I’m about to begin a teaching series at Otter Creek Church (The Story of Us) from Genesis 1-11. I’ve been studying all summer, and am working in community with Wade, Luke, Josh, and Collin (two of whom are church planters) on the role of Genesis in the local church. It’s been a tremendous season of reflection and thought for me as Otter Creek continues to live into the energy God’s spirit is pouring upon us.

This week, I’ve been particularly attune to the competing narratives that contest for identity and allegiance. My assumption is that the Enuma Elish (ancient cosmological account) and others must be understood, on some level, in order for the sting of Genesis to be felt by modern listeners. Moreover, anyone teaching Genesis must be willing to exegete the competing narratives within one’s given culture (be it Uganda, Brazilian or North American). Here are three competing stories that the writer/preacher/teacher must weigh when teaching Genesis.

• The Consumer Story: this story says that God created you to shop. Your sum worth is directly linked to your ability and execution of purchasing the latest in fashion and technology. If you don’t look a certain way, you can’t play a certain part. If you don’t have a crackberry/iPhone/iPad you are somehow incomplete. Your identity is tied to what you obtain. Both President Obama and President Bush showed their hand when they used language that the only way to bring the U.S. economy back was to get consumers to spend (one of the reasons we got where we are in the first place). Or, as Mark Twain once noted about Tom Sawyer, “Tom discovered a great law of human action, namely, that in order to make a man covet a thing it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.” The more we have, ironically, the more we want.
• The Nationalist Story: This story, which is found in almost every nation-state in the West, says that the accident of birth should be ignored. The country you live in is superior to surrounding countries because it’s the country in which you live. Most nations then have room for religion as long as particular expressions of religion are good for said country. Or, as one preacher likes to say, the relationship between government and faith is like mixing manure and ice cream. It’s good for the manure bad for the ice cream. Whenever faith gets caught up in the agenda of a particular party (liberal or conservative) faith loses. As I explained previously on this blog, there’s a profound difference between being a patriot and a nationalist. A patriot loves what is worth loving and hates what is worth hating about one’s particular country. A nationalist blindly bolsters the agenda of said nation regardless of the cost.
• The Competition Story: This story says your worth is tied to what you do, what you manage to accomplish. From out-of-control youth sports coaches/leagues, to the cut-throat corporate ladder many  are forced to climb, this narrative is often what drives education and career paths. That is, we go to school and pick jobs based, not upon what God is calling us to repair in God’s broken world, but “how much money can I make?”)–which of course is the intersection of Story #1 and #3.

I only like to play in tournaments I think I can win. The problem with these three tournaments is that even when you win, you lose. More importantly, when we win, the Story of God in scripture loses. Genesis gives us a better story.

16 year old Josh:

You are about to turn 16. You are going to drive a big red F250 truck (affectionately nicknamed “Big Red” and “Clifford” for the children’s book character—you got street cred). You will have ample opportunity to pursue the vices that have swirled in your imagination for the past few years. Life’s about to get real interesting.

Basketball is going to open doors to travel, share life with people from all over the U.S. But you will also have doors opened because of basketball that you need not walk through.

You work hard being the person others want you to be (that’s not all bad)—but you are missing out on being yourself. Be yourself (the version God made you to be) because everyone else is taken.

You are about to have angst inside yourself that you think can be quenched by relationships—but it’s a mirage in the desert. Like salt-water, the more you drink the thirstier you’ll be.

Your parents  have a deeply rooted love for you and while you think they don’t know what you are going through, there is nothing new under the sun. They know more than you think. Actually, the older you get the more you’ll realize how brilliant your parents actually were. The older you get the smarter they’ll be. You will end up modeling them when you become a parent yourself.

You are going to make some big mistakes—some bigger than you thought you were capable of. The pain will be real, the scars permanent. You’re going to do some important things too. Things you’ll look back on with great pride. Don’t let either define you.

In just a few years, you’ll read something form Howard Thurman that will change your life. I wish you could read it now: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Instead, ask what makes you come alive, because what the world needs is people who’ve come alive.” Chase that which gives life. The rest will work itself out.

I hope these words find a way to your heart.

Love,

31 year old Josh

I’ve been reading the Pulitzer-Prize winner The Good Soldiers this week and paying attention to the debate raging across the media landscape regarding the mosque that could potentially be built near the sight of the Twin Towers (a.k.a Ground Zero). Good Soldiers is a painful account of how absolutely dark war can be, the complexity of Nation-State and religions in bed with each other, the perspectives of the soldier (often ignored by both parties in the U.S.) and the sheer difficulty of measuring what is “good” and “redemptive” in a war-time era. The book also masterfully depicts the complexity of the collision between America’s Christianity and Iraq’s Islam (not to mention the fact that there are Muslims in the U.S. and Christians in Iraq).

I sympathize with those who are opposed to a mosque being built near Ground Zero. It is a “slap in the face”, in this perspective, to put one of the major symbols of Islam (a mosque, more appropriately titled, masjid–mosque is the French translation of the Arabic) in the shadow of the deadliest attack from an outside group on American soil. Over three thousand people, innocent people lost their lives. It was a day of sheer evil and horror. A day that has forever changed the narrative of good and evil in America.

I understand that many U.S. citizens are afraid of Islam, or detest Islam because of certain actions of a small minority (it’s a religion of 1.2 billion people–the second largest religion in the world behind Christianity which has just over 2 billion adherents). But, the fear/rage is also the result of the lack of leadership on behalf of other Islamic leaders speaking out against the terrorist expression of jihad. The world needs more Islamic leaders to step to center stage and speak out against the insidious violence we see almost every week–just as we needed Christian leaders to speak out against the genocide of Native Americans, the atomic bombs dropped in Japan, the Holocaust in Europe, the murder of 800k  in Rwanda, the slaughter in Sudan, the list goes on and on. SIDE NOTE: The majority of Muslims in the world do not live in the Middle East. The majority live outside: For instance, I believe Indonesia has more Muslims than any other single country.

When I asked a Muslim leader at the al-Farooq mosque in Atlanta why more Muslim leaders don’t speak out, he apologized, agreed and also noted that “Christians have gone silent during some of the great injustices of human history.” Whether one believes Jesus to be the true revelation of God (which I do), his point is well taken.

Perhaps there are a few more things to consider on this public matter. First, I’ m appalled at the inconsistency of some in their reading of the 1st Amendment (many don’t know what the 1st Amendment actually says). That is, conservatives become “intent of the law” (i.e. “The Founding Fathers meant Christianity when they wrote ‘religion.’”) interpreters and liberals become strict constructionists (i.e. “It says ‘freedom of religion’). We are all selective interpreters and selective fundamentalists. Until we begin to admit this, we can’t cover the ground needed to move forward. We tend to be “selective” when it’s in our best interest or fits our particular belief system.

Second, the actual location is two blocks from Ground Zero. Manhattan is a big place. If I understand the facts accurately, there’s another mosque even closer that’s been there for several decades.

Third, Since the Immigration Act of 1965 (see blog post here), the ethnic, and thereby religious, landscape of America will never be the same. America can choose to eliminate all Muslims from our society, isolate and imprison, or seek to build authentic relationships for understanding and mutual transformation. What other options are there? I choose the latter because I think the future depends upon it.

Fusing the world of Jesus with the contemporary is a remarkably difficult task. It takes wisdom, discernment, and historical perspective. I personally would not want to treat a minority group in a way, that if the roles were reversed,  would silence my religious beliefs. If the leaders of Iran ask me if they should allow a church to be built, I would enthusiastically hope for this happen. If you object, saying, “That will never happen in Iran.” Perhaps, but if we believe it should, perhaps our duty in America is to show that such mutual respect and mutual commitment for one’s deepest convictions should compel all of us to exemplify the best of our traditions, not the worst.

May God grant us the courage to change the things we can, the humility to accept the things we cannot change and the wisdom to know the difference.

• Some estimate that the # is as high as 120 million–which would make the story of Christianity in China one of the great success stories in the history of Christianity.
• Some estimate the # is as low as 20 million (just 1.5 percent).
• Jenkins leans heavily on the Templeton and Pew reports estimating that the # is likely around 65-70 million (a remarkable # considering that one hundred years ago there were likely only a few million). However, keep in mind that 65-70 million is only 5 percent of the total population.

. . . the Chinese number still inspires awe. Those 65 or 70 million Christians outnumber the total population of major nations like France, Britain or Italy. Put another way, China has almost as many Christians as it does members of the Communist Party. If not quite a miracle, this is a profoundly impressive story.

Then Magic Johnson came public with his own battle. I remember crying when I saw the press conference. I was barely a teen, Magic was a hometown hero (Lansing is one hour from where I grew up) and international icon. He was one of the most recognizable, if not the most, athlete of the 1980’s (MJ wasn’t MJ yet). Incredibly, access to top-of-the-line medicine and quality food, Magic has been able to avoid the death-smothering grip of the disease. And, hopefully, simplify his then chaotic life-style.

This morning, I got my first experience with Step Into Africa, Otter Creek’s partnership project in August with World Vision to connect issues of global injustice with local American congregations. We’re expecting several thousand to come through our “temple” this week, I pray you’ll consider being one of them.

Every 15 seconds, someone dies of AIDS. 6 thousand deaths per day (that’s almost two 9-11’s every single day). 33 million people have AIDS. Africa alone has 11 million orphans due to AIDS.

This week, Otter Creek is telling the story. Come and join us.

Peace,

Josh

Nashville Friends and Otter Creek Family:

As citizens of one of the most influential countries in the history of the world, we are constantly faced with the stark realities of the wealth we enjoy and the poverty that plagues others. For a long time, I hid behind guilt. I stayed up late feeling “bad” and “ashamed” trying to find ways to simply appease God as if God was the helicopter parent trying to find ways to remind me how little I was doing to change the world.

But I don’t think God primarily works like this.

I think God is interested in inviting us into the pain and suffering of the world because God understands something profoundly hidden about human existence. When we enter into the stories of others, our own wounds, insecurities, and narcissistic tendencies get swallowed up in the realization that many of the problems we have are not problems worth having.

Nashville/Otter Creek has a chance to participate in and invite others to do likewise in the World Vision Step Into Africa.

The OC/Step Into Africa Facebook Page is a helpful place to learn more about this week’s agenda.

Step Into Africa is simply a chance for you (and your neighbors, co-workers, families, and friends) to see the world from different eyes. We’re inviting you because we think it will ultimately bring a deeper sense of God’s presence and purpose in our lives together.

NOTE: If you have reserved your ticket, you still need to indicate what time you’ll be participating. You can do so by going to this site to reserve your time slot. If you have a ticket, you still need a slot. If you don’t have a ticket, you can get one at this site also.

May God continue to use to help repair God’s world, one story at a time.

Peace,

Josh