Accepting Unacceptable Behavior

Conversations often take unexpected turns; especially when the subject is one’s life story. Predictable left the building long ago. Some things do not change. Listening to parents talk about their children brings few surprises. Our children are grown, at least they think they are. We learned not to be too surprised by anything when they were younger. Growing up meant adjustments and not just on the part of the children in the family. Hearing stories today reminds us of experiences shared not long ago. Despite the lack of surprise when it comes to young people, I am still occasionally taken back by the stories I hear from adults.

A series of recent stories reminded me of an incident Patty and me encountered in Colorado late last summer. We grabbed dinner before we would take in a play. Nearing the end of our meal a young family came into the restaurant. They seemed to be enjoying their meal as we left. Overcast and cool we decided to sit in the car and read as we waited for time to enter the theater. Not long the young mother and her youngest son emerged from the restaurant. The young boy was obviously in trouble. He shouted as his mother. He threw rocks. A number of people walked up and down the sidewalks and witnessed the manner in which this young boy treated his mother. She exercised incredible patience.

An older gentleman had been observing the incident. He may well have been a grandpa. Evidently he endured enough of the public spectacle. He spoke from across the street telling the mother she allowed unacceptable behavior. Many parents prefer not to spank their children. Parents must still decide how to provide discipline and enforce acceptable behavior. Methodologies may well be diverse but at some point a child must learn what is acceptable. Clearly this behavior was not.

Rather than focus on the behavior of the child the connection to these recent stories centered on the one who accepts the unacceptable behavior. Somewhere along the way someone in authority or power likely convinced another their behavior, the one in power, was somehow acceptable. Sadly in the narratives I listened to the behavior that had been accepted left the person accepting treatment less than human. The effects have been devastating.

The bright spot in these stories have been the experience of redemptive relationships. A husband, a friend, another family member, a church committed to cultivating these redemptive relationships alter the narrative; the stories are changing. Slowly but surely unacceptable behavior is shunned in favor of the experience of being fully human.

We who follow Jesus must advocate for redemptive relationships where people are treated as human beings, never less.

Three Is Enough … Todd Hunter

I met Todd Hunter about six years ago. Since that time we have hosted Todd on a few ETREK conference calls. He writes well about the missional turn. Yesterday Ed Stetzer posted the following release on his blog and today Jim Henderson with Off-the-Map included it in an e-mail. Todd’s new work should be a great contribution to and for us all.

Three Is Enough Groups – Spirituality For the Sake of Others
Todd Hunter, former CEO of Alpha USA, launches new ministry to focus on spiritual transformation

Boise, ID, April 2, 2008

Effective April 1, Todd Hunter (51) transitioned from his role of National Director at Alpha USA to launch a new ministry focused on helping pastors and lay leaders reach a generation that has become disenfranchised from the church.

Under the new non-profit, Society for Kingdom Living, Hunter will develop his writing, speaking and professional activities in the areas of conversational evangelism and the 21st century church. Hunter has a passion for evangelism but is convinced that Christianity in America has a massive image problem that stymies most attempts at evangelism. With the basic premise that Christianity needs to be re-practiced in order to help make followers of Jesus in this generation, he is developing resources and events that include writing a series of three books, the first to be published by InterVarsity Press, developing conferences, and teaching at key seminaries.

His first major conference to be held in Minneapolis on May 16-17 features conversational evangelism pioneers Mark Mittleberg, Becky Pippert, Dan Kimball and Garry Poole and Rick Richardson. Hunter has asked Jim Henderson and Off The Map to produce these conferences.

Hunter will begin this ministry by teaching and consulting on Three Is Enough Groups. These groups are designed to show people how to undo un-Christian faith by showing them that heaven is not the goal of Christianity - it is simply the destination. Being the servant - otherly people of God - is the goal.

Through his writing and teaching, Hunter will encourage churches and lay leaders to begin forming Three Is Enough Groups to help individuals pray, grow and serve. Keeping the groups small and focused insures that evangelism can happen anywhere, in the midst of people’s busy lives. Meeting in their most natural places of community – the workplace, school, or at the local coffee shop - Three Is Enough Groups will go on the Journey Inward of spiritual transformation and the Journey Outward of serving others. This will be done through the power of the Holy Spirit, for the sake of others - the least, the last and the missing.

Hunter will continue to be a consultant to Alpha USA and will remain on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee. He will have an active role in promoting Alpha, teaching on Alpha’s practices, building relationships and advising the organization on strategy.

Friday Photo … “Through Another’s Eyes”

Last week we (Tommie, Charlie and me) spent an hour photographing around the countryside. I will call this one “Through another’s eyes.” Charlie noted Tommie took some great shots with his camera. She has quite the eye. We were glad she was willing to hang out with some novices.

Glad Jordon and I survived …

Last October a group of us may have not made the best decision. Jordon points to a tragedy as an indication we may have put the novelty of the event ahead of better judgment.

A Sunday Morning with Larry Norman

In 1987, or 1988, Scott G. wanted to see if we could host a Larry Norman concert in Southwest Dallas. He worked hard. Scott secured Duncanville High School as the venue and the date was set. Not only would we get to host the “Father of Christian Rock” but we would host him at our church the following Sunday morning and share a meal at John G’s home after worship.

The concert was great. We wondered why we could not get a better crowd. Likely due to the fact that Larry did not get much air time on the “Christian” radio stations. It was hard, if not impossible, to find his stuff in stores, especially Christian bookstores.

Sunday came and it was time for Larry to sing. He arrived a bit late. He sang, “I Wish We’d All Been Ready.” Lunch was fun too.

I was saddened to read Larry went “somewhere beyond the sky.” I felt the same as Michael Spencer who wrote,

I love you, Larry. Family- many are praying for you. He really helped me see Jesus. That’s about as good as it gets.

Go over and follow the links to Spencer’s posts.

(HT:iMonk)

An Evening of Worship and Thinking About Waking Up

I met Brian at the very first National Pastor’s Convention in San Diego. Evangelism formed the nexus of his “breakout” during the conference. I can still see the image of the bridge in Central America after a recent hurricane. The photo taken by a National Geographic photographer captured in a photo image what Brian suggested our evangelism efforts had become - a bridge that did not connect people with the Good News. Brian would go on to write More Ready Than You Realize, his description of a way forward with the Good News of Jesus and the Kingdom of God.

Patty and I attended an “Advance” with Len Sweet who invited Brian and Grace to be the special guests. We spent a couple of days on Orcas Island. Beautiful. Thought-provoking. I will not forget Grace wrestling with the profound implications of thinking afresh about what it means to follow Jesus. The emotion was palpable. She voiced what many around the room were both feeling and thinking.

Since that time we have had a number of encounters over the past years since that retreat - Emergent Conventions, Emergent Gatherings, phone calls and e-mails. Despite the baggage that goes with “Emergent” and the regular criticisms, the deep appreciation for Brian’s honest wrestling with how Jesus may be Good News today stirs me more deeply than the rampant misunderstanding and label mongering that follows.

This evening and tomorrow I am in Dallas for Brian’s Everything Must Change Book Tour at Cliff Temple Baptist Church. I read an advance copy. I met Shawn and Nathan this evening, a couple of fellows from Frisco, TX. We enjoyed several planned “conversations” thinking about a segment of the meeting. We talkd about things we agreed with and those we thought may be over-simplifications. After all, those who attend these things are not automatons who hang on every word. Instead we have continued to think long and hard about issues raised and how we might bring the Good News of Jesus to bear on the world and among those with whom we serve.

My friend Ed loves to use the phrase, “money quote.” Well, one of the money quotes that has implications much broader than the context in which the comment came was, “We need to stop sub-contracting our brains to political parties.” Surely you may see where this quote could also go. Too many have been told what to believe - outsourcing as it were their very convictions to those either considered smarter, older, or deader (if that is a word). Contextualization demands we engage today, it is the eternal moment we live in that needs redeeming from ruin and to be found as it is lost - lost in any number of ways.

We were challenged to think what it would take, what action we may consider that would result in personal change. The one thing I am mulling at this late hour is an abandon to the way of Jesus that leads with passion and gentleness and respect. Put another way, thinking about the implications of Philip Yancey’s, The Jesus I Never Knew, and what Paul told me is that same theme on steroids in Wright’s The Challenge of Jesus, it is time to help people see more than a caricature of Jesus. More than what one Damah Film submittal referred to as, “The White American Jesus.” Leading in this vein will not come without a personal commitment to an abandonment to the way of Jesus that transcends the cultural box, or sub-cultural box, in which Jesus often seems trapped.

For those concerned by this post, this is not the place where the slippery slope gets me. It is not the place to suggest an abandonment of orthodoxy. Rather, it is a re-affirmation that to maintain orthodoxy without right practice is a hollow game leading people away from the transformative work of the Triune God. A game I gave up long ago.

The Edge of the Inside … Pt. 1

“What’s in a name?” The wise Solomon suggested, “a good name is to be chosen above riches.” Most muse about the meaning of their name at one point or another. Parents fret over what to name their children and will often refer to books that give the meanings of common names. On my recent trip to Spain I met a couple. The wife’s father happened on a name while walking through a cemetery. There on a gravestone he thought he read the name, “Mentanna.” Years later they walked through that same cemetery and discovered the name was, “Mentaha.” Rather than feel bashful about her name, Mentanna wears the name with great pride.

In the first iteration of my blog I chose the title, “Just Todd.” My friend Mark had titled his first blog, “Just Mark.” Flattery is a compliment. I asked Mark if he minded if I used his idea. Over the past number of years I have used a variety of platforms - Blogger, Typepad and now Wordpress. Last summer I thought it time to re-work the blog. My friend David helped set up the new digs. In the process it was time for a new title.

A couple of years ago I was privileged to meet Father Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest. We had dinner in New Mexico. We toured the Center for Action and Contemplation he founded in Albuquerque. One of the newsletters I picked up to read contained an article by Father Rohr titled, “The Edge of the Inside: The Prophetic Position.” Thoughts of a prophetic position for the pastor of a local church resonated with me. I found the name for the new iteration of my blog.

What is the “edge?” Father Rohr suggests it is liminal space. The space he describes is one where we are moving from old ways of thinking to new ways, the place toward holiness. He notes,

To take your position on the spiritual edge of things is to learn how to move safely in and out, back and forth, across and return. It is a prophetic position, not a rebellious or antisocial one. When you live on the edge of anything with respect and honor, you are in a very auspicious position. You are free from its central seduction, but also free to hear its core message in very new and creative ways. When you  are at the center of something, you usually confuse the essentials with the non-essentials, and get tied down by trivia, loyalty tests, and job security, Not much can happen there.

Leading a local church should always leave us looking for the space where we may help others move toward holiness.

More in Pt. 2

Partnering in Western Europe

If you are in the Northern Virginia or Atlanta areas in March, you should go over and sign up for one of the two meetings put together by the Regional Leadership Team for Western Europe of the IMB. For too long we have outsourced our work. We need to become real partners in the Good News.

Learning from my new friends …

I found myself today reduced to tears. For a moment or two I wondered, “Why?” After reflection and regaining my composure I realized some of it has to be the sheer beauty of learning with others in ways and about matters which one may only understand from a view on “their” turf. Too often we presume to “know.” My cynical friends already determined it pointless. My skeptical friends consider it unhelpful. Today I am inspired by the grasp of those who realize there are things too big for them and yet persist in ways that certainly honor the way of Jesus among people we too readily discharge, and have already written off.

And then  there was the expression of sheer loneliness salved by friends …

Best Kept Secret … Needs to Get Out … Shapevine

My first encounter with Lance was via a conference call. We discussed the project on which he and Alan Hirsch collaborated. Shapevine added some key developers and the Beta period will be over soon. The value of the regular interviews along with the soon to be released features make Shapevine a one of a kind.

Today Lance will interview Ryan Bolger at 3:00 p.m. CST. I met Ryan a few years ago, in the early days of ETREK. What a great gift to students! Take some time and get over to Shapevine and help get the word out. You will not be disappointed.

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