Bonhoeffer’s Discipleship Part II – Reflections (22)

 

 

Beginning on page 222, Bonhoeffer turns our attention to Romans 13 and the church-community’s relation to worldly authority. I will highlight some passages, hoping that you will read Bonhoeffer’s full treatment. As we’ve seen by now, Bonhoeffer’s density can only be fully appreciated by direct interaction with him. As with the Bible, my job is to point us to the text, to seek Jesus in the text, and to seek the text in Jesus.

 

“Christians must not be drawn upward, toward those who hold power and authority. Instead, their calling is to remain below” (page 222).

 

Forgive me, but I must ask the obvious question, What do we see today in the professing church in the United States? Do we see elements of the church, leaders of the church, gravitating upward to the centers of power? Political, economic, social, marketing, power? Religious power? (What some have termed the Christian – Industrial Complex, but I think there must be a better term than “industrial”.)

 

Do we see “Christian” leaders and their followers aligning themselves with worldly powers to the point where they are virtually indistinguishable from those powers and movements and agendas?

 

Have we forgotten that those who ride the Beast will be devoured by the Beast (Revelation 17:3, 16)?

 

Have we forgotten that Jesus said to Pilate, who was an extension of Rome’s authority, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 19:36)?

 

Have our hearts and minds lost sight of the great Biblical principle that the Kingdom of God and its servants are on a different trajectory than the kingdoms of this world and that the servant-leaders of God’s Kingdom are called to serve the church-community, to be ambassadors of Christ, and to be juxtaposed to the leaders of the world, rather than identified with them? (See Psalm 2, Daniel 2, Hebrews 11 – 12, Revelation).

 

Let me share a little secret, the world has been able to do with us what it could not do with Jesus. In John 2:23 – 25 many were superficially believing in Jesus and wanted Him to trust them, but He would not do it for He knew what was in the heart of mankind (appearances can be deceiving!). Then in John 6:15, after a miracle of loaves and fishes, the people wanted to make Jesus king; His response was to withdraw Himself from them.

 

Later, when Jesus is before Pilate, Pilate says to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?”  In other words, Pilate was attempting to use his authority over life and death to force Jesus to do what he, the power of Rome, wanted Him to do – in this instance answer Rome’s questions.

 

In light of the above, consider that Christians in the United States seek the approval of the world, and think it great success when we are embraced and applauded by the world. The more popular we are, especially among those in power, the more we rejoice in our “witness,” foolishly trusting ourselves to a system which is determined to destroy us. Do we forget that Balaam taught Moab that the way to destroy Israel was seduction, both sexual and religious? Promiscuity has many forms, including economic and political.

 

We foolishly think that the Pilates of this world have something good to give us, having been seduced by promises, photo ops, the intoxication of proximity to power – we no longer have the fortitude or love for Jesus and His Cross to say, “My kingdom is not of this world. I belong to the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ.”

 

As I think about this, it seems to me that we have been setup for this by our cultivation of celebrity Christianity. We have exchanged knowing the Bible and cultivating a deep relationship with Jesus Christ for celebrity worship. The celebrities can be Christian sports and entertainment figures (including within the “Christian” music industry…and it certainly is an industry), they can be in business, and they can especially be in the church world; pastors, authors (Christian publishing creates, hypes, and anoints its own celebrities $$$); radio, television, and social media “stars,” and make no mistake, they are stars. Our center of gravity has shifted from Jesus and the Bible to a many-headed beast such as we see in Revelation.

 

I am reminded of a “church plant” in a town we used to live. The “pastor,” if he can be termed that, advertised his church (I cannot call it Christ’s church) with two-page centerfold ads in the newspaper. These ads had four prominent features. The first feature was this person touted the fact that he had belonged to the same church, prior to arriving in our town, as a nationally known Christian leader who had a long-running radio program and who was also a best-selling author.

 

He didn’t say that he knew this leader. He didn’t say that he and this leader served together. All that this pastor advertised was that he and this leader attended the same church. What the advertising was supposed to accomplish was to associate the pastor and his church plant with the name of the nationally – know leader. This association was advertised again and again and again, the fact that it really didn’t mean anything substantive didn’t matter, its sole purpose was to associate the church plant with the national leader.

 

Well, I should retract the statement that it didn’t mean anything substantive, of course it did. It meant that the reader of the advertising ought to beware of attending this church for it was being built on deception.

 

The second prominent element of this pastor’s advertising was a steady stream of regional sports celebrities who would give their testimony during Sunday services. Now don’t get me wrong, I am all for people giving their testimonies for the glory of Christ. I am all for well – known folks giving their testimony in outreach. However, the context of these testimonies and advertising was that of a self-promoting “pastor” who was building a “church” with himself as the celebrity head.

 

I am hesitant to mention elements three and four of the advertising because it is not my intention to identify this pastor or his church – and to be clear, this advertising was ongoing, week after week, month after month. While it is unlikely anyone reading this will know to whom I am referring, some readers may figure it out, especially with elements three and four, though I have seen photos of other churches with these items – they must be great marketing images.

 

Three mammoth crosses were erected on the church grounds which could be seen for miles, yes miles. These crosses were referred to in the advertising. The crosses were the largest and highest crosses I suppose I’ve ever seen.

 

Adjacent to the crosses were American flags, while they were not as tall as the crosses, they were also oversized and prominent.

 

Now consider the composite message. Come to this church with this pastor who once attended the same church as a nationally known leader with a leading radio program and who is the author of dozens of books, come and see a Christian sports celebrity give his testimony, come to the church in the region that has the huge crosses and flags and participate as a Christian patriot. As we all know, the bigger the crosses the better the church, the bigger the national flags the better the church. Better yet, when a church has both big crosses and big flags you’ve hit the religious jackpot – you have arrived at the City of God!

 

This was an advertising campaign whose message was, “You’ve been to the rest, now come to the best.” There was nothing about Jesus Christ in the relentless message, nothing about the humble Man from Galilee. The advertising worked, and I suppose it kept on working. We do not really want to associate with the humble…yes?

 

“Christians must not be drawn upward, toward those who hold power and authority. Instead, their calling is to remain below” (page 222).

 

What was true of the above example, is true of us today on a national scale, we are drawn upward, toward the center of celebrity gravity, not downward, as servants of Christ who wash the feet of others, who love our neighbors, who bless our enemies, who touch the untouchable and love the unlovable, who go “outside the camp bearing His reproach.”

 

Bonhoeffer lived in a vortex of nationalism which was engulfing the professing church. To stand against it was to invite, to guarantee, marginalization, persecution, and possible execution. There is nothing quite as intoxicating as being in proximity to power; religious, political, economic, entertainment, sports; you can fill in the blank. However there is one thing that will dwarf this intoxication, one thing that will protect us, one thing that will keep us in our senses, and that is the Christ of the Cross and the Cross of Christ, so that we may say with Paul:

 

“I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

 

“But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, though which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).

What the world could not do with Jesus, what the political and religious world could not do to Jesus, it is doing to us. 

 

The Lord willing, we’ll return to Bonhoeffer and Romans 13 in our next reflection.