Like Water

The 4 Powerpoint Typos

2011-04-18T01:17:00.000-07:00

This morning I filled in for the worship pastor at church and needed to fix up some of the powerpoint slides for the service. I got to the second verse of one of the songs and had a mini panic attack. Not because I forgot the words, but because I forgot how to spell the words.

The line was supposed to be “I was lost in utter darkness till you came and rescued me.” Easy enough until you think about the other word that sounds like “utter.”

That’s right: udder.

Which one was it? I know that one of them means that something is complete and absolute. The other is cow boobs. And for the life of me I couldn’t remember which one it was!

I needed to figure it out quick or I was in trouble. That would seriously change the meaning of the song! What would being lost in udder darkness be like? I udder at the thought of that! (See how I turned that into a clever pun?)

So I went with my “utter” and prayed for it to be the right one. Even as I sang the word I hoped against hope that it was correct.

I got lucky that time. But there have been other times when I have not been so fortunate. It got me thinking about one of the most overlooked problems we worship leaders face every single week:

Powerpoint Typos.

Yes. These subtle worship distractions can derail a service pretty quickly. But not all typos are created equal. They can range from the innocuous to the borderline heretical. I have done my best to categorize them for helpful reference.

So here is my list of the four basic powerpoint flubs:

1) The “Honest Mistake”
The “Honest Mistake” is just that, an honest mistake. This one just slipped by unnoticed and doesn’t cause much harm. But still, you are hoping this typo ends up on the slide that is only shown once. Examples include:

“My God is mighty to sve. He is mighty to save.”
“Shout to the Lord! All the earth let us sig”

Distraction Danger: low in a verse, high in the chorus due to the repeat factor.

Who will notice: Pretty much everyone, but they will forgive you and show you grace because, hey, who hasn’t made an honest mistake?

Solution: Just look over the slides before you start. You will probably catch all of thm.

2) The “English 101”
This typo might fly over some church members’ heads, but it will punch others right in the eyeballs. The “English 101” is when you use a word that sounds like the right one but is spelled differently and has a different meaning. The technical term for this is a heterograph. People make these mistakes all the time. Examples include:

“Your the God of this city. Your the King of these people.”
“You are beautiful beyond description / To marvelous for words”
“How grate is are God”

Ok, that last one was a little over the top but I was just emphasizing my point.

Distraction Danger: Moderate. You can hope that most people don’t know the difference. But those who do notice will really notice!

Who will notice: Grammar Nazis, English teachers, Snarks (What is a snark you may ask? A snark is the snooty hipster cousin of the Smurf and Snork.). But you know who won’t notice? Spell Check.

Solution: Get one of the aforementioned Grammar Nazis to proofread the words. On second thought, go with the English teachers. Their going to be less snarky.

3) The “Misheard Lyrics”
Never trust your ears when you write down song lyrics. Mishearing the words to songs is a time-honored tradition in our culture. Worship lyrics are every bit as susceptible to the occasional mishearing as your average Elton John song. Seriously, does anyone really know what that guy is singing about?

Sometimes this can be a simple confusion between “grace” and “praise.” Other times, it gets more serious. Examples include:

“Thy power and thine alone can change the leopard’s spots and melt the heart of stone.”
“I was lost in udder darkness till you came and rescued me”

Correct me if I am wrong, but didn’t Jesus heal lepers? I suppose God could change the leopard’s spots if he wanted to but why would we sing a worship song about that?

Distraction Danger: Moderate. Most of the time the word won’t change the song much. But if you aren’t careful, you get lost in the terrifying darkness of bovine mammary glands.

Who will notice: People who know the lyrics, leopards.

Solution: Look up the lyrics. Seriously. Look up the lyrics.

4) The “Accidental Heretic”
Ooh, this is a bad one. This typo not only changes the meaning of the phrase you are singing, it changes the entire theology of the song! You were typing up this week’s slides and accidentally hit the wrong letter on the keyboard changing the word “grave” to “grace.” This typo transforms a wonderful line like, “empty cross, empty grave” to the baffling:

“Empty Cross, Empty grace.”

Wha?!

Who's bright idea was it to put the “V” key right next to the “C” key anyway?

Or we could take a look back at "Shout to the Lord." Suddenly a "g" becomes the difference between a powerful call to worship the Lord and an invitation into Ke$ha-esque debauchery.

"Shout to the Lord all the earth let us sin!"

Distraction Danger: High. Pray that your church doesn’t still practice that whole burning at the steak thing.

Who will notice: The Senior Pastor, elders, armchair theologians, anyone who has a remote understanding of basic Christian doctrine, and the Spanish Inquisition.

Solution: Submit your Powerpoint slides to a rigorous Scriptural analysis. Does the word of God confirm what you have typed? Test the spirits. Pray for wisdom. Consult those who are older and wiser than you in spiritual matters. If necessary, recant and confess your sins.

Actually, just look up the lyrics and proofread it. You’ll be fine.

So those are the four Powerpoint typos.
Did I miss any?
What are the best worship typos you have seen?

Fighting for Redemption

2011-03-29T22:09:00.000-07:00

Recently, Andrea and I watched "The Fighter." I will just cut to the chase and tell you that it was an excellent movie. However, I am required by Christian Law to give you a disclaimer because it is an "R-rated" movie with swearing and bras and such.Watch at your own risk.

That was a lot of links. Sorry.

Spoiler Alert! Do not read if you don't want to find out that he breaks his neck and then his trainer lets him die . . .wait, wrong movie. Oh yeah, he beats Ivan Drago and brings honor and glory to the good ol' US of A. No, seriously, I am about to give away the end of the movie.

What I liked best about this movie was that the core of the story was restoration. The whole movie I found myself disgusted by Mickey's family, particularly his mother and brother. They didn't care about him. They were just trying to make themselves happy and using him to do it. It became clear that they were a terrible influence on him and needed to go. I wanted them to get what was coming to them

But Mickey didn't. He didn't want to let them go. Even when every sane voice in his life told him to he wouldn't.

And that made all the difference. (now watch how I change tense)

He refuses to give up on his family. He chooses to see the best in them. He chooses to hope. He will not turn them away. And because of his love for these people who have treated him like crap, they experience redemption.

That is grace! That is what I hope all of us will choose. That is what I hope we will extend to others. And that is what I think God does for us.

All of us.

Even if we don't know it.

What he really wants is to restore us to what we were created to be. And when I am tempted to desire above all else that someone gets what is coming to them, I need to remember that.

Dare I say it . . . God's great redemptive love wins?

What about you? How hard is it to stubbornly hope for people? For yourself? What makes it difficult? Have you seen "The fighter?" Seriously, how good was that movie?!

While You Are Waiting for Something Else

2011-03-28T16:42:00.000-07:00

As the title of this blog would suggest, I am currently waiting for something else to finish. I would like to keep working on my study of the whole Bible but I am trying to get this one thing done first. Unfortunately it is being a bit cranky at the moment (and involves printers, excell sheets, and merge fields. Gross)

So to help me pass the time and to help you pass the time, I would like to share an important announcement entitled "The Truth About Bears."

Fun and educational! Hooray!

Sorry about the awkward spacing. I don't know much about HTML.

3 Top 5's

2011-03-25T16:25:00.000-07:00

Ok, in honor of this being somewhere around my 55th post, I have decided to share a few favorites with y'all. I guess these things are all the rage with the bloggy kids these days. So for your reading and viewing pleasure, I give you:

The Top 5 Most Viewed Posts of ALL TIME! (on this site)*

1) If This is All There Is
2) Just Answer the Question!
3) Moralistic Therapeutic Deism
4) 100 Miles
5) What We Might REALLY Be Saying

*That involve writing. Video posts are not included.

And now I would like to list:

My Top 5 Favorite Posts (from oldest to newest)

1) Amen
2) The Word Became Flesh
3) Die Little Jesus
4) The Lost Older Son . . . and Part 2 (cheating? Maybe. But it's MY blog and I can do what I want!)
5) Housecleaning

And now I would like to share a few blogs that I enjoy checking out.

Jesus Needs New PR. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Christian culture.
Stuff Christians Like. Laughing at yourself is a gift from God.
Redeeming Domesticity. Reclaiming the joy of the home.
Jesus Creed. I don't know how Scot McKight has time to read all those books
PostSecret. My weekly reminder that humanity is beautiful and broken.

Ok. That ought to keep you busy for a while. Peace!

Grace for Cain

2011-03-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

So for the last week or so I have been working on my new project: The Whole Dang Thing. It is a crazy attempt to read through the whole Bible via manuscript study. Well, I have managed thus far to get all the way to Genesis 4!

4 down, 1185 to go! So if I did one per day I would be done in just over 5 years. Dang.

So last night I read through the story of Cain and Abel, though it is really a story about Cain. Abel doesn't really do anything except offer a sheep and get killed.

But I was struck by the contrast between Cain and God.

At every turn and at every place Cain does something stupid or terrible, God is right there trying to help him. After rejecting Cain's offering, God seems to think that Cain should have known better. And then he gives him instructions on how to avoid a life with an unfortunate trajectory.

"Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at your door; its desire is for you, but you must master it."

I expect God to tell him that is he does not to well that he will NOT be accepted. But that isn't what God says. God seems to be saying that if he doesn't do well, sin will begin taking over. Cain will become more and more mastered by it.

And he is. He doesn't listen. He kills his brother.

Even then, God doesn't seem to be angry with him. He asks questions and acts shocked, maybe horrified. But not angry. He then tells Cain that the thing he loves to do (tilling the ground) won't work anymore since the ground has cursed him. As a result, Cain will be a nomad.

This doesn't seem like a punishment. This seems like a statement of natural consequences. But Cain interprets it differently.

"My punishment is greater than I can bear! Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth"

When did God say he would be hidden from his face? Why does Cain think that?

Is it possible that when God lets the natural consequences of our actions happen, we think he is totally rejecting us? We jump to the worst when God might actually be trying to help us.

Cain's problem had something to do with tilling the ground and his offering to God. Perhaps God is trying to break him of that kind of idolatry. Perhaps the time of wandering Cain will be in will be a purification. He will see more clearly who this God is and what he is about.

But Cain doesn't listen. He doesn't wander. He leaves God and settles somewhere else. He marries. He has a family. He builds a city. This doesn't sound like "fugitive and wanderer."

Is Cain addicted to settling? When you till the ground you have to stay there for a long time. When you build a city, you are committing to being in one place and are helping others commit to one place.

And I think it is totally possible that God was trying to break him of it and heal him.

Do I do the same thing? Do I get so tied to a way or a program or a style or a place or a system that I will violently defend it if it is threatened? Might there be things in my life that seem like unbearable punishments but are actually God's grace on me?

Gad has Cain's back through this whole thing. I think that might mean he has mine. And I think that might mean he has yours. And he wants the best for us even if we don't know how to receive it.

Seriously, come with me on this journey through the whole dang thing. It is going to be a blast.

Always Up To Something More

2011-03-23T12:27:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to another sermon I preached last weekend. Enjoy!

100 Miles

2011-03-22T11:49:00.000-07:00

Actually, it is a bit more than that. But "100 Miles" just has a better ring to it than "132 Miles."

That is roughly the total amount of miles I have run since I began training for the St. Louis Half Marathon. I will be flying to St. Louis in two weeks and running that sucker on April 10. My lovely girlfriend, Andrea (who is quite a talented writer and just started a new blog which you may enjoy reading), and I will be joining a few more of her St. Louis posse to tackle the beast.

If you have followed my blog for long you may remember a post I wrote over a year ago about wanting to start exercising. I did start running last year but couldn't pull the trigger on a big running project. After "seeing" Andrea run one in Nebraska and reading Donald Miller's "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" I decided it was time to commit to doing something crazy.

A moment of slight panic began to set in when I was nearing the end of the registration process. There is this point where you hit the final button. It is the point of no return. No backing down.

In reality, all that happens is they take your money.

But it FEELS like you just enlisted in the army or something.

I hit the button and was registered. I had my "inciting incident." It was time to start training. And this was the part where I started learning things. Hooray!

When you commit to something, it re-orders your priorities. I found a 12-week training program that seemed reasonable and decided to use it. Three short or medium runs a week and a long run on the weekend. I realized pretty quick that running was going to be the first thing I did those days or it would likely not happen at all. This meant getting up earlier. That 45 minutes I spend running takes 45 minutes away from something else. Waking up earlier is the only way to not lose the time.

Also, it rains in Oregon. Not sure if you knew that but the rumors are true.

I am not a fan of rain. Name one thing you can do in the rain better than you can on a sunny day. There is only one: stomping in puddles. So not worth it.

But if I am going to do this thing, I have to learn how to run in whatever weather gets thrown at me. I remember a 4-miler where it was pouring. I was soaked about a half-mile in. But it didn't matter. I was training.

I have also been noticing that I never want to go running. Every time I would rather stay in and read the news. But my commitment pushes me out the door. And every time I run, I am glad I did it. I have probably had more moments where I felt a sense of accomplishment in the last 2 months than I have in a long time.

So What?

I am writing this after running 5 miles. I feel great. It was tiring but it honestly doesn't feel like a big deal. Last weekend I ran 8 miles.

I NEVER thought I would be able to run 8 miles without stopping. But I did. And this weekend I will run nine.

There is a change happening. It is small. Day by day and week by week. The first time I ran 4 miles by myself it kicked my butt. I felt like this: I just ran five like it was nothing.

Commitment changes you. You aren't sure what it will do to you but you dive in anyway. And little by little you begin to transform. I can run farther. I am probably in the best shape I have been in since college. Andrea hugs me and notices that it is a little easier to wrap her arms around the midsection.

That feels good.

13.1 miles still feels terrifying. But I am committed. Every little step I have taken in this journey has mattered. When I got off track, I just jumped back on. And in less than three weeks I am going to do something I have never done before.

So this begs the question: What else am I capable of?

The Whole Dang Thing

2011-03-19T01:28:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone.

I just wanted to let you know that I have begun a rather ambitious new project and you are welcome to join in.

I started a new blog and the site is http://thewholedangthing.wordpress.com

It basically boils down to this: I love Bible Study. It is probably the clearest way I experience and hear the voice of God. So I have decided to discipline myself and spend a little time each day doing Manuscript Study.

But the ambitious part is that I am going to try to do the whole Bible.

Yep. I have no idea how far I am going to make it but I am going to try. And the more people who come along with me the better.

So if you want in, feel free to read the blog and leave a comment.

I will continue to write in this one about other stuff that strikes me as interesting.

Ok. That is all. Peace!

The Trees for the Forest

2011-03-08T00:05:00.000-08:00

I am a big picture person.

I want to know how things fit into a larger whole. What is the context? How does this connect with that? That kind of stuff.

So naturally, I love studying the Bible. What a story! How that many different authors in that many different times and places wove all that together is mind bottling. I think people would be much better off getting the big picture of Scripture and seeing how the pieces come together to make the whole.

But there is also such beauty in the individual books. I have been going through the Gospel of Mark with my staff team this year and that guy knows how to tell a story! The themes and repeated phrases and juxtapositions make it so much fun to dig into.

I get to lead a fairly large section of it next week at our retreat and I am a little overwhelmed. There are so many dots to connect. There are so many threads to tie together. There are so many metaphors to invent to explain what I am trying to do. (That last one was a joke.)

I am excited to try it and to help people see and grasp the big picture, but I notice myself doing something. I notice myself missing the beauty of the individual trees in this vast forest.

I am more concerned with how the healing of the Legion man connects to the calming of the storm than the fact that Jesus just absolutely changed that man's life forever.

I am more concerned with the relationship between the Syrophoenician Woman and the feeding of the four thousand than I am by the fact that Jesus walked a hundred miles out of his way just to (seemingly at random) heal her daughter.

I am more concerned with the juxtaposition of the little children coming to Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler than I am with the fact that Jesus loved that guy and wanted him to follow him and he said "no." Sad!

The trees here are beautiful on their own. I don't want to miss them because it will make the forest itself that much more beautiful.

So may we find the beauty in both.

Something to Say . . .

2011-03-06T11:13:00.000-08:00

I love the idea of blogging. The internet is full of normal people who are sharing their lives (sort of) and thoughts and ideas with anyone curious enough to want to know.

I would love to get in on this. I would love to join in the conversation. I would love to write more on this thing.

And yes, I would love to have higher traffic and unique visitors per month.

But the one thing that seems to get me stuck is that in order to have a blog that does those things, you need to have something to say. And not just anything. You need to have something to say that you think millions of random people ought to hear.

I have never been one to shy away from saying what I think, but that usually happens in the context of face to face interactions. I am much more comfortable with that than I am with shouting into the void of cyberspace.

So perhaps it is ok to save my best thoughts and interactions with real flesh and blood people. They will never up my blog stats to any kind of impressive number but maybe that is a good thing.

So I will probably just continue this blog the way it has been and not worry about who reads it and who doesn't. I have enough real people who read my life right now thank you very much!

Rob Bell-Love Wins-Universaist?

2011-02-27T13:02:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: The title of this blog was only to up the possibility of more internet traffic. Shameless, I know.

At the risk of making Rob Bell one of the most talked about things on my blog, I can't let this one go.

(Although, to be fair, I think Stephen Colbert has one more entry devoted to him. Colbert bump!)

He has a new book coming out next month called "Love Wins." Oddly enough, this is probably the least provocative or confusing title of any of his books. But a promo video was released and caused quite an uproar on the interwebs.

What is amazing is if you read some of the stuff people have written about it, it is as if they have already read the book. They haven't. Maybe they have read some of it but not all. But they take issue with some of the things that he says in the video, as if he is spouting some kind of universalist message about everyone getting into heaven and belief in Jesus being unnecessary.

Let me be up front about some stuff. I like Rob Bell. I have read his books. I have seen him speak. I attended a conference he put on. I think he raises some excellent questions and is gifted in the arena of communicating with nuance and grace. Having said that, I most certainly have not agreed with everything he has said. I am not sure he would want me to just accept it all. Read the back cover of Velvet Elvis.

So the point of this whole thing is to look at how we arrive at our conclusions about what he is saying when all we have to go on is this little three minute video. Here it is.

Here are some of my thoughts on the video.

1) I know that Rob is much more of a person who thinks our ultimate destiny is a new heavens and a new earth. God is about redeeming this world and his good creation. Therefore, this book cannot be about who gets into heaven. That is not Rob's take on the story of Scripture.

So right off the bat we know that this is not about heaven and hell as we traditionally think of them. That should clue us in on some other things.

I also know that Rob isn't naive enough to think that there is no justice in the world. Nobody thinks that the evils of this world should go unpunished. I have listened to a lot of his sermons and I know that he is smarter than that. Therefore I will give him the benefit of the doubt.

2) The first questions he asks are about how this certain person knows Ghandi is in hell. It's a valid question. Last I checked, it is not my place to decide who is in and who is out. That is up to God. I don't know where Ghandi is or where his ultimate destiny is. Pretty sure no one else does either.

3) He is addressing one of the biggest questions our culture has about the Bible and God. He is just asking the question. There is nothing wrong with asking a question. I think Jesus likes it when we ask honest questions. And people have questions about how having the majority of people who have ever lived being condemned to hell is actually good news. I have that question.

4) Is it possible that the good news is more good than we can possibly hope or imagine? I hope so. When you read Revelation 21-22 and Isaiah 60-62, that seems like good news. Redemption. Restoration. Renewal.

All I can tell from this video is that Rob is raising some tough questions and wants to deal with them honestly. And my experience with Rob is that you have to listen to the whole thing. He knows how to tell a story and grab your attention.

So how about we all just cool it and read the book when it comes out. Then if he is crazy we can know for sure. I for one am going to go in with an open mind and will try to think critically about what he says. People are jumping way too quickly to conclusions and are passing judgment on a man who has helped thousands of people rediscover the joys of following Jesus.

So why don't we just settle down and get ready for an interesting read. And if we have a problem with it, we can take it up with him rather than shouting into the void of the internet.

IRONY ALERT! I just shouted into the void of the internet.

Housecleaning

2011-02-21T11:15:00.000-08:00

I am sitting in a room that is remarkably clean. This room is a part of an entire floor of my house that is also remarkably clean. And what may be the most remarkable thing about it is that I am terrible at house cleaning.

I didn't even do it.

Two weeks ago my staff team had a meeting at my house. We finished about an hour early and our director gave a suggestion about what we could do with our extra hour.

"So tomorrow, Ben's girlfriend Andrea is coming to visit and she is going to stay here. And since this is a house where 6 guys live, it might not feel all that 'homie' to her. So I think we could give her a gift and just make the house a little more hostpitable for her."

Everyone seemed to love the idea of spending an hour to clean my house. Everyone except me.

What I heard when our director was making that suggestion was: "Since Ben is a total slob and has no idea how to treat his girlfriend well, we are going to do it for him."

You see, I have lived in this house for 5 years and I have never done any kind of deep clean. I don't even really know how to clean. And if I let all those people clean my house, they would get to see exactly how bad at cleaning I actually was. They would look at the corners and cabinets closets that had never been swept or wiped down.

I was not excited to spend the next hour hearing people comment on how disgusting my house was. And in case you think I am over-reacting, in those five years I lived at the house, I am pretty sure the microwave has NEVER been cleaned.

I felt ashamed and I felt incompetent in front of some of my best friends. I tried to gracefully get out of it. I had to find some way to tell them that they didn't have to do it. But resistance was futile. The idea was already incepted and was taking root and growing.

So I surrendered.

For the next hour, 11 of my friends cleaned the main floor of my house. They swept, scrubbed, dusted, febreezed, vacuumed, uncluttered, and rearranged. They bought flowers and candles. My bathroom was spotless.

But as amazing as it looked and as grateful as Andrea was for it when she saw it, it was something else that really shook me up.

You see, the whole time, no one said anything about how dirty it was. Not a word.

No one commented on how gross the microwave or the stove was.

No one told me I was a slob.

The only thing they did was give me, my housemates and my girlfriend a wonderful gift. And the only thing I could do was receive it.

In short, I encountered grace and it messed me up.

People looked right into the literal mess I had made through my laziness and neglect and ignorance, and did not condemn me for it. They simply offered me a gift.

The reality of the Gospel came flooding into my life in a new way. I was experiencing the Word becoming flesh. I was reminded of how Jesus looks at our sin and disobedience and the mess we have made and offers himself as a gift so it can be made right. And all we can do is receive it and let it change us.

Yes, it was a free gift for me. But it was a gift that I was able to share with people I love. Because of what someone else did, I have something to offer to others.

Crazy.

May you experience the tangible grace of God today. May you be reminded of this amazing gift that has been freely given for you.

Merry Christmas from Bill Maher

2010-12-22T22:49:00.000-08:00

I don't agree with everything he says here (watch out for some choice language) but his last line is perfect.

" . . . We Just Don't Want to Do It."

2010-12-17T11:09:00.001-08:00

For the record, I don't think Jesus would identify himself with any political party.

Now, having said that, this is amazing stuff. First Jon Stewart gives us the news better than the actual news. Now is Stephen Colbert going to preach better than our preachers?

note: I tried to put the clip directly in here but the HTML was all screwy so I couldn't do it. Just follow the link.

Sermon from last sunday.

2010-12-13T10:54:00.001-08:00

I had the honor to preach at Northwest Hills Community church in Corvallis yesterday. You can follow this link and listen.

Thanks Church for letting me preach!

This is terrible

2010-12-01T23:33:00.000-08:00

I saw this on the Rachel Maddow show tonight. It was a cheap shot and probably not all that important in the grand scheme of things but I laughed out loud. They actually made one of these!

Moral of the story? There might be a few.

The more high profile of a leader you are, the more necessary it becomes to have people you trust who will call you out when you are being a huge idiot.

Maybe there is a reason Jesus was born in a dirty manger in the middle of nowhere instead of center-stage as the Emperor of Rome.

Whoever wants to be the greatest must become the least. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled.

I think there is a certain personality that is attracted to what these men do as televangelists. And I think that personality also makes them more likely to seek the highs of affairs and prostitutes and drugs.

But perhaps most importantly . . .

Never, under any circumstances, become a televagelist.

There Was Nothing Random About This . . .

2010-11-28T23:19:00.000-08:00

Just Answer the Question!

2010-11-03T16:44:00.000-07:00

I got sucked into watching the election returns last night and ended up staying up way too late. But I want to share some thoughts about what I saw. For those of you reading on facebook, you may want to come to the actual blog site so you can see the videos.

This post is not about MSNBC. It is not about any of the hosts. It is not about what I think about republicans or democrats or the policies they champion.

The only thing I want to talk about is how the people who are interviewed respond to the questions given to them. So if you have time, watch the following videos and see if you notice a common theme.

Ok. Now check this one out.

And behind door number 3?

For the record, I agree with Chris. She does look hypnotized. I have never had a conversation with an actual person that resembled that. I have, however, tried to make things happen on a computer only to get the same error message over and over and over again. Interesting . . .

Did you notice something? Not a single one of the people interviewed answered the question that was asked of them. And they all should have been able to do it.

Why?

Perhaps because they honestly don't know the answer. But that would be silly. If you are not going to let the Bush tax cuts expire then you should (theoretically) have a plan for where the money for decreasing the deficit is going to come from. And you should have a specific plan because $700 billion is a lot of money.

They have said they won't cut anything from defense, medicare or social security. So where then? I simply cannot believe that they don't know.

So maybe they DO know but they just don't want to say. But why would they do that? Why would they purposefully without crucial details of their plan? Maybe because they know it will be unpopular? Well, you are already elected so what can it hurt to say?

To be honest, this is really what I think. I think that by taking certain things off the table, they know that the cuts will have to come from some other place. And it will probably be a thing that we totally take for granted and would never consider cutting from the budget, like the Department of Education.

Or maybe Michael Steele's reason is the real reason (jump to about 3:36 to get to it):

Yes, they were just too excited to answer the simple question.

But they were not too excited to spout off pre-programed talking points. Did you hear any phrases that seemed to keep coming up?

"The American people have spoken loud and clear . . ." (that phrase really doesn't mean anything)

"You're not listening . . ."

"Cut discretionary spending . . ."

"Big government . . ."

These interviews were essentially useless. There was no actual information given, only talking points. Talking points can be helpful if they actually mean something but these didn't. And it is SOOOOO frustrating!

You know why they use talking points? Because when something is repeated enough people start to believe it is true. That is why each of the people interviewed essentially said the exact same thing. The more they get the message out the more people will believe it.

They are not interested in a conversation or an interview. It is like the looked at each question as a way to get to the talking points, even if it made no sense at all.

This is not discourse. This is not debate. This is not conversation. This is not relationship. This is just not how real people talk to each other. The people in the United States government are supposed to represent us. And in my life, when I disagree with someone, I can still have an intelligent conversation with them by responding to the questions they ask me. Is it too much to ask that our politicians be able to do the same? Is this how they talk at the dinner table? (This makes me want to write a skit about it. Maybe I will do that someday . . .)

This is not what I saw here. They owe us straight answers. They owe it to us to talk to us like we are real, reasonable people capable of sifting through the facts and making an informed decision.

That was acting. And they did a good job not breaking character.

Or they really don't know what they are going to do.

Either way, no good.

15 Authors in 15 Minutes

2010-10-27T23:29:00.001-07:00

I am stealing this from Kathy Khang's blog and thought it would be fun to do.

Here are 15 authors whose work has influenced or impacted me in some significant way. A lot of these I have already talked about on this blog. Here we go!

N.T. Wright: This guy opened up a whole world of possibilities in my faith. Reading his work makes the Bible come alive in ways I didn't think it could. I have found a more compelling faith because of him.

J.R.R. Tolkein: Lord of the Rings. Do I need to say more? No, but I will. I have read only a few books multiple times. This was one of them. I remember finishing it the first time and feeling like I was saying goodbye to my friends. I missed Frodo and Sam and wanted to start reading it again immediately.

J.K Rowling: Yes, I love Harry Potter. I fought it for so long and finally gave in. Those stories are a gift.

Orson Scott Card: Card can be hit or miss but when he writes a good book it is GOOD! Ender's game is one of my all time favorites. I have read it 3 times and the third was the most enjoyable. Each time I see more and more depth and nuance in the story. It is the kind of book that makes you want to write.

Tim Keller: The Reason For God is one of the best out there. And this guy can PREACH!

Terry Goodkind: He held my interest for 11 books in a row. The Sword of Truth had its high points and low points but that was a fun 6 months of reading.

Khaled Hosseni: He has two books and I have loved them both. He helped me understand a culture that is foreign to me in a new way with powerfully moving stories.

Robin Hobb: Another fantasy writer. I have only read one of her series but it was great. Everyone should go read the Liveship Traders. So creative and such great characters.

Rob Bell: Gotta give a shout out to Bell. He sees things in such an interesting way and is a really great communicator. Looking forward to whatever is next from him.

William Goldman: The Princess Bride. I have to be honest and say that I have been more influenced by the movie but he wrote the screenplay as well. The book was hilarious.

Jon Stewart: Yes, he is an author. He and the rest of The Daily Show writers. America the Book was laugh-out-oud funny on every single page.

4 more! I can do it!

Henri Nouwen: I have only read one of his books but and it was really short but it was so good. "In the Name of Jesus" was enriching, convicting, and thought provoking all at the same time.

Andy Crouch: "Culture Making" was like putting on a pair of glasses and then realizing you have never really been able to see before. Yes. I think that describes it. I still think about that book often.

M. Scott Peck: I have been required to read "The Road Less Traveled" twice. The first time i resented it mostly because I was not ready to receive what it had to say. The next time was much better. His thoughts on love and discipline will shape me for a long time.

Richard Foster: You can't go wrong with this guy.

So looking at my list I notice that most of the authors I read are white men. So does anyone know some good women of color I should read?

Ethics or the Cross?

2010-10-21T21:50:00.000-07:00

It is a dangerous thing to cruise the religion section of the Huffington Post and I admire the guts of any Christian who posts something there. The comments section can be brutal. Most of the time I choose not to look at them. But today I did after reading an article by Jim Wallis on bullying.

A lot of the comments basically boiled down to this:
Christians, if they really want to stop the problem, will just need to stop being Christians because their teaching is the cause of the bullying in the first place. Jim Wallis is a hypocrite.

Then they would usually bring up something about the stupidness and impracticality of "love the sinner, hate the sin."

After reading them, I became convinced that most people hadn't even read the article. If they had, they certainly weren't responding to it. They were responding to some other beef they had with people who follow Jesus.

Another thing that happened (and I think Wallis was guilty of this a bit as well) was that the whole "discussion" devolved into ethics. It was all about the teachings of Jesus.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love the teachings of Jesus. I study them with my students. I wrestle with them. I am angered by them. But at the end of the day, I think they are not what it is all about.

If we are going to talk about bullying, we can certainly bring up times when Jesus taught about loving our enemies or serving each other or loving the least of these. And I think those are great things to bring up.

But if Christians stop there (and I think we have given that it seems EVERYONE thinks this is all about ethics) then we miss the whole reason for our faith.

We don't follow and trust and worship Jesus because he was a good teacher. We do those things because he was God in the flesh. We do those things because he took the sins of the world upon himself and died in our place. He suffered unimaginably for our sake.

And he did it for everyone. There is no one that his love does not extend to, even if they don't realize it or want it.

And God raised him from the dead, unleashing a whole new creation right into the middle of this one.

We can't stop at ethics! We always have to go back to the cross!

We stand with the bullied because we know that Jesus loves them and died for them and we cannot stand by while someone tries to take that away from them. We forgive and love the bully because we know that on the cross Jesus forgave the people that bullied him.

We know that God has shown that he loves the whole world, no exceptions.

It doesn't matter if we like the way someone lives. It doesn't matter if we disagree with them. It doesn't matter if someone is gay and you aren't sure that is a good way to live.

Jesus died for them.

That changes the whole conversation. I think that gives Christians a more compelling reason to stand up to injustice than anyone else can offer. Let's not settle for an ethics debate.

Let us remember the full story. Let us remember the cross. Let us remember the empty tomb. And may we and the world be forever changed by it.

The Mirror and the Open Window

2010-10-21T00:25:00.000-07:00

I smashed a mirror tonight.

I set it up, grabbed a baseball bat and swung it right into the middle.

And it shattered into a million pieces (And it was Awesome!)

Mirrors are interesting things. Their whole purpose is to let us stare at ourselves. When I stare at a mirror, the one thing that becomes the focus of my vision is me. I am all that I see.

One thing I notice when I look in a mirror is my imperfections. I see the gut. I see the teeth that aren't quite straight. I see the zit that has no business being on a 28 year-old's face. Ear hair? WTF?

Other times I see the good things. Yes, I am a handsome man. My hair looks pretty good when it is short. If I was a girl I would be attracted to me.

And I want to know if it is possible that for most of us, myself included, the mirror has become the lens through which we view the world?

When I enter a new situation, am I looking at my imperfections? Do I see the ways that I am inadequate? Because I often find myself saying and doing things that are an attempt to make me look good. Like I need to prove myself to the people I am with. I will put someone else down (even someone who I know works their butt off to do what they do) because it makes me feel better.

In some sick way the people I am with have become tools to get me what I want. They have something I want and I will do what it takes to get it. It could be praise. It could be respect. It could be a job. It could be sex. But they have it and I want it.

Because I am looking into a mirror.

I also will enter a new situation and find all the ways I am better than the people there. I have managed to convince myself that I am smarter or better looking or more talented and that these people have nothing to offer me.

In some sick way the people I am with have become obstacles or threats. I can't associate with them because they are beneath me. Why would I waste my time there?

Because I am looking into a mirror.

All I can see is me. My wants. My needs. My goals. My desires. My hopes. My fears. My insecurities. My pain. Me, me, me.

I am starting to see the ways that this general posture towards the world is death. How much evil has been done in the world because people decided that their own needs were more important than the needs of others?

And I think that the worst way we do this is when we do it with God.

This is called religion.

Religion is viewing God through our mirror. We see our imperfections so we have to prove ourselves to God. So we do good. We go to church. We read our Bible. But it is all based out of guilt and shame. We are trying to manipulate God to like us more.

Or we think we are better than him. We think he owes us something. Or our good deeds and good works are already good enough and we don't need him at all. He can't offer us anything because we already have what we need. Submitting to him would be to lose all we have worked for.

That is what happens when God becomes all about us. Guilt, shame, fear, and arrogance.

So what is the cure? This feels like a big problem.

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Philippians 2:3-4

Humility. Humility is the cure.

Not thinking less of ourselves. But thinking of ourselves less. A humble person is able to care about the people around them. A humble person does not see the world through a mirror.

A humble person uses an open window.

There is only what is on the other side. They can see the people and the world outside. There is nothing getting in the way of them seeing, knowing, and responding to the needs of others around them.

An open window has no reflection.

But if there is no reflection, how will we know what we look like? How will we see the imperfections? How will we know when we look good?

We are going to have to trust someone else's opinion of us.

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." -Romans 5:8

It would seem that this is God's opinion of us: We are sinners. We have rejected God by focusing on ourselves. We have brought sin, division, destruction, and death into the world.

And yet Christ dies for us because of his great love.

What would happen if we started trusting his opinion of us?

What if every day I reminded myself that I was a sinner saved by the amazing grace and love of God? And what if I began to see that everyone else was exactly the same?

What if I let Jesus smash my mirror? What if I stopped filling my vision with myself and began looking out the window to where Jesus was leading?

Well now that would change everything wouldn't it?

I would be free to love people because I knew I was loved.
I could be someone's friend not because I needed a friend (I already have the best one possible with Jesus) but because THEY needed a friend.
I could lay my life down for someone else's sake because someone laid down their life for me.

I pray that you will let Jesus smash your mirror.
I pray that you will trust his opinion of you.
I pray that you will follow him out the open window into his beautiful world where he is inviting you into life and life abundant.

So tonight I literally took a mirror and smashed it with a bat. I don't believe in seven years of bad luck.

I believe I just took a step into grace.

For God or WITH God

2010-09-10T11:44:00.000-07:00

This video is right on. Enjoy.

Springboards Into Who-Knows-What.

2010-09-07T00:09:00.001-07:00

There were a couple of comments on my previous posts that were fantastic and very well thought out. They got me thinking about some other stuff so I want to take a little break and use them as a springboard for some different ideas.

So thanks commenters! (Interesting word: Commenter. Is that like a co-mentor? Like you are joining with someone else to mentor somebody? That was an example of a springboard.)

Here are the comments:
"And if it was proven there was no god tomorrow I doubt you'd change Ben because you strike me as a genuine person, not someone who is acting good to get past the white gates."

"We have broken from God, and our morals and ethics are an effort to be right with him again...to be whole, clean, good."

Even reading these again I realize that I read them incorrectly the first time through. But I am still diving off! Huzzah!

In them I was reminded of MTD. That our morals, good works, and efforts are things that get us to God. The get us past the pearly gates. This may not have been what they were saying but I think that is basically what a lot of people think.

That isn't what Jesus taught. It is not what he lived. That is a religion of appeasement and I want nothing to do with it.

It is an ancient religion. I might say that most religions in history have been variants of that to some degree. They might say that something has gone wrong in the world and in order to escape this dreadful place we need to do enough good to prove to god we are worthy of moving on. OR to survive and live well here we need to prove that we are worthy of it. For a great 90 minute "lecture" on this I highly recommend "The Gods Aren't Angry" by Rob Bell.

Ok, I just kind of lost my train of thought. So I am going to jump back to the comments and dive in a different direction. Blog ADD much?

What do we mean by doing good?

My experience with people talking about being good or doing good is that it is usually a pretty generous definition. They also set a pretty low bar.

Be nice. Don't be a jerk. Don't rape or kill people. Occasionally get involved with a "cause" of some kind.

That is easy. I can do all of those without even trying. Why on earth would you invent religion to get that out of people?

According to Christians, at the center of the universe, of everything, is a God who loves sacrificially. There is a God who sacrifices himself for the people and the world he created and loves.

And by sacrifice I mean death. The God who is the source of all life is also the God who subjected himself to death. He entered into the self-inflicted suffering of his creation and let it do its worst to him.

And then, when it seemed all hope was lost he beat death by raising from the dead.

So when we as Christians say we follow Jesus, it literally means we are trusting that laying down our life for the sake of others is the way to find true life.

God created us to join with him in making something good out of the world. We said no and lost ourselves. We have been feeling the effects ever since. God loves us too much to stay that way. He made a way to join in with him again. The old way, the rebellious way (sin) must be put to death and God must raise us up. Then and only then can we be who we were always meant to be.

This has nothing to do with earning it or proving ourselves. It is God's grace that allows us to be redeemed this way.

(There is a lot I haven't filled out here. If you have questions, please let me know.)

So we have a radically different idea of what "being good" is: Sacrificial love. Laying down what we want for the sake of other people. Realizing that we are sick and broken and need a doctor's prescription to be made well again. Loving those who hate us. Praying for those who persecute us. Treating others like they are more important than we are. And a whole host of other counter-intuitive things.

We trust that this is what we were made for and that when God renews the world the way he renewed Jesus at the Resurrection, those things will be shown for what they are and God will use them to finally heal the world.

So in response to the first comment: I would still be nice (but probably a little less so). I would in general no be a jerk (when I liked the other person). I would not be raping or killing anyone but I can tell you that I would be WAY more likely to use people for my own pleasure rather than seeking to lay my life down for their sake.

I would change if it was proven there was no God.

What you would see is all the little ways I chose evil get magnified. Because I know that I am not a good person. I am selfish. I am lustful. I am arrogant. I probably think I am better than you. I have addictions. I am apathetic toward the suffering in the world. I am concerned first and foremost with my own comfort.

And if there is no God at the center of this who died so I could reclaim what I am supposed to be then there is no reason for me to change.

If this is all there is, then what the hell does radical self-sacrifice get you?

Ok. That is it for now. Again, feel free to comment and ask questions (like, why didn't you talk about the Holy Spirit?). Look what the last comments did!

If This Is All There Is: Part 2

2010-09-05T15:57:00.000-07:00

This is the second part of some thoughts I have on the potential implications of atheism being true. I am not so much concerned with the logic of whether or not it is true, just the implications if it is.

In my last post I talked about just a few initial thoughts on the role of humans if we are not created in the image of God. One thing I said was that everything we do it based on the need for survival and reproduction.

I think there are a lot of things that make sense if we are concerned for our survival. We ought to take care of the planet. We ought to ensure that future generations are able to have the same, if not better chances for survival than we do.

But that is assuming that the survival of humanity, or any other life on earth, matters.

What does the universe lose if we go extinct? What does it lose if our sun destroys our solar system? Well, given the sheer volume of stars and galaxies in the universe, I would say that it doesn't lose much.

The universe doesn't care about us. It is unfeeling and indifferent. And eventually it will run out of energy and everything will stop. At that point, there will be no one to care that we are gone or that we ever existed.

The universe, the planet, and human history aren't working toward anything. There is no goal. There is no story being told. It is just a bunch of materials spinning around and crashing into each other.

What is the ultimate hope of all our endeavors? There isn't one and there can never be one unless we can figure out a way to outlast the universe.

If we bring it home to a personal level, how much can one person possibly matter in this universe? Not at all I would guess. How many billions of people have lived and died and now have no one to remember them. They aren't any better than the flies that hatched from the dead rat that filled my room a few years ago. They were here and now they are gone. I may remember them but I will be gone one day and that will be it.

Everyone will be forgotten. It doesn't matter what they do in their lives. Even the most famous of us: Julius Caesar, Jesus, King Tut, William the Conqueror, Leonardo Da Vinci, Ben Franklin, Napoleon, Abraham Lincoln, Queen Elizabeth, William Shakespeare, Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Hitler, and Mother Theresa will all be forgotten at some point. Nothing they did will matter. What hope do I have?

So why does it matter how I live my life? Why does it even matter if I don't pass my genes on? I doesn't matter at all. My life, my existence is utterly meaningless.

When people argue so vehemently for atheism, I think they are actually arguing for the meaninglessness of existence. That is depressing.

I mean, if I died right now, sure, some people would be sad. But who cares? They don't matter. How they feel about things doesn't matter. They will eventually move on and get on with their meaningless lives.

Everything we do is meaningless. Every thought we have is just chemicals reacting to stimuli. There is no such thing as truth, only what helps us survive. And survival is not concerned with truth. Deer don't care that I don't want to hurt them, but they run away. Why? Because it helps them survive.

People say we invented God to explain things we couldn't understand. But the same brain that invented God also invented rationality. Even this whole ramble I have been on is nothing more than popping and fizzing in my brain because it thinks it will help it survive.

But who cares if it does or not? I think the only animals who would miss us if we were gone would be dogs. But they would get over it.

Basically, I think that when someone argues for a purely naturalistic universe, they never carry the weight of their argument to its full conclusion. And the reason for that is they would inevitably end up in total despair.

And so they (and we?) keep deceiving ourselves. Thinking that anything we do has any purpose that matters. That sucks.

If this is all there is.

(Note: As mentioned in my last post, I might be totally wrong about this stuff. There are smarter people than me thinking through it. If you are one of them, please let me know.)

If This Is All There Is

2010-09-04T23:04:00.000-07:00

I hesitate to write this post. Mostly because I don't even know all the things I don't know, still have much to learn, and am potentially unleashing an ugly comment war when it is done. So for the two or three people that will actually read this, please be civil. Thanks.

There is a lot of heated debate in our culture right now about whether or not there is a God. Whether or not religion a poison in our society.

Sometimes these debates and questions are fascinating. Sometimes I put down something I have read and feel like belief in God is absolutely necessary. Sometimes I question my sanity.

So today I will start a series of posts where I wrestle with the implications of there being no God, no ultimate purpose for the universe.

What if this is all there is?

One thing I find curiously absent from a lot of discussion is all the monumental, earth-shattering changes that could (and should?) take place if we finally decided that there was no God.

I want to try to apply this line of thinking to as many different aspects of life as I can. I am also totally willing to be wrong on all of them since, as I mentioned before, I don't know what I don't know.

But where to start?

I'll just start somewhere and go where the rabbit trail leads. This may end up as a ramble that briefly touches on many different topics.

If this is all there is, then human beings are not created in the image of God. We are simply a smart form of primate. Yes? We can't logically say that we have anymore right to live than any other species on this planet.

I might take it further. Farther? I can't remember which one it is. Anyway, what ecological niche do we fill? What do we contribute to this planet? What bad things would happen if we suddenly weren't here anymore?

Why should we be allowed to live?

Because my understanding of human history is we show up somewhere and everything starts dying. Seen a dodo bird or giant moa lately? No, you haven't because we killed them all.

We over-hunted the buffalo. We are over-fishing the seas. According to this site: "Meteorite impacts notwithstanding, scientists approximate that present extinction rates are 1,000 to 10,000 times higher than the average natural extinction rate." In case you were wondering, the "present extinction rate" is caused almost entirely by humans. We are better at killing things off than anything else this earth has ever tried.

I think you could make the case that we are bad for this planet. And I didn't even talk about global warming.

If this is all there is and humans are only what I described above, then how can we say humans have rights? Nothing has a "right" to do anything. There is only what one person, group, species can do in order to survive. And if you can't do what it takes to survive then you don't get to pass on your genes and humanity is better for it because we weeded out some of the weak ones.

I hate to say this but who cares if a third of Africa is dying of AIDS? They don't affect my life at all. They weren't lucky enough to be born into a place that didn't have to deal with that. I will be able to survive and pass my genes on just fine without them. Plus, wouldn't it be better if there were a few less of us murderous humans running around?

And no, I don't care that it is people from my culture doing most of the murdering. My job is survival thank you very much.

Why is sex-slavery wrong? If anything, it is a brilliant way to force people to reproduce. Why do children have a right to a normal childhood? Why is it wrong to pay someone to have sex with a kid?

Tell me why it was wrong for those guys to fly a plane into the WTC? Tell me why anything is right or wrong.

The only thing that matters is survival and reproduction. The loss of a few thousand of us will not hurt our chances. There are over six billion of us. We are doing just fine.

That is, of course, if this is all there is.

Coming up in part 2: Why survival doesn't even matter

The Gift of Going First

2010-08-31T23:44:00.000-07:00

In keeping with my one-post-old tradition of reposting something from someone else's blog, here is an old one from Stuff Christians Like. I just copied and pasted it but here is the link to the original post.

Have you ever been in a small group with people that confess safe sins? Someone will say, “I need to be honest with everyone tonight. I need to have full disclosure and submit myself in honesty. Like ODB from the Wu-Tang Clan, I need to give it to you raw!” So you brace yourself for this crazy moment of authenticity and the person takes a deep breath and says … “I haven’t been reading my Bible enough.”

Ugh, you, dirty, dirty sinner. I’m not even sure I can be in a small group with you any more. Not reading your Bible enough, that is disgusting. And then once he’s gone someone else will catch the safe sin bug too and will say, “I need to be real too. I haven’t been praying enough.”

Two of you in the same room? Wow, freak shows! I can barely stand it.

But what happens when people start confessing safe sins is that everyone else in the room starts concealing their real junk. I mean if I was surrounded by confessions like that in the eighth grade I would have instantly known I couldn’t follow the “not reading my Bible enough” guy with my own story:

“Soooo, this weekend when it was snowing I told my parents I was going to the dump to sled but instead I was really just digging through a 200 foot mountain of warm trash looking for pornography.” And the same principle would have applied to me in my late 20s. I wouldn’t have been honest sharing my struggles with Internet porn if everyone else confessed their “safe enough for small group” sins.

And that sucks. It sucks that as broken as we all are, as desperate as we all are for a Savior, we feel compelled to clean ourselves up when we get around each other.

But this blog has taught me something unbelievable. If I stop writing tomorrow, this will be the lesson I cling to the most.

When you go first, you give everyone in your church or your community or your small group or your blog, the gift of going second.

It’s so much harder to be first. No one knows what’s off limits yet and you’re setting the boundaries with your words. You’re throwing yourself on the honesty grenade and taking whatever fall out that comes with it. Going second is so much easier. And the ease only grows exponentially as people continue to share. But it has to be started somewhere. Someone has to go first and I think it has to be us.

We’re called to give the gift of second to the people in our lives. To live the truth, to share the truth, to be the truth.

Let’s give the gift of going second.

To be clear: I did not write this. I am just sharing it. But it is SO true.

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism

2010-08-27T16:28:00.000-07:00

I read the Jesus Creed blog everyday. Scot McKnight brings up some fascinating topics and read a lot of very interesting books. One he has been working through lately is a book called "Almost Christian" by Kenda Creasy Dean.

I have not read the book. But in reading about the book I have been introduced to her basic thesis: (I am copying this right off of his blog. If there are blogging copywrite things I don't know about, please let me know)

Dean knows that the best description of youth faith is Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, a set of factors that emerged from the National Study of Youth and Religion (see Christian Smith's writings). What is MTD?

1. God exists, God created, and watches over the world.
2. God wants us to be good, nice and fair to each other.
3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
4. God is not involved except when I need God to solve a problem.
5. Good people go to heaven when they die.

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. That is a mouthful. I am just going to go ahead and say that I agree with her for the most part but I want to hear what you all think.

I would be very much interested in this question: Assuming that MLD is NOT what following Jesus is about, then what is following Jesus (being a Christian) about? Why is Jesus necessary? Why should people give their lives and put their trust in Jesus?

Please feel free to comment. I want to know what people think. Please also be respectful of people who comment something you may disagree with.

Just a quick note: No one ever got crucified for telling people to be nice and happy.

Where Moth and Rust (and Termites!) Destroy

2010-08-14T17:20:00.000-07:00

I recently read a book called "The Hopeful Skeptic" by Nick Fiedler. In the beginning of the book, he and his wife go on a 14-month trip around the world. As they are packing and putting things into storage and throwing other things away, he realizes that he has a peculiar connection to his books.

His books are trophies. They are conquests. They are badges of honor. Ones he hasn't read still sit on the shelf because he wants to look more intelligent.

His books begin to define him and give him value.

There was a lot of thought-provoking stuff in that book but I think I connected the most with that one little anecdote.

I have a large bookshelf that is built into my wall. It was one of the things I was most excited about when I moved into my new room last year. I have a lot of books and it would be great to have a place to prominently display them. And like Nick, they are a source of pride for me. It is a good feeling having an 11-book series all displayed in order with the knowledge that I have actually read all of them. There is a nice boxed set of Lord of the Rings. There is a growing collection of books by N.T. Wright so you know that I am smart.

I have a bunch of books around that I have no intention of reading again but I think they might be of use to someone someday. Then I can be the cool person who lent the book to the other person and helped them fix their life.

Just make sure you give it back to me.

The shelves have a sort of order to them. The shelf in this story was the one with my practicum books and a few other random ones that didn't fit anywhere else like Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything" and Michael Crichton's "Timeline."

Last night I grabbed Timeline off the shelf to read the opening paragraph. I noticed that the book was stuck to the shelf. I gave it a good tug and it let go. As I turned it around to open it, I noticed dirt clods on the edges. I forced the book open, which broke the clods. What was in them? I am glad you asked!

Termites.

There were termites in my book! I inspected the shelf a little closer and noticed that they were building a colony out of my bookshelf.

A quick note: Here is a list of other things I have found in my house in the last few years: Kittens, spiders, giant spiders (notice how far south they are found), roaches, rats, a plague of flies (presumably from a dead rat. sick.), and flooding. This was a new one.

They were eating the binding on the books. It had been a while since I had looked closely at some of the books but they were literally rotting away on my shelf. It was disgusting.

My landlord came over and we picked up a chunk of books, threw them away and sprayed a termite killer on the shelf. This was repeated until we had them all.

All in all, I lost about 20 books. I have an empty shelf that is doubling as a termite graveyard.

And Jesus' words from the sermon on the mount started playing in my head.

19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

It was a eerie and very tangible reminder that the things we use to define ourselves are temporary. You never know when you will come home one day to find a termite colony eating your book collection.

Moral of the story? Termites are gross and don't put your hope in possessions.

A Choir as Big as The Internet

2010-07-07T21:59:00.000-07:00

I sang in choir for about 9 years beginning my freshman year in high school. It changed my life. This composer wrote one of my favorite choral songs of all time. This is not it but it is still pretty dang cool. I want to see if I can get in on something like this. Enjoy!

Eric Whitacre: A choir as big as the Internet | Video on TED.com

What We Might REALLY Be Saying

2010-06-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

The first thing I would like to do is completely undermine any shred of credibility I have ever had and say that I just purchased "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga on iTunes. Yes, you read that right. It is so freakin' catchy!

Now that I have all my unconfessed sin out in the open, I would like to share a thought I had today in church. It had nothing to do with the sermon. So to the guy who preached today, this is not about you buddy or anything you had to say. However, I totally tuned you out when I was writing all this stuff down. Sorry.

We like to say that following Jesus is first and foremost a relationship. On the whole, I like that description. I don't actually think we take it far enough most of the time but that is not the point.

My point is that through all our teaching on this "relationship," are we unintentionally totally undermining the entire thing with the way we do Sunday morning? Relationships are about interaction. They are about communication, spending time together, doing things together, living life together, figuring out and working through conflicts, celebrating. You know, the things you do with people you care about.

I am trying to think of any relationships I have that resemble a pastor giving a sermon.

Connection? If week after week after week the primary way we learn about God is through a monologue speech, doesn't that affect our perception of the subject of that monologue?

It is possible that I am making too big a leap in my logic but I think there might be something to it.

Many of us think God doesn't speak to us. We want someone to speak like a pastor does. We want him to lay out 3 key steps to improving our lives (preferably they all start with the same letter and end in "-tion"). But I think most people who "hear" from God experience something much more subtle and cryptic. Something more mysterious. Sometimes it is a picture or a word. Sometimes a passage of scripture just punched you in the face like it never did before. Sometimes a friend calls you out on something and you are able to see the world through new eyes.

Nor do my relationships resemble this. When was the last time you sat down with a friend and then launched into a sermon?

Which brings me to my next point. Sermons are not conversational. I don't know about your church, but at mine and MANY others I have been to, the whole set up on Sunday morning is about listening to one person. I do not interact with this person. I am not allowed to ask questions during the sermon.

Though maybe I should try sometime. Boy that would throw everyone off wouldn't it?

Do some of us struggle with seeing God as someone we can interact with? As someone we can't question or argue with? I believe we can, though we need to be prepared to get Job-like answers.

And in my relationships, I interact. I ask questions. I get asked questions. We deepen our relationship with each other. We get to know each other more. I don't know that I have ever felt like I knew my pastor better and had a deeper relationship with him after a sermon. He certainly doesn't know me any better. I probably know a little more ABOUT him and have heard some funny story about his kids or his family's frequent stops at In-n-Out burger on their vacations. But there is no deepening of relationship.

And because of that, neither of us are transformed.

When I get to interact with someone, the chances of me having a life-changing experience go up dramatically.

Now don't get me wrong. I love a good sermon. I love giving good ones. I want to be a better preacher. But I can't rely on that. I have to realize the limits of what it can do. I have to understand what I communicate that has nothing to do with the words I say.

The sermon must be accompanied by relationship. The sermon must be able to be challenged and questioned and wrestled with in the context of community and friendship.

So thanks pastor man this morning for giving me some space to think about this.

Sunday Morning

2010-05-07T17:16:00.000-07:00

Nothing better than laughing at yourself right?

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

Control Freak

2010-04-26T23:35:00.000-07:00

I have been listening to and reading a lot of Tim Keller's stuff recently. I like that guy and I like that he used to be on InterVarsity Staff. Boo-yah!

When you read enough of someone or listen to them enough, you start to get a fuller picture of what is going on in their heads and hearts. You start to notice repeated themes and phrases. I have found this to be true with a lot of people like N.T. Wright, Rob Bell, and Pastor Keller.

One of the main things that Keller talks about is idols: Good things that become false gods in our lives. Money is not a bad thing. But when it becomes the most important thing in your life, we have a problem. The same can be said for things like relationships and success and patriotism. None of those are bad things but they can easily take the place of God in our lives.

But even these things are just a symptom of a greater idol.

And I think that for many of us, myself included, that idol is control.

(I will at this point stop talking about "we" and start referring to myself.)

I want to be in control of my life. I literally had that revelation tonight. I have never thought of myself as a person who wants to have control of my life but tonight that became uncomfortably clear to me.

You see, some people like to make schedules. Some people are very disciplined. That is their way of controlling their life. I don't like schedules. I don't like making "to do" lists. I don't like being disciplined. If you are familiar with Myers-Briggs personality stuff, I am the poster-boy for "P."

P's like flexibility and adapting to situations as they come. I don't like to schedule stuff because something more important or enjoyable might come up instead.

To cut to the point, when I DON'T schedule something or commit to something, I maintain control.

When I make a commitment to something, I chose to relinquish control to the commitment. If I decided to run a marathon, I would relinquish control to the training program.

And if I became more disciplined in my prayer life and time meditating on Scripture, I would be relinquishing control to God.

That might be the scariest one of all.

if I choose to obey God, I lose control. I no longer live life on my terms. And dammit, I want to live life on my terms! My terms say that in each moment, I should be able to do what I want. Sometimes what I want and what I am committed to line up and that is great. But what about when they don't? What about when God is leading me into something that is potentially unpleasant or uncomfortable?

I think I am a control freak! But a reverse control freak. I refuse to let anything else get in the way of what I want to do. I just never quite know what I want to do far enough in advance to schedule it.

So for me, the way to fight it is discipline. It is schedule. It is a list. It is reminding myself that my life is not about me. It is about God and where He is going and what He is doing.

My life is not my own. I was bought with a price.

So I just want to give a little apology to all my organized and scheduled friends who I thought had issues with control. Who knew I had such a big plank in my eye?

Can those things become idols for me? Sure. But I am going to go ahead and say that we are a long way from that being a problem.

Oh Lord have mercy! But this feels like a good discovery. Let's see where it takes me.

I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means

2010-03-21T22:50:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: This post is heavily influenced by the fact that I just started dating a lovely, awesome girl who lives in St. Louis.

This time, the word in question is "love." It gets thrown around a lot and I am not sure that we have a good definition anymore. For many people, it doesn't really mean anything at all. That is a shame. It's a good word.

No, none of this is new. A lot of people have said the same thing so I am just repeating what they said. That doesn't mean it isn't worth revisiting from time to time.

So as I was flying back from the midwest, I decided I would settle on a definition of love that I could use. Once I did that, I redefined some other terms that use the word. Feel free to use them if you want.

Definitions:

Love- Extending one's self for the purpose of nurturing one's own or another's spiritual growth. (I borrowed this from M. Scott Peck's The Road Less Traveled.)

This makes love an action, not a feeling. I think that is really important. You shouldn't have to depend on someone's word alone. I can tell you I love you all day but this definition means that it is backed up with some action.

I Love You- A descriptive statement about one's previous and current behavior regarding the extension of their self for the nurturing of their own or another's spiritual growth.

Q: What do you do?
A: I love you.

You can change it to go with different tenses. So versatile!

Q: What are you doing?
A: I am loving you.

Q: What will you do tomorrow?
A: I will love you.

Q: What have you been doing?
A: I have been loving you.

You should be able to point to specific instances to back these up. I made you dinner. Tell me what is on your mind and I will listen. I will call you tonight. I took care of the kids this morning so you could sleep in.

Yes, saying it is important. But the words should just describe things that already happen.

In Love- The process of tangibly doing some act that nurtures someone's spiritual growth.

Sample conversation:
"Hey, we are going to go catch a movie tonight. Want to come?"

"Sorry my friend, my wife and I are having an important conversation because I am in love with her."

The bottom line for me in all of this is that I am not going to use that word until I can back it up with stuff I have already done and stuff I am doing and stuff I am committing to do.

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." -John 15:13

I used to throw that word around. I said it because I was "supposed" to say it. But not anymore. This lovely, awesome girl, won't hear me say "I love you" until, beyond the shadow of a doubt I have proved it with my actions.

She will experience it long before she hears it.

I will have laid my life down for her. I will have made a sacrifice. I will have hurt for her, bled (hopefully metaphorically) for her, dropped my own wants in favor of hers. That is how she will know. That is how I will know.

Then I will say it.

That is the way the universe works. That is what Jesus did. That is why we can say "Jesus loves you."

He proved it long before he said it.

And Now For Something . . . Completely Different.

2010-02-09T22:58:00.000-08:00

I particularly like the use of the word "Burnination."

The Lost (Older) Son: Part 2

2010-01-22T15:35:00.000-08:00

I just thought I would share this other thing that came to light as we studied this story last night at Bible Study. And before I start, way to go McNary folks for not reading ahead and spoiling the surprise! Such discipline!

Anyway, here is the thing that jumped out at me last night. It was verse 28.

28"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.

Someone asked why the father leaves the party. Well, the obvious answer is that he is trying to get his son to join the party. But this time, all the pieces fell into place. Let's take a look back at Luke 15.

Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.'

Notice a similarity? The shepherd leaves the 99 other sheep to find the one who was lost. The father leaves a raging party to go look for his son. His lost son. And it isn't the son you would think.

The older son wanted a party. In my last post I said that he should have gone and looked for his lost brother. I still think that is true. But I see another way he could have had a party. He could have let his father find him and bring him home. Had he accepted the invitation to come in, he would have had everything he ever wanted.

Because remember what the father does when he finds things? He celebrates! He was already celebrating his younger son coming home. Now he wanted to celebrate his older son doing the same. He was trying to throw his older son a party.

Imagine that party! Imagine the rejoicing of God when the whole family gets together.

So what do I take from this? The joy of God is found when we go find lost people and bring them home. The joy of God is found when we accept his invitations for us to quit slaving in the fields and join the party. The joy of God is found when we begin to experience his heart for the lost. The joy of God is found when we rejoice in someone else being found.

I love this stuff. I really do.

The Lost (Older) Son and the Heart of His Father

2010-01-19T23:59:00.000-08:00

I am writing this at the risk of giving away the "answers" at my Bible Study on Thursday but I just couldn't wait.

One thing I absolutely love to do is study the Bible with other people. I regularly learn all kinds of things from the people I am studying with, even if they have never looked at Scripture before. It is one of the beauties of Bible study.

On Monday night, my staff partner Mike, and I were looking at the second part of the parable of the lost son in Luke 15. Here is the text we were studying:

25"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'

28"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'

31" 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "

Now, I have studied this passage many many times. But I have learned that even if that is so, God can still reveal something new to me. This was one of those times. There is much to talk about in this passage. I just want to focus on the new thing I saw.

It has long been clear to me that the older son had a screwy relationship with his father. Somehow he got the idea that in order for his father to love him and celebrate him, he needed to work and slave away in the field. He also had to do everything right. So rather than actually be a son and have a relationship with his dad, he was out in the field.

It occurred to me that the son didn't really know his father. Because if he did, he would have known that his father was an incredibly generous, forgiving, and loving man.

He would have also known what kind of things caused his father to celebrate and throw parties.

Earlier in the chapter, Jesus tells a story of a shepherd that loses a sheep. He searches for it and finds it and throws a party with all of his friends. Then Jesus tells a story of a woman who loses a coin. She searches all over her house for it and when she finds it, she throws a party for all her friends. Then in the first part of the lost son story, the father throws a massive party because his son has been found.

The common theme? God celebrates when he finds things that are lost. The spiritual interpretation Jesus gives is that there is a massive party in heaven when sinners repent and turn to God.

So if the son had really known his father, wouldn't he have known that his father absolutely couldn't get enough of finding things?

Instead, he spends all his time working and slaving away and doing all the right things trying to get his dad to notice and celebrate. But it would appear that his dad doesn't care about all that. He cares about having his lost son come home.

So maybe the older son should have gone looking for his brother. Maybe then he really would have understood his father and entered into the joy of the party. I think Tim Keller talks about this in one of his books but it just clicked for me as I was looking at this.

So maybe when we want to deepen our relationship with God, the answer isn't found in doing more of the right things. It isn't found in slaving away. It isn't found in going to church more or reading the bible more, though those are really good things to do.

If we want to know our Heavenly Father in a deep way, to be close to his heart, to experience him in a new and fresh way, then maybe we should go looking for lost people and help them come home.

I feel like something very significant happened to me while I was studying that passage. God, help me put flesh and bones on it and experience the joy that you feel when someone comes home. Amen.

Urbana 09

2010-01-17T16:43:00.000-08:00

So I was going to write a whole post on my experience at Urbana 09 but instead, I would like to share with you two highlights from the plenary sessions.

The first is from day 3. Oscar Muriu, a pastor from Kenya spoke. This is maybe the best beginning to a talk I have ever heard. It seriously kicked my butt and I hope it kicks yours. What do you think?

Money and Power: Oscar Muriu from Urbana 09 on Vimeo.

The next one is from the next night. Sunder Krishnan is a pastor in Toronto. This was probably the best teaching on prayer I have ever heard. Yes, I am using a lot of superlatives but it really was that good. Enjoy.

Pray Big and Pray Bold: Sunder Krishnan from Urbana 09 on Vimeo.

If these make you interested, you can watch the rest of the stuff from Urbana here

Ok. That is all. Carry on.

I Have a Hilarious Life: Part 3!

2010-01-02T13:37:00.000-08:00

Well, it is about time for another installment of my never-ending series chronicling the misadventures of an InterVarsity staff-worker.

Part one involved a canceled ferry to Catalina Island, an overnight stay on the floor of a church with 40 other staff, and a 4am wake up call. And no one complained or even questioned it.

Part Duex involved a last minute attempt to cross the midwest where the next step never seemed to be known until, well, the last minute. To be fair, it wasn't an official "I have a hilarious life" but it will be an honorary member of the club.

And now, part 3.

Every three years, InterVarsity puts on a giant student missions conference in St. Louis called Urbana. (It used to be held in Urbana, Illinois. Hence the name.)As a staff for IVCF, I get to help put it on and work at it. This year I was going to help with the morning Bible Studies. Staff need to show up a day early for a banquet and training.

A few days before I needed to leave, I started to hear reports of bad storms hitting the midwest. That would worry some people, but not me. Can anyone name anything I can do to change the weather? Nope. Didn't think so.

I left my house for the airport on the day after Christmas dark and early at 4am. Usually, when there is a big IVCF conference, you can count on running into other staff. This time was no different. I actually ran into someone who was with me during the part 1 debacle.

That should have been my first warning.

There were no problems for the next 6 hours. I watched some of Lost season 5 on the plane and tried to sleep a bit. As soon as the plane landed in Chicago I checked my messages and got one telling me the flight to St. Louis had been canceled. Now, this has never happened to me before and honestly, I don't really know what to do about it.

The other staff and I tried to get on standby for the next flight but as the afternoon continued, two things happened. Each upcoming flight got canceled and more and more staff joined our posse. By about 6pm, we had over 20 people with us and no hope of flying for at least another day.

Some in our group were frantically trying to figure something out. I was not one of them. Welcome to my problem solving strategy. I was sitting reading a book most of the time waiting for someone to come up with an idea. I am not saying this is the best way to handle things. It isn't. But it was what I did and would you know it, someone came up with something.

An overnight bus ride leaving from Grand Central Station at 11:55pm. 20 bucks. Let's do it.

We hopped on the train to Chicago where we hung out for the next several hours. I ate really bad pizza, tried to sleep on a bench, listened to music from Glee, and played freecell on the dirty floor.

The bus was a double decker and we heard people comment that they had never seen so many people on it. I think there were upwards of 36 of us at that point. After a scuffle involving a drunk passenger that ate up a half hour, we were on our way. Miraculously, I was able to sleep for some of it.

I made it into my hotel room in St. Louis exactly 24 hours after I left.

Oh yeah, did I mention that I didn't receive my checked luggage for two days? That will put a damper on any trip. I spent a good deal of energy trying not to physically exert myself or lift my arms up.

While I was in it, this whole thing seemed hilarious, ridiculous, and frustrating. But when I stepped back and had a little perspective, this didn't seem that rough. There are TONS of people who have been in way worse situations than that and I do not envy them at all. Take, for example, my new staff friend from the Bay Area who got his luggage on the last day of the conference. That was a full five days after he left for it. Now that sucks!

So now my misadventures have taken the form of boats, trains, and planes! Bring it on automobiles! BRING IT!!!!

Stay tuned for my decompression from Urbana.

Happy New Year!

2 Stories About 4 Women

2009-12-23T22:50:00.000-08:00

I had a fantastic day.

There was quality time with family and friends, travel into San Francisco on an amazingly beautiful December day, and two great stories that, well, were great.

At the risk of sounding incredibly un-masculine, the first story was the musical "Wicked" and the movie "Julie and Julia." Both of these stories focused on two women and I am increasingly becoming an advocate of trying to immerse yourself is stories about people who are different than you in some way. Gender seems like an obvious place to start.
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"Wicked" was rad. That's kind of all there is to it. I am listening to "Defying Gravity" right now and will probably have it stuck in my head for a good long while.
I already knew the song, but I had never seen it in context. It is totally intense and I cried.

This will not be the first time I tell you of how I cried today.

Imagine that what you think is the real story of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz is the propaganda told by the winning side. Oz was becoming an increasingly oppressive Kingdom for the animals and munchkins. Elphaba, who would become the wicked witch of the west, caught on and began to take a stand against it. I'll try not to say any more of the plot, which has some great new twists on the origins of the beloved characters from the story, because it was fun to discover it and try to guess what was going to happen. I was right some of the time and totally wrong on others.

But what was really compelling to me was the arcs of the two main characters, Elphaba and GAH-linda. They both have to respond to the larger forces of the world crushing their idealism and innocence. One has it done to them and the other watches and must realize and atone for her part in it.

After watching it, I immediately wanted to see it again to catch all I missed. Wow that was a great show. I do not go to enough things like that. I forget how much I love them and how inspired they make me feel. Somewhere someone thought that show up and years later, it was made and now people all over the world get to experience it and have their lives enriched by it.

That is called Culture Making people! And speaking of that . . .

I also sat down and watched "Julie and Julia" with my mom. She is feeling pretty sick so this was kind of a no brainer. Sick mom at Christmas + movie I haven't seen = you gotta watch it.

It was a nice change from the intensity of the story in Wicked, but I think I was still worked up from it so I got teary eyed a couple of times. What got me was watching Julie and Julia find joy in the creative act of cooking and sharing that joy with others. And Meryl Streep is amazing. I also just saw "Doubt."

At every turn, someone was telling her that her vision of the french cookbook for americans was not good enough. But she knew that it had to be the way it was and eventually someone was able to understand it and understand her. The scenes where she found out they wanted to publish it and then when she received the copy of the book were so full of joy that I just gave in.

I also really enjoyed Amy Adams' character just going for it and trying something crazy. Over 500 recipes in a year. Not bad. Kind of makes me want to try something like that. I love how her big goal was just a series of short term goals because she knew that she had a tendency to start things and not finish. Hmm, sounds like someone I know.

Anyone have any ideas of crazy things I could do like that?

Oh, and let's hear it for the husbands in that movie! Talk about supportive, encouraging, lay your life down type guys (with some minor hiccups. Nobody's perfect.). They were their wives biggest fans and advocates. Loved it.

A good story is a good story. I just typed that sentence and accidentally typed "A good story is a God story." Maybe I had a point there. hmmmmmmm . . .

Merry Christmas you old savings and loan!

Following Mary

2009-11-27T23:56:00.000-08:00

I was prepping a teaching I am going to be doing next week on the Advent Conspiracy when I felt compelled to stop and reflect on what I was reading. There was this overwhelming urge for me to process what I was discovering. There is quite literally no one around right now for me to talk to so writing into the void is the next best thing. This post is me getting a chance to "think out loud."

Advent Conspiracy is an attempt from a few pastors (though it has grown much bigger) to get back to the radical roots of the Christmas story. How did the story of God coming down as a helpless baby to a poor and oppressed people to set them and the rest of humanity free from the bondage of sin get turned into a season of mass consumerism?

A great question.

Anyway, in the book they wrote, one of the first things they do is talk about Mary, Jesus' mother. She kind of jumped of the page. She jumped and started going somewhere, so I followed her. Mary made me remember that though there are many aspects to the story of God's redemption, one that we often forget in the wealthy west is the socio-political.

Mary was a young middle-eastern teenager of an oppressed and poor people. She grew up in a religious culture that had deep roots and affected almost every aspect of life. There was a foreign superpower occupying her country trying to bring their version of peace to her people by means of overwhelming military might. In her culture, at the time that Gabriel announced to her what would happen, she was about as powerless as a person could be.

Sometimes I like to think about who certain characters in the Gospels would be if the story were told in our day. Zaccheus becomes the leader of a prostitution ring and the pharisees become, well, me most of the time but that is another story.

But tonight, Mary didn't change. I think it is totally appropriate to think of her as a young, unwed teenager in our culture. Tonight, in 2009, she was a young middle-eastern teenager of an oppressed and poor people. She grew up in a religious culture that had deep roots and affected almost every aspect of life. There was a foreign superpower occupying her country trying to bring their version of peace to her people by means of overwhelming military might.

Maybe the only thing that changed was the location. She moved from Nazareth to a village outside of Baghdad.

Mary is still around today. The similarities of the story are undeniable. If it happened again today, it would not surprise me to learn that it happened in Iraq.

But that puts me in an awkward position if I want to put myself into the Christmas Story.

I am not a Shepherd.

I am not a Magi.

I am not Joseph.

My country is occupying Mary's country. My country is trying to impose (for good or ill. Time will tell) its own version of peace primarily through the use of its military.

That makes me a citizen of Rome.

The people of Rome were totally oblivious to the birth of Christ. How would they have known? They were focused on the emperor. He was the Son of God to them. He was their hope. He was their salvation.

The only way a Roman citizen would begin to understand the significance of the birth of Christ would be to go to Israel. They would have to learn about the history of the Jewish people. They would have to choose into the suffering of those people (a difficult thing to do as they were largely responsible for it; they and people like them through history) to get a sense of the longing for redemption.

A curious sense of dread sets in. We have a god over here in America too. No, I don't think it is the president. He doesn't have the kind of power that Caesar had. I think our god is consumerism. Our consumerism oppresses people all over the world. We have no idea what we are doing. I am sure many of the normal citizens of Rome had no idea of what they were doing either.

If I really want to understand this story I claim to be true, then do I have to intentionally seek out the poor and oppressed? That seems to me to be the place where all the significant parts of the story play out.

That's where Mary is. That's where Jesus was born.

Why do I think that Jesus was born in that manger and then moved into the suburbs to hang out with rich comfortable people?

What story do I really believe? What story I am living? Am I worshiping Caesar or Jesus? Who is Lord?

I could probably go on for a while. This is only the beginning of the conversation and the process. There is so much more to say and so many things I totally didn't even bring up so I am going to stop here.

That is where Mary led me tonight. Thanks Mary. I needed that. What next?

The Gospel According to Halo

2009-11-22T01:24:00.000-08:00

This idea comes after spending WAY too much time playing video games in the last two days. It was birthed in the real world during a conversation over Qdoba burritos with my housemate, Ross.

So Ross and I were briefly thinking about why we play so much video games. We thought about what exactly it is about them that makes us and a lot of other (mostly) guys play them so much. I think there is something about staring at a screen that messes with your brain and gets you addicted but that isn't going to preach very well now is it? But there must be something about the games themselves that makes us so into them.

I think that video games offer us compelling and exciting escapes from our normal, mundane, uninteresting lives. Video games have epic stories of which we are the center, interesting characters that share the story with us (this is multiplied when you factor in online gaming), clear objectives, an empowered existence, and finally, resurrection. There are other things, but those are the first five that I thought of.

Epic Stories

Halo is about saving earth from an evil race of aliens bent on destroying us. Assassin's Creed is about uncovering a centuries-old conspiracy surrounding the foundations of everything it means to be human. Call of Duty is about stopping the outbreak of World War 3. Shoot, Super Mario Brothers is about the rescue of a princess from an evil Dinosaur and restoring peace an prosperity to an entire Kingdom of strange toadstool people.

The things we do in video games are important. Our success means the human race survives. Or it means the toads get to live in peace. Either way, we are part of something big and significant. The world of video games is a world where things matter.

I wonder if we experience a lack of this in our own lives. Do we see ourselves caught up in an epic story where our actions contribute to the redemption and restoration of this world? Do our lives matter?

Scripture would tell us that yes, our lives matter. They matter immensely. And we ARE caught up in the greatest story the world has ever and will ever know. It is THE story upon which every other story is based. And we are living it.

It is the story of God creating the world. Of God and human beings working together to make something beautiful and good out of it.

It is the story of the rebellion. When humans chose to go their own way and not listen to the one who gave them life. And the consequences that followed.

It is the story of God's rescue plan. He called out a people all for himself who would begin to push back on the rebellion but who would ultimately become a part of it. His plan would not be thwarted. God himself came down as one of the humans. he showed us a better way to live. He started a revolution culminating with his death for the sins of the rebellious humans and his Resurrection. God had brought forth a new creation to push back against the rebellion and bring healing, restoration, renewal, and reconciliation.

It is the story of the people who chose to join the revolution. Those who let new creation transform them and the world around them. They keep pushing back against the rebellion in the hope that one day, Jesus will complete the healing work and make this world good again.

That is a compelling story. Living in that makes our lives matter. It makes our choices important. Everything matters now because we are bringing new creation into the world in the power of God.

That is the story he invites us into. The question is, do we want in?

Interesting Characters

There are a couple of places you could go with this one. You could talk about how the characters in video games are, well, interesting. They often have mysterious pasts. They do what needs to be done. They are not always nice and don't always have the best social skills. Master Chief is not known for his wit. He meets the Arbiter, an alien who is a traitor to his own people because he doesn't agree with them or their nefarious ambitions.

They live lives we wish we could have. The story they find themselves in calls them to live an extraordinary life. They accept the challenge.

Maybe when we are able to see ourselves as part of the story, we will see the ways God is calling us to live an extraordinary life. The story will require much of us and it will transform us. There are no boring people in the Kingdom of God. He will use and transform anyone who makes themselves available.

Another place you could go with this is the rise of multiplayer games. We want to be in the story with others. We want to share the quest with friends. Even if it is racing around rainbow road.

Community needs a purpose. And adventure was never meant to be done alone. In single player games, your character meets up with people who will help them along or reveal more information to them. In mulit-player games, there are actually other people there with us.

God is inviting us to do this adventure together and to deeply know the people who are with us. Who knows what the person sitting next to us might end up becoming? What might God do with them? When we all start letting God transform us, what might we be capable of?

Clear Objectives

I may not know exactly where the story in the game I am playing is going, but I know with certainty what my next objective is. I may not know HOW I am going to achieve it, but I know what the goal is. I have to beat that boss. I have to destroy the outpost. I have to slay the dragon. I have to kill everyone else on the other team. I have to rescue the princess.

There are always bad guys we know we can fight. There is rarely any ambiguity in a video game.

We know the objectives in video games. There is rarely any doubt about what we need to to. There is clarity of purpose.

Our lives are not always so simple. How many times have we wondered what our purpose was? How many times have we not known what we were supposed to do next? How many times have we not known what was harmful to us and what was good?

I think we react differently in these situations. Some people, the go-getters, try to make something happen. They try to create adventure and a compelling story. Sometimes they succeed. Other times, they end up causing a lot of trouble and pain for themselves.

Some people, when they don't know what to do, do nothing. This is me. Actually, when I don't know what to do, I often play video games. Why? Well, there I know what I am supposed to do. I have purpose.

What would it be like to trust God each step of the way? What would it look like to keep his objectives in mind and let those guide us. Love God and love people. Help people around me experience and enter into the new creation that God has brought forth into the world.

What would my days be like if I woke up every morning and reminded myself of God's objectives for myself and for others? What if we started doing that together? Oh man. That would be awesome. The rebellion would totally get PWNED!!!!

Empowered Existence.

Let's face it, in video games you get to do cool stuff. You can run faster, jump higher, and generally do things that no human being will ever be able to do. I just played this game called "prototype." I could shape-shift into any person I wanted to. I could turn my hands into giant claws. I could run up the side of skyscrapers. I could cover the entire length of Manhattan in minutes.

Who doesn't want super powers? When I play a video game, I get to vicariously experience a life where I can stretch beyond the limits of my frail humanity.

When we compare ourselves to Master Chief, Samus, or even Mario (the brother can become invincible, shoot fireballs, ride a dinosaur, FLY, and hold his breath indefinitely underwater!) our lives are quite boring. We can't do things that are on par with that stuff.

And that leaves us stuck doesn't it. If this whole epic story thing is true, what the heck can we do about it? I can't push back the rebellion.

Or can I?

God's rescue plan included Jesus. And Jesus empowered people to proclaim and bring the Kingdom. He gave them authority to do the things he did. He even said his followers would do greater things than he. When you stop and think about that, it is pretty rad. That guy did some cool stuff.

I may never walk on water, but I might be able to be a part of someone realizing the truth of the Gospel. I HAVE been a part of that. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I could get involved with the tangible changing of someone's life. I could become an advocate for people who have no voice.

And this is not to mention gifts the Holy Spirit gives us. I have heard from God in prayer and spoken very significant words to people. That seems pretty dang close to super powers to me. Take a look at 1 Corinthians 12-14. When we chose to let God help us build up and encourage others, anything is possible.

Jesus empowers us to be new creations and to bring new creation to the world.

And this brings us to the final point:

Resurrection

Remember when you could run out of lives in a video game and actually have to start over?

Game over has gone the way of the dodo. Now when your character dies, you start over at the last checkpoint. Can you imagine having to get though Halo without dying? That would be SO HAAAAAAARD!!!!

Anyway, video games are built on the idea of resurrection and second chances. Imagin a game where your character died and then you couldn't play the game anymore. That's it. You made a misstep or a mistake, you died, and now you cannot play anymore. You had your chance and you blew it.

That would suck.

Thankfully, that does not happen in video games. No one would play them if that was the case.

But here is the really beautiful part: The fact that you know you can come back means you can take risks. You can try things. You can attempt ridiculous moves in a game because you know that if you fail, you will come back and you can try again.

What if we lived our lives this way? If we were free to fail in the attempt to succeed because we knew we could come back more experienced and try again?

Isn't that what Jesus does? Doesn't he give us second chances? Why don't we risk more? If I was totally free of the fear of failure, I would try all kinds of stuff. And I would epic fail at a lot of it but I wouldn't care! I would know that Jesus was cheering me on and helping me get back up. That is beautiful.

And finally, video gamers know that death is not the end. They know that when their character bites the dust, he will come back. The bad guys in the games cannot EVER succeed because your character can beat death. I can try to complete a level 100 times or more. I will eventually get it. They can't stop me!

Resurrection is built into the fabric of video games and it should be built into the fabric of our faith and our lives. Jesus refuses the game over. It has no power over him. The Covenant and the Koopa Troopas cannot stop him. He came back from the dead and conquered them. He robbed death, our ultimate bad guy, of all its power.

That is the Gospel people!!!

God is inviting us to take part in his epic story together. He is redeeming, restoring, and renewing his creation. He has cut off the rebellion at its source and brought the revolution of new creation. He empowers us to live it out and bring it forth with him. He will be with us no matter what and stick with us to see it through.

The question remains: Do we want in?

A Couple of Conversations

2009-11-13T01:07:00.000-08:00

There have been a few experiences in my life that I would like to write about dealing with cross-cultural relationships, but I can't seem to find the time to write about them.

"But wait," you say. "What are you doing now?"

Good question. I am going to write about something that happened just a few hours ago because it is fresh. Mmmmmmm. Fresh.

If you follow this blog at all, then you know that I work for a campus ministry called InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. I love it and when it is good, it is GOOD. Know what I mean?

So tonight I was in the dorm that I hang out in and was with the people I usually hang out with there. There is this crowd that always hangs out in the lounge. I love that too. I have never seen the lounge of a dorm be used as frequently as this one is by as many people as this one is.

Anyway, I ran into a student that I had been meaning to talk to for a long time. He mentioned to me that he used to be a part of a church but left. One day the pastor there made an apology to the congregation (I think) about how he and other Christians had been hypocritical. The guy I was talking to got really offended and left and I guess that was the end of his involvement with the church.

I was a bit confused by this because I have found that when people fess up to their mistakes and apologize and begin to make it right, others generally respond well and are thankful for it. I have done that before and I think it was received positively.

I explained that to him and it seemed like he had never thought of that before. I thought that was a bit strange but it was fun to watch him mull over this new perspective.

We kept talking and he just kind of blurted out that he hates reading the Bible. It just makes him angry.

I understand.

From our perspective, a lot of the things in the Bible seem at best, outdated. At worst they are oppressive and harmful.

I shared with him something that has been helpful for me. Realizing that the Bible was actually revolutionary for its time and pulled its culture forward has tremendously helped my understanding of what it is saying. It is not trying to keep culture from growing. It is forcing it to grow.

I explained how some of the laws concerning women seem a bit off. But if we think about how women were treated before the laws in Leviticus, we become very grateful for the Bible. Women are treated like people with rights. If you rape a woman, you had better be prepared to provide and care for her for the rest of your life. That is a CRAZY idea for the ancient world.

Then when you factor in Jesus, all bets are off.

"There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." - Galatians 3:28

I am not sure exactly what that passage means, but it is certainly difficult to justify the oppression and dehumanization of anyone after reading it.

This was his response after I said that. I am not even kidding.

"Wow, you just totally made me love Christianity."

WHAT?!?! That . . . just . . . happened.

Oh, we will be having some more conversations. Mark my words.

The next conversation I had happened literally minutes later.

I sat down with some other students and pulled out my computer. I wanted to show them what I talked about last night at our large group meeting because they hadn't been there. I was going over an overview of the story of the Bible using James Choung's True Story method. I created this cool Keynote presentation for it with all kinds of fun graphics. The kids love graphics these days.

I knew a guy who was not a Christian was watching so I was kind of secretly doing it for him. Sneaky.

But when I got done, I turned to him and said "What do you think? As an outsider, what is your opinion?"

"I like it. That is kind of cool. I might have to come back to Bible Study."

WHAT?!?!?

Sometimes you don't believe something could ever work and then something like that happens and you realize how little faith you have.

He came to Bible Study tonight. We'll see what happens.

That all happened in like a half hour. How much time am I wasting?

Those were fantastic conversations. I was not pushy. I was not nervous. I was just talking about stuff I care about with people I care about. And I can't wait to have some more.

What did you do last friday?

2009-11-04T00:17:00.000-08:00

Largest collegiate group ever doing the thriller dance. Go Beavs! I cross the screen at about 14 seconds in and then when they show the whole group shot, look for the guy in the very back on the 50 yard line who looks like he has no idea what he is doing. That is me! Hooray!

What Matters More?

2009-10-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

This is a new song by Derek Webb. It is nice when people put into words things you have been thinking for a while. This song is challenging to me, not to mention quite catchy. Enjoy.

Die Little Jesus

2009-09-21T21:34:00.000-07:00

There is a disturbing little statistic floating around these days. It says that somewhere in the neighborhood of 80% of students who identify themselves as Christians pretty much lose their faith when they get to college and stop being involved in the Christian community. (If anyone knows the precise origin of this number, feel free to let me know.)

That is a number that hits close to home. I work with college students. I have seen this number wear flesh and blood. I have watched students get less and less involved until Jesus is just a distant fading memory of a time when they were wasting their lives.

I am wondering why this happens and I know I have a lot to learn. I recently (today) started reading "unChristian" by David Kinnaman. I have heard good things about it and look forward to sharing with you what I learn from it.

But in the meantime, may I offer a little theory of my own? I think that somewhere while we are growing up in church, we latch on to a Jesus who is similar to the real thing, but is lacking in some key areas. When we get to college, we encounter an onslaught of new ideas, experiences, and arguments. The Jesus we have latched on to often (80% of the time) can't take the heat. Suddenly we have all these questions and he can't answer them. Suddenly the New Testament isn't as neat and tidy as we would like it to be. Read the end of Mark for a great example.

We show up at our sociology class or comparative religion class and walk out feeling like they just killed Jesus.

Suddenly the people who drink a lot and sleep with their boyfriends and girlfriends aren't all evil like we were taught. They end up looking and acting just like us. They are just having more fun. And they are getting away with it!

And Jesus dies a little more.

And it sucks when Jesus dies doesn't it? We were taught that he was alive but now someone is saying that they just made that part up. When Jesus dies he is supposed to get better. But when we encounter these things, he just seems to stay dead.

But I have hope.

I have hope because I came to college with a big picture of Jesus in theory, but a tiny one in practice. My Jesus was not able to handle the drunk people running through my hall all the time. Following my Jesus led me into my room with the door closed. As a consequence of following this Jesus, I got really good at minesweeper and finding porn on the internet.

My little Jesus couldn't lead me out into my hall to engage with and love the guys who also lived there.

So why does this give me hope, well take a little trip with my won't you? All the way back to a couple of guys on a road a few days after Jesus was killed for real. They are walking together to a village called Emmaus. They used to follow Jesus, but some people killed him. They thought he was going to restore the Kingdom of Israel and usher in the Kingdom of God, but he was killed. And everyone knows you can't bring the Kingdom when you are dead. They don't know what to do with this information so they are heading home. Back to the lives they had before they met Jesus. They are depressed and confused and the best thing they can come up with is to go home. They are going to throw in the towel.

And I can't blame them. Who would do anything different in their place?

They just came out of the most brutal college class in history. And they are beginning to lose their faith.

I have hope because they meet a stranger who begins to tell them a different story and offers them a bigger Jesus. This Jesus was supposed to die and his death showed the Glory of God.

He walks them through scripture again and shows them that this has been spoken about the whole time. Yes, Jesus has died, but maybe more importantly, their little Jesus has died.

It is somewhat comforting and somewhat disturbing to know that you can be immersed in the Scriptures your whole life and still miss the point right? hmmmmmmmm . . .

As the two men hear what the stranger is saying, their hearts burn. This teaching is connecting with them in a way they have never experienced and they like it, a lot.

So they invite the stranger in for dinner and as he breaks the bread, something crazy happens. Their eyes are opened and they recognize him. The stranger who has been walking with them, talking with them, and eating with them, is Jesus himself.

Risen from the dead.

Little Jesus stays dead.

Real Jesus, he comes back to life.

Not even the Roman empire could stop him. What the heck can a college professor do? How about an insecure overconfident college freshman?

My little Jesus began to die as I took a fresh look at the Scriptures. I discovered a Jesus who was bringing a Kingdom that was bigger, more powerful, and more revolutionary than I ever thought.

I have hope that as people encounter the real Jesus through good scripture study and being a part of people committed to following the real Jesus, the little Jesus will die and the real one will come to life.

May we have a fresh encounter with the Risen Lord Jesus. And may it transform us and the world forever.

The Power of Invitation

2009-09-12T15:05:00.001-07:00

I had something that really defined my experience in High School. Some people played sports. Some people took AP classes.

I sang in choir.

I spent every free moment I could in the choir room singing with my friends. I loved making music with other people. I loved creating something beautiful every day.

But I almost never did it.

When I was in junior high, I thought that singing in choir was only for people who had no idea how uncool they were. I heckled my friends who were in it. But I did like to sing and play guitar oddly enough. The High School choir teacher got word of that and sent me a letter inviting me to be a par of the choir. I said no. He sent me another letter. I again said no.

Then he called me to talk about it. I told him I was interested in other things and was probably not going to do choir. This was his reply: "ok, I am going on vacation for two weeks. When I come back, you can let me know your final answer." I thought I already had but whatever. Two weeks later he called me back and asked what if I wanted to join choir.

And for some crazy reason, I said, "Yes."

I really don't know why. Maybe it was just to get him to stop bothering me. So to stop someone from bothering me, I joined his class. Great Idea Ben!

But as it turned out, I loved it. I fell in love with music and learning to sing and the people I met and the places I was able to go because of it. It changed my life. It set my life in a totally different direction. I went to college to study music because of that. I am on IV staff because I responded to that invitation.

I am so thankful that he kept inviting me. He invited me four times. I said "no" three times. But the fourth time, I said "yes." And it changed my life.

If responding to an invitation from a choir teacher can do that, what can responding to an invitation from Jesus do?

May I always say "yes" to Jesus.

May you always say "yes" to Jesus.

May we always say "yes" to Jesus.

How to Dismantle the Ku Klux Klan.

2009-09-03T13:57:00.000-07:00

This is simultaneously hilarious and really powerful. The guy being interviewed is a repentant former Klan leader. This is how it happened.

I would really like to meet Reverend Wade. Sounds like someone was taking Jesus seriously. Enjoy.

Summer Reading

2009-08-30T17:00:00.000-07:00

I love summers. I also love that there are so many good books to read. And sometimes, when I am lucky, the stars align and I am able to enjoy both at the same time. Hooray!

I have a few thoughts on some books I have been reading but before I get to that, I would like to share a few thoughts on reading:

I have two friends who in the span of two days, or maybe it was on the same day, said to me the following things: "Ben, you read too much!" and, "I don't understand how people read!" (Disclaimer: I have large amounts of care and respect for both of these people. I admire them and am inspired by them in many ways. Just not when it comes to reading.)

I think a little piece of me died when they said those things. But good thing Jesus is in the resurrection business! It really isn't as dramatic as I made it sound just there.

I have now started five paragraphs in a row with "I." Self-important much?

If I kept a list of things that were vital to my growth as a human being, reading would be in the top five because I wouldn't count necessities and there have to be at least four other things that are more important than reading, I just can't think of them right now. Reading helps me learn what I didn't know I didn't know. It opens me up to entirely new worlds of possibilities and ideas.

Sometimes it borders on obsession. Like I have some compulsive need to constantly fill my brain with words that other people wrote. Sometimes one isn't enough. I will read like 4 or 5 books at a time. They will all be in various stages of completion based on how important I feel they are to finish. I will be reading one and really enjoying it and see another book that looks interesting and then put the first one down, start and finish the new one, and then finish the first one (see the post below with Culture Making and The Reason for God).

But how can you think that reading is weird or that people who do it are weird? Come on!

Ok, on to the books.

One of my goals this summer is to read books by minority authors. These books have typically been about the topic of multi-ethnicity. Having said that, the first book I want to talk about is by two really white guys.

Jesus Wants to Save Christians by Rob Bell and Don Golden

Remember that preaching conference I went to back in July? No? Read this post and then come back to this one. Done? Ok. Well, at said conference, the Zondervan publishing table was giving away free ebooks and audio books of this book. I gladly accepted the free offer (who wouldn't?) and proceeded to download the audio and burn it on to 3 CD's. So I guess if we want to get super technical about it, I haven't actually READ this book. I have listened to it twice.

This book (And the next one I will talk about) most certainly falls into the category of books that are re-shaping my theology and views on my faith and the role of the church and stuff like that. And all in a good way. I feel like my understanding is getting bigger and more compelling.

Jesus Wants to Save Christians is essentially a "New Exodus Theology for Dummies" book. The authors walk the reader . . . er . . . listener in my case, through the Bible viewing it through the lens of this perspective. New Exodus theology, as I understand it, mostly from this book, states that the main narrative of Scripture is that of God bringing all of his creation out of slavery and bondage. This is a very interesting reading of the Bible and I like it. I had heard whisperings of it in different places but this was the most developed I have seen it. The Exodus found in the book of Exodus serves as a precursor to the big exodus that is happening right now. Jesus was the passover lamb for all creation and following him allows us to "escape from Egypt" so to speak. Wow, that doesn't make any sense when I explain it here but it does in the book. Probably because they use the whole book to develop it.

One of the things I liked most about this book was how they called out America and the American church on a lot of things. America is an empire. Make no mistake. The Bible was written by people who were oppressed by a foreign empire. This perspective is crucial to understanding Scripture but often gets lost to those of us who are children of the empire. Here is one of my favorite quotes.

"Jesus was a middle eastern man who lived in an occupied country and was killed by the superpower of his day." There is something to think about . . .

The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity by Soong-Chan Rah

I was first introduced to Soong-Chan Rah (Prof Rah) at a conference called "Shalom." It was an InterVarsity conference dealing with the topics of race, ethnicity, and reconciliation. Prof Rah brought the thunder that weekend. He said some really challenging things and I have had an enormous amount of respect and admiration for him ever since. So I was very excited to see that he had written a book. I bought it with a sweet IV Staff discount. BOOYAH!

Rah's basic premise is that the church in America has been held captive by western culture. Because of this, American Christianity resembles Biblical Christianity less and less. This is becoming a problem because the demographics of the USA are changing dramatically, as are the demographics of global Christianity. Multi-ethnic, minority, and immigrant churches are thriving while predominantly white churches are declining. How will the white church respond to this?

This book was super challenging and super important. Each chapter brought up new things that I had never really thought about but know that I need to now. What has been the impact of globalization when the Christianity that is exported to the world is dominated by western culture? That one was troublesome.

Prof Rah claims that the church in America is captive to western culture in three main ways: Individualism, consumerism and materialism, and racism. It is tough to argue with his points as he has done a ton of research and has personal experience with all of them. These things have a broad effect on the church and eh spends much of the book filling those out.

A section I found particularly interesting and engaging was his take on the "emerging church." Why is it that the only people who are seen as leaders in the emerging church are white men? Why is that church noticed but the Korean immigrant church (which has been very successful and is growing very quickly) is totally overlooked?

I highly recommend this book for anyone who has had a feeling lately that something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Be prepared to wrestle your way through it but to come out on the other side with a much wider perspective.

Invitation to Lead by Paul Tokunaga

This book topped my list of ones I wanted to read this summer. I help to lead a college fellowship and there have been a number of gifted young Asian-American students who have become leaders in our group. I see this as a huge gift with a lot of potential and I wanted to do everything I could to learn how to lead them well and train them to be the best leaders they can be. This book seemed perfect because that is what it is about: Asian-American leadership.

Paul Tokunaga (Tok, as people call him) has been a pioneer in Asian-American leadership in InterVarsity. He has blazed a trail that many have been able to follow. I have little doubt that he will go down in IV history as one of the most significant leaders of the movement. The book is basically a simultaneous journey through his own development as a leader and what he has learned about AA leadership over the years. I found it to be very enlightening, fun, and powerful. He is a very accessible writer who connects with his audience well. Even though the book was primarily written TO potential AA leaders, a white guy like me can still enjoy it thoroughly and learn a lot. I have recommended it to my AA students and I look forward to discussing it with them when they finish.

Too bad they are the ones who don't like to read. Ugh.

The Word Became Flesh

2009-08-19T20:37:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about that phrase a lot lately. I have been thinking about it in a way that I honestly believe will change everything if I am not careful. But first, let's play with an idea for a second:

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the spirit of God hovered over the waters. And God said, 'Let there be light,' but nothing happened and it was still dark."

"know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and memorize his commands . . . Therefore, take care to memorize the commands, decrees and laws I give you today."

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Boil it down into propositions that can be easily learned and repeated."

"This is love for God: To remember his commands."

"The Word became text and dwelt in our books and in our statements of faith."

You are correct in noticing that something is not right. Something is VERY not right. Because in Genesis, God speaks into darkness there is light. In Deuteronomy, God keeps his covenant with those who love him and obey his commandments. In James we are deceived when we listen to it but fail to do what it says.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

It gets me thinking. Is it possible that all along, God's words and the Word were always supposed to become flesh? Were they always supposed to be lived out in blood and bones and skin people?

Am I going too far to say that the ideas and truths that Christianity tells are worthless if they never become flesh? Think about this for a second: (this is not my idea, but it really got me thinking so I am just passing it along) If a biologist or a physicist or an engineer or a computer scientist has a significant moral failure, does it discredit their work? If Isaac Newton was shown to be a drunken womanizer, would you think that his second law was a silly outdated rule? If Stephen Hawking, through his awesome and kind of creepy electronic voice emulator said a racial slur, would it take away from his theories on the universe? Well, no, it wouldn't.

How many students at OSU would want to hear the Gospel if they found out that I got another student pregnant? If I spent all my money "pimping my ride?" If I was addicted to alcohol? Nobody would! In fact, even when I find my life is normal with no huge failures, the Gospel STILL doesn't seem that powerful. I think that is because the Gospel isn't normal, it is revolutionary.

I can yell from the mountain tops until I am blue in the face, "GOD LOVES YOU!" I can whisper to every single person I cross paths with that there is a God who sent his son to die for them. And if I lose my voice, I can hold up a sign for all to see. But none of those will ever be as powerful as someone living like it is true.

Mother Theresa picking a sick man off the road in Calcutta and allowing him to die with dignity.

Spending the day in a orphanage simply holding babies because no one else will.

Taking a few afternoons a week to mentor and befriend an at-risk youth.

Submitting to the leadership of someone who most of the time has no power.

Inviting the new kid over to play.

Giving that guy a ride to the social security office.

Who are you going to believe? The guy with the sign, or the couple who cooked you dinner when you were sick?

The Word must ALWAYS become flesh.

I think we have put a little too much faith in propositional truths. "Jesus my Lord and Savior." "The Bible is the inspired word of God." And if I may be so bold, "Homosexuality is wrong."

There is a time and a place for propositions. They can be good things to hold on to when we begin to lose our way. But I think that a truth about God or Jesus or Scripture or spirituality is only as good (and as true?) as the amount that it is made flesh in you, in us.

So we say that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. That proposition is nothing unless it becomes flesh. Do we submit to him the way that the Romans submitted to Caesar? That is what it means to call someone "Lord." You do what they say. Do we look to him to save us from the things that are destroying us or do we run to those very things? Do we look to our money, our success, our girlfriend or boyfriend, ourselves, our possessions? Why should anyone believe us if we don't? if they can't see it in us?

The Bible is the inspired word of God? Really? Do we study it? Do we mine the depths of Scripture to find the invaluable treasures contained therein? Do we tenaciously search them? Shoot, have we read the whole thing? (I haven't)Or are we content to cling to a few passages and verses that give us comfort? Are we satisfied with what we know and feel no need to put things in their immediate and big picture context?

Do we do what it says?

Do we forgive like our own forgiveness depends on it? (it does) Do we actually love the poor and let justice roll down like waters? How hard do we try to be the light of the world?

If homosexuality is so bad, and if allowing gay people to get married is such a huge threat to the sanctity of marriage, then why aren't our relationships and marriages the greatest thing the world has ever seen? Wouldn't the best case for "traditional marriage" (whatever we mean by that. Arranged? Polygamy?) be to have an amazing marriage?

Because the Word must always become flesh.

It is easy to hide behind a proposition. It is harder to live it out. Especially if the word becoming flesh takes you where you are uncomfortable, where your preconceived ideas don't hold up to the reality of what you are seeing and experiencing. If humility and service does not come easily to us. If we don't like how homeless people smell. If loud black men make us uncomfortable and intimidated. If we don't understand the language or the culture. If it is not the way we were brought up. If your dad was an evil man. If I am addicted to this thing.

If propositions are enough, then why did God not just send us a list? A 12-point propositional treatise explaining what humanity should believe in order to be saved. He didn't. He sent Jesus. A human being. A person.

Jesus was not and is not a proposition. And neither are we. We are people. We are flesh and blood. How could we possibly think that the world will be changed with words? They are powerful. But they are only powerful if we do something with them.

Because the Word must always become flesh.

I am putting on a retreat for college students before this new school year starts. I am hoping to do it in town so that I can be near to the campus. This is good for a number of reasons. I also don't have a lot of money to fork over to pay for a retreat so I decide to send an email to about 10 churches in town asking if they will let us use their building for the retreat. 3 respond. 1 says they can't and I appreciate them letting me know. Another has space, but they are going to charge us what could end up being quite a bit of money to do it, and they guy who knows how much never gets back to me. But then the third church says they are interested. I go over to said church (Crossroads Christian Fellowship in Corvallis) and talk with the pastor. He tells me that the Church has a heart for being beneficial to the larger community and not just the people in the church. So they would love to partner with a campus ministry. He tells me that we will basically have the whole church to ourselves for the retreat. He will give us a key. He will give us access to the office so we can make and print fliers. He will let us be in the sanctuary and we can move the chairs around to play games in there. He says that we are welcome to use the church anytime we want.

And you know what that does to me? It makes me feel like there is hope. The Church (universal) can be the light of the world. Churches (local) are not always consumed with their own programs and too busy to be a blessing to their community. Maybe this Gospel I preach is real. Maybe Jesus can transform people. Our ministry is valuable and worth investing in. As are the students at Oregon State.

A church doing what the Church is supposed to do? Woah. That is something.

Because the Word must always become flesh.

And that time, it did.

The Case for Early Marriage

2009-08-03T17:59:00.000-07:00

So I stumbled upon this article in Christianity Today . . . today. I would talk about it but why don't you just read it for yourself and then post some of your thoughts.

Do you agree with the author?

What should we do in response?

Where are all the single Christian men? (Writing blogs in their living rooms!)

Let me know what you think. Let's have a conversation.

Choose Your Own Title

2009-07-10T20:19:00.000-07:00

I have 5 working titles for this blog and they are all so good that I can't choose. Yay for humility!

1) Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
2) My Hilarious Life Part Deux
3) A Face-Melting Good Time at the Epicenter of Progressive Culture
4) In the Land of Thick-Rimmed Glasses and iPhones
5) Peter Rollins is a little Irish Fireball

Actually, looking at them, 3 is the best. On with the story!

Flashback: Early June. Location: Qdoba, Corvallis, OR.
I was getting some delicious burritos with my housemates when my friend from Idaho, Jeremiah, calls me up. He asks me if I would like to accompany him to a preaching conference put on by Rob Bell in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I was already going to be in Madison, WI for an InterVarsity Staff conference. The preaching thing would start the day after the staff thing ended. Of course I said no. That would be too much. But I told him I would think about it. 10 minutes later I changed my plane ticket and called him back saying I would go. That is how I make decisions. So if I tell you no, just give me ten minutes. I'll come around.

Flashback: Last Wednesday. Location: Inn on the Park, Madison, WI
Upon my arrival in Madison, I meet up with Jeremiah only to discover that I have no way to actually get to Grand Rapids. This would seem like a big deal to some people. But for me, it falls in the category of, "It may be happening in 3 days but something will work out. Don't worry about it." The staff conference was great. I ate at my favorite noodles place in Madison. Yummy!

It was the night before I was supposed to leave and I still hadn't figured out how to get to grand rapids. I tried to buy a train ticket from Madison to GR, but there wasn't one. So I bought one from Chicago to GR. I had solved 1/3 of my problem. I now needed to get to Chicago AND get to a place to stay once I got to GR. The next morning at breakfast, I asked some other staff if any of them were going to be driving through Chicago. The first person I asked referred me to his room mate who was driving by himself to Indiana and had a spot in his car. BOOYAH!!! 2/3 done. Right before I left, Jeremiah called me to let me know that some other staff in GR were going to pick me up from the train station and let us stay at their brand new house that they hadn't even moved into yet. To quote Hannibal from the A-Team, "I love it when I plan comes together."

Great car trip, great train trip, awesome hosts in GR.

And this conference . . . Daaaaaaaaang. It was called "Poets, Prophets, and Preachers: Reclaiming the Art of the Sermon." Jeremiah and I very liberally used the term "face-melting." It was great. So many great ideas. There was seriously so much that blew my mind that I can't even begin to describe it.

One thing I noticed very quickly, Rob Bell kind of draws a certain crowd. Namely, the thick rimmed glasses crowd. I think only 1 in 4 people there DIDN'T have them. There was a moment when Rob was using a chair as a prop illustrating the throne of God and he put his glasses on them and then forgot about them. I didn't notice but then a few minutes he remembered them and said, "Oh, this won't do." I almost died. Thick Rimmed glasses are at the center of the universe. Awesome. Also, every time there was a break, I would look forward and notice a whole bunch of people all take out iPhones. It was also hilarious.

A quick word about Rob Bell. Lot's of people have different opinions of him but there is something I noticed: Homeboy talked about the Resurrection of Jesus and its Earth-shattering implications more than any other pastor I have ever heard. So do with that what you will. I was encouraged and challenged by it. Do I do that?

Also: Peter Rollins is a little Irish fireball.

Books!!!

2009-02-27T00:21:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody!

Why do I feel the need to write on this thing so late at night? I have no idea. Well, actually, I do have some ideas but they aren't that important.

Tonight's entry will be some book recommendations. I was going to say "reviews" but honestly, I liked all of them so I will just tell you a little about them and then you can go read.

The Reason for God by Timothy Keller

Ok, I heard about this book a little while ago and actually watched a seminar the author did at Google headquarters last year. I wanted to read it but never wanted to drop 20 bucks on it. So imagine my joy when I went home for winter break and my mom just comes up to me and says, "oh, I just bought this book. It looks interesting." And there it was. So naturally, I read it in two days.

Keller spends the first half of the book dealing with common doubts about God and Christianity and spirituality that people have and does it with a lot of respect for the doubters. He knows his stuff, people. If you are at all familiar with the arguments he mentions, which I am, it makes the book that much more readable. the next half of the book is his reasons for why he thinks Christianity is true. I thought the best chapter in this section was "The Knowledge of God." In this chapter he proposes that everyone "knows" there is a God but they just don't acknowledge it. We all know what is right and wrong, but why? what is our moral standard? There is a lot more to his argument than that but I will let you read the book for it. If you want some good brain food, pick this one up. Speaking of brain food . . .

Culture Making by Andy Crouch

Hot diggity dog this was a fun book. I am on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and every so often they send me a chunk of new book that IV Press is releasing. This one just came in the mail. I read it about a month later. It was probably the most interesting book I have read in the last two or three years. I was glued to every page.

Crouch's thesis is that Christians have typically taken four postures towards the larger culture (never mind the four chapters he spends defining culture!): condemning it, critiquing it, copying it, and consuming it. None of these are inherently bad, but they fall short of what God intended for us. He argues that we are called to cultivate culture, that is, to develop that which is good and make it better, and create culture. This is a book I will almost certainly be reading again. I HIGHLY recommend it.

I Once Was Lost by Don Everts and Doug
Schaupp

Another book that was just sent to me. I know both of the guys who wrote this book and have an enormous amount of respect for them and the work they do and who they are as people and Jesus followers. This is a book about what it looks like for "postmodern" people to come to faith in Jesus. They have, through interviewing over 2,000 college age people who have become Christians in the last decade, discovered five thresholds that people go through on their journey to faith. The first is simply learning to trust a Christian. Anyone who interacts with non-believers these days knows who big that is. The second is becoming curious about Jesus. The third is being open to letting Jesus change and challenge them. The fourth is seeking hard after answers to their questions. The fifth is actually becoming a committed Jesus follower.

For each stage they offer stories and practical advice for people coming alongside their friends. This book is SOOOOO helpful in learning about where different people are and what might be helpful to them. Again, I HIGHLY recommend this one. I recommend it even higher if you work in ministry with young people.

And now for some fun reading. Once or twice a year I dive into wonderful escapist fiction. This last year, I took a stab at some authors who were new to me. These are both fantasy books that deal with magic and wizards and dragons and such. I will review the trilogies as sets and not the individual books.

The Liveship Traders by Robin Hobb

I had never read anything by Robin Hobb but some good friends of mine were pretty keen on these books so I thought I would give them a try. The three books in the Liveship Traders series are Ship of Magic, Mad Ship, and Ship of Destiny. The basic story revolves around a family of traders who work on ships made of a special wood that actually comes to life after three generations have lived aboard the ship. It is a pretty interesting concept. Think "Pirates of the Caribbean" only way less confusing and with better characters. Of course, no story about ships and sailing would be complete without pirates. And oh, are there pirates in this one. The villain, Kennit, is a wonderfully complex character. I never knew whether to root for him or hate his guts. There is a side story involving a group of sea serpents that I didn't really like until I figured out where it was going. These books were pretty stinking good. I loved the characters. That was probably the best thing about them. I can read just about any story about anything as long as the characters are real and believable. All that to say, these are a good summer read. Enjoy!

The Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind

I am saving the best for last here. I have only read the first three of a twelve book series, but wow, these were so much fun to read. It was the beginning of winter break and I wanted some good fiction. I went to Borders and almost picked up another Robin Hobb book, but then the Terry Goodkind shelf caught my eye. I will admit, I was drawn to the books not only because of their sleek cover art, but also because the books were thick. I thought I would get more for my money with a thicker book. I was not disappointed. The books I read were Wizard's First Rule, Stone of Tears, and Blood of the Fold.

The story, like most fantasy stories, begins with a guy from a middle of nowhere place who lives a normal life. Unbeknownst (that is a great word to write!) to him, he is a man of great destiny and importance. He is the Seeker. A true seeker. One who seeks the truth in all circumstances. He is called upon to fight against a man named Darken Rahl. How's that for a scary name? I won't get too much into the story here because it was just so much fun to discover it all as I went. There are so many twists and turns here. The characters are so alive! The bad guys are REALLY bad and the good ones all have serious flaws. These stories are very adult. What I mean is, they don't sugar coat anything. There are some really disturbing scenes here. Not for the faint of heart. For me, they just upped the realism, which is helpful in a story where people use magic and talk to dragons. The books also touch on themes that are very common to us all: friendship, loyalty, love, good vs. evil, and a lot of others. There are also great political questions raised. One of the most compelling parts of the story is where the heroine, Kahlan, must lead a group of 5,000 young men into battle against an army of 50,000 who are hell-bent on killing anyone in their path. I pretty much sat in my room all day and never stopped reading these. If you like fantsy, you will LOVE these books.

I Have a Hilarious Life

2009-02-16T23:25:00.000-08:00

She came in at 4:45am.

She said calmly but firmly, "Ok, it's time to wake up."

Then she held up an alarm clock that began playing a very pleasant (but loud) wake-up song.

I lifted my head from my sweatshirt pillow and smiled.

Scattered amongst the pews and all over the floor of Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in Long Beach, California, roughly 40 InterVarsity Christian Fellowship staff workers began to stir.

And I remember clearly thinking to myself, this is hilarious!

Cue the Lost flashback woosh.

I had flown to Long Beach with a few other staff from the northwest to do a Bible Study "dig-in" through the first four chapters of The Gospel of John at Campus By The Sea on Catalina Island. We were getting prepared for our big student missions conference, Urbana, coming up this winter. Oh, this is an important detail: It was raining.

In order to get to Catalina, you have to take a boat. I would say ferry, but then you might be tempted to picture a large boat filled with cars, like in Seattle. This was a boat. It was much closer to the type of thing that takes you from Pier 39 to Alcatraz than the thing that takes you from Seattle to Bainbridge Island. Although, come to think of it, those are called ferries too. how about a picture. Yes? Our boat was supposed to leave around noon.

We showed up at 11am and waited. Gradually, more and more staff trickled in. I can always spot InterVarsity staff at a terminal. Yes, this time I was specifcally waiting for them, but it reminded me of all the times I have been at airports and seen people I KNEW were IV staff. There is just something about us. I don't know if I can put my finger on it.

The weather had not changed but I did not expect that to be a problem because I was used to the Seattle ferries and they had never seemed to rocky. But we soon received an announcement that our boat had been canceled. I heard something about "gale-force winds." I am no sailor, but that sounds bad. We waited around for a little while and ate lunch. I led some of my friends through "The Cube" and talked politics. Aren't stimulus packages fun? That's what she said. Moving on!

The next ferry was supposed to leave at 2. aaaaaaaaaand it got canceled. So our leader, Bruce, said we would be moving to a church where we would be for the rest of the day. We had work to do and couldn't let something petty like gale-force winds stop us. IV4Life! So we packed up and migrated to the church. Along the way I learned the difference between GPS and triangulating your position. That is a nice way of saying we got a little lost and the iPhone was not much help, but it was still so cool!

After a few hours of digging in to John, and taking a wonderful little cheap shot at the staff from USC (Go BEAVS!!!) it was time to turn in for the night . . . BUT we had to get on the first ferry out and that sucker was leaving at 6:15 in the a.m. And the really fun thing was that the only place for all of us to sleep was on the floor in the sanctuary. So that was where we slept.

So why was this hilarious?

Come on! How many companies can expect something like that from their employees and receive virtually NO complaining? How many could do that and have everyone feel like it was a normal thing to happen? I can't really think of any. And that is why InterVarsity Staff are awesome.

What's even better is that was just the beginning. I learned a little something about "residual swells" on that boat ride. Apparently when the gale-force winds stop, the waves think it is fun to still be huge and make you want to throw up. Then we went to this crazy island that had wild bison running around. Yes, BISON. We stayed in cabins with no electricity. The camp looked like New Otherton (for all those Lost fans out there). There was even a patch of ground that looked like a hatch had blown up in it. Oh, and my friend got eaten by a monster made of black smoke. Ok, that last one isn't true but wouldn't that have been SO COOL!!??!?!

And then we studied the Bible for two days. Who does that?

That is why I have a hilarious life. And I love it.

We have to go back Kate!!! We have to go BACK!!!!

Thoughts on The Church and Prop 8.

2008-11-18T00:49:00.000-08:00

Ok. I am not sure how this one will turn out so bear with me. What you are about to read is a thought process. It is not a well-researched thesis with infallible logic. It is an attempt to sort out the many different and often competing ideas swirling around in my head. This may come off as really random and without flow so I apologize in advance. I welcome any input to the conversation.

This blog was inspired by the passing of Prop 8 in California. The proposition banned gay marriage in the state.

Before I start, I want to make a few things very clear: I am a follower of Jesus. I believe he is the Word made flesh. I believe he died on a Roman cross taking the sins of the world upon himself. I believe he rose from the grave. I believe His spirit dwells within his followers. I believe the Church is his body on earth. I believe the Bible is my authority and when properly interpreted and followed, can change us in a radical way. I believe that following Jesus is the absolute best way to live for both the individual and the world. Ok?

And due to those beliefs, I believe that a homosexual lifestyle is not an appropriate way for a follower of Jesus to live. I also think that a greedy lifestyle is inappropriate way to live as well but no one really talks about that. Ok?

An overwhelming percentage of Evangelicals (I consider myself Evangelical) supported the prop. No doubt they were motivated by their beliefs in what the Bible teaches about homosexuality.

So that is the current situation we are dealing with here. Before I talk about it any further, I want to reflect on the state of the world that the Church was born into 2,000 years ago.

Rome was the most powerful empire the world had ever seen. The Roman Emperor was the most powerful man in the world. He was believed to be the Son of God, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Christians were forced to be an underground sect because they refused to worship the Emperor. During the reigns of Nero and Domitian, persecution of Christians became state sponsored and totally out of control. Christians who would not bow to the Emperor could be killed on the spot. Nero used the bodies of Christians as tiki torches at his parties. Domitian required people to worship him in order to participate in the economy.

It was in this environment that the early church flourished. Much of the new testament was written during these times. Leaders of the church called believers to perseverance in the face of extreme suffering. They considered it an honor because they could participate in the sufferings of Christ.

They had absolutely no political power. And they thrived. They outlived the Empire.

Fast forward 2,000 years. Christians in the U.S. not only live in a society that allows them to worship without persecution, but they live in a society where they are a significant voting block and can sway the outcome of a presidential election (remember 2004?). Our society resembles Rome only in the sense that we are (or were depending on how you look at it) the most powerful and influential nation in the world.

That, to me, poses some problems for us in the Church. Jesus never sought political power. In fact, he called people to enter the Kingdom of God, something totally unrelated to political power. The Kingdom is where God had rule, where losing your life means finding it, where the servants are the greatest, where the first are last and the last are first. It is a place where sickness is trumped by healing. It is a place where the poor sit at the seats of honor and the rich and powerful are humbled. It is subversive. It is hidden. It is a tiny mustard seed that turns into a tree that blesses all who come to it. It is not of this world and does not operate by the same rules as earthly kingdoms and governments.

If anything, Scripture teaches us to be at the very least skeptical of governments. A common image for them is that of a beast.

So what does the Church do when we actually have political power? How do we use that power? DO we use that power? These are questions I have been wrestling with. Hasn’t history shown us that when you combine religion with political power, bad things happen? To be fair, officially removing religion form public life also has bad results.

I also think that when the Church becomes too powerful (politically) it begins to move away from the teachings and life of Jesus. His power came from God, not form being legitimized by the government. Remember, they were the ones who wanted him dead.

Many Evangelicals think that allowing gay marriage to be legal threatens the sanctity of marriage. Does it? What about people who get married and don’t believe in God? Is their marriage ok? Is the greatest hope we have for the world that everyone would be married to someone of the opposite sex? That feels like setting the bar really low and also sounds virtually nothing like what Jesus preached. What about people who get married in Las Vegas in a drunken stupor only to get divorced the next day when they realize how stupid they were. Is that marriage still sacred?

More questions:

Why does the church need to be legitimized by the Government? The church in China is illegal and it is exploding with growth. India is not super friendly towards Christians and the government often turns a blind eye towards persecution, but it is spreading like wildfire there. Why do we need to be different? Maybe if we had a little hardship and suffering, we might see our faith deepen and we might be forced to get back to what Jesus taught rather than try to legislate our version of morality.

If gay people can’t get married, should we also not allow greedy people to get married? Should people who have cheated on their spouses not be allowed to visit them in the hospital because they violated the sanctity of marriage? We just aren’t consistent. We want the government to protect something that we don’t even have a good track record with. Everyone knows the divorce rate amongst Christians.

Here is a situation that I think could work. Make gay marriage legal and allow churches to not have to do it. Why wouldn’t that work? There is a clear separation of church and state and first amendment freedom of religion. Yes, we would take a lot of heat for it but so what. I don’t get the feeling that the early Church stood outside the Roman senate and demanded that the temples where male prostitutes would go be closed because it violated their beliefs.

The American church has had a TERRIBLE time reaching out to the homosexual community and a terrible time addressing the issue in their own congregations. I am fortunate enough to be in Christian communities where I could wrestle with the issue if I needed to, but I don’t think that most people feel like they could. If you were struggling with homosexual feelings and longings, would you go to the church for help? I am just going to go guess that you wouldn’t. That is sad. How did we get to the point where the people who loved to hang out with Jesus now feel like they can’t go to church?

Again, this is a jumble of thoughts, unorganized and incomplete. I know I have more to say but I am tired and need to go to bed.

Thoughts? Leave a comment.

Musings of an Election Junkie

2008-10-04T23:28:00.000-07:00

So pretty much since mid-August, I have been on a political news binge. Every day I cruise through yahoo news in search of the latest form the campaign trail. I must admit that I was completely fascinated by the whole Sarah Palin thing. I still am. I was barely able to tear myself away from the VP debates in order to watch Oregon State lose to Utah a week after kicking the snot out of USC. I downloaded Barack Obama's plan for change so I could have a better understanding of what he was all about and I actually read about half of it before the details of health care put me to sleep. I have never done this before and am slightly proud to say that this is the most politically informed I have ever been. I still feel like I know next to nothing in the grand scheme of things but it's a good start. Here are some thoughts I have had during my time with the political IV stuck in my arm.

Fact Checking is Fun!

www.factcheck.org has been a wonderful find. I first checked it out after the RNC. Man, those guys (and girls) made up a whole lot of BS. It is really refreshing to have an unbiased group do a lot of hard work in giving us the facts and the truth. They cite all their sources and don't let anyone off the hook. I even read their analysis of Obama's acceptance speech. I was disappointed. I REALLY want that guy to just tell us the truth. He doesn't need to make stuff up about McCain or mislead us about what he is going to do. I think Obama can win big if he takes the moral high ground. He'll probably win big anyway but it would be more satisfying. Also, it was way fun to watch the ladies on "The View" just grill McCain and straight up call him a liar. WOW! I could definitely go for some more of that.

Venting to People Who Agree With You is Also Fun

Ok, I am a little ashamed about this one. I am all for people with differing opinions having civil conversations with each other and attempting to understand the other's point of view, but sometimes you just need someone who shares your pains and joys. I find that they are often difficult to find in certain communities that I am involved in. Thanks Trina!

Message Boards Will Make You Loose Faith in Humanity

If anyone has read any Op-Ed pieces recently, they will note the message board section underneath the article. They usually increase the length of the page you are visiting by a factor of ten and make it take forever to load. I keep telling myself not to read them but I just get sucked in. They are even on things like SNL Video Clips (which have been VERY funny lately. See Below). Anyway, I find that there are about two types of people on them: slightly smug people who tend to be liberal, and irate people who tend to be conservative. If you follow the conversation long enough (I have gone for like five pages worth of comments on some) you will see it quickly turn into name calling and bold assertions of absolute truth. I start to find myself empathizing with these anonymous posters and getting angry or defensive, as if they are personally attacking me. These post things are on just about every news and blog site now, including this one and they allow people to safely rip people new ones from the comfort of their own mothers' basements. Do they think they are going to change anyone's mind this way? Has anyone ever based a decision of even remote importance on the rantings of some unknown voice on the internet? I miss schoolyard fights.

Thank God for Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert

I don't think I can say enough about these people and their writers. They help me realize how ridiculous this whole thing is. And by whole thing I mean American culture as a whole. We are pretty dumb sometimes. If you don't watch The Daily Show or The Colbert Report, PLEASE go do it. I want to roll out of my chair when I watch these shows. and ironically enough, it often takes a fake news show to give you an accurate picture of what is really happening. So Jon and Stephen, I tip my hat to you. Keep up the good work.

I Need to Go Outside More

See heading above.

Yes Alanis, it IS ironic.

2008-08-21T22:03:00.000-07:00

I hesitated to use that title because this isn't funny but I just couldn't think of anything else.

It all began about a month ago when I was spending some time on youtube looking for new worship songs. As a worship leader, I feel this is a good thing to do. sometimes you find a real gem. Anyways, I stumbled across this video of a song from the Hillsong folks down under. It was called "Healer." The song was pretty good but what really got me was the story behind the song. The guy who wrote it is a pastor down there and he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He was not given much time to live. After hearing the news, he went into his studio and began to write the song. The song is a declaration of faith that Jesus can heal him and that even in this very difficult situation, he will trust Jesus. Solid. The video of the performance kicks it up a notch. The dude is on stage with oxygen tubes up his nose. I even think he had a cane. Everyone who was interviewed was saying how that was the most incredible moment to sing the song with him. They felt like the presence of God was there in spades.

Then I read something today that shook me up a bit.

It was an article from an Australian newspaper talking about that pastor. He never had cancer. It wasn't that he was misdiagnosed, he lied about it. He made the whole thing up so he could inspire people with the song and the story. Nobody knew. Not even his own family.

And it made me sad.

Not angry, maybe a little frustrated, ok, a lot frustrated. But not angry. I understand weakness and the feeling like you have to have it all together. I hope that I am a person who can extend grace to those who need it. But at the same time, it makes me really sad.

Sad that we are so blind to what God is doing in our midst that we have to make it up. Sad that we might now even realize what God really wants for us. Sad that it seems like the norm is now for Christian leaders to commit scandal after scandal. Just sad.

Maybe behind the pretty light show, the huge venue, the 15 musicians on stage, the sound system that lets you get lost in the music, and the jumbo-tron screen with all the words, our "worship" is nothing more than a sham. Do we hide behind it all? How come when I watch those videos I wish I was part of that Band making that great sounding music for the thousands of people who have shown up. Why can't I remember that the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. Or that when two or three are gathered, He is there?

That is not to say that all the people who put on those concerts or who go to them are fakers, as I am sure there were plenty of people that night who needed to declare that Jesus is their healer. It's true. He is and I believe that. But what good is it all if people feel like they have to put on a show to help people connect with God? Even when that show is lying to your family. It is a dangerous thing to connect the worship of God with being entertained or entertaining. Very dangerous. Evil? maybe. I am not sure I am willing to go there just yet.

I am pretty sure that God said something like "Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!" Maybe we ought to listen. Maybe I ought to listen . . . and name my blog after it.

Nevertheless, I hope and pray that he and his family find healing and restoration through this.

God, it seems, is not without a sense of irony.

Amen

2007-10-31T00:25:00.000-07:00

God spoke to me today.

I am not usually one to view coincidences as a sure bet that he is telling us something, but today I may have to change that. Especially given what it was all about. I was talking with my co-worker, Kristen, about stories from different trips people we know took over the summer. Some of them had amazing experiences. One person in Bangladesh encountered a woman who was half dead under a tarp. They picked her up and took her to a place where they ended up taking care of her. This person lived the parable of the Good Samaritan. I only read about it. Another person who spent the summer in the garbage city of Mokkattam in Cairo wrote a journal about how the faith of the people she met changed her forever.

Kristen then said to me (and herself I believe) “I don’t want to waste my life! And I don’t want to live the suburban life and I don’t want our students to either!”

We are in college ministry so we have students. I couldn’t disagree with her. My job involves giving students an experience with Jesus while they are at school. My hope is that this experience will change their life. More and more I come to see what that can mean. I want people to graduate and go live in the inner city. I want people to move to Cairo to work with refugees or the poor people that everyone else forgets about or ignores. I want people to work in one of Mother Teresa’s homes for the dying. I want people to ditch the things they wanted for their lives and embrace what God wants for the world. Call me crazy or naïve, but I just can’t see how the pursuit of the American dream fulfills that. I can’t see how a life comprised mainly of working all day and then spending 3 hours watching TV is what God has for us. I don’t want that for the people I encounter. I want them to live radical lives of following Jesus. I want to live a radical life of following Jesus.

In keeping with being an ENFP, I quickly was distracted by the fact that a singer I really enjoy had a free download on I-tunes. I downloaded “When the Saints” by Sara Groves and Kristen and I listened to it. The song absolutely moved me to tears. I listened to it again. I think I am going on seven or eight listens today. The song is about how, after being exposed to the reality of the world we live in, it is easy to get overwhelmed. She thinks about those who came before and it gives her strength and she wants to be like them. She thinks of Moses going before Pharaoh proclaiming freedom for his people. She thinks of the Sisters of Charity in Calcutta who stand beside the dying and give them dignity. She thinks of the girls trapped in prostitution and those who fight for their release. And mostly, she thinks of Jesus and how he carried the sins of the world on his shoulders as he walked the road of the cross.

It was as if Sara decided to join us in our conversation. Yes Sara, you are welcome any time.

Then it was time to prep a Bible Study for my Church Group. We are studying Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Paul is in prison facing the reality of execution. He writes to encourage the church that he is actually having a great time because the Gospel is going forth. In the particular section we studied, I noticed a few things that really got to me. “To live is Christ. To die is gain.” Paul’s singular focus in his life was Jesus. Nothing else. Given all the things I was just thinking about earlier in the day, this verse took on a new meaning. Faced with death, Paul decides that it is better to live. Well, obviously you might think. But the reason he wants to live is so he can be of service to the church. The only reason he wants to stay alive is so he can build up other people and help them grow in faith and joy. That is intense. Also, he implores the Philippians to live a life worthy of the Gospel. The more I think about it, the more I think that very few people actually do this. The few that do really stand out. We know about them. We know about Mother Teresa. We know about Francis of Assissi. They ended up doing great things, but did not start that way. They began with a simple idea of taking Jesus seriously. They ended up changing the world.

I began the study by saying something I strongly believe the Holy Spirit gave me to say. I said something like (I can’t remember it verbatim) “we all too easily look at Scripture and simply try to understand it. This isn’t entirely wrong, but if we stop there, we miss the point. This is meant to change our lives. It is meant to transform both us and the world around us. This thing is a powder keg if we use it right. So tonight, let us focus on what we should do with it, what it requires of us and what it means for us.” I think it really connected with people and it was one of the best studies we have had in a while. I think God is up to something. I don’t know what, but I want in.

I want in because I don’t want to settle. I don’t want to settle for a “good life.” I don’t want to settle for anything less than the abundant life Jesus promised to his followers. This, I am sure, is not about abundance of possessions or wealth, or even relationships. This is about the Kingdom of God. This is about new life. This is about the redemption of the world. This is about Justice and Righteousness for all people, not just the ones who can afford it or get away with it. And we enter into it by following Jesus where he went. By doing the things that he did. He is out leader.

I have caught glimpses of this abundant life here and there and I like what I see. I read the Gospels and I am challenged by Jesus. I am compelled by Jesus. I am amazed at him. I also have a hard time seeing how the church got so messed up and did so many dumb things if they were trying to follow him.

So this is my prayer: O Jesus, to have your heart. To love like you loved. To give of myself for others as you did. To pick up my cross and die. To know the joy of your suffering. To know the power of your resurrection. Do not let me settle for anything less than you.

Lord, have mercy.

Amen.

Just a Little More on Books and the Effects Thereof

2007-10-11T17:36:00.000-07:00

I am having a lot of fun. That may not seem a surprise to some, but it is a nice relief from previous autumns. I have been hanging around a lot of college students in a predominantly freshman dorm at OSU. Inside said dorm are 355 human beings who are entering an entirely new phase of their lives. Why am I there? I am a campus minister. A spiritual mentor if you will. My job is to build relationships with students and encourage them in the development of their spiritual lives. And just so there is no confusion, I try and influence them toward Jesus.

So what does this have to do with books? Well, I recently read a book that really didn't tell me anything new. It simply reminded me of things I already knew. It is called, "They Like Jesus but Not the Church." It was written by a pastor down in Santa Cruz, California named Dan Kimball. The while premise of the book is that people nowadays have been rubbed the wrong way by the Church and "organized religion" but they still like Jesus and are very open to talking about him. He discovered this by spending a lot of time at a local coffee shop and befriending the people he met there. I won't go into it much more than that except to say that it was the kick in the pants I needed to go meet people who don't already consider themselves Christians.

And I am having a lot of fun.

First of all, there are some really great people in this dorm. I have truly enjoyed getting to know them and I am genuinely starting to care about them as people. we play board games and eat meals. We sing Karaoke, dance DDR, and watch Heroes. And it is a blast.

Each week I help lead a Bible Study in the dorm. It is a really low-key time where people from all different backgrounds can study a passage of scripture, try to figure out what it means, and then see how we should respond. I was surprised by who showed up at our first one. People who would not have been there unless I had taken the time to get to know them were there. And they always have some of the best things to say.

I am starting to love talking to people who don't follow Jesus about spiritual things. They really love to have a chance to be heard. I think that their impression of most Christians is that we are all quick to "share" our opinions and unwilling to hear what other people have to say. I want to listen first. How can I possibly know what is going on in someone's life if I am not willing to listen to them?

I want people to encounter Jesus because I want Jesus to change their life and then I want them to go change the world. Jesus was about changing the world, and he did it. He is still doing it. I want to study his life to find out how he did it. I want to invite people along on the journey. But people are not going to just jump in and sign up for a club of people they feel are judgmental, arrogant and just downright mean. I have to build trust with them. I have to show them by my interactions with them that they are loved. I must never judge them. I must accept them and challenge them to look at Jesus more closely. He is really cool when you pull him out from underneath the 2,000 years or crap we have thrown on him.

So tonight, I am going to go play Settlers of Catan (best game ever)with some people who I think would love Jesus.

And I am going to have a lot of fun.

Books are Dangerous

2007-09-06T16:23:00.000-07:00

I have been reading.

In the last few months, I have been trying to expand my literary horizons by reading books that fall in a very different genre than my usual IVP non-fiction. Yes, I have been reading ACTUAL fiction that goes beyond the standard Harry Potter adventure. And you know what? It's great. I started with "The Kite Runner.", a wonderful book by Khaled Hosseni. A few months after that, I read his next book, "A Thousand Splendid Suns." And just yesterday, I finished maybe one of the most interesting and unusual books I have ever read. It was called, "Life of Pi." To finish my brief list, I began an older fantasy trilogy called "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever." It came highly recommended by a close friend.

I don't really want to go into reviews about all of those books so much as I want to say what reading good fiction is doing for me. It is reminding me of what it is to be human. Good fiction can take a few aspects of humanity that you always knew were there but couldn't quite put your finger on and make them so accessible. Good fiction can hold up a mirror to the reader and allow them to see themselves more clearly than they could before, a potentially humbling event. Good fiction can show us that even though we live a world away from someone, deep down we are basically the same. We share the same struggles, hopes, dreams, fears and desires. They just manifest themselves in different ways due to our location and culture.

Mix all this in with my eye-opening experience in Cairo this last summer, and you will begin to see a somewhat new worldview shaping in me. It is fun and a bit scary all at the same time. I am beginning to see the world as a much greyer (I am choosing the Bristish spelling here because it feels more poetic) place than it was before. I don't mean grey as in color, but in terms of who is right and who is wrong, who is good and who is evil, who is on to something and who is way the heck out there.

Cairo was an interesting place. One thing that struck me the most was how all the different types of people felt about everyone else. We spent time with roughly five different communities, if you can call them that: Sudanese refugees, Egyptian Muslims, Egyptian Christians, American missionaries who live a culturally Muslim lifestyle to reach Muslims, and our team of American College students. Each group had something to say about the other, and it wasn't always nice, nor was it always right, and nor was it always wrong. "You shouldn't trust this person, he is a ______," or, "When you get home, you should speak out against _________," were common things to be heard. I didn't really know what to do with them. What made it weirder was that I was the outsider looking in and have a tendency to give people the benefit of the doubt. I just couldn't understand why people felt the way that they did. What I mean by that is, and this is from a Christian perspective, why people couldn't have grace for each other, and why I couldn't have grace for them not having grace. I think that makes sense. Right?

So what does this all have to do with books? Why are they dangerous? They challenge our preconceived ideas. They make you deal with the bigger world. Then it all gets confirmed when you go out into the bigger world.

It gets me thinking about God. It gets me thinking that the ways that I have experienced spirituality, religion, and even God are totally shaped by my cultural upbringing. The things that American Evangelical Christians tend to be concerned about are molded and manipulated by American Culture. So how do we get down to what God is really about? How can we hope to see beyond our cultural conditioning? I think a good place to start is to befriend people who aren't like you and read lots of books. Then ask God where he is in the midst of all that. Then we will start to see the God who loves the whole world. The God who can speak to us through the story of Amir and Hassan, Mariam and Laila, and Pi and Richard Parker.

As an afterthought, I agree with Pi. God is the better story.