Naked: why clothing isolates us

When was the last time that you stopped and marveled at the fact that God loves you? How often does it strike you that the Christian life and the Christian experience makes no sense and God is getting a raw deal? I mean come-on we humans can be pretty lousy people. But he stands by our sides and never gives up on us.

I am constantly amazed by how this whole sin thing affects all human beings. My friend and I were talking about the sin and shame cycle in the lives of guys (sorry we're not girls so we don't quite understand how y'all work ladies) and how destructive it is to our self-esteem. I lived in shame for almost 10 years, and somewhat still do, for my short-comings (something that I am overcoming) all because I misunderstand who God is and how he relates to me.

You see God loves me because of who I am, not because of what I do. It's crazy to think about. Our performance has nothing to do with God’s love. It’s great! God will never stop loving me, but sin blinds me to this fact.

I have talked with many guys and they all feel the same way, “I am alone in this struggle.” It’s a lie from Satan and it is the effect of sin on our lives. Sin brings with it isolation, a lack of trust directed towards others around us. I contend that the root of sin is self-not necessarily evil-and sin destroys the community that God intends for us to have.

In the garden Adam and Eve were one with God. God’s love for them freely flowed and they were able to walk around naked. If you read Genesis you’ll notice that the concept of Adam and Eve being naked was a big deal. Thus when they sin in chapter 3, one of the first things that they do is hide from God-and each other.

Adam and Eve could walk around naked because they had no insecurities. It’s a simple concept-you are the most vulnerable when you have nothing to protect you from everybody else. People can see you for who you are, every excruciating detail of who you are is bared before all to see. Humans as a species do not like this. So Adam and Eve covered themselves so that they could have the dignity of privacy.

But God did not create us with clothing in mind. We are created to be naked-to be able to bare everything we are to the world. To find our sense of self worth in God’s love for us, and not in what other people think. So instead of being naked, our world is relegated to hiding who we are behind labels and brand names. We find our identity in how we appear to people instead of in the fact that I am loved and accepted by my creator.

The problem with the human being is not that we hate each other, but we are so bent on creating an image of security and independence, so people don’t think we are insecure and dependent on what they think. We have become a group of hurting people trying to hide our hurts from other hurting people, who are in turn hiding things from us.

I believe that the love of Christ creates a security and sense of self worth that enables people to strip down and let others see what they have been hiding. Because Christ loves us and finds pleasure in us for who we are and not what we do, we as Christians are called to live naked before each other.

Jesus teachings were all about breaking down the status quo-“you will be first in the kingdom of Heaven if you are willing to be last here on earth.” Translation: God loves you, who cares if you finish first. He sees you as a winner no matter what. Stop trying to impress people.

Please do not read this and go join a nudist colony, or walk around campus or your town physically naked. This would not be a good thing! Instead think about how much you are hiding your hurts and insecurities from other people because you think what they think matters at all. If what the Bible teaches is true, God’s opinion is the only opinion that should matter to you.

Because when it is all broken down, it really is our clothes that isolate us.

Dan's thoughts on "End of the Spear"

I went and watched the movie, End of the Spear last night it was a great recreation of the lives of the Saint family. In 1956, Nate with his 4 four friends Jim Elliot, Ed McCully Peter Flemming, and Roger Youderian were killed by a tribe of Indians called the Waodani Indians as they were attempting to bring the gospel to the people.

This movie has made me stop and think, "Would I be willing to do that?" Would I willingly lay my life down for the gospel? Would I leave my family behind if it meant that the gospel would be spread to the very people who killed me? That’s such a tough question to work over in my mind.

I look at these men and they were the cream of the crop. Most of them went to Wheaton College (also where Billy Graham attended), and definitely would have been leaders in our own country if they had chosen that route. The book Through Gates of Splendor talks about their lives leading up to the massacre. These were extraordinary men!

How would it change the world if people would be willing to lay down their lives for others? What would happen if we lived our lives like these men? What if we decided that them seeing the light of Jesus was more important than our lives? or even our popularity? or living comfortably?

These guys went and died in a sticky, hot, nasty jungle and left their children without fathers and their wives without husbands-thousands of miles away from their homes-all for the very people who killed them! And we’re worried about what other people think about us in our new clothes.

This movie challenged me to really think about what it means for me to be a follower of Christ. I don’t think that there is any room for me to say, “Those Guys Were Missionaries, they were supposed to die for the people their reaching out to.” No I am a missionary today to the people I see around me. I am a missionary to the guy who I pay at the BP when I put gas in my car. I am a missionary to the lady who takes my change at Taco Bell! I am a called to love the person who hates me the most in the world, and be willing to give everything I have if they have a need. (I don’t know who hates me the most in the world today, I was just making a point.) I need to lay down what I want and what I think I need for those around me, I mean after what the guys down in the Jungle did for a group of murders, how could I not.

What I think about this week's spiritual emphasis

The Spring Semester’s spiritual emphasis week at our school has reached its halfway point and it’s a different feel than the last 6 summits. For the first time in 3 years the attendance level in the meetings has declined. People on campus are connecting with the speaker as easily and are not coming away with the feelings that they have in the prior 36 months.
There is a difference and this is readily noticed and I think that it is in the expectation students have for the atmosphere. Since the Fall Summit in 2003, the speakers have been powerful and charismatic. Their popularity on campus was not to do with their depth but with their style and authenticity. This is no diss on the messages that they have brought; they were good messages, but this has become the expectation and the atmosphere.
The height of this “show mentality” was last semester; the worship band and the speaker were electric. They played great music and gave a very relevant message. It was a terrific series of services and nobody who was there left the same. They really changed the school when they left; the next summit was going to be forced to measure up against this awesome time of worship and growth. And I believe that this week is the evidence of this.
Kevin, the speaker in the fall, brought with him the message of a “Revolution” how we need to change the culture around the church. He is right we do need to change the culture of the church around us, but while his message was this, his performance was nothing different than what came before him. They put on a great show, and everybody loved it.
I am in no way wanting to tear down what Kevin did when he was here, but I believe that because of the atmosphere his team created, people were more receptive to what he had to say-and not what he did say. If they really had listened to what he was saying the campus would be different-there would have been a revolution.
So what happens is 4 months later in the same setting, Dwight (this week’s speaker) comes to campus with a completely different style, and is greeted with empty seats. To me what happened 4 months ago loses all relevance. Yes, people came out by the truckloads, yes the campus was a buzz with the message that was brought, but the evidence of a God movement, disappeared soon after September was 2 weeks old.
One critique of revivalism throughout the history of revivalism is that it is just a show. We spent a ton of time in Church History class discussing the rise and fall of this movement, and I think it is a topic that we still do not want to address. We struggle with the thought of whether the movement is the show or it is the Holy Spirit. I think the only way to discern this is to look long term. Does the impact last longer than just a few months? Do we see other people impacted by the power of God in their lives? Does this revival not only impact how the people worship but how they live? Because worship is all about how you live, who you are impacting, and a lifelong pursuit of God.
Dwight was part of a revival some 30 years ago, while a student at IWU (then Marion College), and his life has changed the face of the evangelical movement. People are in ministry because of his work. He has touched churches, pastors, denominational leaders, and lives of common everyday people in the pews-all because of the impact of a simple revival that he attended in College Wesleyan Church.
As a result of this occurrence in his life, Dwight has impacted people all across the world through discipleship. His main focus is to not bring thousands of people to the Lord, but to take the people in front of him closer to Christ likeness. In turn, those people he has impacted will impact the lives of the people in front of them-and so on and so forth.
The evidence of a successful revival is the long term life change, not the amount of people who put their butts in the seats of the sanctuary. This is the only way to properly judge the power of God as successful, but this does not mean that a series that has 15 people there is successful if the room is built for 1500! We need to remember that in the end we must wrap the message of truth into a relevant package. The more people who hear the message the better, and the more lives changed the more the Kingdom is built.
So I hope that the lives of hundreds of students on the Indiana Wesleyan University campus are changed eternally tonight and tomorrow as we listen to Dwight proclaim the message he has been given. That’s when we’ll know it has been a success.

Sports Blog newest attraction on internet...

I just started a converstaion blog with some friends. We are planning to post sports related comments on this site where we can argue and discuss issues that pertain only to sports. I am so pumped about this, so if you're interested to see what we have to say about the world of the jock, then by all means take a look at.

Homecourt

The Golden Years

One of my newer books that I enjoy is Everyman's Talmud. My friend Nick had it in his library and he uses it frequently in his teachings, so I thought I would pick a copy up. Basically it’s a collection of the Jewish laws and their interpretations by Rabbis. It is just like a theology book, but it is Jewish so it has a different feel.

Anyways, I was reading about the Jews understanding of the Messiah. The introduction to the section talked about how for Jews, the glory years are ahead. In the same way that in our culture we are always talking about how great it was “back in the day,” Jewish people (at least in first century Israel) were looking forward to the future.

This lead me to think, shouldn’t this be the way that we think as Christians? Aren’t we supposed to be looking forward towards the prize that awaits us? Why do we always want life to be like it was 15 or 50 years ago? Well let’s be honest, culture in America is definitely less Christian that it was 15 or 50 years ago. So for some reason American Christians want to go back to those days.

The problem is that as Christians remove themselves for society, society loses its moral compass. How Christians can expect non-Christians to act like a Christian would; it doesn’t make sense. Non-Christians act like they do because they do not have Jesus! Without Christ a person is not a Christian and cannot be expected to think or act like one.

Thus the doctrine that the world is getting worse comes out. Yeah it seems that the depravity of those around us seems to be getting worse, but does that really mean that the best is behind us? It almost seems like that mindset is “we’ve lost the battle, lets give up” I would like to think that God in his infinite mercy and grace (and the fact that He’s all knowing and all powerful) would provide ways for the Christian populous to transform this culture back to one focused on him. (What that looks like I don’t know and maybe I’ll discuss later.)

I suggest that we as Christians fight to make the future a better place in this world! Just because the trend seems to be moving away from God and morality, does not mean that the sky is falling, and we should start shouting, “Come quickly Lord!” Thus taking away that which keeps it preserved.

Be the catalyst that changes your community, that’s the way that the Golden Years are yet to come.

Dan's thoughts before the semester starts....

This morning I was forced to go to an RA in-service. The in-service dealt with ‘pop culture’ and how it is impacting the lives of students in America. PBS’s documentary: “Merchants of Cool” broke down just how in depth that these huge companies, that control up to 90% of the media outlets, study teenagers.

I guess being a young adult I am an expert on ‘pop culture’ as these very people that are working on teenagers today have sold me on what ‘cool’ is also. It is no incident that they have so much influence on the market today, not only do then have a near monopoly but they also spend millions and billions and dollars studying and selling their pitch.

I think there were 5 ideas that I realized today that really challenge me about ‘pop culture’ they are:

1.) There are really only 5 major companies that own all of the smaller companies that dictate to me what I should think, act, wear, eat, look like, etc.
2.) It is no incident that trends move so quickly, those 5 companies are trying to push the envelope.
3.) Christians are just as influenced as everybody else.
4.) These major companies don’t care about happiness, they care about the bottom line.
5.) Cool ceases to be cool, once people realize that it is cool.

If cool is being marketed to me, which it is, MTV (and the like) is the tool. The special made a comment that I never thought of before; MTV is a 24-7 commercial. Everything is selling something to me: the music, the clothing, how I should look, movies, what I should think about social issues, etc.

The disturbing part about this is that the second that we think that we’re cool, and that we are on the edge we find that we’re just in the middle of the crowd and everybody has moved on beyond us further out and further in. So we go off searching for the next “cool” thing. When we find that we must go off and find cool again, and we end up in a big circle. Running around never finding what we’re looking for.

The whole precept of the piece was to show that while this culture is what I know, it is nothing more than a grand scheme to make me think about my self in a certain way, and then buy accordingly. While that may not be a fun thought it is probably the truth. The executives don’t care about me being happy, as long as I think happy is what they’re selling.

Sounds like a pretty dark view of culture. Makes it look like everything I know as less real and more fake than ever before. That who I am is worthless and nothing more than another buck in the coffers of the rich.

But it doesn’t have to look this way. I think that as Christians we must force ourselves to see the good in the world around us. ‘Pop culture’ may be flawed and have entirely incorrect presuppositions, but there is beauty in the world around us and we must look for it.

As a Christian if we put our heads in the sand and give up on the world, we're damning people that we know who are in the world to a fiery hell. We must! We must engage culture, we must show the world that there is so much more than just being cool. I believe we need to stop trying to be cool, because all we are doing is chasing our tails.

This culture will be completely different in 25 years. It will probably be different in 10 years. And I contend that it is different than when I was in High School 5 years ago. If we are continually running around trying to catch up, we’re losing track of what we should focusing on, and that is the healing power of Jesus.

I guess to sum up this little rant, culture is important and we’re always going to be trying to catch up to it, but while we are doing that we need to remember that the message of Jesus, is a message that will meet the student, meet the parent, meet your neighbor right where they are.

Nobody Likes a Bad Fan!

Ok I love basketball. It's the most exciting beautiful sport to watch. Basketball at it's finest makes grown men jump up and down and pretty women cry. I played this lovely sport in high school and for fun in college, and while I am not a great player I'd like to say that if I was in shape I would fit into most (obviously not like D-1 ball or the pros) groups of ball players. So when Stephanie's grandma bought me tickets to Indiana v. Michigan at Assembly Hall I was pumped.

I went into Assembly Hall a marked man. I knew that it was going to be crazy and everybody but me was going to be wearing maroon, and thus my blue and yellow shirt was going to stick out like a sore thumb. And I did, but it was tons of fun. Indiana pulled out the victory, and Michigan played well. So it was a good experience but I noticed a bunch of things.

I have liked I-U basketball for a while, I think that Bob Knight had his teams play the right way, even if he was a bit off into the deep end. But when I came to Indiana for college, I learned that there are fans (some who root for I-U) who need to study how to be a fan. This showed itself to be true when I was at the game last night. I couldn't believe some of the things that they were saying, and how livid that they got over things that happened in the game.

No before you think I'm sounding off at people just because they are from the state of Indiana, let me clairify my point. I-U has good fans and Michigan (or MSU) does indeed have bad fans. And yes i sometiems classify myself as a bad fan. But I am a recovering bad fan. So the next time that you're watching a game try and remember these tips:

1.) It is just a game. Unless you're gambling (which is a terrible way to spend your money) you have nothing to gain or lose besides pride for your team. Don't let your emotional status be determined by how well your team did, cause I guarentee you this, they will lose sometime.

2.) Usually your team is fouling just as often as the other team is (especially in conference play) so stop whinning about the officials! As I was watching the game last night, nobody complained when I-U wasn't called for a foul-but everytime Michigan got away with one there was an outcry! So remember not to be too hard on the officials.

3.) Yelling at the players doesn't help them. If you were at work and you messed up, how would you feel if your boss was standing over your shoulder yelling at you? would it be better if your boss was encouraging you? So when your team messes up cheer or encourage them instead of yelling mean or harsh things to them

4.) The team can't hear you yell. Unless you have courtside seats your yelling for directions cannot be heard so remember that! It's ok to yell, just don't expect your team to respond to your prodding.

5.) The coach is the expert not you. Hey I like to think I know tons about basketball, and I do. But not as much as the coaches do, regardless of how dumb he (or she) is. Remember they didn't hire you, so the decisions that are made in the game should be respected (to some degree at least)!!

So that is how I feel about bad fans. If you want to see a good model of how to be a crazy fan, watch Duke Home Games. The Cameron Crowd is crazy-thus the nickname for the student section-The Cameron Crazies! They cheer and are rowdy but their chants don't involve cussing and they are polite to the officials, well as much as can be expected. I just think that they're great and I have a ton of respect for their additude during the games.

Also, if you're a believer and you're reading this, remember that you are representing Christ when you are watching sports. So do such good deeds among the pagans that they may praise God on the day that he returns!

Anyway thanks for reading if you have anymore tips leave them I may do a little update later! Peace!

Ode To Monday Night Football

During the first 75 years of the 20th century, the United States of America was only concerned with baseball. All the other sports were fun, but baseball was our passion. If you doubt this, watch “Sandlot” with a group of people in their late 40’s or older and see how much they relate to it.

I believe that the main catalyst for the growth of the NFL is the impact that one night a week made in how people view sports. ABC devised a plan where they would broadcast one game a week during their primetime slot on Monday nights. They added more cameras and they had big personalities in the announcing booth. They devised a plan to make the game more than a game, they wanted to make it an event.

What Monday Night Football did for the sports television is history. Now sports television was in Prime Time television. A game that only men were predicted to watch was supposed to carry a network’s night of television, a totally unthinkable thing. But 36 years later it has proven to be the longest running prime time still running.

Monday night was the last Monday Night Football game played on ABC. Over the 36 years there have been 555 games in Primetime. There have been amazing feats set and I have had the privilege of observing the last 15 years or so. Here are some of the memories that helped shape my childhood:

1.) When I was like 6 or 7 my brother and I received for Christmas NFL sweat suits. I got a 49ers outfit and Brent got a
Chicago Bears pair. The Monday night game in-between the holidays that year featured the Bears and the 49ers. (This
established my future allegiance for the rest of the 90’s as the 49ers were feuding with the Cowboys. I still cannot stand
the Cowboys for that reason)

2.) In 3rd and 4th grade my brother would run down the hallway into our living room and slide on his knees when Hank
Williams Jr. would sing the line of the opening “are you ready for some football?!?”

3.) Jerry Rice was the best receiver of all time, hands down no close runners up. He played in 45 Monday night games and it
was simply amazing to watch him work. When I would play video games I always wanted to throw it to Jerry.

4.) My childhood hero growing up was Barry Sanders. Every play it was possible for Barry to score. During the 90’s Emmitt Smith was said to be the best back in the league, which I disagreed with. Twice in the mid-90’s Barry and the Lions played the Cowboys. Both games Barry out played Emmitt and made me smile.

5.) When I was a sophomore in college, the Tampa Bay Bucs were playing the Colts and they gave up like 25 points (or something ridicules) in the last 4 minutes or so to lose on a last second field goal. I was in my room doing homework and I had the game on, but many of my Colts fan friends stopped watching the game cause it was a blow out. I called one and she didn’t believe that her team was coming back. So she called her parents to see if I was lying.

6.) Of course as a 10 year old I was not allowed to stay up and watch the entire game, so I was made to go to bed after the 1st quarter. Fortunately my dad would tape the game so I could watch it the next day after school. Unfortunately this was how I watched most of the games were Barry made Mr. Smith look bad.

7.) Probably the game that showed me just how great a NFL game can be was when the Patriots were playing the Broncos. The Pats were down by like 4 points and in order to get better field position the Pats purposely took a safety in order to gain 20 yards or so on the punt. The Patriots ended up getting the ball back and won the game. The Pats (which are now the bane of the Colts) are the most prepared and most professional team in the NFL, and that was just an example.

8.) Frank, Al, and Dan were my favorite broadcast combo ever. They were the three broadcasters of MNF during my formidable years of football knowledge. These three guys are the guys whom I base all my critique of announcers upon.

As I sit and watch the last Monday Night game, I realize just how much of a part of my life that it has been. I will miss Monday Night football with my dad and brother in the living room on Monday nights. It is a tradition that I will miss, so I say goodbye to one of my childhood memories.

Cats are people too!

So I came home and my bird was gone. Yes the sickly little singing canary who didn't sing finally met the big one. My mom and dad finally decided it was time that he was euthenized. So one day while mom was gone, my father played Dr. Kevorkian thus ending this little birds singing career that involved very little singing.

So my parents sat there all alone; no bird, no dog, no cat, not even a gold fish. For nearly 20 years they have had a pet, and now nothing! Talk about an unsettling feeling. Put this alongside the fact that they're still dealing with having no children in their house, and this only doubles the feeling of isolation. So enough about mom and dad, this post is not about them,

The hollow feeling they had led to them getting two 4 month old kittens. One is orangish with white paws and the other is black with white paws and mom named them Marmie (she is marmalade colored (I guess that's orange)) and Boots. They now have the run of the house. My parents spoil them and pretty much allow them to do whatever they want except sleep inside. They come and go from the house as they please and get fed for their efforts. (what a life!)

I've noticed that cats are very peculiar creatures: they come and go as they please and want to be entirely independent, but they're not, they expect to be taken care of without giving anything in return, they fuss and rebel when they are forced to do what they do not want to, they fight with each other and steal each others food, and they're only motivated to do something or go anywhere when there is something in it for them.

In the movie "Meet the Parents" Robert DeNiro's character is a cat person, he talks about how dogs are so dependent and almost need the affection of their owners, and cats aren't like that. He says you have to win over cats, you don't just walk up to a cat and it's your friend. Dogs, in his mind, are emotionally shallow people who just throw their emotions around. Cats on the other hand are emotionally strong creatures who don't need anything or anyone. Thus cats are superior to dogs.

So I was thinking about cats and how independent that they are and I was thinking to myself how much a cat is like a person. If you think about it they're like the people that we don't want to be friends with. They're like people with a "who cares what you think" mindset. We like people who are like dogs. Dogs care about you and want to be with you and love your company; that's who we want to be with. It's almost like cats are dogs with a sin nature.

Now don't get me wrong, I do not hate cats, in fact I'm glad we got the kittens, and I told mom and dad that they should get the kittens, and I love having them in the house; they're funny. But honestly would you want your best friend to act like they do? Or how about your neighbor? I think we'd love it if everybody we knew was like a dog.

So for the rest of my 'Holiday' break I am going to be working on being a dog person and less of a cat person. I hope you can do that also.

Merry Christmas!!!

Comments about Narnia:

So yeah about a week ago I posted about Narnia (sorry it’s been so long, I’ve had exams) and I said that I would have some more thoughts about it. So here’s my offering, take the gifts I give with joy….or laugh in my face. It’s your choice.

First I do not think that the Narnia books are biblical. I believe that Lewis wrote them for his neice as a way to explain some Christian principles. So when there are people out there, on both sides of the fence, who take the movie as either saying it’s obviously Christian or the Christians have stolen a good book, say what they do, they’re both wrong.

They’re just good stories that have Biblical principles implemented into them, they are not obviously Christian. Yes Lewis was a Christian and put what he put into them but remember he wrote them as children’s stories, not Biblical commentaries.

Second, I’m scared that the Christian population along with a mutated form of #1 is going to christen this movie as the next great Christian movie. But how many movies have come out and EVERY believer you know have it? And all your non-Christian friends don't. Like the Passion-how many people do you know that have it? How many of those people are believers? My point. I don’t want Narnia to be like that, I want it to be for everybody! It has so many good principles lets not make it into a movie that in 5 years is only in Christian bookstores.

Third I think that the Character of Aslan is the best in the movie! The power and dominance that he depicts is amazing! Yes I believe that there is a direct connection between Aslan and Jesus. It’s one that is even more powerful on the screen. I think that there is a powerful scene where (forgive me if you don’t know the story) he lays down his life for Edmond.

I would personally like to see them make all 7 books into movies! I think it oculd be done since Lewis has the characters age in each book. So they could seriously change them out very easily and make all the movies fit. So I would like to see them do it.

Those are my basic thoughts about the Narnia…not very much. I like that the movie followed the book. It was a great work and I think you should go see it. Regardless of who you are!

How I met Narnia

When I was 9 I was first introduced to C.S. Lewis’ made up world of Narnia. It was Wednesday night CYC (now it’s like Wesleyan Kids something or the other) and my friend was talking with my mom about the Narnia books. I was confused, all I could imagine was this big old leather-bound book written like 500 years ago; but everybody else seemed excited about it so I played along.



Let’s get honest, my mom was excited about it so that means I was not. It was almost like she was forcing me to read these books, and I hate being forced to do anything. So I really didn’t want to hear the stories, but mom made us. She was mom, so we kinda had to.
At that time, we had reading time every night, my brother and I would go into one of our rooms and mom would read to us. It was something that we’d done since I could remember, so it seemed natural that we’d read those books at those times. So when my mom was so excited about it, it was figured that we’d read it at those times. So one night that winter, we started to read “the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.”
As we read the story, it just kept getting better and better. Every night we hated to stop and there were many nights we’d stay up maybe 30 minutes longer than we were supposed to. The stories had us captivated! When the 1st book was over, we watched the 2nd, then the 3rd and so on and so on. We finished the entire series in less than a few months.
Over the years I have gone back to Narnia a few times. I’ll be looking through my book collection, and I’ll find one of the books and pick it up and read it. C.S. Lewis, though writing to children, captivates me and makes me want to go to a place somewhere in my imagination.
So when I saw that Disney has remade the movie, I was stoked. You see there’s an old British version that was horrible! I mean I liked them, but quality wise they are not anything I’d want to show people who hadn’t read the books first. Thus Disney with all its new graphic possibilities could make the book into a movie without damaging its already stellar set-up.
So Brent and I went to go see it and it was AMAZING! It was everything that I dreamed about, and so much more. The quality of acting and graphic work was solid. It was an amazing movie (one which I’ll prolly go watch another couple times). As we sat there it reminded us of when we were 8 & 9 sitting in our bedrooms listening to mom read us the stories. The feelings of emotion that we felt were not just excitement and emotion from the movie, but were feelings of warm memories that we shared as little boys.
The next couple posts will be about me addressing my thoughts on the movie! In the mean time, go watch it! Check it out! If you have read the books before, you’ll love it. If you have not read the books before, you’ll love it; and want to go get them and read them until you’re done.

Dan the Pyro

I love fire. I think it's the pyro in every male coming out in my personality, you can't beat a good fire. I think fire is something God is even facinated with. But what is fire? a chemical reaction? Oh no it's God's living poetry.

Have you ever lit a match just to look at the flame? How about stared at a candle for over a minute? Or just gazed at a bon fire for what seems to be an endless space of time? There's something about fire that's relaxing. You just don't want to look away nor ever leave it's warm embrace.

My RD has a fireplace in his house, I like it. We have our RA meetings by the light of it's flames. What could be better than sitting around an open fire and just talking? Think of all the Christmas songs that deal with fire and fireplaces, its in a bunch of songs! It seems that in the era of technology that we live in we forget fire! We like the clean, the easy, and the smokeless. Even if for centuries it's been one of the most romantic situations.

So when I grow up I want a fireplace, and if not a fireplace a lot of candles, and if no candles then at least a place where I can light matches. Just to see God's living poetry.

Would Jesus have come if man had not sinned?

I took a class that dealt with the doctrine of Christology last spring. In that class, the prof, Dr. Bounds asked us the question, "Would Jesus have come to earth if there was no fall?" I'll admit my first response was to say "why?" It seemed to me that there was no purpose to it, I mean he came to forgive sins right? So I reasoned to myself that no, Jesus would not have come to earth, and he especially would not have come as a human.

I believe that there is nothing God cannot do (outside of sin). This means that nothing is beyond the power of God. He spoke the world into existence, why didn't he fix the whole sin issue by just commanding it? It God wanted to he could solve the sin problem without involving man, yet He chose to involve His creation in the solution.

The tradition of the Church dictates down to us today that Jesus is still fully human; thus humanity has been introduced into the Trinity. What does this mean? It means that Jesus' life on earth has united God with his creation. There could be no better way for God to show how important humanity was to Him than to bring humanity into the Godhead.

God is omniscient. Omniscience means that God knows everything. His omniscience means that nothing can be taught to him, he cannot discover anything, and nothing catches him by surprise. So the result of Jesus incarnation did not catch God by surprise, He knew the result of the incarnation would be before the dawn of creation.

While God knew the result of the incarnation before the beginning of creation, He also knew that man would sin, and that He would find a resolution to the problem. If God could restore man in any way possible, nothing would be done without a purpose. All of God's plan's work, and all of the results of God's plans work; there's no other option.

Thus God's plan involves more than just the redemption of sins. Otherwise His plan would have looked different. Yes, sin was a big issue, it was a road block in the way of reconciliation of God and man. But God's plan involved more than just the a plan of redemption than back to Adam's level; he wanted it to go further. But where does the level of God's redemption plan lead to? I believe that it is to go participate in community with the Trinity.

So what? All of this may seem to have absolutely no relevance in your life today. But think about it, salvation in this light means more than just our sins being forgiven and we can have a relationship with God. Not only does God fix the problem of the lack of relationship, but he gives an extra sign of how important that relationship is by using a solution that goes above and beyond the problem.

This is the level that God places on having a relationship with you. He wants you to see just how much he cares about you! His whole plan is more than just freeing you from sin, but creating a route for as deep a relationship as possible. That's my God and his plan for salvation.

If Pictures are worth 1000 words

The Bird We Don't Call Dickie

Since I have been 5, my family has had a pet; unfortunately the last 3 years it’s been a bird. My family has owned 3 dogs in those years, Goodie, Honey Dew, and Lady; sadly cars have hit all three. When Lady was hit, my parents decided to adopt a yellow singing canary; previously name Dickie. The funny thing is that Dickie doesn’t sing, and we don’t call him Dickie. Regardless he sits in a cage in our kitchen and eats seed, while I tell my parents to get a dog.

To me the point of a pet is to be able to enjoy having it. A dog you can play with it, and pet it, and it’s generally excited when it comes in your presence. Or if you’re a cat person, I can understand your passion because cats are like little people living in your house. You have to earn their respect, but once you do you’re their trusted friend for life. But a bird…a bird doesn’t even seem to notice when you’re in the room, let alone react. I think that they’re the most useless pet you could ever have, they won’t even let you pet them! What good is that?

Anyway, the morning we were to come home for thanksgiving, the bird that we don’t call Dickie, wasn’t doing so well. My parents found him lying in the bottom of his cage; with his feathers all messed up. No he was not dead, but he was acting very weird. My parents were obviously worried about him, but they left him in his cage as they went to work.

So later in the day as my brother and I get back from school, we discover the bird sitting on his perch quite disoriented. I have never touched his back but for some reason I discovered he would let me touch him. Not only did I get to touch him, but also he was standing there at an angle, almost a 45-degree angle. So I proceeded to investigate the issue. Apparently he couldn’t see me, and was trying to position himself so he could hear me instead. The poor thing was now blind!!

What was I to think? I have never liked that bird, but the bird had never done anything to harm or annoy me; it just sat in its cage. I was later that night sitting in a chair trying to figure out what to think about the whole situation. Should I support the killing of ‘the bird we don’t call Dickie?’’ or should I want him to receive the best medical treatment that ‘a singing canary that doesn’t sing’ can receive?

I wonder if there aren’t many Christians who we could consider ‘singing canaries that don’t sing’. We think of them as fringe members, and they just come into the church and they sit on their perch and eat their seeds. Then one day we see them and they look like they’ve spent the day on the bottom of their cage; totally disorientated. We walk up to them and they’re totally blind to their real needs, and there is nothing it seems we can do.

I think that Jesus would want us, as brothers and sisters in Christ to take them in and be a comfort to their lives. We should let our love for God and then them pour into their lives, hopefully helping them to heal. Even if they aren’t pouring into us, the body of Christ should pour into its fringe members, even if they don’t bring us the joy that we think that they should.

So back to the bird, I guess I should be supportive of its recovery; hopefully it’ll be ok. If not I’m sure that there’ll be a place somewhere in heaven for my little bird that we don’t call Dickie.

Oh Pat.....

I know i give Pat Robertson a hard time about things, but lets get serious, he just keeps the good times rolling. I was scrolling through the news pages when I saw that he made another comment making the Christian community to look like a bunch of twits. He told the town of Dover, PA and I quote: "I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city," Robertson said on his daily television show broadcast from Virginia, "The 700 Club." (cnn.com search 'Pat Roberston')

What gets me the most about this is that we believe the Jehovah God is a loving God, a God who forgives us no matter how bad we've been. I think Pat is forgetting this. Once again lets get serious, this creative design position is not even Christian, it's closer than evolution but it doesn't state that it is the same creator that created the world in the Bible. So Pat is saying that God is passing judgement on a city because they voted on an issue that isn't even Biblical. That's smart.

I am sick and tired of people pronouncing judgement on those who do not believe in God. I ask what do you expect of people who are without faith? Do you expect them to follow the same moral standard as Christians? No! That's not the way it works. Non-believers don't think the same way that believers think, that's what non-believers do. They don't believe what we believe; that's kinda the point!

The God I believe in doesn't have a vendetta with the world. He's not like that; he forgives and is looking to forgive. It's not that hard ask and he'll grant forgivness! That's how great our God is! I wish Pat would remember that before he says boneheaded things like he does!

My Trip to the Synagogue

I went to a Jewish synagogue for a Shabat service last night. It was a very interesting experience. I went because Rabbi Lawrence Kushners, who my friend Nick is a big fan of, was present. Neither of us had ever been to a Shabat service, so we were both very conscious of our ignorance. While Christianity was once part of Judiasm they now are two completely different traditions now. While many elements were similiar, it was at the same time very different.

Some things that happened while I was there:
1.) a boy was having his bar-mitzpah, and he did much of the reading and was in front the entire
service
2.) there was a place that represented the ark, and part way through the service they opened
the doors to this and we looked into it.
3.) the entire service was read in hebrew, everything was explained but all the rituals were in
yiddish.
4.) the 'hymnal' was written from right to left, like hebrew reads, and the pages even moved that
way.
5.) there were like 10 people in front, singers just standing around a table, and they danced
around the congregation.
6.) at one point in the service we faced the door way while chanting about the sabbath coming.
7.) I had to wear a yamaka. The program said it was to show respect.

These are just some of the things we did that were different than the Christian church. So much of the service was focused on rememberance. I noticed that the walls of the building had names of the people who had been influencial in their past. At the end of the service, there was a rememberance of significant martyrs in the recent past. Without a doubt to me the Jewish religion is not about tomorrow but about remembering yesterday.

I couldn't help but think as I was watching the rabbis and the cantor, that this is my ancient heritage. I was thinking about when Jesus went to the synagogues that this is the situation that he would have been in. Paul when he went on his missions trips was the quest speaker, much like Rabbi Kushner. I was thinking to myself, if I had stood up and requested to say something, then explained how I believe that Jesus was the fulfillment the prophets of old were prophesying about, what would have happened. Probably the same that happened back in the 1st century.

The service was very family related. It felt so much more than just a worship service. At the start of the service we sang, then the rabbi asked if we felt the Shabot, after that it was like it ws expected that there was a sence of holiness present. Now they couCheck Spellingld do the real business of life togeather. There was a very strong sense of we're all part of a huge family (and hey they are!). After the Shabat there were family meals of some sort in different parts of the synagogue.

Nick mentioned to me he felt like the entire service was building towards the end. This ending was not an alter call, but a sense of celibration that they had survived the centuries and were still a people. This is the point of Passover: to remember leaving Egypt. This is the point of Hanukkah-to remember the rebellion of the Maccabees. Their celibrations are of remembering how they have been saved from destruction.

It was to me a very profitable experience and I am glad I went! I think it would be something every Christian should think about doing.

Halloween

So it's Oct 30, and tomorrow is Halloween. I don't know how I feel about Halloween. It's definately a holiday that our culture has made into something that is innocent. Like Christmas or Easter for the Christians, America has definately ignored it's satanic history to make it something that it isn't. So I struggle when I think about how we've made it completely innocent.

November 1st is All Saints day; a Catholic holiday. Like Easter and Christmas the Catholic church took a pagan holiday and made it into a 'Christian holiday.' The barbarians had holidays on these days as they are the sun is at it's peak for length or shortness, or days of the same length. The druids, and others of that background, were very aware of nature and it's quirks, among the quirks is that the spirit world is closer on these days.

When the Roman empire fell, and the barbarians became a large part of the Christian church, they had all these people who had these parties and festivals that were pagan. Instead of condeming these the church figured that this would be a great outreach and they made the holidays 'Christian.' All Saints day was a day that was held in respect of all those who were martyred. Catholics would pray to these saints so that they might interceed for others in pergatory. It's a day when relics and other such momentos that are stored in the church are brought out for everybody to see; and was considered the most holy day of the year.

Halloween is the day when all the evil was let out to prepare for the holy day that was to come. Witches and warlocks came out on this day to do their evil deeds. Many of the practices such as trick or treating, jack-o-lanterns, and wearing costumes were all parts of the celibrating that the members of this culture used in their festivals. Thus the entire holiday was birthed by the occult.

Yes today the majority of the people who celibrate this holiday are not members of the occult. But many of the practices have their origin in this tradition. How should we as Christians deal with this issue? Yes we celibrate this holiday without any attempt to worship any deity, we're just getting candy; and the vast majority of the country has the same intentions.

Should we let Halloween go on? Should we boycott it? Should we educate the church about it's origins? I don't know, I think I'm going to still wear my fake afro and maybe get some candy. What about you?

Ignorance Is Bliss

I've noticed since I've been to school, just how dependent my generation is on our parents. We're used to them cleaning for us, cooking (at least what we think is) good food for us, organizing our days for us, and fighting for our rights. Pretty much we're used to getting our way without having to work hard to pay the price for our wants and desires.

I'll admit, I've done that. When I was in High School I was awful. I'd let my mom and dad do the dirty work, while I was more interested in the things I wanted to do. I don't think I was being a bad kid, it's the nature of growing up, you're not used to hard work. So my parents helped me as I went, not forcing me to grow up.

The problem is not that parents today don't let their children grow up it's that they force very few rules on them. And the rules they have aren't held and defended like they should be. Now I'm not advocating just having tons of rules, but the house should be controled by the parent. There should be morals communicated. Reasons why are important but that doesn't mean every rule must be explained; the parent is in charge not the child.

Now don't think I'm saying parents should act like Nazis or something extreme like that. What I am trying to say is that being involved with college students I see that there is a general lack of understanding how to deal with authority. Instead of accepting the rules placed on their lives, they are constantly complaining or disregarding them.

What happens is when the student comes in contact with a new rule instead of submiting to it's authority, the student sites their parents' rule. But the problem is that college students are now adults, not children, and adults can't site their parents rules when they are in another setting. "My parent's never gave me a curfew!" or "My parents would have allowed me to watch this movie!" or "I'm legal my parents don't care." (my college has a curfew, an R-rated movie policy and a policy against liquor).

This post is not saying college students need to listen to every rule and command that your authorities have without thinking them through. I'm saying that we need to be responsible adults and realize who our authority is. This is not a call for us to put our heads in the sand and not challenge the rules at all. But be aware of the rules and try and make them better, more relevant. If you disagree with a rule, don't disregard it but figure it out, try and make it better.

Acting like you're a child again and just allowing your parents to think for you is just plain ignorant. As a generation we need to grow up, we need to be responsible by thinking and acting for ourselves; myself included.

Church Rituals Paper.

This is my position paper for church rituals class on Infant Baptism. Please critique me and let me know how much of a heritic that I am for this stance.-Dan

INFANT BAPTISM: WHY I SUPPORT IT
CHURCH RITUALS
The Wesleyan Church supports infant baptism. This is a very controversial practice that even today is very derisive among Protestants. Many people believe that this practice is borderline evil and definitely not Biblical. These positions I believe are incorrect and misguided, as they do not see the purpose that the church uses this style of baptism. I stand alongside, in agreement with the Wesleyan Church in it’s stance in support of infant baptism.
Today in Protestant culture, we run fearfully from any tradition and practice that has any connection with the Liturgical Tradition. This fear is because of many centuries of lethargy that has characterized this style of church. The churches that represent this group are all hundreds of years old and long since become decadent. While this is the case the practices of the church are not what is suspect, but the reasons and traditions behind these practices. So I believe we should not just disregard their practices just because they practice them, but look into the thinking behind these controversial issues before condemning it.
The Catholic (or Universal) church has long held the practice of infant baptism. We can read the Bible as seeing children being baptized in many instances. First when Cornelius the Centurion in Acts 10, was conversing with Peter, his “his relatives and close friends” were present when Peter had the people there baptized. No mentioning is done to say that just the adults were baptized. While it is a stretch it could be assumed that there were children in this group. Second, when the Philipian jailer hears the news from Paul in Acts 16, it says that “immediately he and all his family were baptized.” While there is no mention of infants being baptized it much more likely than not that there were children or infants that were baptized at this point.
So I start this discussion with this evidence that infant baptism was something that has happened since the beginning of the church. It is not a practice that started in the Middle Ages, under a corrupt pope, but a practice that seems to be endorsed by the apostles at the very beginning of the Christian movement.
It is very important to see the foundation of the practice of baptism. While many believe that John the Baptist was the first to baptize people, they are wrong; he’s not. It was a Jewish practice to baptize a person who was not of Jewish ancestry when they entered Jewish culture. It was a figurative practice but it also has physical meanings. It was a ritualistic cleansing. They were immersing themselves in water to literally wash away their uncleanness. So baptism is not strictly a Christian practice, even though it is most known as such.
So when John began to teach that Jews needed to be baptized it was a very shocking thing for them. They probably thought: “Why do I need to be cleansed? I was born clean!” Almost the exact opposite of what Christian theology is today. Romans 3:23 says that ‘All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Jews and Gentiles alike).’ We realize that we’re not clean at all we all realize that we need to be saved, and that our ancestry does not automatically place us in the right with God. But the Jews did not see the matter in the same way that we do.
The practice of emersion was, I believe, a clear parallel with the ritualistic bath that the Jews practiced also. We see evidence of ritualistic bathing happening all over Judea at the time of Jesus ministry. In Qumran, an Essene community, ritual baths were in fact the norm. As one went to the temple there were baths that people were able to bathe in before the entered the temple. So the idea of baptism by immersion was not a totally new idea, it was very similar to the practices going on at that time.
The Jews also had a very large fear of still bodies of water. They were very fearful of stagnant water as they believe that there was a linkage somehow with the ‘underworld.’ This is why, in the Old Testament, we see very few references of Jewish shipping; they avoided the water that was not moving. In these bathing stations that dotted the country, we see that there were elaborate systems that were used to keep the moving. Qumran for instance has a very complex tunnel and pool system to keep the flow of water almost constant. This would explain why John did all his baptizing in the Jordan River area. It is not that there needed to be a river or a similar body of water, but to just have a baptistery in a building would be weird and against their superstition.
I say all this to show that while we do not see any type of Baptism other than an emersion style of Baptism, we do see that a very basic historical look into the culture of 1st Century Judea shows that the method that John and later Jesus’ disciples used for baptism was a very culturally relevant method, not a model of how to baptize people. The way that Jesus baptized people is never mentioned; in fact John’s method is never mentioned. The Bible never thoroughly explains the process that John and later Jesus goes through in baptizing people, we just know that it was near a river. So we must rely on the tradition that the church has laid out before us in explaining how it was done. Once we realize that how we baptize everybody is passed down by the tradition of the church, it’s not a very difficult step to get to infant baptism.
The Roman Catholic understanding of original sin is the reason that Roman Catholics baptize their children. Catholic theology believes that a person is born with original sin, and in order for that ‘stain’ to be removed, one must be baptized to remove it. Thus if a baby dies, before it can be baptized, their theology says that that baby is going to hell. This is a twisting of Christian theology, but it is the reason behind why the Catholic Church baptizes babies, they want that they won’t go to hell. So when Martin Luther and the Protestants were arguing against this doctrine, they were arguing against the theology behind a person being saved, at least in part, by baptism.
A very strong rejection, among Protestants, of baptism as a work that leads toward salvation has lead toward the in some circles the diminishing of importance of baptism. A very common saying explaining what baptism really is is: ‘an outward sign of what has happened inside.’ Baptism has become nothing more than an announcement saying: “I am now a Christian!”
This view of salvation is a very Calvinistic view; salvation is not a process, it is an event. Here Salvation has no change, no need for development, as there is no need for further growth. God has done his work, and now your life differently. The Sacraments, thus, have no signifance other than as reminders of what God has done for us. And Infant Baptism is wrong as there is nothing to announce about this baby’s life.
The Wesleyan point of view is that salvation it is Teleological. There is a life journey that happens and once a person is saved, the life has just begun. Salvation is not the end goal of a person’s life, it is just the beginning. Teleological Salvation means that salvation is moving towards a goal, and Wesley believed that this goal was holiness. The sacraments in this understanding become more than reminders of God’s work in our lives but they become, as Wesley put it, means by which God communicates his grace toward us. Thus every time we partake in the sacraments we are developing ourselves in holiness. Infant baptism in this view becomes more easily acceptable.
The sacraments when given to a person who has not yet began a purposeful walk toward salvation, take on a new role; helping a person move in that direction. Thus when an infant is baptized, it is done with that this is going to be a help to this child as it begins his or her life. Here we are communicating a means of grace toward that child that will impact its eternal future.
I am very firmly entrenched in the Wesley or Teleological view of salvation. Salvation is not the end, but a means to the end. Sacraments are not just reminders but they are ways in which God actively imparts his grace into the lives of people. This is why I support Infant Baptism.

Opposites

We sometimes forget just the point of salvation. We're so concerned with justification and salvation that we don't have room for Love. The main theme of the whole Bible is Love, not God's justice, predestined, or power. In fact the Bible seems to show a God who has let his people almost go as far away from his wants and desires as possible. And for some reason we focus on what the Bible doesn't focus on.

Now don't get me wrong, God is just, God is in control of the world, and God is never in a bind to need more power (Think Tim Allen). But the message of the Bible is none of these at all! The message of the prophets in the Old Testament is one of a God who wants his people to stop rebelling against them. His Law when researched has multiple reasons behind all those indebted rules. This is not a petty annoying God, but one that wants for His people to pursue him.

By not focusing on the Love of God we struggle explaining sin. We have these indepth charts and diagrams on which actions are sins and sometimes there is no way of understanding any common dominator. This to many people is confusing....I'm one in that group! How can you say it's a sin to drink, but not a sin to drink like 25 Mt. Dews, when both effect you.

I have been thinking about Love, if God wants us to Love, what's it's opposite? 'Cause that'd be what sin is right? It only makes sense to me that this is the case. So think for a second, what is the opposite of Love?........What do you think? I know probably the first thought was hate, while it's a good thought, I don't think that this is the most basic component for this discussion. What is deeper than hate? Pride and selfishness is my thought.

Mull that one over for a while, how does that feel for you? Can selfishness and pride really be the opposite of Love? If that is the case, is selfishness and pride the root of sin? How about that?
Jesus' break down of the law was Love God and Love your neighbor, so the whatever the opposite of Love is must be what Jesus doesn't want us to do....maybe we can understand that as sin.

Think About It....

The Church- Hated or Loved by the State?

The end of the Early Church period was when the Christianity was made the official state religion. After this happened we see a beginning of a total dynamic shift in the forward motion of the church. This dynamic shift led to many of the corruptions that the world has come to despise in the church. So I submit that it is better for the Church to be under persecution from the Government, than to be supported by it.
Christianity, the belief system that Jesus death and resurrection founded was a “religion” that has nothing to do with political or social standing. All of the disciples were men who were social rejects of their day; men who were common workers and some were the political ‘yes’ men. Jesus was not welcomed by the political institution of Judea of his day. We see that he had to leave regions as different political leaders wanted to kill him. We also see that his death was a result of conflict with the Jewish leaders. So even from the beginning of the Christ movement approval of the state was not the primary issue.
Jesus said that blessed are those who are persecuted in his Sermon on the Mount found in Matt 5 & 6. Looking back to the early church once again, Tertullian said that the blood of the martyrs was the reason the early church grew. So we see that persecution for the early church was what made Christianity. Our Western culture has become a culture of comfort; we are used to going to church and sitting in a soft pew and we forget that this is not how it has always been. Places where there is great persecution today are where see the largest growth rate in the church. So while our culture has avoided persecution, the church historically has not; this shows the western thinker’s bias.
The Bible when dealing with persecution discusses the importance of overcoming persecution. At the time when the New Testament was written, Christians expected to be persecuted. Jesus in his teaching called for his disciples to “take up their crosses and follow him”, Paul says that to live is Christ and to die is gain. This makes perfect sense as 11 out of 12 disciples were martyred. Since its beginning the leaders and members of the church have been persecuted and killed for the truth of the gospel.
Persecution brought to the church a sort of trial by fire. When the faith of those who go to death because of a powerful belief in Jesus can be seen; witnessing ceases to be an issue. On the other hand when a person grows up in a church where real faith is not modeled, witnessing becomes near impossible.
A real faith cannot be induced by anybody else; it must be a heartfelt decision. To become a part of the church for the wrong reasons is the equivalent of not joining at all. In a country where Christianity is the supported by the state, people join the church for the wrong reasons, and they damn themselves along the way. In a country where Christianity is attacked by the state, those with wrong reason for being a Christian are weeded out.
While being in a country where the government enforces the state religion as Christianity does give the outward appearance of having more Christians, outward appearances mean nothing, as Christianity is about an inner relationship. This is why I believe that it is better for the State to be against Christianity, than for there to be a state supported church.

We are the ' World '

One thing that scares me about the church is the church’s tendency to remove itself from “the world.” Since I live, and have lived in a Christian bubble for the past 3 years, I feel it every day. My classes start with prayers and for the most part are all focused on ministry. Not that I think these are bad things, i know that in the “real world” (whatever that is) you don’t go to chapel 3 times a week.

It seems that so often we as Christians are scared of the world. Almost like when I do leave my bubble that it’s out there waiting for me, so he can eat me up. You hear it in church classrooms, and I hear it in the college classroom: “the world is out to get you!”

This to me seems very reminiscent of the Black Panther movement of the 60’s and 70’s, and their talk of “the man”. This movement constantly would make remarks about this over arching evil force that was out to get anybody that was black. This “man” was always looking over the group’s collective and individual shoulder. This dark and evil force was something to combat, sometimes violently, and must be stopped at all cost.

For RA training this summer I had to read the book “The Promise of Paradox.” While I did not finish the book, I read like 2-3 chapters of it before I got back to school-yes I have every intention to finish it later. The author is a big fan of Merton, a Roman Catholic monk. He quotes Merton who is addressing the issue of “the World”:
It is wrong to come to the monastery in order to escape the world so conceived, for the conception is false. The world does not begin at the monastery gatehouse (or the Church door, or once off the college campus). It is within each one of us. WE ARE THE WORLD!
When I read this it made sense to me, for so long I was sitting back thinking that the world was this big, bad, evil thing out there trying to get me. And while I do believe that there is an evil presence out there, the World is not it. I am the World!

The ‘World’ can be defined in a similar way to the way we define the church. The Church is not the buildings or the organization that runs it; but the Church is the people that fill its ranks. Quite similarly, the world is the people that make up the population of the world.

Yes there are some people who are definitely evil, and motivated by nothing but evil, but I contend that the vast percentage of people are not evil, but merely just selfish and are motivated by taking care of ‘ole Number 1’ (which is the whole root of the sin problem). For me this thought totally changes how I interact with people, sin while bad, is not necessarily done with evil intents.

While I am not saying that everybody is good, I am saying that the world is not this big evil dark presence that is trying to destroy you. The world is hurting people; people desperately in need of being healed (whether they know it or not). We need to start realizing that these people are not out their trying to destroy us, but they are out there without the grace of God in their lives; and that's something that they need.

The Big News Story....Katrina

So we've been dealing with the hurricane recovery now for about a week. Everybody I know is dealing with it in somehow. My RA staff went up to Bluffton Sunday night and we went door to door asking for supplies; but everybody I met had already donated items. I continue to be amazed by the response that America has when it sees a need.

This isn't the first time that this has happened. If you remember last year there was a typhoon in the Indiana Ocean. The death toll was in the hundreds of thousands, and America responded in ways that once again amazed me.

Almost 15 years ago, America responded to the call for help from countries that felt threatened by Iraq. Our response lead to the 1st Gulf War. America attacked Iraqi soldiers, and encouraged the people that were suffering under their oppressive government to rebel.

In the mid-80's the AID's virus became an epidemic and began to move through the continent of Africa. It came to America, and very soon, we jumped to the rescue. Research and study of the disease was highly followed, and people all over the country were donating money and resources to help fight this new epidemic.

But in the case of all three of these epidemics were put on the back shelf. The people of Iraq were left stranded and they were killed by the thousands, the AID's epidemic in Africa has exploded and nearly half the people there have been effected by this virus, and the typhoon recovery has nowhere near the national exposure that it once had.

To me I feel that far too often we as Americans are very aware of the big needs and we through alot of aid and help at the start of a crisis, but we get bored and lose interest quickly. We think that we're doing a good job because we sent a one time cheque to help with the needs at hand, but we never follow up.

This is why many people around the world hate America. We sit back and think that we're doing a good job, and people should thank our country for our work, but we're seen as fake and shallow. Our good works only add up to us looking like we only care about the publicity.

I have felt challenged in the past couple months about my commitment. I live in a sheltered world, I am not rich but I am comftorable. Do I really care about those around the world who are in need? Do I actually pay attention to thoes in need around me? I say I do but do I really.

One of the former religion professors at my school has really challenged me with his example. I have never heard him say anything publically, but he is a behind the scenes worker for an inner city ministry. He does all the work that he can; a board member, a treasurer, and etc. That is an example I want to follow.

If you have been thinking, maybe there is more I can do there are different organizations you can work with to help:

-Bono of U2 has an organization to help combat AIDS in Africa. you can find information about it at www.one.org

-Compassion International has thousands of children you can help support.

-Churches usually have outreach programs that could use money.

-Missions organizations are always looking for help.

There are countless ways to help, but don't just help to satisfy your personal need for "doing good," but actually get involved at a deep level. Stay involved and don't be fake; in fact I encourage you to be involved and don't tell anybody.

Seperation of Church and State

I opened up the Internet Today and to my suprise there was an article about Pat Robertson. It seems that good ole Pat decided to say we should "take out" the president of Venezuela. A day later he claimed that he didn't necessairly mean that we should kill him, and that there were more ways than one of taking a guy out. Whatever he meant, it was taken to totally mean we should pop a cap in this guy's head, and move on with life.

While this proposition may not be a bad idea, since when do we get the idea that we're going to go shoot another president of another country. Heck, since when do we get the idea that we're going to abduct another president. While it may be talked about, behind closed doors, it's just not an option; that's how wars are started. So even the suggestion of such an action is maybe the dumbest thing that a person can do!

Teddy Roosevelt's idea that the United States is a policeman for the rest of the world is a far outdated policy. Sure we need to stick up for the lost and the dying, but the idea that we're superior to other countries is a joke. While the French people obviously hate Americans, they have a reason: we've treated them like crap for years. We've taken the mentality that just being American means we can do what we want; and other countries despise us for it.

The idea that as Christians loving everybody unconditionally is one of the important themes of the Gospel. This means that Christianity is not politically propelled. Running nations is not something that the Christian 'religion' (I hate calling it that) should be about. The business of the state and business of the church should be seperate! This has been the downfall of many countries and many churches. I know you probably don't like what I just said but keep reading and don't think I am a heretic just yet.

A State Church only does one thing, and that is take the realness of the Christian faith away. Yes the attendence and the membership levels are higher, but common logic shows that when the church becomes 'the cool thing to do,' the principles we base our faith on become erroded. No longer are our objectives being to help people find their Savior, but it becomes being a social club.

On the other side of the issue, the Church should not dictate the State's agenda either. Why? Because the mission of the Church is not to run a government, but to be about restoring people. Now before I get too far down that path, I think I need to clarify an issuse; this issuse being our impact on our society. I do believe that Christians should be active in our government, I do believe that Christians should strive to have godly laws, and I do believe Christians should fight to keep laws from being made that are countrary to our faith; but that's not the primary mission of the Church. When Christians live in a country they should make the country a better place to live. Plain and simple, the Gospel message does make the world a better place!

Now as for this whole issue, I think that Pat Robertson needs to flat out fess up for his mistakes. I do not think that a place like the 700 Club is a venue that he needs to be declaring political judgement upon other nations. I do not think that any church is a place for a minister to be making political declarations. Yes, I believe that talking about certain laws and supporting the good in government is proper; but day-to-day policy is too much.

Shame on Christians who think that Pat is right for his comments. If being a Christian is all about Love, where do we have room to 'take out' another person? If being a Christian has anything to do with political policy, then we've missed the point of Jesus message, the Gospel of Jesus becomes only a religion. I think we've seen enough of those.

Thoughts from the Press Box part 12

Check me if I'm wrong, but was Jesus ever offensive to sinners? I only remember Jesus talking about forgiveness and love when he was talking to those who were lost and in sin. If I'm wrong please let me know. Honestly, I have been thinking about this issue for my own life.
I noticed when I was in New York this summer at a music festival, how many times we as Christians are very negative and emphasize the sin in people's lives. Many people were walking around with shirts that said "Abortion is homicide." or shirts with other messages that may have come off to people as offensive.

I feel that this is the reason that we as a family of God get a bad rap. I know that yes not everybody has this mentality and that many times it's a small minority of people giving the rest of us a bad name.

But lets be honest, when I'm looking at people, I expect my own morality and the standard that I have set for myself to be the best. I mentally condem people who do not hold the line that I do. So don't think that I'm saying in a judgemental way, I'm just saying that it's something I struggle with too; something I think is a cancer to Christ's church.

This isn't the complete conversation that I'm having in my head but it's all I want to write about now. I'll finish later. But if you disagree maybe leave me a line or two. Or just talk to me about it if you see me.

Why I don't want to be the Schwab

One of my new favorite shows is ESPN's "Stump the Schwab." I sit on my couch amazed at the huge amounts of sports trivia that he has hidden in his head. 3 people who have taken tests and are quite knowledgible about sports challenge him every show, and usually they are the ones who are left sitting there looking like they don't know who the Yankees are.
I like to think of myself as a person who knows a thing or two about sports trivia, and I do know alot of useless information. But I would not stand up to the Schwab's knee if we were stood side by side, he is just amazing.
But as smart as he is, and as much sports trivia that he contains in his head. He still is not a true sports figure. When you look at the Schwab all you see is a fat man who wears throw back jerseys. He looks as athletic as a pregnant woman. His job is to sit behind a deak and learn as much as he can about sports, but that does not make him an jock. In fact it makes him a stat boy.
I guess that resembles the person who knows the Bible but it doesn't have an impact on his or her life. Look at countless people who can quote large portions of the Bible, but they don't have a relationship with God. Yeah they know about God, but they don't know God. They can describe God, but they don't know from experience.
Yeah Schwab is an entertaining guy, but if i had my choice and he had his choice, we'd rather be the guys on the court.

Statues not in stone

I realize that I one day will be dust in the ground. But I want something that I do to be lifelong. I have never been anything amazing, mostly I am overlooked and average. But one day I would like to be remembered. I don't think that this is so strange, I don't know very many people who want to be forgotten. To compensate for this, people try and create humungeous things to be remembered by.

The ancient peoples of our world did the same thing; they built huge monuments to be remembered by. While I realize that many were built to different gods and the like, but they are what we remember them by. Babylon is known for the hanging towers. The Greeks are known for their temples. The Romans made huge aquaducts. The Egyptians figured out how to make Pyramids. But of all these ancient cultures the one who has no major monuments has had the biggest effect on civilization.

That's right the children of Abraham have had the biggest impact on the world. We have no physical evidence that Abraham lived on earth. The only writings that we have about his life were written at least 500 years after he lived, and they said that he lived his life in a tent. While it may seem that he lived an insignificant life, his actions have drastically changed the course of human events.

Christianity, Judism, and Islam all claim to have Abraham as their ancestor. These three religions have effected most of the known world, and outside of China and Southeast Asia, I can't think of a Region of the world where these arent' the primary religion. So you could say that Abraham was the most influential person in the history of the world.

Paul says that Abraham was justified by faith. There was nothing that he did to deserve God's merrit and because he had faith, and he acted on that faith he became the father of many nations. This is an amazing proposition. Now I don't believe that if I have faith in God, one day my descendents will rule the world. But I believe that if I have faith in God I will be taken care of.

So I guess I don't need a statue or a complex aquaduct to be remembered by. I think I'll be ok if am remembered as a guy who trusted God with his life. And God blessed him for that.

Something isn't right in my head...

I have grown up in institutions that have been fundamentalistists. This means that the churches and schools has taken a very strong moral stance on many issues of the surrounding culture. This position is seen by many as a very separates stance. Fundamentalists don't dance, or drink, or smoke; in fact these actions are considered sinful. And growing up, this has been my philosophy on life.

I believe that this is a very safe position to be in, but it can lead very quickly into legalism. Too often fundamentalist camps have pulled away from the world, leaving it to it's "vices." Forming Christian schools, Christian radio stations, Christian hang out places, where they sell Christian coffee.

Fundamentalists have sat down and established actions that are sins, and stamped them into the minds of every child in the churches. Boom..black and white: no and's, if's, or buts. Growing up I was indoctrinated (if you will) about the different sins and what I needed to do to avoid falling into their grasp.

As I began to mature, the rules seemed to be a burden to my life. They were cramping my style. I only followed the rules because it was what I had been taught my whole life, and not because I wanted to. So I would follow them, mostly because I couldn't prove the feeling deep inside me that wouldn't let me buy into rules just for the sake of rules. This lead to me breaking some of the rules, because they had no meaning to me other than it's what I had been taught, and not something I necessarily believed.

I still struggle with this feeling of not totally accepting the rules side of the deal. And I think that this is the reason that many of the young adults today struggle with church. They feel that the church is only giving them half the truth. We know that this Christian thing is right for us, but the whole idea that the Christian life is set out before is in black and white instantly makes us uneasy.

I guess the only thing that I wonder about is what is the point of living a moral life. Donald Miller in his book "Searching for God knows what" suggests morality is a private thing between man and God. Which to me is kinda an awkward proposition as earlier in his book, he talked about man being meant to live in community with each other. But I think he makes a good point, we don't live by the rules to impress anybody but God. What will impressing them do? Get us brownie points in the person most likely to succeed category when we graduate. So I think maybe that has something to do with the issue.

I have also heard the argument that God created us and set up rules for our own good. And not following the rules will lead us down roads bad for us. I totally agree with that statement. God created us and so He has the right to say what we can and cannot do. BUT what are the rules laid out before us? God can demand anything of me He deems necessary, but are the rules so Black and White as I grew up thinking?

Sorry I have been rambling on and on for a while now. I still hold onto following the rules. Not as tightly as I have before, but I live a life that I consider "by the book." I guess I have typed this all as a platform to help start the process in my life (and yours if some of this bothers you too) of how I am supposed to live out life. So if you want to leave a comment please do. If you wanna IM me and talk there, cool! Or if you want to forget all about this conversation please do! But I hope that in some way you'll be drawn closer to the love and grace of God!

Band of Brothers

I am a HUGE Band of Brothers fan. For those of you who do not know, Band of Brothers is an HBO series (10 episodes) that walks through the events of World War II with Easy Company, 2 division of the 506 PIR of the 101st (or something like that). If that went over your head, these guys were pretty much just a group of soldiers who Parachuted into Normandy on D-Day, took part in the liberation of Holland, held Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge, and took Hitler's residence in the Alps. So they were a group of elite soldiers who saw a lot of fighting in the war.

The first thing that I noticed when I began to watch these movies, is how realistic they are. The combat is very realistic, and the man in me is loving every minute of it. Then I began to notice that I was becoming very attached to these soldiers, I hated the episodes where my heroes get wounded and I was devastated when they got the Big One.
Now I don't want to sound like a huge fan of war and death, but these guys have captivated my interest. What does it take to be able to go through what they went through? How does a man watch his friends get blown up and still be able to have the want to live?
I think that the beauty of these movies is that fact that the emphasis is not on the fighting, that's just there because it is a war film. The emphasis is on the relationships that these men have developed with each other. These guys even busted out of hospitals all throughout the war to make sure that their friends wouldn't be fighting the enemy without their help. There was such a tight camaraderie among the men that it seemed they would go through Hell for each other.
Last night, I was watching the NBA, and Stephen Jackson of the Pacers (I'm not dogging the Pacers) was being questioned about an argument he had with one of the assistant coaches. He was upset that people were questioning his loyalty to his team, and he was upset that people were judging him. Then he referred to the infamous night in Detroit when he ran in the stands and started fighting the fans, to help Ron Artest. Not to criticize any of the actions that happened that night, but that's not going war, that's a riot.
A few years ago the same thing happened with the Detroit Tigers. They were playing a game against the White Sox and during the course of the game there was two bench clearing brawls. It seemed that like half of the Tigers were suspended, but the reactions were not what I thought they would be. The players were not upset with the suspensions, I think that they realized that there was no way around those. But they were upset at the players who didn't come out and fight with them. Instead of nasty comments about the commissioner, they were making comments about the players who were still on the bench.
Why is it that players will risk large amounts of money for their teammates (Stephen Jackson said he lost $2 million)? Why did the soldiers in WWII leave the hospital to go back into combat and risk their lives? And why do I feel excited when I see and hear stories about these things?
The answer to these questions, I believe, is that we as humans are meant to be in a community. We need to know that when I go through life, I am not alone. People will sacrifice a whole lot of things to be a part of something. When you look a people who are depressed and people who take their lives, isolation seems to be a big part of the reason; not physical isolation, but mental and spiritual isolation. It seems we are at our lowest when we are alone.
I think that's why I like Band of Brothers, not for the cool war actions shots, but because it shows man at his finest.

Baseball...the heartbeat of a Bellinger

Whoops....It's bee almost centuries since I have posted anything!! Please all you "Legend" blog fans forgive me!!

I am a huge baseball fan. I love it! Baseball was in my blood. My grandpa was a star pitcher at his high school. I grew up hearing stories of how hard he could throw. In fact, my grandpa took my family to my first baseball game ever. We drove to his house, and Brent and I both got one of my dad's Tiger hats. My parents still have that picture of us with my grandpa that day. He was so proud that his grandsons were baseball fans. I don't think we had a choice really, it was a family thing at his house, family reunions, church picnics, and any time people were there it was highly probable that people were playing ball, or were trying to get somebody to play with them

I played 1-1 baseball with my brother in the backyard everyday. We were fanatical Tiger fans (it was back when the Tigers were good) and our afternoons were spent pretending to be Cecil Fielder or Rob Deere hitting the ball out of the park, and then trotting around the bases. Our games would usually end up in a fight or atleast and argument. Usually I started it because I was upset my little brother was beating me.

When I was in 2nd grade I was finally old enough to play Little League! My first year I was assigned to left field, and I was so pumped just to be in the starting line up (even if it was the outfield). That year we had a good team, and got 2nd place in the league. I remember going to the awards ceremony, and getting my 1st trophey. I was so proud of that, I placed it on my dresser and showed everybody who came over, my 2nd place trophey!

That summer we moved, and in the new town we lived in the Little League was not as organized as the one I had just left from. Because I was new to the area, Brent and I were picked by the bad team, cause all the good teams didn't know just who we were. That year it was horrible, I don't think we won a game. It was totally embarassing. Here we were, Bellingers and our team was the worst in the league.

The next year was different. I was old enough to move up to the older kids league. I was the youngest kid on my team, and nobody expected the kid that nobody knew from the horrible team to be any good at all. I played my best summer of baseball ever that year. Not only was I a good outfielder, but I was a cluth hitter (If I may say so myself). As the season came to an end we were in the hunt for 1st place in the league, and I was helping contribute to that!

On the last day of the year, we had to play two games in one night. In our first game that day the other team jumped out to a 2-0 lead on us. As I came up to bat in the 3rd inning, I knew I had to come through. With a man on second, I drove the ball into center field and got our first run of the game. My hit started a ralley and we came back and won the game. We won the second game and went on to win the league championship.

After those games, my coach came up to me and my parents as we were about to get in the car. He looked at me and told me that he was going to nominate me the All-Star team. After that he told me that I had "saved the teams bacon all season long". I was so proud! I was the youngest player on the team and I was nominated to be an All Star and the coach said I had saved the team!

I played baseball the next two summers and both times my teams placed 3rd and 2nd in the league. Both were fun, but we could never get over the hump like my first summer. But after those years, my family moved again. I started goin to a Christian school that did not have a baseball team so I stopped playing baseball.

While I was in high school, I had little contact with the game. I would play softball during camp time. Every now and there would be a Saturday game on that I'd catch. But I had developed a new passion, basketball. I left my glove in the garage, my bats in their bag, and the baseballs laying on the floor rotting; basketball was now the game of choice.

How often is this the case for people who grow up in the church. We grow up involved in church. We are there every week memorizing scripture, inviting our neighbors to Sunday School, praying every night, and reading our Bibles. Then inevitably we move away, and replace our faith for something that is cooler. We "play" Christian a couple times a year, and in the mean time let our "equipment" rot.

As I moved through high school and into college, I began to watch baseball more. My friends at school were huge baseball fans, and I began to pay more attention to the game. When I tried to do the things I had used to do with ease, I found that what was once done with easy, was now difficult. The once familiar ball in my hand, now felt foriegn. The accuracy that I once threw the ball, was no where to be found. In the game I was once at home in, I now was an alien.

I'm a huge fan of baseball it's in my blood, and I want to keep it that way.