Stop complaining and Start doing

Many times in churches today, we let our stylistic differences make a BIG deal.

I like when he sings.

I like when he talks.

I like when she/he prays.(My favorite)

We all have certain stylistic bends to the way we prefer everything.  My girlfriend loves where she gets her haircut. She HATES when I go to Great Clips.  My Dad loves the tv show, “Walker Texas Ranger.”  I think it is quite possibly the worst/corniest tv show ever to grace the boobtube. My good friend Brandon (who has great musical taste I might add) loves the band Tool.  I cannot for the life of me get into any of their music.

Everyone has specific tastes to the way they want everything.  That is one thing we have in common.

As I grow up in age and in faith, I can see how this is a dangerous thing when added to our local communities of faith (churches).

“Well, I don’t get relationally connected because I don’t like the way small groups are structured.”

“I don’t read the Bible much, because my church doesn’t feed me”

“I don’t reach out and care for the poor because my church doesn’t have a “program” for it.

I had the pleasure of going to a conference with some friends of mine a few years back and Francis Chan rocked my world with a very profound and poignant thought.

(Joel paraphrase) “Many people complain in churches today about a lack of opportunities, systems, or programs to study the Bible, reach their non-church friends, and serve the poor.  I really wonder if St. Peter at the gates of heaven will say,

“Oh, the Big Guy will give you a pass because your church leadership didn’t “catch the drift” and fit every chasm of preference that you had. And don’t worry that many of your friends won’t be here for eternity because your church didn’t set you up with a program to evangelize. And don’t worry that you scoffed at the poor and destitute, because your church didn’t have a community service program where you helped out the “least of these.”"end quote”

NOT.

It is foolish for us to think that God is cool with us passing the buck to our churches saying,”they just don’t get it”

I 100% guarantee all of you this; Churches will let you down. They are an imperfect organization because they are run by imperfect people.

Friends, if we are passionate about who Jesus is, what He has done, and what He is doing, we must individually take the task of following Him to heart.

I pray that I become someone who stops complaining and starts doing.

Now may you fight for a world that Jesus felt was worth dying for, and take up your cross and follow Him.

It’s too late to start thinking…..but here it goes

Sorry its been awhile but summer school just started and things have been a lil hectic.

I have been thinking lately about God’s attributes. Not just the ones we love to talk about in church services, but the ones that maybe don’t get as much press.

God is a judge.

God is a hater of wickedness and injustice.

God is a jealous god.

What? Is this the same God who sent his son to tell us, “Don’t judge; or you will be judged.”

We learn from the Ten Commandments; Do not covet your neighbor’s wife or possessions. Do not be jealous of people who have what you don’t have. We learn from experience in life that jealousy does not play out well in any type of relationship.

We are taught to forgive everyone that does wrong to us, but doesn’t God have people go to hell if they do not follow and love Him?

How does this make any sense? Does God hold us to different standards to us than He holds for Himself?

The easy answer is that there is no problem with God being jealous and judging because He is the only perfect, holy one who can do it without messing with his righteousness. He can judge people because he is the only perfect one. He can be jealous because we rightly belong to Him.

I think that there is some validity to that view but I also think if we look a lil deeper, we might grab something of value…..excuse me. I am still in process of thinking this out, stay tuned for more concrete (or lack there of) answers and ideas………

Today is a Big Day

I will keep this short.

Last night I had the sincere honor of going to see Dr. Ron Paul speak in Fort Wayne. The experience was so incredible and I left filled with hope. Yes, I know that when I go and pull the lever for Ron Paul today at the polls, HE will not be the next president, but my vote is (I believe) representing something much much much bigger than voting for the lesser of three evils.

Yesterday, I looked around at a capacity crowd (2500 people composed of many students but mostly middle age to the elderly) and saw something unbelievable. People from all different walks of life. People with biker jackets on and people with walkers. Guys with Ramones tshirts on and guys with pink polos with the collars popped. All of these people cheering like a farewell tour for the Beatles——because they want something better.

They want something better than the country that has been handed to them.

They want something better for their children.

They want something better than shallow change.

They want real solutions.

Ron Paul got up and spoke and quickly acknowledged that He will not be the next president. He humbly stated with tears in his eyes….looking at 2500 standing supporters……that the message is much greater and much more powerful than the messenger. His campaign for president has started a revolution, and I will continue to fight for it by looking at the HARD questions….not the easy ones.

Why do we need troops in Korea, Japan, and Europe today? Why do we ignore the Constitution on how to go to war? How does the Federal Reserve work? I won’t be satisfied with, “I will bring change, and change Washington?” I will be part of a generation that asks the tough questions.

As of today Ron Paul has had over 1 million Americans cast their vote for Him. I will cast my vote for Him tomorrow in the same spirit that our founding fathers brought to the table when they dissented against the occupying British regime in the last 1700’s. I am voting in dissent to the established government.

So today when you vote….Don’t vote a popularity contest. Don’t vote “cool” factor. Ask the hard questions. Don’t settle for the lesser of three evils. Vote your principles….not for who you just think can win.

If you don’t like Ron Paul, don’t vote for Him, because remember this country is ALL ABOUT FREEDOM.
wow i did go long.
Check out this vid before ya go vote today…..

Friends and Purpose

So everyone likes to talk about the purpose of life right?

My reformed friends love to say that the purpose of life is to glorify God. Makes sense when you think of God up in highest place and therefore he deserves all glory. So we were made to bring all of our glory to Him, because He is worthy. This purpose makes sense to me, although its not the easiest to follow or live up to EVER.

My good ole’ Wesleyan/Methodist friends believe that the purpose of life is to love God and live in loving relationships with others on this earth. This places the emphasis on God’s relational aspects and looks closely at how our relational lives (friends, coworkers, girlfriends/boyfriends, wives/husbands) relate to the gospel and our relationship with God.

The last thing I want to do is to have us pick sides and fight it out (Greco-Roman style) about which idea we think is right. Just think about it. What rings true in your mind when you read it? Then think, why does this ring true in my life?

I don’t know if I can pick one view on purpose and ignore the other. I think for me, I like to shove them together to make my own “conglomeration of purpose.” I do know this (in my life); God is my rescuer, my redeemer, my chainbreaker, and is all worthy of all the glory that I have. I also know that I feel closest to God when I am with my dear friends that I have the privilege of sharing life with and we are laughing and “doing life together.” There is something so TRUE about moments with them. Then again, when I am in a big room with hundreds of people and all of our eyes and hearts are focused on God and giving Him glory——Something rings TRUE also.

So, didn’t Jesus come to bring us into a RIGHT, LOVING, relationship with the Father? Therefore, let us follow Jesus’ footsteps and bring glory to God by living in loving community with our friends. Let God teach you through your friends. Let God shine through your friends and may you shine God to your friends when they need it most.

My friends have taught me more about what it means to follow Jesus than any teacher, pastor or professor I have ever had. Jesus came to make community (peaceful, loving relationship) between God and man…..lets follow Jesus and live in community here and now.

Confessions of a 20.999998 year old

So I am feeling vulnerable today. Just a warning, these thoughts are really what floats around in my head and they contain fears, doubts, and joys.

In the last 2 years of my life, God has taken me on a wild ride. I have decided that I am goin to “do the church thing” with my life. I am dedicating my life to play a small part in God’s epic plan to bring humanity back to Him and to bring His Kingdom to this earth. I can still remember so vividly my freshman year, laying on a bunkbed, tossing and turning and wrestling with God about a calling on my life. Needless to say, as always, God won.

But this church thing continues to help me lose sleep. It might be hard for you to totally grasp this, but I believe in the church. I truly BELIEVE and affirm the holy catholic (universal) church. The beauty in the poetry of God using fragile, sinful man to do His work is inspiring. The faith that Jesus has in the church by calling it “His Body” is astounding. The weight of being “His hands and feet” makes me pee just a lil bit at thought. I want to believe in this church thing so much, that I also doubt it. Why aren’t churches more effective? How do we take the most compelling story of the most exciting character who holds the best new for all history and make it boring and not meet people in the cross sections of their daily grind? Why do we fight and bicker with other local churches? Why do we argue over theology that no one can be certain about? If the church has been around for so long, why is it that I feel over 2,000 years after Jesus died—-we are just now understanding what it means to BE the church?

It is in moments of my doubt that I think about my good friend Matt Irvine’s words from a late night conversation in my dorm this spring, (paraphrase)

” We want to believe in this church, we want to dive in with eyes closed in faith to the beauty of what the church COULD BE. We want to believe in this thing so much, we get scared its not real, that we are wasting our time. We start concentrating on negative things that we do or lack and completely miss the times we truly are living like JESUS. Everyday, all over the world, people are leaving addiction, quitting thoughts of suicide, quitting pornography, opening doors for people, holding people when they shake in pain, and truly caring for their friends enough to confront them about things that they are doing that will end up hurting them. If we look closely enough, Jesus is more alive today then we can ever possibly imagine.”

Keep looking and listening for Jesus. In your friends, in your not-friends, in the world—-join in what God is already doing. Bring your doubt to Him, bring your fears to Him, and most importantly—Lean in to Him.

As cliche as it sounds—Believe.

Peace

I gave in

Hello, I gave in. Most of my friends have had blogs for awhile and I made fun of them….frequently. Now I am one of them, one of the crowd.

You see, I have this thing with trends. I am not sure if it is good or not, but every time a new trend comes around I follow this pattern. I immediately make fun of it as a trend. Then, I begin to enjoy the trend through my friends vicariously. Then, I finally give in and join the trend. This pattern has been practiced in my life with many things (taylor guitars, smartphones, macbook). I don’t know what it is, but I am being honest, it just happens.

So, here I am with a blog now, and let me tell ya, I am excited. I read about 15 blogs a day and hopefully my blog will be read and enjoyed by people like and unlike me.

Be warned, it has begun.