Monday, August 18, 2008

Withness 9: Who's Your Rhoda? - You Need a "Little One"

Read Acts Chapter 12.

Who is Rhoda? I don't know about you, but that name did not ring a bell in my scriptural repertoire. Only after reading the reference in the story from Sweet, I was then able to realize the faith and the "littleness" of Rhoda, and the impact her faith had on others.

What a powerful quote from Sweet, "It took a child to point out to them the reality of answered prayer." Have you ever been righted or the truth revealed by a child? What was the circumstance and what did you learn? Did it make it more real to you?

Sweet encourages us to find a "Rhoda", someone like a child who has a childlike faith that trusts God as the One in charge - not necessarily understanding, but loving or honoring Him.

Sweet acknowledges the power of stories in this chapter, and many other chapters. He emphasizes that we all need stories to function and live. Children especially need stories to help give their lives stability and reason. Remembering stories is one way that we can reconnect ourselves to our childhood, reconnect ourselves to our own internal Rhoda. When was the last time you enjoyed reading a story? When is the last time you got caught up in a story? How did it make you feel?

A Few Attributes of Rhodas - Rhoda Disciplines:
(1) Rhodas Keep You Snug - they unite our daydreams and our night dreams into one, helping us realize that God is at work in our lives - listen to your heart and dream dreams. When was the last time you lived a dream?
(2) Rhodas Keep You Scared - they help you master your fears, but also acknowledge them at the same time - it is not all a Thomas Kinkade picture!
(3) Rhodas Keep You Small - they help us realize that meaning and significance are in the small things, not just the large; they also emphasize that we can live large loving little - they also challenge us to ask questions. When was the last time that you asked a question, not assuming you knew the answer?
(4) Rhodas Keep You Light - they remind us of novelty and surprise. "Gravity is an adult disease that leads to the grave." What do you think about this quote? Are you a realist or an idealist?
(5) Rhodas Keep You Alive - they help us realize that everything around us is alive - we need to live more in the present, not just the past or future.

A Few Questions to Help us Understand and Find Our Rhoda...

Is anyone ever too old to hold a stranger in his or her arms or heart?

What were some of the make believe games you played as a child? Can you identify some of the life skills you were learning while you were making believe?

Does play always need to be "productive play"? Or is "sheer pleasure" a life skill that we need to learn?

Are you willing to do little? Is the little beneath you? Are you too big to do small? Children help us see the mustard-seed meaning of life. What does this mean to you?

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Withness 8: Who's Your Zacchaeus? You Need a Reject

We live in a world of differences. Despite what society attempts to do us as it seeks to mold and "cookie cutter" us into the ideal person, we are all created differently - physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. These differences make us unique, but often times when these differences are extreme, "others" begin to look at us in a different way. Maybe we try to get their attention by the things we say or the things we do. Maybe we try to avoid the attention by trying to hide. Whatever the case, we are who we are - no matter what we do.

That is the world that Zacchaeus lived in. Like Sweet, I grew up learning the song about Zacchaeus being a "wee little man" and how he climbed up in the sycamore tree to try to see Jesus. But I often think we fail to realize what drove Zacchaeus there in the first place - he was a reject of society. Why? Zacchaeus wasn't a reject because of his height (however I am sure he probably was a sight since he is described as a "wee little man" for centuries later), but because of who he was and what he had become. The lowest of the low in the eye of the people - not just tax collector, but the chief tax collection. Not just the chief tax collector, but the cheating chief tax collector.

So why do we need a Zacchaeus in our lives?

Unlike any other of the 11 relationships that Sweet identifies, your Zacchaeus first requires something from you (not someone having something to give).

So who is a Zacchaeus? Sweet identifies five characteristics that help us ask questions of ourselves:
(1) Zaccheaus is someone up a tree. Do you know someone who is trully messed up, an outsider? How have you developed a relationship with this person?

(2) Zacchaeus is a one-of-a-kind, an iconoclast. Do you know someone who challenges you to think outside the box about who you are, what you do, or what you believe? Does this person challenge your faith - is it authentic or copy cat?

(3) Zacchaeus is "out there". Usually these people are not found in church, because they know they can't "fit in" to church culture. Do you know someone who is very spiritual but does not attend church? How does this person challenge your faith?

(4) Zacchaeus is Trouble. Do you know someone who is always getting in trouble, or rubbing people the wrong way? Does this person rub you the wrong way? How does this challenge you?

(5) Zacchaeus is inefficient. Boy this really got to me! Sweet argues that sometime we need to be inefficient in our lives, and our Zacchaeus will challenge us or keep us up to it. Do you have someone in your life who makes you get out of your set ways? How does this challenge your faith?

Put them all together and you have your Zacchaeus.

Sweet makes some very challenging statements about the church - one that should cause us to think and question.

"The Christian church is too "in here" and not enough "out there". What do you think Sweet meant by this statement? How does this apply to your church setting?

"Jesus had a ready eye to eat and spend the night with the village fools and outcasts wherever they were found...For Jesus it wasn't a sacrifice to do this - it was a passion. Even a pleasure." When was the last time you as a Christian spent some time with a social outcast? Does your church do better at identifiying the outcasts, or creating relationships with the outcasts?

"I have written elsewhere of authentic Christianity as GOOD religioun where GOOD is an acroynym for Get-Out-Of-Doors. How BAD (Behind-A-Door) is your church? How might you make it GOOD again?"

"How early should we encourage our kids to include Zacchaeuses in their network of friends? How would you encourage your kids to find their inner Zacchaeus?"

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Withness 7: Who's Your Deborah? You Need a Back-Coverer

Read Judges 4-5.

I've never been a big fan of horror movies. I just am not someone who enjoys sitting down for 2 hours for no other purpose than to get scared half to death. However, the few I have seen have left me with this impression: people in horror movies are stupid. There's some homicidal maniac on the loose, so why don't I walk down this dark hallway all by myself? It's like they expect the enemy to just come walking straight toward them, visible from a mile away.

Don't they know that the enemy tends to always surprise us from our blind spot?

When Deborah, the Israelite judge, tells Barak that God is commanding him to lead the Israelites into battle against the Cannaanites, Barak says, "If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go." Plain and simple: I don't want to walk this dark hallway by myself; I will feel much safer if you are with me.

Barak knew what the people in these horror movies don't ever seem to know: it is not good for us to be alone (didn't God say something about that?), we need people who we can trust to watch our backs. We need Deborahs.

In this chapter, Sweet seems to take a pretty critical stance on Christians and the church. He writes, "In the Bible, Deborah covered Barak's back so he could fight against the armies of the Canaanites; unfortunately, Deborahs today often cover your back so you can fend off the armies of the churches. This should not be so." What is your response to Sweet's observation? Do you agree or disagree? Why?

What role does a Deborah play when we are dealing with attacks from fellow Christians?

Sweet goes on say, "The ultimate betrayal is when the back-guard becomes the back-stabber. Look around you at your circle of friends. You can be certain of one thing: One of them will betray you. You say, 'No, certainly not! Not my friends.' I say, 'Are you better than Jesus?'" What does it feel like to have someone you see as a Deborah become a Judas?

Jesus was prepared for Judas to betray him. In fact, he was ready to be betrayed by all of his disciples. Mark 14:27-28 says, "And Jesus said to them, 'You will all become deserters; ... But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee." What do you learn from Jesus about how to deal with betrayal?

What qualities do you think are important for someone who is a Deborah, a back-protector?

Sweet writes, "Some people have a holy spirit, and the presence of that holy spirit in your life is enough to be your Deborah." Have you ever known anyone with this kind of spirit? Tell their story and their impact in your life as a Deborah.

Who are the people that God needs you to be a Deborah for? I think there are a lot of folks who feel like they are walking down a dark hallway all alone, dreading when that big monster is going to jump out and consume them. They don't know from what direction the hurt or pain is coming, they just know it is coming and they don't think they have anyone helping them. Maybe it is time for you and I to start blanketing that person with prayer and doing what we can to watch their back.