"When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him."
"Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.'
"I have seen these people," the LORD said to Moses, "and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.""--Exodus 32:1, 7-10 (Emphasis mine)
Hey, Check out my friend, Jeff's Blog, Scroll down past all the baseball (not that wouldn't enjoy reading that), but I wanted to draw your attention to some of his poetry.
Nickleback: not one of my personal fav.s musically (so sue me!:) But I really like this video! I applaud them and the stories that this video tells! It's worth the watch:
IF EVERYONE CARED
When I was forced to leave my last church, I left this quote that we had used in a lesson as the only thing on the wall. It was meant to encourage them to be a group that would do something great, because I had told them that I saw great things in them...if they worked as a community! I don't know if my message was received, but I did, and still do believe in them!
"Never doubt that a small group of committed people can CHANGE THE WORLD. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead
I did a partial retreat this weekend with a WONDERFUL YOUTH GROUP (SHOUT OUT MPC!!) about community. What is community? We started off by exploring the fact that most "communities" fall short because there is a lack of authenticity! The more churches I've worked with (in any facet you could think of) the more I see that this unwillingness to encourage and teach people to be authentic within the church, the more that community is nothing more than a shell; a husk of something that could have been far greater! Being FREED to be who you truly are, without worry of ridicule or judgement is the first step in a true biblical community.
I watched as a group of teens struggled to take off their masks! That is really hard for a teenager to do!!!! I admire them! The problem is that they learned how to wear masks somewhere, by someone, earlier in their lives. It is not an innate ability, It is an art form that many have perfected! They've learned how to wear masks by watching other people!
WHO? People on TV Musicians Parents Teachers Ministers
Very few people are actually teaching our youth and kids what it means, and how to be AUTHENTIC FREE THEM TO BECOME THE PERSON INTO WHOM GOD WANTS TO MAKE THEM! he can't work with the fake he can't paint the portrait of who we are to become when we hide our "face"
Behind masks Facade's Lies
We are all trying to be someone we're not.... We've all tried to be someone we see... but we never really see an authentic person
Just The Mask.....
And that's what we aspire to?
A video I used for a youth lesson on trying to be someone you're not:
Stone Sour-Through The Glass I'm looking at you through the glass Don't know how much time has passed Oh God it feels like forever But no one ever tells you that forever feels like home Sitting all alone inside your head
How do you feel? That is the question But I forget you don't expect an easy answer When something like a soul becomes initialized And folded up like paper dolls and little notes You can't expect a bit of hope So while you're outside looking in Describing what you see Remember what you're staring at is me
'Cause I'm looking at you through the glass Don't know how much time has passed All I know is that it feels like forever but No one ever tells you that forever feels like home Sitting all alone inside your head
How much is real? So much to question An epidemic of the mannequins contaminating everything We thought came from the heart But never did right from the start Just listen to the noises (Null and void instead of voices) Before you tell yourself It's just a different scene Remember it's just different from what you've seen
I'm looking at you through the glass Don't know how much time has passed And all I know is that it feels like forever But no one ever tells you that forever feels like home Sitting all alone inside your head
And it's the stars The stars that shine for you And it's the stars The stars that lie to you, yeah ah And it's the stars The stars that shine for you And it's the stars The stars that lie to you, yeah ah -------------------------------
If only those we put up on pedestals were authentic people, maybe the the youth wouldn't have to burn their masks and try to LEARN to be authentic?!
In your mind, conjure an image of the Mona Lisa. Visualize that masterpiece's subtleties of hue and tone as clearly as you can.
Next, Shift to the image of a paint-by-numbers Mona Lisa. Envision the flat, raw colors meeting hard0edged, one against the other.
Now let me relate a fantasy about masterpieces, paint-by-numbers and you. It goes like this:
Before you were born, God came to you and said:
Hi there! I just dropped by to wish you luck. And to assure you that you and I will be meeting again. Soon! Before you know it!
You're heading out on a new adventure that will be filled with fascinating experiences. You'll start out as a tiny speck floating in an INFINITE, dark ocean, quite saturated with nutrients. So you won't have to go looking for food or a job or anything like that. All you'll have to do is just float in the darkness.
And grow incredibly.
And Change Miraculously.
You'll sprout arms and legs. Hands and feet. Fingers and toes.
As if from nothing, your head will take form, your nose, your mouth, your eyes and ears will emerge.
As you continue to grow bigger and bigger, you will become aware that that this dark, oceanic environment of yours-- which , when you were tiny seemed so vast is now actually cramped and confining. That will lead you to the unavoidable conclusion that you're going to have to move to a bigger place.
After much groping about in t the dark, you will find an exit. The mouth of a tunnel.
"Too small," you'll decide. "couldn't' possibly squeeze through there."
But there will be no other apparent way out. so with primal spunk, you will take on your first "impossible" challenge and enter the tunnel.
In doing so, you will be embarking on a brutal, no-turning-back, Physically exhausting, claustrophobic passage that will introduce you to pain and fear and hard physical labor. It will seem to take forever. But mysterious undulations of the tunnel itself will help squirm you through. And finally, after what will seem like interminable striving, you will break through to a blinding light.
Giant hands will pull you gently, but firmly, into an enormous room. There Will be several huge people called adults, huddling around you, as if to greet you. If it is an old-fashioned place, one of these humongous people may hold you upside down by the legs and give you a swat on the backside to get you going.
All of this will be what the big people on the other side call being born. For you, it will be only the first of your new life's many exploits.
God continues:
I was wondering, while you're over there on the other side, would you do me a favor?
"sure" you chirp
Would you take this artist's canvas with you and paint a masterpiece for me? I'd really appreciate that!
Beaming, God hands you a pristine canvas. You roll it up, tuck it under your arm and head off on your journey.
Your birth is just as God had predicted, and when you come out of the tunnel into the bright room, some doctor or nurse looks down at you in amazement and gasps,
"Look! The little kid's carrying a rolled-up artist's canvas!"
Knowing that you do not yet have the skills to do anything meaningful with your canvas, the big people take it away from you and give it to society for safekeeping until you have acquired the prescribed skills requisite to the canvas's return. While society is holding this property of yours, it cannot resist the temptation to unroll the canvas and draw pale blue lines and little blue numbers all over the virgin surface.
Eventually, the canvas is returned to you, its rightful owner. However, it now carries the implied message that if you will paint inside the blue lines and follow the instructions of the little blue numbers YOUR LIFE WILL BE A MASTERPIECE.
And that's a lie.
------
You have a masterpiece inside you, you know. One unlike any that has ever been created, or ever will be.
And remember:
If you go to your grave without painting your masterpiece,
This music entry is dedicated to Neil, Chris, and the cast of Scrubs in their final season! I picked this version of the song, because it's my fav. episode of Scrubs, built around Colin Hay's (yes, of the "land Down under" and, "Who Could It Be Now" fame) Overkill!
OVERKILL-Colin Hay I can't get to sleep I think about the implications Of diving in too deep And possibly the complications Especially at night I worry over situations I know will be alright Perhaps it's just imagination Day after day it reappears Night after night my heartbeat shows the fear Ghosts appear and fade away
Alone between the sheets Only brings exasperation It's time to walk the streets Smell the desperation At least there's pretty lights And though there's little variation It nullifies the night from overkill Day after day it reappears Night after night my heartbeat shows the fears Ghosts appear and fade away Come back another day
I can't get to sleep I think about the implications Of diving in too deep And possibly the complications Especially at night I worry over situations I know will be alright It's just overkill
Day after day it reappears Night after night my heartbeat shows the fear Ghosts appear and fade away Ghosts appear and fade away Ghosts appear and fade away ________________________
I italicized the last part that really hits home to me! Sometimes I drown in my questions and my faith! My wife points out the level of intensity that has arisen since my termination from my last church. The amount of dedication I have to creating a safe environment for people to ask those questions, and truly explore their faith can morph from dedication to obsession, and yes overkill!
All of this is of course, a response to the fact that most churches don't allow themselves to be a safe place for people to explore their faith, and encourage the questions that usually produce growth. Hence why most people come one day a week to church, sit for an hour, "fulfill their spiritual duty for that week", but never do anything else, even something as simple as reflecting on the lesson, topic, teaching for that day! That's not faith, that is passive obligational guiltlessness! I hate to use the word shallow, but I've even had a pastor tell me that the people in the congregation that he shepherds were shallow, and that's the way they like it! "it's too hard to educate them" to be real disciples! I'm really not sure who it was too hard for? Prob. Both!
So, I've gone deeper, and it keeps me awake at night. My future is uncertain, and it worries me! I've become someone that I'm happy with, although I fear that no church wants someone who is authentic, flawed, and has questions because no church seems to want to hire a minister who is a real person... or at least one that doesn't LOOK like a real person. No one seems interested in someone who wants to challenge the status quo of what Christianity has become, and help lead them to a more important and affective place! Is it overkill or reality? Sometimes it's hard to tell!
This video is one of my favorite John Mayer songs... and a great version of it too!!!! BELIEF:
Belief Is there anyone who ever remembers changing their mind from the paint on a sign?, is there anyone who really recalls ever breaking rank at all f or something someone yelled real loud one time? oh, everyone believes in how they think it oughta be oh, everyone believes and they're not going easily
belief is a beautiful armor but makes for the heaviest sword like punching underwater you never can hit who you're trying for some Need the exhibition and some have to know they tried it's the chemical weapon for the war that's raging on inside oh, everyone believes from emptiness to everything oh, everyone believes and no one's going quietly
we're never gonna win the world we're never gonna stop the war we're never gonna beat this if belief is what we're fighting for we're never gonna win the world we're never gonna stop the war we're never gonna beat this if belief is what we're fighting for
is there anyone you can remember ever surrender with their life on the line?
we're never gonna win the world we're never gonna stop the war we're never gonna beat this if belief is what we're fighting for we're never gonna win the world we're never gonna stop the war we're never gonna beat this if belief is what we're fighting for
what puts a hundred thousand children in the sand? belief can, belief can what puts a folded flag inside his mother's hand? belief can, belief can ________ Why this resonates with me: It's not just the war to me that he's talking about, although I don't want to take the song away from that context. The belief he is talking about can be interpreted religiously or politically (i.e. Belief that Democracy is the ONLY way, so we go to deliver that).
War aside (I don't care to confuse this post with that topic), this really drives home the fact that Christians (esp. in America) can be so MILITANT in their approach to the world, culture, and those that believe differently than them. I don't just mean Christian's and non-Christians, I'm talking about what happens within the same faith!
Just look at our militant language we use! We attend "Crusades" and hear things like, "Put on the armor of God", "I came not to bring peace but a sword" (which has been quoted way out of context in most every sermon or lesson I've ever heard), and then we praise God singing "Onward Christian Soldiers".
As mentioned in some of previous posts, the language we use can determine our mindset. Using militant language when speaking of Christianity sends an inaccurate message. Especially in this day and age, we need to be culturally sensitive in the language we are using. The message of peace is a much more beautiful message in our world right now than stabbing someone with "the sword of truth".
The second verse really hits home for me too! People spend soo much time protecting their beliefs (really, like anyone can truly change what you CHOSE to believe), that they don't care who they hurt. That is partially what happened to me at my last Church. The exhibition of the fight for their beliefs was more important than open dialog! I'm all for standing up for your beliefs, but inn a productive and peaceful way, because it's "like punching underwater, you never can hit who you're trying for." The lack of caring by some Christians about the collateral damage that happens when they "fight for what they believe in" astonishes me, and my personal opinion is that when they do such, they show just how important their main message of "spreading the good news" is. How can you tell someone all about love, when they've watched you "pull out the big guns" on someone you disagree with. There's a disconnect in that message!
Belief can do mighty things in our lives, but it can also be as deadly to someone (physically, emotionally and spiritually) as any bomb! Christ was not militant, he was pacifist, even when facing his own death. Because of his approach to the Crucifixion, his message held more power than if he had overthrown all the empires in the world! Maybe there's something to that?
"We are called to be more Christ-like, not to become God." -JMB
Something I've been working on...when we claim to have all then answers, isn't that saying we're God? Shouldn't God be the only one with all the answers?
This is found as a video onGodTube(yes it's a ripoff of another site). I think it's a great example of how you can make anything, by taking so much out of context, to mean what you want it to mean! You should read the comments on the actual site. The Narrator actually calls them more satanic than Marylin Manson...not that I'm judging MM, but i find that very interesting! I tell you, I don't know who takes a bigger beating, U2 or Satan in this video! I think both Satan and U2 would listen to this and be like 'what the olleh'?
No, we NEVER do this with the Bible.... do we? Cut and paste scripture to say what we want it to say? Or maybe what we've always been taught that it says?
A slight break in the music series (although if you count Michael Singing...it could still go?)! Last week's "The Office" (one of the best shows EVER, I might add); Michael finds out that he is having financial trouble. When he has to tel Jan he freaks out and runs!!! Jan comes to find out what's going on!!!
watch 5:42-8:06
Realizations and Train wrecks Sometimes that's just how our lives feel! Although I laughed my head off on this episode, This scene stuck out at me! "why are you sitting on a train? Where are you going?"
"I'm out of answers Jan,"
"What does that mean?"
"I told you, no more answers. This is who I am now. A guy on a train with no answers. I hope that's enough for you."
"Where's this train taking us?" "I think the conductor left."
I think I've been on that train! Maybe I still am?!
Still on the music series! This entry is by far my FAVORITE video! I love both the song and the video...the images and idea behind it is profound. However, it does take away from the lyrics, which are phenomenal in their own right. All in all, a spectacular song. I suggest playing it twice: once to watch the video, then once to listen/read the lyrics!
World On Fire- Sarah McLachlan
Hearts are worn in these dark ages You're not alone in these stories pages The light has fallen amongst the living and the dying And Ill try to hold it in Yeah Ill try to hold it in
Chorus
The world's on fire its more then I can handle Ill tap into the water try and bring my share Try to bring more, more then I can handle Bring it to the table Bring what I am able
I watch the heavens but I find no calling Something I can do to change whats coming Stay close to me while the sky is falling I don't wanna be left alone don't wanna be alone
Chorus
Hearts break hearts mend love still hurts Visions clash planes crash still there's talk of saving souls still colds closing in on us
We part the veil on our killer sun Stray from the straight line on this short run The more we take the less we become The fortune of one man means less for some
Chorus ______________________________________
As a followup to my last post, What am I (an American Christian) doing with all my power? Well, I can't do it alone! I really, really wish I could! I need help! I want to END WORLD POVERTY!!!!!! But it's bigger than just me. I can do my part, but We need the Church to do its part! we need you to do your part! help!
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" --Matt. 25:37-40
Visit one.org to see how you can make a difference!
Well, since I'm on the subject of annoying songs, the first time I heard this song I hated it, but then I read the lyrics and re listened and found it profound! I listen to it over and over again every once in a while and try to answer the question! DISCLAIMER: I found the best vid. I could that didn't show anything I could get in much trouble for. The last picture in the vid. I'M sure is doctored! I have no doubt that the Wiz.... I mean the Prez. has ever given anyone the bird publicly!!! I do like a lot of the imagery however!
THE FLAMING LIPS lyrics - "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power)"
If you could blow up the world with the flick of a switchWould you do it?
If you could make everybody poor just so you could be richWould you do it?
If you could watch everybody work while you just lay on your backWould you do it?
If you could take all the love without giving any backWould you do it?
And so we cannot know ourselves or what we'd really do...
With all your power
With all your power
With all your power
What would you do?
If you could make your own money and then give it to everybody Would you do it?
If you knew all the answers and could give it to the massesWould you do it?
No No No No No No
Are you crazy?
It's a very dangerous thing to do exactly what you want...
Because you cannot know yourself or what you'd really do...
With all your power
With all your power
With all your power
What would you do?
______________________________________________
Why it makes me think:
As an American we have a lot of power!!!!!
As a Christian, I have a big responsibility to the world!!!!!!
Another find by Jeff... I really like the lyrics of this song (yes I know many will find it annoying...I've already read people's complaints), but when a strong strikes a chord in your own story... well, you can't help but be drawn to it. I'll Italisize the parts that resonate with me...what about you?
Emmy Rossum- "Slow Me Down"
rushing and racing and running in circles moving so fast I'm forgetting my purpose blur of the traffic is sending me spinning getting nowhere
my head and my heart are colliding chaotic pace of the world I just wish I could stop it Try to appear like I've got it together I'm falling apart
save me somebody take my hand and lead me slow me down don't let love pass me by just show me how cause I'm ready to fall
slow me down don't let me live a lie before my life flies by I need you to slow me down
sometimes I fear that I might disappear in the blur of fast forward I falter again forgetting to breathe I need to sleep I'm getting nowhere
all that I've missed I see in the reflection pass me while I wasn't paying attention tired of rushing, racing and running I'm falling apart
tell me oh won't you take my hand and lead me slow me down don't let love pass me by just show me how cause I'm ready to fall
slow me down don't let me live a lie before my life flies by i need you to slow me down
just show me i need you to slow me down slow me down slow me down
the noise of the world is getting me caught up chasing the clock and i wish i could stop it just need to breathe somebody please slow me down ____________
I've actually been thinking about doing a music week. Maybe this will kick a series off???
'Harry Potter' Author J.K. Rowling Opens Up About Books' Christian Imagery
They almost epitomize the whole series,' she says of the scripture Harry reads in Godric's Hollow.
HOLLYWOOD — It deals extensively with souls — about keeping them whole and the evil required to split them in two. After one hero falls beyond the veil of life, his whispers are still heard. It starts with the premise that love can save you from death and ends with a proclamation that a sacrifice in the name of love can bring you back from it.
Harry Potter is followed by house-elves and goblins — not disciples — but for the sharp-eyed reader, the biblical parallels are striking. Author J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" books have always, in fact, dealt explicitly with religious themes and questions, but until "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," they had never quoted any specific religion.
(SPOILER ALERT! The rest of this story discusses the conclusion of "Deathly Hallows.")
That was the plan from the start, Rowling told reporters during a press conference at the beginning of her Open Book Tour on Monday. It wasn't because she was afraid of inserting religion into a children's story. Rather, she was afraid that introducing religion (specifically Christianity) would give too much away to fans who might then see the parallels.
"To me [the religious parallels have] always been obvious," she said. "But I never wanted to talk too openly about it because I thought it might show people who just wanted the story where we were going.
"Indeed, at its most simplistic, Harry's final tale can in some respects be boiled down to a resurrection story, with Harry venturing to a heavenly way station of sorts after getting hit with a killing curse in Chapter 35, only to shortly return. (Read how Rowling revealed the characters' fates to the "Harry Potter" movies' stars here.)
But if she was worried about tipping her hand narratively in the earlier books, she clearly wasn't by the time Harry visits his parents' graves in Chapter 16 of "Deathly Hallows," titled "Godric's Hollow." On his parents' tombstone he reads the quote "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death," while on another tombstone (that of Dumbledore's mother and sister) he reads, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
While Rowling said that "Hogwarts is a multifaith school," these quotes, of course, are distinctly Christian. The second is a direct quote of Jesus from Matthew 6:19, the first from 1 Corinthians 15:26. As Hermione tells Harry shortly after he sees the graves, his parents' message means "living beyond death. Living after death." It is one of the central foundations of resurrection theology.
Which makes it a perfect fit for Harry, said Rowling, who was talking about those quotes for the very first time.
"They're very British books, so on a very practical note Harry was going to find biblical quotations on tombstones," Rowling explained. "[But] I think those two particular quotations he finds on the tombstones at Godric's Hollow, they sum up — they almost epitomize the whole series."
As the one to bring together all three magical Deathly Hallows, Harry, in fact, becomes the "Master of Death" by novel's end, able to bring back the spirits of his parents, his godfather, Sirius Black and his old teacher Remus Lupin. It's a conclusion that ends Harry's three-book-long struggle over questions about the afterlife, which begins when Sirius falls through a veil connecting this world and the next at the end of "Order of the Phoenix."
"Deathly Hallows" itself begins with two religiously themed epigraphs, one from "The Libation Bearers" by Aeschylus, which calls on the gods to "bless the children"; and one from William Penn's "More Fruits of Solitude," which speaks of death as but "crossing the world, as friends do the seas." No other book in the series begins with epigraphs — a curious fact, perhaps, but one that Rowling insists served as a guiding light.
"I really enjoyed choosing those two quotations because one is pagan, of course, and one is from a Christian tradition," Rowling said of their inclusion. "I'd known it was going to be those two passages since 'Chamber' was published. I always knew [that] if I could use them at the beginning of book seven then I'd cued up the ending perfectly. If they were relevant, then I went where I needed to go.
"They just say it all to me, they really do," she added.
But while the book begins with a quote on the immortal soul — and though Harry finds peace with his own death at the end of his journey — it is the struggle itself which mirrors Rowling's own, the author said.
"The truth is that, like Graham Greene, my faith is sometimes that my faith will return. It's something I struggle with a lot," she revealed. "On any given moment if you asked me [if] I believe in life after death, I think if you polled me regularly through the week, I think I would come down on the side of yes — that I do believe in life after death. [But] it's something that I wrestle with a lot. It preoccupies me a lot, and I think that's very obvious within the books."
That, by the author's own acknowledgement, "Harry Potter" deals extensively with Christian themes may be somewhat ironic, considering that many Christian leaders have denounced the series for glamorizing witchcraft. When he was known simply as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Pope himself condemned the books, writing that their "subtle seductions, which act unnoticed ... deeply distort Christianity in the soul before it can grow properly."
For her part, Rowling said she's proud to be on numerous banned-book lists. As for the protests of some believers? Well, she doesn't take them as gospel.
"I go to church myself," she declared. "I don't take any responsibility for the lunatic fringes of my own religion."
----------------------------
If you read the books, I hope you understand what she's talking about.I don't even really know where to begin with what I want to say. I'll suffice it to say that her last quote there resonated with me. (these are Jeff's words, not my own, but I agree whole-heartedly)!
Sorry, another addition to jon's thoughts on dualism. This is a good one! Talk about how we form ideas traditionally that are anti-holistic. We really have taken on this flesh v. spirit attitude/language that Paul speaks of. And as we all know from that lovable philosopher Wittgenstein (my personal favorite, and IMHO (<--in my humble opinion) the most relevant philosopher for understanding religion in postomdernity...talk about freeing your mind, he'll blow it away!), the language we use binds our thinking. That's because we are unable to think outside of our language barriers (according to Wittgenstein).
The Metaphorical language that Paul uses (and Christ to) about the flesh and the spirit shouldn't be taken literally. Why you ask? Well I could break down several of those texts for you, but that would be lengthy and you may find that boring. Also, it's METAPHORICAL! Back to Wittgenstein: we use Metaphorical language about God/religion/spirituality because it is hebel (Hebrew: found in Eccl.): vapor, mist, breath.... something we can't fully grasp, only catch fleeting glimpses of. This kind of language falls apart when interpreted literally!
Let's just say this: Christ came to unite us not divide. Christ came to help us to reinstate the original relationship that God had intended for us in his formation of humankind. (you can debate me on that, but if you really think about it, holistically (that's my new word!) that's exactly what we claim in "the gospel message").
So Christ was a uniter, and he was the example of what a holistic person (spiritually, mentally, physically) looked like! Isn't that part of what made him perfect (because his perfection is what we teach)? Otherwise he would be less than perfect. Flesh isn't sinful, and spirit pure. In the same way, the world isn't sinful, while the Church is pure. They are all at the same time tainted and holy. Why? Because God is in the midst of all things!
What would a holistic Christ-follower look like?
I really connect with that last line in the illistration... the idea of being disconnected because there is the need, "a bid" for freedom within me. Freedom that my experiences in traditional Christianity hasn't allowed. But what does it mean to be free in Christ? A topic I am (have been) working on for a future post!
Ok, so this is another series by jon birch. Yes, I am addicted to ASBO Jesus, but this was by request:)!!!!
Dualism:
Is Dualism the enemy of the faith? Funny, I've been wondering this for a long time (since college), why is it we have our "spiritual lives" and then our "other lives". This is more than just the "bubble mentality", this has been ingrained in us for centuries. By the very fact that we gather in a specific building each week on a certain day and call that church, has ingrained in us that church doesn't happen anywhere else. Community is confined under a steeple or in an abandoned storefront. We have our "church lives" and our "social lives", and never the two shall mix.
One thing that I had several parents of my last youth group thank me for was how encouraging I was of their kid's extracurricular activities. They played sports, did drama, participated in Key Club, and all sorts of things. Heck, I even encouraged them to stay home and do their school work if it was necessary! I never once said (like the previous minister, and many ministers all through Christendom), "Church comes first! You are supposed to be at Church every time the doors are opened, and you are a bad Christian if you fail to do so!" (I would like to take a moment to say that this is not a direct quote, but def. that message has been and is expressed and more than implied.
How do we un-ingrain our ideas of Church, worship, Christ-like, Spiritual, and Godly and expand them to a holistic understanding? Our spirituality should be a holistic part of our lives. We should experience these things in everything we do. We say God is everywhere, but our practical theology (the theology that our lives portray) says otherwise.
En Vogue states it so well: "free your mind and the rest will follow, be colorblind, don't be so shallow before you read me you gotta learn how to see me."
This is who I am working at becoming. I'm detoxing my mind, freeing it and the rest is following. My faith no longer seems shallow as God is no longer separated from ALL aspects of my life! Many people stuck in their modern ways criticize me, they simply don't understand me.
"Free your mind and the rest will follow before you can read me you gotta learn how to see me!"
That's just the way it is....It's where I live...a little place called reality!
"there are 2 Kinds of secrets: those we keep from others, and those we keep from ourselves." --Frank Warren (editor of PostSecret Books)
My 2 fav. cards represented: "I Believe I will change the world one day (and I'll do it too)"
and ending with "I Hope"
Isn't this what my faith is supposed to be all about? Helping those in need? To give them hope? Why is it that I feel that the faith that I was indoctrinated with, that I inherited no longer has this objective?
MY POST SECRET:
PostSecrets sent in by others that resonate with me in my spiritual pilgrimage:
My Cookie-cutter Inherited faith, and the discipleship that most American Christians display seems so hollow!
A testimony of the Questions amidst the life that many postmodern people lead (myself included)! A Rediscovery of who God is and What our lives all really mean!
Knowing that it would be a lot easier to go back to the canned spirituality that I had growing up, as a product of my upbringing...even though I was an arrogant A$$ to everyone who was different than me!
Everyone has secrets...some good, some bad; some low level, some very damaging to ourselves and others. As a follower of Christ, I ask myself: "shouldn't there be a place where people could let go of these secrets without fear of being judged? Shouldn't I be a part of that place?" and, "Shouldn't that place be called 'Church?'"
My secret? I'm scared of my career in ministry being over because I lead an authentic spiritual life, and do not want to be forced into the mold of what ministers have been in churches in the modern era! I don't want to pretend I'm perfect, that I have all the answers anymore. I just want to be with people, help them grow, be a minister to their needs, and be a part of their own spiritual journeys!
IDK if anyone else is into this show, but Alison and I really like watching CBS's new show, KID NATION.
Each week the 4 Council Members read an "old" journal that sets their task in helping to build Bonanza City: a town ran by less than 40 kids for 40 days. This week the journal suggested that they try to address the issue of religion. There are several religions represented in the group of kids.
They show clips of some of the kids discussing religion in the beginning and it showed that there was a lot of ignorance and disrespect towards different religions!
The Council decided to try one service to promote unity where different kids could speak about their own religious beliefs. Surprise, Surprise, it wasn't met well. Here are some quotes:
Olivia (age 12, Christian) said that the regions should be kept separate to keep anyone from changing their (her?) beliefs. The Red Council leader, Mike, reassured her that no one would have to change their beliefs.
Divad (11, ?) said, "we can't have all religions in one room, it's gonna start arguments. I know that for a fact." She went on to say alone to the camera, "would you put democrats and Republicans in the same room together? That's like putting Hindus and Christians in the same room together."
Blue Council leader AnJay (12, Hindu) said, "we thought it would be nice to learn about other people's religions." Sophia's (14, Doubting Jew) responded, "look at religion today! It's the main thing that's splitting us (the world) up, starting wars, it's making people kill each other!"
My fav. Little guy, Alex (9, ?) spoke up to the crowd and said, "there's a lot of things that are central to all religions and we could just focus on those instead of the differences."
Olivia came back and said privately to the camera, "I'm a Christian and feel very strong in my beliefs, so I thought it was kind-of pointless to hear other people saying stuff which they thought was true that I didn't!"
AnJay tried reasoning, "What is wrong with learning about other' religions? Are you so afraid of the other religions that you're saying 'we don't care about them?'" The meeting split up with no resolution.
Little Alex went on a mission to take a survey of the differing religions represented in the kids. He said to the camera several neat things!:
"I don't think there's any reason, ANY REASON, why there should be arguments and 'yuck stuff' all over town about this! Religion is really divisive because it's your beliefs and since people's beliefs differ, that separated them apart even though their friends in many other ways. I would compare it to the building of the tower of Babel, when everything broke apart and everyone spoke in different languages and no one could really understand each other."
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Is it just me, or does anyone else want to sit and listen to what this child has to teach???
We know that a lot of things said were reflections of what they had been taught in their upbringing. They were simply repeating arguments/words heard from their parents/ leaders in their churches (places of worship/religious edu.) That REALLY made me sad!!!!
However, Morgan brings them all together by having an open invite to the bonfire where they were going to pray for the next day together. They allowed everyone to pray in their own tradition and understanding. It brought more than one child (as well as me and the wifey) to tears to see that sort of unity!
One last cool twist. They all won their challenge so they got to choose a prize: either a full mini golf course set up in the middle of town, or a library of sacred texts for all the religions represented. They overwhelmingly chose the Sacred Texts!!! Some had never seen a Qur'an before, or the Torah (in it's Hebrew form), or the teachings of the Dali Llama. It was amazing how curious and interested the kids now became. My fav. scene was when a Christian child was reading out loud the first creation story in Genesis (KJV) along with a Jewish kid reading the same from the Torah. They realized that they were "pretty much the same".
So in the end, i saw hope in our younger generations. Maybe they will find the hope,peace and acceptance that my generation and older can't seem to find within themselves!!!!
"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." --Mt. 18:3
"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."--Mt. 19:14
In Addendum to my last post on this book (see one post down). I was playing on the Book's Website, and then off the right sidebar there is the link called "tell your story". This is an interesting series of conversations going on. Very cool design, and some interesting stories/debates.
Some make good points, some just prove the points in the book!
I don't get it? Why on earth would others have some of the preconceptions that they have about Christians? Why is it the very title of "Christian" evokes negative responses? I can't fathom people thinking this:
Yes, if you read the above with sarcasm, well you read correctly. It really is amazing when we spend time outside of our religious bubble and we see how many people view us. This is not made up lines... I have friends that I've spent the majority of my life trying to show them that these Ideas they have of Christians are wrong. Honestly though, i have yet to be successful because many times they're right!
This video is part of a book I've been eying at B&N and Borders. The book is called "Unchristian" and comes from a study by Fermi Project and conducted by The Barna Group. Here's a video about the book:
Some interesting finds and interpretations from a wide variety of Christian contributors from all up and down (and floating around) the spectrum.
some findings to get you interested: Top six perceptions of Christians: 1. Anti-Homosexual – this is toward the person not the deed – 96% 2. Judgmental – 87% 3. Hypocritical – 81% 4. Sheltered 5. Politically Motivated 6. Insecure
AND:
"An important thing to note here is that these perceptions were consistent from both inside and outside the church. 40% of the audience interviewed were from outside the church. Meaning that a big part of where these perceptions are coming from is within the church itself via both conversations and from the pulpit."
VERY INTERESTING:
THE QUESTION IS: DOES IT MAKE YOU THINK? DOES IT MAKE YOU MAD? DOES IT MAKE YOU WANT TO CHANGE SOMETHING (INDIVIDUAL OR CORPORATE)?
And your Faith can be that easy too. With 3 Easy payments of $39.99 and the removal of your frontal lobe, you will never have to worry about those pesky doubts, questions, and mysteries that plague you!
Satire of my messy faith! How easy it used to be to have all the answers, and no questions!
Bono wins the honorary Chairman’s Award at the NAACP Awards last spring. Not only a good overview of his life, his music, and his mission, but also a phenomenal acceptance speech that brought tears to my eyes. This shows (to me) why Bono is one of the greatest people in the spotlight as well as how important things like the One Campaign are! make sure to watch it all the way through!
If you haven't checked out ONE, please do so! As Bono says in a concert, "I don't want your money, I want your voice!" It takes very little time to sign up, but a LOT of heart to help see it through!
Rob Bell, author of Velvet Elvis and pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church, has recieved criticism (as all Christians with an opinion do, especially when it comes to the realm of Postmodern thinking). What is interesting about him however, is that I never hear him respond. NEVER! A friend and I were questioning why we haven't heard any respones to the criticism he recieves. so....I went a googleing. Here is what I've found:
"Because Its Possible" has posted a portion of an audio teaching where Rob Addresses these issues and criticism of him in general. Click on it! It's worth the read, and it's concise and to the point!
What did you think?
IDK about you, but there is wisdom in his words for me and where I am.
This is not the church marquee that I passed today, but for a visual, I find this amusing as well as interesting. I'll give them witty!
On my way home from Durham today I passed a church marquee that stated the topic for this coming Sunday. It read:
"Preparing your faith for a hostile world"
Now, I may be the only one that finds this amusing, but given my experience and history in the religious (read Christian Southern Baptist) realm, I find this statement very ironic. It's interesting that the only time I have felt any hostility has come, not from the secular world, rather it has come from OTHER CHRISTIANS!!!!
My wife made a comment when I was "asked to resign from my last church" (read fired without the church feeling guilty), because of my belief that we are supposed to show love to everyone, no matter race, creed, or lifestyle, that this is probably the closest we would come to experiencing persecution. I've thought a lot about that statement since then. I don't want to make light of, or diminish in any way the very real persecution that Christians have faced throughout history. I do, however, think she has a point. The only place that we have been treated hostility because of our beliefs has come from individuals calling themselves Christians involved in an institution supposedly built upon love and grace.
Ironic?
And I wonder why, after telling others what had happened, a big response i received was, "and that's why I stopped going to church, because of people like that!"
Sad!
How is it that the persecuted has become the persecutors?
Some of you may have seen the CNN news segment with Doug Pagitt and John Macarther that was on my blog post " 'Truth Wars' declares yoga a battlefield!" . It seems that, as rediculous as it is, there has been some fallout close to my home because of that, along with the comments made by Mark Driscoll towards Pagitt at the Southestern Seminary hosted Convergence Conference. Scheduled to speak at a conference on Oct. 16, the invitation to Pagitt has been revoked.
It seems that Baptists in NC (and outside) stricken by fear at the thought that new ideas that Pagitt would bring would allow people to think for themselves. Oh well for autonomy and priesthood of the believer. Lesson to be learned: Don't get on Macarther or Driscoll's radar...for what they say is gospel!
