The New Awakening
Pastor Jim Luthy
It has been two and a half weeks since we were awakened by the news of terrorists striking on our own soil. Since that time, we have heard that the attacks awakened a "sleeping giant."
But that leads me to some questions. If we were a "sleeping giant," why did we go to sleep? And if we were "awakened," what were we "awakened" to? Do we even know? Were we awakened to a problem called terrorism that roamed unsupervised in the night like little Johnny ransacked the house while his parents slept? Were we awakened to our own lack of civil defense? What? What were we awakened to? And if these terrorists have awakened the same sleeping giant that kamikaze’s awakened 50 years ago, will our response be nothing more than to hit the snooze button so we can sleep in for another 50 years?
Today, we are seeing signs that America has indeed had a new awakening. But if our awakening is nothing more than a patriotic one, it will soon fade with the passage of time and with the ceasing of our rage and anger and grief. This awakening has roused us into action without even realizing the cause of our sleepiness. I believe its our job, the church’s job, to help our neighbors understand what it was that left us so unaware and what it is we ought to see as we rise from our slumber.
Try as everyone will to fix blame for our sleepiness, the search begins and ends with the attitude of our culture. In the movie Antz, worker ant Z represents that attitude quite well…
All my life I have lived and worked in the big city, which, now that I think of it, is a problem. Since I always feel uncomfortable around crowds—I mean I have this fear of enclosed space. Everything makes me feel trapped all the time. I always tell myself that there has to be something better out there, but maybe I think too much. I think everything must go back to the thought that I had a very anxious childhood, you know; my mother never had time for me. You know, when you’re the middle child of five million you don’t get any attention. I mean how is it possible? And I have always had this abandonment issue, which plagues me. My father was basically a drone, like I’ve said. And, you know, he flew away when I was just a larva. And my job—don’t even get me started on it because it really annoys me. I was not cut out to be a worker—I’ll tell you that right now. I feel physically inadequate. My whole life I have never been able to lift more than ten times my own body weight. And when you get down to it, handling dirt, you know, is not my idea of a rewarding career. It is the whole gung-ho super organization I can’t get—I have tried but I can’t get it. What is it? I am supposed to be doing everything for the colony. And what about my needs? What about me? I gotta believe there is some place out there that’s better than this. Otherwise, I will just curl up in a larva position and weep. The whole system makes me feel insignificant.
Many of us share the feelings articulated by worker ant Z. "What about my needs? What about me?" Haven’t we all shown that face from time to time? We live in an individualistic society. And as much as anything, although I’m not sure our nation realizes it, we were awakened to the problem of this individualism on September 11.
Randy Frazee, author of The Connecting Church, defines individualism as "a way of life that makes the individual supreme or sovereign over everything." The fruit of individualism that he lists against their counter-part define our culture--thinking of myself over thinking of others; Law-suits over reconciliation; Individual rights over community responsibilities; Career advancement over company loyalty; Cynicism over trust; and relative truth (truth defined by and for each individual) over absolute truth.
The church, of course, exists to be a counter-culture to an individualistic society. That counter-culture was taught and modeled by our own leader and Lord, Jesus the Messiah. Grueling in the desert, he said, "If it is possible take this cup from me. But not MY will, but yours be done." And later, we catch him dying a cruel death, even though he was without wrong, all for the sake of others. The church should represent this anti-individualism in the way we live out our faith. But instead, the same attitude that prevails in our world prevails in us.
I heard the story this week of a pastor who was confronted by a woman in his church after he preached a message on John 16, where Jesus himself said he would send the Holy Spirit whom, and I quote, "will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment." The woman argued that the Holy Spirit came only as a comforter and counselor and does not convict people in the world. She had established her own truth with whatever was comfortable for her regardless of what Scripture clearly said. Believe me, the church is not immune from the problem of individualism and the relativism it creates.
Once that happens, we have no standard of conduct. In a church filled with individualism, immorality runs amok. Among us will be those who rationalize sexual immorality, drunkenness, get-evenism, and the like. And we ought to know that as much as religion can keep us in bondage to the law, so can immorality keep us in bondage to sin. There is nothing triumphant in the life that chooses its own boundaries for morality.
Another effect that individualism has on the church is self-dependence. When we exalt ourselves to the highest place, we carry on without God. We might do things in the name of God, but we are relying on our own strength, power and wisdom. God is offended by this AND you’ll never know the glory he can receive through you as long as you live this way.
Individualism in the church breeds consumerism—you know, the "feed me" approach to church. Consumer Christians come and say "gimme, gimme, gimme" like a kid at a carnival, never asking what it is that they are supposed to give themselves. These people drain the church of its resources, lend little help, and leave at the first sign of discomfort. Let me ask you, if you were called into this new war, would you want to fight alongside a consumer-minded soldier?
Division in the church always finds individualism at its roots. Personal agendas, pet programs, position and power are the badges of individualism. Ultimately, individualism in the church makes us ineffective toward fulfilling the Great Commission. How can we have a passion to go into all the world when we can’t even muster up the humility to get outside of ourselves? There is nothing of individualism in our Lord Jesus, thus there ought not to be anything of individualism in us.
The United States of America has suddenly awakened to the reality that we are something greater than a collection of individuals. When the walls of the World Trade Center came crashing down, people in America broke through the walls of individualism to come together in the face of tragedy. People all across this land waited for hours to give of their own blood. Charitable giving to the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and to the police and firefighter funds reached into the hundreds of millions as people gave of their own money. People gave their own hearts and shed their own tears at rallies and remembrances around the world. Fathers and mothers are ready to give up their own sons, who would risk their own lives in the battle for freedom.
The people of this great nation have been awakened to a number of commonalities they did not realize existed three weeks ago. Today we share a common grief, a common sense of justice, a common hope, and a common purpose. For the first time in my lifetime, we all embrace the same leadership, the same president, and the same need of God.
If we really want God’s blessings, we’ll listen to God’s words. God’s words fly in the face of individualism. "The greatest commandment," Jesus said, "is to love God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these." (Mk. 12:30-31)
This theme ran throughout the teachings of Paul. To the Roman believers: "Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up." (Romans 15:2)
To the church in Corinth: "Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others." (1 Corinthians 10:24)
To the church in Philippi: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." (Philippians 2:3-4)
The alarm that went off on September 11 is opening our eyes to the problem of individualism. As men and women all around us are arising from their slumber, the church ought to provide the light that prevents them from hitting the snooze button and reverting to old, destructive, self-seeking and self-serving attitudes. And the only thing that will keep us from collectively rolling over in our bed of apathy is a strong call to the cross of Christ and to genuine Christian community.
I say a call to the cross of Christ and to genuine community because it is not enough to simply get together. There is nothing sustaining in a meeting of people. And much of what we have seen and experienced in our meeting together has not been under the cross of Christ and, as such, has not been genuine Christian community. If we gather as individuals who are consumed with our own wants and needs, we are not in submission to the cross and we are not providing an outlet for those who are beginning to understand we need each other. Princeton professor Robert Wuthnow suggested that "small groups mainly provide occasions for individuals to focus on themselves in the presence of others." If that is your intent in meeting with others, you are dimming the light that God is giving an empty, individualistic world.
In Overcoming Loneliness in Everyday Life, two Boston psychiatrists, Jacqueline Olds and Richard Schwartz, suggest that because of their episodic nature, groups "fail to replicate the sense of belonging we have lost. Attending weekly meetings, dropping in and out as one pleases, shopping around for a more satisfactory or appealing group—all of these factors work against the growth of true community."
Instead, the church ought to be a release from the individualistic world. Everything about our Savior suggests that true love and light is found in becoming a servant to all. Healthy, others-oriented, Great Commission-minded communities of grace and hope will provide a counter-cultural alternative to a nation and a world that has for too long been crying out loud "Me! Me! Me! What about my needs? What about me?" The eyes are open. Will you provide the light?
Allow me to suggest two positive responses to this new awakening that will allow you to move with us into becoming a counter-culture to the individualism I’ve described. First of all, let Jesus be the sovereign and supreme One. Lay down your own individualism and give him the right to rule. He bought that right with the shedding of his own blood, so that you may be forgiven and dead to that "me-first" attitude.
A.B. Simpson, the founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, wrote a hymn that helps us ask Christ to be first. It’s called, "Not I, But Christ." If your desire is to escape the trap of "me first" and take up Jesus command to put others first, I invite you to bow your head and pray the words of this hymn from the first and third verses.
Not I, but Christ be honored, loved, exalted; Not I but Christ be seen, be known, be heard
Not I, but Christ in every look and action; Not I but Christ in every thought and word
O to be saved from myself, dear Lord! O to be lost in Thee!
O that it might be no more I, but Christ that lives in me!
Christ, only Christ, no idle word e’er falling; Christ, only Christ, no needless bustling sound
Christ, only Christ, no self-important bearing; Christ, only Christ, no trace of "I" be found
O to be saved from myself, dear Lord! O to be lost in Thee!
O that it might be no more I, but Christ that lives in me!
The second positive response is to commit to a TLC Group and help it become a genuine Christian community that is counter to this world. Get involved in a group and ask God to show you how you can love and serve others in that small group community. Wouldn’t it be great to see a multitude of TLC Groups in this city where people walk in and say, "See how they love one another?" Let me tell you, people aren’t walking into the grocery store and saying that about the crowd in there. They don’t say it when they walk into the bar, or the bingo hall, or the clubhouse at the golf course, or at the sports stadiums, or at work, or anywhere else. Wouldn’t it be great to be that place where people can come in and exhale and then breathe in again the breath of fresh air that exists in a group of people that really have the best interests of others at heart?
The people in our community have been awakened to the reality that living for yourself is not where it is at? Haven’t you? Let’s provide them an alternative that is loving and lasting and enlightening. Let’s give them true community. Genuine community. With Christ and his love and his word at the very center.
