Abandoning the Pursuit of Happiness

Notes from the Pastor...

I was told by a professor in undergrad there are two initiatives central to economics:
1) what will it cost me? and
2) how will it benefit me?
These two initiatives, questions really, articulate our human condition; so basic within humanity, they are the result of creation, the curse of Adam, the residual of evolution, or all three.  When I take up the discipline of self-examination, a practice encouraged through the 40 days of Lent, I find these two ideas central to most everything I do.  Moreover, unless we dilute ourselves into believing a distortion of reality, the same honest confession must be made by all.

Think about it.  How many life decisions have you made based on these two initiatives?  Your vocation…?  Where you live…?  What church you attend…?

As we walk into our congregational identity as  an open, inclusive, Christ-centered family of faith, these two initiatives may find vocal resonance through the disruption of the status quo.  Some may find the cost to benefit ratio too high on the cost side.  Others may see our  family of faith as the benefit long desired.  Yet when you investigate the call of discipleship in Christ, you discover these initiatives are truly limp and powerless.

Considering the first initiative, “what will it cost me?”, you are confronted with the countless statements of Jesus saying, “Those who lose their life for my sake will save it.” We churched people run to the eternal when acknowledging the second initiative, “how will it benefit me?”, and rightfully so, for the implications are grave and the benefits, perhaps, celestial.  Nonetheless, what benefit do we find in denying self and taking up the cross in this life?

American society is founded on the economics of “what will it cost me?” and “how will it benefit me?”  We call it the pursuit of happiness.  But the church, the body of Christ, is the place we find relief from the pursuit of happiness.  When the church gathers for corporate worship we come from different generations, backgrounds, and affluences to repent and believe.  What we are turning away from pales in comparison to who we are turning toward, and the one we turn toward is Christ.  With no regard to cost, and no care for benefit, Christ loved creation to the extreme; in Jesus’ work of worship, not even the cross was too difficult to bear.  

So the question now becomes: what will it be for you and me?  What will it be for First Christian Church Ruidoso?  Will the limp and powerless initiatives distort our discipleship into something less than self-sacrifice?  Will the pursuit of happiness dilute our worship into something less than work?  Will we extend effort to the healing of hopelessness in our community or be content basking in the hopelessness healed within ourselves?  Are we going to be  an open, inclusive, Christ-centered family of faith?


Grace,
Pastor Ryan

The Devil in Pew Number Seven

My little sister, Brittney, brought me a book the last time I saw her demanding I read it. She is quite an avid reader and there is no way I could ever keep up with her. However, I had to take her advice this time and I couldn't put this one down.

This is an unbelievable true story. All I can say is, "Wow". Thanks for the recommendation, Brit. I finished it today and I am still processing. Wow.

Zombies on Ash Wednesday

Notes from the Pastor...

At Lent our minds and spirits are better aligned to the tragedy of life and salvation that comes through the God who so loved the world that he could not stay away.  Through spiritual disciplines of confession,
prayer, and fasting we examine our existence to find something beyond ourselves; desiring the growth of faith within ourselves.  Wilfred Cantwell Smith defines faith as “an orientation of the personality, to oneself, to one’s neighbor, to the universe; a total response; a way of seeing whatever one sees and of handling whatever one handles; a capacity to live at more than a mundane level; to see, to feel, to act in terms of, a transcendent dimension.”  More simply, faith is pledging love and loyalty to God.  Therefore, if God so loved the world, then our love and loyalty, while aimed to God, is faithfully directed to the world, or at least the small portion of the world in which we inhabit.

Ever since George A. Romero's 1968 film Night of the Living Dead, zombies have a popular role in North American folklore.  A zombie is an animated corpse brought back to life through mystical means.  Irish theologian Peter Rollins defines a zombie as “a person devoid of anything but desire.”  It is something less than human, something that lives solely for the object of infatuation.  Without faith, we are zombies.  Without an orientation to something beyond ourselves we can only live for ourselves – devoid of anything but desire.

Yet God so loved the world that he could not stay away; taking on the form of true humanity, Jesus infected us zombies with humanity.  By means of Jesus, Godincarnate, we are no longer left to wonder through the tragedy of life, arms outstretched, desiring things, people, and ideas to fulfill our infatuated zombie hunger.  Now, through God’s love, our total response, our world-view, and our ability to see, feel, and act are set on faith – pledging our love and loyalty to God.

At Lent, we examine our lives, find the tragedy of our zombie-like existence, and confess that we can do nothing on our own to fix it.  At Lent, the humanity of Jesus’ fidelity infects us with human faith and the world we inhabit is changed.

Grace,
Pastor Ryan

Identity, Work, and Worship

A note from Pastor Ryan...

We are First Christian Church, an open, inclusive, Christ-centered family of faith.

How do we live into our identity?

The full power of a congregation, who embodies a family of faith, is released when the whole church has ownership to include and embrace all ages, from 2 months to 82 years, into the full life of the congregation.  This is the work of worship.  This is proclaiming, as we did in our reading and singing last Sunday: “Bless the Lord, O my soul.” (cf. Psalm 103); not: “Bless my soul, O Lord.”

The worship of Almighty God is one of the few, if not the only, foundation of our fellowship as Christians. Our worship events include song, prayer, The Lord ’s Supper, reading, and listening; all of Sunday morning is meant to draw us with the Spirit’s tether to one another and to God.  This is why First Christian Church will soon practice multigenerational worship.  Our music genre does not change; neither do our sacred texts, but everything we do must include and embrace all ages.  Distractions of any sort, whether they be coughing, cell phone ringing, children whispering, or babies crying, do not keep us from worship, as if external circumstances have that power.  If the followers of Jesus can worship in chains, in hiding, in sickness, in jungles (without air conditioning), in prison or in peril, First Christian Church Ruidoso can learn to worship with multiple generations.

Central to worship of Almighty God is active discipleship in the life, teachings, and passion of Jesus the Christ.  Static faith is akin to no faith at all.  Our spirits are forever inflaming in desire for what is hidden, by means of what is already grasped.  One sure way for the next generation to grow into devoted faith in Christ is by intentional practice and observation of discipleship in adults.  Worship cannot be taught, it must be caught.  Therefore, we all must engage in active discipleship; realizing that arrival will only happen when, in death, we come into Glory.  Discipleship is always self-sacrificing (cf. Luke 9:23) and multigenerational discipleship is no different.

Through the work of worship, the self-sacrifice of discipleship, and the healing of hopelessness, we participate in the Kingdom of God.  This is what First Christian Church does.  We are an open, inclusive, Christ-centered family of faith.  This is who First Christian Church is.  For our congregation to live into our identity we need you to be part of the family!  We need your prayer, your passion, your devotion, your stewardship, and your leadership; simply, we need you!

Grace,
Pastor Ryan

Celebrating Identity

Notes from the Pastor...

Who is First Christian Church?  

Is our reputation and identity the same?  

When I talk with visitors and people in our community I attempt to succinctly provide our congregational identity.  The statement I have settled on is as follows:

We are First Christian Church, an open, inclusive, Christ-centered family of faith.

Even though this statement is well received; sadly it is often a surprise to people who know us only by our reputation.  We’ve been called “the country club church,” “Alto Christian Church,” and “the old people church.”  Such statements may, or may not, have been true in the past; however, they are not true today.  From my assessment, we are more than our reputation  – We are Frist Christian Church, an open, inclusive, 
Christ-centered family of faith.

It is that last clause in our identity that is the most often misunderstood by our neighbors: “family of faith.”  In congregational life, we seem to naturally inhabit “brothers and sisters in faith,” or “friends in faith” more than “FAMILY of faith.”  With very little exception most of our congregation is of a single generation; thus, we fall short of the desired “family of faith.”

In the coming weeks, we will be discussing what it means to be a “family of faith.” Seldom do I directly request your attendance, but over the next two weeks,  February 12th and 19th, I sincerely desire everyone who considers First Christian Church their spiritual home to please come, worship, and see what God is doing in this place. I especially invite all the parents of children attached to our congregation; when we talk about “family of faith,” we have you in mind.  Further, I draft you, our faithful members, to invite families who crave spiritual formation in their child’s life.  

It is time for our congregation to proclaim and live out our identity  – we need to celebrate who we are, and our neighbors desperately need us to be ourselves.  We are First Christian Church, an open, inclusive, and Christ-centered family of faith.  Through the work of worship, the sacrifice of discipleship, and the healing of hopelessness, we participate in the Kingdom of God!  

Grace, 
Pastor Ryan

What if...

Notes from the Pastor...

Throughout January I was involved in the online continuing education course “Disciples History and Polity” through Phillips Theological Seminary.  Through course readings, class assignments, and online discussions we investigated the context and formation of the Stone-Campbell movement along with its contemporary interpretation in worship practice and church governance by means of its three related traditions: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Independent Christian Churches, and Churches of Christ.   I found the following narrative compelling to our congregation.

When you read the writings of Barton Stone, Thomas and Alexander Campbell, and Walter Scott you find within each a deep understanding and application of Scripture.  Eugene Boring says, “From the beginning, Disciples tradition has been public and populist, encouraging the investigation of the Bible in the clear light of [contemporary ideas].”  Yet in a concise survey of Disciples congregations today one finds a great lack of Biblical literacy.  Assumptions on why Biblical literacy has declined include: aversion to fundamentalism and televangelism, proliferation of affordable books of other genres, and the growth in easily accessible visual stimulating entertainment.  Consequently, while we have never thought of the Bible as only a book for private devotion, we have become individuals and congregations lost to the ebb and flow of culture with no “rule of
faith” to rudder our journey in community life.

It leads me to envision what First Christian Church Ruidoso will be like when we adopt a desire to know Scripture.  How will our individual lives be changed when we read the Gospels at the family table?  I wonder how appealing our congregation will become when we celebrate our existence as a safe place where diverse views can be discussed openly.  What will it look like when we become a church that is a sign and anticipation of what God intends for all creation?  Not simply a campaign for peace and justice, but a demonstration of shalom in the way our members live with one another, encouraging spiritual development, and providing credible and compelling affirmation and care to one another.  I am reminded of John Wesley’s prayer:
“What we need is a desire to know the whole will of God, with a fixed resolution to do it.”                      

Grace,
Pastor Ryan