Those We Seak Not Of (Addressing the "gay debate" part II)

-As I declared in my previous post, Christianity finds itself in a time of great opportunity and responsibility to bless and minister to the gay and lesbian communities. I understand that the idea of allowing gays and lesbians into the church may be too controversial, uncomfortable and disruptive for many. It is urgent then that Christians personally step outside of the comfort and protection of those “four walls” and serve, love, listen, pray, comfort and make lasting friendships with gays, lesbians, bisexuals or transsexuals when their church cannot. If the gay community is unwelcome and uncomfortable in a church setting then we must take the church to them.  

                It’s no surprise that many Christians would be tentative, uncomfortable and furthermore ill equipped in responding to such an appeal. Christianity as a whole has for years presented mixed messages concerning how its members are to love their gay neighbors while remaining true to their morals and standards. We want to know what "loving the sinner, hating the sin" looks like and if it’s even practical or effective. To this day Christianity remains painfully slow in addressing this issue or presenting any clear direction for its followers who desire answers in responding to their Gay, Lesbian, Bi or Transgendered neighbors, co-workers, friends and families who stand before them right now!

 

                A good place to start if we wish to be sensitive and loving to gays and lesbians is to discontinue to believe, preach, teach or have anything to do with the idea that homosexuals are without morals, promiscuous, pedophiles and unfit to parent. The truth is that many Gays and lesbians do attend church, believe in God and have high moral standards. Some find themselves in committed long lasting relationships while others remain single or even choose a life of celibacy. Furthermore, gays and lesbians raise good kids and have healthy family lives. People have attached these negative characteristics to gays and lesbians to build their cases against them. If you can contend that Gay people are somehow “inhuman”, wildly immoral or dangerous it is easier to recruit people to your “side” of the argument. But the misinformation, lies and slander has only raised hostility, birthed hatred and caused widening division between the “sides”. Somehow the representatives of God’s unfailing love, redemption and grace find themselves on a “side” and we must make our way to the middle.        

            In our aim to be relevant to gays, lesbians and everyone else for that matter, we must practice the instruction of Jesus when he commanded us to “do to others as you would have them do to you”. If I wish to be treated with grace and mercy than I must extend it to others, if I am going to demand that I am respected and treated fairly than I must treat others likewise. If I want others to listen when I talk than I must give attention to their voice. How we want to be treated by others is how we must treat them now.

In addressing the idea of loving our neighbors, C.S. Lewis writes, “you have never talked to a mere mortal…next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.” He goes on to present the idea that by loving and encouraging one another we are assisting each other to our full potentials as not only humans but eternal souls. Finally C.S. Lewis concludes, “it is in light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play and all politics.” We should live our lives with the perspective that each person, each eternal soul is precious to God and it is our responsibility to nurture and encourage one another.

            When I encounter someone who is gay or lesbian my heart goes out to them and I go out of my way to be kind, considerate and friendly. My wife, Sarah recently shared with me that she had similar feelings. She recounted an experience from when she worked in a dentist office in which some of the staff refused to assist a gay couple that had HIV. However, Sarah always enthusiastically volunteered to assist the dentist when this particular couple had an appointment. Sarah said she always went out of her way to be friendly and treat them with care and concern, going above and beyond for them because she knew that they probably weren’t always treated with such dignity and respect because of their sexuality and their disease. Like Tony Campolo wrote in Speaking My Mind, “We must find ways to present homosexuals with opportunities to have fulfilling, loving experiences so that we affirm their humanity and ensure their participation in the body of Christ.”

                The Biblical scriptures are full of such incredibly uplifting and hopeful passages concerning God sending his only Son to die for us, His compassion and grace, His goodness towards all of His creation, His offer of a life lived abundantly, rest for our souls and a hope that only comes from Him. These promises, these verses of hope, these passages of grace and love is God’s message to all people, including widows, the oppressed, the sinners, the alcoholics, straight, gay and lesbian of every race, color and background. There must be good news for homosexuals, because God also had them in mind when He inspired the scriptures.

Honestly the politics and debates concerning this whole issue are nauseating. I often wonder whether it is fair for us to expect the world around us to adhere to our biblical standards. Perhaps we can affect society more fruitfully when we focus on loving people unconditionally. David Kinnaman writes in “Unchristian”, “You change a country not merely by bolstering its laws but by transforming the hearts of its people”. We might win a proposition or Supreme Court decision, but at what cost? Are we willing to completely alienate an entire generation of people and lose their audience to win our moral battles? Maybe we need to reevaluate our focus and mission because although we might have the best of intentions, the world doesn’t perceive our actions out of an obligation of love. To be honest, we don’t always have the best interests of people at heart, what we have is our agendas. Sometimes we are more concerned with being right than we are with the feelings and the well-being of an eternal soul. 

            As Christians, everything we do should be motivated out of compassion for others. If we have any other motive, whether it is anger, hurt, self-righteousness, resentment or offense, than we should stay out of it. The world will see right through our empty actions if it is not executed out of compassion. 

Some Christians will argue that we will somehow be condoning the LGBT communities or that we are being too sympathetic by extending to them such grace. However, don’t they deserve to know and observe the message of Gods redemption and mercy? When we stand before God to be judged someday I don’t believe that He will condemn us because we extended too much grace, cared too much, was overly tolerant and excepting of others, excessively kind and loving. However, scripture is clear that we will be judged in the manner in which we judged others and we will be held accountable for withholding justice, blessing, forgiveness and love. I prefer to error on the side of loving too much.   

                Our obligation as Christians is to live out our faith in a way that represents the love and grace of God to the world. My hope for the gay and lesbian co-workers and friends in my life is that they will reflect back on their life someday and respond, “I have experienced prejudice, hate and struggle in my life not only from strangers but from my own family. However, this Christian has always loved me, been there for me and treated me with respect”. Shouldn’t we strive to leave such an imprint and impression on people’s hearts?  

It is my personal belief that the loudest message of the Christian church should always be love for God and love for others. Unfortunately the loudest message that Flagstaff has heard from the Christian church this year is that Christians don't like gays… What has not been heard or said as loudly, is that God is in love with them and has a desire to impart life that surpasses all that this world could ever offer…our message this year whether intentional or not has been one that rejects, not moral decisions, but individuals.

-Excerpt From my friend Kris Dohse’s blog, addressed to the local churches in his community who vocally and passionately supported an anti-gay marriage ballot proposition.

 

To Mend the Bridges or Burn Them Down (Addressing the Gay question. PART I)

I have brainstormed tirelessly trying to come up with some cute way to intro into this topic. Usually when I sit down to write I have already conceived some clever opening in which I can then build the whole essay around. However, this issue is too critical and pressing, there seems no painless way to ease into the subject matter. Its uncomfortable, controversial, and passionately debated, being as it is the “hot button” topic of our day. It is the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Transgender) people, community or lifestyle. When you throw faith into the equation, much like water and oil, cats and dogs, it seems an awkward and perhaps impossible mix. 

Can I be honest and say that I’m no expert on this topic. What follows is simply my opinions and insights gleaned from my experiences in life and faith, as well as from my friendships with gays and lesbians. All I can say for sure from my safe vantage point within the “four walls” of Christianity is that I feel uncomfortable by what I have witnessed so far in my life in regards to Christianity and its interaction with people from the LGBT community. I have heard so many sermons and read enough “religious” books and scripture to know how God feels about his creation, about justice, about mercy and grace and about treating our fellow human beings with respect. I believe that Christians have made numerous irreversible mistakes in relation to LGBT's. We have been ugly, hateful, vengeful, unmerciful, judgmental and unloving to the gay and lesbian communities. We have not represented the love and mercy of our God very well and for that I am sorry and I live my life in such a way as to make amends.  

As the nation continues to go to the polls to decide the fate of gay rights and as gay, lesbian and religious organizations draw up their battle plans, it’s easy to see that these issues are not going anywhere in the near future. I believe that Christianity finds itself in a place and time of great responsibility and opportunity to minister to the LGBT communities, however I am afraid that we are missing this incredible chance to represent the love and grace of God. I fear that many within Christianity are so focused on the cultural and political war being fought regarding “gay rights”, that we are alienating ourselves from people who deserve to be loved, respected and cared for whether we agree with their lifestyles or not. These are human beings who deserve to receive the same message of hope, redemption and forgiveness that I did. No one should be excluded from those opportunities, however I wonder if the “Vote Yes on Prop 102” signs that support banning same-sex marriage in front of our churches send them a different message.

If Christianity sincerely wishes to reach out to gays and lesbians than I believe that somehow the culture and mindset of the church and its believers will have to change. First of all, the doors of our churches must be open to all “seekers” without prejudice, expectation or judgment. It should be a safe and welcoming place where people who are foreign to the gospel and the Christian faith can “taste and see that the Lord is good”, experiencing a relationship with God at their own pace even if it take weeks, months or even years to come to faith.

As believers we need to exercise some patients towards those who are in a place of pondering questions about faith. There is this expectation that people should walk into the doors of the church and immediately make a decision whether they will accept or reject the whole “Christian package”. The whole idea that we can hold isolated “evangelistic services” that cater to outsiders and focuses on getting them saved, plugged into the church and turned from all their sins that very day is unrealistic. We have to allow space for God to reveal himself to them, while our responsibility is to patiently represent God to them with love, while assisting in nurturing their faith. In our fast paced, drive-thru, high-speed everything world, this can be challenging. But a true, enduring, mature faith takes time to cultivate.

Furthermore, I have noticed that the church often has an underlying, unspoken yet tangible sense that everyone who enters is guilty until proven innocent. The truth is that everyone is unworthy, everyone has fallen short, there is no one who is righteous, yet God patiently offers everyone His favor which we are criminally undeserving of. We must keep in mind that it is God’s spirit that convicts people of their sins and not our bullhorns, protest signs or political agendas. We need to trust God enough to do His job within the hearts and lives of people and not intervene impatiently or without love. Scripture shares an important insight into the Character of God as “patient with (us), not wishing that any should perish”. That will probably mean we are going to be a little uncomfortable at times as God deals with the real issues in people’s hearts and we are left to tolerate and witness their “symptoms”. David Kinniman writes in Unchristian, “If we allow the actions and attitudes of outsiders to shock us, we become either isolationists or crusaders, and neither extreme will have much influence on outsiders”. How true and yet tragic this statement is.

Scripture is full of brilliant, yet often ignored examples for us to follow. Take Romans 2:4 for instance; “do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?” When God deals with us He is kind, tolerant and patient. Unfortunately Christians do not often display these same characteristics in their interactions with others. God tolerates our transgressions and sins, and then we turn around and are offended by the sins of others. He is patient but we are “tired of wickedness of our generation”. He is kind, but we lash out in sarcasm, anger and disgust. As Christians God constantly extends to us His grace, mercy and forgiveness as we constantly lay ruin to any sign of righteousness we might have. God does this not only out of an unfathomable love for his creation, but also as an example for us to live by.

If we as Christians are serious about loving the gay community than I plead that we drop the insensitive jokes, the untruths, misinformation and the stereotypes about homosexuals. Well we are at it, if we feel a strong conviction to fight for traditional marriage than that is fine, but let’s come up with a better argument than claiming we are “protecting the sanctity of marriage” by attempting to bar same sex marriages. We heterosexuals have done a fine enough job destroying the sacredness of marriage, trampling on its sanctity with divorce and infidelity that is just as prevalent within the church than it is in the world of “heathens”.

I consider myself blessed to have grown up in the Christian faith and church. When I think of the church what comes to mind are second rate horror movies in which people who are chased by either monsters, zombies or knife wielding psychopaths who are attempting to “hack them to pieces”, narrowly escape to the refuge of some peaceful, gothic looking church. Perhaps a better example is the far too familiar scenes from CNN following terrible storms and hurricanes, in which displaced families huddled together in the safety of a churches holy sanctuary, which has become a Red Cross evacuation center.

Too often Christian people who have “come out” have quickly been shown the door or have been shunned in shame by their old friends who simply didn’t know how to respond. Something seems terribly wrong when people are sent packing from a supposed loving, caring, community of believers. As the church opens its doors to victims of natural disasters, I believe it should also open its doors to all people who are in need spiritually. What better place for people to be than in the house of a loving, caring God where redemption and healing take place.

TO BE CONTINUED... 


“Love covers over a multitude of sins”

1 Peter 4:8

 

“Christians are primarily perceived for what they stand against. We have become famous for what we oppose, rather than who we are for”.

David Kinniman

 

We All Kinds of Crazy!

I Came to the chilling realization a few years ago that everyone, I mean EVERYONE has a little bit of crazy in them. This thesis found me mostly by accident as my wife was recounting with concern the reckless and illogical adventures of a close friend of hers which eerily mirrored other accounts regarding close friends and family members we had encountered over the previous months. When she was finished with her account I blurted out as if in surrender, “everyone is crazy!” I can’t be sure if it was a statement exactly or if I was asking a question, however, as the words left my lips the truth of it struck me. It was like an epiphany. 

Obviously I don’t believe that everyone is loony bin, straight jacket, certifiably insane. However, the truth is that every one of us is a flawed human being with hang-ups, irrational behaviors and unique quarks who could probably benefit from a few sessions with a licensed psychotherapist. What separates us from simply being different  and perhaps a bit odd to full on crazy is that we live our lives in denial of our imperfections while entertaining delusions of who we really are. I give you the comb over and Karaoke as evidence.

Probably the sanest people are those whom you would actually think had the most problems, for instance those in A.A and various recovery programs, a person with some sort of mental health diagnoses they are addressing or a married couple seeking counseling. The fact is that since they are humbly seeking the help that they so desperately need suggests that these folks have come to terms with their issues, their little slices of crazy.

This reminds me of one of my favorite stories Jesus told about a Pharisee (think: religious elite) and a tax collector (think: smarmy politician) who are both in the act of prayer. The Pharisee begins his prideful prayer, “thank you Lord that I am not like this scumbag tax collector over there…”, whereas the tax collector begs passionately and humbly while beating his chest in anguish, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner!” Obviously, the tax collector has come to grips with the reality of his situation, whereas the Pharisee is living such a lie that he foolishly believes he can “pull one over” on God. The crazy in this story is quite apparent.

Whether it is our continual horrid decisions and choices that makes best friends and family members want to strangle us, our self-absorption that sucks the life out of any and all attempts at normal conversation or our inability to separate our emotional feelings from reality, we put the people we love the most through hell!

What continues to fuel the madness within each one of us is that our reality is the norm. And because every generation is raised by a flawed generation before them, no matter how great mom and dad were, we are destine to grow up with unresolved issues pertaining to that.

Sure, I knew that everyone makes mistakes and bad decisions, but I never entertained the idea that all of us, even those I looked up to the most may have some wiring crossed or a screw loose.

Yet the evidence was undeniable as I began to witness marriages that I had hoped to emulate crumble to the ground, pastors who worked tirelessly in the ministry which left little time for their own families and heartbreaking fractures within my own family that left us with an empty chair or two at the holiday dinner table. I began to see crazy everywhere I looked within the safe and sane world I thought I knew.  

Then a new fear began to materialize as these truths became clear and I was forced to broach the next obvious question, “am I crazy too?”

We can rationalize our lives, decisions and actions all we want but deep down we all know our weaknesses, our limits and our braking point. This is the dark reality I had to face. There is a band called The Belle Brigades who have this incredible song called “Losers” containing a somber warning that “there will always be someone worse than you, sister don’t let it get to your head”. So true! How easy it was for me to glance around and carefully select those I wished to compare, evaluate and judge myself by. How unfair and dangerous this was as well, it only feed my own delusions, my own crazy. In such cases we all look pretty good as a world full of faulty people compare themselves with others in similar straits.

What helped me come to grips with my own bit of craziness was embracing the realization that “but for the grace of God go I”. Honestly what makes any of us think that we are any better off than someone who has made a mess of their life? Perhaps the only difference between you and me and someone we know that has gone through an ugly divorce is that we are more determined, stubborn or it’s a combination of faith and guilt that keeps us in our marriage. The only difference between you and I and a friend with a drinking problem is the drug of choice, they abuse drink while we eat, shop, gossip or flirt to make ourselves feel better for a fleeting moment.  The only difference between you and I and someone sitting in a jail cell is that they got caught and we didn’t.

You see how it works? We have certain preconceived ideas and judgments of others when we hear they got a DUI, a divorce or a prescription, until it happens to you or someone close to you.

We are all flawed individuals and when we can finally come to terms with that we can be better parents, spouses, friends and children. We can have more grace and more patience for those who deserve it and when the situation arises we can also be stern and uncompromising.

When I finally stopped trying to sell myself lies about who I really was and came to terms with the mess that is me, only then did I know how dependent I am on God and how hopeless I am without him. Many people feel like they have to clean up their act and pay some kind of penance before they can call out to God for help. The truth is that God is with us in the gutter. Discovering my shortcomings and dealing with my issues is humbling and even disconcerting but it is comforting to know that God hasn’t abandoned me.

Albert Einstein famously theorized the definition of insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” I am sick of banging my head against the wall with only a headache to show for it aren’t you? It’s time we honestly take stock of our lives, our flaws and our crazy. Perhaps it’s time to try another approach.

THERE IS ROOM TO BE WRONG

Music has been monumental in my life, my faithful assistant while I sort out, wrestle with and clarify all of life’s mysteries. Because of my heavily spiritual makeup I confess that I often listen to music through bias lenses and project into songs spiritual meanings that were probably never the intention of the songwriter. Whether listening to Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android”, Coldplay’s “Fix You” or almost anything by Arcade Fire, I regularly interpret lyrics with some sort of spiritual bent to it.


In our spiritual lives, just as in music, we often misinterpret the lyrics. Whether we are confusing aspects of Gods character, reading our own agendas into scripture or building theology through what feels right to us. Just as it’s difficult to listen to music through a neutral filter without prejudiced from our life experiences it is near impossible to read scripture or view God through unbiased eyes.

The truth is that men, women and people from various social backgrounds, upbringings and ethnicities all digest their relationships with God and their understanding of the scriptures differently. The way we live out our faith or perceive the character of God is effected by so many variables, which is why I believe that it’s okay to have questions, to doubt and at times, to even be wrong!

I have always admired Mother Teresa as an incredibly amazing, selfless person who dedicated her life to serving the rejected and forgotten people that God so dearly loves. Therefore I was stunned by the revelations from her personal writings unearthed after her death in the book Come Be My Light that she struggled through periods of great doubt and spiritual dryness which caused her to question her very faith and mission.

Martin Luther is another revered name within the faith who also struggled throughout his life to get faith “right”. Long before he supposedly nailed his Ninety-Five Thesis to the door of Castle Church in opposition to clerical abuses within the church thus setting off the Protestant Reformation, Luther’s early life was one filled with spiritual turmoil. Luther toiled tirelessly to earn Gods favor through prayer, fasting and other “spiritual” acts. He was often so incredibly overcome with the guilt of his sins that he made many attempts to atone for them such as self-flagellation or laying out in the snow throughout the night.

Both Mother Teresa and Martin Luther served God whole-heatedly yet at times in their spiritual journey they got it wrong. They heard the song, but misinterpreted the lyrics. We all do this, from the greatest theologians down to the lowliest pew dweller.

In fact, the Biblical Scholars of Jesus’ day along with His very disciples misinterpreted the scriptures, believing them to prophesy a messiah that would arise in political power and overthrow the oppression of the Romans. What they never foresaw was that their deliverer would die a shameful death of execution upon a cross. These were a highly educated people immersed in the scriptures from a very young age and yet despite their scholastic fortitude they still got it wrong.

Throughout church history, right to this very day our understanding of God and thus our very faith continues to grow, be reproved and evolve. For instance experts in ancient languages and archaeologists continually make discoveries that help us better understand the culture and background of various Bible passages. Such “scientific” probing of our Holy Book doesn’t cast shadows of doubt, but actually enriches the scriptures, allowing us to better understanding what we are reading.

Despite this fact, many people and church denominations fervently protect their doctrines and theologies often to the point that their beliefs must never be questioned, doubted or put to the test. It makes me wonder if we are really that insecure about what we believe. If a certain creed or belief cannot hold up to scrutiny than perhaps it should not be held in such esteem in the first place.

This country is filled with hundreds of different denominations and thousands of different churches that believe in the same God and the same redemption story yet practice that faith in very different ways. Despite each of our sincerest declarations of beliefs, every one of us cannot be completely right. In fact, a lot of us must be wrong, therefore we must remain flexible, receptive and honest enough to confront our misgivings and embrace the truth.

Pride and fear are the obstacles that hinder us from questioning, testing and approving our beliefs. Our understanding of God is forever being revealed to us. Can we really comprehend the vastness of our creator who holds the edgeless universe in his hands? If you were to combine all of our knowledge of God it still would only amount to a grain of sand on a vast shore. As the Apostle Paul wrote “we know in part and we prophesy in part” or as Tony Campolo summarizes it, “what you believe might be partly correct, but it is certainly not completely correct”.

Case in point are the Biblical teachers and authors throughout church history that have written and lectured quite convincingly with the support of tons of scripture on every hot topic and theological question (whether they are proponents of Predestination or Free Will, Creation or Evolution, a worldwide or local flood, traditional or same sex marriage, etc.) and actually fall on either side of the debate. Apparently not everything is as “black and white” as we would like to believe it is.

Although it is extremely important to us, I don’t believe that God is as concerned with our different ideas (insecurities) about how to “properly” pray, worship and live as long as we don’t use those beliefs to abuse anyone or attempt to force it on others.

As in all things, we must extend grace and understanding to those whose beliefs might differ from our own. They might be wrong, however they might be onto something or God forbid they could possibly even be right.

Let me be clear, I believe that the Bible is the infallible word of God, however, man is not. Frighteningly, with very mixed and sometimes even devastating results God has left his word in our hands to interpret and instruct. It has been used to subjugate woman, races and classes of people. Its sacred passages have been used to defend horrific acts of ungrace and even hate. I don’t need to go into a history lesson of such atrocities, because we know our history is a checkered past of men behaving badly, evidence of the fall at its worst. We need to be careful that we don’t grip too tightly to our beliefs and doctrines that we are unable to serve, to greet, and to show compassion. A clenched fist screams of selfishness and is only good for striking out in anger and violence.

I am thankful for those authors, pastors, speakers, script-writers and bloggers who ask tough and sometimes troubling questions about our faith that many of us are afraid to admit to thinking ourselves. They confront the oftentimes weak, misinterpreted and often times skewed things we believe. We are then forced to think, evaluate and question what it is that we believe in and why. The truth is that if God is who He is then we will arrive at a pretty secure and safe place. If we dig for answers and pray for clarification our faith will become only that much stronger.

So embrace the possibility that while striving to get a nicely sanitized and picture perfect faith that somewhere along the way it will get messy. While working so hard to get it right, keep in mind that some things will go wrong. I have faith that our mistakes won’t change who God is. He remains the same no matter how badly we butcher the song…uh, I mean the message.

LIFE IS MORE SPIRITUAL THAN YOU THINK!

            As superficial and selfish as this is going to sound, much of what I recall from my childhood friendships is associated with the “it” toys my friends owned, the pantries filled with Coco Puffs and Coca-Colas, the cable television that allowed us to watch MTV for hours on end and those few friends who had sisters my age. Obviously I hesitate to say that I “used” my friends; I’d prefer to view it as simply reaping the full benefits of their friendships.

            This trip down memory lane actually relates to my recent reading through the Book of Genesis where Abraham, Jacob, Joseph and at times even the Israelites themselves were so blessed by God that it overflowed into the communities they dwelt amongst. Their neighbors reaped the benefits of their blessings simply by living in proximity to those who were faithful to God. As God protected, made the land fruitful and prospered their chosen trades those blessings extended to their neighbors as well.  

            As unfathomable as it may be, that same grace and mercy is upon believers today us just as it was on those hallowed and revered Old Testament characters. We similarly bring God and His blessings with us into our place of work, schools, families and social circles. As a result, we don’t have to tirelessly strive to force our faith, our God or our spirituality into every nook and cranny of our lives; God is already there with us.

The truth is that “Everything is spiritual”, as Rob Bell so aptly titled his recent lecture tour, in which he explained, “to label one area spiritual, is to label other areas not spiritual” which he goes onto argued cannot be done. Everything and ever arena of our lives has spiritual implications. It is then our choice whether we allow God to be an active participant in our daily lives through actions and attitudes that are ripe with sincere empathy and compassion.      

We don’t have to exhaust ourselves creating “spiritual environments” by legislating God into our world, because we already carry Gods presences wherever we go.  

Case in point is the controversial court decision in the 60’s that prohibited prayer in schools. I question whether prayer was actually removed from our schools and surmise that they only did away with what was becoming a mundane and routine ritual, recited every morning without much meaning. My hope is that although going unseen and unheard, prayer in school is more prevalent and impacting than it has ever been before!

We may be asked to remove religious statues, tablets, crosses and quotations from public places, but that does not remove our faith. Our spirit remains intact. Those things are merrily symbols; we carry what is really important within us. Should we really be concerned that “they” (whoever “they” are supposed to be) will be able to silence Gods voice and His actions as it so undeniably emits from our lives? People of faith are a heck of a lot more influential than some religious relic!

Instead of sulking, more than ever, Jesus followers need to allow the principles and ideologies that we say we believe in to be apparent in all avenues of life. So often we who call ourselves Christians employee the ideals of forgiveness, longsuffering, tolerance and loving our enemies within the “church family, clique or club”, however, we act as if those same principles do not apply within the realities of the ruthless world of work, school and life in general. We cannot separate or compartmentalize our world that way. Everything is spiritual; everyone deserves the same grace…I would argue that those that have not been exposed to Gods incredible favor and love are even more deserving.  

Let’s not become so concerned with the world around us conforming to our faith; we need to allow our faith to transform those around us. That we bring God into all of life’s equations frees us from having to strive tirelessly to make something spiritually powerful and profound happen. It will happen, graciously in Gods will and time.  

            Churches spend extensive amounts of time and resources planning evangelistic outreaches, carefully scripting perfect opportunities to “introduce God into peoples personal atmospheres” and rightfully so. However, we must understand that the most powerful witness and evidence of the Devine is a life lived within the grace and mercy of God where hope radiates like a fragrant perfume.     

            Now, in no way should we arrogantly assume that “believers” somehow have the market corner in terms of Gods favor and blessing. Jesus says in scripture that God “causes the sun to rise on the righteous and the unrighteous” or as the Message translation puts it “(God) gives his best to everyone, regardless: the good and the bad, the nice and the nasty”. Point is that God doesn’t play favorites. He might just as well choose some down in the dumps, dirty “sinner” with a humble and selfless soul to accomplish his will than a clean-cut, faithful follower whose hoarding his blessings.

            When Jesus challenged His followers to be a “Light unto the World”, he warned them not to become “misers” of what they see and hear Him do. Jesus then concludes, “Generosity begets generosity. Stinginess impoverishes” (Message Translation). Stinginess impoverishes…I like that! A convicting statement for all of us blessed as the wealthiest people on the planet, while much of the world remains ignored and in extreme poverty. It is even more of an admonishment when our lives have been graced with peace and hope while co-workers, family members, friends and neighbors spirits remain impoverished.

The intention of God’s blessings is that they be shared, not stored.

            Unfortunately blessings are so often measured monetarily, blame that on the “prosperity Gospel” that promises fat wallets, flashy suites and Mercedes Benz’s. Money is fine and great, we could all use financial security, but what everyone truly needs is something more practical in dealing with the drudges of this trying life. We need hope wrapped in the embrace of a friend when we have experienced lose of health, life or love. We need the impacting words from the compassionate heart of someone who truly understands our situation. We need people who selflessly share their God given gifts even if it is as simple as their smile, sense of humor, skill with a wrench, warm hospitality or neighborly kindness.

            People exuding the blessings of God, your family needs this, your world needs this…we all need this!  

THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT!

             I’m not sure if the same is true where you live, but out here amidst the outlaw mentality of Arizona the whole Photo Radar thing is a wildly controversial topic. I have heard reports that in the Phoenix area alone less than a third of all traffic fines are actually paid as most people simply refuse to acknowledge the legitimacy of this technology. Apparently we like to drive fast, but we don’t appreciate having our picture taken while doing it and we’re especially not fond of the ticket we receive in the mail in 7 to 10 business days.

            Somehow having a “beef” with photo radar brings to mind Adam and Eve. When I think about Adam and Eve I think about fruit, or more specifically the fruit they were forbidden to eat (which didn’t dissuade them for too long). So when God confronts Adam about partaking of that fruit, Adam quickly attempts to pass the blame onto Eve (and God) by replying, “you know that woman you gave to me? Well, she gave me the fruit!”

            Now this whole business with fruit gets me thinking a bit deeper about things like the various selfish reasons many children are forced to grow up without the full love and support of both parents, politicians who blame one another for our nations economic woes, celebrities who check into rehab when they have done something controversial to skirt the blame and athletes who conveniently “misremember” certain details about what performance enhancing drug they were taking…uh, I mean not taking!

At their core, photo radar, forbidden fruit and finger pointing is really about responsibility, or the lack there of.

            Which brings us to Christendom, where there are two statements that make me cringe, (actually there are many more, but just play along) the first being "The Devil is attacking my life!" and the second is "God is blessing my life!"

Now, I do believe that there are spiritual forces at work in our lives whether we are aware of it or not and both statements do carry with them an incredible amount of truth that we can hardly hope to understand. God is hardly given enough credit for his merciful interventions, protection and blessings that we are so often oblivious to. Whereas, I think most of us choose to remain in ignorance to the actual amount of influence and involvement the devil has in our lives. 

Its just that all too often in my lifetime spent within the “friendly confines” of the church I have heard such statements thrown around quite frequently and flippantly as God or the Devil has been credited with everything from God having a hand in providing a parking place to the devil striking with pimple outbreaks before big dates.

I don’t pretend to know how the spiritual realm works and to be honest those Bible passages informing me that my battles are actually against the “forces of evil in this dark world” sound a bit creepy and a tad overwhelming. I am pretty sure however that when my car runs out of gas on my way to the store it doesn’t mean that somehow the devil has taken an upper hand in the spiritual arm wrestling match with God. And vice versa, when I trip while walking down some stairs and miraculously catch my balance before a disastrous fall, it doesn’t mean that God has just “put it” to the devil either. 

            These statements bug me so much because it is just another avenue for people to deflect responsibility. I have seen too many people pass the buck of responsibility in their lives to either God or the devil depending on the circumstances. Most recently I was reading a story about a popular Christian musician back in the 80’s who was arrested for possession of cocaine. Years later it seemed that he had learned little about personal humility and responsibility, simply chalking it all up to “the devil (doing) his number”.

A friend of mine who was going through a divorce also skillfully attempted to evade blame with his comment on the dreary situation that "the devil is really working hard to tear us apart". My first thought being "is God on vacation or something? The Devil is wreaking havoc on your life and God isn't doing a thing?" The truth was that he was simply refusing to acknowledge the years of mistakes, hurts and unforgiveness within his crumbling marriage. Oh, but we can throw all that practical thinking out the window and blame it on the ole’ devil!

            Besides the fact that it is a cowardly way of attempting to dodge personal responsibility, there are other issues with the emphasis on the devil being associated with every negative and God being credited with every positive thing that happens in our lives. First of all, when it "hits the fan" (oh, and it will!) it causes us to wonder where God is in the midst of the devil laying waste to our lives, despite His great promise that He will never leave nor forsake us.

Sure, it would be nice to be able to credit the devil with all the uncomfortable and painful moments in our lives, however, more often than not those difficult chapters in our story are actually sacred moments in which God is carefully and gracefully putting the defining touches on who we are.

The truth is that what we may want to believe is the devil may actually be God trying to get our attention.

            Another problem with the (positive = God, negative = the devil) approach is that the devil, crafty as he is, can manipulate situations so that they appear to be positive, like an answer to prayer even, when in fact it is of no benefit to us at all. We might be tempted to believe that because an answer we have been seeking drops from the sky all nicely packaged with a bow on top that it is a blessing from God, when in all reality it may be nothing more than another empty promise from our enemy. 

Now, God isn't immune to having a fair share of blame directed at him either. The biggest problem most people have with the whole idea of the existence of God is that they cannot fathom a loving God allowing all the pain and suffering that ills humanity. As if its Gods fault that humankind has made bad decisions, as we slowly destroy the planet, engage in war with one another while often ignoring the needs associated with the spread of sicknesses, disease and hunger. We seem to forget that God originally created all things good, beautiful and complete, while it was humanity that made a mess of it.

If we aren’t placing the blame on spiritual forces than we are not too proud to pass it along to someone or something else. We’d rather accuse our spouses, mothers or fathers, our depression or addictions, our boss or work situations, the economy and even the President (need I go further?) than lay claim to our own mistakes and troubles. I was even talking with a pastor who blamed alcohol consumption as a factor in many occurrences of infidelity. I don't really buy that, alcohol doesn't "make" anyone do anything, (besides act stupid) it is simply an easy excuse.

The fact is that we are reckless with our money and our time, our bodies and our birth control, our emotions and even our very souls. Heck, because of our unreliability and negligence the very planet that God so lovingly and deliberately designed for us is slowly being destroyed. From within our dire circumstances we cry out “why God?” while ignoring the fact that our actions have consequences.

Without responsibility and accountability in our lives there is little hope that our co-workers, friends, significant others or even our children will hold us in any measurable amount of esteem. In fact, it may very well erase what little character we might have had and remove any clinging fibers of integrity. A lack of responsibility has cost us in our marriages and has done damage to our relationships with our children. With only finger pointing and no one willing to shoulder the blame our country has been driven into unimaginable debt. Irresponsibility and at times an unwillingness to admit its wrongs the churches reputation and effectiveness has been eroded.

            All of us (myself most definitely included!) need to begin taking small steps of responsibility within our lives and own up to our faults and failures. Seek forgiveness from God and those around us for our weaknesses and our shortcomings. We make our own decisions and we need to be accountable for them. Like the old saying goes, “we must lie in the bed we make”.

           

Lost in Translation

Take it from a guy who has been married for ten years, works in close quarters with a handful of diverse personalities and has had friendships rocked by divorces and pride fueled disagreements, communication is an amazingly complex entity that can exude life, growth and camaraderie one moment and then miserable misunderstanding the next.

It is often messy, uncomfortable and misconstrued, however, judging by the current popularity of social networking sites, cell phones and text messaging, communication is also a highly sought after and valued thing.

Now when it comes to communication, I truly believe that those who put their trust in Jesus have the greatest message of hope, redemption, forgiveness and love. We are in fact, (frighteningly) Gods primarily messengers to the rest of a weary and broken world that longs for good news. Our every action, word and even our subtle body language continually sends a message to those around us of who God is and what He looks like.

So what message are we presenting? Hopefully it is one of redemption, grace and, to borrow from Brennan Manning, the “furious love of God”. Sadly, however this great message is often lost in translation.

Case in point was a pastor I recently witnessed leading new “converts” in a prayer to “accept Christ into their lives”. To those uninitiated with church life and lingo, think of it as a swearing in ceremony in which people are “sworn into” the faith. Perplexingly as it may seem being that it is such a monumental spiritual moment, it is rarely scripted or rehearsed by preachers who are apparently more focused on brushing up on the impeccable timing of their one-liners. Which may excuse this particular preacher for exhorting “newbies” to pray to God imploring Him “to forgive them for the way they have been living their lives thus far”.

Sounds pretty harmless right?

Except when you consider that such an unclear and seemingly vague statement forces people to draw their own conclusions as to what they are really being told. Which may be where all the confusion about superficial lifestyle changes like being a person of a particular moral code while avoiding the dangers of “sex, drugs and Rock n’ Roll” is birthed. What we are left with is churches full of people who are not exactly sure what their salvation really means in relation to their lives.

Despite what we might interpret the message to say, the fact is that initially putting ones faith in God has little, perhaps even nothing to do with the life someone has lived or the things they have done. I know some of the most loving and kind people who do not consider themselves Christians, while on the other hand I have been acquainted with some of the filthiest and rotten people who call themselves Christians. The way in which someone lives his or her life is not always an accurate indicator of ones salvation.

And not to pick on this poor pastor alone, because we send similar messages to the world around us when our salvation story consists of what amounts to merrily outward “surface cleaning” (“I used to smoke, drink and cuss but then I found Jesus and now my life is completely different”). The bumper sticker that reads “Born fine the first time” is the world’s jab in response to such shallow testimonies that drip with the underlying message that “life is better here”. On the contrary, life usually gets more difficult (which was what Jesus warned his followers) when one chooses faith.

You see, despite the confusing messages to the contrary, God’s primarily concern is not with the kind of life we lived yesterday. He simply desires to be the center and focus of our lives today and on into our future tomorrows.

Furthermore, asking those who are newly acquainted with God to seek forgiveness for the way they “lived their life” pre-faith sends a dangerous message that the church, and God for that matter, is only concerned with what they do instead of in whom they trust. It causes churchgoers to tiptoe around each other on Sunday mornings concerned and fearful that they will be exposed as a fraud (which, in a way, we all happen to be).

Sadly many people “join” the church, subscribe to the “corporate” brand and immediately begin exhausting themselves by jumping through all the “spiritual” hoops trying to please the others and please God while hoping to quiet the lingering voices spewing words of doubt and guilt. However, despite the commitment, effort, hard work or perseverance we cannot will ourselves to live a better “Christian life”. Such futile striving will only leave us feeling unfulfilled, frustrated and disappointed. We cannot make life, character and moral changes that are deeply ingrained into who we are with “good ole’ fashion” hard work and determination.

All this fruitless striving saddens me because it really is as simple as living in the grace of God and enjoying the spiritual journey without getting caught up in our failures, disappointments and guilt. Unfortunately such messages are a rarity.

Honestly, the most important thing missing from all of our lives is truly knowing and experiencing God, there is no other ingredient required. God, knowing every little nuance, trait, characteristic and aspect of his creation, knows perfectly how to effectively weed out, mold and shape our lives. He is much more patient and long suffering than we could ever hope to be in seeing us unto completion. If there are things in our life that need to be changed or ways of living that need to be tweaked, you can be sure God will inform us of it and will work patiently and with purpose to accomplish it in our life. In this progression our character blossoms to its fullest potential.

The salvation experience is not solely about making people better human beings. But for the grace of God, all of humanity is on a level playing field in such regards. It doesn’t matter what someone’s political affiliation may be, what their sexual orientation is, what religion they subscribe to or anything else, if there be any good deed, word of encouragement or characteristic within them it is simply the illuminating grace of God shining through a putrid soul. And we are all putrid souls, however God can use ANYONE He desires to be a blessing! As Aaron Weiss puts it so simply and yet poignantly in song “It’s (God) in everyone we meet”.

Despite what we would love to believe about ourselves, without God in our lives there really is no good within us, our natural inclinations are selfish and sinful. We should take no pride in our efforts to be “good-people” (our righteousness is like filthy rags after all) but should humbly thank God that He is hard at work patiently perfecting us hardheaded people.

With this in mind, perhaps it is time we reevaluate some of our ideas and perceptions about sin. You see, from the time Moses come down the mountain with those two imposing tablets to today where Sunday school children across the globe are singing, “be careful little eyes what you see” there has always been this underlying belief that God doesn’t want us to have any fun.

One of my favorite writers on faith, Anne Lamott reminds us that we are “punished not for the sin but by the sin.” I believe this is a much healthier way to approach Gods distain for our sins. God wants us to avoid sin, not because He wants to remove all the fun from our lives, but because sin is something that is destructive to a healthy life and healthy relationships. We should desire to live a “better life” not solely because it pleases God or makes Him love us more, but because it is a better way to live and will save us much heartache and pain.

Remember, entrusting God with our lives has nothing to do with pledging our allegiances to the handiwork of man nor does it have anything to do with keeping up our appearances. Salvation is hope that through God’s grace we can overcome yesterday’s struggles. It is hope that beginning immediately God will join us in our battles. It is hope in knowing that life won’t necessarily be easier but we will be guaranteed that we don’t have to go it alone. It is about accepting an offer of “life and life abundantly”.

In a world full of unclear and mixed messages, those of us with the greatest message of hope need to get it right.