Some light summer reading and thinking...

Three of the books I’ve set out to read this summer, 2 of which you see in my side column have had significant-big time-huge impact on my spiritual, ecclesial, and political imagination. From my processing, all 3 books have seemed to converge on the idea of what "subordination" means in God’s kingdom. And as my paradigms morph the circumstances of my life begin to take on new meanings. At Adullam we have a baptism this Sunday and a few will express their submission to God and his church. As the presidential race draws to the final stages and Denver hosts the DNC next week, my mind has been drawn to process what it means for a Christ follower to submit to governing authorities.

With that said, the following is not a book review. The following words are simply me processing through these books and the scriptures they led me to and some of the recent circumstances of my spiritual journey. (Warning: this post falls into the "rant" category so you may want to disregard)

“The most radical social teaching of Jesus was his total reversal of the contemporary notion of greatness. Leadership is found in becoming the servant of all. Power is discovered in submission.”
“It is impossible to overstate the revolutionary character of Jesus’ life and teaching at this point. It did away with all the claims to privileged position and status. It called into being a whole new-order of leadership. The cross-life of Jesus undermined all social orders based on power and self-interest.”

(Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster 116)

So how then does the “cross-life” coincide with the apparent power and self-interest that characterizes the economic and social fabric of the good ol’ US of A?

Many evangelicals would point me to Romans 13. Christians often use Paul's words here as to why we should vote and submit to the governing authorities, buuuut….is it really that simple?

A further look at Paul’s context and the breadth of Paul’s writing we see he actually offers a piercing critique of the empire’s power and proposes a creative path of revolutionary love. Paul urges Philemon to illegally welcome back his fugitive slave, Onesimus, as a brother, instead of killing him for running away. Paul, who says, “be subject to the authorities” also was stoned, exiled, jailed, and beaten for subverting those same governing authorities. It is interesting to me that he uses the same exact Greek word for “authorities” when he says in Ephesians 12

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

It appears Paul walks a thin line with submission on one side and subversive resistence on the other.

In Jesus for President, Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw ask,

“Is it possible to submit and to subvert? Paul’s life gives a clear yes, as does Jesus’ crucifixion. Paul points out that the very act of submission is what “disarms the powers” by making a spectacle of their evil.” (Claiborne and Hall 166)

The apostle Peter also calls Christians to walk this thin line when he writes,

Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.

And it was this same Peter who also writes

"Which is right in God's eyes: to listen to you (governing authorities), or to him? You be the judges!” (Acts 19)

and on a similar occasion Peter states,

"We must obey God rather than human beings!” (Acts 5:29)

Perhaps walking the line Peter and Paul walked doesn’t necessarily mean I have Rage Against the Machine screaming in my head phones or lead public protests at the DNC, but I believe it does at least call for a sharp and discerning eye as a consumer within a land far more powerful than Rome’s Empire ever was. Man, this effort toward greater consumer discernment is highly inconvenient and inefficient. It seems part of this discernment calls me to do such things as check the tags on my clothing to investigate where and by whom they were stitched together. Woah! My Nike shoes were made in China and my Nike t-shirt in Honduras. My Shell station gas I pumped into my car this morning was shipped all the way from the middle-east. Hmmm…

Seeing the world through the lenses of submission/subversion finds that the bulk of much of what fuels our economy runs off of the efficiency that strangely comes through outsourced and inexpensive labor in the third world. So, maybe the beginning of creative resistence means finding consumer alternatives that refuse to encourage third world cheap labor. The kingdom of God does not place as high a priority on convenience and efficiency as other kingdoms seem to.

Jesus and the Disinherited is a little book written by a black man named Howard Thurman. It was said that Dr. Martin Luther King had this book practically memorized and referred to it throughout years as a revolutionary resistor. Thurman wisely helps the reader understand that you cannot adequately understand the spirituality of Jesus without understanding the context he was living out of. The context being that of a poor man within a marginalized people group residing under the rule of the pervasive and suffocating Roman Empire. Thurman speaks of the submission/subversion idea when he writes,

“There are two alternatives for the Jewish minority of which Jesus was a part. Simply stated these were to resist or not to resist. But each of these alternatives has within it secondary alternatives.” (Thurman 23)
“Under the plan of non-resistence one may take the position of imitation. The aim of such an attitude is to assimilate the culture and the social pattern of the dominant group… Under some circumstances it may involve a repudiation of one’s heritage, one’s customs, one’s faith.”

(Thurman 23)

Speaking of non-resistence, assimilation, and imitation… When I was in the hoosier state last May to visit family for Memorial Day we went to a church on Sunday morning that had 25 American flags drapped throughout the sanctuary and a sermon that concluded with the idea that America’s soldiers were fighting in Iraq so that we could have freedom to follow Jesus. And everyone nodded and amen'd in agreement.
Freedom at what cost? And when a church sports more American flags than crosses is that not proof that we live in an Empire with stark similarities to the one Jesus grew up in?

The German thinker Johannes Hamel says that subordination includes “the possibility of a spirit-driven resistence, of an appropriate disavowal and a refusal ready to accept suffering at this or that particular point. (Foster 121)

Accept and invite suffering? What the…? The thing with me and many of my white middle class bros and sisters is that I’m not sure we can fully understand submission in the way Jesus spoke of it because most of us have never laced up the shoes of the marginalized poor such as the stuck and ignored people of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and we’ve never experienced the position of the innocent women and children of Baghdad when they were being blanket bombed by US ships or of the poor Chinese farmers whose water supply was unexpectedly cut off in order to channel it to Beijing for the Olympics. Relating to Jesus’ idea of submission (remember poor & marginalized) means in some way walking in the shoes of these types of people.

Like I said avoid these books if you wish to avoid any internal spiritual crisis or if you'd rather not see yourself as exiles in a foreign land.

Comments

[Jason Nate]

GREAT Stuff man! Love the pic with JP on the side!

Couple of thoughts:

First, you are right on when you write "So how then does the “cross-life” coincide with the apparent power and self-interest that characterizes the economic and social fabric of the good ol’ US of A?" and the anecdote to your church experience at Memorial Day. Too many times we let our nationalism (not necessary wrong) coincide or run along the same lines as our Christian faith, as if they were one in the same. We speak of first amendment rights (right to bear arms, which I am for) as if they come from the Bible. It's tough to separate the two as for so long we lived under the assumption that we are a Christian nation, that we are the modern-day Israel - the people of God - and He protects us because we are American. But I think those days are over. We need to separate our politics from our faith, not that we can get political, but understanding that politics will come and go, the Kingdom and our faith will remain forever, no matter if Obama or McCain gets in or whether the political ideologies of the left or right prevail.

Second, I have to question your comments on third-world cheap labor and how our economy runs on it. Very true in many settings, but again I think the comments are peripheral and delve from the points you were trying to make. From my understanding, the third world cheap labor that you speak of is highly valued by those working in those settings...it allows them to feed their families, send their children to school, maybe even save for an actual dwelling of their own. I can't cite research here, but if my memory holds true from South Africa to Indonesia to China to Vietnam to India to every other place in the world, these Nike and Reebok and Ralph Lauren and other jobs are greatly cherished, the work and income is appreciated, and when Western NGO's come in and demand that these "sweat shops" be closed down, the people are devastated. (Of course, if there is any hint of slave or forced labor evident, it should be shut down, that cannot be allowed.) I know from experience that a great deal of women we work with in the Mathare and Kibera slums of Kenya virtually long for garment making and other such “third world cheap labor” work, and when trained properly and given tools to succeed in the trade, their stories bring tears to my eyes. I think we go wrong when we judge the living conditions of others around the world in comparison to ours, as their goals are not necessarily that they be brought up to our standards (though they no doubt would appreciate it) but rather the simple things in life: food, shelter, education, safety.

Good thoughts man, I love where you are heading with radically assessing the call of the Kingdom with the life we so easily take for granted here in the US. I am on the same journey, and your openness and honesty and insights help me along the road. Blessings man!

[Doug Nolte]

I need to read these books. Tell me how you think we can get white middle class America (those who profess Christ) to get involved in the inner city. Many are, but most aren't.

[Jason Nate]

It can't be about "us" getting "white middle class America" into the inner city, just like it can't be about "me" trying to get "the West" or "Christians" more involved in Africa, or Kenya specifically. It has to be about all of us, white middle class and inner city inhabitants alike, to follow Christ, and then respond to the heart He gives us for His people, whether that be those in the inner city, politicians, businessmen, slaves or slum dwellers. It can't be about us, but the desires of our heart that come from our relationship with Christ.

[Doug Nolte]

My comments are perhaps to narrow minded. But I see the need for a watchman to stand in the gap and influence people. Would you agree that in Christ's model of ministry, he stood in the gap for those in need period?

Maybe I have it all wrong . . .

[Ryan]

I don't think you have it all wrong, Doug. You and Jason are coming from different perspectives and this was a charged post.
To your initial question. The only way white middle class can get involved in the critical issues of the city is through intentional relationships-stepping out of our areas of comfort and prayer. I wouldn't say Adullam provides a model for it. There's not too many doing it.