Consuming Jesus

I remember the moment Christ revealed to me that my life isn’t about me. I was praying on my floor and unexpectedly had this deep conviction that my life is about Christ, and that my entire existence and all my striving is to serve him and allow him to live in and through me. It was deeply exhilarating, but also deeply humbling. He showed me his centrality in all things, and that everything I do is to further his kingdom, not mine. If I succeed, then by the grace of God he has purposed it to further reveal the love and power of Christ. Yet my motivations are not always Christ-honoring, but are blasphemous and futile, leading to a self-collapsing empire of pride. All too often, my heart gravitates in this direction. I want recognition. I want my name to be dropped at social functions and a life that is admired by followers. I want success that points to me, not Christ.

At our recent New Wine, New Wineskins retreat, Dr. Metzger discussed the theme of entitlement in light of Martin Luther King Jr.’s life. In King’s 1968 “Drum Major Instinct” speech, he speaks of our inherent desire to be ”drum major(s)”. All of us desire to “lead the parade”, he says, to feel superior. The profound thing about his life though, is that he subverted this desire to lead the parade in the name of love, truth and justice. He submitted it to the Father’s- not his- will. As he says, our innate desire to lead and for recognition is not in and of itself evil. What is evil is when we fail to understand why and how we are to lead, in whose name we are to lead, and for whose kingdom. 

King references Mark 10:35, where James and John requested to sit on Jesus’ right and left side, once he is King of Israel. They wanted recognition. They felt entitled to share in his wealth. His response? To be great, give your life as a servant. And this is Jesus, a man who, as discussed further in MLK’s speech, never added up to anything in the world’s eyes.  No possessions, never traveled anywhere impressive, had no college education, no published work, no awards, no family. I can only imagine what a dinner conversation would be like with him sitting amongst a host of doctors, professors and lawyers. He was killed out of mockery and deep unpopularity. Upon his last breath, onlookers only gambled for his clothes, and he was buried in a borrowed tomb.

I am deeply humbled when I think about our Lord’s life. And I have the audacity to compare myself to others. To want more. But this is not the way our Lord lived. He humbled himself to the lowest ranks possible, and never did he say, “I may look shabby now, but you just wait. One day, I will conquer the world and you will be sorry.” Jesus’ response was and is a message of patience, of love, of grace, a message that always points to his Father. To the world, he was as significant as the man we pass on the street corner. Forgettable. Laughable. And this was and is our Lord who breaks down barriers of hate with love, and who in Him alone we are purified and reconciled to the Father for eternity. 

What about MLK Jr.’s motivation? Power? Recognition? A killer eulogy? An impressive epitaph? His passion and imagination did not stop with him. He didn’t want recognition to sleep better at night. Ironically, his recognition served to do the opposite: put his life and family in danger. He wanted freedom for all people and to ultimately do God’s will–regardless of whether or not he reaped any of the benefits. This is what Jesus was explaining to his disciples. Do not do it for what you gain; do it because love is more powerful than status. It’s sobering to realize that in so many ways I long for center stage and my own victory, and I allow this desire to shape my voice as a believer. I am humbled to realize that it is only Christ in me who can reconcile, who can love, and who can transform hearts and structures. I pray that the church can learn from King’s life, and re-new her vow to serve the world in Christ’s humility and further his kingdom, not her own. 

Here’s a note recently received from Matt Woodley, lead pastor at Three Village Church on Long Island.  What do you think of what he talks about?

This issue [of race and class divisions] has been very heavy on my heart lately. We have a little AME church around the corner from us that we have almost no connection with.  I met with the pastor and tried to set up some mutual events, but he didn’t seem interested.  So I talked with a friend of mine over there and he said, “Well, why should he want to do stuff with your big white church?  We always invite your church to our events – MLK, Jr. celebrations, our annual harvest dinner, our annual fish fry, etc. – but you never come.  So why should we start coming to your events?  Just show up and start getting to know us.”  Wow, that was good advice!  So that’s what I’ve been doing, and I like it.

Our church joined thousands of other churches this Christmas for an “Advent Conspiracy.”  We intentionally went after the topic of consumerism and how it was changing the whole intention and meaning behind Christmas. Consuming Jesus was one of the primary books that helped expose me to the depths and the seriousness of the consumer culture in our church and the need to step forward in changing this trend. I am so grateful for the information of this book and how God used it in our community to spur us on to love and good deeds.

Our community raised just under $40K dollars that will be given away to meet basic needs of shelter, water and food. This does not count several thousand more that families elected to give in their own name towards humanitarian relief somewhere in the world. Thanks Paul, for your work and the effort to couch the issue biblically and convincingly. It was a timely nudge in the hands of the Holy Spirit to move us towards “taking back” OUR HOLIDAY!

Steve Clifford
Lead Pastor, Westgate church
San Jose

The  2-day “Drum Majors for Love, Truth and Justice” conference on November 20-21st led by civil rights leader Dr. John M. Perkins and Dr. Metzger addressed various issues to inform, encourage and challenge church leaders towards a theology of engagement, holistic participation in the gospel and redemptive reconciliation. Perkins, Metzger and the community leaders who joined them for panel discussions offered meaningful reflections that helped those gathered to keep marching forward to the beat of a different drum in community development work. We are witnessing today the need to break through social comfort zones and develop true community that takes us beyond simple acts of charity and affinity groups.

 In the first session entitled “The Need of the Hour,” Metzger and Perkins discussed the need for raising up leaders and churches whose concern for the poor far outweigh their own self-concern. In the second session, Dr. Metzger challenged us with the statement that, “none of us are free if one of us is chained” (referencing a Lynyrd Skynyrd song). We have a hard time sensing that we are bound up together in solidarity with one another for good or for ill. In the third session, Perkins addressed the three r’s of his community development model: relocation, reconciliation and redistribution. The second day of talks focused on spiritual formation and building a network of ministry and service partnerships where the church of the greater Portland-Metro area learns how to work with others toward helping people in community own the pond together.

This all requires a genuine paradigm shift. Right now, we live in a culture that tells us to congregate with those we like. We are often encouraged to sacrifice little and gain much. We are sometimes told to take back America and take out our enemies. But the gospel paints a different picture. And it is one that we, facing 21st century challenges, are called to respond to and participate in.  Christ has called us to join him in his grand narrative of identifying with “the least of these.” But how do we get beyond the brokenness, the individualism, the segregation, the gentrification to respond holistically and redemptively, struggling for solidarity with others through our union with Christ Jesus?

“Fundamentalism is wondering just how is it that a world-changing message narrowed its scope to the changing of isolated individuals.” –Carl F. H. Henry (“The Fundamentalist Fallout Revisited: From a World-Changing to a World Resistant and Worldly Gospel” Section from Chapter 1 of Consuming Jesus)
That’s what I want to know. I have spent much time thinking and dialoguing with others in order to understand what role politics should play in and throughout the Christian community. It becomes further complicated when I am a citizen with an allegiance that is ultimately to Christ, not my nation. In light of this, I’m trying to understand why it is that evangelicals have achieved the reputation of being those that, as Metzger quotes James Montgomery Boice in Chapter One, “fix their gaze on gaining the kingdom of the world and ‘have made politics and money our weapons of choice for grasping it’” (p. 28).

Metzger quotes Carl F. H. Henry saying, “Whereas once the redemptive gospel was a world-changing message, now it was narrowed to a world-resistant message” (p.26).  So rather than voting and living out of a sense of concern for justice that is truly social, evangelicals are driven by concern for the individual. And this influences our voting patterns.  It is Christian to vote pro-life, anti-gay marriage, and lower taxes. The Religious Right “gives scant attention to issues such as universal health care, concern for the environment, and the rights of minorities” (p. 27).

I am not undermining rightful concern for the human unborn or seeking to legalize same-sex marriage, but I am deeply concerned that evangelicals have an earned a reputation for being concerned about personal and nuclear familial issues at the expense of other social issues. As if they must choose one or the other, and larger social structural issues (such as those mentioned in the Boice quote above) are exempt from their sphere of concern.

Does this bother you?

Considering the fact that issues such as health care, minority rights, and the environment in which we live affects everyone–especially the poor and minorities–how do you think this value structure among evangelicals affects solidarity among all of us–rich, poor, black, white?

Personally, I think it suggests a message that we evangelicals would rather have “success, wonderful marriages and nice children,” (p. 28) as Boice laments. I have heard Christian pastors essentially say that those who are Christians cannot vote in favor of these social issues. Yet when I read the gospels, Jesus’ primary concern was loving his neighbor, helping the poor, and connecting with those that were worlds apart from him ethnically, religiously, and socially. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Jesus seemed to place more emphasis on larger social issues (love of neighbor, including one’s enemy) than on issues pertaining to one’s own nuclear family, affinity group, and class. Why such a disconnect?

I know there are many evangelicals out there who must be able to offer a differing view, considering that I am not the dominant voice. I want to hear your thoughts. Dr. Metzger and civil rights leader Dr. John M. Perkins will be engaging related issues in their upcoming “Drum Majors for Truth, Love and Justice” conference this coming Thursday and Friday, November 20th and 21st. Join them as they encourage and equip church leaders to live out a holistic and redemptive gospel. Visit http://consumingjesus.org/wp-content/drum-majors-event-details.pdf for more details.

There is an upcoming Drum Majors for Love, Truth and Justice event in the Portland area, on November 20-21.  Dr. Paul Louis Metzger and nationally acclaimed civil rights leader Dr. John M. Perkins will be leading this event, offering a biblically rooted message about the theology of engagement for running a marathon race of holistic gospel service.  This conference is open to anyone interested in developing a theology of engagement for a lifetime of service.Check out the Drum Majors Event Details for more information on this event!

Consuming Jesus was recently listed in the fall 2008 issue of Leadership Journal (leadershipjournal.net) as part of its Golden Canon–the top 10 books of 2008.  Also featured in the journal is a great review of Consuming Jesus by David Swanson (who has contributed his story as part of this blog).  Be sure to look for it in the most recent Leadership Journal.  In addition, Out of Ur, the official blog of Leadership Journal, just posted this audio interview of Dr. Metzger by David Swanson.

We would like to highlight this article about some folks involved in Compassion Connect, a ministry program in Portland that is helping to mobilize area churches to serve their community.  Also if you live in the Portland area, be sure to go to the Compassion Connect website to find out about the Home For the Holidays program.

The link to the Wall Street Journal article, “The Mystery Worshipper”, which quotes Metzger, is proving to be helpful in exploring issues raised in Consuming Jesus.  As a result we decided to post links to other discussions related to the book.  There will be more links to come.
Dashhouse.com’s Review of Consuming Jesus
Inhabitatio Dei Review of Consuming Jesus
Internet Monk’s Review of Consuming Jesus 

We are adding a new section to the Consuming Jesus blog.  This section is titled Consuming Cyberspace, which will serve to draw attention to online articles and other blogs’ entries related to the themes discussed in Consuming Jesus.  Check out our link to a recently posted article on “mystery worshippers” and don’t miss Dr. Metzger’s quote at the end of the article.