Brett Tilford

It’s easy to bash the ‘other’ when they’re at a distance: impersonal, untouchable, almost mythical – not real, not a real person that laughs and bleeds. They’re like a shadow: faceless – just a blank canvas waiting for us to paint our judgments all over them. Of course we lie to ourselves and rationalize that we understand ‘those people’. We know their type because we’ve heard stories: wild tales of their strange beliefs and rituals. “I’ve heard they wear weird underwear to protect themselves, they think the Virgin Mary – not Jesus – will save them, they have thousands and thousands of gods that they have to burn incense to every day. Can you believe those people? Caught up in rituals and creeds instead of enjoying a relationship with God like ourselves. Thank God we’ve been saved from that mess.”

But of course in Jesus’ command to love our neighbor we have a call within our religious tradition to bring the ‘other’ close. To affirm their humanity. To seek to understand them with an ear that is quick to listen and a tongue slow to cast judgment. When we do that I think a startling thing will happen. It’s the same thing that happens to any anthropologist who immerses themselves in another culture or any person who’s ever been married: it’s the process of moving from a place where you think their creeds, rituals, and culture are monstrous to that blessed and cursed moment of seeing yourself through their eyes – you become the monster. It’s your family that’s weird, your culture that’s strange, and your church that’s monstrous.

Our little faith community is trying to take a first step in this direction this Sunday by attending a contemporary Episcopal Church service called UpTown in Dallas. It’s both Contemporary and Christian so I don’t expect it to be too traumatic of an experience for this conservative evangelical crew but I do think it’s a good first step on our journey to embrace the ‘other’ and gain new insights into our own tradition. Feel free to email me at bretttilford(at)gmail(dot)com if you’d like to join us.

We’re part of a church that meets Monday nights to explore faith and develop community. Below is an overview of a night we had just before Christmas. It was focused on the topic of suffering. It was co-written and organized by myself and Mike Nagel. Peter Rollins and Dietrich Bonhoeffer were leaned heavily upon for inspiration.
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- Parable: Women & Dead Baby (Music in Background)

- Narrator: Philosophic Problem of Suffering
One of the most devastating critiques to the existence of a good God is the reality of pain and suffering. The argument goes something like this: If God is all powerful but chooses not remove suffering, then he is not good. But if God wishes to remove suffering and is unable, then he is not all powerful. In other words, he cannot be both good and God.

And yet the Christian God is said to be the epitome of goodness and the epitome of power.

Imagine the most selfless act you’ve ever witnessed – maybe it’s a mother bandaging up her son after he’s fallen or someone who owns very little giving sacrificially to someone else. Even these amazing acts are said to still fall short of the goodness of God. He is, we are told, goodness incarnate.

But he is also all powerful: his hands placed the stars and his words formed life itself. He holds the planets in motion and orders the steps of our lives.

And yet, despite his power, despite his goodness, suffering remains.

Song & Meditation

Parable: Pastor Explains Suffering (Music In Background)

Narrator: Human/Religous Responses to Suffering

In the face of suffering we humans can’t help but offer up explanations for our suffering and the suffering of those around us…

* Don’t worry it will all work out in the end
* Everything happens for a reason
* S*** happens
* You’re really going to become a better person through this
* Think of all the people you’ll be able to help later on

Christians haven’t been to different except that we bring God/Theology into the mix…

* God causes all things to work together for our good in the end
* God brought this into your life so that you will rely on him
* It’s not God’s will that this happened, it just happened
* God is going to get so much glory out of this situation
* You just need to let go and let God

While well intentioned, these phrases don’t explain a thing.

Song & Meditation

Narrator

When we look to Jesus for answers, we don’t really see an articulate explanation or a rational defense for suffering either. We don’t see a God whose power is in pulling strings, pushing levers, making things happen. We don’t see the God of the philosophers.

Instead, we see a God who suffers with us. A God who loses. A God who dies.

With this in mind, perhaps the only truly Christian response to suffering isn’t to explain it but to enter into it. To experience it with those around us. To try to understand instead of try to explain.

Maybe what humanity needs, what we need, is people who will just listen.

To symbolically identify with the suffering of God and the suffering of the world we’re going to invite you to take communion now. You’ll notice we don’t have bread and wine as usual though. Throughout human history bitter foods have been symbolically connected to suffering so we’re going to have a few substitutes tonight.

Communion (Music In Background)

Narrator

In the garden of Gethsemane Christ asked that his friends join him in prayer so that he would have the courage to go to the cross. Tonight we’re going to take 60 seconds to offer up a silent prayer for the person on our right and left: asking that they have the strength to enter into the suffering of those around them.

60 seconds of Prayer

Benediction (Poetry)

Consistency is a trait I’m beginning to hold in high esteem.

There was a time when I valued change – plenty and often – over the drag of “one foot in front of the other” consistency. Change is exciting and sexy. It grabs peoples attention and polarizes them. Those can be good things, but if you want to change the world, you’ll have to be willing to engage the mundane. Practicing, honing, listening, emailing, calling, arguing, and organizing. Then rinse and repeat.

I’ve found the hard part isn’t starting something – it’s sticking with it long enough to have an impact.

I’m discussing the place of the Eucharist (Communion, Blessed Sacrament, Lord’s Supper, or whatever your tradition calls it) at our small struggling Church in a few weeks.  I’m looking forward to the challenge of getting everyone as enthused about the tradition as I am… although undoubtedly I will fail.  Long term I think I can wear everyone down with my incessant pestering, “Isn’t this just so cool? What an amazing tradition that has lasted all these years. Eh? Eh?” on and on I’ll go until people start to see the light.

A few years back I sat on the Porch of Potbelly’s sandwich shop on the eve of Easter and expressed to my wife that I didn’t really care anymore.  It wasn’t that I hated the idea of Jesus’ resurrection. It was just that it was all so familiar and hum drum.  I just couldn’t fake the enthusiasm anymore.  This was also a low point in my Eucharist taking.  Now I see that my perspective on the Resurrection of Jesus was directly tied to my view of the Eucharist.  As one rose so did the other.

I was never a big fan of coffee.  Then I read a book by Howard Schultz (founder & CEO of Starbucks Coffee) and within a few short months I became a certified coffee snob.  I was never really a big fan of the Eucharist.  That is until I read the likes of N.T. Wright and became a certified Communion snob.  I had never heard anyone talk so passionately about the implications of the Resurrection.  He says, that the Eucharist is remembering that God has promised to resurrect all of creation.  That it’s full of hope. Not just that you can go to heaven one day but that at the end of all things- love will win.  When you take that bread and cup in your hands you’re saying, “I remember that God gave himself up so that the world could be set right. I remember the sacrifice of Jesus. I remember with all of the Christians through the ages that there is hope.”   To me that’s really beautiful.

They say that to be passionate about something you have to interact with someone who is passionate about it themselves. I hope to be that person for others when it comes to the Eucharist.

I think the world needs more crazy people in positions of power. Not crazy as in “physcopathic” but crazy like “unconventional”. That’s who changes the world. That’s who takes the road less traveled and potentially takes our organizations to the next level.

I also think our churches need more crazy pastors. Kooky types who mutter about the kingdom of God, yell at parishoners, and occasionally get thrown in prison. Unfortuantely, we prefer good looking well spoken pastors who would make great politicians.

Too bad.

There’s an interesting idea that I find myself daydreaming about off an on.  It’s the idea that none of us are Christians, instead we are all becoming Christians.  At first glance this may seem like nothing more than a slippery semantic twist.  ”Oh I get it” you say to me with a knowing wink, “we say we’re not Christians but we really are. We just say we’re not, so people will think we’re humble.”  To that I would reply, “Nope. It’s not really humility as much as an acknowledgement of the reality that as human beings we’re an awfully mixed bag.”

There’s a big theological word called “sanctification” that basically says we are works in progress.  We are literally becoming saved.  Doesn’t Paul say something about working out our salvation with fear and trembling?  I think somewhere in our evangelical scramble to assure everyone that they’re really saved and going to heaven we lost this idea that it’s a process.  We’re on a journey.  We’re literally becoming Christians.

Next time someone asks if you’re a Christian I think an interesting answer would be “Nope, but I hope to be someday.”  Not to be tricky or evasive but to be more honest about the reality of our religious lives.

Take a few minutes to read the speech that shook a nation: I have a dream…

So today is the official launch of my blog. Much thanks goes to Caleb, Josiah, and Charles for helping/pushing me to become more web savvy. Honestly, a few months ago I was probably the last person in the world you would have thought would have a personal blog. However, a few months can change a person, and I am a changed man. I feel that to be a good citizen of this new world, a basic understanding of all things web (html, css, wordpress, etc.) are a must. So this is my attempt to embrace the new world.

I will be updating this site quite often, so be sure to check back.