6.25.2005

Billy Graham and Las Vegas

"What happens here, stays here."

Seems like a good slogan to build an advertising push. After all, why not offer what every one wants anyway? A chance to get away from the responsibilities of life, the job, the family, and just go some where and party like you really want to...With the realization that when it is over, it is over. No guilt, no remorse, no problem.

deep down, most of us want that. A place to let it out and not worry about the whispers of someone who may have seen us in a bar, walking into a nudie joint, or being seen with some one other than our spouse.

Enter Vegas. A place where your sinful desires can be realized and when it is over...It all stays there.

actually, a lot of that is happening at home...But there is that whisper thing when we go to church.

I watched an interview with Billy Graham last week. It made me sad. The last of a dying breed. A generation that will be soon forgotten. After all...He is not post modern.

I was sad because of his simple message. "God loves you." somewhere along the line, that was not enough for me, or for many of those emergent types I ran with. Somewhere along the line, we figured we needed more...It could not be as simple as love...Could it?

The simple, faithful, honest life of integrity this man led is an inspiration for me. God gave him a message to deliver and he did his part.

Today, many religious types believe God is going to use politics to change the world. Many demand a seat in the political arena simply because they are Christians. That is ok I guess. God wants you to have political representation. It just does not have the same ring as God loves you.

The life long pursuit of a simple Gospel delivery. Offering man the love of a God who created him and reminding him of the result of death with out that God. I never saw him preach in person. But I remember as a kid, my dad would have us all sit down and watch every night of every crusade that was on TV.

What happens in Vegas never stays in Vegas. We know that. We cannot hide from our sin, just like we cannot hide from the pursuing love of a Creator who killed His own Son that we may know Him. Billy Graham has been seen by more people in person than any man alive...and he told them all God loves them.

Here's to ya Billy! Thanks for being a model of life and faithfulness. If we do not see each other in this life...See you at the feast!

6.14.2005

HARDCORE? Or just soft shell?

I was in Home Depot today buying some stuff. There was a man in front of me in line with a ball cap on that read "Hardcore Christian."
I wanted to ask him what it meant, but he was gone to quickly.

so, as usual, I pondered the word...Hardcore.

I have heard the word to describe several things over the years, such as:

Porn
Music
Hunting
Football
Bodybuilding
4 wheeling
Skating
Drug use
and last but not least, now, Christianity.

so what is the line between Christian and hardcore Christian? It seems to me that we get a kick out of adding adjectives to the word Christian, which was given by pagans to begin with, just to make our faith more cool, or mainstream, more vibrant.

Christianity, real Christianity is already hardcore, already radical, already simple, already freakish, already, WWJD, already wide open, already out of the norm. Why do we find it necessary to add adjectives to something already completely outrageous?

I saw a T-shirt from a camp a few years ago that read "extremely saved." is there any other form of Salvation?

using words that are used to describe porn and sports and other things really makes no sense to me. Jesus was the biggest freak and radical rebel who ever lived. But we want to put sandals and a cross necklace on Him, give Him blonde hair and blue eyes and forget words like "eat my flesh" and "take up your cross." and what every you do, do not mention anything about "bearing fruit" or being "cut down and cast into the fire." I call this guy "Mullet Jesus."

but, as usual, we Americanize things. "Normal" Christianity does not seem Hardcore, nor does it seem radical. That is why each summer, youth camps come out with these words that offer a different kind of faith, better, stronger, more real than what the students see at their churches and sadly in their homes.

this is harsh, but if we would back up a bit and analyze the situation, we would see the problem.

we have dumbed down the faith in such a way as to allow the money changers an opportunity to cash in on our lack of vitality and fervor.

Was Jesus radical? Was Jesus hardcore? Most would say yes. And if you compare the words of Jesus to what we hear today, His words are still that way.

so how do we explain to youth, and adults for that matter, why we never adopted Jesus radical and hardcore ways.

Jesus should not be thought of today as a radical, but the beginning of a radical movement. Christianity today should not be thought of as hardcore, but merely the continuation of a hardcore way of life that was introduced 2000 years ago.

but because we have settled for a less than way of life, Christians need to be reminded that we are hardcore and radical...By wearing hats, t-shirts and bumper stickers. This way, people can read it and we don't have to say anything.

no doubt this will anger a few. It hit a nerve with me. But hard core Faith is more than a membership. More than a slogan. It looks more like someone taking food to the homeless, selling everything and moving to the mission field, helping someone who we are less likely to help, getting our hands dirty when we don't want to, going out of our way to make the unlikely feel loved.

I look for opportunities like that more than I used to. I used to be stuck up and full of my self. Using service opportunities to pat myself on the back, lift myself up in my own eyes. Pride has brought me to my knees. It has not been a pleasant journey.

I think it was James who said something about true religion and orphans and widows and prisoners. If we focused more on the "poor" Jesus read about in Isaiah and less about the people of status so we can keep our buildings open...We might have a revival in this country.

"The least we can do", as I remember hearing a friend say, "is what Paul did. He gave his life for his faith." somewhere along the line, it turned into a choice. I can see the signs now...

Hardcore to the left, this line will include missionaries, and those willing to loose it all to gain it all, but the road will be hard, you will see Jesus as most do not, and it will be a difficult road. Softshells to the right, this line will include those who want a relationship with Jesus, but are not really interested in Him changing much, only offering success and comfort. We have room for both...No pushing please...There is plenty of room.

I fear I may have chosen one while wanting the other.

6.11.2005

My Chemical Romance

Music seems to do more for me than ever. Not just the stuff that I have always listened to, but there is a lot of stuff out there today that I am drawn to. Musical styles matter less and passion matters more.

that is why Stevie ray hit a nerve. Seeing him play was like a religious experience. God gave this man the gift of music. Whether or not he was a believer, I do not know. But I know Blues is good. And all good things come from the Father.

some of the new stuff I like is the same way. Passion drives some, but most are cookie cutters that are placed in front of the masses just to make a buck.

CCM music is no different. Each genre is covered, each style, each look. I pretty much stopped listening to CCM when we started putting out boy bands. It was a little much for me. Booty dancing Christians in concert shaking their "money maker" seemed a bit weird. But that is just me.

because we all need a little nudge sometimes in worship, music seems to be the best thing. Being set up, or "chemically altered" for worship by our favorite song produces not quite what I see scripture saying about worship in Spirit and Truth. After all, we now have worship pastors and lead worshipers, rather than music ministers. Possibly just a sign of the changing "emerging church" culture, but possibly the beginning of something much much more.

music has taken over the prime source of "worship" in most of our churches. We worship, then the pastor preaches.

while this is not a new understanding, the primacy we are placing on music in the church today is quite alarming. Mainly because most of the songs are about what we want and can get. Seldom are we face down broken over our sinfulness when we sing. Mainly, we feel good about life cause the songs we sing have more to do with our reward than our condition and our responsibility.

of course, I personally have been part of only a few services where the Word was preached in such a way as to produce a congregation wide movement to the floor as to repent over our sin either. Each time I was part of the audience.

the Passion Movement has helped deal with this problem somewhat, but the music is mainly played and led by guys and bands who seldom get any recognition outside the "emerging church". kinda like the anti establishment movement that Jesus began a few years ago.

a friend of mine pointed out something I had been dealing with. Worship for me has less and less to do with a hymn, or an endless repeating of a 1 verse chorus, and more to do with seeing and sensing God in more and more areas out side the walls we have tried so desperately to keep Jesus in.

so while it is sometimes good to allow music that "sends us" to take a role in our worship of this great and holy God we serve, it is more important to see Jesus in the homeless, in the sound of a child crying, in the look of loneliness, in the joy of love, in the moment of clarity when we see Jesus for more than we make Him, but author of all life who is searching out for the hearts of those who truly seek him.

My romance with Jesus has more to do with who I see Jesus in and where I see Him all week and less to do with me trying to get into a mood that may be "chemically" altered by an emotion produced by my favorite song.

6.10.2005

Solicitation of Prostitution

these are thoughts from mid April as we were working through a major life change. major to me, maybe not to others. but, you know the deal...major happens to me, minor happens to others.

As I try and work through the events of the last few weeks, several thoughts come to my weary mind. Circumstances have led us to a point of concern for immediate employment. For the first time in a long time, there are seemingly no over riding influences from what has been my employ for a number of years...The Church. And to put my family before the church is a new move for me. And it feels good.

not that my time with the Bride was all bad, far from it. people I hae had the joy of knowing and even influencing still holds great memories and wonderful rewards. it is just different.

as we have been taken off the "starting rotation", there is left in my mind a sense of bewilderment. Even though we both need jobs, pretty damn quick I might add, and even though a huge opportunity has been offered, there is a feeling of whoredom that has come to my mind.

We are not going to a place with the opportunity to serve on a Church staff, nor are we going with the intention of starting something. We are simply going as a matter of need. As a middle age man with some sense of the future in kind, retirement is looking closer than it ever has. With no savings and no nest egg to fall back on, financial considerations must be part of the picture.

so why do I feel like such a whore?

I have felt sometimes like I left the Church in a time of need. Not that I could fix Her ills, but like I was an able body who decided to work somewhere else because I did not like the job I had. Now that the "Primal Experiment" did not pan out the way I had envisioned, the realization of missing God has come home. Yet, as we still seek to honor God with our lives and especially our decision making, we believe we are following His will for us...For now.

in the dictionary under "making bad decisions", there is my picture. So we are where we are because of some bad decisions.

making a move with out going to a Church is a little weird. But it is exciting.

It seems as though I have been given a sabatical opportunity. I pray that I will use wisely the time that has been given.