Interesting post over at Cerulean Sanctum that has got me thinking. Dan Edelen makes this provocative quote:
If you and I truly stepped out in faith to live the Gospel we say we believe, it may well be that we would have to drop out of the corporate treadmill, suffer a freefall in the company hierarchy, watch our income plummet, and suffer the American indignity of no longer being able to keep up with the Joneses. It may mean we cannot get our children into the fancy private school, the top division sports team, and subsequently fail to send them to Harvard to mint their perfect future. It may mean that we reject consumerism and globalism, returning to a local economy that celebrates community and works to see that no one suffers at the expense of the richer among us, no matter how difficult it will be and what it will cost us. It may mean that we have to let go of long-time friends who suddenly hate our “class descent” and no longer want to be around us. It may mean that we live among the rejected people of the world (as we have become rejected ourselves). It may mean that we rediscover what the Lord meant by “give us this day our daily bread.” It may mean thousands of profound changes to the way we think and live that put us out of the mainstream and make life more challenging, though in the end we realize the challenge is where Christ Himself dwells.
Wow...the article is asking the question: "What would we look like if we really believed the Gospel?" The church has been so enamored with the American Dream that somehow we have blended that dream with the Gospel. It's an interesting point and it has got me thinking.
Have we re-defined our understanding of the Bible to fit our cultural biases? Concepts such as greed and coveting? I'm not suggesting that I am exempt from this question or that I'm not guilty of doing it. But, is our understanding of following Christ more influenced by western culture (and it's definition of success) then by the Gospel?
I have been thinking (once again) of starting this blog back up. I seem to make these grandiose statements about taking this thing seriously again and then disappear for several months. It was running through my mind, and then a friend of mine started to write again. That seems like the final push.
I'm preaching on Luke 14 tomorrow. This chapter has been haunting me for the past several weeks. What does it mean to be a follower of Christ? When Jesus says hate my father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sister, even my own life, what exactly is he saying? When he says I need to give up everything does he really mean everything? More on this after I preach.
I've called a members meeting tomorrow to discuss our building. The economy is killing us and things have to change. We need to get our expenses in order soon or else bad things will happen (church by candle light anyone? A cappella or unplugged worship anyone? Anyone?). I wonder if this what is meant by counting the cost? I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little frightened about what might happen tomorrow. It could go well and good things could come out of it, or it could go bad - real bad. If you get a chance, please pray for us tomorrow.
I have so many friends right now struggling with huge decisions. It's really odd. Most of them would not notice that they are dealing with the same thing, but from a distance....from the place where I stand it all seems very similar.
What do we do when we think we are not hearing from God? That seems to be the million dollar question right now. What if I want to follow God, but I'm not sure that I am? We all seem to be looking for concrete answers - solid, unquestionable words. But I'm not sure that God works that way. Think about it. When Jesus told Peter to get out of the boat and come to Him, He didn't really tell him how to do it, He just said come. Consider this: there is the storm going on all around the disciples and they are freaking out, so they look into the distance and they think they see Jesus. They are not overly positive about it(they really think they are seeing a ghost or something.) Jesus calls out to Peter and says come here. Remember, there is this big storm going on. Wind, waves, lots of noise. I wonder what Peter thought when he heard this. Is that really Jesus, or is that my imagination? What did he say? Was that the wind?
It really doesn't matter what Peter thought, because we know what he did. He got out of the boat. Now, here is the part for us. Peter got out, so we too need to get out. No matter where we are there are always storms going on around us. Problems, stress, disagreements, injustice...you name it, they are always there. Those storms make it difficult for us to see and hear Jesus. But you know what, He is out there and he is calling us. All we need to do is respond. To get out of the boat and trust Him...trust that he knows what He is doing and that He will always be there next to us. Even when we mess up, even when we take our eyes off of Him, He is there to grab our hand and pull us out.
So this is to all my friends out there trying to figure out what to do. Trust that Jesus is speaking to you. Follow the passions that He has placed in your heart. Go where He leads you and know that He will always be there, even when friends and family are not.
Thomas Merton once wrote a prayer that has always affected me. I think there is a lot of truth in it and at times I have found a lot of peace in it:
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, And the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, And you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
Worship is going on right now. I'm in the sound booth...some thoughts....
It was never about the temple....if it was Jesus would have spent more time there. He would have brought reform instead of tearing it down.
It was never about the tabernacle....if it was Jesus would have taught us how to reconstruct it.
It was never about the service....if it was Jesus would have given us a liturgy.
It was never about the songs....if it was Jesus would have given us a book of Psalms.
It was about LOVE....that is what Jesus gave us. And that is what we are supposed to do. It is not about the ceremony, it is not about what we do, how we act, if we dance, clap, raise our hands or even sing...all that is more about us and less about God...instead, it's about how we relate...to God and to each other. Isn't that what Jesus did. Isn't that true worship? True worship is not what we do in the church, it is what we do outside of the church.
A friend of mine from the "other side of the pond" has been prodding me to start writing again. I guess my last post about resurrecting this blog was a little premature. I meant well and I really want to start writing again...I just never seem to have the time to do it. I think it has a lot to do with self discipline, meaning that I need to be more disciplined in writing. (duh!)
I really enjoy writing and it is something that I would love to do. I have had several "words" spoken over me about writing books. I have tried to write books, stories, blogs, journals, etc, but keep running into the same problem...I run out of ideas to write about. I am always amazed and awed by those people who can keep up with their blogs on a daily basis. I currently subscribe to a lot of different blogs (about 130). About half deal with soccer and half deal with theology or church stuff. I also subscribe to a handful of "friends" blogs....blogs by people I know or go to the church that deal with their lives. Of those church and football blogs, about 15 are what I would consider news feeds - almost like a wire service. The other 115 are actually written by people and about a third of them are updated at least once a day (some numerous times a day). A handful of these blogs actually make money...their blogs have become so successful that they can sell ad space on them and actually make some money off of it. (Unlike like the rest of us who have had Google ads on our sites for years but have yet to make a dime off of them!)
I don't have any grand vision of making a living off my blog, but I always thought it would be nice to be able to develop my writing through this medium. There was a time where I was doing it more regularly, a time when I had a small following, a time when publishing houses would ask me to review books. But that time is long gone and I doubt it will return. The age of the blog has come and gone...replaced by facebook, which is now being replaced by twitter. I have accounts on both services but I still don't find the enjoyment of them like I had when this blog was really up and running. I go on facebook to keep track of my congregation. I still have no clue on why I would want to twitter. But there was always something more about blogging.
A friend of mine asked me the other day why in the world would someone want to blog. Why would you want to be that transparent...why would you want to share all of your life on the internet?He gave the impression that those of us who blog are exhibitionists.I can see that (and I have seen that in the blogsphere). I think that is what myspace, facebook and twitter have become. But for me, blogging is different.I was somewhat of a geek in high school. I was not very athletic and I was in the computer club.I dressed exactly like Matthew Broderick in “War Games”.My room at home looked a lot like his (computer stuff everywhere). I was somewhat shy.I never went to dances, missed my prom and never went on my first date until I was a senior in High School (it was a disaster, I was too polite and she went home with a different guy).I was a geek and I hung out with geeks (picture John Cusack in “Sixteen Candles”. Once, for fun, we took a T.V. remote control and snuck up to people’s houses and changed the stations that they were watching to freak them out. If that is not the ultimate in geekness, then I don’t know what is!). But there was one thing that I did do in High School that got me out of my shell. I wrote for the school newspaper.I did stories my freshman year, had a column my sophomore and junior year and was Editor in Chief my senior year. It was what I loved and what I wanted to do with my life. I was going to be a journalist.
My dad talked me out of it when I went to college. “Journalists are a dime a dozen” he would say. “You should study business so that you can get a job out of college and make some money.” So that is what I did.I have a BS in Finance from DePaulUniversity and I almost have my MBA (we got transferred to Georgia before I could finish it.) I had a job in the business world and I hated it. I now pastor.Pastors are a dime a dozen and we really don’t make much money…somewhat ironic, isn’t it?
I always looked at my blog the same what that I looked at my columns or editorials in High School.Yes, some of me would come out…there is a bit of exhibition there. But that was done so that I could get the reader to think. To get them to consider something and possibly change an attitude or opinion. It doesn’t always work, but sometimes….
That is why I started this, and that is why I always talk about continuing it. The question is not can I do it?The true question is will I?
I think it's time to resurrect this blog. I'm taking it back to it's original purpose...general thoughts on theology and life. For my thoughts on things soccer, check out my new blog.
