Stock Market Evangelism: 21st Century Crash

Ah, the wonder of the stock market. The easiest money every made. Had one's hard earned cash over to someone else (the brokerage firm) and let them work their mojo on it - and in a perfect world - everybody comes out a winner on the other side. We may worry about it, we may kibitz with the brokerage firm, we may questions certain decisions (we may even act on our own behalf as the broker) but truth be known - we do nothing.

We, as the investor, do absolutely nothing. Yes there is a risk involved as far as potential financial loss; but let me say it again, we do nothing whatsoever to cause or to create the opportunity for those funds to multiply. They do so on their own; or they fail on their own - with no real effort on the part of the investor. It's easy money.

Now, from one perspective, I could see this as an example of how Paul described the growth and maturation of faith. "I planted the seed, watered it, but it was God who gave the growth." Well, I'm looking at this stock market dynamic a bit differently. It was easy money - with no work on the part of the investors.

The 'easy' part was what contributed to the collapse in 2008/2009 of Wall Street. Everyday folks, trusting people, people who acted in good faith - perhaps a bit naive on their part when we look into some of the investment schemes that went belly up in this same time frame (Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme comes to mind) - but for the most part these were/are people who genuinely put their trust, their hopes in the promises of what others could do with their assets - And they they woke up one morning to find it had all disappeared. A painful reality for some folks, many folk, to find that what they had worked so hard for, and put away in hopes that it would work even harder - was in one lightening flash of a moment, gone. With little hopes of regain, recovering, re-creating the portfolio. It was easy money; no real work to be done to earn it; and it was gone.

I'm seeing a real connection within the life of the church congregation and how we feel about the stock market; some may believe I'm reflecting the congregation in which I serve, but as much as I've talked with, listened to, and gleaned information from others - I think this is a present reality for many parts of the church from coast to coast and demographic to demographic.

That reality? We treat evangelism like we treat the stock market.

Churches, congregations, leaders, parishioners understand the idea of evangelism and church growth (numerical at any rate) the same way we understand the stock market. If we contribute to the church funds, if we spend our time, if we invest what we can - then naturally, it's gonna grow; it always has. 'I' don't have to do any real work, I don't have to change, or be changed - I can simply keep living my life as I always wanted to and the church will just grow. (I don't know how, God gives the growth) -

so, is it any wonder, with this understanding of church growth and evangelism (or evangelism and church growth - or ??) feeling as though we could invest anything less than our full selves - the hard work, the long joyous struggle of sharing the gospel - that the church, like the stock market is experiencing a crash: a crash of membership, crash of purpose, a crash of meaning and identity.

It's always been easy - easy membership. Someone else has done it for us; I haven't had to think about what I believe and how it's lived out in the public arena. The gospel gets shared, people join - and 'I' never have to be bothered with the whys and wherefores. It just happened.

Well, we're in an age where we now have to be conscious about how our lives reflect the gospel.

(At this point in writing - the number of directions the next 27 pages could take are vast and numerous - would entertain others' thoughts and perspectives - Blessings.)

The Joy Foot Club

As some out there may know FootJoy is a brand of golf shoes (may have some other outlets in the sporting and/or non sporting realms as well, don't know). As the name implies, or rather hopes, in wearing this said product upon one's feet, said feet will feel an overwhelming sense of joy at the prospect of wandering for 18 holes of golf, seeking that which is lost (namely a little white ball). This perspective on 'Footjoy' has nothing to do with the nature and direction of this pontification. This piece of writing will encompass the nature of only Christ-like leadership, but Christ's Lordship in its truest form.

We, in the christian tradition, live with paradoxical claims and tensions that to a rationally minded world may not make sense. The nature of the trinity, the full divinity and full humanity of Jesus the Christ we easily explain away with the great turn of phrase - "It's a mystery."

Now, really, for the most part, I'm okay with tension, ambiguity, paradoxes in a variety of different forms, but one in particular, I believe to be particularly troublesome in a way that presents, not a paradox of the gospel, but an outright bipolar expression of the gospel; this would be the nature of the power, glory, and majesty the Lordship of Jesus the Christ.

When I hear descriptions of the second coming of the Christ, the images shared combine to paint a picture of gold covered walls, pearly gates, God and Christ sitting atop what can really only be described as Mt. Olympus (Christ slightly lower -holy Spirit's there somewhere) with a parade of people awaiting to have their divine visa stamped for entrance into the Kingdom. The 6 winged cherubim from Isaiah flying above the assembly - with two wings they were flying, two they were covering their face, with two their feet. for some reason, they didn't see fit to cover their 'regles', but that's for another conversation.

With all the Glory, Majesty, Might, and POWER of God on display in these combined images, one cannot help but see every knee bowing and every tongue confessing to the glory of the Lord . . . . This obviously is what the power of God's leadership and might and majesty of the Lord God Almighty is about and progressing toward.

But we have a problem if we think to portray this as the full and complete (or even partial) vision of the Lordship of Jesus the Christ. If we wish to espouse that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow; if we wish to uplift the fullness of God dwelling within this man of Gallilee; that Christ is/was fully Creator and fully creation; that who God is - Jesus the Christ is; - - - then I think we need to bring to this image of the second coming, of the triumphal re-entry of the Christ with trumpets blaring and knees bowing - the image John shared in his gospel account of the last time Jesus met with the disciples - where he shared the true expression of leadership/Divine Lordship - that being expressed through kneeling down and washing the feet his followers.

Where in our triumphal, power-hungry narratives of human history and action do we have space for this expression of what the Living Word of God said was the truest act of leadership? I have a hard time visualizing many (any) of our leaders, whether secular or religious from embracing this aspect of the gospel vocation of leader.

In seeking to be faithful, in holding our leaders (and ourselves) accountable to their (our) espoused faith (for those who purport to be xian, at any rate) encouraging that they (we) live out this divine directive (and to do so with joy not out of some sense of duty and obligation) will be a right step in living into a fuller expression of God's present but not yet kingdom.

Welcome the joy in washing another's foot.