SOME RELIGION & MUSHROOMS ARE DEADLY!

One of the hot topics in the Body of Christ today is that of Religion versus Relationship.  It begins with the disclaimer of, “I’m not talking about religion, but a relationship” and ends with fear, “religion will kill you.”  To be clear, certain types of religion and religious observance may kill you.  So will certain kinds of mushrooms, but please do not throw away the portabellas and porcinis.  The truth is that God is okay with true and pure religion!  In fact it will probably astound many that Jesus practiced his religious beliefs by customarily going to the synagogue and along with others taking the scrolls to read (Luke 4:16) as was custom among fellow Jews.

Webster defines religion as “the service and worship of God; a commitment or devotion to faith or its observance; a personal set of beliefs, and practices; scrupulous conformity; a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith.”

I can’t really find anything I disagree with in that definition of religion.  But, so that my argument will not rest on me and the genius of Webster, let’s look to the scriptures.  They are always a good place to begin and end!

          James 1:27 (ESV)

²⁷ Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Okay, so it is clearly laid out here.  Religion isn’t bad.  But, religion that is merely external is. True religion, the kind that God accepts, is shown through actions of love (visiting orphans and widows) and holiness (defined as not allowing the pollutants of the world to guide or taint your beliefs and actions).

I can hear your arguments.  Jesus aside, (which really should never be done) most religion is dead.  No love, little or no holiness.  Why defend something like that?

Okay, let’s look at what you are proposing as the answer to this problem.  In a word it is “relationship.”  Good word, but let’s pin down a meaning for this word and what it means to be “in relationship.”

Since the creation of man, we have been “in relationship” with God, but the word relationship was first known to be used in or around the year 1741 and only recently has it come to describe man’s association with God.  Since adopting a new non-biblical word, we have left the moorings of God’s revelation…..and that’s where things get tricky.  We love God and Ben and Jerry’s ‘Chunky Monkey’ ice cream.  We lavish the same word on Starbucks and our kids without a pronunciation change to delineate which one we are referring to.  We hide behind that ambiguity not allowing our real preferences to be seen or known.

So it is with relationship.  In fact, if it is defined by the common usage of today it can mean something or nothing or everything in between.  It is used of dating and marriage.  It can refer to the connection which people have with their significant other or with someone whom they are not getting along with.  The problem is that it still begs for definition.  What we desire in using this word is to connote something that is full of life and spiritual vitality.  But without definition and certain boundaries, this word may still leave us empty, dead and external.  If you don’t believe me, sit down with any marriage counselor and ask him about those marriages that outwardly appear to be living in relationship but are in fact dead within.

Now let’s return to the question of how our kinship with God was referred to before the word relationship was really used.  Because I cannot be exhaustive in this, let’s just look at a few of the things Jesus and the N.T. say about relationship.

One word Jesus uses is “friends.” That is a word that describes connection and association or if you will relationship.  Jesus said to his disciples, “You are my friends if you do what I command.” John 15:14 and 14:21, “Whoever it is who has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.”

Without spin, friendship is defined by obedience, not by cheap syrupy words of love.  Dancing, lifting hands, and getting on your face before Him in worship do not prove your friendship with God!  Obedience borne out of love is the calling card for that type of association to Him!

“Children of God” is another phrase used to describe the believer’s relationship to Christ.  John describes this person as one who does what is right and loves his brother.  Again, as in the definition of religion accepted by God, our relationship to him is defined by holiness and love. (1 John 3:10)

 Finally, the phrase “servants of God” holds within itself the definition of showing proper respect to everyone, loving the brotherhood of believers and fearing God.  (1 Peter 2:16-17)

I know that bad things have gone on in the name of religion, but they have also occurred under the banner of relationships.  What I think people are looking for in having a “relationship” with God is a living and dynamic faith that brings about love and dedication to God.  My simple contention is that true religion, pure and undefiled, brings about that same loving and holy life. Again, some mushrooms like certain types of religion will kill you, but don’t throw away the portabellas and the porcinis!

AN EXTRAORDINARY TRIP

“Most people never get there.  They're afraid or unwilling to demand enough of themselves and take the easy road, the path of least resistance.  But struggling and suffering, as I now saw it, were the essence of a life worth living.  If you're not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you're not constantly demanding more from yourself--expanding and learning as you go—you’re choosing a numb existence.  You’re denying yourself an extraordinary trip.”
 ― Dean Karnazes, Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner

This past Sunday, I was able to walk a few steps with a couple who are on an extraordinary trip.  I was truly inspired as Jane and I worshipped together with The Atlanta Dream Center on Sunday. Paul and Patti Palmer, who have had their share of suffering and trials (which, by the way, I will not speak of here), serve the Lord with excellence!  Not excellence in building or location.  I think we met in a converted metal warehouse seated on plastic folding chairs in an area that I’ve had nightmares about being lost in.  Simply put, what I witnessed in the heart of Atlanta was an excellence of heart.  What I felt was a purity born out of love and compassion and made alive through action.  I live in a world of words and many times find myself acting as if words are proof of something.  Proof, poof!  Words and sentiments expressed are but cheap imitations of true compassion which seeks to live and work on the same street as hurt and pain.

In the service, I met an array of persons who were people of pain but have found Christ to be their healer.  They included a former crack-using prostitute who now ministers to those who are still junked up and in captivity, the ex-con who runs a security business, a past drug dealer who now gives himself to the Lord, and the list goes on!  I also encountered a shining group of young people who are learning how to be agents of reconciliation from two of His finest teachers.  Not only are they learners, but they have infused this warehouse of grace with greater creativity and ingenuity as they have ministered to the community around them with a wide array of activities.

After the morning worship, we rode through the streets as this incredible couple pointed out place after place where the power of God’s love conquered the hatred of the Devil.  At one point, Paul stopped his car in the middle of the road to find out why a person crossing the street in front of him was not at service.  Then as we made our way to the restaurant, if felt like he took forever to walk thirty feet because he couldn’t meet a stranger.  His actions reminded me that a true shepherd will go anywhere and everywhere to gather those for whom Jesus died, and he acted like Jesus died for the whole world!  After a delicious Southern lunch at Mary Mac’s, Paul and Patty showed us a street that really raised all our levels of excitement. The street that had once been filled with pushers, addicts, and violence but was now transformed with the Dream Center occupying one of the buildings located there.

Can this kind of “extraordinary trip” only happen with the inner city as its dynamic backdrop and with persons like the Palmers?  I’m glad you asked!  I have seen fellow travelers all over.  In Georgia, they inhabit the mountainous north, the metro region, the eastern slopes, and middle Georgia to the flat lands of the south.  They have in common a love for God, a refusal to live in the comfort zone, and a hatred of living a numb existence!  I pray that you too will find your journey on this side of extraordinary!