The Heart Matters

It happens each year. The air cools; the days shorten; leaves burst into brilliant color, soon to fall to the ground. Inside things are happening too. Lights are carefully placed on the mantel; pumpkins, ghosts, spiders, and bats fill my living space; soon it will be Halloween.

I love this festive season. The kids look forward to trips to the pumpkin patch. There is firewood to be delivered and Jiffy Pop to burn. Leaf piles grow,  inviting all to jump into with glee. Cider, don’t even get me going about the cider. The smell of spiced cider simmering on the stove delights the senses and promises of pumpkin bread yet to be devoured. Soon jack-o-lanterns will be carved and pumpkin seeds will be roasted and seasoned to perfection.

What a time to play dress up and to stay up late watching your favorite “scary movie.” Kids visibly tranform into monsters, heros, princesses and frogs and run door-to-door demanding a treat else you suffer the risk of a “trick.” Adults get dressed up as well, playing with their children and with one another. Oh, the games they play.

These are the activities of the season – ingrained into our culture as much as apple pie and baseball, yet so many Christians stand opposed to these festivities. Why? This has always baffled me. Why stand outside and opposed to your culture?  After all, most Christians have no problem celebrating Easter or Christmas, but Halloween, now that’s a different story.

I’ve heard Christians tell me that they want no part in Satan’s holiday. Are they kidding me? What makes Halloween more depraved than any other celebration? They tell me that dressing up in monster outfits honors demons and shames Jesus. Seriously? Thay insist that Halloween is the day of witchcraft and black magic. Huh? Okay, One of my kids did dress as Darth Maul and Darth Vader. True, they used the Force and enslaved the free world through violence and oppression, but Satanic? I think not. Geez.

Ummm...yeah this is a great way to evangelize in your neighborhood.

Occasionally, Christians argue that this holiday was rooted in a pagan festival called the Samhain. Basically, the Samhain was a Celtic harvest festival which celebrated the end of summer at which time the Celts believed that the boundaries between the living and the dead were able to be crossed. In order to protect and hide oneself from these evil spirits, the living had to masquarade as the dead; thus, deceiving the Banshees, and therefore, escaping Death’s clutches yet another year. To disguise oneself became a matter of survival in a dark world ruled by the fear of death.  So, it seems that Halloween may indeed be linked to a pagan festival. But what of other more “Christian” festivals? Are their origins any less godless?

Christmas’s origins are as pagan as Halloween’s. December 25th corresponds with the winter solstice. On that day, Romans celebrated the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti. This was the birthday of the Unconquered Sun. This allowed for many solar deities to be worshipped on the same date. The Persian god Mithras, Roman Sol, and Syrian Elagabalus  all were worshipped throughout the Roman Empire on the 25th. Christian Christmas also corresponds to the Roman Festival, the Saturnalia, where social roles were reversed, as masters became servants and servants masters,  and much merrymaking occurred. The church fathers, such as Bede, even agreed that Christ was most likely born in the springtime. Therefore, Christmastime has more incommon with pagan celebrations and debauchery than with Christianity.

Though Easter’s origins can be tied to the Jewish Passover, many argue that this holiday has the most pagan of beginnings. The etymology of the word “easter” has its base in the names of fertility goddesses, such as Eostre. Most fertility goddess had festivals in spring which directly corresponded to the time of Easter’s observance. Also, other “resurrection” gods were worshipped in the springtime. Among the “gods” celebrated are Bacchaus, Adonis and Attis. The most compelling correlation, which supports pagan beginnings for Easter, is between Attis and Christ. Attis was the consort of the Phyrgian fertility goddess Cybele. He was believed to have had a virgin birth and was gored to death by a wild bore after he self-castrated himself. He died as a result of this violence, but was reborn, bearing the scars of his death, as a eunuch. Therefore, many argue that Easter has a great, if not greater, connection to the occult.

So, if Halloween is to be feared and avoided by Christians, then too ought Christmas and Easter. Perhaps Paul said it best in his letter to the Colossians.

¹⁶ So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. ¹⁷ For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. ¹⁸ Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, ¹⁹ and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it. ²⁰ You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, ²¹ “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? ²² Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. ²³ These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires. Col 2:16-23

See, we were set free from this world. As Christians we have a new freedom to live as beloved sons and daughters. We no longer have to worry about conforming to the things of this world. It’s not about what you do or don’t do. It’s about who you are, because of who Christ is.

Halloween is fun. Kids love it. Communities act like communities. It’s one night a year that people go door to door and greet their neighbors. People slow down and talk to one another. It’s fun and it’s freedom in practice.

If anything, Christians should be even more involved  in this hallowed evening. Christians should have the best parties, have  tastefully haunted displays, open their homes to neighbors, display the warmest hospitality, give out the best candy, and above all show your community that you are a part of it!

This past weekend my friend, who’s a Christian, hosted a great get together in our neighborhood. She invited friends and opened her garage to the local high school students. Those students put on the best PG haunted house in town. The high school students had a great time socializing. What an amazing way to be in the world and not of the world. This is Christ’s witness – Christ focused love.

Kudos, Angie. May Christ be glorified through your serving endevour.

Christians, instead of whining about how terrible kids are and how wicked Halloween is, do something radical. Throw the best party in town – it doesn’t have to be huge. Just make a statement for Christ. One that is anything but whiny.

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 Evangelism

On page 43, White identifies that “Evangelism involves effectively communicating the gospel of Jesus Christ with the goal of converting an individual to the Christian faith.” Perhaps, the better goal would be to introduce someone to the person of Jesus and His offer of relational reconciliation. The gospel message is always the same, yet the manner which it is communicated changes with the audience. The apostle Paul affirms this as an objective of evangelism in 2 Cor 9:22, as he “became all thing to all men so that by all possible means (he) might save some.” In layman’s terms the good news must be contextualized.

When rethinking evangelism, one must consider the background, culture and language of the audience. As Jesus spoke, he used narratives and stories that his audience could readily comprehend. To fisherman, he spoke of fishing. To a women at the well, he talked of living water. He identified his audience and reasoned in their terms to convey a spiritual truth.

Barna has recently determined through research why non-Christians are not affected by the message of Christianity. This is important to understand, for the mission of the church is to reach those who are not believers. The threefold reasons given by those surveyed are that they “do not see the relevance of the Christian faith, they do not understand what the Christian faith is trying to say, and they have difficulty accepting how different the Christian answer is from what they though the answer would be.” (p 53)

The key to successful evangelism is to invite a person to into a situation where they can “seek and find a redemptive relationship” with Jesus Christ. Notice that the key word in this is relationship. It is not about building up some program or coming up with the perfect teaching series, rather it is about building relational bridges where people can understand the gospel. The message must be presented in verbal witness rather than displayed through merely the activity of Christian community. The gospel must be spoken in such a manner that it is understood and able to prove relevant in that person’s life.

In our fellowship we do well at being the fun neighbors next door, or the supportive friend who is there, but often we put more investment in the activity of fun at the expense of expressing the gospel of reconciliation. We build our warm bridges without the gospel being first and foremost in our budding relationships. The gospel must always be preeminent. Its relevance promoted, lest we chance to place ourselves in a bait and switch” predicament.

When the gospel gets the back seat, we lose an opportunity for seeing who is and is not receptive to the word, and as a result, we invest unwisely. To invest a great amount of time without substance limits the opportunity to successfully evangelize to those in our lives. Balancing the warmth of relationship with the substance of truth can be difficult, but again this is the activity of the assembly and we should depend and count on the council and support of the Body of Christ when evangelizing.

When we do get people to a meeting where the gospel is presented clearly, do we ask the relevant questions? Or do we turn the conversation to the weather or the latest entertainment scandal? What better opportunity than to talk about Christ and who He is and what He has done and what He is offering. Ask yourself, “As a Christian, what is the business of the church? What are we here to accomplish?” Or better yet, “Who do I need to introduce them to?”

White addresses the changing needs in evangelism for a post modern society. No longer is reason or facts enough. Now we need to communicate “So what?” and “How does this affect me?” A postmodern culture no longer understands who the God of the Bible is. They now must be introduced to Him just as Paul introduced the Greeks at Mars Hill to the one true God. Also, the postmodern person is seeking experience. They want to belong and to be part of the sacred. Another need in the postmodern world is that people are wanting to see an example of the transformed life. They want evidence that the spiritual life is genuine. People want to see practical models of life transformed.

In our fellowship, there has been great success with the Discovery Group model , based on Poole’s seeker small groups concept. People have been personally invited to engage in spiritual conversations. The relationships are built outside of meetings, through both group gatherings and one on one time. An environment of safety is established where attendees are comfortable to discuss spiritual values and ideas. Those non-believers attending these groups are exposed to the truth and have the opportunity to ask how it is relevant to them. They are able to experience the “sacred” through attending meetings where prayer, fellowship, and service are practiced. As for seeing the transformed, many hear testimonies and in time see genuine sacrifice and other’s based love put into action.

Perhaps the greatest obstacle for our fellowship is that discovery groups take a step of faith into the unknown. This step of faith can seem so huge, especially since so much is out of the control of those leading the group. It also can require a huge investment. But for those who have taken this step it has born fruit both in the lives of those hosting and of those attending. For those supporting the effort, a hindrance could be a lack of vision for how best to support the group. Effective communication of needs and well promoted and attended prayer meetings could assist others in the body to back these groups. The fruit born is evidence of the work of the Spirit which testifies to successful evangelism.

•  Discipleship

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 A wise man once wrote that there is a season for every activity under heaven. He wrote that there is a time to be born … to heal, to tear down, to build, to mourn, to dance, to scatter, to gather … a time for war and a time for peace. The Hughes home church understands what that man was saying. Now is not the time for peace. Now is the season to go to war – to take it to the streets.

This summer brought many challenges and opportunities for growth. For one, the leaders Joel, Kat, and Dar have joined the new Crossroads Bible Study at Kent State University. They are part of an college ministry initiative whose goal to break through the spiritual darkness that holds KSU in its cold grip.

Called to “active duty” in a new mission field, the tried and true leadership team decided to go and to offer their talents and leadership experience to this budding ministry. It was time for them to go – to uproot from their established ministry. It was time to raise up a volunteer led team. It was time that the Hughes Home Church put away childish things and clothed itself with mature love.

One Hughite commented following the worker’s meeting where this plan was announced, “We knew that they were going. We were very supportive and excited about Dar and Joel going to the field. Soon Kathryn will join them. That new ministry is growing rapidly. Change is so unsettling. That is a good thing. God is certainly a God of movement.”

During that worker’s meeting, Joel called for a leadership team of volunteers – a team that would willingly take on the responsibility and “the heat” of leading the Home Church while “the deacons take their eye off the ball.” Joel didn’t want anyone to feel conscripted. An awkward silence filled the normally chatty room. Slowly people stepped forward and offered to pinch hit for them. The Lagotte’s, Avdeyev’s, and the Beech’s make up this fledgling team. Now is the time to build.

Since August 18^th , the “Lagotteechdeyev Rock – n – Roll Machine” has been in motion, starting with new series from the book of Luke. The goal is to more fully know and understand the person and ministry of Jesus. It was time to embrace Christ to get behind Him.

“How can we tell others about just how awesome Jesus Christ is if we don’t have an intimate relationship with him? We need to get to know Him better. We need to be excited about what He has accomplished. Luke should jump start this growth.” a volunteer reflected.

The old “talking head” teaching format is out the door. After receiving feedback from Joel on the multi-site conference in Chicago, the new “leaders” agreed with him that home church teachings need to change. In Ephesus, Paul had daily discussions with his disciples, not daily sermons. Discussions call for group participation. That now is the goal for each home church meeting. Each member of the body is to contribute to the meeting by using the gifts that the Spirit has given to him or her. Now is the time to grow.

1Corinthians 14:26

What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.

This discussion format has been used twice. Already the meetings are more energized and dynamic. When everyone partakes and offers up their individual gifting, it is amazing how the power of the Holy Spirit is unleashed. The last two meetings bear the potential of something electric. It was time to tear down the show.

Getting people to our meetings has been difficult. Our outreach events and parties were nearly void of new people or even returning new. The body has been rather discouraged. For a while it seemed as if we had settled in and were content with our comfortable evenings of fellowship. It felt safe. It was pleasant. It was becoming a bore. This is time to mourn and to change.

After teaching Luke 2, Lisa commented,“I think that we became comfortable with how our meeting went. We all have very busy lives. It is so easy to say ‘yes’ to what the world has to offer and to believe that no one is interested in spiritual matters. Such lies. We now see that our love had grown cold. We knew we had to repent and get on board where God was moving. We need to go where the people are.”

A fresh fighting spirit has been building. There is a growing urgency to reach out to the lost – to scatter away from base. The Falls Home Church has a new resolve to go out into the community and to connect with others. We are accountable for how the meeting goes down. Our conversations are not only fun, but the are purpose filled and edifying.

This church is full of ideas – some old, some new. The C&C’s have continued and personal follow-up is improving. This church hopes to turn the C&C’s into a bi-weekly Discovery Group. This of course will take some time and relationship building. Along those lines, the guys are talking about going out into the community and invading man territory with their “Man Clan Plan.”

Jake explained, “We need to get men away from their women. Something happens when guys hang out with their wives or girlfriends. It is as if they get stupid. Men don’t want to talk to just one guy – not really – they find that creepy. Men want to be part of a gang – something that is manly. That is our idea – to pull men into our gang – Our Man Clan.”

Amy has been busy looking for ways to connect with some of the women in the Falls. She and Andie were recently invited to be a part of a book club. “I am asking God for opportunities to meet people and then I get invited to this book club. How amazing is that? God basically says to me, okay go read some books with these women. Get to know them. Go love them. Who am I to argue?”

Mel and Alex have been taking it to the streets as they get to know their neighbors. They have extended invitations to several neighbors and some may attend our next home church meeting. “People are beginning to take notice of the activity at our place. They are curious about what is going down.”

Many are getting involved with their neighbors. The Schoofs’ have taken up rock climbing – a hobby of their neighbors. Others are meeting more people through clubs, classes and new jobs.

Lisa has started a small business – walking door to door trying to find a way to meet new neighbors. “I know this sounds ridiculous. I am selling AVON. I have met several women already. It is amazing how easy it is to get women talking when it comes to beauty products. I guess they are already looking for something to make them feel better about themselves. I hope to make a connection with them.”

Not only is this church building an outward focus, but it is learning the ethos of commitment – to spurring one another to love and good deeds. October is retreat month. The guys and gals both have retreats planned. The goal is to work on our personal relationships and walks with the Lord. This is the first retreat in years – so everyone is very excited and eager to get down to work.

It should be a lot of fun too. Steve’s mom has graciously offered her place in Pennsylvania for our home church to use as a retreat place. It is a rustic setting and has a nearby recreational lake. Steve commented on the accommodations, “Things will be a little crowded – but we can fish there and hangout by the campfire. It will be very relaxing.”

Summer has gone and fall is here. Summer was a season of pending transitions – now fall is a season of resolute activity and purpose. This Rock – n – Roll Machine has got its groove on and its taking it to the streets. This church is not content. It is not resigned to just “doing” church. This is a group of brothers and sisters who are committed to fighting the good fight – the fight against the powers that be.

We are taking advice from a sister…. A TWISTED SISTER…

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