I think Maya Angelou is the most beautiful person who ever lived. Rachel and I were discussing our rich white Methodist church. We decided that a black person could be accepted at our church, but only if he or she had something to compensate for their blackness. If they were wealthy or brilliant that would compensate enough. People would accept them in our church.

I can't find it right now, but I have a favorite picture. It was taken in the 60s, a time when racial segregation was still the norm in the United Methodist church. The picture is of a group of "radicals" holding picket signs that say "Segregation doesn't equal Christian Love." I see these people fighting for something so honorable. I'm sure that many conservatives thought that it would split the church or at the very least undermind the very essence of what United Methodists believe. How silly we are when we try and interpret God's word to fit our own hatred.

Maya Angelou would be welcome at Toccoa First United Methodist. She's rich and brilliant. It would more than compensate for her skin color. But, she wouldn't. She wouldn't go to a church (at least on any on going basis) that wouldn't accept the poor and underprivileged. I don't blame her. Bishop Leontine Kelly's brother wanted to leave the Methodist Church over segregation. Her father said, "You don't win the battle by leaving the battle field."

I'm praying for some heart change - and who knows? Maybe the people at TFUMC will start to have a heart and love for black people.

Some sad news today in my personal ministry. The Water's Edge church plant has been shut down by the conference. It was, ultimately, a kingdom building decision. The pastor will be moved to Dahlonega First UMC. That church is starting a new contemporary service. Joe is the best person I can think of to start a new contemporary service. Dahlonega is a college town and Joe's a phenomenal college pastor. Eventually the church will probably open a daughter church on GA400 (a highway) directly inbetween where Joe lives and where the Dahlonega church is.

It makes so much sense, and eventually a new church will get planted. So, why do I feel so empty? This opens up a lot of oppertunities for me. This was the biggest road block keeping me from seeking out a youth ministry position. My Sunday nights are available to work with the youth group here in Toccoa, too. I learned a huge amount about church planting through this experience - and also grew a lot in my faith through my interaction with Joe. So, why am I upset that it's over?

I hope that the conference doesn't make the same mistakes again. I hope that they are willing to admit that placing a few families in an area is worth the financial burden if it will help the church grow. I hope the conference learned something. I want to go work in Pittsburgh with the new church our conference is planting. I want to encourage any new church planting that the UMC is putting on. I'm still excited by the idea of new churches.

Yep

Ministry has always been relational. God called Abram to be a blessing to the whole world. The people of Israel (in Isaiah, but elsewhere) were to be a light to all the world.

Jesus ate with the sinners - heck, he PARTIED with them. Paul wrote some very personal letters to people he had obviously spent years in ministry with.

When did ministry become something we DO instead of being something we ARE? When did it become work instead of relationship?

I remember joining the local tavern pool league at my last church. It was great. I got to be around guys who have never been to church doing something that I love doing. I never once had to invite them to church, I never even had to talk "religious talk." They still swore when I was there, they drank and smoked and carried on.

I ended up having to quit because I can't take rooms full of cigarette smoke - it literally makes me sick for days...

I used to go to breakfast every Thursday morning with a half dozen guys from the church. After about three years, other guys from the restaurant would stop by our table, hang out for a while, chat - sometimes share their problems or tell us about the great things that were going on in their lives. Guys I would never have met if I didn't "waste" all that time eating breakfast and hanging out at the restaurant every Thursday.

I have the youth Bible study for our aftershool program and I love that we can just get together every week and hang out and talk about what's going on and, eventually, I can steer it toward the lesson - but the most important thing about the study time is the relationships that are building... They've asked questions that have made me blush - but they were afraid to ask anybody else and they know that I'll always be honest with them and that I'll never hold anything against them. I may give them an answer they don't like, or don't want to hear, but it's always honestly who I am - and I try to reflect the love of God in it...

So, yeah, ministry is relational. Being a pastor doesn't necessarily mean you are ministering - being a missionary doesn't mean that you are ministering - it's not about titles and positions, it's about openness and presence...

What if ministry is all (gasp) relational?

I live in a terrace apartment. I live with 5 great guys. There are 6 great guys on the other side of the building. We are considered the equivalent of one "hall." Much like when asking a measure of distance you can answer "3" (unspecified units) and get away with it being correct - we get away with being considered a hall. I only know 2 of the guys on the other side of the building. We had to have a hall picture for the year book. I asked not to be in it. I don't like being in pictures a whole lot and I think it's pretty dumb to be in a "hall photo" with 4 guys I've never talked to. (I don't even know one guy's name.)

My RA made me be in the picture. I love the idea of Christian Community. I think that the 6 guys on my side of the building pull it off pretty well. We all talk to each other and have gotten to know each other. It's a shame that we couldn't have two group photos.

I think about my evangelism classes and pastors who tell people that they should hand out tracks - and I think about relational evangelism. I'm a pretty outgoing guy - and I don't even knwo the guys in my building. My friend John wants to be a missionary, but he's never talked to most of the people in his apartment building. I just think that there's something missing here.

My friends and I went to the house of a couple from the Methodist Church. Ed and Susan were marvelous. We talked for a while and then had cake. Ed offered us Beer and Susan offered Rachel cooking lessons. We felt so at home - and I felt so proud to be a Methodist! I think that Christian Community should look a lot more like that. I don't know anyone who doesn't like being invited over for dinner.

I want an apartment.

Sooooo Postmodern

Yep - we're living in a postmodern world populated by a bunch of annoying modernists... I know there are still people who yell and scream and protest abortion clinics but, really, haven't we grown up yet? Next door we have a new church that has a huge sign (maybe I'll take a picture and post it later) out front that advertises their weekend long event:

Hell House! [In suitable red and blood dripping letters]
It'll scare the HELL out of you!

Sigh... Do we really think that we can scare people into faith? Do we really think that yelling at a pregnant teenage girl, or a pregnant 30something for that matter, really is doing ANY kind of kingdom building? I suppose that it makes the protester feel...what? Superior? Holier-than-thou? Jesus had an awful lot to say about THOSE kind of people... And about the pregnant girl who might make (what I or Michael or anybody else not in her skin thinks is) a mistake in getting an abortion - well, Jesus said things like, "Blessed are the poor in spirit...blessed are the meek..." He said that he came for the lost and broken and hurting (yeah, it's a paraphrase - but he DID say that he did NOT come for the righteous, so there...).

The world around us marches on and we live in our own little Christianized worlds where we look out the stained glass and turn our noses up at what's going on. We're above it all, aren't we? I mean, we're supposed to be "in the world but not of the world" - but we have an awfully wierd way of being "in the world" don't we? If we could on lhave Christian grocery stores, Christian gas stations and, oh I know, Christian Walmarts then we could really be "in the world" the way we want to be...

Yeah, I think Jesus is weeping over this New Jerusalem that we've built - not His kingdom, but ours. Not His will, but ours.

I will always identify myself as Christian on the issue of abortion. Not pro-choice, not pro-life. Every person (born or unborn, Christian or not) deserves to handled with Grace and Mercy. I won't pass judgment on any person for what they do or don't do - not my job and I wouldn't want it. Would I counsel someone to get an abortion? Depends. But I wouldn't give ANY counsel without talking, praying, crying and seeking God in the whole situation.

So, call me whatever you want on the issues... I call myself pro-grace...

On being a pro-choice Christian

First and foremost I want to clear up one particular line of thought. Although I am pro-choice, I (in no, way, shape, or form) like abortion. I detest the very idea of abortion. It sickens me to think that an entire generation of babies has been killed.

However, I support abortion in cases of rape, incest, or if the mother's life is in danger. I'm a true Clintonian - I feel that abortion should be safe, legal, and rare.

How can I, as a Christian, even consider being pro-choice? Simple. I think that passing laws banning abortion is too easy. If we tore down every abortion clinic in the country it would be far too easy for Christians to continue ignoring the actual problems affecting non-Christians. Passing laws outlawing aborting a fetus won't solve the true problem.

The real problem is a lot of people still need to hear about Jesus, people who don't know Christ long desperately for love and affection. These people look for love in all the wrong places; relationships, drugs, and promiscuous sexual activity. People never find love in these pursuits. They find themselves in a worse situation than they started. It's part of man's sinful nature to engage in risky sexual situations. How should we as Christians react?

I want to see Christians react in a way that shows that we care about the teenage girl before she gets knocked up. I want us to respond in love; offering hope to the hopeless, telling people about God's love (a love which no sexual encounter can ever compare to), and God's grace.

We need to start by teaching young women to respect themselves; to empower them to tell their boyfriends NO when they are pressured to have sex. We need to understand that this is a fallen world, and people will continue to sin; abstinence-only sex education classes are not enough! We need to make condoms and birth control available; we can't expect non-Christians to act as Christians, but we can make their lives better by offering protection against disease and unwanted pregnancy. We need to create realistic alternatives to abortion for young, unwed mothers. We need Christian clinics to be the first place they turn; a place where they can be shown God's grace, offered help and assistance, and counseled through the process. We need to stop crucifying those who opt for abortion; as Christians we need to model grace and forgiveness. Screaming and protesting at abortion clinics models neither - praying for and with a scared young girl deciding if she wants an abortion evidences both.

I'm pro-choice ... but I'm also pro-life. Christ said that he came to "give life and give it abundantly." When considering the issue of abortion, I ask that we as Christians have a consistent ethic of life. That we consider both the life of the fetus, and the quality of life of the mother (Christ came to give life abundantly - that's a quality of life far better than being pregnant and scared). A girl who feels her only option is to kill the life inside of her most likely doesn't yet know our Savior. We as Christians can model Christ's love and offer her this hope that lives inside of each of us. We must not forget in our efforts to save the un-born babies that God loves the babies' mothers, too.

The Idealist and the Idiot

"Jesus threatened people with inclusion."

That was a quote from our Sunday School class yesterday. I have no idea where Bill Starr came up with it, but I like it. - Google is a great thing - I just found it and no wonder I liked it: Brian McLaren's A Generous Orthodoxy.

Think about the implications:

To the Pharisees, Saducces, Scribes, Zealots, Essenes, and whatever other groups existed then - Jesus threatened them by including the sinners, the weak and the dangerously theologicially mis-informed.

To the Rich - Jesus threatened them by including the poor, the lazy, the homeless.

To the healthy - Jesus threatened them by including the lepers, the lame, the sick and the dying.

To the self-righteous - Jesus threatened them by including the unrighteous, the self-loathing, the meek and the hated.

And it works in exactly the opposite direction, too

To the Unrighteous, self-loathing, meek and hated - Jesus threatened them by including the self-righteous...

And you can go right back up the list...

You see, inclusion has to work both ways. If I am selfish, I have to recognize that the selfless are also loved and welcomed by Jesus. If I am poor, I have to recognize that the rich are also a part of the kingdom of heaven.

That's how kingdoms work. In one way or another, the people in the land are added, the borders are extended. Jesus' kingdom isn't any different. I worship with people I don't socialze with - who I probably wouldn't ever socialize with. They belong to country clubs and service clubs. They belong to welfare lines and social security. They belong to NA and AA and the NRA and the DNC. They run for political office. They don't even vote... There's a whole world of people that I don't have any social, political or economic ties to whatsoever - but they are my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Jesus has threatened me with inclusion, too. Really, how do I make conversation with the CEO of a major corporation? What do I say to a single mother who still can't make it with three part-time jobs? How do I connect with the schizophrenic and the alcoholic?

Only in Christ. Only in His grace. It really does cover the selfless and the selfish, the idealist and the idiot.

I pray every day that I am worthy of inclusion - and able to include...

And on the Inside...

Well, I've never been to Moscow (heck, I've never been off the contintent - and the sum total of my international travel has been Canada...) but I've seen pictures of the subway system. I didn't realize that few tourists ventured down there. What I remember from a History Channel special about it (yeah, I'm getting old, I know...) was that it was somehow tied in with the Communist era...don't remember too much now that I've started.

Anyway, I go back and forth about the whole "outward appearance" thing. I mean, I'm healthly on the inside (all outward evidence to the contrary - my blood pressure is always perfect, my cholesterol is in the normal range, my heartrate is good, I just had a cbc and everything was fine...) even though I am more that 100 pounds overweight. I know that eventually the weight is likely to catch up to me, so my inside health will probably someday match my outside health... That's all just the physical part. But there is a spiritual dimension. Do I have any reason to care how unhealthy I get? People like to throw that Corinthians passage at fat people (you know, the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit - so you better get the temple in better shape, buddy) but I don't know that it has anything at all to do with the outward appearance.... I should read it....

Sigh, okay - so it really DOESN'T have anything to do with the outward appearance (darn prooftexters) but it's all about...shudder...sin. Specifically, sexual sin.

Wow - for once I actually find more depth in Peterson's The Message (I've always loved to read it - he's good at putting words together - but sometimes he goes for clever to the expense of...well, accuracy):

There’s more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact. As written in Scripture, “The two become one.” Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever—the kind of sex that can never “become one.” There is a sense in which sexual sins are different from all others. In sexual sin we violate the sacredness of our own bodies, these bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love, for “becoming one” with another. Or didn’t you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body.
(1 Co 6:16-20).

I think this whole passage really is great stuff from Peterson - really illuminates Pau's point. And the point he's making really is one about grace. It isn't just the "don't sin because you're going to hell" kind of rhetoric we get from the far Right - Paul really tells us WHY we shouldn't sin - it really does affect us spiritually. GOD LIVES WITHIN US. That's a pretty powerful message.

So, I think you're right. I need to keep my heart beautiful (heck, there's no way the outside will ever be considered beautiful) - I sweep it up with confession, repentance is a new coat of paint, resisting temptation is a new...um...chair? Uh, this metaphor has reached its limits, I think...

I don't want Jesus to look at me and see a whitewashed tomb, I want Jesus to look at me and see a well kept house - maybe a little plain to look at, but cared for... And on the inside - home...

I've been thinking of the subway system in Moscow. It's random, I know. Moscow has the most beautiful underground in the world. Every station has a different theme. One is in honor of Mendeleyev (who discovered the periodic table) and each tile has a different periodic symbol on it. The chandaliers are models of atoms. It's phenomenal. Russia is in a horrible economic struggle right now, but the city government keeps spending money on its beautiful subway system. Most tourists don't take the underground - nothing is in English. The city doesn't gain extra revenue by keeping it updated.

It reminds me of my heart. I should keep it beautiful. Not everyone will get to see it. A lot of people go jogging to look better. I want to keep my heart beautiful. God sees it.

The subway system keeps the citizens proud. Not an unhealthy pride ... but enough to keep them afloat. When I keep my heart right with God --- well, I have good days, I love more generously, and I give willingly.

Why should Moscow stop working on the subway system? Why should I ever care more about this temporary body than my eternal heart?

The Grace I Need (to Give...)

I just realized how much like the OT people of Israel I am. I cry out to God, grace pours down. I take it and hold on to it. Then a prophet has to be raised up to smack me upside the head to remind me that I'm never blessed just to be blessed. Blessed to be a blessing.

Grace is not to be held, but to be passed on. If I am forgiven, I need to offer forgiveness. (heh, does that mean that if I'm condemned, I offer condemnation? Um...actually, it kind of does mean that:

For if you forgive others their tresasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew 6:14-15 NRSV)

Sigh... I know that God's forgivness isn't dependent on my being forgiving. But I'm not really repentant if I'm not offering forgiveness, am I? I mean, bitterness and hatred are every bit as big sins as murder and stealing...

Okay, BUT...

Christ took the punishment for our sin. All of it. Yep - there is not one bit of my sin or my punishment that Christ didn't take...except that which I refuse to give over to him.

I'm not afraid that sin is lurking in every dark corner. I know where my sin is - I know my heart. And I know what things I don't want to give up to Jesus for redemption.

See your argument falls apart here:

What then are we to say? Should we continue to sin in order that grace may abound all the more? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Do you knot know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:1-4 NRSV)

Sin is fun. Forgiving grace is funner. Having sin conquered by the power of the Holy Spirit: Priceless. (sorry, couldn't resist)

Seriously, we're talking about grace here like the only kind of grace that God offers is the forgiving kind. What about grace that prevents us from sinning (or enables us to resist temptation)? What about grace that drives us TO repentance? We really like the JUSTIFYING grace, because that means even if we continue in our sin, we can be forgiven. Do we like the SANCTIFYING grace that means God is perfecting us and causing us to STOP sinning?

Do you want a pastor who lusts? Um...we need to talk definitions here because we probably won't be talking about the same thing. If a man sees a woman dressed provacatively (or undressed), his body is going to react in a certain way (there's a chemical reaction here, people, that's what I'm talking about) because of how we're wired. How do I respond? That's the heart of what Jesus was getting at. It's not about the outward act but the inward intent. When I surf the net and see a photo of a scantily clad woman what do I do? There's a whole range of possibilities here from averting my eyes and moving on to lingering on the picture to...well, you know where it can lead...

Do I want a pastor who lusts? No. I don't. I want a pastor who has self-control enough to turn his mind and heart away from lust. I want a pastor who daily turns his lack of self-control over to God and allows the Holy Spirit to begin rewiring him. I have a friend who actually prayed that God would make him lust after his wife - and his wife alone. Guess what? It seems to have worked.

The man in Corinth's sin WAS my sin. And your sin. WE are the body of Christ, all of us. You sin, it affects me. I sin, it affects you. The man in Corinth's sin wasn't any different than mine - except that I have confessed and repented. My heart is different than it was ten years ago. I still sin:

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just witll forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for ouf sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 1:8-2:2 NRSV)

Sin is a reality - but I can't just say, "Oh well, I'll keep doing it because Jesus will forgive me." I need to pray to overcome, I need to pray to stop sinning. I need to repent. Paul's goal in kicking the guy out of the church wasn't to exclude him - it was to get him to repent of his sin. It wasn't Paul saying, "You're contaminating us here so go away and don't come back." It was Paul saying, "You're not receiving Jesus' grace for your sin. Go away and see how you like it without his grace at all." Okay, that's a really bad paraphrase, but THAT was Paul's intent. Always for reconciliation, not condemnation. WE see it always as condemnation.

Enough for my lunch hour...

Here's my problem...

I don't think we need to beat ourselves up over our sin. I think that Christ took the punishment for it.

I like this phrase: God loves you just the way you are, but he loves you too much to let you stay that way.

I believe that God brings the change in our lives and will evict sin. - but, it's a life long process, one which He uses to teach us many lessons. I see too many Christians cowaring in fear of sin, checking behind their shoulder every other minute to see if it has crept up on them. They leave no time for joy. Andy Roberts preached an advent sermon entitled "Sin is Fun." I love him dearly for it. His premise was sin is fun but not fun enough. Sinning takes the fun out of sin.

Jesus set up ridiculous standards in the sermon on the mount - his point being that we are never going to live up to the measure of perfection ... so grab grace and give it to others. If I knew one person who wasn't struggling with lust I'd be a hell of a lot closer to siding with the conservatives ... but Jesus said that even if you lust you are guilty of adultery. Do I want an adulterous pastor - yeah. You bet, because it's that or none at all. I just hope he has found God's grace.

We only feel that the sin of that man in Corinth is bad because it isn't one we are committing. We would feel very differently if his sin had been lust or anger or hatred. Jesus included these sins as being as bad as murder. Would I want a murderer teaching my kids' Sunday School class - yeah. If he's found God's grace.

We can't live in perfection - we live in a beautifully sinful grace filled world. I still think Paul messed up. I think that we can rebel against sin taking hold of our lives ... but it isn't our job to fight it tooth and nail until we die. Christ did that.

Get Back Here...

Hmmm... Michael, I think Paul was right to kick the guy out of the church at Corinth - but for probably radically different reasons than the kid you talked to. See, things were WAY different when Paul was writing. Becoming part of the Church meant possible persecution. There was a whole different level of commitment and a whole different level of community. To get kicked out of a church today simply means that I'll church shop for a couple of weeks till I find one that "feels good" and then I can settle in and if I have to leave there, well there's a hundred others within a twenty minute drive...

When Paul said that guy was out of the church at Corinth - well, there wasn't anywhere else to go. Yes, the believers probably met in houses, but that letter got around and everyone in Corinth knew that THIS GUY was out of the church. Have you ever been excluded from something that you know is life-giving, hope-sustaining and absolutely, undeniably the very truth of our existence?

Me either.

But I bet it really sucks. Might even make you stop and wonder if this sin thing is really worth it.

I have been a sinner from day one (there's a whole bunch of Bible and tradition to affirm that - but I've experienced, so trust me...it's true) but I haven't been an UNREPENTANT sinner the whole time. When I know I am sinning, I struggle with it, I pray and fail and cry and beat myself up and try harder and fail and pray and repent... But I repent. That's the difference. There is a difference between someone saying, "The Bible says this is wrong and the Church says this is wrong and I don't want it to be wrong but I'm trying to change because I believe the Bible and the Church" and someone saying "The Bible says this is wrong and the Church says this is wrong but I don't care. I'm going to do it anyway."

Nobody kicks anybody out of church today because, really, what would the point be? So we've needed to really change our tactics - to really try to teach and model the love of God AND a Godly lifestyle. We fail pretty consistently on both counts, I agree. And the change has prompted the whole Crazy Conservative movement that drives you nuts...but it's also prompted the liberal side of the fence you're trying to stand on...

So that's my opinion - and that and two bucks will buy you a cuppa coffee...

Yeaaaah ... I'm gonna have to ask you to leave.

There's this church (I've never been there) where a girl got knocked up - so they kicked her out. She was really sorry that she was pregnant. She apologized to everyone, but they still kicked her out.

Now, I only know about this church because of one particularly awkward conversation with one particularly rabid conservative. His response to the news of this church was, "The only reason that seems strange is because our churches don't follow scripture. They are weak and don't have the guts to kick people out when they sin."

It was immediately obvious that this boy had never sinned, and therefore didn't need kicked out of any churches. I need kicked out of a lot of churches. I sin all the time. I'm just really glad that God doesn't take the approach that this boy took. My God is a God of second chances (and ...*grabs calculator* ... 490th chances.) Isn't it going to be awkward for that boy when he gets to the pearly gates and Jesus says, "Come on in, but before you go in ... Why didn't you offer her grace? Why didn't you offer anyone grace?"

I'm a methodist, and we have a social policy of letting just about anyone become a member. I don't even think a person needs to be a Christian to be a member. I would want to know why a non-Christian would want membership, but I would rather have an honest athiest than a dishonest (pretend) Christian member. I know this is pretty liberal, but I would rather err on the side of grace. I think that Paul failed Christ when he threw the man out of the church because of an unrepent sexual sin. I think that he should have shown more love and grace. This is one of the times that I think we use Paul as an example of what to uphold when really this is in the Bible as an example of what not to do. Paul shares humanity with me. He is just as likely to make a mistake as I am. I think he did the wrong thing - and I think we need to stop making Paul and his writings into an idol.

If anyone disagrees with me, I hope that they show me grace ... or kick me out of "their" church.

Oh...

What do we do? I have always said that if I'm going to err, I want to err on the side of offering grace. But, how much do I put up with? Where is the line that must not be crossed?

Now, I'm pretty liberal in offering grace - most of the time, anyway - and to other people, but not always so much to me... But, is there a limit? What is it? When do I stop? When do I just turn my back on someone and say, "I don't want to deal with you anymore"? And, is it wrong (it certainly isn't grace-FUL) to treat someone like they don't exist?

How many times do you want me to forgive?

Oh...

Grace. That word continually pops up. I can't run or hide from it. Remind me, why did I ever want to leave it? Why does the law look so appealing? Am I so self involved that I shudder to think that I'm doing NOTHING to earn my salvation? Oh, I wrestle daily with this idea of grace. I'm going to write it again, but bigger and in blue letters.
Grace.
Yep, you're right Bill. That does feel good.

This Grace thing is so beautiful. That's kinda the point.
I'm so undeserving. That's kinda the point.
I'm so needy. That's kinda the point.
It's amazing. That's kinda the point.
I have rejected it and failed to give it so often that I shouldn't ever get it again, but I still do.
That's kinda the point.

I'm madly in love with this Christ who offers so willingly Grace for all.
That's kinda the point.


This is the point I wish I had arrived at a lot sooner.

Yeah, But Can He Dance?

Okay - the title doesn't really mean much of anything. I happened on this blog posting today and I realized that this guy says a lot of things (if you can get past his introduction - which is long and relevant, but, well, long...) that I think need said. And he's way more eloquent than I am. So I wondered - is he better than me at everything? Maybe, but can he dance?

Whatever.

Here's the blog:
http://www.infuzemag.com/staff/brian/archives/
2006/10/donald_millers.html
(I had to break the link because it messed up the "look" of our blog)

Curtain Opens: Act I

Can you see the drama? [I'm wildly paraphrasing]

Jesus: So if someone sins against you, go to them and try to work it out. If they won't listen to reason, then take a couple people with you so that things don't get out of hand. If that doesn't work, then bring it up to the whole church. But the goal here is to work it out, because wherever two or three of you are, I'm with you...

Peter: So, it's really about forgiveness, isn't it?

Jesus: Yes.

Peter: So, okay, I forgive somebody and we work it out, but then he does it again. And I forgive him. And he does it again. Really, how many times am I supposed to forgive him. Like, seven times?

Jesus: Heh - how about seventy TIMES seven times...

Peter: Oh, come on. That's too much. How could you expect me to forgive somebody that many times?

Jesus: Becasue I'm going to forgive you EVERY time...

More about Grace.

I have more lofty ideals than friends. I have more good intentions than blog ideas. I think positive thoughts, and I dream of a brighter future. I'm proud of my heritage and long for greatness in my line. I want to change the world, but can't even change my diet.
I mess up more than a potty training toddler. I am a complete and utter failure in the eyes of the world. I have a job that pays $6 an hour (for up to 8 hours a week) and no money. I have had one actual relationship that I care to mention. I forgive less often than I get a haircut.
And somehow, God's Grace prevails. I don't get it, I can't comprehend it, and I will never understand why; but God offers Grace to me daily. When I sin, and I do so in a most copius fashion, God is always right there offering me Grace. When I mess up, and it happens more often than delayed flights, God always takes me back. I don't know how those who still try and follow the law do it. What do they have to turn to when they mess up daily? How can they live with themselves without the amazing power of Grace?

I Blew Up The Clinic Real Good

Here's Steve Taylor's take on the whole Crazy Conservative thing...

Yep - and the Liberal Post Isn't As Liberal As You Think

Actually, the one before it - Insane Grace - is a pretty liberal post, Michael. You see, most conservatives that I know will offer little dollops of grace - bite-sized gracelets... ugh. I think that I've shared with you before (though I think it was an email) that some of the most Grace-filled people I've met were wildly liberal in their theology. They didn't care that I bordered on fundamentalism, they wanted to share in Christ with me, as a brother or sister in Christ. Yes, we debated - argued sometimes - but it was NEVER mean-spirited, name-calling, "You're going to hell because you don't really know Jesus but He's MY best friend!!" It was always with an attempt to understand and to reveal to me (not to "make me see" - but to try to share in a way that I could understand) what they believed.

I'm not a fundamentalist anymore. I'm still pretty conservative, yet you and I agree on so many things.

I just overheard a conversation this afternoon. The woman who was talking is a devout Christian woman, she gives deeply of herself and her stuff. She serves God in so many ways. However. She has a problem with bitterness. Don't cross her, she won't forget (she might forgive...but...). So, anyway, she was complaining about the Amish - "Anyone who grew up near them like I did would NEVER say they are a forgiving people..." You know, I hear that over and over again. Yet I see one Amish community that at least seems to be trying.

Gracelets...

You're right, Michael, INSANE GRACE is the only kind. It's what a wife just a few weeks ago offered her husband who had had an affair, it's what a friend of mine offers her abusive ex-husband. It's insane - it doesn't make any sense at all.

It's grace.

So, since we're on the subject. I found another grace quote that's going into my hall of fame:

"During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Otherreligions had different versions of gods' appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death.

The debate went on for some time until C.S. Lewis wandered into the room."'What's the rumpus about?' he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity's unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, 'Oh, that's easy. It's grace.'"

After some discussion, the conferees had to agree. The notion of God's love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity. The Buddhist eight-fold path,the Hindu doctrine of karma, the Jewish covenant, and the Muslim code of law -- each of these offers a way to earn approval. Only Christianity dares to make God's love unconditional."

Aware of our inbuilt resistance to grace, Jesus talked about it often. He described a world suffused with God's grace: where the sun shines on people good and bad; where birds gather seeds gratis, neither plowing nor harvesting to earn them; where untended wildflowers burst into bloom on the rocky hillsides. Like a visitor from a foreign country who notices what the natives overlook, Jesus saw grace everywhere. Yet he never analyzed or defined grace, and almost never used the word. Instead, he communicated grace through stories we know as parables."


Maybe we analyze and define too much. Maybe we just need to show grace. That's not liberal or conservative or whatever. That's Jesus...

And now, time for a liberal post

Sunday School was an interesting experience this morning. During Hymn time the music leader asked me to come up and do a duet with her. It was really fun, but I was terrified that she would break into the alto part (I can't harmonize or hold a part ... ever).
An old man with a skeletal figure and a somehow imposing stature spoke today. He spoke about Deborah. I love the story of Deborah, Mrs. Bettylou Gervais taught my fifth grade Sunday School class this story. She told it like a soap opera and dragged the story out over several weeks. What a great story of female empowerment.
The teacher today spoke about the downfall of the Caananites because of their immoral ways - he compared it New Orleans and God's wrath through Katrina. Argh.

Jesus took the punishment for our sins. All of God's wrath was directed towards His son, Jesus, on the cross. Our God is a God of love and wrath - it just so happens that all of His wrath was delivered to Jesus. Yes, our sinful nature is payed forward in death, suffering, hunger, and pain. There is human consequence to our sin ... but God doesn't take extra measure or special delight in our pain. AIDS isn't a disease to "cure" homosexuality. Katrina wasn't God's punishment on New Orleans. Rape isn't God's punishment on women who dress provacatively. That's just a messed up view of who God is. Who cares what our theology is if it boils down to a God who has wrath so unsatiable that His son's death couldn't even meet it. Our theology must hinge on the idea that God is a God of love; that God's wrath was consumed by our Christ. That our God calls us to love lavishly as He loves - when we see immorality in our community or world we must respond in love. I believe that when we respond in love we can make more Christians and that will bring a more moral society.

Boy, it feels good to say something liberal.

INSANE GRACE ... Is there any other?

Maybe there are only two types of grace we can show:"Insane Grace" and none at all. Our lives either show Insane Grace or none at all. There's no "Grace Light," "Diet Grace," or "Mini Grace." We fail to offer Grace through our lives on a daily basis. When we do this we aren't offering some substitute ... we are witholding grace. We shouldn't get confused on this point. We shouldn't think that when we look a homeless beggar in the eye that we are showing some form of grace. We shouldn't try and pawn off our callous actions by pointing out the snippets of grace. Either we give it fully and in Christ's abundance or we hold it back.

I'm sounding more conservative with every post I right. Expect a post on why we should blow up abortion clinics.

Outstanding...or standing out...

Wow - funny you should mention the Amish this week - okay, not so funny. They're really on our minds this week.

I've often been critical of the Amish - looking, acting backward for the Lord? Um...not sure how that honors God...

BUT - I see them offering EXTREME GRACE this week - INSANE GRACE, even... The day after the shooting, an Amish victim's mother (and, I think others as well) publicly forgives the shooter. I believe several from the Amish community (not sure if they were victims' families or not) went to the shooter's father to COMFORT him - and to offer him some grace. Today, I hear that dozens of members of the Amish community attended the shooter's funeral - not in protest, but out of love for the man's family.

I couldn't do that.

THAT is outstanding. That is showing the very kind of love and grace that Jesus showed. I don't care if they wear funny hats, I have an incredible respect for the Amish community now (in that area, at least - probably isn't universal, since no people group is monolithic - I mean, does the godhatesfags guy REALLY embody all that the Christian community - or even the Baptist community believe?).

Because I know me. I couldn't do that.

Jesus did. "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." Stephen did it when he was stoned. Paul said that his sufferings were glorious. I stub my toe and I think that God doesn't like me today. Kill someone I love? I can't forgive you that day. I might not ever forgive you. I won't attend your funeral and pray for/with your family... That's who I am. I can and do love - deeply. I try to offer some pretty wild grace - but there's a limit. I am not Jesus - and too many days I don't even look anything like Jesus...

But He knows me - that I couldn't do that.

And He's working on me. One day, maybe, I'll be less worried about whether or not this is a funny looking hat, and more about whether or not someone else in a funny hat knows I love them...and, more importantly, that Jesus loves them...

But right now...I can't do that. God, work me out...

Where is the point where Christians go from being set apart to being unapproachable? I was in Wal-Mart today and saw a gaggle of soldiers in full costume. They were definetly set apart, noticable, and competely unapproachable. I started thinking of Christians who value the fact that they are completely set apart from society. The Amish value their complete seperation (poor timing to pick on the Amish, I know.) Some denominations try relentlessly to harken back to the 1950s. Yeah, we're set apart, but does that seperation make people want to be like us. Seeing those men in camouflage didn't entice me to enlist in the army. Seeing the Amish without cars or electricity doesn't make me want to embrace the ideals of Christ. Where do we draw the line? I am fairly frightened by people who try so hard to keep themselves seperate, but don't keep a higher moral standard. That's what is suppose to seperate us - our morality.

Why do we keep on giving sinners Hell. Aren't we supposed to give them grace? Maybe my theology has gone so liberal that I can't even see how conservative my theology is. I mean really, how conservative is this line of thought?

If Jesus Wrote a Book, Would It Have Been A Best Seller?

Hey Michael - I thought you didn't believe that the woman caught in adultery thing really happened? Or do you believe that John didn't write it? I can't remember, I know you made a comment on it, though. I gotta say, it doesn't matter to me who wrote it or where it came from - the Holy Spirit allowed it to enter into the "canon" so I accept it as real and important for my understanding of the character and nature of God. I've never cared who edited/wrote the Pentateuch, how many Isaiahs there really were... I mean, who cares? The Bible is what we have - it is God's self-revelation (through the minds, hearts and hands of very fallible men, no less). There isn't any other way to really know the character and nature of God.

But I digress... Jesus wrote in the sand. Wouldn't you like to know what he wrote? I would. If somehow we could get it, and revealed it to the world, THAT would be a best seller.

If Jesus wrote a book, while he was alive, few people would have cared. It would have "gone too far" for most people. That whole scene in the Gospel of John where Jesus says, "You must eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood..." and people realize that, no, he's not talking about cannibalism, he's talking about becoming like Jesus - he's talking about really taking him into yourself - fully, like HIS blood is pumping through your veins, like HIS flesh is your strength - to WORSHIP him by becoming fully like him. THAT'S WAY too much for the world to handle.

And the sad truth is, that's way too much for "the church" to handle.

And way too many days that's way too much for me to handle.

But there's grace.

I'm re-reading (and leading a youth Bible study) on Brian McLaren's book The Secret Message of Jesus. Great stuff - probably be a best-seller. But he only really asks the questions - JESUS provides the answers. And some of the answers are really hard to do.

A part of me hates that guy in Lancaster who killed those little girls. I have two little girls. They both go to small Christain schools... I want to hate him. I want to be glad that he's dead - and I want to damn him to hell...

But I can't. I hate what he did. And in some ways it frightens me. But hating the man is not my place - and condemning someone for their sin is...well, isn't that in some ways "blaspheming the Holy Spirit"? I mean, what would you call trying to rip judgement from God's control - something God alone has a right to do? Okay, I'd call it stupid. But then, sometimes I am stupid. I try to open-field tackle God sometimes to "get what I want." Stupid...

But Jesus calls us to that higher place. Forgiveness. Openness. Vulnerability.

And then there's grace...

Jesus, I'd buy your book. I really would. Maybe not til after I get the next Pratchett book. But I'd buy it, I promise...

I need grace...

Jesus only ever wrote in the sand. God came to earth and he didn't even leave us one letter about what the faith should entail. (Yes, I know ... the Bible is the inspired Word of God, Jesus is God, Jesus left us with the Bible ... but,) He never authored any books - not even a murder mystery novel. Nothing. We aren't left with any autobiographical text from Jesus. I would think that if I were the Son of God (and I'm not) I would leave some writing behind. I would be so afraid that people would screw up what I taught them that I would need to leave a lot of things in writing. That's why Paul wrote so many letters. The people he spoke to got really messed up after he left. Some things he had said weren't clear and needed some clarification. The people still had a lot of questions. Jesus didn't have this problem. After his ascension he didn't need to leave anything to correct, clarify, or otherwise enhance his words. Actions speak louder than words.
That's my point. Jesus' actions are what make Him the Christ. It isn't that he was a great moral teacher. It wasn't that he had a lot of followers. It wasn't even that he stood up to the Pharisees. It was that he lived a sinless life and then died with the weight of all sinners on his shoulders. That's quite an action.
Whenever we get ourselves all caught up about theology, eschatology, and evolutionary biology; when we fail to love so severly that a dying world no longer looks to us for hope; and when we have so much division in the church that politics divide us better that Satan could have planned: It's at these times that we need to look at the actions of Jesus. We argue so much over His words and how to interpret those rules that we fail to remember His actions.
When you devote your life to ending abortion you lose sight of Jesus and what he did for us (and pregnant women.) When you devote your life to ensuring diversity in the church you forget that the reason for being in church is that Jesus died for us (and red, black, and yellow people.)
Our actions speak louder than words. His actions spoke louder than all the words in the world combined could ever speak.

I love the movie, Luther. It just proves to me that God still uses nutcases to spread His gospel. Sometimes, when my realization that I am in no way worthy of sharing God's grace collides with the hateful words of people who feel I'm not worthy of God's love, I feel like I need to stop sharing my faith until I get my theology all straightened out. I almost believe that some days. Some days I'm really crazy - as opposed to just being a little crazy most days - and I definetly believe it.

One of the boys I work with has a mother who lives at The Taj. The Taj, for all non-Toccoans, is a motel that charges hourly rates. It is the sleaziest motel imaginable. I just wonder who will be Jesus for that boy while I "get my theology straightened out." Probably no one. I think that God will use me and my poor understanding of eschatology. I think he will use my proper understanding of grace, but even if I didn't understand that I still think he would use me.

Marty Luther and Worldwide Commuion Sunday

So Sunday was Worldwide Communion Sunday. I'm kind of anti-establishment (or whatever) but I still think it's kind of cool that so many believers come to the Table on one day - regardless of our traditions and differences - Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Independent, Conservative, Liberal, whatever. There's something...right about setting aside one day where we all remember Jesus' sacrifice in the sacrament.

Now, that's not to say that we're unified - or that the suck factor has gone away. But we are connected. I forget that sometimes. In Christ, even though we don't have anywhere near the same understanding of who Jesus is, I am connected with the wierd independent church up the road, and the high liturgy Catholic church across town. They both might (or might not) suck as churches - but they both worship Jesus, and in that we are brothers and sisters. And sometimes I suck too, so I hope they can cut me some slack...

You know, one of Luther's complaints was that communion was so important that the church should be celebrating it every Sunday (instead of once a year as had become the custom of much of the church - according to my church history prof. at seminary though after a quick whirlwind tour of reformation history from my bookshelf and the internet, I can't verify this) - so, in effect, Luther DID reform the Catholic church (and the "reformed" churches didn't quite pick up on this one). Heh, funny now that we have to set aside one Sunday a year to assure that we all take communion...hmmm....