Radical?

“I am convinced that we as Christ followers in American churches have embraced values and ideas that are not only unbiblical but that actually contradict the gospel…You and I can choose to continue with business as usual in the Christian life and in the church as a whole, enjoying success based on the standards defined by the culture around us. Or we can take an honest look at the Jesus of the Bible and dare to ask what the consequences might be if we really believed him and really obeyed him.”

“We were settling for a Christianity that revolved around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves.”

“…in a world where Christians shrink back from self-denying faith and self-indulging faith. While Christians choose to spend their lives fulfilling the American dream instead of giving their lives to proclaiming the kingdom of God…”

“Consider the cost when Christians ignore Jesus’ commands to sell their possessions and give to the poor and instead choose to spend their resources on better comforts, larger homes, nicer cars, and more stuff. Consider the cost when Christians gather in churches and choose to spend millions of dollars on nice buildings to drive up to, cushioned seats to sit in, and endless programs to enjoy for themselves. Consider the cost for the starving multitudes who sit outside the gate of Christian affluence.”

“The reality is, most of us in our culture and in the American church simply don’t believe Jesus.”

“…Christians who possess the gospel and refuse to give their lives to making it known among those who haven’t heard.”

“The purpose of the church is to mobilize a people to accomplish a mission. Yet we seem to have turned the church as troop carrier into the church as luxury liner. We seem to have organized ourselves, not to engage in battle for the souls of peoples around the world, but to indulge ourselves in the peaceful comforts of the world.”

“You see, our hearts follow our money…this is a dangerous reality for American Christians and a blind spot in American Christianity.”

I was so looking forward to this book being published. I had listened to the sermon series upon which it was based, and God had really used it to open my eyes and convict my heart to aspects of Jesus’ commands that I had been ignoring and the consequences involved in my doing so. Of course, I understood there to be some problems/inconsistencies in the sermons, namely the title (which seemed to contradict the very point the preacher was trying to make). Unfortunately, my reading of the book, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, has found those problems/inconsistencies only to be more significant, and ultimately- I am disappointed with the book.

The above quotes highlight why. They sound good, even convicting at first, but with a deeper read they prove to be arguing something I understand to be unbiblical at the core and unhelpful to the reader. Let me explain…

Christ -followers embracing ideas that contradict the Bible

Christian lives enjoying success defined by standards of the world

Christianity revolving around self-catering and self-indulgence

Christians ignoring Jesus’ commands

The Church simply not believing Jesus

Christians refusing to give away their lives for the sake of the gospel

Christians following money instead of God

Since when are people who do not embrace the ideas of the Bible and ignore Jesus’ commands called Christ-followers? Since when is a religion that revolves around self called Christianity? Since when is a group of people who do not believe Jesus called the Church?

As far as I can see, these statements inherently contradict themselves. I do not see any way to Biblically support any of the above listed actions (italicized) being performed by followers of Christ, Christians, or the Church- there just isn’t such thing as one-foot-in, one-foot-out Christianity. And yet- that is what this book says is going on in the ‘American church’ today. It’s full of people who simultaneously believe Jesus and don’t believe Jesus, who obey and do not obey, who possess the gospel and yet refuse to give away their lives for its sake.

It just doesn’t work. Scripture clearly defines people like this as hypocrites, not faithful followers. Makes sense, I suppose, that the author did not want to call the majority of the ‘American church’ hypocritical- the book probably wouldn’t sell, or at least gain very much positive popularity. So instead, the author became one of the very teachers Paul warns Timothy about-

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth. 2 Timothy 4:3-4

therefore making this book dangerous for its readers. He claims to be setting people free from erroneous thinking and leading them into truth- when I understand him to be simply pushing people into a different category of error. Instead of calling them to genuine faith in Christ and faithful obedience to His commands, this book calls people to a more Radical version of what they already believe- that the life you live doesn’t actually matter. You can live out Christianity-lite, which is sugarcoated in the American dream, or you can be a bit more Radical by reading your Bible more, going on a few missions trips ever now and again, and giving away more stuff. Either way, you are saved and going to heaven, and so it doesn’t really matter in the end.

Friends, what if it does matter? What if Christianity-lite really isn’t Christianity at all? What if there is no such thing as Radical Christianity? What if there is just Christianity and not-Christianity? What if you are obedient or you are not?

What would that mean for the ‘American church?’

What would that mean for us?

What would that mean for you?

He Chose Me

I have come to know so many beautiful things about adoption in the course of my life. From hearing the stories of my own mother's being adopted to now adopting my own son, and watching so many friends and family adopt in between- I have come to know it as something so intimately close to the heart of God. A beautiful glimpse of Him in this overwhelmingly mundane world- when He calls and empowers His people to step in and choose the ones who've been abandoned. To choose to give them life instead of despair. To choose them when others didn't and wouldn't. To choose them.

It was and is a privilege that God has called me to be a mother to Joab. To step in and give him life when others didn't- to choose him. I get to live it and love it each day.

But I have realized something even more beautiful about adoption- and have only just realized it as it played out right before my eyes. We were sitting in the driveway the other day, talking with a group of women who are taking our class on the basics of Special Education. These particular women are all dedicated and committed workers at an orphanage here in town, not unlike the women who worked in the place where Joab used to live. I'm sure it was a familiar scene for him- Zambian women, dressed in their brightly-colored citenges, all sitting and chatting- it was one he saw everyday for over 2 years.

I paused in my conversation with them to watch Joab more closely. He walked over to them, and grabbed a corner of a skirt, then grazed one of their hands, seemingly interested in the group. My heart fluttered for a moment, thinking that he might find them more comfortable or more familiar than me- the funny white girl sitting opposite them. But then, he walked over to where I was sitting on the pavement. He threw his arms around my shoulders and brought his face close to mine. He stared at me- and then looked back at them. And then back at me. Then this smile broke out on his face- one that told me he knew. He knew I was his. He knew I was his mama. And not only did he know it- but he agreed with it. He chose me.

I don't understand all that Joab comprehends and doesn't. But there was something in this moment that told me he understood that he was no longer alone, no longer without a family, no longer without hope. It was as if he was declaring 'no more' to the old, and 'keep it comin' to the new.

There may be a lot of beautiful things about adoption. But, oh. To witness the moment when a child realizes they're not an orphan anymore- the beauty simply overflows. Why? Because it proves God really is who He says He is. And that He does what He says He can do. He can take the old and make it new...He can take the lost and make them found...He can and does set the lonely in families. Praise God that He does. And praise God that He did and will do with my son- may Joab feel ever more secure in the hope God has set before him, and may I be continually joyous to be a part of it.

We Got the License!

Today's trip to Social Welfare was finally successful, and we walked away (quite happily, might I add) with Joab's license to travel!

Passport office, here we come.

Zambia, Oh Zambia

There was a poem I had to memorize in the first grade. It was a Shel Silverstein classic, and we youngins' thought it was pretty cool that our teacher even allowed us recite it before the class...

Homework, oh Homework
I hate you, you stink.
I wish I could wash you away in the sink.
I'd rather take baths with a man-eating shark
or wrestle a lion alone in the dark.
Eat spinach and liver, pet ten porcupines,
than tackle the homework my teacher assigns.

Pieces of this poem have been stuck in my head ever since, and unfortunately, there are occasions when other words find their way into the "homework" spot. Zambia may not fit according to syllables, but there are certainly times when my mind squeezes it right on in there.

It has happened several times this week, in particular when I have been packing up the boy and his stuff to make yet another trip to Social Welfare. I swear I have driven to that building at least 5 times this week. There haven't even been 5 days yet. And, Tuesday was International Women's Day, therefore causing an entire city shut-down, and so it doesn't even count.

While the people there are friendly (they all now know us by name), there are indeed moments when I wish I was dealing with a hungry shark instead. The look on the face of a hungry shark is very straight-foward- it says 'you look like a tasty snack and I am going to eat you.' The look on the face of a Zambian, however, could mean a plethora of different things on a spectrum that spans an incredible distance. When the Social Worker woman tells me, 'ah yes, I will have this done for you by the end of the week,' she may actually mean the end of the week. However, what week she means exactly is always unclear. Does she mean this week, or a week many moons from now? I am never sure, and now matter how hard I try to read, their faces never do tell.

You all remember the day I had to eat liver at our friend Nancy's house, and while that is not an experience I am looking to repeat- I may actually consider doing it if it meant the woman would hand me the license right then. If only it was as simple as performing a silly dare, but alas, I have found that tackling this task has been beyond frustrating for me.

I really believe that it will all work out, and that we will get the license, passport, and visa in order for Joab to travel back to the US- but would you all pray with me that I don't keel over before it happens? Would you also pray that God gives me a heart that is a tad more mature than a first-grader so that I can stop this poem from going through my head all day? And let's be serious- I've seen a few lions, and I think I'd take on any Zambian before I stand up to one of them.

He Was Made for Walkin

And apparently, that's just what he'll do- as of Thursday night, that is. Joab had taken a couple steps while my Dad and Uli were here, but on Thursday, he actually walked all the way across our bedroom. And then, the next morning, he walked all around the house. Then the yard. Then the mall. Then the yard again. This kid is a walkin machine- there is just no stopping him. Believe me, at moments I have really tried.

I thought I was tired already, but I'm thinking that this new milestone is going to cause me as much exhaustion as it does pride and joy. But I am one happy mama to chase this boy wherever he wants to go.