The Quality of Our Relationships
“The time has come,” Jesus said.
“The kingdom of God has come near.
Repent and believe the good news!”
Mark 1:15
“Hey cutie, come over here!” I turned quickly to see who in the crowd said this and to whom. So did the eight fifteen year olds who were with me. The culprit was a woman dressed in a very tight Cat Woman outfit. Next to her was another woman dressed in an equally provocative Bat Girl outfit and gesturing to one of the boys in our group named Greg. The other boys looked at him and saw that he was both surprised and disturbed. He wanted to get away from her as quickly as possible.
Our group of 9 was walking Hollywood Blvd. in Los Angeles. With the “stars” of various radio, TV and movie personalities under our feet, we walked past the Kodak Theater, Grauman’s Chinese, and up to Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum. Our goal for the journey was one thing: to notice everyone around us. This was a challenge, not only because we were a group of 15-year-old boys but also because of the hawkers swarming around us. People dressed like Spider Man, Iron Man, and Darth Vader strutted by trying to get our attention. “Mr. Muscles” was getting people to take pictures with him, for a price. Rap Star “wanna-be’s” came up to us and tried to put their latest CD in our hands. We quickly learned that if we took it they would ask for a donation. It was quite a challenge to stay on goal with all of this going on around us.
And then there were the Christians. One Christian woman was holding a large cross with the words “life” and “death” written on the crossbeam. She called out, in an urgent and almost angry tone, warning of impending judgment if we did not repent and believe. Another Christian man walked past us carting a black Bible that had to be at least 5 feet tall. The replica of God’s word stated clearly on the spine that, if it were a real Bible, it would be the King James Version. A group of 5 or 6 Christians with portable speakers blaring distorted praise music were passionately worshipping Jesus with song and dance while another of their community tried to put a tract in our hands.
This time it was my son who was feeling the discomfort. “They make us look bad!” he said, not really to me, but to the other kids in the group. You see, this was not your typical youth group on a summer mission trip. This was a group that consisted of Greg, the outspoken atheist, another boy who was ethnically Jewish, and the rest who rarely if ever attend church. My son was the only regular church attender in the group and he was embarrassed.
The most zealous Christians on Hollywood Boulevard that day had, in the minds of the kids around me, only created a Christian version of Hollywood’s zany self-promotion. And whose reaction to the gospel was the same as Greg’s reaction to Cat Woman. They wanted to get away as soon as possible.
Thankfully there was another witness to Christians and to Christianity for this group. We were on an overnight trip with DOOR, a Christian organization working with the poor in a number of cities in the United States. For 36 hours we would work with DOOR from our base – the DOOR community house. It is located just a few blocks away from Hollywood Boulevard, in a depressed neighborhood surrounding the Paramount studios lot. That morning we had served the homeless. Then, in the afternoon, we made our Hollywood Blvd. journey.
We spent much of the rest of our time with DOOR in reflection. The DOOR staff, aware of the variety of spiritual beliefs of our group, led us in two different processes. Friday night we focused on two questions that each boy was given time to answer: (1) What is a gift you can contribute to the world? and (2) What is a problem in the world that you are passionate about? After each boy shared, they were urged to put the two questions together into a meaningful way of life.
On Saturday morning, the two DOOR staff, joined by a woman who had experienced homelessness, led us in a time of improvisation. We took turns role-playing different stereotypes in our society; the old person, the gang banger, the teenager. Then, after talking about stereotypes as being true but limited, we role-played our stereotype again, this time with a more nuanced and honest portrayal of, for example, the homeless person, or the movie star, or the mafia boss. The DOOR leaders did a great job of making both sessions interesting enough to keep the attention of the 15-year-old boys. It was also enlightening enough that one could access it regardless of church experience.
Richard Bauckham, in his book, Jesus: A Very Short Introduction, does a wonderful job of describing Jesus to people who do not yet know him. In chapters 4 and 5, he clarifies the core of Jesus’ teaching under the rubric of “the kingdom of God”. The kingdom of God, explains Bauckham, is a realm experienced by Jesus which others may enter. He describes the kingdom as “…a society formed by the experience of God’s healing and forgiving grace, sustained by God’s fatherly provision, inclusive of all those who tend to be left out or pushed to the margins of society, characterized not by domination but by mutual service, and in which all status and privilege are replaced by brotherly, sisterly, and motherly relationships of loving mutuality. (p. 89)
This is a great definition of what we experienced at DOOR.
We often share the gospel as if it were only nothing more than conveying information. If that information sticks in their mind then a seed has been planted. If those who hear accept what we have told them, then our mission is fulfilled. But the good news of Jesus is more than a headline. It is a new way of life. At its core the gospel of Christ is about a quality of relationship that develops as people gather around Jesus to live for him. “The time has come,” Jesus said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15)
If we want to share the gospel of Jesus with others we must be intentional about our way of life; particularly the quality of our relationships with others. As people experience those relationships in community with us, then a seed is planted. If they form a community around Christ then the mission of God has been fulfilled. So, we must reflect on questions like the following: Is our community a community which proclaims the healing and forgiveness of God in concrete acts of love and service? Is it a community that naturally includes people that have been pushed to the margins of society? Do the relationships in our community prioritize acts of service over status or power? When these qualities of the kingdom are experienced by those who come into contact with us then the kingdom of God has drawn near.
At one point, during the reflection with the DOOR staff, one of the leaders asked Greg, the young atheist, what could be done to deal with the problems in the world that he was passionate about. “Do what we are doing here,” he said. Then he looked the DOOR leader in the eye and added, “Do what you are doing.” Immediately I knew that our 36-hour intentional community had been worth it. A seed had been planted. The kingdom of God is at hand!
Randy Lovejoy has been the pastor at Silverlake Church (San Fernando Presbytery) for over 11 years and is currently serving as the Community Pastor for this area. He grew up in Texas, Sydney, Australia, and London, England. He and his wife Cheryl have worked in churches in Mexico and Honduras and have lived in Maputo, Mozambique and Florence, South Carolina. Their experience with many different parts of the world has led them to love the challenge of becoming part of a neighborhood, wherever they are. You can read more about Randy’s journey into missional community here. Randy is one of the contributors to the Fellowship’s latest resource “Being Reformed: Following Jesus Today.” Fellowship of Presbyterian Executive Director, Paul Detterman was the project editor. The resource is available for purchase through Congregational Ministries Publishing.