Confessions of a Christian Cleric... I like Atheists!

I recently posted a blog titled "Don't Believe In God?" in which I quoted the president of the Atheists of Florida, Rob Curry. As you know, I’m big on this idea of starting points for conversations about God and I’m a firm believer that everybody has a right to express their opinion without the antagonistic vitriol that tends to spew from those who differ in opinion.

At the risk of drawing the ire of many ‘good Christian folk,’ I have to admit that Rob Curry became somewhat of a hero to me when he responded to my post with graciousness and class. There was no underlying sense of frustration or bitterness whatsoever in his response (I’m just thinking of the ‘Christian’ response to their billboard). In fact, Rob made it clear that the Atheist's of Florida's intent for the billboard was never to dissuade anyone from pursuing whatever faith journey they are on, but simply to find other people who live life from their prism.

This is remarkable, and I’m persuaded that it’s a policy that the Church might consider adopting instead of an ‘us and them’ mentality. If we just spread the love of Christ through building authentic, loving relationships with people, who knows what may grow out of those seeds we plant. All too often we view the message of Christianity as if it were a product we’re trying to pawn off on people who don’t really want it anyway. In reality, the message of Christianity is summed up in the story of the man who found a treasure in a field, sold all he had and purchased the field; It’s a message of love and self-sacrifice; A message of caring more about the “treasures” that are found in the people all around us than in what you've acquired. If you haven’t already done so, click on the hyperlink above and read the entire post and comment. In case you don’t have the time to do so though, I’m appending Rob’s response so that you can see just how gracious he was.

"Rob Curry here. I'd like to take a moment to clarify one point with some inside information:We did not take any religious community issues into account in choosing where to place a billboard ad. The reason we choose Lakeland is because that is where our most recent new chapter opened a little earlier this year. This is likely to happen in other towns and cities where new chapters of Atheists of Florida are formed

I actually heard about the incident you describe for the very first time right AFTER paying for the board to go up. My reaction? No, I didn't jump up and down with glee to think of a division in this particular religious community, if that's what you're imagining. I merely shrugged my shoulders and went on to other things. It's not like this kind of event is so unusual, and as I see it, the people involved are all adults who will find their way through an unfortunate situation as best they can.

Here's the main point:We did NOT put up the billboard to change anyone's faith or beliefs. We put it up to find other atheists. (With greater than anticipated success, I might add.)Please do not automatically assume the entire world shares your own evangelical outlook. Some of us are content to live and let live. If you want to know more, please ask us. As you may guess, we're not exactly hesitant to say what we honestly think

By the way, I appreciate your mature support for freedom of speech and against the knee-jerk impulse towards censorship. You may rest assured that Atheists of Florida likewise supports the freedom of all Floridians, religious and nonreligious alike, to express their views."

Don't Believe in God?

Seems like we’ve been here before right? Well, technically we haven’t since, the last time we talked about this it had to do with an advertising bus campaign in the UK. So, maybe it’s the same story in a different location. Any way, I was struck by this for a number of reasons. Sometime last year there was much written about the “revival” sweeping Lakeland, FL, and people were arriving in droves from around the world (thanks to the publicity on GodTV), to participate in what God was doing, that is until it was revealed that the revivalist was leaving his wife and had been having the proverbial affair with his secretary. I imagine it must have left a sour taste in the collective mouths of the Lakeland community. I imagine the Lakeland Christian community might have felt that they’d been left with egg on their faces. I imagine the Atheist community thought Lakeland must be ripe for the picking, and would be open to a different message, having met with such disappointment from the Christian “revival” message. And why not? After all it is a free country and we’re all free to spread the message that we believe will positively impact people’s lives. So the Atheists of Florida got together and sponsored a billboard in Lakeland. It reads, “Don’t believe in God? You are not alone.”

Rob Curry, president of Atheists of Florida, stated “The main goal (of the billboard campaign) is to increase awareness of the secular group.” He further opined, “We want other people in the secular community who are non-religious to become aware of us.” Not surprisingly the Christian reaction was predictable to say the least: "“You shouldn’t raise your children that way… not to believe in God,” said Carolyn Brown. “I think it should be removed now.”" So will it surprise you to hear that, while I agree that it’s better not to raise your children "That way," I don’t think the billboard should be removed? I mean, I know how effective billboard advertising can be. I even used it when we were launching The Well, and ran a very successful campaign that created a real buzz in the community. If it’s good for Christians, then it must be good for anyone who believes differently from us, right? I can see I’m going to have to work harder to convince you. Well, the larger picture here is not about a billboard but about the effectiveness of our Christian witness. Do we honestly believe for one moment that a billboard can change people’s belief in the existence of a loving God, if we as the Church continued to live the way we should? I don’t think so. It’s hard to convince the people of Rwanda that God isn’t real, after they've experienced the love of God through the Global Church, following the genocide of the nineteen-nineties that impoverished their nation.

Lakeland wasn’t the first Florida city to host this billboard campaign. In Fort Lauderdale the billboard read, “Being a good person doesn’t require God. Don’t believe in God? You are not alone.” As always though, God has the last laugh. In the UK campaign the slogan ended up preaching the message of the Scriptures as it declared “Now stop worrying and enjoy your life,” a clear and direct exhortation from Luke 12: 25 and Philippians 4: 6. In the Florida campaign, Daniel Florien, writing about the Fort Lauderdale billboard declared, “On the first one we accidentally capitalized God.” Apparently that same 'accident' continues to perpetuate itself on all their subsequent billboards. Their unspoken dilemma: If they don’t "capitalize God" then even Christians would agree that we didn't believe in a 'god' (small 'g') since we believe in The God with a capital G. If they do capitalize God, they are unwittingly acknowledging the existence of the Supreme Christian God while running a campaign trying to disavow His existence. Hmmm, I wonder if… nah, God couldn’t have anything to do with that could He?

Unconditional Love? Maybe not so much!!! (Part 2)

I know, I know, I promised to post part two of this blog yesterday, but if I’m being completely honest I’m still trying to wrap my mind around this concept of love that is selfless and unconditional. I simply wasn’t ready to conclude this idea yesterday and I’m not even sure that I’m ready now. But, I guess I’ll probably never be ready so I’m just going to dive in head first. Here are a couple of quotes from the book "Blue Like Jazz" that struck a chord in me:

“The problem with Christian culture is we think of love as a commodity. We use it like money…. With love, we with(o)ld affirmation from the people who d(o) not agree with us, but we lavishly finance the ones who d(o)…. When we barter with it (love), we all lose. When the church does not love its enemies, it fuels their rage. It makes them hate us more.”

“Nobody will listen to you unless they sense that you like them. If a person senses that you do not like them, that you do not approve of their existence, then your religion and your political ideas will all seem wrong to them. If they sense that you like them, then they are open to what you have to say.”

This brings me to a very personal story I’d like to share with you. I will warn you in advance that if you don’t follow this story through to the end you might conclude that I’m being arrogant and self-serving, but if you’ll patiently endure the details of the story, I promise you that the point will be well made. One more disclaimer: I must also warn you that it will make some of you uncomfortable, as these are issues we’d rather pretend aren't there because it's not politically correct to talk about such things.

I’ve never liked Winn Dixie. Maybe it’s because it always struck me as a “poor man’s” store, and since I didn’t like the way it made me feel I just didn’t shop there. That is until I was forced, for, shall we say reasons of convenience, to shop at the Winn Dixie nearest my home in Lake Mary. I don’t know if it’s an official policy, but Winn Dixie hires a lot of handicapped and disabled people and this store appeared to be trying to win a competition for how many such people they could have on their team at one time.

Each time I went there I would notice how many disabled staff people wandered around and would throw a friendly wave in their direction then pat myself on the back for being such a ‘good’ Christian. After all, most of the other folks in the store simply ignored them and went about their business. One day I decided to introduce myself to a quadriplegic that I’d often noticed in an elaborate recumbent wheelchair. He would often position his chair strategically by the store entrance looking stone-faced at busy shoppers going in and out in a hurry as they lived out their busy lives. Ostensibly his job was to welcome people as they entered the store but his demeanor made most shoppers look the other way. I walked up to him and said, “My name’s Joseph, what’s yours?” “David” he replied, beaming from ear to ear. Then he continued, “I’ve often noticed you coming in here but you always looked so scary and mean.” Ouch!!! My Christian ego had just taken a deflating beating.

It turns out that in addition to being a quadriplegic, David also suffers from a mild case of cerebral palsy and Down’s syndrome. Down’s syndrome is associated with some impairment of cognitive ability and physical growth as well as facial appearance. I proceeded to have one of the most amazing conversations with David, all the while thinking how smart and well spoken he was. I’d made a judgment about David the first time I laid eyes on him. I assumed he wouldn’t be coherent and he’d be severely mentally handicapped. The ‘single story' of people afflicted with Down’s syndrome not being smart or intelligible, had led me to believe that David had nothing to contribute to my life. The funny thing is, I know the feeling of back-handed compliments, yet I was doing exactly the same thing as I expressed my surprise at how well David spoke and processed ideas.

All my life living in the West I’ve been judged on the single story: The story that black Africans generally speak with thick, heavy accents and are definitely not as smart or intelligent as their white contemporaries. When people have a conversation with me, they are ‘shocked’ at how well I communicate and process big ideas, and they are quick to tell me how much they love my voice and my “accent.” Now I know that these people are well meaning and all, but the truth is their ‘compliment’ is based on a set of preconceived ideas they have about what people like me should sound like. After all, you won’t find people paying compliments to a white Englishman for sounding English.

I wonder if David feels judged by the single story every time someone walks into the store and completely ignores him, hence his stone-faced expression. Many of us define people by the single story and miss out on so much more. There are numerous dimensions to every person and the more we unconditionally love a person, the easier it is to find out their multi-dimensional stories. As I’ve built a relationship with David, I’ve learned that he was in hospital for three months because he broke his hip trying to move from one wheel chair to another, and the pain is still excruciating as the doctors have told him it will take two years to fully heal since he can’t rehab it. Yet David is at work everyday because that’s the place where life happens. His eyes light up every time I walk into the store and he’ll tell me exactly how many days it’s been since I was last in. We’ve had conversations about the NBA Playoffs, the Superbowl, college football and every thing under the sun, and he is remarkably knowledgeable. David cusses like a banshee (whatever a banshee actually is) and has really pungent breath, but David is a delight to know and talk to. He forces me to put my life in perspective and to be thankful for the things that I can do, especially on the days when I’m throwing a tantrum because I’m mad at my circumstances.

David’s outlook on and approach to life humble me and make me realize that, in the human context, unconditional love may well bring a greater benefit to the one loving than it does to the one receiving love. You see, knowing David has changed my paradigm about the way I view and judge people based on the single story, and so it makes it easier for me to deal with each person on their own individual merit. I don’t know if any of this makes sense to you because I know it’s my journey, but I’m truly thankful for Winn Dixie, David, and unconditional love.

Unconditional Love? Maybe not so much!!!

The idea that we Christians love unconditionally is about as true as the notion that the sun is a warm fuzzy ball. Any one who believes either of those ideas is clearly deluded. The very notion that the Church is exclusionary in its gatherings is in itself proof that our love is conditional. It’s conditional upon you accepting what we believe to be truth, as truth. It’s conditional upon you looking, speaking, and acting in a manner that we deem acceptable by our measuring stick. It’s conditional upon you living your life by the same set of values by which we live ours. Why, sometimes it’s even conditional upon what color the statue of Jesus or the picture of him above your mantelpiece is. If that’s not conditional love then I don’t know what is and I’m the deluded one!

Much of the way we express our faith reflects this notion: If you accept all the things we accept, and live exactly the way we live, then we extend our ‘hand of fellowship’ and welcome you warmly (That’s why in America we think being Christians and Republicans are part of the seven sacraments). If on the other hand, you are a non-conformist and insist on questioning everything we believe, then you’re an outsider and we generally extend to you the “left-foot of fellowship.” Oh, don’t get me wrong, we definitely pay lip service to the idea that we love, embrace, and welcome everyone, but that is the theory. In practice the reality is much different as evidenced by the clear lines of demarcation along racial, denominational, and various other ‘measurables’ during our Sunday worship hour. I realize that I’m generalizing and there’s always a danger in doing that, but the larger point is clearly found somewhere in the middle of these ideas.

I recently read a blog post by Brad Johnson that chilled me to the core because of it’s simple but profound truth. Now I could paste the hyperlink here and go on to restate the same ideas, but that would be redundant. Instead I decided to directly quote some of his observations since he stated the big ideas more succinctly than I ever could. The writer made the following observations:

“I can’t shake it. It’s a phrase that haunts my thoughts at night, like some ethereal creature floating just out of my reach, taunting me.There is this on-going debate going within me about this phrase.

It’s a war. My soul says, “Yes, this CAN be.” My heart says, “I so WANT this to be.” My logic and observations declare, “This will NEVER be.”The troubling phrase? From the lips of Jesus: “Father, let Your will be done on earth…JUST AS IT IS…in heaven.”

What does that mean? What would life on earth be like, if even parts of Jesus desire came true?Questions lifted my thoughts to heaven. What is heaven like? What will relationships be like? Heaven will be filled with pure love and freedom from shame, and acceptance and peace with our selves, peace with others, and peace with God.In heaven, we will live life with no reservations about others, where love prompts us to hope and believe the best about one another, expect the best, cheer for the best?

There, perfect [unconditional] love will cast out fear; fear of being rejected, judged, disliked, hurt.I can’t get this thought out of my mind, this angst out of my heart. Jesus EXPECTED that we could have some of the attributes of heaven, right here on earth. I could. You could.So, why don’t I, in my life, in relationships, in interactions and conversations?

Why don’t we in our sanctuaries, our cathedrals, our churches, our services of worship?Why isn’t the rule of heaven…well, the rule of the day?To have heaven’s love existing between us would be a vision of revolutionary grace and mercy. To have heaven’s love would find odd-pew partners side by side, engaging in conversation and laughter and hugs and worship.

There would be wounded marriage partners, bathing each other in forgiveness. There would be adulterers and adulteresses, now clean, walking in the freedom of new life, free to experience new, honorable love and meaningful love. Addicts would be healed from shame, embraced by Christians, moving sober into a wonderful new day. Republicans and Democrats would lay down agendas of their parties and find common ground under the rule of heaven.” (emboldened word in parenthesis above is mine)

I have a few more ideas about this that I’ll conclude with tomorrow (yeah, really. I’ll actually blog two days in a row), see you then. :)

Immeasurable Grace!

Yesterday my wife, Sola, and I had lunch with our dear friends Ted and Gayle Haggard (yes, that Ted and Gayle Haggard). It was a really good time of connecting and catching up even though it’s the second time this year that they’ve visited with us in Orlando. We love what God is doing in and through them. Now I know that they’ve been somewhat pariahs to many people over the last few years and that there are many who think that Ted has no right to be in ministry any longer considering his past sin, but I’m so grateful that God makes those calls and not men. What I find most amazing is that people fail to recognize that Ted is better equipped to serve the Body of Christ now more than he ever was before his sin was publicly exposed.

Some would have preferred that he give up ministry, hide in a hole somewhere and continue to sell insurance for the rest of his life. Now before you begin to vilify me, there’s nothing wrong with selling insurance if that’s what you’re called to. However, if you’re called to something else then you’re underachieving. Our meeting affirmed something in my heart that motivated this blog: God is faithful even when we are not! God sovereignly decides where, when, and how He will use you (or not) and how that will be accomplished. Our conversation amplified the fact that God is speaking to Ted and Gayle and birthing in them ideas for ministry that will impact lives significantly. Because of the ‘pockets’ of grace and love their family received during their ‘wilderness’ season, they are developing an idea that speaks to the very heart of serving and loving people.

My heart leapt in excited anticipation as they shared the formative stages of the big idea with us. Sadly, I cannot share the details as they are still being incubated. In fact, I liked the idea so much, I resolved to ‘steal’ it and implement it, but Ted ‘threatened’ me, and since Gayle is a real hero to Sola and I, and since I’d like to maintain my friendship with the Haggards, I’ve decided to hold off on stealing the idea… for now. But, so that I don’t leave you feeling totally cheated, here are some paraphrases of some great nuggets that Ted shared during the meal.

• The only place where the Gospel cannot be communicated is a place where there is an absence of human conflict and pain.
• Until someone demands that you walk a mile you can’t offer to go two.
• You can’t turn the other cheek until someone strikes you on the first.

I’m truly thankful for God’s immeasurable grace and redemptive purpose in Ted and Gayle’s lives. For those of you that think it’s improper that we even consider that God can use the Haggards even more powerfully in this new season of their lives, well, all I can say is I pray that one day you might be the recipient of the kind of grace that alters your perspective.

I Wonder If...

I recently asked the question on twitter, “What would you do if you knew you only had one week to live?” I must admit that I didn’t know what to expect in terms of responses, but the first response I received seemed to sum up a prevailing sentiment. It read, “It’s been 23 mins… I think we are all too scared to respond!!! :)” Other responses expressed the need to spend time with family and friends and let them know they are deeply loved. One responder even indicated that he would try the Hezekiah route and pray for an extension on the week. Whatever your response (or non-response) would be, it’s apparent that we all have our own ideas as to what we’d do if we knew we only had one week to live.

One week to live? In case you’re unclear, that’s 7-days, or 168 hours, or 10,080 mins, or… (I’m sure you get the point). In the grand scheme of things, that’s hardly a significant amount of time, unless it’s the last 10,080 minutes you have to live, then it suddenly puts your entire life in proper perspective. If the truth be told, I’m not certain I could give an all-encompassing answer to my own question. I mean, would turning off the cell phone, disconnecting DIRECTV and focusing exclusively on my family constitute a profound response? If I haven’t focused on my family (no pun intended) all the years leading up to my final week, would that one week really make the difference? If I’m being honest, I don’t know what I would do (at least not completely), but I do know what someone else did. Someone to whom we all owe a debt of gratitude and for whom we should be living our lives out loud.

John 12: 1 begins with the words, “Six days before the Passover…” In other words, five days before Jesus met His prophesied end on a Roman cross (The Passover was on a Sabbath which followed the day after Jesus’ execution, and so bodies could not be left on the cross overnight and taken down on the Sabbath, which is why the other two men’s deaths were hastened by the breaking of their knees). When you know you have only one week to live I imagine your thinking becomes clearer and your life distills the significant from the irrelevant. Here’s a working list of the things Jesus did beginning at John 12: 1.

• He had dinner at Lazarus’ place (John 12: 1-2)


• He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey (knowing it was the place where He’d meet His end) to the cheers of the very people that would call for His death three days later.


• He separated Himself from the crowd. “When Jesus had said these things, He departed and hid Himself from them.” (John 12: 36)


• He washed His Disciples feet (including Judas’) as a demonstration of loving, servant leadership. (John 13: 2-5)


• He had dinner with His Disciples (including Judas)
• He encouraged His despondent Disciples and prayed for them in the Garden of Gethsemane (to the point of sweating blood), even though He was the one about to pay the ultimate price and suffer the ignominy of death on a cross.


• He stood trial before the High Priest and the High Priest's father-in-law having committed no crime whatsoever.


• He was denied publicly by one of His dearest and supposedly most loyal friend and supporter.


• He stood trial before Pilate under a fraudulent and concocted charge.


• He was flogged, ridiculed, spat upon and finally, nailed to a roughly-hewn Roman cross.

The thing that strikes me most about this list is how normal it is. These are the things Jesus did routinely (obviously, other than the things that led up to His being crucified). His life was filled with focus and purpose. I wonder if that’s how we’re supposed to live? I wonder what it would feel like to live with such focus and purpose that, knowing I had just one week to live would not change anything I’m doing? I wonder if it would make us more effective and more passionate Christ-followers if we chose to live as if we had just one more week to live?

Entitlement, Soapboxes, and Being Like Jesus!

I’m not a celebrity! Ergo: I don’t know what it feels like to be one, nor do I know what it’s like to have to deal with the very artificial world created around them. Many celebrities are inundated with obsequious people singing their praises and telling them how great they are. Sadly, many celebrities believe this truckle. I’ve stayed out of the Kanye West fray until now for good reason. I’ve been an idiot many times in the past and I realize that anything I post in a public forum is ‘quotable’ ad infinitum. I don’t want to appear any more idiotic than necessary, and so I choose to observe and listen first before I “step in it.” Now though, I’m ready to engage my soapbox even at the risk of appearing idiotic! From athletes to Hollywood actors, to rappers, musicians and other so-called celebrities, an entitlement mentality comes with the territory. I have news for you though; it’s no different than the rest of us (especially us professing Christ-followers).

It is an entitlement mentality that caused Plaxico Burress and Michael Vick to make the choices they made that landed them behind bars. They somehow bought into the lie (no doubt fed by the people around them) that they were immune to the laws of the land. Why else would Plaxico take a gun (for which he didn’t have a permit in the state) into a nightclub? Why else would Vick fund an illegal dog-fighting ring as if there weren’t more laudable things to do with his beleaguered millions? It was an entitlement mentality that influenced Jay Cutler, Adam “Pacman” Jones and Brandon Marshall, so that they whined and complained because things didn’t go their way in the Not For Long (NFL) league. In spite of the kind of lifestyles their profession afforded them, they felt that they were entitled to even more and so each one of them has made a profound ass (easy… an ass is a donkey) of himself in the public eye.

Kanye West has a history of bad behavior because he feels entitled. In 2006, at the MTV Europe Music Awards, he took the mic from the artistes who had won music video of the year, and in an expletive laden speech declared that his music video should have won the award because it, “cost a million dollars, Pamela Anderson was in it…. I was jumping across canyons…. If I don’t win, the awards show loses credibility.” At the recently concluded 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, as Taylor (apparently a teenage singing sensation) was accepting her award for best video in her category, West jumped up on stage, grabbed the mic from her and stated, “Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for you, I’ll let you finish, but Beyonce has one of the best videos of all time. One of the best videos of all time!” Then he shrugged, handed her the mic and walked off stage. Kanye has quickly tried to make amends by appearing on the Jay Leno show and apologizing profusely for his actions. Whether you believe his apology to be sincere or not is irrelevant, he apologized and wants to move on with his life.

What struck me the most was the gentle way in which Jay chided him, causing him to reveal the fact that he has carried a lot of hurt and pain with him for much of his life, and has consequently projected that on how he relates to other people. Many of us do the same thing as we interact with God, other Christ-followers, and people in general. Our feelings of entitlement suggest that we shouldn’t have been treated the way we have been, and so we are motivated to pass and execute judgment on those we view as the source of our pain. In truth though, we are not owed anything, and so feeling entitled to being treated a certain way sets the stage for explosive responses a la Kanye West. I don’t personally listen to or even know his music, but my heart truly goes out to him and I hope that he has puissant relationships around him so that the only voices he hears are not the voices of obeisance.

While we’re at it, we should probably all surround ourselves with people who’ll tell us the truth even when it hurts (instead of feeling entitled to be treated with kid gloves 'cos of all the difficulties we've encountered in life). I have a feeling that that sort of pain is far less degrading than having to take your foot out of your mouth after the fact. There, I feel much better so I’ll climb down from the soapbox now.

Is He Your Co-Pilot?

I loved Rick Warren’s tweet from earlier on today. It simply stated:

When a plane goes thru violent turbulence at 35,000 ft, you don’t bail out. You remain calm and trust the Pilot! Ps56:3

For those of you might be wondering, Psalm 56: 3 actually says: When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. If the truth be told, it really isn’t as easy as it sounds. I’ve been in a few ‘hair-raising’ plane encounters myself (and you wonder why I’m bald), and my initial instinctual response certainly wasn’t calm and trust. Why? Maybe because it isn’t natural to be flying at 35,000 ft through the air at almost the speed of sound in a thin metallic tube, knowing that you have absolutely no control over what happens while you’re up there. Heck, for most of the journey you don’t even know exactly where you are or what direction you’re headed in since you have no horizon or frame of reference. But that’s exactly the point isn’t it?

I’m always bemused at the FAA regulations that require flight attendants to perform a safety demonstration with life jackets or “floatable” seat cushions. Seriously, when’s the last time you read about people rescued from a plane crash on water who were found holding onto their seat cushions and expressing deep gratitude for their “flotation device”? Or when was the last time a plane crashed into the side of a mountain and people who had donned their life jackets came out unscathed and singing the praises of life jackets? The fact is, when a plane’s in trouble at 35,000 ft above sea level, there’s precious little you can do besides trust the pilot (and maybe occupy your time adjusting the fit of your arms through your floatation device/ seat).

Back to the story of one of my plane encounters. We were cruising at, yes you guessed it, 35,000 ft above sea level when I noticed smoke coming out of the air-conditioning vent. Now I don’t know about you, but when I see smoke at that altitude I generally don’t get calm, trusting feelings. Then the plane began to descend at an incredibly steep angle and the cabin lights went out. Suddenly panic set in and people began to scream (I imagine if bailing out had been an option at this point many would have gladly obliged). Being the sharp witted, brave individual that I am, and realizing that these could be my last few moments on earth, I did the most appropriate thing under the circumstances… I joined in the screaming. Except I wasn’t screaming arbitrarily, but rather, was screaming out prayers calling on the name of Jesus. I trusted the Pilot as well as the pilot. Needless to say, we landed safely, albeit on a foamed tarmac in Farmington, New Mexico (our scenic detour en route to Los Angeles).

I’ve seen bumper stickers that say “Jesus is my co-pilot.” The heck with that, I’m letting Him fly the darn plane and I’m sitting in the back!!! Just my two cents.

Christian Mystics

No, it's not a contradiction in terms, and no I don't believe it's just a semantic misunderstanding. To be quite candid I'm a little peeved at how little attention we pay to the realities of the world we live in. We are "salt" and "light" in a dark and 'tasteless' world, yet we'd rather huddle in groups of like-minded people, speaking a language that only makes sense to us. Yesterday I posted a quote from Donald Miller on my facebook status which went like this: "You cannot be a Christian without being a mystic." In response to my effort, I got a number of irate and frustrated comments (even personal notes) about dispensing with all the extra terminology and letting our language be just Jesus and nothing else. I'm mystified (pun intended) by those responses since, according to the Cambridge Advanced Learners English Dictionary, the definition of mystic bears out Donald's contention. In case you don't want to click on the hyperlink I've taken the time to give you the definition below:

mysticism [noun] the belief that there is hidden meaning in life or that each human being can unite with God

mystic [noun] someone who attempts to be united with God through prayer

I'd say it takes a real mystic to believe in the Trinity. Wouldn't you? I mean, we believe (as Christ Followers) that the Trinity is three distinct persons who are One God. If that isn't a mystical idea I don't know what is. If you don't believe that there's hidden meaning to life, meaning that goes far beyond the understanding of our finite minds, then it would be impossible for you to wrap your mind around the concept of a Triune God. Consequently, if you don't accept the idea of a Triune God then it would be impossible for you to embrace Christianity in it's fullness. Last I checked, prayer is one of the central building blocks upon which our faith is established. The idea that man communicates with an unseen God through prayer, who in turn responds to our prayers, is the very essence of mysticism.

I guess we'd all do well to educate ourselves enough to be able to hold conversations in the real world without becoming defensive about words that actually define our faith even though they may have been stultified by, shall we say, less savory approaches to God. As for me and my house, we're glad to be Christian Mystics. Just my two cents.

Once Upon a Time...

I love the idea that Christianity, at its very core, follows the elements of a good story. In other words, to understand the appeal and embrace with brio the necessity of following Christ, we are better served understanding the elements of a good story. If, the journey to God-ordained purpose ineluctably goes through a personal relationship with Jesus, then it’s essential that we understand what that entails and why. I’ve talked before about our fascination with stories that have conflict and adventure, and how they appeal to us so much more than the uninspiring, placid storyline. In understanding why that is so let’s examine the elements of a good story: setting, conflict, climax, and resolution.

Now, I understand that there is a segment of Christianity that considers it their métier to oppose any suggestion that conflict and hardship are essential elements of the Christian story, but their contention is made vacuous by their inability to explain why the heart responds to these elements of a good story and why the Scriptures are replete with such examples. To deny these elements of story as being essential to faith is to bowdlerize the Bible to suit their interpretation of how life should be. Every good story has a setting: setting gives context to the story. The setting for the Christian story is our created world in which God designed us to function as humans in harmony with others. We know that it’s impossible to be fully human on your own since, by definition being human involves interaction with others on an emotional, intellectual, and spiritual level.

Having established the setting, the next element in the story is conflict. Conflict in the story creates tension, uncertainty, and suspense. Where did conflict originate from? From Original sin. The rebellion against God explains why humans experience conflict in our lives. There is no other source that we can point to as being the origin of conflict other than rebellion against God. Addictions, loneliness, pride, war are all conflicts in the human story and our hearts respond to the conflict in books or movies because there is conflict in our lives. We understand these elements because we experience them. Next, every great story has a climax. Have you ever left a movie thinking “that was anticlimactic.”? The reason is because the story probably didn’t resolve and the biggest highlights of the movie were what you saw in the trailer advertising the movie. There was never a point of climax in the story. Climax is where a point of decision determines the end of the story.

There is a point of decision that every human heart comes to, but many go through life attempting to ignore this climax to their story. The reality however, is that Christianity offers a climax to our story. Here’s the story in a nutshell: Sin separated man from God. God created a way out for man so that his story may resolve and we may have the opportunity to be reconciled with Him: Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Man must make a decision to either accept or deny the option to seek and embrace Jesus’ sacrifice. There is a good or a bad resolution to the story depending on the decision we make. Our decisions are instrumental to the way our story turns out.

Having understood the setting, embraced the conflict, and pursued the climax, Christianity also offers a resolution to the story of humanity: Forgiveness from original sin and an eternal home reconciled with our heavenly Father. While every religion tries to offer a cynosure, none of them actually fulfill these elements that meet the requirements of the human heart as well as match the facts of reality. That’s why Christianity makes sense, because the elements of story are deeply embedded in the human psyche.

Are you in touch with your governor?

Yesterday I talked about seeking truth from the Scriptures and hiding it in your heart so that you can live godly. I also highlighted three absolute changes that must occur in our lives through the process of imbibing sound doctrine. Today we’ll unpack those changes in a little more detail.

Consciousness – this involves knowledge and awareness. While you can keep the law by “accident” there is no moral virtue in doing so. For instance, a man who enjoys driving at 50 mph all the time will be within the law when driving in a 55 mph simply because he happens to enjoy driving at a speed that is within the posted speed limit. However, if he was driving in a 25 mph zone he would be guilty of violating the law. For him to achieve moral virtue as a driver and always drive within the speed limits he must become conscious of and cognizant with the traffic laws.

Conviction – This is a matter of depth and intensity. It is one thing to be conscious or aware that a certain thing is right, it is entirely another to have a conviction about it. It’s a lot easier for us to compromise our knowledge than it is for us to act against our convictions. We are all conscious of the hazards of drunk driving and we all wish our roads were completely devoid of drunk drivers. Few of us have a conviction to ensure that our roads are clear of drunk drivers though. The organization MADD (Mother’s Against Drunk Driving) however, is fully committed to the process of eliminating drunk drivers from our roads. Their convictions come largely because they’ve lost a child at the hands of a drunk driver. Most Christians have a conviction about fidelity in marriage largely because, in addition to being conscious of the Scriptures stand on adultery, many of us have seen the ineluctable negative results of infidelity as it affects whole families.

Conscience – Our conscience acts as a kind of governor upon our behavior. Maria in The Sound of Music was a governess to the children, and she helped curtail their excesses and teach them the decorum of good behavior. Large moving trucks also have governors to help curtail the excesses of speed and ensure that a moving truck is used for exactly that purpose as opposed to a missile. Unfortunately the dictates of our conscience can sometimes be misleading depending on what our convictions are. The only way the conscience will function in a godly way is if it is influenced by godly convictions. To gain godly consciences, our consciousness of what is right and wrong must be sharpened. This involves the renewing of the mind and is a matter of imbibing doctrinal truth.

Seek and Hide!

I bet some of you are enjoying a little chuckle at my expense right now as you indulgently smile at my turn of phrase. “Aw, how cute” you’re probably saying, “He’s originally Nigerian and he doesn’t realize it’s called hide and seek.” Well just hold your bucking broncos for a minute, this is no error as I meant to say seek and hide! I’m not talking about the age-old game of hide and seek, I’m talking about the game of life that’s impossible to play with any real degree of success unless you understand how to seek and hide. Huh??? I’ll spare you further agony and give you the scoop. Psalm 119: 11 boldly declares, “I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.”

With all the protean leadership styles that exist in the Church today, little emphasis seems to be placed on holiness as a lifestyle choice, and while our sedulous pursuit of relevance, authenticity, and servant hood are commendable, the real truth is that they are all an exercise in futility if they are not accompanied by a true commitment to holiness. According to the Psalm above, in order to live a holy life we must give ourselves wholly to seeking truth in the Scriptures and then hiding it in our hearts so that we can apply it to every situation and circumstance in our lives. The penury of a deep understanding of the Scriptures often leaves us angry and bitter at God when things don’t work out in our lives the way we expect them to. But if the truth be told there are certain things we must understand if we are to successfully seek and hide the word of God in our hearts.

To live godly lives there are three essential changes that must occur in our lives. These are consciousness, conviction, and conscience. These changes can only occur though, through making godly choices. Consciousness essentially requires that we become aware of certain things so that we can apply them. If you don’t know the rules, you can’t intentionally keep the rules. Conviction requires more than just knowledge of the rules, but a deeper commitment to living by them. Conscience is the ‘governor’ that applies a sense of ‘stop and go’ that influences our choices. Tomorrow I’ll take the time to elaborate on these in more detail so make sure you come back!

The Borg will assimilate!!!

I love the Tour de France! If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time you’ll know that. I’ve often blogged about the amazing, sedulous drive of the participants at what is arguably the most grueling sporting event in the world. This year’s tour has been different though. You see, four years ago Lance Armstrong retired at the pinnacle of his career after winning his seventh (yes seventh) Tour de France. This year he decided to return to the world stage of cycling for admirable reasons: He’s promoting his Livestrong foundation which has done immensely well in helping create an awareness of the ravages of cancer as well as provide an avenue for research funding.

Lance’s return has not been without its fair share of controversy and intrigue. Why? Because there’s a new Lance Armstrong on the block. His name just happens to be Alberto Contador (Lances team mate), and he is exactly what Lance was at the peak of his career. But Lance has really wrestled with acquiescing to the fact that he’s not quite the man he used to be. I imagine it must be hard to be Lance. To have controlled the Tour de France the last seven times you rode in it, only to be relegated to obscurity by your own team mate who is now everything you used to be, must present its own unique challenges. But Lance is 38 years old in September while Contador is just 26. So, as much as I admire Lance it’s only fair to say that Contador is the better rider, the new Lance. Contador is currently the race leader and sits more than five minutes ahead of his brave but beleaguered team mate.

Word on the street is that Lance and Contador simply cannot get along and so Lance and Johan Bruyneel (their team manager) will be branching off to form their own cycling team for 2010 which will not include Contador. If Lance wins the Tour next year, he will forever be recorded in the annals of cycling history as the greatest “comeback kid” ever. I mean, the guy will be a couple of months shy of his thirty ninth birthday for crying out loud! But reality suggests that he won’t be wearing the yellow jersey (leader's jersey) next year either, and in my opinion that’s perfectly alright. He had a good run but it’s time to honestly accept the inevitable. The Borg will assimilate! (Just thought I’d throw that in for all you trekkies) A good friend of mine, blogging about the current health care crisis in the USA had this to say:

Change will come, it is inevitable, and whether we like it or not we will sooner or later have to embrace it in order to move on. Embracing it does not mean that we like it; it just means that it is reality.

So the real question is: what change do you need to embrace? What is it that you’ve had a great run at in your life over the past few years but evidence points to the fact that you might need to accept that change is on the way?

I'm really simple-minded!

Yesterday I was watching Nat Geo - one of my favorite channels - and was enthralled by a program that featured scientists making a case for life on other planets. If you’ve paid any attention at all to the constant battle of evolutionary science against creation you’ll know that it’s become the leitmotif of science to deride and minimize the value of the creation story. Their fervid vituperations generally seek to suggest that those of us who believe that the earth was created in a literal or figurative seven days, are simply too simple. So to further illustrate their point, they headed for one of the most inhospitable places on earth, California’s Death Valley, where they were convinced that because of how it allegedly closely simulates Mars (at least from the photos they’ve seen), if they were able to discover life in Death Valley it would lend to the veracity of their claim of life on Mars.

As they examined the subsoil they concluded that microbial and fossil evidence would seem to indicate that life on earth is about four billion years old. Don’t ask me how they came to this conclusion, I only report the news! They went on to make this bold and confident statement: “Unfortunately we don’t know how life began.” They followed this insightful assertion with the statement: Whatever it was that accounts for the beginning of life “This was no Garden of Eden.” These are smart, brilliant, and accomplished scientists! These are men and women that our culture reveres for their amazing insight into the human past and consequently the human future. If you don’t believe me you should watch some of the shows that Nat Geo and Discovery Channel put out about what our future world will look like and what our past world was when dinosaurs had men for lunch.

I for one am grateful to be ‘simple.’ I like the simplicity of not being as smart as these scientists so that I avoid the vagaries of trying to wrap my mind around a truth that is so much larger than me. I like the simplicity of not feeling like I’m obligated to come up with an explanation for why fossils are dated from the rocks in which they’re found while the rocks are themselves dated from the fossils found in them. I like the simplicity of simply accepting God at His word… “In the beginning God created…” You see, in this equation, while the scientists ponder the origins of life, I can simply refer to the words of the One who made life, and settle the issue once and for all. The impudence and arrogance of men in their supposed wisdom was already reckoned by God long before men found themselves in the throes of scientific discovery. Here’s what He had to say about it: “They knew God, but they did not give glory to God or thank him. Their thinking became useless. Their foolish minds were filled with darkness. They said they were wise, but they became fools.” – Romans 1: 21-22. I for one like being simple-minded!

I was just thinking...

This is certainly not a rush to judgment, nor is it meant to be an attempt to vilify anyone especially since I don’t have all the facts. But since I can’t be silent, I’ll simply stick to discussing what we all already know because it’s been reported in the press. Steve McNair, former NFL MVP and quarterback of the Tennessee Titans, is dead! He was found on the sofa in the living room of a condo he co-rents with a friend. He had multiple gunshot wounds including a fatal shot to the head. On the floor, not far from Steve’s body, was the body of 20-year-old Sahel Kazemi, a “friend” of McNair’s, dead from a single gunshot wound to the head.

Recently I blogged on leaving a legacy as I reflected on the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett, and on how it’s so much easier to be remembered more for the negative things that stand out in most people’s minds, regardless of whatever else it is you may have done well. Quoting McNair’s ‘condo-mate’ (who reportedly discovered the dead bodies), an NBC Sports report stated “Aaron said McNair’s wife, Mechelle, is “very distraught.”” Wow, thanks Aaron for stating the patently obvious! Sadly, what we really do need to know, we don’t know. We don’t know the who, the why, the when and so many other details of this dark tale. So the “million dollar” question is: what do we know?

We know that Steve McNair, 36, was married with children

We know that Steve McNair, 36, was found dead alongside a 20-year-old girl (Kazemi) purported to be his girlfriend.

We know that “Two days ago, Nashville police arrested Kazemi on a DUI charge while driving a 2007 Escalade registered to her and McNair.”

We know that the arrest affidavit said “Kazemi had bloodshot eyes and the smell of alcohol on her breath, but refused a breathalyzer test, saying “she was not drunk, she was high.””

We know that “McNair and his family frequented the restaurant where Kazemi was a waitress” and that “McNair and Kazemi met at the restaurant.”

We know that Steve McNair has left a widow and four sons asking questions that may never be answered.

So my question is: Was it worth it? Is this the legacy that Steve envisioned leaving for his sons as he raised them into young men? Having examined all that we do know, I’m still left with more questions than answers, and I’m saddened that all too often our lives are so self-serving and self-absorbed to the detriment of those that mean the most to us. Are Steve’s sons supposed to remember their dad as the man who loved and protected their family, or as the adulterous husband found shot to death alongside a lover almost half his age?