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Reason 174 to love Church Hill Activities and Tutoring: The CHAT Rap

The Opposite of Cruelty

"Hospitality is the lens through which we can read and understand much of the gospel, and a practice by which we can welcome Jesus himself," explains Christine Pohl in her book Making Room.  Then why has so much of the modern church forsaken it?

Jeromy and I have begun a study on recovering the practice of church-based hospitality with a small group of servants at RH.  After the first week, I am convicted of neglecting the practice and renewed with courage to pick it back up.  

Within the church, hospitality offers more than fellowship to friends, but compassionate welcome to strangers.  Making room for the least of these is not a substitute for the regular meeting together of Christian family, but simply a fulfillment of the other half of the equation.  In Matthew 5, Jesus says "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?"

In fact, the distinctive Christian contribution to hospitality in early church history was the emphasis on including the poor and neediest, the ones who could not return the favor.  When was the last time I hosted stranger in my home?  What was the most recent occasion that I welcomed someone into my life who could not offer me anything in return?  The instances that come to mind are not as commonplace as these exemplars of the early church.  Could it be because of my fear, aversion to risk, tight hold on my possessions, or packed schedule?  I can't snap my fingers and force those obstacles away, so I'm praying that Jesus would free me from hindrances and enable me to practice His discipline of hospitality.

The resurrection of Christian hospitality is not solely purposed for the care of those in need.  In the first few centuries A.D., it cannot be overlooked that hospitality played an instrumental role in the spread and credibility of the Gospel.  It paid no heed to race, class or gender, but infiltrated lives with Good News and an offer to come and partake. "Deeds speak the language of the great virtues far better than words do... words limp outside the gates of the mystery of compassion for strangers," mused Philip Hallie.  Indeed, Jesus came, He spoke, and He acted... perfectly.  We are left with His example to do likewise, including meeting the "strangers in our midst" where they are and inviting them in to our social circles, our row at church, our conversation, our plans, our communities, and our homes.

Many have followed the example of the early church in offering hospitality to strangers, including refugees, the homeless, the disabled, the sick, and wanderers.  In so doing, Dorathy Day, a Catholic Relief Services worker poetically remembers, "Mistakes there were, mistakes there are, there will be."  Serving people in this way never follows a systematic process; it is sacrificial love and love, well, it's messy.  A dish may be broken, sheets sullied and carpets muddied, but the gift is worth the sacrifice.  It is better to give than to receive.  "Show hospitality," God plainly says in Romans 12.  In the end, making room and welcoming can be uncomfortable and uneasy, but "the biggest mistake is to play things very safe in this life and end up being moral failures," concludes Day. 

I am convinced most of these blog entries are opportunities for me to preach to myself as much as anyone else, so as I respond to conviction and tease out the application of God's call to hospitality, join me.  

Pohl suggests that embracing sustained hospitality requires a full girded in prayer, a light hold on possessions, and a commitment to a simplified lifestyle. It can be difficult to know to whom, when, and how much if we are distracted by our complex lifestyle and not listening to the Father.  What a brilliant place to start.  

"The opposite of cruelty is not simply freedom from the cruel relationship, it is hospitality."  Philip Hallie.
 

World Religions 2.0

A new world religion has arrived on the scene. Despite a gapping lack of a charismatic founder or body of doctrinal literature, it has gained followers at lightning speed.  It's called "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism" and was first specifically identified by a study into the religious thoughts of American teenagers by Christian Smith, a Sociology professor at UNC-Chapel Hill.  Alongside Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity and Judaism, Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is certainly something you would recognize, even if not by name. 

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism "is about inculcating a moralistic approach to life.  It teaches that central to living a good and happy life is being a good, moral person.  That means being nice, kind, pleasant, respectful, responsible, at work on self-improvement, taking care of one's health, and doing one's best to be successful." 

Being "nice" is a central tenant of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.  It follows then that holding strong theological convictions that exclude other truth claims is not nice, rather outright rude.  Here, MTD consciously separates from Christianity since standing behind some central truths of the Christian life is a direct violation of MTD doctrine.  The word nice is actually never used in the Bible.

Secondly, MTD is also about "about providing therapeutic benefits to its adherents."  It is the religious feel-good pill that costs no money.  MTD is also the only world religion void of an acknowledgement of suffering or sacrifice. "This is not a religion of repentance from sin, of keeping the Sabbath, of living as a servant of a sovereign divinity, of steadfastly saying one's prayers, of faithfully observing high holy days, of building character through suffering, of basking in God's love and grace, of spending oneself in gratitude and love for the cause of social justice, etc.," explains Smith in his study.  "Rather, what appears to be the dominant religion among U.S. teenagers is centrally about feeling good, happy, secure, at peace.  It is about attaining subjective well-being, being able to resolve problems, and getting along amiably with other people."  Happiness is the end to which we seek.


Third, MTD also alters the concept of God.  He is still one who orders the universe and gives humans moral guidelines, but He is not one who is personally involved with human affairs.  He's especially not involved in the personal happenings in which we prefer God to stay at a distance.  In MTD, God is not God of all things, rather of a select few convenient things (i.e. meeting my needs).

Lastly, the most interesting facet of MTD noted by Smith is that this new world religion dominates our culture without requiring adherents to leave their church affiliations or Christian identification.  "We have come with some confidence to believe that a significant part of Christianity in the United States is actually [only] tenuously Christian in any sense that is seriously connected to the actual historical Christian tradition, but is rather substantially morphed into Christianity's misbegotten step-cousin, Christian Moralistic Therapeutic Deism" summarizes Smith in his book Soul Searching. "We now live in a nation that largely considers itself Christian, overwhelmingly believes in some deity, considers itself fervently religious, but has virtually no connection to historic Christianity."

It's flexible dimensions require little, but what does this new religion offer in return for it's teasing appeal of ease and comfort?  Perhaps the benefits are just what the seekers seek- the resolution of problems and a good feeling.  But is that worth following? 

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.  Hebrews 11:6