I currently live in a little world of static, predictable art. Much of it is designed to hang on a wall or stand on a pedestal. Theo Jansen, with his kinetic sculptures, is not about to let me stay in that world. Evidently this is what happens when creativity meets technical excellence (hat-tip to Rosie Perera of Iambic Admonit).
Keep in mind that all of this is wind-powered. And amazing.
That was the title of an article published in the Christian Standard in the mid-1990s. The idea has come up a lot lately in my leadership life, so I thought it was worth dusting off the idea again.
Functional Atheism is a way of life that is the practical opposite of Proverbs 3:5-6:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Functional Atheists may say all the right words, and believe–deep down–in God. In the rigors of day-to-day life, however, they consult their own wisdom over and above the wisdom of God. They use their rationality instead of their prayer closet. Prayer becomes an afterthought, and faith becomes an appendix to the well-formed life. The problem with this common attitude is that is it sin. And I stand guilty.
I had lunch with one of my friends and ministry colleagues the other day, and he told me about a ministry need that he had, and had known about for a year. He confessed that despite knowing about it, he had never prayed about it. He had been trying to solve the matter with his own understanding. This man is one of my faith role-models, and even he fell into the trap. Sadly, in our culture, we are easily tripped by our American, self-reliance thinking. I know I am.
We think of Atheists as those who vehemently deny that there is any supernatural or spiritual reality. I wonder if we often do the same, if not in word, in practice. In 2 Timothy 3:1-5, Paul lists a number of sins that seem to describe our age. The one he ends with, however, is particularly pertinent to this discussion (and I’ve added the emphasis to make the point):
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
How often do we deny God’s power by not praying, or worse, by praying disclaimer prayers to let God off the hook, but in fact, simply betray our lack of faith: “…if it is your will” is one such prayer disclaimer. In our minds, it gives God an out to do what he wants–as though he needs our permission. The prayers recounted in scripture can be clumsily put into two categories: praise and pleas, with no weasel words in either category
We need to examine our lives closely and explore our own motives, beliefs, values, and practices. I’m not sure that God recognizes a difference between a genuine atheist and a functional atheist. If all we do does not flow out of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we’ve missed the boat. All of our life must (and will) reflect what is in our hearts. And the way we live our lives will demonstrate whether that is self-confidence or God-confidence; self-reliance or reliance on God; posturing and self-righteousness or a righteousness that comes from God.
Some of you may be thinking that this is a little direct, and certainly not a very business-like post. Perhaps not. But it is leaderly, since who we are deep down must influence what we do and even the way we make decisions. Ultimately, no matter what you believe, those things reflect your faith, whether that faith rests on God, on your own reason, on science and technology, on relationships with others. That’s why these are important ideas for leaders of all stripes.
My friend, the Scotsman, has helped me out lately on a couple of projects around the house. With anyone else, this would be a humiliating experience for me, but he puts up with me pretty good.
It has been 10 years since I’ve done any serious carpentry or wood work, and it shows. Once, I knew what I was doing, but not-so-much anymore. The Scotsman encourages me to do what I can, helps me when I have no clue, and give me permission to make mistakes–he tells me “There’s nothing you can do wrong that we can’t fix.” I’m cautious, because I’m living in the world of conscious incompetence.
Because I often find myself in leadership roles, some people are shocked that I will actually admit to my own pockets of ignorance. In truth, I probably have a whole cloak of ignorance, with pockets of competence, but that’s okay. We need to learn to lead out of our strengths, and follow out of our weaknesses. Peter Vaill argues that leadership is not learned: It is learning.
We all have our How Do You DO That? moments. Sometimes, people will look at us and what we do well, and they can’t understand how we do what we do so well–so effortlessly. Even more often, I see people do things that I know are beyond my ability or understanding, and I wonder how they ever got those skills. In some ways, it’s all humility training. Part of humility is knowing the four or five things that we do well so that we are not threatened by those who are better than we are. Failure to know these areas where I have been gifted short circuits their usefulness to God’s ongoing process of redemption.
So, my friend the Scotsman doesn’t put me down because I have to think through building projects 47 times before I can start. He always says “measure twice, cut once,” but I know my limits: measure 12 times, mark board, measure twice more, be sure the saw kerf is on the right side of the line, measure again, then cut. It takes me about 5 times longer for me to do a project than it takes him. And that’s okay.