a holiday from church

Last week at church there was almost not a service, or at least that is the way it looked. The service usually starts with a hymn. Instead, a gentleman (who we would find out later would be leading the whole service) stood up at the front and proceeded to tell us in the most lugubrious voice that the guest pastor who was supposed to be there in place of the current pastor who was on a month long vacation was ill and could not make the service. They had just found out that morning so they would be piecing together the service on such short notice. And pieced it would be.

We never did get to the opening hymn – which may have been a good thing because later on we would sing an awful version of “Amazing Grace”. After the little speech we somehow got through the liturgy until the sermon. The same gentleman, a paid administrator at the church, decided he would be the one doing the sermon. I guess there was no one else available - or more likely - no one else was asked to help lead Sunday worship or the sermon. I’m not quite sure how there could not have been someone with more experience leading. Was there not a second in charge, or third in charge? Was there not a deacon or extraordinary leading in the church on this Sunday? Apparantly not.

Now I’m not saying church has to be done a certain way. On the contrary. It was actually really neat to see the congregation go through the service without its usual leader and to worship corporately anyway. There wasn’t someone “qualified” to bless the communion, but we did it anyway. It was out of the box – and it showed that doing church can be done in many different ways.

This all leads to the important part of the day: there really should have been a leader giving the sermon that day. Why? The reading for the day was the feeding of the 5,000. Standing at the front of the church he said he didn’t believe the feeding of the 5,000 happened but that its a good life lesson. It is an insult to the real miracles that happened 2,000 years ago and to the Savior and Lordship of Jesus as God, and to the general Christian belief in God. Later he claimed he believed in Santa Claus – pronounced “Santy” Claus. (In all fairness he meant the general idea of Santa Claus as a way of giving around the holidays.)

In the end what was a good service was indeed church gone wrong. I hope no one went away with anything from that un-thoughtful sermon.

---------------------------------------------------

In related news. We first went to this church at the beginning of March. There were lots of kids and it was Lent. It truly was in better times. Now I’ve noticed throughout the entire summer that all the kids (including their parents) are no longer attending during the summer. They’ve taken church off for the summer. For me this is a complete knock at God and the Christian community.

In more related news. The other church we were interested in finally got a new pastor which means we can try that church again. Which we will be doing as soon as possible since the other church seems to be taking a holiday from God.

settling into a church

It’s been a while since I’ve written about searching for a church. After a long hiatus in June due to moving and painting among other things we got back in the swing of searching for a church. We returned to the church from way back in week 1 at the beginning of March. It was a promising church with many possibilities. After experiencing many other churches (including one church that seemed that it might be the church to go to, but ended up being the craziest of them all) we have fallen back to the church from week 1.

If anything it feels like we have settled for this church. Not because it is a bad church. But because we know what we want and we know the possibilities out there. The other part about shopping for a church now is that it is summer. And for anyone that has gone to church before during the summer months it is a lot different than the rest of the year. Many churches go from two services to one. The pastor, many times, is on vacation along with half of the congregation. Overall there is a different vibe to the church. It’s not good or bad it’s just different.

With that said, how do you know what a church is like if it is different during the summer months? For now this is the best we’ve seen in the area. We’ll continue to look, but at the moment we are settling into a church.

when church is downright awesome

It’s hard church shopping. Especially when you know the perfect church is just 45 miles away. Especially when the variety of churches is so few. This week was no exception. It was the third time visiting this particular church. It will probably be the last – at least for a while.

This Sunday it started with a hymn sing. - a chance for the congregation to choose a few songs and sing them. It was welcoming. After the welcome and announcements the bell choir did a rendition of Mighty to Save, which was excellent. Everything was gravy, until the (interim) pastor spoke.

It started off good enough. Talking about the death of Bin Laden, an interesting story about a crazy group of Millerites. The pastor even mentioned that it was horrible to rejoice in an enemy’s death, even one like Bin Laden. Then it happened.

Let me preference this by stating that I’ve been to a lot of churches before and heard a lot of sermons. I’ve heard a lot of bad sermons, sermons proclaiming the prosperity gospel, even a pastor who demeaned Hispanics and women throughout a service.

Today, the pastor claimed that the verses 9-20 in Mark 16 where Jesus comes back to the disciples after his resurrection didn’t happen. His claim, from his mentor, was that if it couldn’t happen today, it couldn’t happen then. Of course his logic would not only conclude that the verses in Mark were untrue, but in fact much of the Bible.

As a visitor I was ready to bolt. We didn’t though. We stayed. I’m glad we did. Toward the end, during prayer requests, one of the choir members called out the pastor’s sermon. I’d never seen a member call-out a pastor during a service. It was awesome! The courage that this particular member had to call out the pastor on such blasphemy was remarkable. I was proud that the member had done that. I can only hope that the other members felt the same.

The pastor is an interim, and we don’t know how long he has been there. From the response from the choir member, he hasn’t been there long, or this is one of the first times he has said something like this. The church is in the middle of a pastoral search. For now we are going to skip the church – we’ll have to try it out again once they have a new pastor. 

journey for a church: not it

Sometimes there are just better churches. This past Sunday we went to a new church in Plymouth. We had already been to a church in Plymouth, but this time the church was in the middle of the tourist area. We circled around a couple times and found a free spot – this time. As the tourist season really heats up we pondered the thought of having to either pay for parking or parking far away and having to walk quite a distance to church.

The church itself was a typical New England looking church – white with a large steeple. From the front doors you walk into the church narthex next and a large fellowship hall. Staircases on both sides of the narthex lead to the sanctuary upstairs. The sanctuary upstairs was large and could easily fit 400 people, maybe 500.  The church had a good attendance of 100 people, but looked empty in such a large church that was probably full back in its heyday.

The church was traditional, yet different from another traditional service from the same denomination that we attended weeks ago. There was a large choir, acolytes, and yokes. There was a normal liturgy, great hymns, and we even said the Gloria Patri.  I am not sure I have ever been to a church that has done that.

The sermon, or should I say communion meditation, was good. It incorporated relevant biblical verses and real life situations. The pastor even had a high school student read much of the service as a way to involve and teach the young people of the church.

Even so, the church didn’t seem ‘it’. Can a church even have an ‘it’? Can a church be judged on the basis of its essence? I don’t know, but it was done on Sunday. 

what does mary have to do with palm sunday?

We decided to try the week 3 church again this week. The first time we visited there was a guest preacher. We also went to the traditional service. This time we went to the contemporary service – which we were told would have more kids, and indeed it did. It was Palm Sunday so you never know what to expect. Will the church have a normal service or does the church do something extra special that day? From what I could tell this church had a little of each.

We got to see the interim pastor on Sunday, who was not there the first time we visited. He looks like Barney Frank, a House Democrat in Massachusetts, and if we heard him the first week we may not have come back. His sermon - certainly nothing to write home about. Even his closing words left us unsure if the service was really over besides the fact that the congregation got up and began conversing with the people around them.

There were a few odd things to note. First, the church is having a dramatic reading for their Good Friday service. Nothing unusual there, except that it was noted in the bulletin and by the pastor that Mary of Magdala - one of the dramatic people being betrayed - is believed by some to have been the wife of Jesus. A common misconception by Christian skeptics and Da Vinci Code enthusiasts at best, it was no place to bring up such an idea. Also odd was the fact that the pastor kept saying “common era” (C.E.), also a phrase used by people who can’t stand the phrase A.D., a Christian calendar that the Western world still uses today.

There was still some liturgy, which Jess and I both like. A common prayer was said aloud by everyone. There was also a good skit that was put on by the kids at the church, and a song by the praise band. All-in-all we still like the church, but some concerns were raised at this service. If the concerns are common practice we will probably move on, if not we do really like the church. 

family church, as opposed to that other kind of church

Week four we decided to try our second church in Plymouth. The first week in Plymouth didn’t go so well (you can find more on that here). We were hoping this week would be better. We walked in, were greeted, and handed an eight-page bulletin, front and back.

Although we had already been to this denomination in a previous week we added it to the list to create a better variety of churches. Unfortunately, this time neither Jess nor I liked this church. There was nothing particularly bad about it, but there was nothing particularly good about it.

One thing that was unusual is that every first Sunday the church has a “family” service. Many churches have family services a few times a year.  I am sure others even have it as frequently as this church. This Sunday there wasn’t even a normal sermon, just a homily for the children. I have never been to a church that has totally taken out the sermon in a service.  

This church usually full of Catholic rejects and delinquents seemed as if it wasn’t full of that particular population but rather as if they just had the wrong sign on the outside. Lots of kneeling, sitting, standing, sitting, kneeling, back to standing. For an hour and a half.  You get the point. It just wasn’t for us.

On the bright side, the two reverends seemed nice, smart, even funny. But, it just didn’t feel right. After church we shook off our shoes and left.

journey for a church: week 3

In the age of unwelcoming churches, have congregations turned a corner? With last week off, this week we attended a new church in Sandwich that, much like the first church and the End Times church, was welcoming. Surprising indeed. The church is not a seeker church – it’s in fact a church that has been around since the first Europeans arrived in Massachusetts and rich in history.

We went to the traditional service. Like many mainstream ‘traditional’ churches it had a welcome, liturgy, and hymns. Some unique aspects of the service were a liturgical prayer and a Lenten moment that happens each week. There weren’t any awkward moments and as visitors we weren’t asked to raise our hands.

Of course the one problem about visiting different churches is that when you arrive you aren’t sure whether the service or the regular pastor will be there that particular Sunday. This week the normal pastor was gone and a visiting pastor gave the sermon. The sermon was wonderful, but it doesn’t reflect the regular week-to-week service. Although I suppose if the visiting pastor had a bad sermon it may reflect badly on the church.

We really enjoyed the worship. But we will have to revisit the church to get a better overview during a regular Sunday. Look for a blog on this church again in the future. Next time we go we will be attending the contemporary service. We’ll be looking for little kids (none of which were at the traditional service) and the regular pastor.  

journey for a church: week 2

It was supposed to be an easy Sunday – a mainstream church, a contemporary service – no surprises, right? At least that is what we thought. We arrived early and were able to have our pick of any seat. It didn’t look like the seats were going to fill, but eventually many of the seats in the pews began to fill as the first worship song began.

It was a little awkward at first. The worship band was not singing loudly and neither was the congregation. After the first song though the worship band seemed to be a little more comfortable and everything seemed normal – sort of. Then the worship leader began to walk down the aisle. Back and forth singing the whole time. I was afraid to stop singing or give eye contact in fear that I might get called out by the worship leader to sing louder or to start jumping up and down and raising my hands like he was. Luckily, eye contact was not given.

After avoiding awkwardness was the welcome time for visitors. The pastor asked for any new visitors to raise their hands. So awkwardly enough both of us raised our hands and received a small welcome packet.

Then – the sermon. On the projector screens appeared up a collage of photos – a little kid with a bowl of water, a couple other photos, and an Apache helicopter. You might be wondering, “Why an Apache helicopter?”. It might become clear when I explain that with the four photos is also an intimidating caption - “A Study in The End Times”.

The first week of Lent seemed like an easy enough Sunday to attend. But alas this church decided to coincide Lent with a series on the end times. It went from awkward to just plain bad. With the word rapture being thrown around I was holding myself down from walking out of the church. In all fairness there were a couple points made during the sermon that were theologically correct – from there urg. At the end the pastor went on to describe that if you didn’t do your devotions, prayers, tell your friends about the gospel each day, and if you instead decide to make up your own gospel, when you come to a huge crisis in your life the cross you’ve “made” won’t be big enough to withstand this huge crisis. Compare that analysis with the idea that it is God and not yourself who is in control.  The pastor’s sermon completely contradicts the knowledge that love does indeed conquer all, and that forgiveness is not something that you can count (Matthew 18:21-22).

We walked out disappointed, much like the rainy day in Plymouth.

journey for a church: week 1

I’m not sure where to begin. So, I’ll begin with the ending.

As we left the beautiful red doors of church number one I was pleasantly surprised that I was not disappointed by the service. In actuality, I was surprised how inviting the church was among other things. I think it helped that it was sunny and 60 for the first time in months. It also helps that the town of Sandwich is a quaint Cape Cod town. How did we get here?

It did not start with a new house (but it did end there). No, it started with the fact that driving to Attleboro every Sunday just became too far and too time consuming. In fact, Attleboro is not even the closest Evangelical Covenant Church to our house in Wareham. Except, we had already established a relationship with the church before moving down to Wareham, and it was not that much further than the other Covenant churches that were a little closer. 

The idea of actually becoming a part of the church was just not possible from that far away. Additionally, with the looming of a baby on board (along with gasoline prices escalating again) we knew we had to switch churches. It was nice to go on Sunday morning, but simply impossible to go any other day of the week.  We decided to look for a collection of churches near our new home. We came up with eight churches in Plymouth and Sandwich. Later, the list was cut to seven because one of the churches had mentioned only supporting men in leadership on their website.

Over the next several weeks we will be going from church to church trying to find a home. I won’t be giving out specific church names or denominations until the end, but hints will be in each blog. The series will go eight weeks (I’ll have to find an additional church to make it eight again). However, the series could end or be extended if we find a church or if the eight weeks are not enough.

Church 1

It was a warm sunny day in Sandwich on Sunday. It made it easy to walk to the small New England church from the side street where we had parked the car. We could see the big red doors of the entrance as we crossed the street to the church.

We walked in to see that the procession of clergy were making their way to the front for the beginning of church. Everyone was singing the first song. A simple wrong turn to the church had made us a minute too late. The church obviously started right on time. After the procession went past we (and a few others that did not quite make it on time) stepped into the sanctuary to find our seats.

From the beginning it was obvious and no surprise that this was high church, with strong emphasis on liturgical worship. This didn’t faze either of us. Well, not until I was singing along with the first hymn and noticed that there were no titles in the hymnal. Finding this peculiar I moved on.

On to the sermon. The sermon can be make-it or break-it with me. In this circumstance I was not persuaded either way. The pastor gave great examples of faith and one not so good example, Augustus Caesar. It wasn’t gripping with theological problems, but it didn’t get me off my seat in awe. All in all it was good.

At the end was communion. Not just communion, but communion with a wafer. It was different and not how I would do it. However, they do have communion each week, which is missed out, even in most Covenant churches. At the end of the service we had a very friendly couple come up to us and talk for a few minutes. This as well does not happen in many churches. A welcome sign from a welcoming church.

where is the back door: a short story of faith

When it comes to Christianity these days, non-Christians don’t seem to be too enthused at the idea of Christianity. Faith and belief in a higher power - yes. The bureaucracy, hypocrisy, and all the guidelines, etiquette, guilt, etcetera that comes with it is just plain not worth it. As someone that does believe, I have seen all these things first hand and it’s not pretty. In fact, it is quite ugly and disturbing. When I see this or when these acts have been done to me I’ve stepped back from the institution or person(s) on numerous occasions. As a person who believes, I move on from the establishment, because I know the establishment is not what I believe in. But, for the non-believer is there a back door that they can enter because the front door has been closed to them?

At the end of my junior year I was criticized heavily by one of the Intervarsity leaders about not being any good at evangelizing and not bring enough people to Intervarsity’s Large Group on Thursday nights (Large Group was an evening of worship similar to a Sunday church service). I remember feeling that I had failed at being a good Christian and that I was not doing enough to be one.

Three years earlier I was at the beginning of the height of my involvement with Intervarsity. With no job my freshman year I had plenty of free time. I used my free time to attend prayer groups multiple times a week, was mentored by an upperclassman, attended two Bible studies, and ironically went out to do campus evangelism once a week. My second semester I was added to the Large Group planning team and was groomed to be a small group leader my sophomore year.  

My sophomore year I did more of the same (minus the planning team) and lead a Bible study for one of the freshman groups. The small group never really expanded beyond six people. A low number compared to some, but it was a solid loyal group who attended the whole year.

My junior year I started a job so that I could pay for gasoline to get around town and pay for books.  I also began some leadership roles in the residence hall I was living in. I still attended prayer groups and Large Group, but my time was now being mixed between Intervarsity, the residence hall, and work. It may look like my leadership role diminished with Intervarsity, and it probably did. That year I helped lead a book study through Intervarsity called More Than Equals.  It challenged me, the people who attended, and it challenged Intervarsity. Many people in Intervarsity found race and faith something that was not important or core to their faith. I found it right at the center of my faith as an American Christian. That dilemma would come up again and again my junior year.

At the end of my junior year Intervarsity decided to completely change the way they did things on campus. Book groups like the one I lead my junior year were left on the side for a different method of grooming Christians. Large campus-wide prayer groups through Intervarsity were left out for individual small groups in the residence halls to decide whether they did them or not. The idea was modeled after a successful small group that did Bible study, prayer group, evangelism all within their group. The group was very productive and grew exponentially. With little success of the new model my senior year I deemed the change as a failure.

With leadership roles changing and only small group leaders as the main leaders, as a senior I was left without a senior role and the support of Intervarsity leadership. This leads us back to the beginning when I was left at the end of my junior year felling like a bad Christian. I still remember the talk quite clearly.  I think the conversation was meant to get me moving and to make sure everyone I had ever had contact with made it to an Intervarsity Large Group.  In the end it made me feel like everything I had done and worked for in the three years on campus was for not.

My senior year I was less involved in Intervarsity than I had ever been. Prayer group was left to the small groups and ours didn’t have one. So, there was no corporate prayer that year. There was no book club, because there was no interest for one. I rarely attended Large Group because of a coinciding class at the same time. All we had was a Bible Study and a poor one at that. I was disappointed at the (lack of) depth and focus the group had.

I did a lot of things through Intervarsity and it all ended with a short conversation at the end of my junior year. The issue had nothing to do with character or lack of service, or even a difference in belief system. These harsh realities of guilt and hypocrisy are real within Christianity and they are closing the front door to non-believers. Many people don’t even want to deal with Christianity - not because of what the beliefs are, but because of who the people are.  

two worlds collide

Two worlds of mine have recently collided.  I am almost done with a book on the history of World War II.  And even though the book does not talk much about the holocaust (as it is a book on military history), you cannot help but hate the man in the book named Hitler.  It is not even hard to hate him without reading about the holocaust.  He was a fearful leader with few - if any - morals.  His hatred does not just come out toward Jews, but toward Russians, and anything he deems a worthy scapegoat.  There is even a wartime paradox as he allies with the Japanese.

My world of hate yesterday collided with the world of resurrection – Easter.  The world of resurrection is the Kingdom of God, and if we are to live the resurrection, then the kingdom of God has come.  If I am to live the prayer of “your kingdom come” then I must live a radical and loving life.  A life that is so radical that it can even love and forgive someone as vile as Hitler.  For if God not only sent Jesus to earth, but died and rose, then that is love that is extended to everyone.

Of course it is still easy to hate Hitler.  There is no sign he felt remorse, regret, or had any actions of reconciliation in anyway.  But, two worlds have collided.  The one we live in, and the Kingdom of God.  It is a world in which Jesus sat with sinners, talked to Samaritan women at wells, and did the impossible. 

new Jesus video uncovered in Qumran

Earlier today, in the same area that the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, an authentic video was discovered in a clay pot in cave 5 in Qumran of Jesus and his disciples.  The video sheds much life on what Jesus and his disciples not only really looked like, but also what they sounded like.  Archeologist say this could be the greatest discovery sinceÉ well the discovery that Jesus was not in the cave he was buried in some two thousand years ago.  The video, which is just over two minutes long, has Christians all across the globe proclaiming to the world, ÔHere is your long awaited evidence non-Christian worldÕ, while non-Christians are claiming that Jesus sounds kind of funny.  Found just days before Easter, the holiest of Christian holidays, it is more than mere coincidence.  To view the newly discovered video, click below.  

betrayal & bread

Does anyone else feel bad for Judas Iscariot?...  Probably not.  I mean he is named the one who betrays Jesus.  But, is Judas really worse than the other disciples?  Gosh, there’s doubting Thomas.  And what about Peter, the rock?  He has a chance to stand with Jesus, yet denies him not once, but three times.

And just after we learn that Judas is the betrayer, the disciples are arguing between themselves who will end up the greatest.  Even in the last moments of Jesus’ life, he still has to take a moment to teach the disciples about humility and servanthood.  In the end Judas hangs himself.  With all the sorrow of teenage suicides today, I’m not sure why we don’t find the story of Judas more saddening.

All the disciples have a story after Jesus’ resurrection.  I wonder what Judas’ life could have been. In the midst of breaking bread for the first time, one of the holiest acts of Christians, the betrayer is marked.  The disciple Judas is no more.

yes, sometimes i do speak

Today I got the privilege of speaking at work for their weekly Wednesday morning chapel. My little speech is below in its entirety. I stuck to the script for the most part, only straying away from it a few times so you will get the basic gist of what I had to say. We also sang two songs. The music was great for both, but neither song was well known so the singing was a little quiet. The hymns were sung one at the beginning and one at the end. The first song was “Worship the Lord in the Beauty” and the second was “Living and Dying with Jesus” which I thought fit quite well. At the end I also gave a benediction. I had never done that before. Kinda weird. Overall I think it went well. I was a little nervous, but after that I was able to speak with solid rhetoric.



What are we doing with grace?

2 Corinthians 6:1-13 (TNIV)

As God's co-workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.

We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange—I speak as to my children—open wide your hearts also.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Faith and grace – it doesn’t seem to come at a cost anymore. Martyrdom is a thing of the past. (I’m not saying it doesn’t still happen. Occasionally we hear a story here or there.) But in general we don’t hear the stories of people like Paul who boasts of his hardships or a modern day martyr like Dietrich Bonhoeffer. If you don’t know who Dietrich Bonhoeffer is – he was a German pastor and an author who during the Nazi reign stood-up against what was wrong and was eventually imprisoned and killed for it.

Grace is often called the quality that makes Christianity unique to other religions and the rest of the world. So, what does grace look like? And, what are we doing with it?

Grace is more than proclaiming John 3:16 – to say this gift God gives us is free. But we are cheapening God’ grace when we leave the proclamation at that. It’s only half of the equation. But it is hard to proclaim repentance, confession, discipleship, and even sometimes a life of hardship; like that of Paul who had been beaten, imprisoned, hungry, who cried out about being poor and dying.

And yet… Paul rejoices!

Has the church lost what Paul rejoiced in 2000 years ago? Have we lost grace in the church today? We talk about living our best lives now. We make Christianity into Americanism. And even sometimes we proclaim that grace maybe isn’t for everyone, creating moral barriers of superiority and division. All of those examples are completely the opposite of what Paul was trying to teach. Now this would be the time where I would do a PowerPoint. But, because of Annual Conference all the projectors are in San Diego. Instead I’ll do the little PowerPoint verbally. I’ll name a person or group and you will decide for yourself whether they deserve grace or not.

Hitler… the KKK… Mother Teresa… Martin Luther King Jr… Obama…How about George W. Bush… Your favorite athlete or singer… Sadam Hussein… the homeless.. Enron or Madoff …

How far were you willing to extend grace?

Did you extend grace to Mother Teresa or Martin Luther King Jr? How about Hitler or Enron?

Yet, grace goes beyond hate, beyond racism, beyond any sin of this world.

Are we keeping grace under a rock? Are we hiding it in the ground? OR – are we giving grace, are we being unconditional in our love as, God is for us? In the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20)… Do you know this one? Where the owner of a vineyard hires some workers at the beginning of the day for a denarius, then at noon hires more for a denarius, and again in the afternoon for a denarius. At the end of the day all the workers from morning to afternoon are all paid the same amount one denarius. This grace doesn’t make sense to the world. It doesn’t even make sense to us most of the time. This is not just the second half of the equation, but it is like adding 2 + 2 and it equaling 5. It’s as if God has changed the fundamental truth of the problem to not equal 4 anymore, but 5. Just like the math problem grace is beyond what the world sees as ‘good’. God’s fundamental truth of the equation of grace is different from the world’s it is extended to all.

On our own, attempting to give grace to everyone without any sort of conditional filter is impossible. We’re human, and we are going to become frustrated with our co-workers, with bad drivers, with irritating neighbors. It is only when we live in the depths of God’s grace, and allow his strength to pour through us, can we seek to live in a different way. And it is this grace-filled lifestyle that has the power to really change the world for the better, as Jesus did. Are you up to the challenge?

not simply happiness

Joel “happiness” Osteen. He’s the one-stop-shop to happiness and seven steps to a better life now. He is the definition of Marx’s “opium of the people.” If you’ve ever read Marx’s quote beyond the one phrase, there is much more to what Marx is saying, and ironically enough even an average student of religion like myself can easily refute Marx’s statements.

Unfortunately, Osteen’s church has become a catalyst for a watered down Jesus and Christianity that brings well deserved criticism from non-Christians. No wonder in today’s world non-Christians find it hard to distinguish between a liberal non-Christian who seeks out equality and justice and a moral-induced Osteen follower. The essence of Christianity has been left out.

Fortunately, Christianity is more than happiness and fuzzy kittens. It’s more than optimism. It is about hope. It is about the beatitudes that Jesus talks about in Matthew chapter 5. A radical way of living that is far from an opium, happiness, or seven steps. Christianity is beyond instant gratification, beyond the American Dream, beyond simple living, beyond ‘going green’, beyond pro-life, beyond day and night, it’s beyond just living. In a world of hurting, suffering, and starving - Jesus brings an alternative.

now, but not yet

I had a friend say the other week that “it is hard to live life in the present when you are thinking about the future.” As a population in general we seem to have a hard time with this. When we have a vacation coming up all we can think about is the vacation in two months. When someone is graduating soon all they think about is the day they graduate and not about the exam the next day. When a transition is happening good or bad it is hard to keep track of the here and now.

Living in the Kingdom of God is much the same idea. In Christianity this can be seen just about everywhere in every situation. “Who cares about the stewardship of the earth when someday I will be in heaven?” There is so much thought about the future that the present is forgotten about. And as N.T. Wright points out to us, as Christians we plain and simply don’t live out the theology of heaven and resurrection correctly.

But when graduation, a new job, or a new baby is coming how do we live in the now and not the future? The answer doesn’t seem to be black and white. It is as grey as living in the Kingdom of God - now, but not yet. It is much more than just heaven or just earth. Life is much more than perusing a new job and mucking the present. Life is more. Life is living out the kingdom of God now, but not yet.

oh! gravity where are you?

So, I decided to take a look at a Switchfoot song to review. Switchfoot, which is my favorite band, are rooted in rock and deep lyrics. Their latest album came out in December 2006 and was titled Oh! Gravity. The band sits on the fence as a non-Christian or Christian band. Not because the band chooses to: because neither Christians nor non-Christians will take the band for themselves. The band is in the fuzzy grey area and I think they like it that way. A “Christian” band or not, their lyrics lead only to one thing – God.

Or so I thought as I wondered around a review on the title track ‘Oh! Gravity’. On the website Jesus Freak Hideout, a Christian music website, their review of the album and song Oh! Gravity was anything but good. They insult the album for “dwelling too much on materialism and consumerism”, and “ambiguous political leanings”. In the end the album was deemed forgettable.

Forgettable is exactly what has happened: forgetting the poor, the hurting, our enemies, and the ‘sinners’ of this world.

The political left, bent on pointing out the world’s (especially the United States’) problems with materialism and consumerism reminds us that a song like ‘Oh! Gravity’ is exactly what we should not be forgetting. Composer, Jon Foreman points to God’s love and what Christians should be striving for in these lyrics.

“There's a fracture in a corner bar
In the back seat of a parked car
By the liquor store where the streetlights
Keep you company till the next night
In the same town there's the same scar
In the same glow of the liquor store
By the freeway where the headlights
Keep you company till the next night”

You can feel the pain and anguish in the lives that are being forgotten in the lonely and hurting in the bar. You can see the innocence being lost in the back of the car.

“In the back room of the Pentagon
There's a thin man with a line drawn
With a red jaw and the red bite
Watch the headline on the next night”

Politics or love? The review thinks it is politics. Maybe it is just a case of love. A love for one’s enemies, and an idea of life for everyone beyond war, violence, and murder. The album does dwell a little on materialism and consumerism. Is that such a bad thing? Did not the prophets of old warn of false idols? Did not Jesus speak about not being able to love both God and money?

Just look at today’s global economic crisis and see what materialism and consumerism has done to the world, to the poor, to the sick. Although the album and song received some poor reviews the band was right on where both Christians and non-Christians lives and love for God should be.

Full song lyrics here.

earth day: reflections on doubting thomas

Today is Earth Day. It’s the day when Christians and non-Christians can get together, drive down the highway and throw their fast-food bag and leftover fries to the side of the road and no one will care. Wait. What? No, that is the one day when we come together not to do that. Earth Day is a day, or a week in some communities, to clean up the messes we have made in parks and roadsides. Earth Day does seem to bring Christians and non-Christians together. Everyone agrees, at least, that the trash on the side of the road doesn’t look good.

On every other day though it seems that just like with politics, morals, and so on there is a deep divide between Christians and non-Christians on the environment. Just look at global warming. As most non-Christians take global warming to be a fact, still many Christians find it to be a hoax, unimportant, and total boo-hockey.

The gospel lesson from this week was about Doubting Thomas which can be found in John chapter 20. As my pastor pointed out this Sunday, Thomas gets a bad rap. He gets a bad rap because Thomas doubted. His faith was bent on seeing and not just believing. Thomas will forever be seen in a bad light as Doubting Thomas. Thomas has something in common with the majority of Christians today. Just like Thomas had to see and touch to believe, so do Christians have to see and touch to believe that there is global warming. It’s a kind of sad irony. With all the cold weather and snow this winter it seems to make doubting that much easier and believing that much harder.

Yet, Earth Day was not founded because of global warming and neither was this argument. Caring for creation isn’t just about global warming. It’s about caring for earth and all of God’s good creation. What does it say when we destroy something God has created? What does it say about resurrection hope, that like the disciples a week after Jesus rose, when we don’t care about creation?

jesus camp: the lessons i learned

Wow! Just watched Jesus Camp over the weekend. If you have not seen it, it is a documentary about a fundamental Christian camp and the faith of the kids that are involved. The movie itself looks at a year in the camp and highlights a few of the kids and the youth director that puts on the camp.

So, if you haven’t seen it I don’t want to ruin it by giving up much of the plot from the movie. But I would like to give you a few of the lessons I learned from the movie.

Lessons learned:
Apparently the only way to worship God (in church) is by yelling and shouting for joy. You can’t be quiet or sing serenely.

Be slain or be slain.

Little fundamental Christian kids scare me more than this.

Harry Potter is a warlock.

Warlocks are bad.

Ted Haggard was featured toward the end of the movie. If anyone didn’t see this coming, they should have watched this documentary.

Jesus tracks at a bowling alley is the best way to minister to the lost.

I live in a sick old world.

Mullets are good.

Brain molds can be used for ministering to kids.

Public schools suck for two reasons: 1) because they are public 2) because they teach about evolution.

Brittney Spears sings about girls and boys, not about God.

Children are great for brainwashing!

Science proves nothing – ever!

Sin often looks like a stuffed animal.

Global warming is stupid and way overrated.

God doesn’t like non-Christians - they are yucky.

Public schools went bad when they took prayer out of school.

Did I mention little fundamentalist Christian kids scare me?

Some other conclusions I found out from the movie:
Jesus must have been born in the good ole U.S. of A., because the United States is the only nation God blesses and everyone else is an enemy.

Jesus was definitely about war and not peace. Join the U.S. Army here.

God is not in every church.

Right now I am being judged by a nine year somewhere and being condemned to hell for not jumping up and down and shouting to God.

Ideas that I can apply from the movie:
I should buy some tracks and put them in soda boxes at the grocery store so people can find them when they buy their soda and then be saved when they read it. It is way easier than talking to them at a bowling alley.

Condemn everything that is not like me.

Harry Potter started global warming.

Jesus can’t come back until there is a Republican back in the white house.

And those are the lessons I learned from the movie. Hopefully you can learn your own lessons.

If you didn’t notice the sarcasm throughout this blog please read again.

finding the book of luke in hitch

Have you seen the movie Hitch? It’s this romantic comedy with Will Smith. Alex Hitchens, played by Will Smith, is a date-doctor who helps men set up dates with the women of their dreams. Toward the end of the movie, Albert Brennaman, played by Kevin James, comes to Alex to fix the relationship that he set-up. Alex, baffled by his own love life, tells Albert to shut it out and move on. Albert in misery comes back at Alex with: “You’re selling this stuff, but you don’t believe in your own product.”

And this is the line that got me thinking. Much of the tension between Christians and non-Christians (and quite honestly between Christians and Christians) is this sense that as Christians we are trying to live out a life that is holy, loving, merciful, gracious, Christ-like. You get the point. But, we are human. We fail and that comes across as hypocritical.

The hypocritical trail is everywhere. One of the most recent examples is Ted Haggard, a former pastor in Colorado, who was caught soliciting homosexual sex. Ted openly opposed same-sex marriage. One that always stuck out to me was in high school when the same kids who led Sunday school on Sunday were out drunk the Saturday night before. This isn’t about being hypocritical though.

What is it about then? Simply put by Albert, “You’re selling this stuff, but you don’t believe in your own product.” It’s not about saying one thing and doing the other. It’s about saying one thing and not believing what you are saying you believe. As Christians we talk about the amazing grace and love of the triune God. We sell God as the God of love and grace, but do we believe in our own product? When grace should be shown to others, do we? When we are supposed to love those we are to love, do we? Or do we not believe in our own product? Do we instead believe in the product of judgment, condemnation, hate, jealously, etcetera? Do we merely act like the rest of the world? Do we hate the ones we are supposed to hate and love the ones we are supposed to love? What good is this? (Luke 6:27f)

It is easy to judge and condemn. It is easy to turn a head to the poor or be ignorant of the inequality in the world. If we are to believe in our own product we must take up hope, we must take up faith, and we must take up love.