What about the second line in the call of Jesus? Yes, that would be to love the Lord with all of our hearts and with all of our souls. And to love our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus did not say we should build big static memorials and monuments for worship, or turn our buildings into worship warehouses (thanks Len Sweet for the image from your new book: I am a Follower, 2012). His emphasis was and still is on calling people in to follow Him and then to immediately send them out into the world as disciples to serve and love Him in whatever ways He called them to do. Only by being sold out to Christ and through loving Him with every nerve cell, heartbeat, breath and wink of our eyes, can we become real worshipping followers on the roads of life. Otherwise, if we get the lines mixed up, we’ll live our lives according to our own preset courses and programs. Then we’ll only head to those worship warehouses that suit our own consumerist religious needs. Hear the call of Christ, all three lines… and follow Him!

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Years later some of Karsh’s portraits were on exhibition in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. There the curator noticed an elderly man who came to see the exhibition day after day. Every time he stopped in front of the photograph of Casals and stood there for what seemed to be ages. One day the curator walked up to this gentleman and kindly tapped him on the shoulder to find out why he came to see this picture every single day. Irritated the man frowned at the curator and said: “Hush, young man! Can’t you see I’m listening to the music?”

Beautiful! It reminds me of John Keats who, in his well-known poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn” wrote the following words:

“Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear’d
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone.”

The secret of life is to dance to different drums and to hear music that no one else hears, or listens to. I think this is what the first verses of Revelation 14 convey to us. Followers of Jesus hear different music. They hear the sounds of heaven. The bandwidth of their lives is set to the victorious notes of the Lamb that was slain. They sing songs of praise and joy in sync with all the occupants of heaven. That’s why they also train their ears to hear this divine music more clearly day after day.

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Far too many times I got involved in debates or discussions that left me with toxic feelings and thoughts afterwards. Perhaps it’s because I have a permanent sticker on my forehead that reads: ‘Sucker for punishment.’ Or perhaps it’s because of my eagerness not to let a good debate slip through my fingers. In any case, it’s not wise to get involved in verbal discussions with bullies, especially those religious or non-religious bullies who see you as their next human target to beat up through verbal abuses and one-sided rational arguments.

The solution — well, it’s as simple as staying away from bullies. Avoid them as far as possible. They’re everywhere — on the Internet, at the office, in church… Never get involved in their game. They only play according to their own rules and game plan. They have no plans to listen to you, or to be open to suggestions, ideas or any other viewpoints. Once you allow them to pose their questions and get into their ‘fighting stance,’ they’ll dictate the conversation. You’ll only end up as the accused who must always answer to them.

Secondly, choose your battles well. You can’t sidestep all conflicts. Sometimes you have to face people that disagree with you. But choose wisely how, where and when to respond. Remember that you don’t have to play on the same field as those who oppose, challenge or threaten you verbally. Choose some good questions of your own. Yes, and also learn from Proverbs 26:4-5 that sometimes silence is a far better answer than words. To answer a fool could change you into a fool as well.

Thirdly, walk away from any discussion that turns into a verbal skirmish. You don’t have to win all debates. It’s a sign of immaturity. Only school kids want to win all fights at all costs. Admit you’re too weak to play on the verbal battlegrounds of your superior competition and get away from there.

Lastly, always choose to bless and uplift others through your words and interactions. Sidestep toxic words. Choose words that create oxygen and safe spaces for others.

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Is there a solution? YES! It begins with the realization that rest is not just about going away on a holiday. Holidays are important too. But regular sabbaths are what we all need. God created us as human beings. That’s why we get tired. We aren’t robots or machines that can, should or must work around the clock 365 days a year. That’s why God built in a weekly sabbath; a tools-down and time-out day of rest. Unfortunately the Sabbath all too soon turned into a day of “don’t” and “not allowed” restrictions in Israel. It became a superficial religious day filled to the brim with strict laws and commandments. That’s why Hebrews 4 tells us that Israel never really kept the Sabbath and that the true Sabbath rest still awaits God’s people.

Sabbath was created for man and not vice versa, as Jesus tells us in Matthew 12. We need rest on a weekly basis. We need to interrupt our hectic schedules to hear God’s voice properly. The only answer to burnout and fatigue is a Sabbath once a week. Turn off your cellphone and Internet on that day. Make time to enjoy the presence of your loved ones. Read a good book. Take long walks. Watch the sunrise and sunset. Go to church. It will really change your life in twenty twelve!

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In books, websites and articles many church leaders, movements and churches are being branded with labels such as “emerging church” and presented to the public as twisters of the Truth. Or as proclaimers of a watered-down gospel. South Africa is no exception. Sadly, all this suspicion-raising activity has degenerated into mudslinging and sub-standard character-attacks filled with faulty quotes and unfounded claims. (I’m blushing on behalf of those stone throwers!)

In the light of the above-mentioned reactions there can’t be any decent debate about the so-called “emerging church” (But you should read the following article which gives a good overview of the movement: http://www.pomofaith.com/the-emerging-church/). For the record — it’s interesting that well-known leaders who originally used the term “emerging,” people like Erwin McManus and Dan Kimball, are no longer taking part in any so-called emerging conversations at all. In turn, Leonard Sweet, who created the term “emergent,” distanced himself from this topic in a debate with McLaren and Jones in the magazine RELEVANT (21; Julie/Aug 2006). His unambiguous words were: “Count me out!” I agree. In fact, I want to confirm the following about the “emerging church” with Leonard Sweet (See his article: “Answering my Critics — A Response”):

“1. It is prone to cause political ruckus when it should be rocking the world for Christ;
2. It is missing a hunger and longing for the salvation of others, a passion for others to fall in love with Jesus and the sense that there are things at stake here that have both earthly and eternal consequences…
3. It appears more and more to be a new evangelical form of the old 70s liberation theology
4. It makes the mistake of separating the Person of Jesus from His teachings
5. It deconstructs everything, including the historic creeds of the church and the divine inspiration of the entire biblical canon
6. It revels in spreading doubt more than faith.”

NOW, SOME QUESTIONS:

Q: IS ECHURCH AN “EMERGING CHURCH?”
A: Hey, no!

Q: IS ECHURCH SOLD OUT TO CHRIST?
A. Yes! He’s the One, the only One! He IS and will always thé right route to God!

Q: IS THE FEET OF ECHURCH PLANTED ON THE ROUTE OF THE BIBLE?
A. Weak question! Hands down, and with everything in us.

Q: ARE WE AGAINST THE TRADITIONAL CHURCH?
A. Absolutely not! We are a part of the Body of Christ on earth! We just don’t elevate church containers above human relationships!

Q: ARE WE AGAINST DOGMA AND DOCTRINES?
A. Never seen! Jesus is our confession and experience. We confess our faith according to the 12 Articles and experience it daily in our hearts and thoughts, all the way to our fingertips and foot soles. In fact, theology is so much more than a mere classroom topic. In the same way, church was not meant for Sundays only. Echurch is entrenched in the world — here, there and far away. Boxes and etiquettes — please just not that. We live, work, play, and live between lines and spaces for Jesus! It’s there and far where we want to be!

Now, a question of my own — shouldn’t it have been the other way round? Isn’t Jesus supposed to be the answer to questions that non-believers, unChristians, backsliders, marginalized people, the poor, sick and outcasts ask? If Jesus isn’t magnetic to people who (still) don’t follow him, why will they even bother to listen to our “answers” to our questions that they never ask?

Don’t get me wrong — I believe John 14:6 with my whole heart: Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He is the only One! But I also know that people who don’t believe this will probably never be convinced if I keep on providing them with unintelligible answers to even stranger questions. Their question to me/us would probably be something like: “Show me the money! Show me in your own life what it menas to follow Jesus, then we could probably have a conversation!” It’s not so much our beliefs, but our integrity in terms of following Jesus in the smallest details of our lives through service, sacrifice, humility and generosity that will provide intelligible answers to the right questions here in our day.

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“It’s is not so much that the church has a mission but that the mission has a church… we really are the result of God’s missionary activity in the world.”
 — Alan Hirsch & Lance Ford

The church is the most important vehicle to further God’s kingdom in our world. But the church is never an end in itself. When his chosen vehicle doesn’t deliver what he expects of it, he will unceremoniously bypass it. When the church misunderstands its calling by turning into a stagnant institution instead of growing into a vibrant movement, God will find other ways. When the church opts for dead monuments, people with the right momentum will rise up and become his new instruments of hope to achieve his gracious plans for our world. God will always find a way around stagnant, passive institutions to further his aims. And he does, because for him:

• People matter more than sterile religious institutions.
• Momentum is more important than holy monuments.
• Transformation of human lives is the aim, not membership gains.
• Movement is what is what the kingdom of God is about, not maintenance.
• Community with Jesus and with the followers of Jesus is what it’s all about, not adherence to dead prescriptions.

A Jesus hijacking is not about some new theological ideas that you have to get into your head, or new memes. A meme? Well, broadly defined, a meme is a sticky idea that behaves exactly like a virus. Just like any deadly virus, memes move through an entire population, taking hold of each and every person it infects. Memes are contagious. But a Jesus-hijacking is not just a set of infectious ideas or new knowledge. Actually, it is about infectious people who have been touched by the story of Jesus. People who have been hijacked by his grace spread his goodness around like wildfire — let’s call them infectious grace distributors. They constantly infect other people with the right virus — grace. They are highly contagious and beautifully dangerous. They cause wonderful chaos everywhere they go. They set wildfires of mercy alight that spreads from person to person, and to the rest of God’s creation.

Infectious grace distributors are ordinary people who constantly ooze grace, beauty and kindness. They cause all kinds of change just by being present. Once they have crossed your path, nothing remains the same. Their presence has that special electrifying power to automatically move people in different directions. Grace distributors change the way others process information and how they think, act and live. Grace distributors are sticky because the story of God’s grace got stuck on them. Their lives tell new, humble stories.

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Not Waving But Drowning

Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning.

Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he’s dead
It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,
They said.

Oh, no no no, it was too cold always
(Still the dead man lay moaning)
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning.

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Kierkegaard uses this story to illustrate what goes on in a world where biblical values and principles get pushed aside. When people let go of God’s hand, they soon become gods in their own eyes and masters of their own destinies. The result is the same as walking around in strange shoes. Once you’ve lost your identity in Christ you lose all sense of direction. Then any road is the right road. Then any principle is okay. Rather walk barefoot than in shoes that will cause your own downfall and destruction. Stay the course… God’s course, I mean! Get out of the road where dangerous wagons will eventually drive over your feet. Take off those foreign shoes and walk barefoot in God’s direction. It’s the road to life!

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“Did you ever have a bad patch in your marriage where you just wanted to get out of it all?” “Have you ever felt physically attracted to another person during the past years, but you resisted the temptation?” she asked bluntly.

“No and no,” he replied instantly. “But why do you want to know?”

“We want to know if you have a testimony of God’s special work in your marriage. However, it seems to me that you don’t because your can’t really tell of any miraculous interventions from God’s side in your marriage. Unfortunately, we’ll have to cancel the invitation then and ask somebody else who would be able to testify how God turned their marriage around,” the lady replied.

Afterwards, when my friend shared this story with me, I was just as baffled as he. How on earth can some people think that you only have a testimony if you have lived a so-called “Before-After” life? Isn’t God’s grace also visible in people who live ordinary lives and who have normal, loving marriages from start to finish? Yes, of course, God is also involved in broken relationships, and, yes, it is a testimony when marriages are saved. But it is probably an even greater testimony to his mercy when two people who fell in love years ago stay in love for the rest of their married lives without going through terrible patches where they want to get out of it, or have turbulent fights, etc.

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