Molding Money

"Money, most common of temporal things, involves uncommon and eternal consequences. Even though it may be done quite unconsciously, money molds people--in the process of getting it, of savings it, of using it, of giving it, of accounting for it. Depending upon how it is handled, it proves a blessing or a curse to its possessor; either the person becomes master of the money, or the money becomes master of the person."

That quote was from 1918. How true today! Getting money is not amoral; saving money is not amoral; using money is not amoral; giving money is not amoral; accounting for money is not amoral. All of these are moral practices because they involve people, which are moral beings. As a Christian, I believe people are moral because God is moral, which means that making, saving, using, giving, and tracking money is theological. This means there are ways to save money that reflect God, but ways to save money that do not reflect God. There are ungodly ways of making, saving, using, giving, and accounting for money.

The Necessary Relevance and Irrelevance of the church and the church

The Necessary Relevance and Irrelevance of the church:

I am reading Bryan Stone’s book, “Evangelism After Christendom” which offers an approach to evangelism after the Modernity. Part of this means a rejection of the church’s desire to be relevant to its culture. Instead, part of the church’s faithful witness to culture is by being different. Yet this goes against the practice of most churches which desire to engage their culture in meaningful ways. I think there is room for agreement in both of these positions when we are clear what we mean by “church.” I think there are two ways one can faithfully use the word church:

1. Church as a politico-economic faith community; and
2. Church as a local organization dedicated to the systemic and organized proclamation and worship of Jesus.

If these are both faithful uses of the word church, then the church (#1) must be irrelevant to its culture. To use an example close to my heart, the church (#1) cannot simply be an organization that teaches better money management than other not-for-profits that do that sort of thing. In this sense, it has to be irrelevant to a culture consumed with economics. However, the church (#2) must be relevant in proclaiming and practicing Christian faith in its culture, which means teaching financial management to people swamped with debt. This teaching is incredibly relevant, but irrelevant in its content because it should help to create that new faith community where money is not status. (The necessary point to the church (#2) is that it doesn’t teach financial management for reasons of self-perpetuation. That goes against the church (#1) being irrelevant.) The Good News of the church (#1) is not financial management, but the Good News of the church (#2) can come through financial management.

Another example one could use is sexuality. The church (#1) must be irrelevant to its culture in that it asks completely different questions about sexuality than its culture, but the church (#2) must be completely relevant by understanding sexuality is a prominent issue facing its culture. The Good News of the church (#1) is not its promise of sexual fulfillment within its teaching, but the Good News of the church (#2) can come through its relevant teaching on sexuality.

Crystallizing Futures; Being a Faithful People

After accessing that inner spot simultaneously viewing the situation from the outside, one can operate from this place, the Self, to create an emerging future. Scharmer calls this crystallizing: "clarifying vision and intention from our highest future possibility" (192). This intention is captured in community because one needs the reiforcement other people's energy provides--we need momentum. Thus, relationship is the most important "generative feature" in facilitating this kind of atmosphere/context/environment. The responsibility and opportunity of those doing the leading is to be able to envision the future you're working to create and to begin living in it already.

Let me give a case study for this. The small group I get to be part of at our church is planning a Prom Night--for people who have already graduated. We're doing this to practice celebrating even when things are tough for so many people. We entered into our discussion for what this party will look like in a few ways. First, we prayed--thanking God for what he's been doing and then asking God to be active in specific areas of our lives and the lives of those we love. Second, we looked at the story of Jeremiah buying a field when Judah was about to be exiled. Why buy a field? Because homes and land and vineyards will be bought in Judah (Jeremiah 32:14). It was a symbol, but more than a symbol, a practice!, that God would restore Judah and bring them back from the Babylonian captivity. (Amazing how perhaps buying houses today could be a Christian practice in the United States!) With this context established, we launched into planning and brainstorming.

Because the context was set, we were able to live into the celebration before it even arrives. Not only were we planning a party, we were also partying in the planning. Of course, there are things we could do to relate better to one another, but what a great night!

It struck me how this idea of living into the anticipated future is the crux of faith. Faith has two connotations: Loyalty and belief. A faithful friend is one who is loyal. A person of faith is one who believes in something. Living into the anticipated future requires both believing in this future and having a persistent loyalty to this future in the now.

Christian Reflection on Scharmer's Emerging Future

Scharmer believes that we must learn from the future, seeing what is emerging, and use that as the basis for leadership. This happens as one is able to be fully present to this moment, to this person, to this event / situation.

It should be noted that there is some Buddhist philosophy in Scharmer's work, at least the possibility that it would fit nicely with his work, so I wanted to offer a Christian reflection on the above idea.

Christians believe in kairos time. That is, there are moments that are important and extraordinary, most specifically for God to work in an active way, revealing part of his eternal purpose. Not all moments are equal. While some time plods along, kronos time, different moments are charged with revelation, kairos time. C.S. Lewis said that the "present is the moment that time touches eternity" that it is the moment when "freedom and actuality are offered to [people]." Being present--fully present--in the moment allows for different moments of kairos time--moments charged with eternal value where we can discern the movement of time as a whole under God's direction. We can see the future emerging by being fully present in the moment that touches eternity. Leading in that direction, whether or not anyone follows, is good leadership. Moving in that direction that values all of God's creation, full justice restored, in the present moment can be done by leading or by falling back (Seth Godin), but one thing one cannot do in the kairos moment: nothing. It is in that moment that Rev. Dr. Peter Widdicombe's advice rings most true: "For God's sake do something!"

Otto Scharmer and Three Methods of Studying Leadership

Otto Scharmer's new leadership text, Theory U, is, I think, postmodernism leadership. The first hint at this is Scharmer's analogy of studying leadership to studying a painter. There are three ways this can be done:

1. Study what a leader has done. What have they built? What's their organization look like? In other words, study the painting.

2. Study how a leader did it. How did they lead meetings? How did they manage? What principles did they employ? In other words, study painting methods.

3. Study the leader. Who are they? What's the source of their leading? Why do they lead? In other words, study the leader.

Pretty simple, but check how many (good!) leadership texts are about principles, lists, and methods. The two best things I ever learned from John Maxwell had to do with character: First, see the potential you want people to realize about themselves and talk them to it. Second, focus today on what you can do today and you'll get where you want to be. Both of those come from character. The first is about hope. The second is about faith. Love is what grounds them both.

James--Practical Theologian

I have been meditating and studying James for a couple of weeks in preparation for our upcoming series. Recently, I have begun seeing James' ability to apply theology to his hearers. Practical theology is best not thought of as a list of dos and don'ts, but as theology that aims to be formative; beliefs about and from God that shape our practices--often dos, but sometimes don'ts--in order to shape our character.

Let me give one example of James' practical theology. James is writing to Jewish believers scattered throughout the Roman empire--a phenomenon called the diaspora. As a result of this scattering, some Jews are poor and without land, while some are wealthy, owning land away from Jerusalem. James starts to address this disparity not by telling all his hearers to share and be nice, but by pointing out the benefit of trial. Trials produce perseverance and perseverance leads to maturity and completeness! As a result, James encourages the poor brother to take pride in his high position--a position that enables maturity to be developed.

James continues by charting the course of the rich: the rich should take pride in their low position. They should do this because without a change of attitude, their doom is foretold: they will pass like a plat scorched by the heat. James has taken and applied Jesus' parable of the sower to the wealthy people in this congregation. Just as Jesus said that those seeds which fell in rocky soil were scorched, so James is warning that without a reversal of attitudes, so will the rich of these churches die and be forgotten. The choice is theirs and James makes sure they realize it: "Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you."

Notice that James does not give a road map to solving their problems. Rather, he combines the parable of Jesus ("planted") with the OT law in order to lay out for them their choice. How they live out the word is up to them, but James has made all the connections and challenges. He has redrawn the world appealing to their law--taking care of widows and orphans--and by warning them as Jesus had once warned his listeners.