Lunatic Fringe

I been around. traveled all the lower 48. Iran, Turkey, Mexico, Scotland, Cuba, Canada. seen some beautiful places and met some beautiful people.

all is all, most folks are the same. well...mostly.

sameness is boring. I used to have a sticker on my car that read..."you laugh at me cause I am different. I laugh at you cause you're all the same."

there is some truth to that you know. the problem with that is what scares me. especially in various houses of worship I have been in and visited through the years.

it is like we became part of this tribe. white middle to upper class white folks who drive suv's and talk the same language. talk the same, have the same political views, dress more or less the same, and run with the herd. those who get culled from the heard are quickly branded as trouble makers and rebels who refuse to conform to the sameness that drowns us in "anal retentivity". by the way, that last part is a quote from my pastor. he said that from the pulpit on sunday.

now. i love suv's. some of my best friends have em. I want one.

and we are more comfortable with those who bare the same likeness as we do. it is comfortable. white folks go to white churches and so on.

this is where I leave the herd...

there are litterally millions of weirdo's in this world. some talk to themselves, some pee onthemselves, some don't bathe, some are demacrats, some are republicans, some ride bikes to work, some are vegetarians, some eat fish, some pray, some use prayer rugs, some like tom jones, others like Godsmak. I want to meet them all.

good conversation has taken on a whole new thought for me. good meaning real. a real conversation with a homeless man I gave a cold bottle of water to the other day consisted of mumbeling that was not legible in any form...but it was real. conversations I have with my dear friend dub about life and music. real. honest. provoking.

deep soul thoughts that rise up when the herd runs by are my favorite. I stand at the watering hole alone sometimes, maybe with one or 2 more who are like me. then the herd shows up and shows the proper way to drink. now they look with this weird look. now I hear the whispers...now I feel the darts. yea, the enemy is always close by, I can hear him roaring and hunting around. but it keeps me sharp and my senses are on edge. safety is not why I was culled from the group. nor was weakness. it was willingness.

it is not enough anymore just not to agree. there must be provocation, deep thought and honesty. the repetitive garble that comes from the herd sounds more like charlie browns teacher than anything.

few add to the dialogue. same old stuff. catch phrases. typical.

give me a grunt, a mumble, flip me off...just don't tow the companty line if you can't be honest enough to open up.

we all use Jesus to justify our thought process. and truthfully, it depends more on our characteristics on which jesus we see.

I see the one who said "eat my flesh and drink my blood." "count the cost" "white washed tombs."

probably casue the company line has become so pharaseic today. we do all we can to justify what happens and what we do.

sameness has caused us to leave the drunks in the bars, whores on the street, druggies out of sight. becasue we don't want the herd to see us talking to them...it may not look right.

divorce in the church is catastrophic. pornography has become one of the biggest problems on seminary campuses. there is more effort to helping people feel whole than teaching holiness.

partly becasue of our desire to remain deep in the herd so as to remain safe from the attacks from the preditor?

the lunatics of the world were and will always be the on the leading edge of change.

John the Baptist was a lunatic.
Jesus was a lunatic. Original lunatic.
the 11 were lunatics.
Paul was a lunatic
Calvin, Luther, Augustine, all lunatics.
Jonathon Edwards...lunatic.
John Piper...lunatic.
Billy Graham...lunatic.
Lee Bennett...lunatic.
bkj...lunatic
uprising...lunatic.

some folks I know have lunatic tendancies.

I know you're out there...I am glad you exist. lunatics and freaks and members of the movement...I can hear you coming.

Lunatic Fringe
I know you're out there
You're in hiding
And you hold your meetings
We can hear you coming
We know what you're after
We're wise to you this time
We won't let you kill the laughter
Ton Cochrane