Jesus as Master:

For years and years Christians have begun talking about salvation in terms of friendship/relationship [as in 'having a personal relationship with Jesus']. We sing songs about being friends with God. We like this, because there is something inside us that wants to have a relationship with God; we're created in the image of the One who is community/relationship [Father, Son, Holy Spirit]. So while this has connected with something deep inside us, it is not the entire picture.

The problem with merely defining salvation as a personal relationship with God is that it does not leave space to talk about how we live. Personal relationships are all about connecting; they're friendships. If I have a personal relationship with God, it does not mean that I need to live my life any differently than if I did not have a personal relationship. God is not looking JUST to connect with us, he wants to change the very way we see/relate to/understand the world.

If we read the New Testament, we see that God is interested in Lordship. God is interested in how we live; actions, thoughts, & desires.

It is easy for Christians who see salvation as "Personal Relationship" to talk against lust, murder, & hate as sin; the Bible specifically says so. But this view of salvation has a hard time dealing with passages that deal with money - of course friends don't really tell each other how to spend their money [that's just not polite]. Yet, we see that in the New Testament, this seems to be a major point of conversation for the earliest Christians. God, through Jesus, is not just looking to restore a personal relationship with us; he is looking to become our Lord/Master/King.

What does it mean to have Christ as our master? Well it means he controls the way we live our life. He governs the way we think, plan, pray, dream, spend, & see. He wants to shape and form the way that see our neighbor, the way we respond to stress, and how we believe the world is being made better.

[I'd like to talk in the next few posts about ways Jesus is looking to become our Master/Lord/King]

Just for Kicks: (it never gets old)

Thoughts on using the generic term "God"

To read the long version (read: better/richer/deeper/far more compelling) click here Otherwise, enjoy!

In my endless pursuit of pondering about how to be effective in communicating the message, I've realized that when I speak about God [using the generic term God], many people's eyes sort of glaze over. Not like an actual glazed doughnut, but more like the person who is on the 117th time watching a Scrubs episode. It's made me realize that having a conversation about God [using the generic name God] is rather boring. [Hear me out on this.]

Perhaps its just me, or 21st century culture, but God [using the generic name God] doesn't have much street cred. I mean I work with students, and while I'm teaching to students I see a glaze come over their eyes when I begin to talk about God [using the generic name God]. Yet I can't fault them, cause I (let's be honest) you do too. I mean God [using the generic term God] isn't really that interesting.

Honestly, I think that makes perfect sense. First of all, when we talk about God [using the generic name God], which God are we really talking about; we do live in a society with many views about God. God [using the term God], is a very open ended and very generic way to talk about the divine. When I talk about God, any old religion could assume that I'm referring to their god-figure. (This is where we often confuse the whole conversation between Islam and Christianity.)

I guess I've realized that I live in a world where everybody has a take on God. Its not like we live in a world of polytheists (people with multiple Gods) and we're revealing to the world there is one God. We're living in a world of people who either believe in 1 God or are ok with "not knowing and not caring." To talk about God just ends up in sounding like "blah, blah, blah, blah." God is too mainstream, too undefined, too generic to actually be interesting to listen to.

This, I think, is not as big a problem for us as Christians as it may appear, because just speaking about God is not really how it worked in the Bible. God [using the generic term God] actually has revealed himself to us in the person of Jesus. As Christians when we refer to God [using the generic term God], should spend most of our time talking about Jesus. [I mean after all we're called Christians not Godians.]

If the term God is generic, able to be used by anybody referring to multiple different things, perhaps speaking about Jesus would be better. While the name Jesus has actually become a mainstream, generic name at least it is referring to someone and something specific. The only thing is that Jesus has a story. Jesus actually said something. Jesus challenges us to think differently, he creates tension. Jesus causes us to rethink, revalue, & re-prioritize our lives.

We can talk about God [using the generic term God], and not really commit to something. We can talk about God [using the generic term God], and not challenge ourselves to see the world differently. We can use the name God [using the generic term God], and not offend anybody around us. God[using the generic term God] is safe.

So I guess, perhaps we need to stop talking about God [using the generic term God], and begin talking about Jesus. Maybe that's the first step in helping people remove the glaze from their eyes.

What do you think?

How the "Block M" and the "Script Ohio" relate to Organizations

I grew up a Michigan fan (that's Meechigan for those Bob Ufer fans). I was taught Ohio State is from the devil, everything about Ohio is 2nd rate compared to my beautiful home state. Little did I realize how similiar these two places are; in many ways. We're both Midwestern and have a similiar feel, which I began to notice when I moved to Kentucky: Ohio does feel like Michigan. They're both heavy on the manufacturing front. And both major football programs were based on power.

You see for years and years and years, football has been about power, strength, and sheer domination. We'd get the biggest, strongest men we could find, and then ram the ball down the field. It didn't matter how fast you were, we were going to beat you with our size and power. This has been the philosophy at both Michigan and Ohio State for decades. The two teams were really mirror images of each other. Like it or not, Michigan is like Ohio State (just, ;), we've done it better). This has been successful for years and years and years, and recently as Michigan has won a National Championship in '97 and Ohio State in '02. But the game is changing.

The game has become about speed. The mentality is not to use power and strength and move the ball down the field, it has become to spread the other team thin, isolate a highly skilled player against somebody that is slower and less skilled them them, and then get the the ball in a place where they may be able to take advantage of their speed and quickness. Power and strength has been replaced with speed and adaptibility.

Recently, I was reading in a journal on my favorite sports blog that one of the iconic Michigan coaches Bo Schembeckler, was 5-15 in bowl games. The author of this piece wondered if this wasn't a product of the power game. You see Bo was the biggest and baddest bully in his neighborhood. He for sure will dominate local kids, but what would happen when be began to meet the bully's from other neighborhoods? No longer was his power as big an advantage, and he lost the majority of his bowl games as a result. We have seen the same result recently with Ohio State's mindset; they're good in their conference games (still overpowering the little guys) but awful in the Bowl games (playing the other bullies). I think he has a point.

Michigan has, in the past couple of years, changed its mindset. No longer does it play the game based upon sheer brut strength and power, but has changed its focus to the speed and adaptible mindset of 21st century football. (Ohio State has not, they're still big, strong, and losing big games to top-ranked teams)

This pattern is not isolated to football. The mindset of business, politics, and churches has always been about power and overwhelming the opponent. This played out in Wal-Mart leveraged itself into having the most buying power; politicians bought the most ad revenue for a market; churches looked to build the best buildings with the best programs; etc.,etc.,etc. It is about power. But recently, we've discovered that power isn't as effective as it used to be. We're seeing online sales go through the roof, leaving companies like Wal-Mart struggling to catch up. One of Obama's biggest strategic advantages was that he dominated the internet, a relatively cheap way of marketing himself; in the process cutting out the need for an advantage he might have (or not have) on the traditional media markets. Churches with huge buildings are finding that just having a building and programs is not what the younger crowd is looking for; the power of the mega-church is meaningless to a 20-something.

These organizations are realizing that speed and adaptability are what's important to running a successful organization. In my field - the church - we're realizing that just having a cool youth room, cool programs, and a cool youth pastor are not enough to bring disicples in; perhaps they never were. Perhaps, like Michigan and Ohio State, we were just the biggest, best, and had the brighest lights in town and thought that if we did that we'd be able to draw kids to Jesus. Regardless, we need something more now. We must learn to adapt to student culture, we must learn to be relational, we must learn to go to the students; this mindset requires speed and adaptibility, as teen culture and mindsets are very quickly changing. In the church, it doesn't only include youth ministry, our entire culture is changing and the church as a whole must become more reliant on speed and adaptibality.

As we move further into the 21st century, we're going to see those who follow the traditional model focusing on power fall to the wayside. In the same way, we'll see those who rely on speed and adaptibility thrive!

And I still think that Ohio is a four letter word. GO BLUE!!!

Christian Rhetoric:

[Rhetoric: dictionary: verbal communication; discource]

(aka: talking)

Christians are to be different than the world around us. We have a different set of values, beliefs, and priorities than those who are not Christians; it's what marks us as different from everybody else. How do you know somebody is a Christian? Well you should be able to tell they're different by their actions [Galatians 5.22-26]. It should be evident in every level of their life-we're the ones who live with the Holy Spirit guiding our lives.

This mean that even the very WAY that we speak - our rhetoric - should be DIFFERENT. The very way that we communicate to people around us should be influenced by the Spirit of God that is present inside our hearts. It is not ok for a Christian to talk like everybody else.

Now what does it mean for a Christian to speak like a Christian? Well, I think a great place to start is the above mentioned passage of Scripture -- Galatians 5.22-26, the Fruit of the Spirit. The Fruit of the Spirit are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. So a Christian, when they speak, should be reflecting these attributes; these fruit of the Spirit.

The question we should be asking ourselves: "If a Christian, when they speak, is not revealing the Fruit of the Spirit, is the Spirit in them?" or perhaps we should ask,"If a Christian, when speaking, is not showing these Fruit of the Spirit, are they speaking like a Christian?" Tough questions, but I think important ones to ask ourselves...

I have seen too many Christians who have taken the Gospel message - a message of LOVE & HOPE - and not present a message that is neither of loving nor hopeful. If the rhetoric we use to communicate the Gospel isn't loving, then perhaps we're not presenting the Gospel message!

If we're not speaking without showing the Fruit of the Spirit, then perhaps we need the Fruit of the Spirit.

Great Quote:

Lord, let the thick skin that covers me not be a hindrance to you. Pass through it. My eyes, my hands, my mouth are yours. This sad lady in front of me: here is my mouth for you to smile at her ... This smug young man, so dull, so hard: here is my heart, that you may love him, more strongly than he has ever been loved before.

- Madeleine Delbrêl,
Missionary and activist (1904-1964)

Social Networking:

Social networking can be a powerful tool for those who are a.) working in groups b.) those who are in leadership, working with people. I don't understand why people in those situations wouldn't do everything they can to impliment Facebook, Twitter, and or blogs. They're simple to use, do not require a large amount of time, and the payoff is much higher than the cost - it seems like a no brainer.

I was involved in a group for about 9 months during the past year. As part of our group interaction, we used Twitter to help build solid friendships with one another. The point is that when using a social networking site, its to suppliment relationships built in ... well reality; not the foundation for a relationship.

One weekend a part of our team when on a trip to another city. While in-route one of his children threw-up in their van. This happened on a Thursday, and when it happened, he posted a tweet concerning what happened. Now, when we saw this friend on the next Monday, we had insight into what had happened to him over the weekend. We knew him just a little better, it helped us to understand his situation a little better.

Now, as far as the potential for connection, it only makes sense that a group or a leader would attempt to use technology in order to create a better sense of community amongst their organization. Sadly, when I talk with people in leadership positions, or people who work with groups, they are simply not interested in using this technology.

Being Method Transparant: "He is Risen"

Last weekend, I stopped opening the service at New Carlisle Wesleyan with the traditional "Good Morning." This is not because Good Morning is a bad way to begin a church service, but more because "Good Morning" isn't necessarily a Christian greeting. Its a greeting you could hear anywhere; school, an office, a street corner, or a restaurant. Its not a bad thing, it just not explicitly Christian.

Instead of saying, "Good Morning," I've begun using the ancient Christian refrain, "He is Risen!" & "He is Risen Indeed!" This is a very Christian back and forth describing the reality of the resurrection. Christ is indeed risen from the grave!

We do this because, as Christians, we believe that Christ has been raised from the dead, and because of this the very nature of reality has changed. Thus, the resurrection of Christ is the most important event in history. It is for this reason - and no other reason - that we gather.

Our services are celebrations of the resurrection. Coming together to remember the resurrection, to retell the story, and to ask ourselves if there are better ways of living out the resurrection in our every day life.

HE...IS...RISEN!

Monday Morning Highlight:

Enough already:

Today I was at a roundtable talkback session for the district, when it happened. We had a break and I was walking around in the hallway when a pastor, Oliver Dongell, from Plymouth Wesleyan walked by me and asked the question. You know the one that I'm doomed to hear the rest of my life. The one that at first it was kinda funny and now...well you know.

He asked me, "Do you know you look like Glenn Beck?"

Its kind of sad, because in my life, I am doing everything I can to be intentional aggressivly non-partisan. I don't think that politics solves the world's problems (more like...it creates them). I am of the persuasion, that the only solution to the problems of the world (from healthcare to terrorists) is the way of Jesus; the Kingdom of Heaven.



And to answer your question...Yes, I know I look like Glenn Beck.

Not So Nice Notre Dame Video:

Awesome Picture:

Michigan Nose Tackle Mr. Mike Martin:

note the ginormous arm...

HT --> MGoBlog

Great Quote:

We must pursue peaceful end through peaceful means.
~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

WANTED: Thinkers

We need people who want to think. Thinking is important, yet often very hard to do. You might say, "Dan...I'm just not a thinker." To that I say, "Liar! You're a thinker! I believe you have it in you to be a thinker."

When I was growing up, there were people who could rattle off hundreds of stats about their favorite baseball player or team, yet they would do poorly in their schoolwork. Why is that? Well not because they're dumb...they're not dumb, they just aren't thinking about school; they're thinking about how crazy the game was the night before. It's about the energy you put into thinking!

As a church (in general, not just at my church) we need people who will take up the mantle of thinking. We have a rich tradition of thinkers leading the way. They have led in philosophy, art, and culture. The church has been at the center of bring peace and love to places that are torn apart by hatred and violence. The church has always been the place where the great thinkers have hung out!

The church, now more than ever, is lacking people who are willing to be in the process of engaging the movement between the WORD and the WORLD. We're in desperate need of people who look to live in the tension between the Kingdom of God being present and the Kingdom of God that is on the way.

Will you join us? Will you embrace your role as a thinker?

Personal Thoughts:

I consistently come back to the Isaiah chapter 1. I'll spend a few months without thinking about it, but eventually my thoughts wander back to its words. They trouble me, they cause me to deeply think about who I am, what I think, and what I communicate about God. Needless to say, this part of the Bible challenges me greatly.

Pretty much the passage says:

1. Your worship of me is worthless. In fact, just stop it. Stop what you're doing cause it's meaningless, worthless, and disgusting to me. [Is 1v1-16a]
2. Learn to do right. Seek justice. Help the widow and the orphan. [Is 1v16b-17]

So basically, God is telling his people to stop doing what he has commanded them. They their sacrifies, prayers, and festivals are all meaning less. Whoa! Their whole religion is summed up in these actions. So pretty much, because they are failing to seek justice - to help the widow and orphan or to encourage the oppressed/rebuke the opppressor - their religion is meangingless. OUCH!

This is implying that the people of that day are not seeking justice, not helping the widow or the orphan, they're not encouraging the oppressed/rebuking the oppressor. God is angry! He is not happy with them at all. This causes me to ask the question --> am I seeking justice? or am I ok with the injustice that is happening all around me. Perhaps I'm ignorant of injustice...so is there injustice around me? If so: where is it? what is it? how am I a part of it?

For me, this also implies that to God, unless we're seeking justice, he sees our religion as worthless. It doesn't matter what I believe if I'm not helping the widow and orphan or to encouraging the oppressed/rebuke the oppressor. Which means I need to check that in my life.

I live in a world where I struggle with this daily. I'm aware of injustice around me - I read the tags on my shirt - and yet I struggle to do anything about it. [read: pragmatically I'm apathetic towards this issue] So what can I do about it.

What can I do to seek justice. What can I do to encourage the oppressed. Seriously, what do you think?

Quite Random Picture of the Week:

I found this on my computer...I blame Steph.

Sabbath pt3

What many people fail to realize is that in the Jewish law, Sabbath does not just refer to a 7 day work week, but to a 7 year period, and a 7x7 year period. [Leviticus]These Sabbath years were literally to be a Sabbath that lasts for an entire year! That’s 365 days of no work, which is pretty intense!

Every 7 years the whole nation would not work. This brings into question who will provide for them. The truth of the matter is that even though they work hard, their hard work does not cause the fields to produce food – God does. It is God who provides our daily bread, and the Sabbath is a visual reminder of that fact.

There is also another part to Sabbath that this goes to point out. Its not about getting rich, its not about moving up the totem pole of important people in the world. Taking a year off every few years kinda puts a damper on that idea. This idea of a Sabbath year is shouting at the Israelites, that their mindset should be different than the people around them. They’re the people who rely on God to provide, and not themselves. God has them do live this out by taking 1 out of 7 years and (in all reality) wasting them. And that’s not the crazy part.

Every 49 years there was supposed to be a year unlike any other! It was a Year of Jubilee! Check this out. In the year of Jubilee, all debts are canceled. All land that was sold in order to make ends meet was returned to its family, and all indentured slaves (people who enslaved themselves to pay of bills) were released from their bondage. So literally, everything goes back to zero.

Now of course this meant that most likely a field sold 5 years before the Jubilee was worth much less than it would have been worth 35 years prior, but still the point is still the same. All debt was to be forgiven, all land returned, and all slaves freed at the end of the 50 period; regardless of their value. How subversive, how radical, how completely different to the way we think business should be done.

Wealth in the ancient world – and today at some level – comes from what one owns. Some people are endowed with large tracts of land, and others have nothing. Some people are born into affluence, others are born into poverty, and the difference between the two is growing everyday. This happens because the rich have the ability to leverage their possessions into getting more, and the poor – continually struggling to make ends meet – are stuck spinning their wheels in an attempt to just keep their heads above water.

The Year of Jubilee was a time when God commanded the rich to give back to the poor. All debts were canceled. All land sold to help a family survive, was returned, and all slaves were freed! It is God's way of helping the rich and the poor not become too divide. Its like the master plan in Fight Club, just minus the blowing up of the buildings. God is leveling the playing field.

This is powerful. Linked to Sabbath is the reminder that the rich shouldn't be so concerned with getting rich, that they leave their friends behind who don't have as much wealth as they do. Perhaps God is calling us to do the same.

What do you think?

Book Review: "Let Go" by Sheila Walsh

(*I am a book reviewer for Thomas Nelson Publishing. Seeing as this book is directed towards women, I had Steph review it. Enjoy the review!)

When my husband asked me to read, Let Go, by Sheila Walsh, I was not excited about it. When I read the back cover, it seemed like another Christian self-help book (of which I am not a big fan). As I began to read through the first two chapters, I realized I was going through a situation that I needed to “let go” of, and Sheila was giving me honest examples, advice, and biblical truths I could apply to my situation.

In, Let Go, Sheila addresses issues many women go through that prevent them from becoming all they can be in Christ. Chapter three discussed living in the past. As I was going through something that still haunts me from my past, I was able to take heart that I am not the only person to struggle with past situations. She wrote, “Truth is powerful. At times it is heartbreaking, but ultimately, it will deliver you. (pg.35)” This statement struck me and has stuck with me.

At the end of each chapter, Sheila asked questions that made me really have to think in order to answer honestly. As I worked through my own issue, I was given hope and assurance that I am not alone. Other women go through the same thing, and with Christ’s help and hope, I can overcome them to become the woman I want to be.

Buy		Read

Great Quote:

Peace is inextricably linked

with equality between

women and men.
- U.N. Security Council,

at their open debate

on women, peace,

and security

(October 2002)

Links & Thoughts: Michigan Football

So if you're a Michigan fan or a college football fan, you probably heard that Michigan has recently been accused of breaking NCAA rules concerning too many hours of mandatory practice during the off season. [ [ [ Link ] ] ] This is a serious claim, and one that if true could give Meechigan a very big black eye.

Of course, when it comes to Michigan football, I have one source Brian. Brian is the main operator for MGoBlog, a one stop shop for all things Michigan football. Apparently, Brian is starting a Jihad against the paper who published the article. Here are responses he posted concerning this controversy. (Post #1, Post #2, Post #3).

Now, Brian made the point that the author of the article - Michael Rosenberg - has a personal grudge against Rich Rodriguez. Or at least he doesn't like Rich Rod. So maybe that paints the story with anti-Rodriguez glasses. (FWIW).

Brian makes some good points and I think that if he is right, the program will be ok. But if he's wrong and the program has been breaking rules, they need to be punished. Hopefully, this is all poor thinking, complaing players, and a biased journalist who's anti-Michigan football. I want a program that wins, and that does it above boards. GO BLUE!

Flamingo Fundraiser: Don't get Flocked

Perhaps you're curious what the big announcement was at church today. Well the big announcement is that the Flamingos are coming. That's right those ugly, nasty, smelly birds are on their way! Let's face it, flamingos are tacky and ugly. People who have them in their lawns should be ashamed of themselves! So you really don't want to be seen with a flock of flamingos in your yard!

Lucky for you, the New Carlisle Student Ministries has been planning and preparing for this all summer. We're prepared to keep those disgusting birds off your lawn. Also, lucky for you, we're selling Flamingo Insurance. IF you don't want to take the risk of having those awful birds end up in your yard you should get yourself protected.

Below is a copy of our insurance form. If you would like to, fill one out -- just print your name, address, and signature, and bring it in to the church by next Sunday (9-6-09) -- and we'd love to get you insured. DON'T LET THE UNTHINKABLE HAPPEN!

If you have any questions, call the church @ 574.654.7898!

SPREAD THE WORD, THE FLAMINGOS ARE COMING!

Geography Fail:

Found @ Failblog

Great Quote:

I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends.
~Abraham Lincoln

Sabbath pt2

Life is a struggle, one that takes everything we have in order to succeed. Only the richest of the rich don’t need to worry about the future. There is only 24 hours a day and we usually find ourselves working far too many of those hours just to make ends meet. This has been going on for centuries and is nothing new.

I don’t need to know you to know that you work hard. I know that you often lay in bed wondering how the bills will all be paid, how you’re going to be able to save up for college, or how you’re going to get the noose of debt off your neck. We’re all in the same boat!

It is for this reason that when people come up against the idea of taking a Sabbath they freak out. “We’re barely making ends meet by working 7 days a week, you’re asking me to cut 1 day off and still expect ends to meet?” A farmer who works more in a busy season than in a slow season could ask, “Am I expected to take that 7th day off? How can I be expected to get all the work done?”

Yeah, this is what God is asking his people.

The question we must ask ourselves is what should we rely upon? Should we trust in our own hard work? Or should we trust in God to provide for us? This is what it means for a person to take a Sabbath. God is asking his people to trust that he will provide for them if they take 1/7th of their productive time away.

Now, there is no promise that life will be easier. God never promises that if you honor the Sabbath you’ll have more than if you don’t. God is simply asking his people to trust in him.

So I guess the issue with Sabbath is:
 What do you trust in to provide for you?
 Do you trust that God can provide for you?
 Do you think you can do better in 7 days than God can in 6?

Sabbath pt 1

I’d like to do a 3-part series on the concept behind Sabbath. First, I’d like to talk about what is Sabbath? (what is Yahweh saying to us here?) Next, I’d like to look into what we’re saying by following Sabbath. Finally, I’d like to look into the practice of Sabbath years and the Year of Jubilee.

So…what is Sabbath? Well, as it is spelled out in Exodus 20, we see that it is an edict for Israel to not work on the 7th day of the week. Sabbath also came to include the many feast days and celebrations that Yahweh’s people observed, the annual Sabbath practice of letting the land lie still every 7 years, and the year of Jubilee celebrated every 49 years.

Yahweh says to practice Sabbath because on the 7th day of creation He rested. Interesting! What I think is saying is that a day of rest has been programmed into the very DNA of creation. OR that we’re not meant to work, work, work. This means that at the very core of what it means to be a human being cannot be found in our work.

The Sabbath is a once a week reminder that our value is found in the fact that Yahweh created us and that He needs no other reason than that to love us. The problem is that it is so easy to forget this. Perhaps we should say it this way: Sabbath reminds us that we are human beings not human doings.

This is foreign to our mindsets. We live in a world where we are judged by our production: “How much money do I make?” – “What is your GPA?” – “How fast can you run, how high can you jump, or how well can you put this ball through that hoop?” We spend so much time focusing on these things. They become the way that we view ourselves. We see ourselves as less important than somebody who makes a ton of money. We constantly compare ourselves to the person who has a perfect 4.0 GPA. We wish we were like the star athlete. We think this because we are constantly judging ourselves by how well we produce. We have been tricked into seeing ourselves as human doings.

Perhaps a way that you can help yourself overcome this obsession with production is to take a Sabbath. Take a day and don’t produce anything – just relax and reclaim your identity as a human being.

Hilarious Picture

HT - JD Walt

Baseball!

The Tigers are in 1st, the Cubs are in 1st. I have the option of watching nearly every Tigers game, and many Cubs games. I feel as if I am in heaven!

Brilliance:

"weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless." 

-calvin & hobbes

HT - Marcie Gerow

Great Quote:

"Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all 

other countries because you were born in it." 

-George Bernard Shaw

Ht - Ben Kickert

Great Quote:

Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received ... but only what you have given: a full heart, enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice, and courage.

- St. Francis of Assisi

Saved by grace pt.1

Recently I made a joke telling a friend that an action they were in the process of committing was a sin (even though we both knew I was joking). His response was, “saved by grace..” When he said it, it sort of struck me a little odd – what does saved by grace actually mean?

What he meant is that he is not saved by the actions he makes. So, what I was joking with him about has no bearing on his salvation. He means that it is by the ‘grace of God’ that he is saved, not by living a certain code. He is taking passages in the New Testament dealing with Gentile circumcision and broadly applying to all facets of life (not a slam on his viewpoint, just a definition).

I guess, while I agree with “saved by grace,” I struggle with the way that phrase is often lived out. Usually, when a person uses that phrase it comes off as, “well I’m saved by grace so this action or that action that I am in the midst of committing are cool.” Or they are a way of rejecting any sort of moral code imposed by a church or denomination. “Saved by grace” means that any sort of regulation imposed upon me is at its core legalism and not Biblical.

Ironically, saved by grace is a phrase found in the letters from Paul. In these letters, we find him giving directions moral/lifestyle commands. So those very people who quote Paul and say, “saved by grace, I can do this or that…it’s unbiblical to say this or that” really aren’t living lives that justify the Bible, they’re using the Bible to justify their lives.

I’m not even going to get into the whole process of its not about what I do that leads me to salvation. Because these same people all point to the moment of decision where they decided to get saved, say a prayer, etc. That looks like they’re doing something to be a part of their salvation. Perhaps saved by grace isn’t a license to live life however you feel like it should be lived!

My point is to say that when we start to say I'm saved by grace, I can do anything I want - they're missing the point of the passage as a whole. Saved by grace is pointing to the fact that salvation is a gift to us-the gift of life. To cut it down into just being a verse used to justify your lifestyle, is fail to understand this concept.

Great Quote:

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. 

-Desmond Tutu

Why we don't get the cross

I think we all struggle with understanding the cross; what its implications are, what God is doing through it, and how it saves us. The reason this is so is because it is a completely foreign way of winning. This is precisely because a cross is about losing. Thus God through Jesus is using losing to win.

You see the cross was a reminder to losers that they had lost. The Romans - and the Persians before them - used the cross on subjugated peoples who rebelled. After crushing a rebellion, the Romans would hang the leaders of the rebellion on crosses as a reminder to everybody else who really was in charge. (see Sparticus) It's a reminder from the strong that even at your strongest you're not as strong as us.

In the world I live in (It's the only one I can speak for) winning means I win. I beat the other guy. I come in first in the race. I accomplish a goal. I achieve. Winning means I conquor, I prove my strength, I show off my power, it means I vanquish my enemy. In the world I live in, the cross does not make sense. I live in America, we don't lose. We're the best. The strongest. The most powerful. The most influencial. We're the movers and the shakers. We dominate.

I don't get the cross, because for God to win, he had to vanquish somebody or something. Who gets beat here? Well, who's on the cross? But that doesn't make sense, Jesus is the hero. The Hero is supposed to win. The hero isn't supposed to be on the cross. The hero is supposed to rise up, to turn the hammer on the one driving the nails into his hands. The hero isn't supposed to die like that. He's supposed to make a mad dash to the hills, not to be nailed to the tree.

In the end, Jesus' victory is in the fact that he lost. In the end God chooses a path to victory that goes through defeat. This makes absolutely no sense!

Nicean Creed

We read the Nicean Creed in church this last Sunday. I thought it was a great exercise.

This is the creed that every orthodox Christian Church around the world professes to believe. Whether you are a Catholic, Easter Orthodox, Methodist, or Wesleyan this is what you are saying when you profess to be a Christian.

Nicean Creed
(I recommend reading the "Modern Version" just a little further down the page)

Great Quote:

The cross is God's way of saying, "Love Wins."

-Rob Bell

http://tinyurl.com/krcgx2

Furniture update:

so we ordered this couch from American Freight in June. They told us it'd be here in 4 weeks...obviously it has been longer than that. So we're excited for it to come, but are anxious cause it isn't here yet.

to quote Steph: "Just get here!" sadly this is American Freight's M.O. so if you want to get a couch right away, don't go to American Freight!

Love pt 4

Love is pro-life. But not like you think.

Love's pro-life stance is against abortion but it is also against leaving a single mother with no options alone to deal with her problems. You see love realizes that just making a law is not a going to make a difference. It recognizes that good laws need to be made, but demands we change our lives to help those who need help. So love does not allow us act - in the name of justice and truth - coldly, blindly, without concern for people who need help

You see Love's pro-life stance is against terrorism, but it's also against the war on terror. It realizes that neither provide the way to peace and equality.

Love's pro-life stance calls for justice, but also demands mercy.

Love is so pro-life it cannot stand idly by and watch another starve. Love causes a rich man to sell everything he has and give it to help his neighbor get some food. Being pro-life asks the one who has much, to liberally give it all away in order to be a neighbor to a stranger.

Love is so pro-life it is against fences. It looks to tear down walls, to repair the broken relationships that divide all of us. Love looks to make friends with the burglar, to clean up after the vandal, and to forgive the criminal. Love is so pro-life that it cannot fathom the death penalty, preemptive strikes, or torture.

Love is so pro-life it demands that wrong doing be treated with forgiveness. It cannot stand revenge, retaliation, or pay-back. Being pro-life means that love refuses to hate, it refuses to hold a grudge, and it refuses to quit attempting to reconcile.

Love's pro-life stance is so strong, its destiny can be summed up in two words: Love Wins.

Love pt 3

Peter Ustinov once said, "Terrorism is the war of the poor, and war is the terrorism of the rich." Now that statement is a mouthful.

I am fascinated with the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict. Perhaps fascinated is too nice of a word, I'm intrigued and horrified by the whole episode. What intrigues me is both sides are at fault, and neither side will own up to their wrong doings. What is more evil: a nail bomb in a shopping district or a laser guided missile into a ghetto? What is more evil: the belief that one nation should be destroyed or starving an entire population?

I have always wondered why the Trade Towers? Why did Osama -twice- attempt to destroy the Trade Towers? Think about it, when we went into Iraq in 1991, we first attacked military communications - that makes sense. Why did Osama go after the Trade Towers?

I was watching the Daily Show with Jon Stewart the other day and his guest had written a book about one county in Mississippi which refused to succeed from the Union during the American Civil War. One of their reasons to not succeed was because they didn't have a problem with the outlawing of slaves, they were poor. They thought that the whole idea of succession was a rich man's idea. The guest (and I forget her name) made the point this was pretty much the mindset of many in the south during the early 1860's.

As I write this, I wonder what's the difference war or terrorism different? Both are working from a weakness. Because a strong person does not need to result in violence to move in the world; only the weak. I'm not talking about physical strength, but the strength that counts. You know the strength that helps the single mom raise her child, the marathoner to run further, or the adult restraining himself/herself from hitting a child that his just hit them.

Violence, either through war or terrorism, reveals an inner weakness. The strong do not need to respond with violence; they respond with love and compassion. The strong can do this because they understand their place in the world; they understand that even at their strongest they are not nearly strong enough.

My friend JD Walt has a theme in his teachings, the mind of Christ, which is found in Philippians 2. Here we see that Jesus, even though he was co-equal with God, did not attempt to use his status for his own gain, but he humbled himself. He humbled himself to become a man, he humbled himself to death, and in death he even humbled himself to die on a cross (which at every level was an awful death).

How could Jesus do this? Well because he was strong. He didn't need to resort to terrorism; a ploy many of his fellow Galaliean freedom fighters had done. He didn't need to resort to calling his fellow Jews to rise up in a fight to the death. That would mean that he was weak. Instead he humbled himself and in his death made a spectacle of the powers of his day.

Where does strength come from? I think strength comes from knowing one's place in the universe. It comes from knowing that the one who has all strength, chooses to love all the world, even his enemies. Strength is choosing to follow in that pattern and love all the world, even those who consider themselves our enemies. Real strength is love.

I think what Ustinov was getting at is that terrorism and war come from the same place. Perhaps as followers of Jesus we should take Paul's advice and have the mind of Christ.

Love pt 2

Jesus once told a story in which the hero was a vile Samaritan (Luke 10). This would be the equivalent of me telling a story with a Taliban Nazi being the hero. His hero is possibly the worse choice possible – the Samaritans were hated. Why would he do this?

If you ever watch an old war movie, you’ll notice that the soldiers never refer to their enemies by their proper names. In World War II, the enemies were “Krauts” and “Japs”. In The Korean War, the enemies were “Commies”. In Vietnam, the enemies were “Gooks”. Why would they do this?

Across town, on the other side of the tracks, (name your place)tucky. We have ways to talk about places where people who are different than us live. Usually these places are given derogatory titles. Why do we do this?

When we have people who are different than us and those who are considered our enemies in our lives, we look for ways to dehumanize them. We call them names other than their name. We say they’re from a place that fails to meet up to our standards. We do everything we can to make them less than human.

When Jesus tells the story of a Samaritan being a hero, he forces his readers to value this Samaritan man as a human being.

Who are you dehumanizing? Who do you need to see as a human being?

Love pt 1

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducee's, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

When Jesus says "All the Law and the Prophets" he is talking about the portion of Scripture what we call the Old Testament. So, we see Jesus believes that the focal point of the Scriptures is love. The reason why we see him challenging all of the religious systems of his day is because they were not centered around love.

He challenged a Sabbath system that cared more about rules than healing. He challenged those who tithe huge amounts by saying the woman who gave 2 pennies was the one who gave the most. When he cleared the temple he was challenging it, because those selling were not selling out of a love for Yahweh or the Torah, but to make huge sums of money. His whole ministry was calling out systems built on greed and fear, not built around love.

If these systems were not built on love what were they built on? Well the two basic roots are fear and greed; sometimes both. These systems usually are built on involve control, power. Because fear and greed are so powerful, these systems often use violence in order to protect and control themselves.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John are choked full of Jesus calling his followers to live lives of love; it is the core of his project with the 12. He spends 3-years deconstructing the way that they think; because no other systems are built on love. In the end - for his final act of love – he challenged a system of greed and fear by calling their greed out for everybody to see. Lovingly, he refused to respond to their violence with violence, instead he responded to their beating by praying to God for them.

The question is why are we acting the way we do. Are our systems being built on love? Or do they find their source in greed or fear?

Part 2 to follow tomorrow.

Taco Bell's New Green Menu Takes No Ingredients From Nature

Hat Tip to my friend Nathaniel Alcock!


Taco Bell's New Green Menu Takes No Ingredients From Nature

Touchdown Jesus

So I live 25 minutes away from this location. Which is making me really, really excited for the upcoming football season. Even if I know that MeeSHeGAN (if you think I'm spelling that wrong on accident you don't get it) is going to stomp all over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

a depressing thought: steak = sin

So I grew up believing that before Adam and Eve sinned nothing died. This includes animals. Which means that before sin entered the world, Adam and Eve were vegetarians. This way of thinking means that steak is a product of the fall...

So is it Christian to say that I should avoid eating meat? 

your thoughts?

the 2nd worse thing that could possible happen to me.

What's the worst thing that could possibly happen to you? Well, obviously the predictable answer involves a chainsaw, family members, eye gouging, a bottle of Drain-o, and some duct tape. Besides that what's the worst thing that could happen to you?

I think the 2nd worst thing that could happen to somebody in my line of work is ... (drumroll please!) ... losing your cell phone. 

So in-between walking out of a coffee shop thinking about taking a picture of the most beautiful and complete rainbow ever and returning home a few hours later, my little friend disappeared. Monday morning involved retracing the previous night's steps 2-3 times...it was the 2nd worse morning I possibly could have imagined. (Later I learned I wasn't alone in my misery as my friend Mark also lost his phone last week; that made me feel a little better.)

We went to the Verizon store, and they told us we could connect an old cell phone to my line. So they hooked up Steph's phone to my number. This means that I have a very weird mixture of phone numbers. It also means that I may not have your number in my phone. 

If you could text me (or call) with your name & number, I would greatly appreciate it. My number is 414.5294 with an area code of (260). 

FYI -- Tuesday (7/21) I'll be at Cedar Point, so if I don't respond its because I'm going down a 300-ft hill, screaming my face off! 

Great Quote:

That's all nonviolence is - organized love.

- Joan Baez,
singer, songwriter, and activist

Great Quote:

"I deny the resurrection every time I turn my back on the poor or become a cog in a system of injustice"
-Peter Rollins
Poets, Priests, & Preachers Conference

Thoughts on Moses:

At church, my senior Pastor has been preaching through the book of Exodus, and it has me thinking; that story is pretty amazing. Just the fact that Yahweh called a group of slaves his people is incredible, but how he took those slaves to be his people is even more amazing.

I am intrigued by the central figure of the story: the person of Moses. The book is really an account his interactions with Yahweh, the children of Israel, and Pharaoh. What intrigues about Moses is not how perfect for the job he is – because he is a perfect candidate for leading an exodus of people – but how frail and fragile his mentality is.

The story of Moses begins in the Nile, because it was illegal for Hebrews to have babies, Moses’ family was forced to hide his presence, and most likely tried to save his life by gift wrapping him to the daughter of Pharaoh. When she found him, she raised him as a prince of Egypt. He would have had access to the best education possible at that time; he would have had access to some of the most influential persons in the ancient world; and he would have been trained in how to lead a nation. Perfect for leading the children of Israel out of slavery.

Interestingly enough, it seems Moses attempted to free the Hebrews by killing a guard who was abusing one of workers. When Pharaoh heard this he was upset, and wished to kill Moses. Moses fled Egypt in disgrace. He went to the middle of nowhere and spent the next forty years of his life as a shepherd in the wilderness. Moses, who once was one of the princes of Egypt, now a shepherd, the job usually reserved for children. Moses stood there for forty year – a whole world of potential – watching sheep graze. I do not think we should under estimate this facet of his life.

The story of the Exodus is intriguing not just because God freed a nation of slaves from bondage, but the fact that he used an insecure man who stuttered and stammered his way through leadership. He needed his brother to speak for him, his father-in-law to give him counsel, and an assistant to help him in the actual process of leadership. God did not pick the type-A go-getter leadership guru guy, he picked an insecure, stammering man who had spent half of his life running away from his potential.

This speaks to me because this is sometimes how I feel. When I graduated from Asbury, the President, Dr. Ellsworth Kalas, quoted the verse from the book of Joshua where Yahweh speaks to Joshua and tells him that whatever he sees is his. He then told us that the same is true for us. This is because we can see it, we have the ability to do it. People who cannot do it, do not have the ability to see it.

Yet this is so hard for me, because I see so much; yet am not always confident that I can do it. Like Moses, I stutter and stammer. Like Moses, I lack a sense of confidence. This makes, for me, Moses’ story very inspirational; if God can use Moses, he can use me for sure. This is because, it is not about my skills and abilities, my talent level; its about God’s. When Moses’ was a powerful leader, it was because he closely followed God’s lead. When Moses failed as a leader, it was when he tried to do it his own way. So for Moses to be successful, he had to realize that it wasn’t about his ability to perform, but it was about God’s ability to perform.

I need to learn that the same goes for me…

New Carlisle, Indiana

Here is a picture of New Carlisle, our home. You should note two things: 1.) the train tracks the move along the left side (they go all the way to downtown Chicago 2.) our apartment is in the top right side of the picture (if you look closely enough you can see (we are in the closest apartment to the camera)) Obviously this picture is taken in the fall, which I am pumped for.

Great Music:

my friend Chad Brooks during the past year got me hooked on the group Wilco. On Tuesday their new album Wilco (the album) was released. I'm definitely a fan of the title track, obviously Wilco, which they recently played for the Steven Colbert Show. 

Definitely check out their latest offering! I'm sure going to!

Great Quote:

We aren't called to live first-century lives in the twenty-first century, but twenty-first-century lives as we walk in light of the revelation God gave to us in the first century.

Scot McKnight

The Blue Parakeet pg. 27

Back from Silence:

I'm back!!! 

What has happened in the mean time? Well, we moved from Wilmore, KY to New Carlisle, IN to take a position as Assistant Pastor to the New Carlisle Wesleyan Church. This role includes responsibilities dealing with but not exclusive to Student Ministries, Small groups, and other areas of discipleship ministries. We're excited about the chance to become a part of this community and help the Kingdom grow here! 

Church Website

Map of New Carlisle

Some Time Off:

As those of you who have followed the Press Box for the past few months have noticed my posting has recently dropped off pretty significantly. This has been because, with trying to graduate, I have been distracted and had to place my priorities in other directions; one might say I have been experiencing writer's burn out. 

My plan is to take the month of June completely off from posting, replying and checking my reader. This is because hopefully in the next few weeks I'll be transitioning from Wilmore to a new home. We'll see when and where we end up, hopefully when I come back in July, I'll be able to give details for those interested.

So, until July, farewell.

Read the words of Paul.

Read this passage found in II Corinthians 8:1-15:

And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.

Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little."

I find this passage interesting. Paul is talking about an offering for the churches in Jerusalem. He seems to say that those who have in abundance (are rich) shouldn't be too rich. And those are lacking (are poor) shouldn't lack too much. He is advocating redistribution of wealth! Perhaps we should call Paul a liberal. 

What do you think?

Great Quote:

It is time that Christians were judged

more by their likeness to Christ

than their notions of Christ.

- Lucretia Mott,

Quaker abolitionist

& women's rights advocate

(1793-1880)

Great Quote:

It is more difficult to fight poverty in a rich country than in a poor one.

- Mother Teresa

Revelation 4 & 5: The Key to Understanding John's visions

(Here is a paper from my class on the book of Revelation. Its kinda long, but if you would like to read it have at it!)

The book of Revelation is the least understood book of the Bible. Ironically, it is one of the more written about books. I once heard a youth pastor say, “If you want to get student’s attention, talk about sex or the book of Revelation.” If you would like proof of the book of Revelation’s ability to capture people’s attention, look at the popularity of the Left Behind Series. The problem is that, as it has been said, there are as many interpretations are there are interpreters. Thus, the book is widely confusing, and because of its mystical nature, people are drawn to attempting to figure out what it means.

With so many understandings and so many hermeneutical methods through which people find their meaning in the text, it is no wonder that the book has become so confusing for so many. The majority of pastors simply refuse to preach this text. Others, who attempt to preach from it, often end up preaching ideologies that do not seem to fall in line with a responsible reading of the rest of the Biblical text. This leads to the question of, ‘how can we gain a proper understanding of the message in the book and where do we start?’

To read more, click here.

Quote:

The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be ... The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists. 

- Martin Luther King Jr

HT - http://blog.sojo.net/

Revelation (summary)

Below is a concept paper I am thinking of doing for a class:

The most complex book in the Bible is the book of Revelation. It has been said that there are as many interpretations of it as there are interpreters. This is true, as a trip to any Christian bookstore will have dozens of different books with dozens of different interpretations. What are we to believe about the message of Revelation?

The book begins with seven letters to seven different churches, and then moves to speak about a vision of a throne room. Our author, John is given from this throne room the amazing privilege of being taken on a long series of visions. The first vision, the vision that the rest of the book flows out of, is a vision of a lamb that is standing on a throne in heaven. Whatever we are to believe about the meaning of this book, we must first begin with this vision of the Lamb standing on the throne of heaven.

To find an answer this question, we must first ask what it would it have meant for the first readers of the book when they first read it. Reality to the first readers is that the Roman Empire ruled the world at this time. It was this government who persecuting the early Christians. They had rulers, who claimed to be gods and demanded that all their citizens worship them. Since they were the most powerful persons in the world, they were able to demand that people worship them or they would have them killed.

Revelation says something completely different. In this book Caesar isn’t the one sitting on the throne of heaven; the Lamb who was slain is sitting on the throne. What does this say to how reality is really oriented? What does this say to the way we should live our lives? Should we be more worried about what Caesar or this Lamb wants? Well who is standing on the throne of heaven?

What do we allow ourselves to be more influenced by the political power players of our day or the Lamb on the throne? Do we believe that the world is going to hell in a hand basket simply because the wrong politician is in office or that the world will be made right because a Republican is president? Whose voice should be stronger influence for our lives, the voices on the news of the voice of the one who sits on the throne when he says “Behold, I am making all things new!” (read Rev 21.5).

Revelation is not necessarily making predictions about the future; it is talking about the way we live our lives. It is calling its readers to remember who is really on the throne in heaven. When we allow ourselves to pay too much attention to the beasts and the dragons and the chaos that seems to be filling the world, we forget that this Lamb is on the throne, and he says, “I’m making all things new!”

In our lives, as we see economic hard times, pandemics like the swine flu, corruption all around us, culture in a hurry to jettison any type of moral compass remember that we serve a God who is sitting on the throne and none of this is about to drive him off the throne (Actually, if you read Revelation, you’ll notice that God never moves, he remains stationary in his seat, he is in control without moving!). So don’t allow yourself to get mired down in hopelessness, remember it is the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ the Messiah, who is standing on the throne in heaven, and he is in control!

What do you think?

A video that's so freaky...you'll wet yourself!

Hat Tip to Phil Strahm

No more to guns...

I grew up a big fan of guns, and to some level I still enjoy guns. When I had a truck, I put an NRA sticker on it; Charlton Heston was my president. When I turned 18, I bought a gun - in fact in high school I bought two. At my parents house are 5 guns that I claim to be mine, 3 that I have definite claim to (the others are my dad's that he never uses). So when I say, I guns are a part of my past, I'm not just saying that.

Recently, I read a stat that says in one year over 3,000 children are killed by guns. This is compared to 0 in Japan, 19 in Great Britain, 57 in France, 109 in Germany, and 103 in Canada. These other countries have much tougher gun laws. Actually, I heard that in Japan the only people allowed to own and use guns are members of the National Olympic shooting team (not even cops). Yes, I know the US's population is larger than these countries, but if the numbers were averaged out, we'd still be way higher than the other (between 1979 and 2001, gunfire killed 90,000 children). The reason is that we have more guns than they do.

I really didn't think about this issue - even though I'm a believer in non-violence - until I was having lunch with some friends (one from Arkansas and one from Brazil). When learning that people don't own guns in Brazil like we do in the US, my friend from Arkansas asked if people are afraid because they don't have guns. He said something to the effect that there are some crazy people out there. My Brazilian friend replied something like exactly, there are some crazy people out there. He said he was afraid in the US because he never knew who had a gun, or what crazy thing somebody would do if they got angry enough.

This conversation got me thinking, sure its not the gun that is ultimately responsible for murder, it is the person shooting it. Sure, if somebody is responsible with a gun, it can be a perfectly safe tool to keep in ones house. Sure, I have the right to own a gun* but can my gun keep me safe?** could I actually use my gun to kill someone? I understand sport, but am I willing to say that sport is more important than safety. I guess unless I'm in grizzly country, I really don't think I need a gun.

As I have thought through my feelings about guns over the past few months, I've realized that I do not have an internal drive to own guns let alone shoot them anymore. Also, if I am going to take a stance against violence and the lifestyle that violence creates, I must have integrity in my position. Gun violence is a very real reality, one that I stand against. I think the only way for me to live with integrity is to say that I think I've shot a gun for the last time.***


*I think that the 2nd Amendment is a very useless law. Honestly, if a group of people were to rebel against the government, do we actually think, with all the technology, they'd stand a chance. In Iraq (twice) we've been using tanks and ship based missile, shooting targets from over the horizon (meaning we launch missiles at people who can't see us), do we actually think a militia would stand a chance to defend ourselves against the gov't? I mean Iraq had a standing army with tanks and they only lasted a couple of weeks.

**Another conversation point always talked about is self-defense. Most people don't talk about the statistic of people shot by their own guns, being used against them.

***First this is a personal issue, I am not attempting to change any person's position on this stance. FYI: I allow myself the space to change my position, but as of right now, I just do not see a reason I would need to have to shoot a gun again.

Plagiarism?

Recently we had a conversation in a Chapel interns meeting about pastors and originality. The brunt of the issue discussed was whether it is appropriate for a pastor to use material in a sermon without citing where the information was coming from. For instance, is if appropriate for me to read a book by NT Wright, and then teaching his ideas to a congregation without letting them know where I got it from (implying that I was the original thinker).

Con: The argument for the side that says it is wrong says its dishonest for a pastor to speak something that is not theirs as if it is theirs; this is stealing. This argument is much like the argument against plagiarism in academic, published, and professional writing. For a pastor to get up front and say something and not let the congregation know where they got it from, leads towards a false sense of the pastor's knowledge. There is a responsibility to be people of integrity and let people know when you're 'borrowing' somebody's material.

Pro: The argument for the side that says its not a big deal, comes from the fact that everybody is doing it and we all realize that pastors are reading and studying. If they are studying we should expect them to We realize that what they preach is not original. Its not important they they originally though it. Its important that they are proclaiming it to us. We expect that they got it from some research they found, a book they read or something like that in the hours they spend hiding in their office.

*I personally think both sides are right. I have never assumed when I heard my pastors make comments in church were making stuff up. I guess my understanding has always been they read that somewhere. What I guess I have always questioned is when pastor just straight-up preach somone else's sermons; that's a bit too much. In response to this, it was pointed out by a mentor that the early Methodist ministers simply preached Wesley's sermons...nobody had a problem with that.

What do you think?

Passive resurrection

It is proper to believe that Jesus did not raise himself from the grave, but that he was raised by God the Father. While it may appear to be a minor detail in the grand scheme of life, it is a rather important one if you are to get the idea of what is happening here.

It is important because it speaks to Jesus' nature. As Christians we believe that while He was God, He gave up the independent use of his innate God abilities. Thus, we believe that when He healed people, it was the Holy Spirit doing the healing... etc. etc. You get my point, the conversation can be confusing very quickly, but you get the basic idea. 

We believe that Jesus was killed because he was being faithful to His Father's will. Or he was being himself. Jesus was teaching a new way, and then while living this new way, he was killed in the most shameful way possible. This death is the utter rejection of Jesus by the Jews. They wanted to make a statement about what they thought about Jesus...and they picked the cross.

As Christians we believe that God has the final say in our lives. Thus we believe that when God raised Jesus from the grave he was vindicating the life that Jesus lived, "This is my Son, with whom I am well pleased." This means that the way God has ordained for us to live is the life that Jesus lived. That the way the world finds detestable, is really the way that we are to live. We are to subvert the ways of the world around us, because we find our honor in ways the world finds shame.

First Day of a NEW week!

John 20.1 says that on the first day of the week, the women went to the tomb. Look at John's clever writing he's putting this little hint in his text for us all to read...Easter Sunday was the first day of a NEW week ... well duh its Sunday. Yes this is obvious, but there is something just a little deeper going on...its the first day of a NEW week.

Think about it this way, God created the world in 6 days, and on the 7th he rested; this was our reality, the 7th day. God's work was finished on earth. Then Jesus comes, lives, dies, and is resurrected. Christians believe that through his acts a NEW reality was fashioned; a new week was started. No longer are we living in the OLD week, but a NEW one. A NEW reality that dawned on that Easter Sunday all those years ago!! A reality that has been defined by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. 

He has Risen!!! Welcome to the NEW week!

Great Quote:

God was executed by people painfully like us, in a society very similar to our own ... by a corrupt church, a timid politician, and a fickle proletariat led by professional agitators.

- Dorothy L. Sayers,
The Man Born to Be King (1943)

HT - http://www.sojo.net/

Why Monday, April 6th will be a really, really long day.

It was common sense that Connecticut would lose in ’99. Nobody thought Arizona had a chance in ’97. Duke was going to get crushed in ’91. Everybody thought that Villanova was dead in the water in ’85. NC State had no chance in ’83 or ‘74. People would have considered you stupid if you would have suggested that Texas Western was going to win in ’66. But in every case, the underdog produced a huge upset.

At the same time nobody gave Duke in ’90, Michigan in ’76, or Memphis State in ’73 a chance either, and for good cause, they all were soundly defeated. Duke by 30, Michigan by double digits, and Memphis State allowed Bill Walton to shoot 21 out of 22.

It is for these two separate paragraphs that I am anxious, nervous, excited, incredibly moody, and increasingly unable to focus.

Oh yeah…I've got State: 75-64.

Go Green, Go White, Go State!!






(my prediction is in honor of the 1979 National Championship, where MSU won 75-64)

guess where we are!

Hilarious Video:

Let me set the scene. Kentucky has just fired Billy Clyde (their basketball coach since spring of 2007). He is hurt because he feels there are expectations that go beyond just coaching, and he wasn't judged fairly. Being the fact that this is Kentucky, every person and every media member wants to talk to him, but Billy doesn't like the media that much (one of the reasons he's getting the boot). So, after the press conference, Alan Culter, a reporter from the local NBC affiliate chases Billy through the UK practice facility.



Funny Things of note:
1. Billy never talks to the person on the other line of the phone.
2. The weird running scene with Billy talking about running with Alan.
3. The part where Billy is desperately trying to pull the door shut,
4. The commentary by the other two reporters from Louisville.

Hat tip to Inside the Hall

Why take these pictures?!? I don't know!

The other day I was looking through my pictures, and I noticed something: We take a bunch of pictures with our heads in front of something cool. Case in point, this photo. Steph and I went to a marching band competition a few years ago, and took a picture of the field with our heads in the picture.



Why do we do this? My only guess is we wanted to prove we were there, and that we have heads.

Sometimes we get really creative and stand in a straight line in front of something really important. Like this waterfall in Chicago:



I mean everybody has wedding photos and they take pictures of everybody standing in a line or a of family reunion with everybody just sitting there staring at the camera. Like this original:


By the way, Steph's family is related to the Hatfields.
(they're from the west side!...and by west I mean West Virginia! )

Why take pictures like this? What are we trying to remember? Standing in a line waiting for the person with 5 cameras to get a shot with everybody's eyes open? Why is this a popular idea? All we get is that glare in our eyes that doesn't allow us to focus for like 5 minutes. This is the memory we're trying to save?!?! Why not take pictures of events! or of great beauty? Instead, when I look at your photos on Facebook I'm stuck looking at a close up of your mug...

Love: what's it got to do with anything anyways?!

Philosophy cannot understand love. It’s irrational. It makes absolutely no sense. It does things that make other scratch their heads. One can only understand love if they have been in love.

Love drives people to sacrifice everything. Love keeps lovers up all night. Love would cause a college student to rent a car and drive 15 hours in order to get to spend 5 hours with the one he loves. Love makes people do things that others see and say, “that’s CRAZY!”

We can only understand God if we view him through the lens of love. The Bible is at its core a love story; God creates the world because of love; he looks to redeem his rebellious creation because of love; he calls out Israel because of his love; Christ comes to us because of love; he dies for us because of love; he creates the church because of love; he calls all to himself because of love. If we do not understand love, we do not understand God’s actions or the story of the Bible.

For this reason, theologians and philosophers who attempt to look at God’s actions through Christ a lens that doesn’t include love, miss the mark. For example, John Calvin created a model for understanding God’s working in the world – predestination – that makes sense philosophically yet it does not include love; thus it creates a poor understanding of who God is.

What do you think about this?