Faith Venture

I am currently reading from Ante-Nicene Fathers. Letters and documents dating from the time of the Apostles to the second century.

Check out this description of Christ-followers at about the time of Paul written by someone called Mathetes to someone called Diognetus–thought to be the tutor to Emperor Marcus Aurelius the noted Stoic philosopher.

How many observers would say this about present-day Christians?

To sum up all in one word—what the soul is in the body, that are Christians in the world. The soul is dispersed through all the members of the body, and Christians are scattered through all the cities of the world. The soul dwells in the body, yet is not of the body; and Christians dwell in the world, yet are not of the world.

In the earlier chapter, Mathetes says:

For the Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor language, nor the customs which they observe. For they neither inhabit cities of their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life which is marked out by any singularity. The course of conduct which they follow has not been devised by any speculation or deliberation of inquisitive men; nor do they, like some, proclaim themselves the advocates of any merely human doctrines.

But, inhabiting Greek as well as barbarian cities, according as the lot of each of them has determined, and following the customs of the natives in respect to clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct, they display to us their wonderful and confessedly striking method of life. They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They marry, as do all [others]; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven.

They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life. They are poor, yet make many rich; they are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonoured, and yet in their very dishonour are glorified. They are evil spoken of, and yet are justified; they are reviled, and bless; they are insulted, and repay the insult with honour; they do good, yet are punished as evil-doers. When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life; they are assailed by the Jews as foreigners, and are persecuted by the Greeks; yet those who hate them are unable to assign any reason for their hatred.

They obey the laws and yet surpass the laws by their lives.

We read in the Acts that the Christian movement grew mostly because of the way they lived their daily lives. People around them wanted what they had. Today too often we just try to talk others into believing exactly what we believe and then pile up rules.

These people? They quietly lived out their faith.

You may have heard of “back of the napkin” thinking where some people are talking at a diner. One pulls out a (hopefully paper) napkin and draws something to explain a point.

Supposedly according to myth, President Reagan’s economic policy known as the Laffer Curve or “Trickle Down Economics” was drawn on the back of a napkin and to this day explains the economic theory of some.

Drawing out thoughts helps us think through a problem. Maybe we won’t set government policy, but maybe we will understand something better or help our organization solve a problem or raise funds.

This book has been around for a while. I’ve heard the author interviewed on several podcasts. I’ve read a little in the past. I recommend this book. Written with wit and insight, it will help you think.

I also use a form of drawing when I take notes during presentations or interviews (like I’ll be doing this afternoon about an Internet of Things survey). I’ll jot down a thought and then use lines or circles to connect thoughts.

By the way, I use pen and a notebook. I love the Uniball Signo Micro 207 pen. It is inexpensive and writes first time, every time with a smooth line. Studies show people writing by hand have better retention than those taking notes on a computer. Plus, it’s hard to draw connecting lines on a computer.

I also recommend learning to use mind maps. Better than traditional outlining for organizing a longer paper.

Saw this while browsing LinkedIn. I like these little reminders to keep me on the right path. There is something in here for everyone.

Peace.

Yesterday’s contemplation centered on mission and vision. As in–having one. And remembering it. Doesn’t have to be complicated. A simple statement or description is OK. In fact, probably better than something crafted by a consultant.

That caused me to have an epiphany.

The banner with the mission statement of the church I attend suddenly disappeared from the wall. Along with everything else. I had heard that the contemporary worship team wanted to build sight barriers and eliminate all visual evidence that it is a Christian church.

That is sort of a 40-year-old theory of why younger people don’t come to church. It has been superseded by research contradicting those earlier findings.

However, they all miss the point.

Usually we should look in the mirror to discover problems of accomplishing our mission, or making the sale, or making enough profit to stay in business, or attracting more people to our worship.

Perhaps in many cases people don’t come because they don’t feel welcome and the worship team and speakers don’t connect. I’ve been in groups of several thousand where the musicians and speakers really connect with the audience. And I’ve witnessed groups of 50 where even in the intimate setting the connection is not made. It’s an Ethernet plug trying to fit into a USB port.

Same on a personal level. Some people try to force feed opinions instead of making a real connection. It’s about eye contact and listening. And empathy. Disciplines we sadly fail to practice well.

A pastor was sharing that he worked in the business world before becoming a church leader. His favorite part was the annual planning meeting. The older people would come to the meeting rolling their eyes talking about here was another waste of many hours only to compile a notebook that would sit on the shelf alongside its predecessors, unopened.

But the pastor, being a young guy, was enthralled with the possibilities of a new future that they discussed in the meeting.

Typical, right? We have a corporate mission statement or a personal mission statement. It’s written somewhere to remind us. But in the chaos of the moment each day, we work on the short term problem and forget about the long term direction.

That is a subset of the Don Quixote de La Mancha problem–To Dream the Impossible Dream.

In our personal life as well as corporate we need to remind ourselves daily of where we are going. Why we are doing what we’re doing. Ask, will this activity move me toward my vision or just suck up valuable time and energy?

We were created to do. Not only to do but to pursue activities that we were created for.

Meditation and prayer are excellent activities.

However, like the Zen master said, “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.”

The headline of the opinion piece in this morning’s local newspaper said, “What We Need Is Good Old Fashioned Decency.”

That is a good sentiment.

But, how?

My thoughts reflected back to yesterday’s podcast wherein three computer nerds discussed Repetitive Strain Injuries–and how to prevent and/or deal with them.

Bear with me a moment.

A quick search on the Web will turn up numbers of quick-fix remedies for RSI. Products. Opinions.

As one of the guys said, I hate to say this, but it’s just like health and fitness. You make a habit of eating nutritious food and getting some exercise daily. Toss out sodas, both regular and diet. Toss out processed foods with the wrong type of calories. Get up and start walking.

With RSI, begin with proper ergonomics, for example, when typing the angle of your arms at the elbow should be greater than or equal to 90 degrees. Take breaks (the Pomodoro technique, for example, 25 minutes of intense work and 5 minute break). Find a trainer and work out to strengthen the appropriate muscles. There are a couple of Yoga poses that help alleviate the situation.

Back to decency. Remember that? It’s where we started.

We can’t wave a magic wand or pass a law and instantaneously create a culture of decency.

We get into the habit of appropriate language. Not necessarily completely “politically correct”, but still we can watch what we say.

We get into the habit of doing little things for others–opening doors, lifting bags, buying a coffee.

We vent our opinions and emotions typing a social media post–and then delete it before we hit “send”.

Notice, decency begins with us.

It can be contagious.

Maybe, like Arlo Guthrie sang about Alice’s Restaurant, Yes, it can become a movement, the Alice’s Restaurant Massacree Movement. Just imagine it…

Prominent in my news feeds lately are reports about the attacks on capitalism, or maybe corporations, or democratic capitalism (reporters search for new phrases in a feeble attempt to keep the story fresh).

Reporters whose memories are as long lasting as the last story neglect to inform people that these attacks and criticisms in the US date back at least to the 1870s.

Many times in my career I’ve been the “numbers guy” who tracks costs and rolls up to sales price in the hope that we’ll make a profit–not so we could gouge people, but so we could stay in business for another year and all of us have jobs.

It’s not necessarily profits and corporations that are evil.

Digging deeper into what in engineering we call root cause analysis, we will find the root cause. Humans knew this cause more than 3,000 years ago. We know because we can read text at least that old.

It’s the people running those corporations “maximizing” profits due to:

Greed

Pride

Selfishness

Quest for power

These people reflect the values of the Roman Empire that Jesus overturned. Therefore Jesus’ favorite saying, “You have heard it said, but I say unto you…”

You have heard it said it’s all about “survival of the fittest”, but I say unto you “love one another.”

We just keep missing the point. And the mark.

Sitting at the coffee house, working, minding my own business, when a guy I know comes in. He introduces me to his friend. Then he asks if I’ve heard of an organization writing a book that reconciles science and the Bible.

So I quipped that that project would be interesting because they talk about two different things. I probably quipped something like, “That would be like comparing apples and aardvarks.”

The guy’s friend says, “That’s all worthless. Science is all opinions. I don’t trust any man’s opinions.”

Whoa! As one trained in the scientific method, I caught myself starting to teach a remedial science class to a guy who obviously slept through his original one. Shifting gears, I said that there are many opinions of people in and about the Bible. He started to object. I brought up the book called the Revelation of John. There are many opinions about that writing. Start with the premillennialists, postmillennialists, amillennialists. And then add other interpretations and opinions.

He said, you have it all wrong. It’s not the Revelation of John. It’s the Revelation of Jesus.

Sheesh–opinions…

It’s like when I was thinking about what critter was eating my green tomatoes. I had seen a groundhog (woodchuck) in the yard. I consulted with Dr. Google (well, actually Professor Bing, and yes, I know I should use DuckDuckGo). One Website was full of opinions of I think this and I think that. Then there was a video on YouTube that showed a groundhog eating green tomatoes on the vine.

The guy was partly correct. Experience trumps opinion. I have experienced the spirit revealed in the Bible. I’ve experienced the knowledge based on the scientific knowledge.

Few things are either/or. Sometimes both/and is a better approach. Except when it’s neither–search for the Third Way.

Me? I suggested to the German Shepherd next door that he should be getting the groundhog. He just looked at me. Don’t think he speaks English. Sprechen sie Deutsch? How do you say groundhog in German?

The most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently. Pema Chodron.

Do you ever have flashbacks to moments when you did or said something completely stupid?

Somebody once told me that a sexual thought pops into our consciousness every so many seconds (I forget her number).

I don’t know about that, but I have those flashbacks of moments of stupidity at least daily.

With mindfulness practice and with kindness, we can pause and observe those thoughts and look into other areas of less-than-acceptable words or actions.

Rather than some Freudian beating on ourselves. We can realize that we aren’t alone in this condition. It is truly a human condition. Except maybe for sociopaths or narcissists, I guess.

Handle with care, the sticker on the box states.

Same with ourselves. Just handle ourselves with care. Apologize where we can. Move on with gentleness and kindness.