A Time for Feeling Warm and Fuzzy Inside

The winds of change are blowing. Nothing makes that fact more obvious than our presidential campaign. And change is more than just a candidate's slogan. In truth the winds were moving before the campaign began but now everyone is feeling them. The four-year span between presidential elections makes it easy to see that, yes, things are different than in 2004.

But sensing atmospheric change is easier than explaining it, understanding its significance, or determining whether the change is a plus or a minus. One thing is clear: we have become less tolerant of intolerance. That has to be positive. In Christian circles, this has meant divisive religious leaders -- especially those with political agendas -- have fallen into disfavor. Christian publications have reported this trend for several years, but now it has popped onto the mainstream radar in the person of firebrands like John Hagee and Jeremiah Wright. The media simply won’t have it, even though some of the people would. And the merit of the rant doesn’t matter. Unless your preaching on the importance of free formula for poor babies, you have to tone it down.

The new code requires being inclusive, or at least looking like you are. This applies especially to pastors claiming to represent that great inclusive prophet named Jesus. Remember Billy Graham? It didn’t matter which party held the White House; he was there with his soft-spoken spiritual support. Style matters. The sweetness of Joel Osteen fills seats with euphoric worshipers, while the combative tones of a Jim Dobson begin to grate on the ear. I’m not sure there’s much difference between their political positions (Osteen recently refused to meet with the LGBT group Soulforce), but when Osteen speaks, people feel warm and fuzzy inside; when Dobson speaks you look around nervously, feeling an attack is imminent.

The days of getting elected by inciting certain religious elements, like fundamentalist Christians, are over. Religious groups, such as the Jewish voters Obama is courting, can still make a difference at the margins, but they can’t control elections by single-handedly overwhelming secular concerns. Witness the religious right’s inability to derail the campaign of John McCain, one of their least favorite Republicans.

Hopefully this sweetness and light will shine into newsrooms with a progressive tilt. It’s no secret the conservative side expects their man to sneer more than smile, but the biggest threat facing Obama may be acid-tongued supporters in the media who give the lie to his purported new era of good will.

Toning down the debate may be good for our national blood pressure, but I’m not convinced it’s good for the nation. There’s still much to be fixed in America and I’m afraid that setting aside differences will mean agreeing to do nothing, or at least very little. Many of the Old Testament prophets worked in times of relative prosperity but still raised their voices in loud indignation against inequities. Jesus too could have gone along to get along and saved himself a painful end.

Granted, it would be nice to silence the hate mongers poisoning the airwaves. But if that means the just must also be silent, it could be a bad bargain.

Spirit, Wisdom, Signs, Rebirth. Call it the Gospel

In a recent column I wrote about an extensive Willow Creek survey which revealed the complex problems facing churches today. The results are leading Willow Creek away from a strategy of contemporary flavored, high production value worship to a more studied approach designed to feed mature Christians throughout the week.

According to a Christianity Today report on Willow Creek’s evolution, the former method failed in the long term. It worked to light a fire in new believers, but these new fires didn’t grow or spread to new prospects as the church had intended. The study showed more effective evangelism coming from seasoned church members, but unfortunately also uncovered a high degree of dissatisfaction in this core group -- to the point that many were thinking of leaving the church.

Most importantly, Willow Creek’s study showed that they share this problem with most churches. After detailing the problem, I promised some answers. What was I thinking!?

The survey results are no surprise to pastors and church leaders throughout the country. Declining church attendance is a well-known phenomenon, and many have tried to define a remedy. In fact, the Willow Creek approach of layering smooth secular forms on top of sacred content was one hopeful solution that still produces results.

At the end of my column I asked readers to comment with their answers. One gentleman wrote to say, paraphrasing, “forget pragmatic approaches and simply preach the gospel.” I liked that. It might in the short run lead to a smaller church, but God has produced victory in the past by stripping down to an intense remnant. Remember Gideon’s three hundred? People don’t prune rose bushes because they want small bushes forever.

I also was reminded of Paul’s famous words to the Corinthians, Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified …” In other words, don’t try to succeed with the intellect or an impressive show, just tell Jesus’ story.

When Jesus’ story is told in its fullness, it includes both wisdom and signs. Remember that wisdom is a way of knowing which exceeds knowledge, giving us a profound awareness of truth, and a peace that “passes all understanding” -- something all the world’s doctoral degrees can never deliver.

As for signs, many believers witness the kind of healing signs which marked Jesus’ ministry, but the most telling sign for attracting new Christians is simply the way rebirth in God’s Spirit visibly changes a person. Friends, family members, and everyone else will recognize a new creature, no longer standing alone in a hostile world but confident of our connection to something much greater than ourselves. Can they fail to ask, “what does she have that I don’t?” Inevitably, they will want some of it too.

I hope these thoughts offer insight, but I know we all like short and simple “bullet” answers to complex questions. So, to the question, “How can we encourage people to turn to Christ and the church in their search for meaning?” These answers:

> Emphasize spirit over theology, heart over head. You can stuff the brain full of knowledge without knowing anything.

> Go ahead and lift people with inspirational preaching, energetic music and other performing arts. But while you have them in the air, build a foundation under them with day-to-day loving kindness.

> Teach, preach and model acceptance. People don’t turn to Christ for judgment and rejection. There’s plenty of that around. Make sure everyone in the pews understands acceptance is standard operating procedure among the followers of Jesus.

If those three bullets aren’t concise enough, then just take the advice of my reader and preach the gospel. I think that’s what I was saying anyway.