Left-Handed and Right-Handed Power

I was impacted a few years ago by reading David Hawkin’s Power vs Force. The basic idea is that

human effort, will power, soul power the power of the intellect, human charisma all result in the application of coercive force to accomplish goals. Watchman Nee called it the Latent power of the Human Soul. But this is not true power. It is not spiritual power.

True power is the power of surrender; the power of real agape love. It is the power of moral persuasion. The moral influence of a St. Francis of Assis, a Gandhi or a Mother Teresa. In International Relations vocabulary, it is called “Soft Power.

The Evangelical Church is chock full of force.  A large, LARGE percentage of what goes on as spirituality in Evangelical churches is not spiritual at all, it is human force—soul power. And that is why it accomplishes so little of lasting value.

Robert Farrar Capon unpacks this principle in his profound book, Parables of the Kingdom. He calls force “right-handed power” and for moral and spiritual power he uses Luther’s term “ left-handed power.”  In his book he gives example after example of Jesus eschewing right hand power and choosing to exercise left handed power. Of course, the extreme example is suffering and going to the cross rather than calling ten thousand angels!

Here is a quote from Kenny Payne, who blogs on a great web site, describing the difference between right-handed and left-handed power:

Left-Handed and Right-Handed Power

“Basically right-handed power is the use of sufficient force necessary to get the desired result. It is helpful in many situations in life, therefore everyone uses right-handed power. But right-handed power is particularly ineffective in one area - anytime you care more about the relationship than about specific results, right-handed power can be more harmful than helpful. That is the time you need to use left-handed power, which is the willingness to give others the freedom to get with your program - or not! This is the power which God most often uses, giving us freedom and asking us to make wise choices. But if we don't, he does not come down hard on us, but continues to give us freedom and space. Although Paul said, "the love of Christ compels us..." that compulsion is completely free. 

Capon cites the idea of right-handed and left-handed power as an idea he gleaned from Martin Luther. I have not done the research to verify that, but I am thankful that Capon turned me on to this idea, for I need to remember how God uses his power in my life, and then I need to make sure that I am willing to use left-handed power in my relationships - even when it leads to the cross. That is the highest example of using left-handed power - and living to tell about it! “

The Koranic vision of the unity of all rightly guided religion

The ulema were beginning to distinguish Islam sharply from other religions, seeing it as the one, true faith, but Sufis by and large remained true to the Koranic vision of the unity of all rightly guided religion. Jesus, for example, was revered by many Sufis as the prophet of the interior life. Some even amended the Shahadah, the profession of faith, to say: “There is no god but al-Lah and Jesus is his Messenger,” which was technically correct but intentionally provocative.

~Armstrong, Karen (2011-08-10). History of God (Kindle Locations 4878-4880). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

How to Change the World according to Coleman, Weber and Maritain

  Coleman, Weber and Maritain Changing the World

Sources of Truth

"We should not be ashamed to acknowledge truth and to assimilate it from whatever source it comes to us, even if it is brought to us by former generations and foreign peoples. For him who seeks the truth there is nothing of higher value than truth itself; it never cheapens or debases him who reaches for it but ennobles and honors him"

~  Yaqub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi (d. ca. 870)

The First Wall of Evangelical Christianity - JUDGMENT

Seed Thoughts for the Good News Garden

“To judge, or not to judge, that is the question”

A friend and I used to work out at Bally’s gym on a regular basis. There were two rather masculine looking ladies who were always there at the same time working out. My friend and I assumed they were Lesbian partners. One day only one of them came to the gym and I politely asked, ‘where is your partner?” She replied “my mom is not feeling very well today.” Oops.

A few years ago, I started through a study of the “commands of Christ” with my son (at his suggestion). It was a life changing experience for me. As I read through the gospels, looking closely at Jesus’ actions and words, looking for imperatives, I realized that I had a lot of unwarranted assumptions that came from current church life or from Paul but were not founded in the actual teachings of Jesus. One particular imperative of Christ, expressed in the negative, caught my attention. Matt. 7:1 Jesus explicitly tells us in the imperative to not judge others.  There are many things that we think Christians should do that Jesus never mentioned; but one thing that he clearly forbade us to do, many if not most Christians engage in fully, frequently and fervently. We constantly make judgments of one another and we most especially judge the ‘outsiders’; those who are not part of the Christian community.

In the anecdote above, I had made quick judgments about these two ladies based on their outward appearance (not that it was any of my business anyway!). As scripture says, Man judges by the outward appearance but God looks at the heart. And very often, the heart of a person is quite different from our easy judgments based on their external appearance.

Incarnational Witness sabotaged

This becomes a huge obstacle for the church’s incarnational witness to the world. We often judge others and make assumptions about the spiritual condition of their hearts based on outward appearance or behavior. Theoretically, the church teaches that the grace of God is for anyone and everyone regardless of their outward behavior, but our actions and attitudes are not consistent. Jesus said that the one who is “forgiven much, also loves much.” When we judge others to be worse sinners than ourselves, we often miss the hidden qualities of humility, contrition and faith, working deep in their hearts, or as Henri Nouwen would say, the “twilight zones” of the heart. And we also overlook the subtle attitudes or pride, self-righteousness and entitlement in the twilight zones of our own hearts. If we are not careful, we wind up in the position of the “righteous” Pharisee whothanked God he was not like the desperate sinner who was praying next to him and went home unjustified. Two men went up to pray, an Evangelical Christian husband who was homeschooling his children, and the desperate porn addict who was crying out for mercy. Which one went home justified?

Solo αγάπη

A friend of mine believes that just like the first Reformation revolved around the concept of Sola Scritura (only faith through the authority of scripture), the pending twenty-first century Reformation must revolve around Sola Agape, (only faith working through love). In order for the church to fully grasp the revelation that God is Agape, we MUST let go of our judgments. 

Part of the confusion about when it is appropriate to judge, and when it is not, comes from the fact that there are at least three different Greek words that can be translated as “judgment” in the New Testament.

Do not κρίνω

The first is Krino, this is the word that Jesus used to command us NOT to judge (Krino). Picture a judge in black robes with a gavel who is about to pronounce guilt and execute a sentence of punishment. THAT is the judgment that we are NOT to do. It is not our right to pronounce guilt or to decide upon punishment for alleged sinners. That is ONLY God’s right (see the story of the womancaught in adultery!).

Analysis and discernment

The other two words are anakrino (analysis) and diakrino (discernment). Picture a doctor in a white medical coat with a stethoscope, attempting discern the cause of an illness I order to offer a lifesaving diagnosis. This is the only spirit with which we are allowed to exercise judgment, in the same spirit as the Great Physician seeking to save that which is lost, seeking to heal those who need a physician.

We are to judge ourselves before the table ofthe Lord (αναμνησιν). Prophets are to submit their prophesies for the judgment of other prophets (διακρινετωσαν). The only time we are told to judge with Krino is in the the future kingdom, we will one day judge angels. Paul specifically forbids us to judge outsiders, and says that we are only to exercise judgment within the spiritual community, among those who call themselves “brothers.” He also encourages us not to disassociate ourselves with those who are outside the community of faith. We normally do the opposite, we specifically disassociate with outsiders who we think are obvious sinners, and spend our time with fellow Christians with very little personal or truthful accountability for the secrets places of our lives.

So to sum up, Jesus tells us never to judge (Krino) under any circumstance. Paul, however, offers some nuanced qualifications about exercising compassionate and redemptive analysis and discernment under specific conditions. We have completely ignored the imperative of Jesus and we have stretched and strained Paul's careful guidelines. 

Would you be willing to say a prayer with me? “Dear God, I repent for judging those around me instead of incarnating your agape love for them. Please forgive me and reveal to me the many ways that I judge others falsely, and help me to learn to release my judgments and to choose to love and bring healing instead. Amen.”

Let’s stop judging and start loving! This is the way we can change the world.

…………………………………

By-the-way, I am continuing to post selections from Debbie’s journal online at http://gracerhythmsunforced.blogspot.com/ -- I feel like I am getting to know her in new ways, and her voice is still speaking to me.

Thank you!

The 4 Walls of Evangelicalism

Giving my last talk in Columbia, Maryland momentarily ....

Faith or Ideology by josenmiami

FAITH or IDEOLOGY?

Seed Thoughts for the Good News Garden

Today I want to address a major barrier to effective Christian witness in the current social climate. This one may get me in trouble with some people. Please bear with me.

When faith morphs into a political ideology, we inherently alienate from the faith those who do not share our political convictions and thus turn them into “enemies.” Let me explain.

Jesus had the ability to relate to both extremes of the political ideologies of his day. Simon the Zealot, and Matthew the Roman collaborator were both apparently able to bury their very real and very intense political differences to follow Jesus. Jesus was not particularly interested in which political party came out on top within the Sanhedrin or which Caesar rose to power in Rome, His kingdom was not of this world  although it IS within us and AMONG us.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I am NOT saying that a Christian cannot take a reasoned political position with core political principles, either conservative or liberal. What I AM saying is that we must not confuse our political philosophy with our faith.  We are not citizens of this world … even though we must live, vote and practice citizenship in this world.  We are NOT primarily called to make converts to our political philosophy or party of choice; we are called to make disciples of Jesus.

There is abundant evidence that the aggressive politicization of Evangelical faith and its transformation into an ideology has greatly hurt the cause of Christian witness.  In a 2007 book, unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity...and Why It Matters David Kinnaman uses research data supplied by Barna to show that a huge number of young adults are leaving churches because of their disgust with the culture wars and overtly political attitudes in the pulpit.

I also just finished reading  Dave Fitch’s insightful book The End of Evangelicalism? (2011). In it Fitch shows how Evangelicalism developed a political ideology as a response to a historical trauma rooted in the conflict between fundamentalists and liberal modernists in the early part of the 20th century. 

The problem with an ideology is that it focuses people’s faith on abstract symbols and concepts that serve as “master-signifiers” (for a definition, see Slavoj Žižek) rather than on the person of Christ. Another problem with ideology is that it requires an enemy ... an outsider who is viewed as a threat or a problem. This creates a huge problem for witness. We cannot incarnate a witness for adversaries!  The ministry of reconciliation requires that we love our enemies and pray for those who spitefully use us. Such a stance of love is possible with faith, but impossible if one is fighting to win a political-ideological struggle with enemies.

How can religious ideology be distinguished from religious faith? Ideology contains certainties; faith contains mysteries. Ideology promotes militancy; faith promotes humility. Ideology must be implemented with energetic human force; faith rests in the providence of God. Ideology produces antagonism between opposing parties; faith produces love for one’s enemy that bridges ideological divisions.

A sure sign that faith has morphed into political ideology is when one finds Christians trashing or mocking political figures (or their families) on a personal basis, or based on their appearance with a thread of sarcasm. There is nothing wrong with reasoned discourse and disagreement over principle. In fact, democracy requires it. However when civil discourse degenerates into demonization of the opposition, you can bet that reasoned discourse has given way ideological struggle.

I don’t know if I am effectively communicating how huge a barrier this is to effective Christian witness or how urgent it is that we address it honestly. I hope you will consider what I am saying. If you disagree, it’s ok, but please get the two books and read them. Unless Evangelical Christianity can let go of its aggressive political ideology and stop trying to rise to a position of social and cultural dominance, and accept its role as a “suffering servant” to incarnate the love of Christ to a sinful society, we will never disciple our nation. And what a tragedy that would be.

I asked a young friend of mine, Steve Tamayo, the South Florida director for Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, to read this newsletter and give me feedback before I sent it. He gave me permission to include his own story.  

…………………………………

Hi Joe,

As far as the idea goes, I totally agree with you. Millennial young people struggle to have the patience to form political alliances. We tend to link up with different sides on different issues and to get frustrated with the whole political power game.

A few years ago, Amy and I were leading a Small Group of 20somethings at a church in Virginia. A guest speaker came in and gave a talk about how the constitution was inspired by God and public schools were demonic and we had to be on guard against the gay agenda or we will end up cursed like Haiti. He ranted and sweated. One by one, our whole Small Group trickled out of the service. Every single one of those young people left the church. Not just that church. But church all together. Some, like Amy and me, went back. Some are following Jesus without the church. Some walked away all together.

This is important stuff you're talking about here.

…………………………………

By-the-way, I am continuing to post selections from Debbie’s journal online at http://gracerhythmsunforced.blogspot.com/ -- I feel like I am getting to know her in new ways, and her voice is still speaking to me.  

Also, my friend Steve Tamayo who shared the story above, writes about issue related to mission to millennial at his blog http://yosteve.blogspot.com.

Thank you!

Long day in the hospital

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Today was a long day. Debbie had an appointment for a blood transfusion at 10 am. I went to the university to teach my classes, and then over the hospital at around 1 pm. She was still waiting for the six hour procedure to begin at 3 pm. I lost my cell phone, found it, knocked off my side view mirror by colliding with a mail box.

While I was sitting in the hospital with Debbie, I remembered trying to write the last 10 pages of my masters thesis in 2005 while Debbie was getting surgery to install her port. My entire academic process has overlapped with her battle with cancer.
I left the hospital to run over to FIU for a quick dance lesson with Jennifer. The salsa classes really reduce my blood pressure and keep me from getting depressed. Joy is an elusive quality but very real.

Thank you Lord for giving grace for this day. Now I ask you to grant me rest, and refreshment and recovery for Debbie and a new day full of new grace tomorrow. Amen

Sons, Mosquitos, voices and JOY in the Everglades

My son was born in 1986. During his early years, I was a ministry work-a-holic and I did not spend as much time with him as I should have. When I did spend time with him, I was often tense and irritable and had my mind on really super important “ministry and pastoral” issues (please notice the subtle hint of irony). Sometime around his 13th birthday, I realized that I was way behind the eight ball with him and started trying to make up for lost time.

I started taking him on camping trips going kayaking with him as often as possible. One year, we went camping in the Everglades National Park near Flamingo, as far as one can go south on the Florida mainland in the Everglades. We sat up our tent near the water. The next morning I woke up early and fixed my coffee on a camp stove. He was still sleeping by 8 am after I finished my coffee and so I decided to go for a prayer walk. It was my habit to spend some time reflecting each year between Christmas and New Year’s while considering my goals for the coming year. I had brought with me a journal to write in and several ministry oriented books to read.

I took off walking on a heavily overgrown path that wound West along Florida Bay. Although it was the fourth week of December, it was rather warm and the mosquitos were out in force. I soon found my self slapping mosquitos with both hands while walking briskly and trying to pray. I eventually blurted out “God, what do you want me to work on this year?” I blurted it out almost angrily, frustrated with the dive bombing insects. You have to understand, my prayers often sound like a quarrel with God. I try to justify it as “manly” prayer … kind of like king David exhorting God to wake up and punch out the wicked.

When I asked “What do you want me to work on?” I clearly had in mind a project or a measurable goal. An action item. Several things flitted through my mind … but from a place deep in my spirit, I heard a surprising one word answer: “Joy.”

That was it—Joy.

I prayed a second time.

“No, God. I don’t think you understand (oh the monumental narcissism of that statement!) I mean – what do you want me to WORK on?” A second time came the monosyllabic answer: “JOY.” That’s it. Just one word, no explanation at all.
When I returned to our camp a half hour later, I found John awake and waiting for me. I told him immediately that I had been praying. I said “the strangest thing happened to me—when I asked God what he wanted me to work on, I thought I heard a simple one word answer – “JOY.”

My son looked at me with a crooked, ironic grin. “Dad—he said—that sound like God was really talking to you if you ask me.” I didn’t really understand what he was saying, but that moment stuck with me over the next 11 years, as my wife was diagnosed with stage 4, metastasized cancer, my family with through a series of life-altering crisis and I watched my so-called ministry slowly suffocate and die.

When I finally came to terms with the fact that God really was speaking to me, and that the most important thing I could “work on” in the year 2001, was joy, I slowly became determined to be joyful. Grimly and soberly determined. Clinching my teeth determined. I would learn to be a joyful person even if it absolutely killed me, damn-it! And it almost did.

Drawing inspiration from Tom Selleck and Blue Bloods

I was rather looking forward to the empty nest syndrome a few years ago. I’m still waiting for it to start (I’ll get back to Tom Selleck below, trust me).

My wife and I have the blessing of having all of our adult children living in close proximity to us. Three older girls are all married – the youngest, a son, is single and is living with us while he finishes his university studies. There are five delightful grandchildren. My mother-in-law now spends part of the year living in a trailer next to our house and has coffee with us each morning. Four generations living within a 20 minute walk of one another. Ideal right?



I have had a ‘love-hate’ relationship with the idea of family my entire life. I have a wonderful mom and dad, now in their mid-eighties. They are healthy, lively and fun people. Nevertheless, they went through some tough times in mid-life, which just happened to be my early adolescents years. There was conflict, some of it a bit traumatizing for me. I vaguely remember being terrified by the word ‘divorce’ as it floated around briefly in our household.

I grew up and moved away into my adult life taking my traumas with me – and they grew up into mature adult life, and learned how to live with one another and have recently completed over 60 years of married life together.

Surprisingly, I also went through some tough times in my mid-life which also traumatized my children, some of whom were just entering into early adolescence and others who were in the early elementary school period. I’ve spent the better part of the last 10 years trying to make amends, trying to heal the damage that I inadvertently caused. I kept thinking that there would be an end point – a finish line to parenthood that I could triumphantly burst through and be done with it – with high fives around -- but alas, that has not been the case (I’m getting around to Tom Selleck and Blue Bloods soon, I really am!).

After nearly six years of riding the roller coaster of stage 4 metasticized breast cancer with my courageous wife Debbie, last year I came to a point of fatigue in which I wanted to resign from parenthood, or at least retire. A friend of mine told me how her parents moved across the continent when she and her sister became young adults. I have to admit that the thought was tempting (my kids are great, but, everyone is human, we have all sinned and come short, and there is always drama in every family!).

Enter Tom Selleck and his new TV series Blue Bloods. This is about a 4-generation family of cops in New York. The father (Tom) is the Police Commissioner, his retired dad was the former commisioner, the oldest son (played by Danny Walhberg) is a dectative, a divorced daughter is a assistant District Attorney and the youngest son is a rookie beat cop. Another son was killed in the line of duty and there are several grandchildren who want to grow up to be -- you guessed it -- cops!

Here is the point of this story. Every episode of Blue Bloods shows Seleck sitting at the head of the table as the entire family gathers for Sunday dinner. Also, in almost every episode there is conflict. Some leaves the table angry. Almost invariably, Seleck’s character says “I’ll handle it” and follows the offended family member out of the room for a talk. He listens patiently, and says something loving and wise. Problem solved, conflict resolved, relationship retored and family continues to rule!

Watching Blue Bloods and Selleck’s character gave me the desire and the commitment not to turn in my dad badge and go off on retirement, not matter how appealing that option seems to me. I realize that a lot of my aversion to constant conflict is connected to childhood traumas and unrealistic expectations of life. Life is conflictual and families do fight. That is JUST the way it is. Dads, we have to man up and do our thing. I heard someone today define a father as someone who says “no!” If dads stop being dads, what kind of world would we live in? Probably a world pretty close to the world actually live in! Most dads are missing in action – others check out early.

So, regardless of the drama, regardless of the conflicts, regardless of the messes, especially including the ones that I often inadvertently make myself while trying to be a dad, I will soldier on … I will cook Sunday dinner, and light the Sunday fire pit, and send out the invitations … so that the house will be filled.

Thank you Tom Selleck!