Digging Up Life

History, and Its Repetition of Itself

2011-09-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

Yeah, another post involving Jared Diamond's book Collapse. You should probably go buy it and read it now. One of the things I have found very interesting as I read through this book and its discussion about success or failure inside these different societies is the common parallels with scripture in one form or another. Today specifically, this one jumped off the page due to a couple of small sentence in Diamond's book. "As our fifth strand, we have to wonder why the kings and nobles failed to recognize and solve these seemingly obvious problems undermining their society. Their attention was evidently focused on the short-term concerns of enriching themselves, waging wars, erecting monuments, competing with each other, and extracting enough food from the peasants to support all those activities." While this statement is directed toward the Mayan culture specifically, it could very well be written for every collapsed society he mentions. Beyond that, I see the story of Israel.

When Israel decides they want a king, God warns his people that the kings will take their children from them for his own gain, take the best of their fields from them for his own gain, take the best of their servants from them for his own gain and take their animals from them for his own gain (1 Sam 8:10-18). And just as God predicts, hundreds of years worth of kings (and the other nobles/rich) oppress their people for their own gain. In fact, a quick read through all the prophets will reveal that one of the most often mentioned sins of Israel (second only to their worship of false gods) is the oppression of the poor by the rich, often perpetrated or supported by the priests themselves.

The sad part is, among the people that serve as oppressors, very few realize the fact that they are in the wrong. How many oppressive priests felt they were right by God? How many of Israel's leaders challenged the status quo. Instead, they tried to silence the prophets, the very voice of God.

Are we aware that history is repeating itself?

Or are we so comfortable with the way things are that we'd rather mute the voice of God as he calls us to something greater?

Collapse

2011-08-30T10:54:00.001-07:00

I've been reading Jared Diamond's book, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.One of the consistent contributing factors to the success or failure of a society is the society's management of its resources. Societies that manage their resources together have a much, much, much higher rate of success than societies that have poor resource management skills. Easter Island is a case study in the poor management of resources. At its height, Easter Island held a population of roughly 30,000 people. The dozen or so separate tribes began competing to see who could build bigger Moai (Easter Island Heads). The competition encouraged deforestation as tribe clearcut the island so that they would have enough rollers to move the heads to their destinations. Long story short, after many years of competition, warfare, and cannibalism, the population which was once a robust 30,000 had dwindled to just over 100 (yes, you are reading that right). Rather than focusing on the long-term goal of survival or development, they instead chose collectively to push and shove among themselves over who was better.

I can't help but see modern Christianity in the same light. Have we wasted our resources on short-sighted goals or in-fighting over who is better and failed to use our resources for our greater calling helping all become part of a greater kingdom? In too many cases (even one is too many) the answer is a huge, resounding yes. The Church (God's people as a whole) have left behind the Acts 2 model that shows people sharing in every day life with each other in real ways (through meals, charity, and above all, love) to bring them closer to God, and picked up a model that often puts up road blocks between people and God.

We are concerned with too many things God isn't, and not concerned about enough of what God is. Christianity is not something that we do, its a way of life. Richard Rohr puts it this way: "It seems to me that it is a minority that gets the true and full gospel. We just keep worshipping Jesus and arguing over how to do it. The amazing thing is that Jesus never once says "worship me!" He says, "follow me."

On Easter Island the Moai exist as a monument to the irrelevant that distracted a society from a much greater opportunity. As the people of God, lets step beyond the irrelevant that distracts us from following Jesus and sharing His kingdom with all people.

Guns and Roses Gospel

2010-09-09T09:47:00.000-07:00

Leave it to Guns and Roses to get it right...

"Look at the hate we're breeding
Look at the fear we're feeding
Look at the lives we're leading
the way we've always done before"

- Lyrics from Guns and Roses song "Civil War"

Perhaps its time to realize that the way we've always done it before isn't the right way. I don't know why it is that we feel we always have to have an enemy, someone to hate. I read a bible that tells me of a savior that I'm supposed to imitate that says to love everyone, go the extra mile, pray for those who are against me, and then watch people who read the same bible hold up signs that say things like 'Fags Die, God Laughs.'

No, not my God

Every time I catch a clip a protest on TV that involves "Christians" as a group, i cringe because of what i see. I hope it bothers you too.

Can we stop breeding hate? Can we stop feeding fear? Can we stop living the way we've always lived?

Because it isn't working. Period.

Is it worth it?

2010-01-25T12:34:00.000-08:00

How much time, effort, and money do we put towards preventing things from happening that will probably never happen anyway?

Here's an example:

I saw an ad on craigslist for a "bullet-proof hunting vest," as if the deer is going to shoot back. Cost: $200

Its like we've taken the old saying, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" and decided that fits every situation. Maybe what we've actually done is put in two pounds of prevention to take care a pound of cure.

So what are we really doing when we do that? Are we doing something necessary or just covering our tails "just in case."

We're wasting time and effort preventing stuff that may actually be best for us to experience in the long run.

Good Idea, Bad idea?

2009-11-10T14:42:00.000-08:00

http://news.discovery.com/earth/puncturing-an-ancient-supervolcano.html

If you take the time to read the article, you have to asking yourself the question I have as the title for this post.

Put yourself in the shoes of the person who had to give the government permit for this:

"Ok, so just to be clear, you want to take a massive drill and run it down into an active volcano? What the worst-case scenario for what happens? (...) Everyone dies? Ok, go for it."

At first, you have to be thinking, "are they insane?" But i think they may be on to something here. There's a certain element of risk-reward to this whole idea. The risk: an eruption. The reward: an exponential growth in the understanding of how a volcano functions.

Why do we let the risks terrify us into indecision? When Thomas Edison was working with the light bulb, there was a very big risk to it... death. Electricity isn't the safest toy in the world. And he failed and failed and failed. I wonder how many of his attempts literally blew up in his face. I wonder how many times he was jolted, cut, burned, etc, in his attempts to get it to work, and yet here i am in a lit room with a computer typing this all because he flew in the face of the risk.

We really need to be more willing to take risks. Be aware of the danger, but don't let it terrify you into a dormant state of faith. When we focus on the danger, we loose sight of the goal.

That is the biggest mistake we could make.

On the Road Again

2009-11-09T11:35:00.000-08:00

I'm beginning to understand how it must have felt to be an Israelite during the time of Moses. In the next few days I'll be living in my fourth house in the last two weeks. I know that there is an end that is coming. I know there's a light at the end of the tunnel. It just feels like i might grow old and die before it gets here ( i know thats a little dramatic, but i think that's the point).

I wonder how many times some bratty little Hebrew kid asked "are we there yet?"

The real downside to that whole conversation is that his dad couldn't really threaten to turn the cart around. I mean really, as often as they complained about their situation and painted lofty pictures about how wonderful things had been back in egypt (HA!), they weren't going back.

The "are we there yet" question is another thing that kids must learn from adults. Because before the spoiled little kid on the cart was saying it to his dad, his dad was asking Moses. So i have a hard time being that surprised, even with the miracles they saw in Egypt, that the Israelites would struggle with their faith.

I know I made the right decision to come to Shiloh in spite of being a more localized version of a traveling preacher, and I know that the time is coming when I'll be able to have my own space for a little bit. I just wish it would hurry up.

Am I there yet?

So i have a bone to pick...

2009-10-28T12:47:00.000-07:00

Lets just say you live in a country that spends millions of dollars investigating steroid use in sports.

lets just say...

Places that money could have been spent that would better serve people in need (and since we know the mission of God's people is to take care of those in need, i.e. 'the alien, orphan, and widow,') and by doing so serve God:

Drug and Addiction Rehab (doesn't this make more sense than "investigating" drugs anyway)

Drug Education

Food and Housing for the poor

Financial aid for students to go to school

Financial aid for the suffering

Disaster relief

And the list goes on and on and on and on and....

Please don't tell me that we're a "Christian" nation... as long as we ignore the poor in favor of shaking a finger at a multi-billion dollar business, we're anything but Christian

Israel's primary sin in the old testament, what the prophets railed about most, was not drug or alcohol use. It wasn't sexual sin or idol worship. Israel's primary sin was its decision to oppress the poor instead of help. In Isaiah 57-58, God passes on his message to Israel. In a section of scripture entitled "How to Honor God," God tells Israel, stop your worship, stop your sacrificing, stop your fasting. Instead, help those I've told you to.

What was it Jesus said... oh yeah, "Go and do likewise."

How do you rate the bible?

2009-10-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I removed a bible app, creatively named "Holy Bible" from my iPhone. I have another bible app that was much more functional than that particular app. When you go through the process of removing an app from your phone, it asks you a couple of question. In this particular case, the questions looked like this:

Are you sure you want to remove "Holy Bible" from your iPhone?

I admit, i felt like a sinner for a moment as I responded that I was sure i wanted to remove the Holy Bible from my phone. I mean really, what kind of Christian gets rid of a bible?

It was the second question, however, that really caught my attention.

How would you rate "Holy Bible?" The question is followed by an option to rate it 1-5 stars

I've joked with a few friends about this question. I know that its asking about the app, but I'm not sure that really is the best question.

Maybe it is appropriate to ask how we rate the bible. Now how as in, how many stars do you give it, but how as in, "how can you even gauge the bible?

I think I've got an answer

I'm not reading the bible with the eye of a literary critic. I'm not concerned how well Luke develops the character of Jesus. That's too shallow a measure. I'm also not concerned with Paul's sentence structure. It's not that important.

A little self examination is all it takes to see how we rate the bible. Using this as a measure, the bible changes ratings from person to person. Even to a single person it may change ratings in a lifetime.

You are the best measure of how the bible is rated. There are people who with "rate" the bible that have never turned a page in it based on what they see in you.

So how does the bible rate?

This is Funny

2009-09-17T13:02:00.000-07:00

Not very often will i stoop to a blog post like this, but this picture was just way too good not to post.

Kanye West, you exude stupid

Wrong Way...

2009-09-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't it simplify life if we had "wrong way" signs marking our every day actions. If God dropped signs the way lightning bolts fall to the earth, wouldn't that make things easier.

Or if, instead of TomTom, that sweet little GPS device that is supposed to bail you out of your own directional stupidity, there was a digital GodGod that did the same? Even better, instead of the mechanical voice of TomTom telling you to "take a left turn in .4 miles" there would be the deep majestic voice of James Earl Jon.... er, God, saying "Stop and repent immediately."

See the problem with TomTom, or any other GPS device for that matter, is that i still know a better way....or at least i think i do. I'll look at the device and figure a different way to pull it off...a shortcut if you will. And most of the time i try my little detours, I'm dead wrong.

Just a couple of months ago i was driving from Graham to Tyler and was taking backroads... you know, to speed things up. In my mind, it was the best, the fastest, and the most scenic route. Having driven this road several times before, I've quit paying attention to signs and suddenly in front of me I saw a "Dead End: Bridge Out" road block. My "shortcut" had taken me miles out of my way...I completely missed where I was supposed to end up.

So when was the last time you looked at the road signs? So often i think we travel through our Christian journey not by looking at what we should, but running by what we KNOW...or at least, we think we know. And far too often, what we swear we know to be true is just something we've always done instead of something we've searched for and discovered.

Lets stop living by what WE know, and start living by what HE shows.

What must i do...

2009-09-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

If Everyone Cared- Nickelback

"If everyone cared and nobody cried,

if everyone loved and nobody lied,

if everyone shared and swallowed their pride,

then we'd see the day that nobody died"

"Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

See, when Jesus is asked this question, he tells a story. If you're reading this, there's a good chance you know the story. Its the one about the guy who stops and saves the life of a guy that, by all cultural standards, he should hate. This isn't just an answer to the "who is my neighbor" question. This is the deepest revelation of what it means to truly love God: Love even the most unlovable of people.

So what if everyone cared?

I'm not naive enough to believe that that we can instantly turn this world into a utopia. While it is technically possible, I think the probability of me becoming an international track star is higher.

So what if Christians cared?

Perhaps I am naive here, but shouldn't this already be true? The sad part of this story is that its not true, but what if... what if by some miracle it becomes true?

Hello Kingdom

"Never doubt that a small group of committed people can

change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

-Margaret Mead

Oh yeah, in case you've forgotten, when Jesus finishes his story, he tells those around him to do one thing...

"Go and do likewise"

Don't walk away from the calling

Snooze

2009-09-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

I really don't like mornings. The bed is too comfortable and getting up requires too much effort, and besides, i was up entirely too late. People that are cheerful at 7am frustrate me beyond all belief. If you are one of those people, there is something wrong with you.

Because of my deep hate for mornings, I have only one friend when I wake up.

Its called the snooze button.

Whenever the loud, obnoxious, submarine-about-to-dive noise begins, I'm one button away from postponing my entrance into the conscious world. And i use that button...a lot.

You see, to get me up in the morning, i set three alarms: one at 8:05, one at 8:07, and one at 8:10... and each one has a snooze option which is usually hit... twice. Which really means that it takes 9 alarms to get my attention and force me out of bed.

So what alarm are we at?

I've been noticing this same pattern among Christians in our world. We know that something is wrong. We know that somethings is incredibly wrong. We know that something is catastrophically wrong... and we keep slapping the snooze button. Its pretty easy to see that. Go to any Christian convention or lectureship and you'll hear it said. There's a great chance that you'll hear great ideas to tackle the thousands upon thousands of issues around us; everything from problems inside the church and in the heart of every Christian to those surrounding us. And there's just a likely a chance that after hearing about all of these things, we'll go home and slap the snooze on the alarm that we just heard. Waking up to what is around us is just not that important... yet.

So what alarm are we at? How many more before we wake up and do something?

Death to the snooze button.

Not a Toy

2009-08-28T11:27:00.000-07:00

I was at Hobby Lobby yesterday and this cross caught my attention. I flipped it over to check out the price. What was on the back caught my attention even more.

"NOT A TOY"- At first i just had to laugh. I promise that at no point as a child would i have seen a decorative cross and begged my mom to buy it so i could play with is. There's nothing about the stone-printed cross that looks like it would be entertaining. Then I just wanted to cry. See one of the sad things about the state of mind that I've been in lately is that i tend to over-think things. Maybe this is a case of over-thinking a simple label that is supposed to prevent kids sword-fighting with a decorative cross, but i can't help but think about how faith, hope, and love to some people are nothing more than toys. It comes down to what a string of these posts have been about to some extent, and thats "playing church." That Christianity, that worship, are a compartment of our lives... something that we do, once, twice, or, if we're really holy, three times a week and then go on and forget about. I remember playing house with my friend Sydney as a kid. It was pretty simple. Mom, Dad, cabbage patch kid complete with diaper changing and an electric kid-car to boot. We even had the little plastic house in the back yard. And so it goes with church. It all looks real, but everything is so plastic... so fake. Church is...well, its a toy. I just cant buy that anymore. So go ahead, buy your crosses, put the fish in the back window of your car, leave the bible- always closed- on the coffee table in your living room, keep playing church... I'm going to do otherwise. Maybe if I, maybe if enough of us stop treating it like a toy, others will leave the game behind that live it out.

Lava Lamp

2009-08-27T13:07:00.000-07:00

I have a lava lamp sitting on my desk. It looks exactly like a lava lamp should...maybe exactly like the one you're picturing in your head right now. Silver base, silver top, glass lamp that's bigger on the bottom than it is the top, and blue liquid there in the middle.

Here's the difference between my lava lamp and the one you're probably picturing:

Mine's a liar

You see, i have this lava lamp sitting here on the desk, and it looks like a lava lamp right down to the globs of goo resting on the bottom, but it will not turn on...

Its just lava... there's no lamp. Its a lava lamp by name only.

There's nothing exceptionally wrong with it. I mean, it looks perfect. All it really needs is to have the bulb replaced so it can get hot and glow but until the bulb is back, it will cease to be a lava lamp, save name only.

I know a lot of Christians that are the same way: name only Christians.

Its really not that there's that much wrong with them either...people just like everyone else, but then again, thats the problem... just like everyone else.

After studying this lava lamp, i know what it is they need...we need... I need...

We have to find the light, the glow, the fire. Thats what separates this lava lamp from the others...it doesn't have the fire.

Thats what separates Christians from people...those with the fire and those without.

Find the fire.

Holy Healthcare

2009-08-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

There's a constant plea throughout the bible from God to his children to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves. After yesterday's rant, I decided to sit down and take a look at what the bible might have to say about the way this should work. I think this is a little glimpse:

"And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need." Acts 2:44-45

What if we took care of those who needed it? What if the church functioned on the premise that primary responsibility of a Christian was to look after those who were hurting? We find out a couple of verses later that the church grew daily because, I believe, of the way they took care of each other.

The question that we first have to answer is not, "How do we become that community?" Here's the question that we have to answer:

"Do we WANT to be like that community?"

³⁴"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. ³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? ⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Hmmm...seems almost biblical that, no matter what the government decides to do with health care, the Christian's health care system is to take care of each other in times of need.

Politics

2009-08-18T14:44:00.000-07:00

I hate politics.

Really, I'm not sure hate is a strong enough word...despise, loathe, detest...you get the idea.

One of my favorite quotes is from a guy named Taylor Mason. He says that politics comes from two words....poly, which means many, and ticks...blood sucking parasites.

Yeah, I can't fault his logic.

I've become so disgusted over the last few weeks watching these town hall meetings, not because of the health care bill, the democrats, or the republicans, but because of the way that people have resorted to treating each other because of something as meaningless as government. I don't know about you, but I know that my faith in God and my life in Christ is not affected by what this government does.

Whats bothered me about it is that I sit and watch it and see a glimpse of whats going on in our church today.

We get worked up over something that, in the grand scheme of things, is absolutely meaningless, and then decide that its an issue that we should go to war over. Maybe its because "that's the way I've always done it." It could be because "I don't like doing it that way." In either case, the fighting comes not for the sake of building up the body of Christ, but from a selfish desire of comfort.

I could sit around and blame it on our society and how we're conditioned to get what we want, but i won't. Nope, I refuse to pass blame on to something else. Its our fault. Its contentment with a life that says me first, God second, and others when I have time. Its amazing how many arguments disappear when you take "I" out of the argument.

Love God, Love others. Everything else will fall into place.

Master of Puppets

2009-08-17T11:33:00.000-07:00

I'm a Metallica fan, and while I can't recommend their music to everyone, very few groups nail life commentary the way they do (albeit in a very dark way). Here's a few lyrics from one of their older songs, "Master of Puppets."
___________________________________________
End of passion play, crumbling away
I'm your source of self-destruction
Veins that pump with fear, sucking darkest clear
Leading on your deaths construction

Taste me you will see
More is all you need
You're dedicated to
How I'm killing you
Come crawling faster
Obey your master
Your life burns faster
Obey your master, master

Master of puppets I'm pulling your strings
Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams
Blinded by me, you cant see a thing
Just call my name, `cause Ill hear you scream

Master, master, wheres the dreams that Ive been after?
Master, master, you promised only lies
Laughter, laughter, all I hear and see is laughter
Laughter, laughter, laughing at my cries
__________________________________________

So who are you playing puppet to? Who's pulling your strings?

This is is a song about you. This is a song about me.

We play puppet to so many different masters. We dance for people, we dance for money, we dance for power. We dance for whatever gives us our fix, a feeling of superiority, of self-importance. See that's the problem with being a puppet; a puppet is never in control. A puppet is always controlled.

The ultimate problem with getting drunk according to what Paul writes is not the drunkenness itself, its relinquishing control to a master, a puppeteer. Its playing puppet to our demons.

Don't be a puppet to your demons.

Blood on our hands

2009-06-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

David wanted to build the temple...really, really bad. So much so in fact, that when he was told that he would not be the one to build the temple, he went ahead and gathered all the materials needed, divided up the workforce, and assigned jobs.

Question:
Why would the man after God's own heart not be allowed to build the temple?

Answer:
He had blood on his hands.

David was a warrior.

When David tells Solomon about building the temple, he informs him that God revealed that David wouldn't be the one to build the temple because of the blood on his hands (1 Chron 22:7).
Solomon gets the honors because he is/will be a man of peace.

Do we have blood on our hands?

Have too many people been hurt by Christians for us to be the generation to really brings about the next great spiritual awakening in the U.S.? Are we really the ones that are supposed to build the temple?

I think first we have to bring peace. The book UnChristian gave a pretty good insight to what most of us already knew..."Christians" had a bad reputation as bible bashing people with an itchy trigger finger on the "you're going to hell" gun. No one wants that kind of Christianity. Christians too are fighting each other inside the sanctuaries (haha...yep) over rather trivial matters.

God is crying for peace. God wants nothing more from his people.

The sacred places are built by the peacemakers.

We don't have to all agree on everything, but, as Christians, we do need to get to the point where we can acknowledge that Christ is more important than tradition.

Lets get the stuff together for those who come after us so the Temple can be built.

Christians Who Don't Do Anything

2009-06-30T08:12:00.000-07:00

Pirates Who Don't do Anything

This is a classic Veggietales song....if you haven't heard it, you haven't truly lived. I strongly recommend going and hearing the song. If you haven't, there's a possibility that this post won't make a whole lot of sense to you, but I'll do my best to explain.

The song is about a group of pirates who don't do anything. I figure you've made it that far. It is a fairly self-explanatory song title.

But really? Pirates that don't do anything? How is that even possible. If pirates truly do nothing, they have no food, no money, no...nothing. Pirates have been some of the most feared seafarers throughout history. Even today they are making a resurgence as Somalian pirates continue to wreak havoc on boats in that part of the world. A pirate that doesn't do anything is a dead pirate.

Christians Who Don't Do Anything...

This is where i feel we're ending up.

We are the Christians who don't do anything.
We just go to Church and sit around.
And if you ask us to do anything,
We'll just tell you we don't do anything.

Sure doesn't take much to rewrite that verse

A Christian that doesn't do anything is a dead Christian.

religion vs faith

2009-06-28T22:11:00.000-07:00

"Some tribes are engaged in change. Many are not. And it doesn't matter whether its a church or a corporation, the symptoms are the same. The religion gets in the way of the faith. Static gets in the way of motion. Rules get in the way of principle."
- Seth Godin, Tribes

This is why i love reading Seth's stuff. He says exactly what many people have been thinking or trying themselves to say in a way that says, "yeah, how can anyone miss THAT."

We have missed that. We've blown past tradition into traditionalism. Religion is getting in the way of faith.

I hear so many people ask, "why are people leaving the church? I know they still believe in God."

Tonight, I presented the opportunity for people to lay down their questions and doubts for God. One of them said almost this exactly. The person who passed in the slip of paper asked why go to church in a place that has hurt so many people when he could sit in his car, listen to christian music and talk to his friends and get more out of it.

How would I answer this question?...I dont know...

I'm not ashamed to admit that i don't know either. I find community insanely valuable, but when that community has passed from faith to religion, it begins to hurt itself. I can't speak for every church out there, but most that i have been a part of struggle with the same problem whether they know it or not.

The next words for Seth in that same book haunt me:

"People show up because they have to, not because they want to. Desire is defeated by fear, and the status quo calcifies, leading to the long slow death of the organization. Its so sad to watch and its so common. Leadership is the antidote and it works in every building if you let it."

I want to lead this revolution not because I want to destroy what is there, but because i want the church to be a place for people who hurt, not to hurt people with legalistic laws. We got rid of the laws in favor of the truth of grace...why would we want more laws instead?

Thanks again Seth, your words inspire...

Front Porch Communion

2009-06-13T23:18:00.000-07:00

The upper room was not a morgue.

When Jesus set himself to finding a place to eat that meal with his followers, he did not send them to find a place in a cemetery or any other somber location. He sent them to find a place that was familiar, comfortable, even inviting and warm. When they sit down to the meal, bread is broken and wine is poured just like every other meal. These are staples to every Jewish meal in the early first century: bread and wine. What would Jesus use today?

Bread and wine?
Saltine cracker and grape juice?
Big mac and a coke?

As people, we love formulas. A+B=C models thrive because we know exactly what they produce and exactly what it takes.

I do not believe that the Lords supper was meant to be a formula...

Cracker+Grape juice= Holiness

When the bread was taken and the wine was poured, did those with Jesus stare at the floor quietly for a minute while everyone else got a nibble and shot? No way!

This was a meal...like ones they had eaten together a thousand times. So what makes it special?
When Jesus says "do this," whats he really talking about?

Our church buildings are not conducive to real communion. Front porches are.

There are times for prayer and there are times for praise, but there's also a time for community building interaction. I believe communion is it.

As the disciples sat there with Jesus and bread was broken, they chatted it up. I'm sure they talked about life, family, stress, and anything else. But they focused their conversations around Jesus.

What better way for us to remember Christ than sit and talk about how he is living and active in our lives.

Its NOT about bread and wine

It IS about human interaction.

We remember Christ in our interaction with others. Jesus does not tell his followers that people will know them by a pinch of bread and a grape juice shot glass. He says that people will know them by how they interact with each other..."love for each other." I believe that if we drop the whole funeral atmosphere and begin to experience community IN communion, then we will be better remembering Christ

Box or Maze

2009-06-07T14:39:00.001-07:00

My blog sign-in information is in spanish...this is going to be a good week.

Risk and Reward

On the van trip down to Parral today, some of the guys in back were playing a little game called would you rather. For anyone reading who doesn't know the game, its played by one person asking a "would you rather..." question and the others answering. Example:

Would you rather read nothing but the bible for the rest of your life OR have the choice to read anything but the bible for the rest of your life?

Some time into the game I heard this question:

"Would you rather spend the rest of your life in a maze full of danger or in a box that was 100% safe?"

Jesus asked a couple of guys this question.

Simon and Andrew weren't looking for a rabbi to follow around. They had gotten out of school without being extraordinary enough students to be picked. They're destined to spend the rest of their lives fishing. They're in the box.

Enter Jesus.

Hey, Simon, Andrew, come follow me.

Suddenly they're in a moment where they have to make a decision...THE decision.

"Do we live in a box of safety or spend our lives on a dangerous journey?"

Thats THE decision we have to make. A christian life does not guarantee safety. In fact, it promises just the opposite if we make it more than just a word in our lives.

Box or maze...your call.

Praise be to God

Accusations

2009-06-04T15:32:00.000-07:00

Ever been accused of doing something?

Being something?

Thinking something

Its sad how quickly people start accusing others of things. Its actually something we learn as kids. "Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?" Remember that fun game...where you go around and accuse others. We play around with accusations as kids.

God wasn't playing.

When you read through the words that Hosea relays to God's people, you see accusations from God against the people of Israel that don't paint a pretty picture.

"You don't know who I am, much less follow me"

"Your live out nothing but evil"

"You chase fake gods"

"You play the whore"

This is the short list, the abridged version.

And we look at this list and go, "well thank God that's not me!" Really? Sure about that? Because I feel like Christians, me, everyone, can plead guilty to this list. Christians don't get a bad rep because of all the good they do. Christians get a bad rep because we don't do anything different than anyone else. With words we scream we know God and with actions we scream that we love false gods.

That's why i love Hosea.

As the book goes, God doesn't condemn Israel to death, flip the switch, and walk away.

He compares the relationship to a marriage where he's been cheated on and decides he wants to stay in the relationship anyway. God refuses to stop loving Israel

God refuses to stop loving us.

Thanks be to God.

Heretics

2009-06-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

"Heretics are the new leaders. The ones who challenge the status quo, who get out in front of their tribes, who create movements" - Seth Godin, Tribes

Jesus was a heretic.

The leaders, the "wise men" of his day tried to kill him because he didn't go along with the status quo.

What were their names?

Funny that we remember those "leaders" not by name but as the ones who "tried to kill Jesus."

The pharisees didn't really believe much in change. They liked their systems, their black-and-white laws, their rigid structure.

Jesus liked to confront their systems, black-and-white laws, and rigid structure.

Sometimes i feel like we've settled into a system. And i also believe that people are tired of the system. They're looking for someone to lead them out. We were not set free from the law only to create a new law and slave ourselves to it.

Maybe the question is, do we follow the leader of the tribe who confronts the stagnation?

or

Would we rather "just not rock the boat?"

Is our faith in Jesus or the system?

Just some thoughts for the night.

...Thanks Tim, i'm liking the book

Unfaithful

2009-06-02T12:37:00.000-07:00

Unfaithful.

For divorces in our world today, this is one of the primary contributors. If you really get bored some day, turn on "Divorce Court" or one of the other really bad judicial tv shows and when divorce is involved on these shows, someone usually gets accused of being unfaithful. If you REALLY get bored, there are entire marathons of Jerry Springer dedicated to unfaithfulness.

As they stand in the courtroom, the plaintiff stands and makes accusations and details everywhere the other party involved.

The difference is, in this case, the plaintiff is God.

Israels unfaithfulness in its marriage to God is so bad that they find themselves standing in a defendants box: and its not just once incident.

There's a list.

A very, very long list.

Prostitution,

Pursued other lovers,

Sacrificed my gifts to other gods,

Forgotten Me.

The most painful part of this list is that we can take it and lay it over our own lives and see that these are the same charges that can be leveled against us today.

We sell our faith for our own gain,

We pursue gods instead of God,

We use was God gives us for unholy purposes,

We forget about God entirely.

Whats crazy is that, unlike tv's Divorce Court, God is not pursuing divorce with Israel. He's not getting rid of them to find another wife. He's still pursuing them.

He's still pursuing us.

Thanks be to God.

Canned Responses

2009-05-30T20:38:00.000-07:00

A Gmail application made me think about this one:

This is a description of a lab for Gmail called "Canned Responses"

"Email for the truly lazy. Save and then send your common messages using a button next to the compose form. Also automatically send emails using filters."

How many responses do we have that we could classify as canned? How much of what we say is simply thoughtless responses, scripted conversations repeated constantly?

I'm scared of how much i say without thinking. Am i really too lazy to think?

A list of canned responses:

"I'm Fine"
"Good, How are you?"
"Its been alright, yours?"

Maybe the ultimate canned response: "Jesus"

Its like the ultimate right answer, right? Anytime a question is asked in bible class, all you have to do is say "Jesus" and chances are you got it right.

I'm currently looking a book of canned responses about faith. Its better known as The Catechism. I bought a book today called The Book of Common Prayer, and in the back of the book is the Catechism, "An Outline of the Faith." Its a list of all the answers.

"Q. What do we mean when we say that Jesus is the only Song of God?
A. We mean that Jesus is the only perfect image of the Father, and shows us the nature of God.
Q. What is the nature of God revealed in Jesus?
A. God is love"

Yes and Yes...and yes to most of the stuff in the Catechism, but when we stop thinking about the answers, we stop thinking about the questions.

What's so wrong with struggling with questions?
Why do we have to have the perfect, concise answer ready to roll at a moments notice?

Because the moment we stop thinking about the questions is the moment we stop thinking about the source.

Q. You doing ok?
Canned Answer: I'm fine
Real Answer: ________________

Q. How are you?
Canned Answer: I'm good, you?
Real Answer: ______________

Q. Hows your day been?
Canned Answer: Its been alright, yours?
Real Answer:__________________

Q. Why did my savior come to earth?
Canned Answer: Because he loved me so...
Real Answer: I have no idea...

Its time to drop the canned responses, the packaged answers to faith and sit and struggle with the questions, because I believe its the questions that are central to faith, not the answers.

Answers are for the lazy.

Questions are for the diligent.

"Ask, Seek, Knock"

An unlazy faith is a journey, not a destination.

Blanking

2009-05-29T21:52:00.000-07:00

I want to post something just because i need to get into the habit of doing this, but i'm really not up to write anything right now. Check back late tomorrow and something worth reading (at least better than this) should be up. God Bless

Henry

How much damage

2009-05-28T21:49:00.000-07:00

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."- Brennan Manning

How much damage has been done?

Anytime a storm or other disaster happens, people look at the cost, the $$ amount assigned to it. In 2005, the storm we followed was called Katrina. When the storm was over, we stuck a price tag on it...81.2 billion dollars.

Whats the cost?

Lets be honest, Christianity doesn't have a spotless history. Horrible things have been done in the name of Christ. In many cases, the guilty may have really believed what they were doing was right. Have we assessed the damage? Do we know what the cost is?

Is the storm over?

No.

Not even close.

The storm still rages and we're a boat on the sea.

And so what do we as disciples do in the midst of the storm? For so long, we've tried to fight the storm, thinking that the storm is an enemy that can be defeated by our efforts: That if we pull down the sails and row as hard as we can, that fixes it. How wrong we are. The disciples tried that route and they quickly realized they were going down. How wrong they were.

"Peace, be still."

But really its the life of Jesus, not his words, that calms the storm.

So it will be with us.

Its the life of Christians that will calm the storm, not the words.

Peace, be still.