Booze pt. 2

As Christians we need to understand the nature of creation as innately good. Just like a beautiful painting that has been covered in smut and smoke, the world has been distorted and its beauty has been hidden. Even though its been tarnished, we can never forget the painting is still beautiful underneath! And if cleaned off, its original beauty can be restored.

Why then does the Bible speak of drunkenness being bad? Is it because alcohol itself is bad? If your answer is yes, then how do we understand the fact that God created everything good? If God indeed created everything good then we must believe that even the ingredients that go into producing alcohol are innately good. If that is true how can alcohol be bad?

Just because alcohol can be abused does not mean that it is bad. It just means that as humans we’ve found a way to abuse the beautiful creation that we’ve been given to care for. This is the problem with humans: we abuse everything around us. We abuse our resources, other people, and all elements of creation. If you want examples look at domestic abuse, slavery, dog fighting, human trafficking, strip mining, sweat shops…the list could go on and on. We call this pattern of abuse sin.

What we need to understand is that abuse is sin. The problem is that it is very easy to not understand the difference between action and abuse of the action. This is called legalism. Legalism is just as wrong as the abuse itself, because it blinds us from seeing the beauty of creation.

Thus as Christians:
1. We need to understand the innate goodness that is in the world.
2. We need to stop being legalistic.
3. We also need to stand against the abusive (or sinful) nature that is the pattern for those around us.

Booze pt. 1

Recently, for those of you in the know, the Wesleyan Church had its General Conference. One of the issues that has been heavily debated over the last couple years is the issue of alcohol. Many of you know that the Wesleyan Church has a hard stance against drinking alcohol, and all of its members must affirm this stance if they are to be a part of the church.

Now I disagree with this position. I do not feel that a list of do’s and don’ts is appropriate. I don’t think that alcohol itself is necessarily wrong, but I do affirm that an addiction to it (alcoholism) and the abuse of it (drunkenness) are both wrong. (The addiction part because it is an addiction and it causes you to lose control, and the abuse part because we should not abuse anything)

Many young persons in the Wesleyan community agree with me and have made their voices known in the church. Apart of this group has decided that it is ok to drink citing the fact that there is no Biblical mandate against it. Thus, the church’s rules prohibiting drinking are wrong, and they have the freedom to drink. This is not an isolated group, but it stretches all over the denomination.

To me the issue of whether or not I should drink has nothing to do with whether or not there is a Biblical mandate. To me the issue is that I have made a covenant saying I wouldn’t. Until that covenant is changed, I am bound to it. To me this is not a Biblical issue, it is an integrity issue. I have decided that alcohol (or any other issue) is not worth me jeopardizing my integrity.

I personally do not find drinking to be that important anyways. If I need a beer or a martini in order to have a good time, I have a problem. Comedian Jim Gaffigan makes a good point in one of his routines; we make way too big an issue out of the whole issue. As he mimics somebody asking a non-mayonnaise eating person whether or not it is ok it they eat mayo.

More Thoughts to come…

Things to take away from this post:
1.) I chose not to drink, not because I find drinking wrong, but because I have covenanted myself to the Wesleyan Church.
2.)The real issue is abuse and addiction.
3.) If I have to have a drink to have a good time, maybe there’s another issue-namely addiction.

Election Thoughts...

It's election year, which means it’s the time when we get to hear a bunch of empty promises from politicians. Let's be honest, every four years we hear two lines:

1. We need to work some kinks out then everything will be good. It's the other party is holding us back from progress.
2. We need to make big changes before everything will be ok. The current party is wrong and we need to get a new party in place.

What really happens is that a new party comes into place and nothing really changes, because politicians only care about getting elected and don't want to do anything radical that would threaten this. So real change doesn't happen because people are worried about job security. (and who could blame them!) I just don't think that politicians will ever make the world a better place!

I'm not going to lie to you, I'm kinda burnt out on the political process because I don't think it works. I don’t think that the current party that is in power will ever work things out. And I don’t think that a new party, and the change they’ll bring along will make things any better.

I say all this because I have no idea who I am going to vote for. I can’t decide which line is the least false this time…

Rules for Driving in Lexington

1. be prepared to stop at least 50 times, because none of the stop lights are timed to help traffic flow
2. nobody is to use turn signals...ever
3. watch out for flying cigarette ash from drivers in front of you flicking their cigs unto the road
4. construction may take weeks, so be prepared to drive on half completed roads
5. driving should happen at 5 mph below the speed limit
6. making a right turn from the left lane is acceptable
7. patience is unacceptible
   
8. all cars must be outfitted with a Jesus Fish
9. cutting in front of larger vechiles is perfectly acceptible
10. rain, sleet, snow, and ice (or the forecast of) are perfect reasons to go 13 mph...even when the skies are clear
    

My sink is throwing up...

So we went to Indiana for the weekend because our friend Joel got married! He is now in Las Vegas with his beautiful wife playing the slots....errr watching one of the amazing shows. We were so happy for him.

It was a great weekend, but when we got back the apartment we noticed an interesting aroma. Now there is a back story here. Last week I was working and got a call from Steph saying that there was nasty black gunk in our sink and it smelled like burnt rubber. This was the smell that we encountered when we opened the door. Our sink had the hiccups!

So I went over to Maintenance and informed them of our issue. Jill, the receptionist, told me they'd get it taken care of. Steph called me at lunch and said that the maintenance guy was digging in front of our apartment trying to get it all fixed. So apparently it was something big that needed to be fixed! Yikes!!

Needless to say, our sink is done burping!

Great Story...

Mass Transportation

As gas prices continue to go up, owning a car becomes less and less attractive to me. The only problem is that if you don't have a car (and you don't live in a big city) you're out of luck. But what if you didn't need to own a car.

Whenever I go into Chicago, I take the train. It's just easier. I pay my bill and take a quick nap while I wait for me stop. The only thing I am responsible for is knowing the schedule. I love it.

What would it be like if we had the option to not drive. What if everywhere you wanted to go there was a subway, a train, or a city bus that would take you there? To me the idea sounds like it would be great!

The only catch is by buying into mass transit we lose a bit of our independence. But would that be ok if it means we become unaddicted to our gas guzzling vechiles. It's not that I am anti-personal transportation, but the issue is we're addicted.

Dogs are better...

The other day Stephanie and I were talking about what we'd name animals that we may or may not get in the future. We have different visions about our pet situation; I want a dog and she wants a cat. We figured we'd solve this by getting one of each. Now don't get me wrong, I like cats. They're fun! But I'd rather get a puppy.

Here's my deal. Cat's are very independent, they take care of themselves. You can put a cat in a house, put their food out, give them some clean kitty liter (or even just sand) and not worry about them for days. Even if you do worry about them, they only care about you when it is time for feeding. Stephanie's cat, Chocolate is a great example of this. She hates me! When I walk into a room, she hisses, growls, and even tries to scratch me, but when I am eating meat she is my best friend. I have no stomach for this type of pet.

Robert Di Nero in Meet the Parents is right when he describes dogs. They need you, they are happy to see you, and when you are angry at them their tail goes between their legs to...well if you have seen the movie you know what he says next. Dogs cannot live without you. You are their life! When I am spending time to feed an animal, I want to have the satisfaction of knowing that it actually cares about me-this will never happen with a cat.

Back to my first sentence, we were talking about pet names. I think it's absolutely hilarious to give titles (i.e. Sir, Senator, Coach, etc.). As we were talking about what to name our pets, we decided on naming the dog, Colonel Hank Greenberg and the cat Coach Bobby Knight.

Summer Randomness

Two points of interest that I would like to point out…

Today I learned that the state of Arkansas calls itself the ‘Natural State’ because when you think natural…usually the conversation goes back to Arkansas. This makes you think what type of process people go through when picking these cute mottos. Why is Arkansas natural?

Delaware calls itself the 1st state. This is because they were the first to ratify the constitution. Why is this so? Well because they are so small!

Did you know that two states make claims on flying? North Carolina says that it is first in flight, while Ohio claims that it is the birthplace of flight.

Abraham Lincoln’s importance is also shown as three states stake a claim on his life. Kentucky calls itself the birthplace of Lincoln. Illinois calls itself the Land of Lincoln. Indiana says that it is childhood home of Lincoln.

Michigan calls itself the Great Lake State. Minnesota says that it is Land of 10,000 Lakes. Who knew that having lakes was so cool!

Wilmore has been invaded. 75 bazillion cicadias have attacked our fair city. On trees, on the sidewalk, and in the grass for the past week or so these nasty bugs have jumped out at us. Steph and I went hiking a couple weekends ago and I noticed a ton of these guys hanging out in the woods…now they’re all over!

They don’t bite but today when I was driving home from work about 100 flew over my car like snowflakes. It’s unbelievable how they swarm. When we went to church in Lexington, we didn’t see any, but in Wilmore and Nicholasville they’re like locust.

Which brings me to my second thought…has God sent a plague against us?

Pain Free Living?

“And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.”

Summer is here, and that means I have some spare time to think. As well as thinking, I have been challenged to memorize Matthew 5-7 (the Sermon on the Mount), which is a pretty crazy passage. Not only is it long (I heard once it takes 19 minutes to read), but it’s intense.

I have been stuck on the first part of the passage, the part where Jesus explains the type of people who will be blessed. They are the poor in spirit, those mourning, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted. If you really think about it, this is not the type of person you dream of being when you’re a little kid. You don’t hear the 7 year olds saying, “I want to be a mourner!”…just doesn’t happen.

I was thinking the other day that most of the time the message communicated to us is that God wants you to not go through hard times. I hear it in prayers, in songs, in sermons, and in conversations. We pray asking to avoid hard times. We pray that God would spare us from pain and suffering. Sermons are focused on how to live a better life. Most Pastors are focused on giving biblical advice on how to have a more successful and fulfilling life. We’re focused on how to free ourselves from the issues of life that drag us down. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no masochist, but maybe we’re missing the point. Maybe there is more to life than just looking to avoid trouble. Maybe there’s more to life than sunny skies and being debt free (not that those are bad things either).

I am in the middle of reading the book, “The Politics of Jesus” by John Howard Yoder. He made the point that Jesus actually lives out the Sermon on the Mount when he is crucified. For instance, he mentions that in Matthew 5:40 Jesus says if somebody taking your tunic to give also your cloak. When Jesus is being crucified, he points out that Matthew very purposefully mentions the fact that the soldiers were dividing his clothes. How should we take this: Jesus is actually living out the Sermon on the Mount! The cross is not just the story of God becoming man and then dying so we can be saved. The cross is the example for us to follow.

Paul picks up on this in the book of Philippians, chapter 2, verses 5-8. He says that we should have the same attitude as Jesus. Who though He was God, didn’t seem to care to hold on to this and he became like a slave. As a man, he again humbled himself and died. He didn’t just die he was crucified. So Paul wants us to see that Jesus doesn’t care much about taking the easy route, and we’re supposed to be like that.

I don’t know where to take this topic any further. I’ve already said I’m not a masochist, and I do not enjoy struggling through life, but I think that Jesus is trying to tell his followers something. I guess I’ve read over this text a dozen times in the last year or so, and it has struck a cord in my mind that maybe I’ve been thinking about life wrong. I’ve wanted to find the easiest, the most comfortable, or the least painful way–but maybe that’s not the way of Jesus.

-Dan

What does it mean to be a martyr?

The word martyr literally translated means witness. So, the earliest Christian martyrs were believers who witnessed the kingdom message of Jesus by laying down their lives. Thus, being a witness of and dying for the Gospel message have become interlinked. What does this mean for our everyday lives here in 2008?

Christians in the early church were martyred because they said that Jesus not Caesar was Lord, and only Jesus was worthy of worship. They were killed because they believed that through Jesus hope was brought to the world, not the government. And because they did not support their government, they were killed. As they proclaimed hope in Jesus, they rejected the lie that hope comes from Caesar.

I think that today we have moved away from this way of thinking.

I hear Christians worry that the world will fall apart if certain politicians get into the Presidents office. I hear Christians worry about the end coming if a certain country obtains nuclear weapons. I often ask myself how I will survive if the government fails to control the economy. And we are constantly worried about a myriad of issues that we feel can only be solved if the proper elected official makes the right move. We have allowed a faith in a false god to creep into our lives.

For the early church to deny that Caesar is Lord might mean you would be killed, but it definitely would mean you would be removed from society. Romans believed that the world was being made right and peace was on earth because of Caesar’s presence; anybody who thought otherwise was ostracized. This is where the mark of the beast talked about in Revelation comes from. You would literally be not allowed to buy or sell in the marketplace if you did not proclaim that Caesar was Lord.

So, what does it mean to be a martyr today in 2008? Well first, I think it means that we understand the world completely different from those around us. The world is made better only through Christians living out the death and resurrection of Jesus – not any form of government. Second, this message is worth giving up our lives (whether literally or metaphorically). Finally, to be a Christian means that we must understand that suffering is a part of being a Christian.

compelling and rich

I've been meditating on this quote for a couple months now:

The weakness of Christ's Cross is the ultimate criticism of all our attempts at power and security.

What do you think?

Types of Church structure

Types of Church Structure and Organization:

1. High Church Model – this type of church is ruled from the top down. You’ll find these types of churches have bishops or other types of officials that control the operations of the church. (Roman Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox, etc.)


2. Low Church Model – this type of church is governed from the bottom up. You’ll find these types of churches are controlled at the local church level. (Southern Baptist, Non Denominational)


3. Semi-High Church Model – This model is a church that is ruled from the top down, but allows some authority to the local church level. (United Methodist, Presbyterian, etc.)


4. Semi-Low Church Model – this type of church is usually governed from the local church level, but has a Church government that often functions as a facilitator for the local churches (Wesleyan, Free Methodist, Nazarene etc.)

The original model is the High Church model. Because of this, the older denominations all follow this way of operation. This model takes seriously the concept of spiritual authority, as they respect and listen to those who are in places of authority in the church. Historically, the issue is that this authority has become corrupt and abused its power.

The second model, the Low Church model, is a reaction against the High Church model. The church became corrupt, and as a result spiritual authority was abused. Thus, in order to protect themselves from abusive authorities, some churches completely decentralized their power. The problem here is that churches often become isolated from the rest of the body and become very individualistic. The result is that they break down the unity of the body.

Models 3 & 4 are compromises between options 1 & 2. These models champion a mixture between the High and Low Churches as they believe that both sides have good points and attempt to blend the pros in order to eliminate the cons. Sometimes this works and sometimes it does not.

All the models have their pros and their cons and while no one model is necessarily better than the others, some can be more problematic. Personally, I am leery of Low and Semi-Low Church models only because I see divisions and fractures as a bad thing.


What do you think? Where would you put your church? Which do you prefer?

Why there?!?!

God called Israel out of slavery and brought them to Palestine. Why would God put them here? It is a mountainous, dry, and seemingly out of the way place. If I were to create a people I would do it in the middle of culture – like a New York or a Los Angeles. Instead, God sends his people to North Dakota. How does this make any sense?

What makes Palestine significant the fact that it is a land bridge between the southern power (Egypt) and the northern power (Mesopotamia). Palestine is the land between the harsh desert that is now northern Saudi Arabia and the Mediterranean Sea. If these ancient superpowers wanted to trade with each other, they had to cross this land bridge.

Actually, one northern valley has roads leading to three continents (Europe, Asia, & Africa). Megiddo, a city located here, has seen more battles than anywhere else. I think it is because of this strategic positioning that God sent his people to that mountainous, dry, and seemingly out of the way place. He wanted his people to influence the most people that the possibly could.

And is it any wonder that God was angered when his people acted just like everybody else? He called them to be different. He gave them place in the middle of the action so people would notice their difference. But they are content to act just like everybody else does and God sent them into exile.

What does this say about us? Are we putting ourselves in the way so people will notice us? Are we living any differently than the people who are around us?

What do you think?

Thought's on College Basketball

Seeing as it is about that time of the year...the time where I think about two things, A. Easter and the Lenton seaon and B. Basketball. (in that order of course), I was reflecting on the NCAA tourney (for my Easter reflection check out www.matthewproject.blogspot.com). While thinking about this, I realized that I recall from memory the NCAA champion back to the 60's maybe if i get luck the 50's!

That's a lot of useless random information that will only be useful to me if I ever become ESPN analyst. But what can I say, watching basketball is one of the ways that I cope with the long and dreary winter season. So I get plenty of time inbetween semeseters where I have nothing more urgent on my mind than College Basketball.

Here's my analysis for this year's NCAA's:

I think that there are somewhere between 5 and 12 teams that could put a run together and win it all. There is no team that is far and away better than the pack. Instead we have a top tier of teams that all are good, but none that seems to want to seperate itself.

This year has been a down year for the SEC, the ACC and the Big Ten college basketball conferences. Since 1987 these three conferences have won all but 6 of the National Championships. This year they will probably only get 11 teams combined to the tourney. The power this year comes from the Pac-10, the Big East, and the Big 12. All of whom have very deep leagues, and they should all be represented well in the 2nd weekend of the NCAA's.

I predict the Final Four to be made up of a combination of these 6 teams.
6.Texas
5.Xavier
4.Georgetown
3.UCLA
2.UNC
1.Kansas

I predict the champion to be Kansas.

Thanks for reading my thoughts...be sure to check back in during the Final Four to grade my picks.

tough decisions

Steph and I are going to the IU - MSU game on Saturday. Steph's grandma gave us the tickets as a part of my Christmas present! I'm pretty pumped about it. Come to find out it just got more exciting...apparently IU coach Kelvin Sampson who was on probation for making phone calls to recruits when he should have been, broke the rules and still made phone calls. This report came out last October. Well today, a report came out that he made more inappropriate calls.So pretty much he's probably going to get fired (Adam Strauser was right!).

Here's my question. Seeing Stephanie is a big IU fan and I'm a big MSU fan, should I make a poster saying something cute like, "A House divided! I-U vs. MSU"...or should I make a poster saying, "Kelvin Called me too!"

What should I do?

My neighbors Chuck and Cherith lived in Australia for a year or so, and while they were there, they got into some Aussie music. They introduced me to a song by a group called Goyte (good luck trying to pronounce it) entitled "Heart's a Mess." It’s an interesting song that usually tends to get stuck in your head.

Last night, we had a game night in their apartment, and “Heart’s a Mess” came on. When Cherith heard it she makes the comment she feels like she has long legs. To which Chuck responded, “That’s because you’ve seen the music video!” This made me curious and led me to research the video and the lyrics. Apparently, this video won the Australian music video of the year award. The whole song is about a guy wandering around the world looking for people who are messed up and hurt and wanting to connect, and connecting with them. Check out the first part of the lyrics:
Pick apart
The pieces of your heart
And let me peer inside
Let me in
Where only your thoughts have been
Let me occupy your mind
As you do mine
You have lost
Too much love
To fear, doubt and distrust
(It’s not enough)
You just threw away the key
To your heart

I guess the whole song is another inroad into seeing the heart of how we feel the world is. It’s a mess. We’re all desperate to connect. But we’ve all been burned and hurt, and want to get away, to hole up and just forget everything. But really what we need to do is connect. We are all looking for something hopeful; some safe place where we can open up our hearts and not worry about getting burned.

He ends the song with this:
Love ain’t safe
You won’t get hurt if you stay chaste
So you can wait
But I don’t wanna waste my love

I guess in the end of the song, his trying to connect has failed because love isn’t safe. Or is that what he’s saying? If you’d like to check out the video click this and let me know what you think!

Hell vs. Omnipresence

So I was sitting in church last weekend and the pastor was talking about hell. He made the comment that God is not present in hell which totally threw me for a loop. Isn't God everywhere? Isn't this the idea behind God being 'omni-present'? If God is everywhere how can there be a place where He is not?

I have asked a few friends what their opinions on the issue are, so I'd like to see what you think about this? How do we deal with the conflict between a God that is everywhere, and hell as a place where God is not?

Please leave a comment.

Creativity in the Church

How is it that some places are ultra creative and some places are not? How is it that we have smart thinkers in business who are doign amazing things with their businesses and then we have people like the CEO's of GM, Ford, and Crysler who shouldn't be running a McDonalds. My answer is creativity. Creativity is a powerful force that once harnessed it can be a powerful force in innovation and growth.

The problem is that financial departments like to find a blue print and cannonize it; this is a safe investment. Creativity is risky as it is an unsure, but to lose ones creative edge is to die. Taking the safe route - as the Big 3 have shown us - eventually leads to death. Survival depends on continually taking a risk.

I think this is an issue in the church. We've done a really good job at preserving our structures, but we've done really poorly at changing and adapting to the world around us. Sadly, this has led to worship wars, church splits, and those on the outside rejecting the church.

The church must

I think part of the problem is in the education and preparation of our ministers. To often pastors are trained to be cogs in a system, not leaders and innovators. Leaders being those who have the ability to have a vision of the future and then the ability to bring people along in fulfillment of that vision. Innovators being pastors who creatively look to develop the church.

Let me illustrate an issue. Pastors are taught the techniques of how to preach, but not taught what it means to preach or why we preach. Pastors are taught how to teach a class, but not taught about what it means to teach a class or why we teach classes. This leads to uninspired, uncreative churches. In order to be creative with something, one must understand its nature.

things to do when you're bored:

Things to do when you’re bored:

1. Read a good book
2. Search for a hobby
3. Start a Facebook page for your wife’s cat.

That’s right I started a Facebook page for Chocolate, Stephanie’s 15 year old cat. (Only in a moment of either brilliance or sheer stupidity, I spelled her name Choclate.) I tried my hardest to detail the finer points of the life of a calico housecat, and think I did a good job. I even created a photo album entitled “My Life” in an attempt to catalogue the difference facets of Chocolate’s existence.

You may ask why would you a college graduate waste the 5 minutes it takes to create a Facebook page for a cat. Well, on Christmas Stephanie and I were at her mom’s house opening presents, and Stephanie pulled out the camera. Stephanie took 15 pictures of her cat, and two pictures of Ann and me. I decided that in response to this, I would create a Facebook page.

If you’re bored add her as a friend - Choclate Riggs

I'm Married!!!!

I would like to say that I have a great excuse for going almost 3 months without a post. On November 3rd, I got marrried!!!! I am now the proud husband of Stephanie Bellinger (Riggs).

The wedding happened in Fort Wayne, Indiana at her grandma's church, First Wayne Street UMC. It was a perfect fall day. The church was amazing, the weather was great, and it was awsome to be surrouned by so many friends and family members.

All in all it was a day for the ages! I think that the wedding, and I know I am horribly biased was the most beautiful wedding ever!

For your viewing pleasure, here are some pics that you might like!