Each week NPR has a segment called the Barbershop where Jimi Izrael and several guys discuss recent politics, sports, and pop culture. I don't catch it often, but it is an interesting, often entertaining segment with diverse thought and opinion on a wide range of topics. I happened to hear this week's installment today before work and "the guys" were discussing Obama's announcement that 33,000 troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan, 10,000 now and 23,000 more by September 2012.
It seems President Obama is drawing fire from both major political parties over this announcement. Even more interesting in the disagreement from both sides is the fact that there is little or no measure of civility in the conversation...if you can all it a conversation since a number of people are simply ranting. As one of the "Barbershop guys" said, it must be a lot easier to stand on the side and lob bottles of Haterade instead of having a reasonable discussion. Anyway, I'm not here to discuss the war, I'm here to comment on Hatorade.
Haterade. That was a new one for me. I thought I was pretty hip-hop, kind of street, really jiggity-jiggity on picking up most street lingo. I guess not. Evidently Haterade has been around for awhile because if you use your magical Google you will find an Urban Dictionary listing as well as graphics and mentions in other blog posts. I don't think you need to look it up to immediately grasp the meaning.
It is easy to see people lobbing bottles of Haterade in politics, our community, and plenty of other places.These days that is not too unexpected. Unfortunately it is far to easy to see it in the church. Pity. We should be different. We that say we love Jesus should be totaly different.
Here is the problem with lobbing bottles of Haterade in the church. It has no grace. Zero. And it is exclusively centered on people being angry because they did get their way. We make it all about us. We make it about us knowing what is right (or what we need) so everyone else must be wrong. We say we are serving this man Jesus who gave up everything for us by giving up nothing because we are right. Yeah, right.
It makes me think of the conflict between Paul and Barnabas in Acts 15. Basically Paul suggested a road trip to visit the newly established churches so they could be strengthened and encouraged. Barnabas wanted to take along Mark, but Paul thought Mark had totally bailed on them on an earlier trip and did not want him along. Depending on the translation you read it went from disagreement to a pretty good argument. I'll note that the argument was over administration, not theology. The same thing holds true in most churches when folks are not on the same page. We often try to tie it to theology, but most often it just is not.
What next? They went separate ways...doing ministry. And I'd guess Barnabas did some valuable mentoring as Mark matured because later on he did work with Paul late in Paul's life. Isn't a measure of grace and reconciliation sweet?
I've read this chapter in the past and wondered why it was placed in that spot. It can almost be considered a side bar. But here is what I note right now. There is no evidence that either side wasted a single moment lobbing Haterade at each other. The simply went forward in ministry trusting that they were following their own convictions and I believe they also trusted that the other Christ-followers were following their own convictions.
Would that we all spent the time in prayer and meditation to follow our convictions and trust that our brothers and sisters are doing the same. Would that the next time we have our fingers curled around a poison bottle of hate or our mind goes in the wrong direction that we pull up short and extend a measure of grace. Would that we be known by our love and not what gossip or vile thing we said about another church or person. Would that we offer a cup of cool water next time are ready to throw the Haterade.
Acts 15:36-41 - The Message
After a few days of this, Paul said to Barnabas, "Let's go back and visit all our friends in each of the towns where we preached the Word of God. Let's see how they're are doing."
Barnabas wanted to take John along, the John nicknamed Mark. But Paul wouldn't have him; he wasn't about to take along a quitter who, as soon as the going got tough, had jumped ship on them in Pamphylia. Tempers flared, and they ended up going their separate ways: Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus; Paul chose Silas and, offered up by their friends to the grace of the Master, went to Syria and Cilicia to build up muscle and sinew in those congregations.
