This has been a difficult week. I mean there really is no way for it to be anything but. Some may have read my post about Orange being an oasis, and it was. I enjoyed Orange Tour immensely, and it just solidified my excitement for Orange 2016. What amazes me is that this will be my fourth yes that's right my fourth Orange. Time just keeps going...
But I don't want to gush about Orange Tour or any of the people there. I want to look at a couple of things that happened this week, and the way not just faith but values evolve, and since this is my blog well, I'll be looking at the evolution of my faith and values.
Growing up in church does a lot of things to a person, I've talked about that in some of the pages that are on here, dig in if you want that information, exact titles escape me at the moment but they exist and well I could use the readers let's be honest...
The problem with growing up in the church is that there comes a point when you are faced with the prospect of continuing to grow in and with the church, or growing out of the church, I almost said outgrowing the church, but increasingly I believe if churches do it the right way and if Christ followers do it the right way there is no real way to outgrow the church, just ways to grow in faith, and community. A person grows out of the Church, and sadly grows out of their faith, when the dichotomy of humanity happens. Simply put when what is said by leaders, what is done in program, gets cross referenced with what the individual is reading in the Bible what they are seeing when they look at the life of Christ and how he interacted with people, and what they see being done in their daily life by the people around them, many of whom are supposed to be evil or lost doesn't add up. Lets be clear, I do believe people that don't have an active relationship with God are lost. I believe that active relationship begins with the realization that without Jesus, no GPS in the world will get you or I out of the mess of being a fallen human. There must be an acknowledgment of personal sin, and a recognition that forgiveness comes through Christ and that forgiveness is applied to my life on a regular basis.
BUT it's important to realize that the church and Christians in general are their own worst enemy when it comes to new adopters and retention. Mainly because they refuse to evaluate and evolve. When you classify many Christians they usually get tossed into a box of intolerance, ignorance, hypocritism, and refusal, and sometimes those labels are earned, in fact more often than not they are. What's hard is when you actively try and grow when you embrace the possibility that you're wrong, that you read it wrong, that you understand it wrong or that you just can't be the kind of Christian you were because that Christian was not really all that nice...
This week along with the personal tragedy of losing my aunt, there were two tragedy's in the country that prompted this post.
1. On Wednesday September 30 in the early morning hours Kelly Gissendaner was executed.
2. On Thursday October 1, 9 people were killed at a community college in Oregon.
The thing is my faith and values have been challenged for a long time and have really been evolving. Most evangelical Christians support the death penalty and are very much anti gun control. I don't have numbers or research to back this up more than some of the posts that make their way across my Facebook Feed, and observations of political candidates that claim Christianity and being conservative and their comments. I'll be honest I had been a supporter of the death penalty, at times using the Old Testament argument, for the death penalty, but if you actually went by Old Testament law reasons for the death penalty can be pretty amazing. From working on the Sabbath, to Cursing your parents, to Losing your virginity there are several reasons that people were supposed to be put to death. Many Christians use this verse “a fracture for a fracture, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Whatever anyone does to injure another person must be paid back in kind.” (Leviticus 24:20 NLT-SE) conveniently forgetting that Jesus specifically adresses this practice ““You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.”
(Matthew 5:38–39 NLT-SE) I guess what bothers me is the idea that anyone holds any life as less than, especially considering we are all crafted in the image of God. People will look at Kelly Gissendaner and say she got what she deserved. She did the crime she paid the penalty, it was justice. I'll also be the first to admit that I have not had anyone close to me murdered. I can't say that my opinion on this topic wouldn't be differen or switch back if someone killed someone I love, that's part of being human I guess, it's easy for me to look at the situation and say wow all lives matter and all life is precious because I've not experienced the death of a loved one by the hand of another human being. Still at this time I find myself landing on the side of those that are against the death penalty. Life is sacred, all life, how can we advocate for one set of lives and ignore or campaign against another? If I really believe that grace is for all, that forgiveness is available to all, how much am I standing in that space when I call for the death of another human being? This all started to bother me when a well known Christian leader made the following stupid comment regarding Hugo Chavez..."We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability," Robertson said Monday on the Christian Broadcast Network's The 700 Club. I don't see much grace, mercy or hope for the salvation of a fellow human being in that statement. What's crazy is the same guy that was calling for the assassination of a human being, has called for a moratorium on the Death Penalty and sits at odds with other Conservative Christian leaders. Following the Gissendaner case just really solidified my opposition. So yes my faith and values have changed when it comes to this very divisive issue.
The Oregon Shooting is yet another reason that I am and have been for some time firmly in the gun control camp. When friends post comments that I find idiotic I struggle with allowing their posts on my news feed. The idea that more guns carried by more people will make us all safer boggles my mind, yet I regularly find these types of comments, and posts. In 2014 the NRA spent over $3,000,000.00 this year so far they have spent over $1,000,000.00 and the year isn't over yet. The desire to have zero regulation when it comes to owning fire arms. ZERO regulation is amazing to me. The NRA opposes background checks, thinks owning assault rifles is no real problem, don't want databases that show gun ownership to be kept, and don't like any changes to fire arm registration. They throw up the smoke screen of mental health issues, while keeping guns for any. My question has consistently been why? Why do you need that Glock 9, what's the point of owning an AR15, why do you need an extended magazine? I'm sorry but if you're such a bad shot that when trying to "defend" your home you need more than the average of 15 to 17 rounds I don't want you to have a gun, after all it's not a toy. Why we think the answer to gun violence is more gun ownership boggles the mind, but I can go to my news feed on Facebook and find loads of people posting reasons that it's a good thing for more people to be armed. I'm not advocating for banning all firearms, far from it, but some things just make sense as far as I'm concerned. The arguments that people make are getting old and wearing thin, "Criminals will still get guns if they want them." "If you think taking away guns will curb violence you're wrong." "The majority of gun owners and collectors are responsible and safe." Except when those things aren't true which seems to be more and more frequently. I'm all about gun control, have been for a while, will continue to be. I think part of purchasing a gun should be stating the purpose for said gun. If purchasing for "protection," state that in the application and along with the background check, that should be rather exhaustive, there should be a reference check. I think if it's for hunting that too should be stated, along with what you are planning to hunt, again with references as well as a comprehensive background check. It should be harder to purchase a gun than it is to purchase any other item. It should take time, it should be a rigorous process, that is evaluated every 3 to 5 years. Recently I had to renew my license to drive. There are two sets of renewals in MD. Once you hit 40 you can no longer renew at the kiosk, once you hit 40 you have to renew with a teller because they want to make sure you can see, they want to evaluate how safe you are to operate a car. Why should owning something that has just as much potential to end a human life as a vehicle not be subject to further evaluation on a regular basis?
Death comes in many forms. It can come at the hands of the state, it can come at the hands of a deranged individual, it can come softly in the night. The one constant is that it will come. It will bring with it sadness, and anger, and for some hope of eternity. What we do with death when it happens and we are left behind is what matters. If we look at the death of Kelly Gissendaner as what she deserved, and the shooting as "stuff happens" (Jeb Bush) we are missing out on an opportunity to be better, to change, to grow to evolve. As Christians we are missing an opportunity to be with the people effected to pray for those that are hurting and stand for those that have no voice.
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Monday, September 28, 2015
The Orange Oasis...
I'm tired. Physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I reserve this blog space to write about what is going on in life, to be transparent, to share things that may help others if they may be going through the same things.
It's been a long year, a longer Summer, there have been good things and frustrating things, successes and failures, the normal ebb and flow of life that everyone deals with. I know this, I recognize it, I don't really embrace it but who wants to embrace fatigue?
Orange has been an oasis for me, a chance to be in the company of great leaders, to get ideas, to network with others. I was able to share it with J and will be sharing it with people from the church at Orange Tour DC. I'm happy about it, I can't wait to do it, I want them to catch the vision and feel the best way for this to happen is for them to experience it themselves. All of that is good, all of that is needed, all of that is daunting.
When you're leading a church, especially one that's been around over a hundred years, you have a different set of circumstances to deal with than when you are planting a church, or coming to a church that is less than 20 years old. There is a dynamic that has to be understood and the only way to understand it is to spend time living in the reality that the people are living in and have lived in. In the World of Orange there is so much support for moving forward, embracing social media, leading change without losing it, having hard conversations, understanding you don't have to be a jerk to lead. There is this support system for church plants, and strategic partners, for birthing family ministries, starting next gen conversations, and helping married people.
For the record I've drunk the Orange Kool-aid I love it, I tout it with every person I can, but there is room in the Orangiverse for growth, particularly in the area of the small church that is struggling to reinvent itself. How do you birth and Orange culture in an ultra traditional church that knows it needs to evolve but struggles with that evolution. How do you have the tough questions with leadership when you've spent a year and a half building relationships and still you know that some of the things that need to happen are a huge stretch for them. How do you afford to paint your church and community Orange when the 6 month's free runs out and you're just starting to scratch the surface, just starting to see positive things happen and you know that another 12 months could make the difference between success and adoption and skepticism and moving back to what was because it was comfortable? How do you get an awesome organization like the ReThink group to see Baltimore as it's own very special entity not related at all to DC?
These are just some of the questions that run through my head on a daily basis, along with the daily work of ministering to a community that may or may not even realize Locust Point Community Church is there for them, not because we haven't been intentionally pushing into the community but because as the only staff person it's just exhausting doing 90% of the work that many churches share among others even if it is a part time secretary and a volunteer or two.
How do you take a much needed vacation, one that you know you should take but that you are just not sure how to do it without setting things back, because you don't want to disappoint the leadership that hired you, and even while you type that statement you feel guilty because you know the answer is supposed to be more about being a disappointment to God and yet you realize that you're a disappointment to yourself, that you really thought no matter how many times you tell everyone else and yourself that it didn't take 6 months or even a year to get where we are, it's not going to take that long to come back stronger, it's going to take time, because you secretly thought that attendance would double or triple in the first year, and now you're moving toward two years and it didn't happen.
How do you deal with the guilt you feel because your kids are in a city that they would rather not be in, in a school that isn't as great as the one they were in in the other part of Maryland and your wife is working at a job that takes more of her time and energy than it was supposed to, and you feel selfish because you know that they are all doing this for you?
But most of all how do you not feel any of this? How do you live in the moment that God has brought you too?
I think what makes it hardest of all is I know it's all a choice, I know that in many cases and in many ways I choose how I feel but I'm tired, and more than anything I need the Oasis that is Orange to be exactly that. I need someone to tell me it's going to be okay, for one of the many great leaders and speakers to do what they do so well, to be accessible, help sharpen me again. I need to not be so tired, I need that fresh wind of the Spirit of God to blow out the hurt and sadness and frustration and anger and sorrow (different than sadness in this sentence) because I'm just so tired, and admitting it to everyone is the first step to being okay but how do you tell people who are just as tired or more so that you really don't know how it's going to work?
Orange is an Oasis for me, but it's more than that, it's a place that makes me feel like I belong to a greater story, that I can do it, that I can keep walking... So no pressure guys... Just know that I need you...
It's been a long year, a longer Summer, there have been good things and frustrating things, successes and failures, the normal ebb and flow of life that everyone deals with. I know this, I recognize it, I don't really embrace it but who wants to embrace fatigue?
Orange has been an oasis for me, a chance to be in the company of great leaders, to get ideas, to network with others. I was able to share it with J and will be sharing it with people from the church at Orange Tour DC. I'm happy about it, I can't wait to do it, I want them to catch the vision and feel the best way for this to happen is for them to experience it themselves. All of that is good, all of that is needed, all of that is daunting.
When you're leading a church, especially one that's been around over a hundred years, you have a different set of circumstances to deal with than when you are planting a church, or coming to a church that is less than 20 years old. There is a dynamic that has to be understood and the only way to understand it is to spend time living in the reality that the people are living in and have lived in. In the World of Orange there is so much support for moving forward, embracing social media, leading change without losing it, having hard conversations, understanding you don't have to be a jerk to lead. There is this support system for church plants, and strategic partners, for birthing family ministries, starting next gen conversations, and helping married people.
For the record I've drunk the Orange Kool-aid I love it, I tout it with every person I can, but there is room in the Orangiverse for growth, particularly in the area of the small church that is struggling to reinvent itself. How do you birth and Orange culture in an ultra traditional church that knows it needs to evolve but struggles with that evolution. How do you have the tough questions with leadership when you've spent a year and a half building relationships and still you know that some of the things that need to happen are a huge stretch for them. How do you afford to paint your church and community Orange when the 6 month's free runs out and you're just starting to scratch the surface, just starting to see positive things happen and you know that another 12 months could make the difference between success and adoption and skepticism and moving back to what was because it was comfortable? How do you get an awesome organization like the ReThink group to see Baltimore as it's own very special entity not related at all to DC?
These are just some of the questions that run through my head on a daily basis, along with the daily work of ministering to a community that may or may not even realize Locust Point Community Church is there for them, not because we haven't been intentionally pushing into the community but because as the only staff person it's just exhausting doing 90% of the work that many churches share among others even if it is a part time secretary and a volunteer or two.
How do you take a much needed vacation, one that you know you should take but that you are just not sure how to do it without setting things back, because you don't want to disappoint the leadership that hired you, and even while you type that statement you feel guilty because you know the answer is supposed to be more about being a disappointment to God and yet you realize that you're a disappointment to yourself, that you really thought no matter how many times you tell everyone else and yourself that it didn't take 6 months or even a year to get where we are, it's not going to take that long to come back stronger, it's going to take time, because you secretly thought that attendance would double or triple in the first year, and now you're moving toward two years and it didn't happen.
How do you deal with the guilt you feel because your kids are in a city that they would rather not be in, in a school that isn't as great as the one they were in in the other part of Maryland and your wife is working at a job that takes more of her time and energy than it was supposed to, and you feel selfish because you know that they are all doing this for you?
But most of all how do you not feel any of this? How do you live in the moment that God has brought you too?
I think what makes it hardest of all is I know it's all a choice, I know that in many cases and in many ways I choose how I feel but I'm tired, and more than anything I need the Oasis that is Orange to be exactly that. I need someone to tell me it's going to be okay, for one of the many great leaders and speakers to do what they do so well, to be accessible, help sharpen me again. I need to not be so tired, I need that fresh wind of the Spirit of God to blow out the hurt and sadness and frustration and anger and sorrow (different than sadness in this sentence) because I'm just so tired, and admitting it to everyone is the first step to being okay but how do you tell people who are just as tired or more so that you really don't know how it's going to work?
Orange is an Oasis for me, but it's more than that, it's a place that makes me feel like I belong to a greater story, that I can do it, that I can keep walking... So no pressure guys... Just know that I need you...
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
The Greatest of these...
Looking at life through the lens of religion can turn a person into something they never meant to become. I am more and more convinced as I continue on in the life that God has brought me too that I have had it wrong for a long time. I have always felt a bit out of sorts with the traditional interpretation of Christianity, or at least the one that I and countless others are supposed to hold dear. It's no secret that I don't really have loads of time or space for right wing political Christians, people using the faith that I hold dear as a platform to fulfill their dreams or desires.
The willingness of many to stand for their rights and freedoms, to claim a Christian nation, all of those things has been bothering me as well, mainly as it doesn't line up with what I see Jesus doing throughout his time on earth. Some point to the Old Testament and attempt to shoehorn our country into it in some allegorical missive of being Gods chosen nation. I don't really see that either. For a long time now I've been struggling to figure out what it is that has caused American Christians, at times myself included to lose touch with what Jesus said was important, then I found the quote posted above on a friends Facebook,this friend also happens to claim Christianity as their faith... and it all slipped into place...
![1 Corinthians 1313 [widescreen]](https://anewell.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/1-corinthians-1313-widescreen.png)
That's such a huge difference. I think that there are times when what I'm free to do is more important to me than loving others. Okay I think is the wrong thing to say, I know that there are times that this is the case. I only have to look at this past Saturday to prove this point. J and I were getting ready to head to the church for an all day event. The morning didn't start out the way I thought it should and I was in a bit of a mood. There were some guys working on the steps at a business where we had to park for the evening, another thing that ticked me off as I'm sure there were people who didn't have area 9 parking passes and yet they took our spot in the neighborhood. The truck that the guys were using to work from was behind our car, I told him I needed him to move, and he said okay give me a minute, I reacted in a decidedly not loving manner and said no you will move now I need to go now... Of course as an american I'm free to be a jerk, but as a Christian I'm supposed to put aside that freedom in deference to loving others.
For some reason it seems the American Church and the American Christian is more concerned with Freedom, rights, and all that stuff and less concerned with Faith, Hope and Love. If we really believe that we do not wrestle with flesh and blood, if we really believe that we have been given a commission, why on earth do we all myself included forget the things that Jesus did when he wrestled, and when he reached.
Ayan Rand is a great author but when Christians begin to live totally by the principles she has set out, it by necessity will put them at odds with the person that lived and died and rose again.
In a nutshell here is what Ayan Rand believed...
Ayn Rand's Philosophy for Living on Earth, Objectivism. reality, reason, self-interest, capitalism. https://www.aynrand.org/ideas/philosophy
That's not what we are supposed to be about, and yet I find many times that Christians in America, (based on my news feed, popular christian leaders, and political Christians.) seem to be right there chasing after our freedoms, what makes sense to us, what we want people to be when it comes to faith and the money to minister.
It's hard to read what Rand says and then Read what Paul said to the Corinthians and not see the problem with Christianity in the USA, more problematic though is seeing the problem in my own walk, because if I'm going to really be about this whole living and moving and having my being in Christ. If I really am trying to be a Christ Follower as opposed to a Christian then I have to change, I have to give up my freedom and take up his burden, not just when it's convenient, and not just when I'm feeling good about it, but daily, even when a guy is parked behind me and I'm in a foul mood and I may be the only interaction he has with a Christ follower that day.
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Reedeming the Time...
I know I devoted an entire post to the whole Kim Davis thing. It was one of the most popular posts I have written if you read it thanks.
I don't want to beat a dead horse either but something is sitting in my spirit like a brain freeze after a particularly yummy Slush Puppie
(look it up if you don't know what that is.)
Today Kim was released from jail, her office has been running normally in her absence and things are all fine and good, except they aren't.
In the past 5 days...
All these numbers are of course approximations but they serve at least to me as a very real visual of what should matter...
Eph. 5:15 Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise— 16 making the most of the time,a,b because the days are evil.
What is sitting in my spirit is the facts I read from the article detailing her release. People camped out overnight outside the courthouse to support her, they waved flags, came from across the country to sing songs, wave crosses and stand up for her rights. Presidential hopefuls Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz came to town to "stand up" with Kim...Five days of spectacle, five days of christians (small c on purpose)
This is what bothers me about this whole situation. They gave her Rocky's theme song. The vowed to fight, they did all of this and yet all those statistics kept happening. Would the same people who staked out a place waved their signs and protested for five days, spend one day helping deal with any of the people I wrote about a couple of paragraphs ago? I guess it's possible, but I'm sad to say I think unlikely.
I feel like people have lost sight of what matters, we have forgotten about all the people we need to reach, in our desire to stand for what we think is right. I guess I'm ashamed of what American Christianity has become, ashamed of what so many people who are part of my past have decided matters, ashamed of the fact that there was a time when I would have cheered this whole process on.
Christ followers don't really have time for this, at least not in my estimation. Those numbers in those bullet points above don't have time for us to fight the good fight of a Christian Nation, they need us to fight for them, to stand in the gap in prayer and in deed so that they have a chance to fill that God shaped hole I talked about in my other post. That is what matters, or at least it's what should matter. Perhaps the most damning thing in this whole post though is the fact that I spent time writing this rant, instead of figuring out how to redeem the time.
I don't want to beat a dead horse either but something is sitting in my spirit like a brain freeze after a particularly yummy Slush Puppie
(look it up if you don't know what that is.)Today Kim was released from jail, her office has been running normally in her absence and things are all fine and good, except they aren't.
In the past 5 days...
- Runaways: approximately 969.2 kids ran away in the past five days this is of course based on 2014 NCMEC (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children) data.
- Homelessness: According to the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness 3.5 million people experience homelessness each year 3.5 million / 52 * 5 = 336538.461538, so over 33,000 people in a five-day span.
- Hungry: we start with 45.3 million and do the math
- Jail: On any given day 2.2 million Americans are in Prison or Jail according to the sentencing project
- Suicide: According to the CDC 105 people take their own life each day...so 525.
All these numbers are of course approximations but they serve at least to me as a very real visual of what should matter...
Eph. 5:15 Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise— 16 making the most of the time,a,b because the days are evil.
What is sitting in my spirit is the facts I read from the article detailing her release. People camped out overnight outside the courthouse to support her, they waved flags, came from across the country to sing songs, wave crosses and stand up for her rights. Presidential hopefuls Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz came to town to "stand up" with Kim...Five days of spectacle, five days of christians (small c on purpose)
This is what bothers me about this whole situation. They gave her Rocky's theme song. The vowed to fight, they did all of this and yet all those statistics kept happening. Would the same people who staked out a place waved their signs and protested for five days, spend one day helping deal with any of the people I wrote about a couple of paragraphs ago? I guess it's possible, but I'm sad to say I think unlikely.
I feel like people have lost sight of what matters, we have forgotten about all the people we need to reach, in our desire to stand for what we think is right. I guess I'm ashamed of what American Christianity has become, ashamed of what so many people who are part of my past have decided matters, ashamed of the fact that there was a time when I would have cheered this whole process on.
Christ followers don't really have time for this, at least not in my estimation. Those numbers in those bullet points above don't have time for us to fight the good fight of a Christian Nation, they need us to fight for them, to stand in the gap in prayer and in deed so that they have a chance to fill that God shaped hole I talked about in my other post. That is what matters, or at least it's what should matter. Perhaps the most damning thing in this whole post though is the fact that I spent time writing this rant, instead of figuring out how to redeem the time.
Friday, September 4, 2015
Definitions matter..
mar·tyr
NOUN
- a person who is killed because of their religious or other beliefs:
"saints, martyrs, and witnesses to the faith
I wish I could say that this post will make everyone feel warm and fuzzy. I wish there were some way to get the people I respect and love from the past and the people I respect and love from the present to realize that there are whole segments of our faith that we all can agree on.
I know many of my older friends will be upset with this post, but as many of you who have been reading for a while, and it's been a while, I don't shy away from those types of things, in fact I write what I write because it's where I am at this time.
I put the definition of a martyr at the front of this blog because I have a problem...
This is what a martyr looks like today, if you really want the picture of what a modern-day martyr is then head over to persecution.com the website of voice of the martyrs. Real stories of real martyrs for the cause of Christ.
This is an angry misguided and ill-used elected official. She is not suffering persecution, she is not being told that if she continues to be a Christian she will be beaten, or tortured or killed. She is not being told she is not allowed to hold her opinions on any number of issues. She is not being told she has to go to the weddings of any of the people she is supposed to issue marriage licenses for. She is being told as an elected official of the state of Kentucky that she has a job to do for all citizens of that state.
Kim Davis is not an employee of a church, a Christian school, a religious non-profit. Shoot she isn't even an employee of Hobby Lobby. She works for the government. She has a job to do, she is not in private employment. There is a difference, but that's not even what bothers me about this and other similar situations.
Many conservative religious people point to any time someone stands up for their beliefs or their rights as an attack on the Christian Nation that is the United States. I said religious people because I struggle to label them anything close to what a Christ follower really is. The church in America has traded authentic Christ Following for American Christianity, and the two couldn't be further apart.
Matthew 25:42-45 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)
25:42 (NLT) For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink.43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ 44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ 45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’
This set of verses should inform our interactions with each other and with people who don't know who Jesus is or who have a distorted view of who Jesus is because they have had such bad experiences with American Christians. We are all about our rights, we are all about our freedoms, granted by the constitution, we are all about conservative values, earning what you get by hard work and determination. We like to point out when someone impinges on our religious freedom because we are right, but when someone from any other religious persuasion tries to do the same, to claim the same rights we have, suddenly we are being persecuted, or misunderstood, or misquoted. We are being discriminated against for our faith. We are the victim and everyone else is the bully, except that's not really true, at least not that I can see.
This woman is being used by modern-day pharisees to further their agenda and to line their pockets. Others have dug into her background already, not something that I would do or would want to do. Pointing out her past issues with marriage is not really an answer or way to prove that she's wrong it's just a way to prove she's like every other human being that walks this planet, gay, strait, transgender, republican, democrat, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist... you get the point. Every human being no matter who they are is born with a need, the God Shaped Hole problem that affects everyone. Humanity is on a constant quest to fill this hole in their lives and we all try to fill it up on our own, except we can't fill this hole up. We don't have the material needed but we do have the tools.
Revelation 3:18 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)
3:18 (NLT) So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see.
I think this is a big problem for American Christians, they have been buying their materials from conservative politicians, Focus on the Family, the moral majority, denominational leaders, and their pastor for so long that they assume it's the same stuff God would provide. It's easy for me to start a project or begin a movement, say God told me too, and reap the rewards, even if those rewards come in the form of the publicity bump I get from claiming persecution or religious discrimination. But what if?
What if we would follow God's advice. What if we did our best to live in peace with all, what if we were willing to reach out to the very least of these and offer tangible real help as often as it's needed for as long as it's needed? what If American Christians would start following Christ instead of complaining that our nation needs to get back to God... What if Christians worried about getting themselves back to God and then doing what Jesus said to do. Not go and protest, not go and stand up for your founding father provided freedoms, not claiming persecution or discrimination. What if instead of all of those things we got down in the dirt next to a hurting lost person right where they were and protected them, what if we put on a towel and grabbed a bowl of water and started washing feet, even the feet of the people who don't like us, who don't trust us, who are all about betraying us? What if we were more concerned about a person than we were about their sin?
What if she would have just issued the license like she was told? What if she had a conversation with the people asking for a license, explained her personal conviction in love, and then asked if they would mind if a co-worker who didn't share her conviction or beliefs get them their license? What if? But most of all what if American Christians were wiling to pray for, reach to and love unconditionally with as much tenacity as they are willing to claim persecution, discrimination and righteous indignation. What if for every dollar donated to the ACLJ or any number of Christian Law firms American Christians donated one dollar to ricebowls.org. What if every time we upgraded and updated the church building and equipment, we upgraded and updated a local section 8 home? What if American Christians spent one hour visiting at the local jail or the local nursing home, or the local juvenile center for every hour they spent hanging out in their small group? This is what I wonder. It's not so much that America needs to "get back to God" it's that American Christians need to start getting their directions from the person they claim to follow and actually do what He said to do.
Kim Davis is not a Martyr, she's not being persecuted for her beliefs, she isn't being discriminated against. Countless people the world over are, just like the person in the picture above. When will American Christians start to realize what they have and run with the freedom given not by the constitution but by their relationship with Christ?
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
The Over Share...
You know the ones I'm talking about don't you... "friends" on a myriad of social media platforms.
I guess I should start this little tirade with a bit of a disclaimer...For me Social Media in any form is used for one of two things, communication and connection with friends across that miles, or communication and dissemination of information for ministry... Now don't get me wrong, I remember the days that I spent poking friends because it seemed fun stupid but fun...Then there was that ever present giving people stuff...a drink, a car whatever I think I remember that. Posting and sharing fun stuff about the kids is great, and the occasional send up a prayer if you think about it, going through something...I used to post pictures of the food or bread I would make, mainly to make others jealous of what they didn't get to have...
What I don't remember doing was posting things that no one wants to know, needs to know or should know. I am happy to know you need prayer for something, or need to talk about something. If we are friends on facebook or if you are a twitter follower, by all means put it out there that you are going through something...but keep it at something, if you want to go into detail send an email, make a phone call, or even a Facebook message...a PRIVATE one...
Additionally it bugs the spit out of me when people want to try their relationship issues in the court of facebook opinion... cryptically saying things like "you know who you are," or "some people bet (yes I said bet) mind their own business." or whatever other semi private but really public because you want to be supported by whoever will take your side in the argument is just wrong. Deal with your relationships like a grown up not like an 8 year old.
Then theirs the people who tell you every minute detail of what they are doing every other minute. "Getting food with my girl." "Watching movie with bae (still hate that.) "wish my boo were here." WHO CARES besides you what you are doing at any given moment.
And please everyone everywhere stop referring to your Pets as children...Pets are not Children. I will be the first to admit that pets become a part of the family. They offer great comfort and companionship, they enhance the quality of life but they are not your Children, they are not your kids. They are your pet...you own them, when moving to a new place if you are faced with a Pet Deposit there is always the consideration of re-homing your pet so as to have a better quality of life for the humans, there isn't really that consideration with Children. Pets are not people too, they are pets, important, special, well loved even but not equal to humans in any way shape or form. Posting every thing your dog or cat or whatever does and calling it your child is just as bad as the other stuff.
There have been countless times over the past few months that I have seriously considered closing down my personal Facebook account, and usually it has to do with what people are posting that comes across my news feed or timeline or whatever it's called, because while I enjoy political conversations to some extent, or a good religious debate once in a while, knowing that you had El Polo Chico Renaldo for supper because you spent the night on the toilet with a trash can in front of you, and you pray to all that there is to pray to that your Boo will get home soon because you don't want to be sick alone. Yeah that's not all that interesting to me...well that and any member of the Tea Party that posts anything... make me just want to bail...but I don't...and why don't I...because every once in a while, someone will post something that makes sense, usually a friend or old class mate or whatever, and when that happens I get to smile a bit and laugh at the old picture from fourth grade, and find a few friends from before that I forgot I even had...until they start talking about their child boo boo who was so cute when he started barking at the leaf on the back porch...then well they just have to go.
I guess I should start this little tirade with a bit of a disclaimer...For me Social Media in any form is used for one of two things, communication and connection with friends across that miles, or communication and dissemination of information for ministry... Now don't get me wrong, I remember the days that I spent poking friends because it seemed fun stupid but fun...Then there was that ever present giving people stuff...a drink, a car whatever I think I remember that. Posting and sharing fun stuff about the kids is great, and the occasional send up a prayer if you think about it, going through something...I used to post pictures of the food or bread I would make, mainly to make others jealous of what they didn't get to have...
What I don't remember doing was posting things that no one wants to know, needs to know or should know. I am happy to know you need prayer for something, or need to talk about something. If we are friends on facebook or if you are a twitter follower, by all means put it out there that you are going through something...but keep it at something, if you want to go into detail send an email, make a phone call, or even a Facebook message...a PRIVATE one...
Additionally it bugs the spit out of me when people want to try their relationship issues in the court of facebook opinion... cryptically saying things like "you know who you are," or "some people bet (yes I said bet) mind their own business." or whatever other semi private but really public because you want to be supported by whoever will take your side in the argument is just wrong. Deal with your relationships like a grown up not like an 8 year old.
Then theirs the people who tell you every minute detail of what they are doing every other minute. "Getting food with my girl." "Watching movie with bae (still hate that.) "wish my boo were here." WHO CARES besides you what you are doing at any given moment.
And please everyone everywhere stop referring to your Pets as children...Pets are not Children. I will be the first to admit that pets become a part of the family. They offer great comfort and companionship, they enhance the quality of life but they are not your Children, they are not your kids. They are your pet...you own them, when moving to a new place if you are faced with a Pet Deposit there is always the consideration of re-homing your pet so as to have a better quality of life for the humans, there isn't really that consideration with Children. Pets are not people too, they are pets, important, special, well loved even but not equal to humans in any way shape or form. Posting every thing your dog or cat or whatever does and calling it your child is just as bad as the other stuff.
There have been countless times over the past few months that I have seriously considered closing down my personal Facebook account, and usually it has to do with what people are posting that comes across my news feed or timeline or whatever it's called, because while I enjoy political conversations to some extent, or a good religious debate once in a while, knowing that you had El Polo Chico Renaldo for supper because you spent the night on the toilet with a trash can in front of you, and you pray to all that there is to pray to that your Boo will get home soon because you don't want to be sick alone. Yeah that's not all that interesting to me...well that and any member of the Tea Party that posts anything... make me just want to bail...but I don't...and why don't I...because every once in a while, someone will post something that makes sense, usually a friend or old class mate or whatever, and when that happens I get to smile a bit and laugh at the old picture from fourth grade, and find a few friends from before that I forgot I even had...until they start talking about their child boo boo who was so cute when he started barking at the leaf on the back porch...then well they just have to go.
Thursday, August 20, 2015
I used to be...
For years I was a youth and young adult pastor. I was a proud member of what can be an under appreciated, over worked and now looking back extremely clueless club, I say clueless because many in this club were quick to point out the above points, thinking that the leadership above or beside us just didn't get it, that their job security was sure, that they had lost touch with what was really important. Youth and young adult pastors the world over look down on other staff members, claiming they don't understand or know what matters, they are on the cutting edge, they aren't relevant.
I used to wear the badge of being relevant with honor. Movies and culture were something I spent time studying to keep up with the latest trends. I hate to admit it but there were times when I spent more time with Rolling Stone, GQ, EGM, and IMDB than I did with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I would read publications about cutting edge ministry, surf for the latest trends and stay on the edge of what was at the time an emerging social media market. Offering classes to parents on Facebook, and at the time MySpace.
I used to care about being relevant...and to be honest I still do but the perspective has shifted. As a youth and young adult pastor it was easy for me, and I'm guessing for others like me to mistake relevance with early adoption. In our zeal to be relevant we equate relevance with adoption. Inevitably this takes up time, valuable time, time that could be spent being relevant in the lives of the people we are supposed to be ministering too instead of being an authority on cultural shift and the latest trends.
If I could somehow tell my younger self anything it would be to do the research, keep up with what is going on but to major in relevant relationships instead of relevance.
This all came up tonight when faced with the unending diatribe of memes and mushy platitudes attached to pictures instagramed and pinned by the 12-year-old. I know about these things. I understand their relevance, I know it's important to find ways to express yourself, and to be able to use what's around you, whats popular, whats trending to identify yourself. We were mall rats, spent nights at the skate zone, or rollerworld, played our video games a quarter at a time. Summer was for camp and movies and the drive in. The fair was all about food and rides and girls. having a phone meant your parents put a jack in your room. I had records and a component stereo in my room that was loud. Portable music was a Walkman that played tapes and the radio. CD's became main stream as I was heading to college. This was all important to me and I know my kids all have things that are all important to them, I want to interact with them on those levels in some ways but in others I really don't care. I don't want to read what someone else wrote about their bae (I just found out this isn't a lazy form of baby, or babe but means (before anyone else) I hate the word a sure sign I'm older, but that's okay. I want to be relevant in my kids life and doing so doesn't require me to adopt the latest app, or change the keyboard on my smart phone, or speak emoji, it means knowing about these things sure, and as a leader of a church that wants to be relevant in people's lives find ways to leverage these things, and the people who can do that effectively, but to be relevant in a person's life means I'm interested in them, in the things that matter to them, in their struggles, in their joys, in their pain, in their heartache and in their need. Real relevance is not about stuff or knowing about the latest, it's about being intentional in each chance we have to interact with another human being. It's about offering the love and grace and mercy and truth that Jesus is to others and then doing it again and again and again. The relevance of the gospel is a constant, sure the way we present it changes but it never does.
As I struggle to be relevant in my children's and churches life, I will be reminding myself over and over that doing so is more about being in community and less about what's cutting edge...
I used to wear the badge of being relevant with honor. Movies and culture were something I spent time studying to keep up with the latest trends. I hate to admit it but there were times when I spent more time with Rolling Stone, GQ, EGM, and IMDB than I did with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I would read publications about cutting edge ministry, surf for the latest trends and stay on the edge of what was at the time an emerging social media market. Offering classes to parents on Facebook, and at the time MySpace.
I used to care about being relevant...and to be honest I still do but the perspective has shifted. As a youth and young adult pastor it was easy for me, and I'm guessing for others like me to mistake relevance with early adoption. In our zeal to be relevant we equate relevance with adoption. Inevitably this takes up time, valuable time, time that could be spent being relevant in the lives of the people we are supposed to be ministering too instead of being an authority on cultural shift and the latest trends.
If I could somehow tell my younger self anything it would be to do the research, keep up with what is going on but to major in relevant relationships instead of relevance.
This all came up tonight when faced with the unending diatribe of memes and mushy platitudes attached to pictures instagramed and pinned by the 12-year-old. I know about these things. I understand their relevance, I know it's important to find ways to express yourself, and to be able to use what's around you, whats popular, whats trending to identify yourself. We were mall rats, spent nights at the skate zone, or rollerworld, played our video games a quarter at a time. Summer was for camp and movies and the drive in. The fair was all about food and rides and girls. having a phone meant your parents put a jack in your room. I had records and a component stereo in my room that was loud. Portable music was a Walkman that played tapes and the radio. CD's became main stream as I was heading to college. This was all important to me and I know my kids all have things that are all important to them, I want to interact with them on those levels in some ways but in others I really don't care. I don't want to read what someone else wrote about their bae (I just found out this isn't a lazy form of baby, or babe but means (before anyone else) I hate the word a sure sign I'm older, but that's okay. I want to be relevant in my kids life and doing so doesn't require me to adopt the latest app, or change the keyboard on my smart phone, or speak emoji, it means knowing about these things sure, and as a leader of a church that wants to be relevant in people's lives find ways to leverage these things, and the people who can do that effectively, but to be relevant in a person's life means I'm interested in them, in the things that matter to them, in their struggles, in their joys, in their pain, in their heartache and in their need. Real relevance is not about stuff or knowing about the latest, it's about being intentional in each chance we have to interact with another human being. It's about offering the love and grace and mercy and truth that Jesus is to others and then doing it again and again and again. The relevance of the gospel is a constant, sure the way we present it changes but it never does.
As I struggle to be relevant in my children's and churches life, I will be reminding myself over and over that doing so is more about being in community and less about what's cutting edge...
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Until I Wasn't
I've been writing some different things lately. This one has been kicking around in my head the last few days so I decided to go ahead ...
