Sunday, August 26, 2007
Will the Real Adventist Please Stand Up?
With boards looming large next month I have not been updating the blog as regularly as I would like. In our Epicenter class we are currently discussing I Corinthians. Here are some ideas to consider for next week when we look at I Corinthians 11-13.
Will the real Adventist please stand up?
I have engaged this fruitless question more often than I would like to admit. Mostly these thoughts rattle around inside my head, only rarely making a synapse with cranial nerves to give them voice.
A real Adventist is (make your choices), in agreement with all 28 fundamental beliefs, ready to seek present truth, conservative, liberal, legalistic, grace-centered, rich, poor, smart, ignorant, short, tall, black, white, tan, etc...all of which insinuate that a true Adventist can be broken down into a single ideal prototype. No.
A real Adventist is an individual who chooses to join themselves to an Adventist community. Period.
It is imperative that we define ourselves through belonging rather than by behaving or believing. (1) I have heard influential Adventist leaders state bluntly that those who hold errant beliefs and eschew other vital beliefs should leave. I have read about Adventist churches that resisted outreach because it might bring imperfect sinners who would disrupt the otherwise sterile purity of their desolate church. I long for an Adventist church which recognizes that the strength of unity in diversity is more than just skin deep. (2)
But, you say with furrowed brow, Jesus prayed that we would be one. (3) Yes, he prayed for unity but not manipulative coercion to conform to some prototypical, imaginary, ideal human. Never unity by force.
The issue is illustrated in the stories of Babel and Pentecost. The tower of Babel was built through unified human effort that had no room for diversity. Minority voices were oppressed as humans struggled to save themselves. As soon as diversity was introduced, the whole project failed. Pentecost, some say, was a reversal of the loss of unity at Babel. (4) Miroslav Volf contends that this interpretation does justice to neither story. (5) Pentecost occurred in a humble prayer meeting as humans struggled to understand God. The result was not a conformed community that spoke with one homogeneous voice, but a reformed community who spoke and related to every tongue, tribe, and nation, causing diverse passersby to exclaim, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?" (6)
John records Jesus' prayer that we would be unified in the same way He was unified with His Father. Unified in love. (7)
Love is not license. There may be times when we should do as Paul says and expel the immoral member. (8) When the actions of one are to disrupt the community, their choice is clear. The cancer of arrogance whether in flaunting errant ideas, unrepentant debauchery, icy legalism, or dangerously narrow theological understanding should be carefully excised. Occasionally this may even involve removing a member of the community. In that case, we love that individual we have lost. We work and pray for healing and reunion in the same way that you would carefully pack up a severed member from your own body and rapidly present it to a surgeon for reattachment.
The body of Christ functions best as Paul described it. Christ is the head and we are a diverse group of individual parts performing our unique functions in a coordinated, communicating miracle of life. (9)
Will the real Adventist please sit back down and join the community?
1. Richard Rice's book Believing, Behaving, Belonging is a brilliant and persuasive call for the primacy of belonging.
2. I am in no way attempting to minimize the need for unity among racial diversity. Living in Birmingham, Alabama, I realize we have a great deal of growth ahead of us in this area as well. What I am attempting to highlight is the fact that issues of diversity run much deeper than the amount of melanin in our skin. Think of the rich diversity along the spectrum of traditional to progressive Adventists. Assuming we have achieved unity in diversity because we have bridged the racial divide ignores the rich depths of experience awaiting us as we dialogue with many different cultures, traditions, backgrounds, and ideas.
3. John 17:20-22
4. Genesis 11:1-9
5. Miroslav Volf, Exclusion and Embrace
6. Acts 2:1-9 (NRSV)
7. John 17:23
8. I Corinthians 5
9. I Corinthians 12...
Labels: Adventist, community, Corinthians, Epicenter, religion
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I was just skimming over the top 10 churches list. (Hmmmmm...where was our church??:) When I think of unity , diversity, true connections and love towards God and churchmates, my heart leans towards a small missional group - worshipping, praying, studying, and serving. It seems the larger we get the more we tread on the surface together (yes, at least we're together). Yet, could we go deeper? Maybe next year you could list the top 10 Adventist churches/communities/home churches that are impacting each other and their community. Would our church make the list?:)
# posted by 
: 8:02 PM
: 8:02 PM
WARNING! A CONTRARIAN VIEW--Having read Rice's book, I have felt that he was right on target with the notion that "belonging" trumped all. Then yesterday I started Doug Morgan's collection of essays about a peace making remnant. Now I wonder if "behaving" is the most powerful concept. I am not referring to the traditional SDA behavioral constraints; I refer to those behaviors of our ancestors which exhibited peace making prophetic remnant activity. Maybe we presently need a community (belonging) to support one another in remnant type peace making prophetic activities (behavior). Should we exclude those who ignore the concept of ushering in God's kingdom on earth now? Should we exclude those who focus almost solely on beliefs and refuse to consider actions to be done now for the good of humanity? Belonging is important---Yet the question is "To what do we want to belong?" I wonder if behavior will tell who the read Adventist is!!!!
# posted by : 12:10 PM
: 12:10 PM
What are some specific examples of "remnant peace making prophetic activities"? My mind gets muddled when it comes to lines. Do we draw a line between Adventism and everyone else or do we embrace our tradition and still find a way to include other traditions in our search to know God? Are there any stories from scripture that give behaving primacy and belonging tags along second?
# posted by : 1:34 PM
: 1:34 PM
No Carmen, you weren't too forceful. I just haven't had time to blog this week. This text comes to mind.
Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions. It is by our actions that we know we are living in the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before the Lord, even if our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. (1 John 3:18-20)
In my opinion, our actions should speak love and that love should foster community. In other words, in our activism for peace and justice we should always be as inclusive as possible lest we become what we claim to despise. I still think belonging is primary but I like what you are saying.
Nola, sorry all I have is theory right now but I agree concrete examples are invaluable. I am thinking...
Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions. It is by our actions that we know we are living in the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before the Lord, even if our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. (1 John 3:18-20)
In my opinion, our actions should speak love and that love should foster community. In other words, in our activism for peace and justice we should always be as inclusive as possible lest we become what we claim to despise. I still think belonging is primary but I like what you are saying.
Nola, sorry all I have is theory right now but I agree concrete examples are invaluable. I am thinking...
How about this proposed method for looking at this. The relationship of the 3 B's (believing, behaving, belonging) to a church community can be look at from 2 angles.
1. In order to have a community that attracts persons to belong, there has to be a set of beliefs and behaviors that the community agrees upon. There must be beliefs and probably behaviors that tie the group together. Parts of this set of beliefs/behaviors will almost certainly change as the community grows and as the mindset of the society around it changes. Those who choose to belong are those who agree and are convinced to join the community (or are born into the community).
2. Once the community is formed then belonging becomes important to all in the community. In fact, one would argue that in order to truly be part of God's kingdom on earth, unconditional love and thus belonging should take precedence. I wonder if we should then look at the 3 B's as a hierarchy in which belonging trumps behaving and behaving trumps believing. Some of the implications would be
* if a member wants to still belong despite behaviors that are contrary to the group, he/she remains (e.g. drinking alcoholic beverages). There of course are certain behaviors that harm the community that may require termination of membership like what Paul was talking about in Corinthians
* if a member behaves like a member of God's kingdom but does not fully believe all the community believes, he/she remains a member. (e.g. believing in macro evolution).
Would this hierarchical model be a useful way to look at our church community and help us determine who is the real Adventist?
1. In order to have a community that attracts persons to belong, there has to be a set of beliefs and behaviors that the community agrees upon. There must be beliefs and probably behaviors that tie the group together. Parts of this set of beliefs/behaviors will almost certainly change as the community grows and as the mindset of the society around it changes. Those who choose to belong are those who agree and are convinced to join the community (or are born into the community).
2. Once the community is formed then belonging becomes important to all in the community. In fact, one would argue that in order to truly be part of God's kingdom on earth, unconditional love and thus belonging should take precedence. I wonder if we should then look at the 3 B's as a hierarchy in which belonging trumps behaving and behaving trumps believing. Some of the implications would be
* if a member wants to still belong despite behaviors that are contrary to the group, he/she remains (e.g. drinking alcoholic beverages). There of course are certain behaviors that harm the community that may require termination of membership like what Paul was talking about in Corinthians
* if a member behaves like a member of God's kingdom but does not fully believe all the community believes, he/she remains a member. (e.g. believing in macro evolution).
Would this hierarchical model be a useful way to look at our church community and help us determine who is the real Adventist?
I can't think of any biblical examples in which certain behaviors exclude a person from the group. Jesus was very inclusive of Judas. Nola, good observation! To me the term prophetic peacemaking activities would refer to activities that address current societal needs. This is in the tradition of OT prophets who spoke out about current issues. These would be activities that promote Christ's kingdom among us now! I use the term remnant because it is often used within our denomination; it does give the connotation that it is near the end of earthly time(remnant). I'm not sure it means scarce or elite. People within and outside of the SDA church will be part of this, I believe. Specific examples would be: promoting respect and rights for all people, caring for the Earth, promoting humane treatment for prisoners, and so on.
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# posted by : 12:23 PM
: 12:23 PMSubscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
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