the "both/and's" of our faith

As I was clicking around YouTube today I ran across a few videos and conversations that really got me thinking, or more reminded me of the constant tension we live in as followers of Jesus.

When someone makes the decision to follow a certain way of life out of a relational, love commitment - things often become clearer... as well as more gray than they used to be. I am very leery of folks who make the commitment to follow Jesus and then suddenly have all the answers, an established world-view and a well rehearsed apologetic to counter any argument thrown their way. Those are the folks to who scare me, especially when given leadership roles in churches.

Speaking of church leadership - back to the instantly accessible worldly-wisdom of Youtube...
I saw something with John MacArthur and Emergent Church in the title, so I clicked and listened. Now, I don't claim to know much of anything about this MacArthur cat, but I recall he is in California at a very large (conservative, IIRC) church. The audio clip had a radio host playing a Brian MacLaren sound-bite for MacArthur to respond to.
and then it got interesting.

[sidenote: what a great cagematch this would be! The epic battle of the "Mac"s. I can see it now in lights: The tall, comb-over conservative taking on the short, bald, theological southpaw]

In the short (and un-contextualized) sound-bite offered, MacLaren addresses the fact that many Christians (especially those arguing over the primacy of Christ and heaven/hell etc.) believe that "the primary purpose of Jesus, the primary message of Christ was about how to get to heaven."
At that point the radio host stops the recording and MacArthur (obviously ruffled and coming out swinging) exclaims that "yes," Jesus did come to get us to heaven and to escape hell - not to end slavery, fix daily life etc. But, to save us from eternal damnation!

Here is where I again took mouse in hand and paused the video. A few things really stood out to me.
a. Here is an educated, intelligent man taking a brief recording of another - out of context - and ripping it apart without even offering some thought to why MacLaren might have said what he said.
b. How twisted is it when we start picking public fights with other believers in order to promote our own agenda in the name of "revealing the 'truth' about Jesus?"
c. How small of a box have many Christians put Christ in? And in the same vain, how central a role have we been duped into thinking that we play in what God does, why and when?

Please do not read on thinking that I am simply backing ol' Brian MacLaren on this and throwing stones at "the man" or established, westernized, evangelical "church" - I am doing neither. But I do this simply to bring out some perspectives on the who's and why's of Jesus.

Listening to MacLaren, it is inferred that Christ came for much more than simply to show us how to get to heaven and bring news of eternal salvation. Christ also came to defeat evil, to triumph over systemic sin. To bring a holistic redemption that speaks to ever fallen and sinful thing.

With big sin comes the need for a big redemption... unless of course we as humans are at the center of the story. (how American of us to think that:)

Here is where the "both/and" comes in, and the answer is "yes."
Yes, we are central to the story - we as humanity are so dearly loved (collectively and individually) by God. He saw our plight and longed for relationship with us and thusly sent Jesus to bridge that gap and bring us to him, and for that relationship to be eternal.

But-

like good Americans, we have taken some things to far, both as individuals and especially as churches and denominations.

It seems to me that over the last couple generations many well intentioned Christians and churches have lost a sense of the larger story of God. I continue to meet many good and sincere people who cling to the idea of the Scriptures as a collection of rules to live by and selected verses used for apologetics and proof-texting. A person's decision to believe in Jesus and His death on the cross for our sins has become the primary focus. And as MacArthur illustrated via Youtube, the Penal Substitution metaphor of the atonement seems to have filled to the scope of our understanding of Jesus, His mission and message.

The short answer remains "yes" and "yes." Christ came both for the salvation of humanity, but also to bring the Kingdom of God that ushers in a redemption that speaks to the far reaches of sin, brokenness and pain in our world; from the simplest white lie to the twisted and complex systems that all too often hold power in the world.

God is a big god and the more I seek to understand and listen to him - the more I realize my smallness and that He has room in his grace and plan for the "both/and."

Ex-thoughts?

So... if you happened to spot an ex-girlfriend/boyfriend when out and about one day, would you rather them be:

a. Hott, confident and looking better than ever

or...

b. Fat and ugly

?


As I pondered this (clearly I have too much time on my hands), I was unsure. If they we're lookin good, you could always smile and say "ah, yeah, I was with that." Or, if the spotted from a distance ex had really let themselves go, you can always say - "man, glad I got outta that, totally made the right choice."

Either way you end up feeling pretty good about having spotted a piece of your romantic history. But, I wonder what it says about someone if they answer in one of the two above ways? or what if they respond to the sighting with something new?

Who knows.... Moral of the story - just don't think too much.