on the horn to our government reps to address it.
• Is it me or has the presidential race gone from being exciting and thought-provoking to largely irrelevant? The bickering and in-fighting isn't even entertaining anymore...just sad. Once again, I'm starting to wish there was a box on the ballot that said, "None of the above."
• The United Methodist General Conference began meeting this past week for the quadrennial ten day festival of preaching, protests, and pontificating. To be honest, I haven't followed it much. Our denomination is famous for having meetings with no decisions, and studies with no outcomes. I have no reason to believe this one will be any different. Am I pessimistic? Nah, just an optimist with experience.
• Life Lesson #6,432 - Never, under any circumstances, fly through O'Hare Airport in Chicago. After weather delays on Friday night I didn't get home until Saturday afternoon, an hour and a half before I had to officiate at a Memorial Service. I'll pay the extra cash to go through Cincinnati or Atlanta if necessary. Actually, I've only walked through O'Hare a couple of times in my life. Any other time it's been on a dead sprint trying to make a flight that probably wasn't going to leave anyway.
• I went on a tour of the Summit County Jail today to see how our church might be involved in doing some volunteer work. I think every pastor should be familiar with the local jail. It's an education in the deep need of humanity.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins are up 2-0 in their playoff series against the NY Rangers. Best part of the whole thing is hearing Mike Lange make the goal calls on the radio..."Heeeeeee shoots and scores," and curious ones like "Buy Sam a drink and get his dog one, too!" Nothing connects me more to my western PA roots than hearing that voice.
• The Pirates, on the other hand, are as dismal as ever. So much for "accountability." They'll be out of the race by May 15.  No announcer can put lipstick on that particular pig.
• If there's anything better than watching your kids doing their best I don't know what it is. Last week I got to see Rob play baseball in his scrappy way and Hannah play brilliantly at her violin recital. I couldn't be a prouder papa.

Have a great week!

A Tiger in Town

Just read on the ESPN web site that Tiger Woods had his knee operated on today right here in our little burgh of Park City. Dr. Rosenberg is known everywhere for his work, which brings all sorts of celebrity athletes here for work on their wheels. For you preacher types, no I didn't see Tiger, nor did anyone call me to pray with him before surgery ;-) Best wishes to him on his recovery.

The Lord's Boot Camp - Review

Hi, my name is Bob and I'm an alumnus of Teen Missions International.

Hi, Bob.

I sat in my living room on Saturday night and watched the CBS "48 Hours" special on "The Lord's Boot Camp," profiling the work of Teen Missions. See my last post for my long ago connection to the organization.

What struck me immediately is that in 27 years nothing has changed there in Merritt Island. Even the t-shirts the kids wear have the same exact logo design we wore back then. They're still running the same obstacle course, washing in sulfurized water, living in a swamp, etc. They didn't show much of it, but I'm guessing that the food is the same, too. Most memorable for me was a scalding hot soup that had no taste whatsoever...we simply called it, "Hot" as in "May I have some more 'hot' please?" (Not that that phrase was ever uttered).

The other thing that hasn't changed is the basic message--the Christianity is all about getting people equipped for heaven, regardless of their life situation, questions, or critical thought process. The spiritual body count mentality is still quite prevalent there and I physically winced several times as I watched these young teens being "trained" to share "their" faith according to a script. Interestingly, one sincere question could lock them up tight--much like when I go to get my Greek New Testament when the Jehovah's Witnesses show up. OK, some of these kids are only 13, but still... I was eating dinner in front of the TV (my wife allows that on special occasions) and when the young girl on the evangelistic team was getting a lady in a wheelchair to pray the "sinner's prayer" (which, for those of you who may not be aware of such things, is nowhere in the Bible) I started to shake my head. When she finished, however, the girl immediately said something like, "That's great...wait her while I go get a form." I just about spit my lasagna across the room. Yup, that's what it's about...gotta rack up the spiritual body count (they had set a goal of 300 people to convert before the summer was over).

I don't want to make too much light of this because TMI does do some good things around the world. I just wish that we could somehow teach kids to think theologically and critically at the same time. I don't remember ever being encouraged to ask a biblical question outside the script while I was on a TMI team. I would likely have been given a "special blessing" and sent to pull weeds at Bob Bland's house for the day. That's not developing discipleship, in my view.

I most resonated with the girl who was really struggling with the whole process. She was wanting to ask those questions and there was no room for her to do so. I realize that CBS could only give a snapshot of the experience, but coupled with my own experience I'm pretty sure that nobody really took her aside and took a sincere interest in her as a person--only that she conformed and did the job to standard. She had deep compassion for the African orphans and no agenda other than to serve them--but that didn't seem to be good enough. I felt for her because she was seen as a problem and not as a kid who needed someone to really and truly represent grace and compassion to her. Six weeks is an awesome opportunity to make an impact on a kid's life and I feel like that was wasted. She needed to know the love of Christ herself, from the people who were supposed to give it to her, before she could ever share it with others (though she did a pretty good job without them).

I thought that 48 Hours did a pretty good job at portraying the experience. Not everyone who goes through TMI becomes an automatronic evangelical. Some of us grew up to become thinking Christians who read the Bible authoritatively, yet contextually. Some of us grew up to see faith not as a commodity to be sold but a journey to be undertaken.  I still consider myself an evangelical, but in the original sense of the word--one who brings "good news." That good news is an invitation to a radical new of life that we experience not just by praying a prayer in the back of a tract, but by following Jesus in ministries of compassion and justice that change this world instead of escaping to the next one.

So, I've "recovered" from the experience, but at the same time I wouldn't trade it. Hey, if you can get a teenager to give up the XBox and IPod for a summer to do something for someone else that's at least a start!

CBS Special Saturday Evening: The Lord's Bootcamp

In 1981, during the summer between my junior and senior years of high school, I went on a mission trip to Glasgow, Scotland with Teen Missions International, a Florida-based organization that trains young people for the mission field. It was a formative experience for me and, in many ways, contributed to my call as a pastor.

Saturday night on CBS--Channel 2 here in Utah-- (I think it's 8:00PM here in the Mountain Time Zone, but check local listings), 48 Hours will be showing a documentary about Teen Missions and its operation, taking viewers into the "jungle" of the two week missionary boot camp in Merritt Island, then off to Africa for the mission itself, all the while following three teens through their experience. I just checked out the 48 Hours web site, which has a video clip.

I'm a bit conflicted about this. On the one hand, here was an experience that was important for me at the time but, on the other hand, when I look back 27 years later (has it been that long?) I can see some of the cult-like creepiness of it. TMI teaches young people to share their faith in an aggressive "turn or burn" kind of way and the tent meetings each evening are kind of like Jesus pep rallies. We didn't hear a lot about God's Kingdom coming to earth in the midst of all that and our training to serve the poor looks, in retrospect, a little disingenuous--serve the poor, but do so while trying to get them to pray the prayer in the back of the tract so you could call them a Christian.  Theologically, I'm not there anymore and, truth be told, I never felt completely  convinced at the time that accosting people on the streets and in the park of Glasgow was really what Jesus meant when he said "Go and make disciples." That takes building a relationship, investing one's life, being part of a community of faith. I've always had a bit of a problem with selling Jesus as a commodity and faith as a "get out of hell free" card. We need to share our faith, for sure, but we do so by offering the hand of fellowship and love to strangers, not shoving a tract in their hand.

Still, there was much about the TMI experience that I have drawn on throughout my life. I first started to become a leader instead of a wallflower on that trip--even had the chance to give the message in a Scottish church one Sunday. I learned that I could overcome adversity, that I could function in a different culture, and gained some confidence in myself. The next summer I went to Army Basic Training which, come to think of it, was eerily similar in some ways (indoctrination, living in the mud, etc.) I wouldn't trade the experience for anything but, at the same time, I'd probably encourage my own kids to go somewhere else to learn about the real nature of missions--like serving the poor in their own area and focusing on learning not so much how to get people into heaven but how to get the life of heaven into the earth. Hopefully, these are messages that teens are getting from their home churches!

I encourage you to watch or TiVo this special and let me know what you think. At the very least, it'll give you a little window into part of this pastor's spiritual journey.
 

Announcing a "Lands of the Bible" Cruise - March 2009

Here's a tremendous opportunity to experience the Bible in person. Visit Egypt and see the Pyramids of Giza, go to Israel and visit Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and the Galilee, then to Turkey for tours of Antioch, Perga, Aspendos, and Ephesus and wind up in Greece walking among the ruins of ancient Athens and Corinth. You'll cover the whole Bible--from Old Testament to the Letters of Paul--in 11 days and (here's the best part)--you'll do so traveling in the comfort of a Mediterranean cruise ship!

I hope you'll join me for this awesome journey that we'll begin on March 11, 2009. I'll be hosting the trip through Educational Opportunities, Inc., a fantastic tour company that specializes in biblical travel experiences. Cost from Salt Lake City starts at $3370 per person, which includes airfare, cruise, tours, most meals, taxes and fees. Your final number will vary based on what kind of cabin you choose on the ship.

All the details are here on the EO web site. You can register using my name and tour host number (39729). If you're reading this from elsewhere in the country, you can depart from a city near you and still join us in Cairo for the beginning of the trip.

I'm really excited about this tour and hope you'll consider joining the journey! 

Vanishing Believer Syndrome (Sermon for 4-6-08)

Acts 2:14a, 36-41

One of the sure signs of spring here in Park City, at least for our family, is the appearance of the pavement in our driveway. Being a north-facing house, we usually have a thick layer of snow and ice throughout the whole winter, but on Friday the last big chunk of ice broke up and is finally gone. There’s still about 3 and a half feet of snow in the front yard, but we know that spring has at least a good chance of being a reality in the next month or so.

In other places in the country, signs of spring are springing up everywhere, too, but one of those signs has been missing the last couple of years. Maybe you’ve read about this, but one of the most significant and necessary signs of spring—the appearance of honeybees pollinating plants and crops, has been rapidly and mysteriously disappearing. Beekeepers have been opening their hives to find them completely empty—the bees gone without a trace.

Here’s the troubling statistic: In recent years, at least half of all U.S. commercial honeybee colonies have been affected and billions of bees have gone missing. That there are more than 90 fruit and vegetable crops that need bees to pollinate them, and that the value of those crops is estimated to be more than $14 billion in this country alone, suggests the extent of the concern about CCD. What’s more, although the problem first showed up in this country, it’s now occurring in Europe and the Middle East as well.

Why CCD happens is poorly understood, but current investigation suggests that it might be caused, at least in part, by a virus. If that’s the case, it may be possible to counteract the virus by breeding bees that are resistant to it and then repopulating the collapsed hives with them. But we’re not there yet, and researchers aren’t even certain that a virus is the complete explanation. It’s possible that pesticides, unknown pathogens, emissions from cellular phones, global warming, poor nutrition and even vampire mites could be playing a role. We just don’t know at this point.

Beekeepers tell us that in the affected colonies, a few dead bees are usually found near the hive, but that most of the adult bees seem to disappear without a trace. In fact, the alternate name for CCD is Vanishing Bee Syndrome (VBS). The current speculation is that if CCD/VBS is caused by a virus, it may somehow interfere with the bees’ ability to get back to the hive.

When bees vanish, there’s a serious ripple effect. Interestingly, I was reading another article this week that was eerily similar. What’s happening with bees is the same thing that’s happening in churches—churches closing, membership, worship attendance and participation declining—there’s something interfering with people’s ability to get back to the church. Call it “Vanishing Believer Syndrome.”

Here are the statistics: 40% of Americans surveyed by Gallup said they attended church in the last seven days, but an actual survey of church headcounts revealed that the number is actually more like 17%. According to the American Church Research Project, church attendance from 1990-2006 remained constant at about 52 million people in the pews each week, but during those 16 years the population of the US grew by an equivalent number—52 million. Church participation is nowhere near keeping up with population growth. If current trends continue, by 2020 only 14.7% of people in the US will be in worship on a given Sunday, meaning that 85% of the people in our cities and towns are not.

Come to think of it, another sure sign of spring are the denominational conferences popping up, where officials wring their hands wondering what they’re going to do about their declining numbers. Our Rocky Mountain Annual Conference is in June and our conference is declining, despite living in one of the fastest growing areas of the country. Some of us are concerned about that but, sadly, there are many more who don’t even notice.

Our own worship attendance, while not declining, has been relatively flat for the past three years. Some have argued that we’re a resort community, so maintaining our average of participation is actually a good thing. I believe otherwise. To my way of thinking, if we’re not growing, if we’re not seeing more and more people coming to worship to have an encounter with Jesus, then we’re missing the mark. No, we probably won’t collapse—but our goal needs to be growth, not maintenance.

What’s happening here? Where have all the people gone? Some point to the fact that birth rates in this country have slowed considerably, but you wouldn’t know that by looking at our congregation! But when I looked at the theories of possible causes of Colony Collapse Disorder in bees, I think some of the same factors may be at work in the church—particularly when it comes to a virus.

My theory about Vanishing Believer Syndrome is that it is viral—and the virus the church is suffering from is one that it has caught from the hyper-consumerism of the culture at large. The truth is that most people in our culture look at the church like they look at many other institutions—as a provider of goods and services. People pick churches based on what “meets their needs” and what is there to benefit them. For the larger culture and for people with no church connection, the church is nothing more than a dispenser of religious goods and services: a place for baptisms, weddings, and funerals (what we might call “hatching, matching, and dispatching”). Two incidents this week are prime evidence of how deep the virus runs:

I got a call from a travel agent this week—a travel agent—who called to book the church for a wedding for his clients who happened to be vacationing in Park City next week. When I asked whether the couple had any kind of church connection, the travel agent was very confused. Why was that important? All they want is to book a venue with a nice view. I sent him our wedding policy guidelines, which require some premarital counseling, church connection, and relationship building and told him to have the “clients” give me a call. I never heard back.

Next there was a bride planning her church wedding (somewhere else) who was given a list of Bible passages by the pastor. She said, and I quote, “But what I’d really like is some Bible verses that are not so bible-y.” Bible-y? That’s like the bride who called here once and said, “We like your church and all, but could you take the God stuff out of the service?” Nah, I said, God comes with the package.

Now, we might blame a spiritually bankrupt culture on all this, but the truth is that the church itself has largely bought into this mindset, coming up with more and more gimmicks and techniques to attract people without requiring anything of them. Then there are those in the pews who view church attendance as little more than yet another activity or entertainment option to engage in when there’s nothing else to do. In that mindset, fresh powder on Sunday morning or little Timmy’s soccer practice takes precedence over worshipping God and being with God’s people. It’s the virus that speaks when I see vanished believers in the grocery store who say, “Well, we really should be in church more but we’re just so darn busy, you know? We just got out of the habit, we’ll be back when (skiing, soccer, mountain biking, etc.) season is over.” Am I stepping on toes here? I hope so.

There are also those who vanish from the church for other reasons—they don’t like the pastor, someone offended them, the music isn’t to their liking, etc. People leave churches for a lot of reasons but, interestingly, statistics are showing that most of these people don’t connect with another church after they leave. The virus of consumerism and self-righteousness interferes with their ability to get back to the hive.

The bottom line is this—colonies collapse and bee-lievers vanish when their primary reason for existence isn’t being well-maintained or is struck by a mysterious infection. How do you fix it?

Well, in the world of bees and beekeepers, one of the solutions being talked about involves breeding bees that can develop certain hygienic behaviors. Bees bred for hygienic behavior detect and remove diseased brood from the nest before pathogens become infectious. These virus-resistant bees somehow learn to pay more attention to what’s going on in the hive and collectively take action to maintain the overall health.

I really believe that the solution to Vanishing Believer Syndrome involves the same kind of operation. We need to develop disciples of Jesus who are more resistant to the virus of hyper-consumerism and narcissistic individualism—disciples who are trained and equipped to challenge the viral nature of the culture and who maintain the church as a place of growth, nurture, and production for God’s Kingdom.

Look at today’s text from the Book of Acts. Luke, the writer, reports the reaction of the crowd on the Day of Pentecost to Peter’s sermon. As Peter concluded, the crowd, which had been “cut to the heart” by his words, cried out, asking, “What should we do?” Peter told them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus so that their sins could be forgiven and they could receive the Holy Spirit.

Those things — repentance, forgiveness, baptism by water and by the Holy Spirit — are what we might call the “entry level” things that a church must mediate to be the church in any meaningful sense of the word. If we are not offering Christ and calling people to repent and follow him, then we really are not the church. The people on that day understood what Peter was saying and a great many of them accepted Christ on the spot and were immediately baptized, which must have kept Jesus’ disciples very busy.

That started the church.

However, if we continue reading to the end of the chapter, we find Luke’s account of significant developments among those early converts that go beyond the entry-level things, developments that strengthened the church. He says the believers began to pool their resources, thus caring for all of their number; they also began to spend their time in worship, learning, fellowship, the breaking of bread with glad and generous hearts and prayer. And one result of all of this is that they had “the goodwill of all the people,” meaning that everyone, even those who had not themselves embraced Christianity, saw the colony of Christians as a bright spot in the community.

So it would seem that if we wanted to point to a church today that should not collapse, it would be one where people are clearly and creatively called to Christ, where there is strong worship, fellowship, caring for one another, common goals in mission and ministry, an active prayer life among the membership, a thorough Christian education for children and newcomers to the faith and where the church is held in high regard by the larger community.

To put it another way, the cure for Vanishing Believer Syndrome (VBS) is actually a form of another VBS—Vacation Bible School. Except in this case, it’s not just a week and it’s not just for kids. When I was a kid in VBS I learned the basics of the faith—the core beliefs and habits that formed me as a Christian and contributed to my hearing God’s call to ministry. We all need that kind of basic equipping in order to resist the cultural viruses that are always trying to infect us and enable us to grow a healthy and world-changing church. We need to go back to VBS—except now I might call it “Vocational Bible School.” We all have a vocation as disciples of Jesus and we all need each other to make his vision of God’s Kingdom a reality.

I’ve been sharing with our leadership team and committees a vision that I have been developing for awhile now—a vision that our church would be one that gives primary emphasis, instruction, and training on the foundational aspects of faith—a church that sees itself primarily in the business of transforming people into devoted followers of Jesus who will transform the world. To do that, we can no longer have a colony where the bee-lievers simply flit in and out at will or disappear for long stretches. We can no longer afford to let the viruses of culture degrade our health. We need to buy into the healthy understanding that being a follower of Jesus is both a group trip and an individual experience!

The writer of Hebrews told the Christians of his day to not neglect to meet together, but to assemble as believers to encourage one another (Hebrews 10:25). And he was right. Church isn’t like school where you attend for a while until you receive your “B.A. Christian” degree (or BEE A Christian degree) and then you graduate. The church has no alumni association. We need to continue to be part of a faith colony for both what we receive and what we contribute.

At the same time, however, we need to take individual responsibility for the health of our faith. We do that through such private activities as prayer and Bible reading and giving of our resources of time and money. We do it by following Jesus as both a daily habit and a weekly celebration.

There are 168 hours in a week. How many of those are you giving to God? As part of this vision for our church I’m going to be challenging you in the coming months to make a commitment of time, talent, and energy to becoming a growing disciple of Jesus. I’m going to challenge you to commit a minimum of three hours of your week to the group life of the church—one hour for worship, one hour for Bible study with other Christians, and one hour of service in a ministry that fits your spiritual gifts. That’s three hours spent helping to maintain the hive of our community life together. There’s more to be said about this, but you’ll be hearing more about it. My concern as pastor is the health of our Christian colony and its time we took some specific steps in that direction.

Christians always have a prime responsibility to the church to help it be a place where the things Peter outlined — the preaching of repentance, baptism, seeking the Holy Spirit — are happening. The church, with our help, should also ensure that the practices of the early converts — worship, fellowship, caring for one another, common goals in mission and ministry, an active prayer life among the membership, a thorough Christian education for children and newcomers to the faith and so on — are carried out. We should keep showing up and helping out at our church.

Too many churches are suffering from colony collapse disorder. For some, it’s a matter of simple economics—as populations decrease, some churches don’t have enough people to sustain themselves. 3,700 churches close in this country every year. For the rest, like us, there needs to be a fresh wind of God’s Spirit and a return to the practices and relationships that breed healthy Christians and healthy communities of faith.

Skiing is nice, soccer is cool, mountain biking is something I enjoy—but these activities can never take the place of a vital relationship with God. That relationship takes time, energy, and effort to grow. I’m going to be challenging you in the coming months to do just that—to give some of your prime time and best energy to growing as a follower of Christ.

Do that, and none of us will ever disappear from church without a trace!

Sources:

"Colony Collapse Disorder," Homiletics, March-April 2008.

Olson, David, "Is the American Church in Crisis?" Rev. Magazine, March-April 2008.

"The Tyranny of the Scattered Mind"

Continuing the discussion of theological themes that emerge at the start of the baseball season, I came across this post on the Christianity Today blog entitled "Pitching as Liturgy"--an intriguing title, to be sure. The writer expresses the belief that the life of faith, like pitching, requires deep focus and discipline. Here's an excerpt:

"Faith, belief, and trust in a God who is invisible to our senses is tough work, kind of like striking out an all-star hitter. With the noise of the fans, the signs from the catcher, the lessons from the coach playing through the mind, it's too much. For me, with the daily commute, the constant deadlines, the needs of a family, I'm shackled by the tyranny of the scattered mind. God is there, oh yes, but there are so many more pressing things. Life is hyperlinked, and I never complete one thing before moving to the next."

Rob Moll says that the solution is to engage in routine, ritual, the discipline of worship and spiritual practice. I really like this analogy because it speaks to the thing that many Christians in a "what's next" and "what's new" world miss--faith involves some hard work.

Check out the post--it's a fastball on the inside corner.

When Your Boss is a Monkey

One of the magazines I subscribe to is Fast Company, which is kind of a hip business magazine with all sorts of interesting takes on leadership, technology, and marketing. It’s good for stimulating some “out of the church” thinking. The latest issue has a really funky article called “Your Boss is a Monkey” (the church staff would agree). Anyway, the article describes a book by Amy Sutherland, who studied animal trainers who are able to get their charges to do amazing things and applies her learning to managing people, too. The book’s title (I love this) What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love, and Marriage. Bottom line is that whether you’re dealing with a massive sea creature, an elephant, a simian superior in your office or a wild child at home, the key to managing the situation is about managing yourself—particularly controlling your reactions. Animal trainers faced with, say, a beluga whale spitting cold water on them do best when they don’t react but engage in a technique called the “least reinforcing scenario” (LRS). It’s a technique that Sutherland says works on both whales and husbands. Check out the article on the Fast Company web site.

It occurred to me that this is the kind of thing that Jesus did so well—not reacting to both the criticism he faced or the praise heaped on him. He was a master at controlling his reactions in the face of the wild machinations of demons or the dullness of his disciples. He was probably the most self-differentiated person who ever lived.

If you’re dealing with tough situations at home, at school, or at the office, you’ll want to check out this article and maybe even get the book. It’s fascinating and useful stuff!

Hope Springs Eternal: Baseball's Back!

No sermon this week since we have a guest choir from Mountain Vista UMC doing a cantata for us. I've been spending the week catching up on some little projects and trying to get some extra rest after a busy Holy Week.

The other big news is that tomorrow is Opening Day for baseball. Yeah, the Red Sox and A's played two games that counted in Japan but, come on...that was kind of, well, not the same thing (no disrespect to rabid Japanese baseball fans intended). Monday is actually the big day as the full slate of games gets going.

What I like about this week is that every team believes it has a shot...even my hometown Pirates, who are likely destined for their 16th losing season, making them a de facto Triple A team for the big market teams that actually have a shot. New management is in place this year, but it just ain't gonna happen. The Rockies, my adopted team here in the West, look to continue their magical run of last year. They're a fun team to watch and I'll be catching several games at Coors Field in June when we head to Denver for Annual Conference (yeah, I'll go to some conference stuff, too...I promise).

Hope springs eternal for everyone, though, as the first pitch is thrown. No matter how bad last year was, everyone gets a fresh start. It's an annual reminder of the power of grace.

Don't let anyone ever tell you there's no connection between baseball and theology!