'Merica, We Don't Dial 911

Sooner or later I'm bound to make someone angry. I don't want to, honest to goodness. However, I feel strong conviction about certain things and how Christians sometimes handle them and I must voice that. So, if this rubs you the wrong way, let's dialogue about that in a loving way. I have seen many of these signs like the one above in my life. It's usually laughed at or played off as humorous. I see many Christians who have used this sign as well, sometimes there is even a Christian message attached to these types of messages like below. 

Somehow I don't think that this is what Jesus meant when He said "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." In fact, I'm rather certain of it. Just ask yourself this question and really think about it: Who Would Jesus Bomb? I don't ask this to be sarcastic as much as to jar you a bit. Images like the one above severely disturb me. Now don't jump to conclusions, posts like this tend to make people think that I hate guns, hate veterans, hate the flag, and all those types of things. I'll save my opinions unless asked on most of those things, because that's not the point, but I promise you that I will never intentionally treat a person poorly because they hold a different opinion than me. That is also not very Jesus like. Despite how much I think Jesus would disagree with someone hosting a sign or shirt with one of the images above, I also know that He loves them dearly, and so do I. 

However, when did the church get so wrapped up in nationalism? When did being Christian equate to loving the Red, White, and Blue and all of the "Kicking Butt and Taking Names" that comes with that? When did Christian Evangelicals become the single most supportive group of war (Fact: without the support of Christian Evangelicals, the war in Iraq might never have started)? When did it become churches that were the most likely place to hear things like "nuke 'um all" when we are attacked? Why are Christians some of the first to want to assign the death penalty for criminals, creating the "eye for and eye" atmosphere?  Why are some more vocal about being able to own assault weapons than they are about Jesus's love for all people? Why are we the LOUDEST when it comes to these things?

I said this in my last post, but America is not God's nation. We are not, I repeat NOT, the new Israel. The book of Ephesians lets us know that the Church is the new Israel, God's chosen people are no longer associated with a nation. The U.S. is not a holy nation, set apart by God. If it were though, IF IT WERE, things would look differently. Perhaps we'd follow the warfare policy set forth by God for Israel where there is no standing army, no taxation would fund the army, there would be no superior weapons (Israel was prohibited from having horses and chariots, the tanks of the day) - so no tanks, drones, and certainly no nukes, there would be no bootcamp - the only way soldiers would prepare for battle would be to pray, fast, and sing worship songs, and we would in general allow God to fight for us most of the time, being undermanned and undergunned (Sprinkle, 68-71). 

As I said, we're not God's nation, and all of the previous will certainly not happen. However, God does have something to say about trusting in superior fire power as His people (not dialing 911), He calls it idolatry according to the book of Isaiah. (I talk greatly of the U.S., for it is where I am, but I know that I have readers in many, many countries, so apply this to wherever you are).

I don't intend to answer questions of ethical warfare and defense of one's family in such a short post, but I do think that there is some serious disconnect between Jesus's command to love our enemies (the word for enemy indicating the strong possibility of conflict greater than your uncle you don't like) and the claim that my automatic go-to is going to be to shoot anyone I have the right by law to shoot. Somehow our first response is to shoot our enemy, not love them. Somehow American Christians see themselves as on some sort of Holy Crusade to rid the world on injustice through force.

In a game of rock, paper, scissors, Self-Defense and even Property-Defense seem to trump Enemy Love a good deal of the time. And I think that's a tragedy. I used this quote in a post this last summer, and I re-use it for it's appropriateness now - "On that cross at Golgotha was nailed the One who was unjustly abused, tried, and murdered - and in His dying words He prayed that the Father would forgive those who killed Him. But instead, imagine the result if Jesus had lived in Kentucky, and just before they nailed Him to a cross, He claimed his rights as a citizen and pulled out a .38" (Camp, 44). 

Despite how far one decides to take these ideas I've set forth, perhaps I can inspire you to take a few steps to what I consider a more Jesus like way...a way where this - 

  

Is not your automatic dualistic mindset. A way where you preach love and grace FAR more than you preach about 2nd Amendment Rights. A way where when you say "God Bless America", you remember to ask for blessings on everyone else too. A way where when you pray for troops, you don't pray for "Our Troops", for the church has none, but instead pray for troops everywhere and on every side (fulfilling Christ's commandment to pray for your enemies [Luke 6:28]). A way where retaliation is not praised, but mourned, for it goes against what Jesus said. And ultimately, a way where Life is cherished, and we mourn when it is lost in any capacity, friend or foe. 

Nationalism is usually only beautiful in the eye of the beholder. Christians went to war during World War II in the name of their Christian nation. The thing is, people did this in the U.S. and in Germany, and had the exact same mindset. During the Civil War, both sides prayed to the same God for victory for their noble cause. One cannot assume that their side is righteous. 

If you're in the army, marines, navy, air force, etc...I love ya. If you want to be in the armed forces, I love ya. If you own a small armory and are easily the safest place to go in case the zombie apocalypse occurs, I love ya, and perhaps we can go shoot some clay pigeons or vermin or something (not human). I'll shake your hand and call you friend. But I do want to challenge your thinking as you challenge mine, and may we ever sharpen each other like iron sharpens iron. 

Let your citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven supersede any and all earthly citizenships that you may have. Be a Christian American, not an American Christian (or wherever you might be). 

Works Cited

Camp, Lee C. Mere Discipleship: Radical Christianity in a Rebellious World. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2003. Print. 

Sprinkle, Preston. Fight: A Christian Case for Nonviolence. Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2013. Print. 

My Life As A Dirtbag

Believe it or not, I’m not actually being offensive to myself in the title of this post. A dirtbag has many connotations attached to it, I’m sure. However, in the climbing community, the term is used with a bit of endearment, actually. A dirtbag refers to someone who is in all ways a minimalist, but like a lazy minimalist (to use modern language – think “granola,” but less healthy and more lazy). A good example of a classic dirtbag move would be the climber who shows up to the crag (climbing destination) in jammies and house slippers.  What I just described has been done many times, although I can say, not by myself. Their gear is old and tattered, they do really weird crap, and generally, you can easily spot a dirtbag by how they live out of their car, sometimes incredibly literally. Some actually just live in vans near climbing destinations like Red Rocks and have some sort of small trade they do to keep food in the…uh…glove box.

The other day, I got called a dirtbag by one of my best friends. It was after I had tweeted about doing my dishes while showering. So obviously, this is kind of deserved. I do almost live out of my car, it’s a complete wreck, and in general, I just really don’t do a whole lot of self-care. I haven’t shaved in almost three years, only trimmed. I went on a two month kick this summer where I didn’t wear deodorant, maybe not a shining star decision, but it worked out for the most part (to be honest, I still forget to put it on a fair amount of days). All kinds of stuff like that. Now, I can at least explain the washing of dishes in the shower.

I’ve moved down to Abilene to pursue a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy, and I just happened to find a free apartment through a connection I made at the church I’m working at currently. It’s hard to argue with free anything, especially housing when your budget is…pretty much nothing like mine. So free is good. However, free means doing without some things. My grandma told me the other day that the way they used to describe apartments back in the 50s and 60s were “Apt. With Mod Cons” which shorthand for “modern conveniences.” So, I’m very much living in an apartment lacking Mod Cons. I have an average sized room in which I’ve been able to have a bed, table, lazy boy, and a fridge. There is no kitchen and so I have to either do my dishes in the bathroom sink, or in the shower. So far, I’ve generally chosen shower. Killing two stones with one bird type of thing. I just have a dish drainer/dryer thing I keep on the floor of the shower. I have a tiny closet, which I have put my dresser in to save space, but unfortunately this space also is shared with the hot water heater, so it’s a tight fit. There is nothing better about my apartment though, than the bathroom. It’s about 40 inches by 75 inches, so just over 3 feet by 6 feet (I used by body; I laid on the floor - classic dirtbag measurement means). In that space is the shower, the sink, and the toilet. There isn’t a tub; the floor just starts gradually sinking down towards a drain. If the curtain were not pulled shut, the water would be hitting my legs whilst I am sitting on the toilet. It’s tiny, and it’s awesome. The toilet paper holder that was in place when I got here is a simple bolt that is held up by two pieces of wire. I call it the Bolt(e) toilet paper holder. I cook using a mix between a toaster oven, a George Foreman grill, and a really old electric skillet (and a Nuwave cooktop, but I don’t have a pan for it yet). My meals are pretty basic.

If you know me well, you’ve probably heard me say that I think I could live in a tent. This is a few steps above a tent.  Man am I happy with it though. I’m not trying to make you feel bad for living with all kinds of Mod Cons, I’m really not. I do think that it’s incredibly healthy to go without from time to time though. Simplicity has been a theme in my life that I’ve been trying to live out better. Jesus was an even bigger dirtbag than me; He didn’t even have a permanent place to lay His head, so I’m still living in way more luxury than Jesus did. I’ve said it before, but it fits really well here – one of the underlying themes behind the First Century idea of purity was Creation. Purity was seen in how God made things in the beginning. The first dirtbag was actually Adam (quite literally). I’ve experienced this form of seeing purity in creation. From leading camping/climbing trips on the weekends with OC Excursions, spending several days backpacking in Colorado on Trek, to simply interacting with a beautiful cliff line as I try to scale it, there is something really pure about being in Creation and not having much more than what God made directly. It makes you appreciate God, but it also makes you lean on Him because you don’t have a whole lot of Mod Cons to lean on.

The idea behind fasting in the first century was to cease from the physical to long for the spiritual better. It also served as a reminder of where your trust and security truly reside – In God. We have so much noise in our lives, and honestly, so much comfort, that we don’t always need God. Fasting from something realigns our focus. For us today, fasting from food probably isn’t even the best thing. Try fasting from your phone, laptop, car, radio, whatever it may be for you (maybe it’s just instagram). When you get rid of some of the noise, it’s easier to hear God. But it’s also good to remember where to lean, not on possessions, but on God.

I honestly do not believe that God intends for us to have comfortable lives. We tend to thank God for our physical blessings a whole lot, but what if those things are getting in the way between you and God? Did God really put it there if it comes between you and Him? The answer can be yes, after all, He made sex, but even something that beautiful has very specific contexts that God says to use it in. The answer can also be no though. I’m not sure God blessed you with an iPhone 5 and a luxurious house full of Mod Cons. The reason I think this is because there are extremely faithful Christians in the world, who simply don’t have these things. God sends the rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. America isn’t the new Israel and thus the recipient of God’s extreme blessing, after all, being so free and prosperous has led churches and the Christians in them into some awful forms of materialism.

In all this, I’m one to talk. I’m receiving an education that a miniscule fraction of the world will ever receive. I have invested a ton of money into climbing gear. And I am typing these words on a MacBook Pro. However, I realize all of this about myself and attempt to practice minimalism as often as possible. It’s not that I’ve attained these things I challenge you with, it’s that I’m working through it.


Ultimately, the life of a climbing dirtbag can be a lonely and potentially selfish one. Those who are dirtbagging it might give up family and friends to go do so. They offer very little to the outside world, they instead spend their time focused on the self and their own climbing. They live poorly so that they have the time for climbing, and what little work they do goes towards funding climbing (or just food). Jesus was a dirtbag for the sake of the poor, the oppressed, and for you. The life of a Christian dirtbag could still be a lonely life from time to time, definitely one of hardship, but the purpose is selfless, instead of selfish. One definition of a dirtbag is this: A person who is committed to a given (usually extreme) lifestyle to the point of abandoning employment and other societal norms in order to pursue said lifestyle. That sounds like the call of discipleship right there, our focus is just on Christ.  

So, might you be able to better further the Kingdom of God by eliminating some of the noise from your life? For all of us, the answer is likely yes. 1 John 3:17-18 reads “But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” Maybe you need to fast, maybe you need to lose some comfort, but in all ways, we need to be about blessing people. If you’re a Christian who just happened to be born into an exceptional area and exceptional economic situation, bless those Christians and people who weren’t. Are you really so much luckier than them? Or is your responsibility greater because of what you were born into? I'm not telling you to not make money, I'm telling you to not let the money make you. You cannot serve two masters - and money is a really sneaky master. 

Don't let Mod Cons pervert your faith. Practice minimalism. Be a dirtbag for Jesus. It’s really pretty adventurous, you may even like it. But most of all, bless others with the resources you have and don’t let anything distract you from leaning on God entirely. 

"Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." Genesis 2:7

Salt, Light, and Bobby

Well, it’s me again, back with more crazy stories that I’m learning from. This one involves a guy named Bobby. Bobby was almost without doubt a drug user of some kind, I’m going to guess either meth or weed. Meth for the behavior, weed for the smell (I go to concerts, don’t’ be jumpin’ to conclusions).

I was studying with a buddy who is in the same graduate program as me at a coffee shop in downtown Abilene. During our conversation, a guy with a crazy look in his eye walks into the coffee shop and approaches our table. He extends his hand to me, I shake it and introduce myself and he does as well. All this time his other hand is behind his back, kind of unsettling. During our handshake, he grabs my hand very firmly and kind of pulls me towards him. At this point, his other hand comes out from behind is back and goes towards my face. Now, I’m obviously alive and writing right now, so he didn’t kill me. He in fact just wanted to touch my beard and complimented me on it. This did not stop me, however, from nearly crapping my pants and jumping backward rather abruptly from his hand. He moved on to different parts of the coffee shop and I went to see if I had any extra underwear in my car.

A little later, my buddy and I headed outside towards our cars and talked outside for a bit. Bobby approaches us and starts to talk to us. The conversation that followed was one of the single strangest I’ve ever had. He told us that he was an ex navy seal and kind of talked about how he had laid concrete at a hotel within view of where we were. Note: all the time that he talks to us, it is a very disjointed series of thoughts, very hard to follow. He rather abruptly started talking about fighting with his wife, and then how his brother had died a few years ago from what seemed to be a drug overdose from what he was describing. He started crying, to which I tried to comfort him as best I could. Then, he started talking about theology. I could kind of describe the transition, but like I said, it’s difficult to follow (especially out of context). He talked about Genesis and the creation of man. He talked about how mother earth was ummmm….upset (censored) because of how we were treating it. He talked about Jesus and how he sacrificed himself for all of us. He talked about how God loved us more than we could ever know. And then he talked about how at the end of times, he would be holding the book of life because he himself was Michael the Archangel. Like I said, it got weird. He went into full detail about how his wings were gonna sound (which he acted out quite well) and all kinds of stuff about how we needed to pay attention in our college classes and be good men who don’t hit women (like I said, it was a rather disjointed). I wanted to offer to pray with/for him, but I kind of thought that maybe Michael the Archangel would take offense to a mere human offering to pray for him.

You know what though, there is a lot to be learned here. I sure know that I did.

Firstly. Everyone has a story, and what happens when you take the time to listen to someone’s story can be rather amazing. It can be really crap-your-pants terrifying, and as weird as all get out, but it can also be very rewarding. No one is the way they are for a lack of reason and context. Get to know it. It’s fascinating.

Secondly. Bobby taught me about witnessing. The dude had some serious spiritual gumption. I promise you that I’ve never been so bold in my faith as Bobby was talking to me tonight. He was laying it all out there, crying even, with complete strangers. I had an experience the other day where a guy came up to me (I was on crutches from a bouldering injury) and asked to pray over my ankle. The guy even “laid hands” on it. Now, from the conversation I had, it seemed like the guy wanted to be a spiritual healer. However, his intentions aside, what kind of crazy courage does it take to walk up to someone and ask to pray over them? I wish I had some of what they had.

Thirdly. Bobby taught me a lot about being Salt and Light. The two aspects of Salt and Light that I think Jesus used them for are that they are invasive, yet distinctly different from the environment they are introduced into. I heard a question asked (concerning being Salt and Light) that went like this – Are Christians so separate from the world that they can’t make a difference, or are Christians so much like the world that they can’t make a difference? Obviously neither are where we want to be. Salt and Light are both invasive, they get in there, into the darkness, into the bland, but they are also so distinctly different from the environment that they are a part of. Now, Bobby was extremely invasive. He was up in our business pretty hardcore, he tried to touch my beard. However, the world definitely got to Bobby. Drugs, extreme profanity, and all kinds of other things most likely filled his life. I assume drugs did because of his behavior and because he at one point told us that you could do whatever drug you wanted to, because God made it all (well Bobby, I think Walter White makes meth, so not sure your argument holds up). So, unfortunately Bobby only had half of this concept down. But man, what a life lesson, even if we learn from both the positive and the negative displayed by Bobby.

Anyway, my experience was quite the trip. Why don’t you go have an experience? They’re kind of crazy, a little dangerous, but they are really fun and God tends to do a lot through them. Go be salt and light, go witness to a world that needs spiritual awakening, and go get to know people’s stories. It’s worth the effort.  

Hitchhikers, Trust, and the Gospel

So I had a heck of an experience. One that honestly has taught me a crap ton in such a short period of time (As I write this now, it's only been 5 hours). I picked up a hitchhiker. 

Now, that might seem smaller to some and larger to some. For me it's huge. I've never done it before. Now, it's important to understand that whatever I write on here is not the result of me having attained this level of sainthood and thus I'm writing to change all your minds about it. EVERY SINGLE post I've ever put up is something I am learning to do better and might honestly tank at, but that's why I write, I am constantly seeking to grow. So as much as I write about loving others, for some reason hitchhikers have always been a group that I've come up with excuses about and not actually done anything about when I see that thumb go up on the side of the road. 

Today was in part no excuse to that. I still struggled to do it greatly. Let me explain. 

I stopped at a gas station to fill up and as I was leaving the store the cashier asked me if I was traveling (I was purchasing an energy drink, apparently that's a giveaway). I said yes and that I was going to Abilene. She proceeded to tell me that a girl with pink hair was recently in the store and was heading to Abilene herself (apparently this cashier is just Chatty Kathy with all of the store patrons). The cashier expressed concern that this girl may be hit by a car because she was hitchhiking. Immediately I could tell God was up to no good (JK) and was trying to get something across to me. I left the store saying that perhaps I would see her and be able to offer a lift since I was going in that direction. Now, as I said this I was reminded that I'm moving to Abilene and so my car is rather full of all kinds of stuff, including my front seat; there was not readily available space in my car. You can see me forming excuse number one. 

I hit the road and honestly expected it to be a few minutes before I came upon this girl. Almost as soon as I pulled out I caught a glimpse of pink hair as I drove past her, quite accidentally. I just wasn't expecting it to be so soon and so I passed her before I had the ability to register it was her. Satan was working. The old trickster continued to work for the next 14 MILES as I came up with every excuse why I didn't have to go back and pick her up. Normally, I'm very successful in this and do not go back. Today I was not so lucky and so 14 miles down the road I pulled a U-turn and headed back the other way. 

I pulled off and moved all the stuff out of my front seat so that she could sit there but very much so retained the information that I had actually passed her up. I essentially made it appear as if I had seen her and stopped. 

Over the next hour, I got one of the craziest stories I had heard in quite some time. Apparently she was actually going past Abilene but was just taking the trip in increments. After inquiring why she was so far from home, she proceeded to tell me a slightly disjointed story of how she was drunk, cut her arm somehow rather severely and had been admitted to the hospital in Wichita Falls. I don't know how that happened, but it did. After more inquiring I was told that she was only 18. Obviously there is a little disconnect between being drunk and 18 at the same time, but it didn't shock me.

I continued to inquire about her life story, which was no less of a crazy ride. From an early age she had been in Child Protective Services for various reasons, gotten addicted to meth but cleaned up 7 months prior to our conversation, and cut herself to the day and showed me hundreds of scars on her arms to prove it. 

I immediately went into counselor mode and started asking questions as to why she cut, how she got clean from meth, and the like. The answers varied but she was incredibly open and honest with me the entire time. It was apparent that she held nothing back. I offered some positive statements like any good counselor, but the conversation died down eventually and we went back to talking about normal yet random things like how bad she wanted spicy chips and a soda. 

I crafted a plan to somehow witness to this girl when we were about 25 miles out from where we would part ways. My basic approach was to make my talk the price of admission for the ride, explaining that she got to do with the talk whatever she wanted. I had let her chain smoke in my car to try and meet her where she was at, so listening to my spill seemed like a pretty low price. 

Earlier in the ride she had contacted her grandma to tell her she was on her way there and was hitchhiking. Her grandma told her to not get in any cars with men, something she told me about as she laughed. I proceeded to tell her in my talk that her grandma had a point, and normally doing such would not be a good idea. But from there I explained that the reason I had stopped was because I was a Christian and I was trying to show God's love to her. I explained the whole story about how I had learned about her travels but had accidentally passed her up and fought the urge to just keep driving. I told her that there was truly nothing about me that made me stop, for I am simply not that compassionate nor caring. But, because Christ has been generous to me, that changes everything about how I seek to be generous with others, but have to strive for that diligently or else my flesh will fail and my human weakness take over. I then explained how it was the love of Christ that compelled me to look out for her well being and pleaded with her to seek ways to avoid dangerous situations in the future like being drunk and cutting her arm open (especially as it is illegal). I told her I did not judge her for these things, for my past was also filled with darkness, but that I wanted her to take seriously her own well being and seek to stay clean from meth and if possible, seek to end the cutting for her own sake as well as for the sake of those she loved and who loved her. 

Her response to all of this was so encouraging. As I was saying all these things she was constantly pointing out things of a "Christian" nature such as a neon sign on a church that said "Jesus Saves" and a picture she had taken of the sunset on our trip in which an electrical pole looked like a cross. It was obvious that she was taking what I said to heart in some capacity or another. However, even if she had thrown all of this back in my face, I would have felt a million times better than if I had just kept driving. Those 14 miles had eaten me up and I would be in such a different place right now had I not stopped and turned around. Thankfully I get to tell a rather happy story. But if I had been rejected, my story would still have been so much more positive than the story of how Spenser saw a need but passed it by out of doubt, fear, and a sense of inconvenience. 

The last few weeks have really taught me about trust. Ultimately one of the underlying reasons behind why I don't normally pick up hitchhikers (besides my human compassion being lacking without Christ's power and love) is essentially a lack of trust. This is something I have been trying to better about myself, and try to lean on God for strength to do these tough things. Moving to Abilene has really seemed to have this theme overall. From the actual trip down to Abilene to the preparation in coming here, God has been trying to acquire my trust. For those of you who don't know, I don't actually have a permanent residence down here yet. I have several offers from amazing people to house me for a week or two while I find somewhere, but no actual residence yet. I also do not have a job of any kind lined up so that I can be sure to eat and pay the rent of the apartment I do not yet possess. Thankfully, God has made several things happen that really show Him working in this situation, even if they are not yet fully resolved. So I am quite literally going on nothing but trust that God's gonna do what needs to be done and will provide the path for me to get there. 

So, I am currently overwhelmed with the presence of God in my life and can see Him working and moving to my aid. I have not yet attained this in perfection, for I nearly passed up the opportunity to trust and reach out with the gospel today, but I am working towards better things. 

And so my question for anyone reading is what might God be asking you to do in order to put yourself out on the line for Him? In what ways and areas is He trying to gain your trust? And an even more crazy question, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, are you willing to say "God can deliver me from this, but even if He doesn't, I will put my faith in God and not bow to the low expectations and doubts of this world." 

And my next question is this, who needs to be reached with God's love in your life and what might be your part in that? Who do you need to witness to? I'll be honest, I blog and talk about this kind of stuff all day but when it comes to witnessing to perfect strangers and even those groups I know sometimes, I come up wanting a good portion of the time. But brothers and sisters, I don't want it to be this way, for me...or for you. God has been so loving and gracious to us, who in our lives need us to illustrate that to them?

We are but weak vessels who are only made strong through the power of God. But through that power I challenge you to share the gospel and fully trust the God that we serve in order to better do so. 

Discipleship and the Beastie Boys

There's a common theme in most music that has a teen focus audience (Adults, don't look too smug, your music did the same thing when you were a teen). 70's rock talked about it, The Beastie Boys said you have to fight for your right to do it, Ke$ha is known for nothing else, Owl City botched a "Christian" version of it, and Miley Cyrus attempted to do it (note key word "attempted"). What I speak of is...The Party Song. Each song essentially says that you're young, footloose, and free, and you have the right to party because you are those things. The message is "Forget the world, I have the right to do this, I'm gonna do what I want because I want to."

Whether you have a big red beard and absolutely jam out to these songs (did I just describe myself? Maybe) or you're appalled at both the music quality and lyrics of these songs and wish music would go back to the days of Elvis, most people are really into their rights. We demand the right to be heard, the right to vote, the right to bear arms, the right to arm bears, and the right to express ourselves however we wish. We feel like we have alot of rights and get rather fussy when anyone tries to take those rights from us. 

I wonder though...do Christians have rights? Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that "the followers of Jesus for his sake renounce every personal right...If after giving up everything else for His sake they still wanted to cling to their own rights, they would then have ceased to follow Him." (140) When I first read this it kind of melted my face. It's a pretty hefty statement. In context, Bonhoeffer is speaking of revenge and retaliation (the "turning the other cheek, giving up your cloak, and not resisting the evil one" section of The Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:38-42).

Think about this: The church is a countercultural force that does not submit to "the world's standards" but instead has a completely different set of ethics due to the fact that Christ came not to set up an earthly kingdom, but a heavenly one. Our way of doing this is absolute foolishness to the world according to Paul (1 Corinthians 1:18). Now, if that's the case, why on earth do we get so baffled and confounded when schools take out prayer and the ten commandments and there is talk of taking "under God" out of the pledge. I'm not saying these are good things, but they shouldn't shock us in the least. 

If there is something unfortunate about being an American Christian, it's that it is so darn easy to at least appear to be following Christ. Ask yourself this question: if Christianity were made illegal and we had that "right" taken away from us, what would the size of our churches be? Would they go down? Most certainly. How much would they go down, maybe significantly. If you go to countries where Christianity is either frowned upon or illegal, there are significantly less people...but they are usually very dedicated followers. These people don't find joy in their "right" to follow Christ, for they have none, they find joy in following Christ even at potentially great costs. 

Jesus doesn't want just a piece of you, He wants every aspect and fiber of you. Luke 14:25-35 is one of my favorite...and least favorite passages in the entire Bible because Jesus says that following Him will cost you everything and so you need to sit down and consider whether you're willing to pay up before you make a decision to follow. I don't think we do a very good job of this. Why do I think this? We have aLOT of re-dedications, re-baptisms, and the like. Not that it is unhealthy to be awakened and have your fire renewed by any means, but for some reason there are many people who end up saying "I didn't know what I was doing the first time around" and now want to truly dedicate. 

We all fall into this kind of thinking. It is not JUST the teen/college aged adolescents that feel they have the right to express their youth however they see fit and it is NOT just the more aged adults who argue all day long about constitutional rights, we ALL have these things we feel entitled to. Everyone has a mindset of "you can't tell me what to do", it is most assuredly not adolescent angst. I wonder though, what might it look like if we sold out completely to Christ and put every bit of faith in Him?

Christ says some pretty weird stuff in Matthew 7:6 when He says "Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you". He follows this thought up with His whole "Ask and it will be given to you" section. I had no earthly idea what Jesus meant by this until recent when I read Living Jesus by Randy Harris. Although not universally agreed upon, Harris's opinion is that Jesus is referring to the Roman government and saying to His audience that the government is not where His followers are supposed to put their trust (119). Instead, Jesus desires faith to be put in Him to provide what is needed, and ask for it from Him. We do not derive our rights from government, we're asked to put our faith in God alone and put our rights to the side. 

Jesus is our prime example of someone who abandoned His own rights in order to benefit those He loved. Lee Camp illustrated this with a literary punch in the face when he wrote - "On that cross at Golgotha was nailed the One who was unjustly abused, tried, and murdered - and in His dying words He prayed that the Father would forgive those who killed Him. But instead, imagine the result if Jesus had lived in Kentucky, and just before they nailed Him to a cross, He claimed his rights as a citizen and pulled out a .38." (44) Jesus gave no mind to personal property rights, for He owned nothing of significance and had nowhere to lay His head permanently. He gave no mind to self defense rights, for He absorbed the violence of the world into Himself. And He gave no mind to His own will, for He said "not MY will, but YOURS be done."

So what rights are you fighting for? The right to party? The right to property and possessions? The right to retaliate? I challenge you to only accept what Christ gives, for His way is better. The way of discipleship starts with denial of self (Matthew 16:24); we are entitled to nothing because we have died to ourselves and have instead clothed ourselves with Christ.

Matthew 16:24-25 - Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." 

Works Cited:

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. The Cost of Discipleship. New York: Macmillan, 1959. Print.

Camp, Lee C. Mere Discipleship: Radical Christianity in a Rebellious World. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2003. Print. 

Harris, Randy, and Greg Taylor. Living Jesus: Doing What Jesus Says in the Sermon on the Mount. Abilene, Texas: Leafwood. 2012. Print. 

Us vs. Them

We tend to stick with our own tribe, people, clique, group, and so on and so forth. It seems to be very natural for us, very comfortable. We simply relate with these people better most of the time and so we're naturally just divided up based on characteristics and attributes that we possess. There is one factor about you and everyone else in the world though that is common ground and should impact you: We are all created by God and are loved by Him. 

This provokes the question of how we handle the "others" out there in our lives. XXX Church had an interesting approach to this that they put on many t-shirts, bibles, and in general was one of their mantras - Jesus Loves Porn Stars. To some, it was a very shocking statement. After all, these people are some of the leading "sin causers" in the church today, right? Firstly, never try to blame YOUR sin on someone else. Will they reap the consequences of causing others to stumble, yes, but that doesn't excuse you. Furthermore,  porn stars have more or less become equivalents to prostitutes amongst the more judgmental religious crowd. That being said, I remember how Jesus treated the prostitutes of His day, with respect, so much so that it changed them and one washed His feet with her tears and hair. You see, dehumanization of another person - porn star, prostitute, homosexual (we tend to judge sexual immorality more than those "petty" sins like gluttony and greed) - is every bit as much of a sin. 

Matthew 5:43-48 really challenges the way we think about the "others" in our lives. Loving our enemies is no easy or light task. If we are to change the way we view others and see them more like how God sees them, it's going to affect our interactions. If I view this person as a child of God, I now am looking for what I can gain from this person, not at how they are different from me. I think we get wrapped up in "defending the faith" sometimes and sacrifice ethical treatment of others and open, loving conversation. I once heard it said, and agree whole-heartedly that in order to convert someone who practices Islam, you have to be just as willing to convert to Islam if it proved to be the better religion as you want them to be to convert to Christianity. Instead of being open and loving, we tend to demonize the "others" in our lives. I tend to do this with groups like the Westboro Baptists far more than I do the "sinners" I encounter. But yet, they are but children of God, despite how misguided I think they are. 

Speaking of demonization, I'm going to take a little tangent to try and better illustrate something. I love a good devil movie. Yep, I said it. Paranormal Activity, The Conjuring, movies like that. I also enjoy movies that portray heaven, God, Jesus, afterlife, end times, any of those things, no matter how bad they do it. I'll tell you why. In a last quote from the movie The Conjuring, there is a quote that reads "The Devil exists. God exists. And for us, as people, our very destiny hinges on which we decide to follow." When someone states some sort of belief in the devil or demons, they are also expressing some sort of belief in God, and that's important. I watched a movie recently called "What Dreams May Come". It was absolutely terrible (in my opinion) but gave an EXTENSIVE perspective on afterlife. As bad as the movie was and as wrong as the perspective was, I got shown THE single most important thing about somebody - what they think about God. Even when you see someone's perspective on possession, demons, or the devil, you are, in a weird kind of way, learning the most important thing about that person as well. 

Now, no matter how fascinated I am with things like demonology, I will study perspectives from afar. There's a difference between interest, and dabbling. I enjoy the Harry Potter movies for their unique perspective and entertaining qualities. You won't catch me even pretending to conjure up a spell. I may be fascinated with movies like Paranormal Activity. You'd have to get a computer chip in my brain and use a joystick to get me to go "ghost hunting" or mess with a ouija board. I write this paragraph mainly to say, know your limitations and stay safe as you attempt to widen your perspective and appreciate others. 

I love the Christian movement I am a part of. The Restoration Movement (where Disciples of Christ, The Christian Church and Churches of Christ came from mainly) started out as a unity movement. There were SOOOOO many dividing points within Christianity at that time period, most of which were expressed in the name of a church. Some churches literally had 10 or more words in their title, each expressing a division and where the church stood on it. There were a couple of guys who essentially said that they'd had enough, and wanted to get back to "basic" Christianity, not as another dividing point, but as something to bring back those in the divisions to a common ground. It was much like the Non-Denominational movement of today. We definitely don't have a completely shining history in this, after them came men and women who wanted to look at the differences more than the similarities, eventually giving Churches of Christ a pretty bad name back in the 30s and 40s. We're still healing from some of these wounds. 

Our early church fathers were looking to break down the walls that created the Us vs Them mentality and looked for shared thoughts and common ground, rather than differences in theology. A. W. Tozer, who I've utilized in this post through the quote in my "about" section, had something else to say about one's thoughts of God. He said that "compared with our actual thoughts about Him, our creedal statements are of little consequence." (2)

Now, the thing Tozer spoke on the most was "that our idea of God [should] correspond as nearly as possible to the true being of God" and that this "is of immense importance to us." (2) One thing I'm not trying to do is create some sort of postmodern, "I'm fine, you're fine, we're all fine" type of picture. I believe with all my heart that Jesus said "I am the way" and that there is no other. But I also believe that when a Muslim talks about Allah, he or she is expressing the single more important thing about him or her, for they are expressing what comes into their mind when they think of God. Despite whether their idea is different than ours or straight up wrong, I think it deserves to be listened to and respected because it is the most important thing about them. We are to help each other think more rightly about God, but let us do so with the generosity and grace that God has shown us. 

So, let us look for more commonalities, and less differences. Let us think more rightly about God, help others do the same, but do so in love and kindness. Let us view each other as creations of a most high and awesome God. 

Let us strive to make the "Them" smaller and the "Us" larger in our lives.    





Tozer, A. W. The Knowledge of the Holy: The Attributes of God, Their Meaning in the Christian Life. New York: Harper & Row, 1961. Print. 

Life Abundant

This post is going to have heavy traces of some recent stuff I've already done, but we're going to look at a few new things and it should be fun. All of this is the result of a couple of great discussions and preparing for a class I did on this subject at Green Valley Bible Camp. I'm going to start with some Greek. Now, there's a slight chance I could get scolded for how I'm about to use it, we'll see if any of my old professors read this thing. 

Ok, so first, there are two Greek words (that I know about anyway) which mean "Life". The first word is Bios, which is where we get our term Biology (the study of life) from. There are only 11 uses of it in the New Testament. Only once is it clearly used in a positive way (1 Tim. 2:4). The rest of the times it is in either neutral in tone, or more prevalently, used in a negative connotation and is connected to ideas of wealth, possessions, or what a person does. In Luke 8:14, the word is used when Jesus says "And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature." 1 John 2:16 talks about Bios when John says "For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and boasting of what a person has and does  — is not from the Father but is from the world." These two verses give us a decent picture of what citizens in the first century might have thought "life" consisted of: what you own, what you experience, and what you accomplish. Sounds pretty much like today to me. How many times have you heard it said of someone that they lived a full and rich life? Usually when someone says that about somebody else, they mean that they did alot of things, went to alot of places, accomplished alot of things, or in general, just had alot of stuff. Anybody out there got a Bucket List? I know I do, and it shows that I'm not immune to this type of thinking either. 

There is another word that get's translated as life, one you may know. It's the word Zoe (dzo-ay'). This word can mean a person's life in general, but it is also the word that is associated with some pretty positive imagery (e.g. Bread of Life, Book of Life, Eternal Life, etc.). Jesus says that "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). What's awesome to me is that when Jesus talks about life here, he disconnects and contrasts it from any idea of possessions or experiences. For this kind of life apparently cannot be stolen or even taken away by death. The thief can take your possessions and the funds so that you can have rich experiences such as vacations and the like. The thief can even take your physical existence. What Jesus has to offer, not even death can take. WHAT A THOUGHT. This life is not even truly about physically living. 

So we've talked about what life shouldn't be, and that Jesus came to offer something completely different. So...what is this "life" about? Let's play around with the idea of eternal life for a bit. Let me ask you this question: When does your eternal life begin? Try to imagine a reallllllllllllllllllly long rope (you can thank Francis Chan for this illustration). Now, at the end of the rope, it's burnt so that it doesn't become frayed. Your ENTIRE life here on earth is that burnt end. Kind of morbid, I realize, but think about the REST of the rope. The rest of the rope is the rest of eternity and your eternal life. Here's the thing, the whole rope is all still your life. Call it semantics, whatever, but to me, you are living your eternal life now. Since Jesus came, is death really that great of a chasm? Now, our burnt end of a life is still incredibly significant, but only because it determines how we spend the rest of our eternal life. 

Jesus came to establish a Kingdom. Alot of people thought it was going to be physical, but they were wrong. He came to set up a Spiritual one. I think I've said it before, perhaps not, but one thing I read once was the most scholars think that the reason Jesus performed miracles and healed people was primarily to point forward to something else, something greater (141). Think about it; Jesus didn't physically heal the whole world, He actually traveled less in His lifetime than alot of people travel before they reach 20. His purpose was never simply to heal, His purpose was to point forward to something of far more significance: His Father's Kingdom. 

We live out this type of "Kingdom Life" whenever we do things that make this world a little bit more like heaven for people. We dig wells because we believe there will be living water for all someday. We lay concrete floors because we believe the streets of heaven will be laid with gold. We feed the hungry because one day, there will be no more hunger. We strive to be peacemakers because we get to spend eternity with the Prince of Peace. 

I've said it before and I say it now, Kingdom Life doesn't work here on earth completely. We'll probably never eradicate hunger from the world, even if it's just because most people are too stingy (including us). Wars will continue to happen. The water crisis around the world may never be fully fixed. But you know what, that doesn't mean we shouldn't try, because we're pointing forward to something greater and inviting people to come along. 

We usually feel amazingly close to God when we do these hard things that don't work. When we do service on mission trips, we're exhausted...but we're happy. These things fulfill us in ways that possessions, wealth, roller coasters, and dare I say it...climbing never truly can (even though I'm pretty certain there will be climbing in heaven). We feel happiest and closest to God when we create that thin space between heaven and earth. 

We will have to suffer in order to truly live out Kingdom Life here on this earth. Notice I didn't say may...I said will. Living out this type of lifestyle will absolutely bring about better things on this earth and bring others closer to God, because we are creating that thin space for people. But because this kind of living is SO right side up in SUCH an upside down world, it's going to feel more upside down. 2 Timothy 3:12 reads "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted". Earlier in this letter, Paul says that from all of these things, he was rescued. The funny thing is, we think that Paul realized he was going to be executed when he was writing this letter. He saw his end as near, and yet he says that he was rescued from these earlier persecutions. I honestly wonder if he'd say that even after his execution. Resurrection saves. 

I pose this question: Did Jesus and the Apostles live full and abundant lives? Do you think that? Most feel obligated to say yes, I mean, we're talking about Jesus and the Apostles. I think that they did as well, the funny thing is, most of them had their lives ended early as martyrs (all but John we believe). They didn't have theme parks, beach vacations, or a long list of athletic accomplishments. Yet, we say that they lived abundantly. Why? Because they lived out their eternal lives out until those left alive put their bodies in the ground and then just continued on with their eternal lives. The burnt end of their rope was much smaller than the average person's, but we say they lived more in that small burnt end than most do in a long lifetime. Granted that the movie doesn't exactly give anything close to a picture of Kingdom Life, but I now cheesily quote Braveheart..."Every man dies, not every man truly lives". 

So ultimately, Life Abundant is a Life Reversed by the power of the cross. We may not solve world hunger, see world peace, or ever eradicate sin completely from our lives, but Jesus can, even if it's in the next life. In the mean time, we live like we're working towards those things, we point forward, and willfully endure the suffering that must be faced in this life, knowing that the troubles of this burnt end of a life is nothing compared to getting to live with God in a place where there is no pain, no sickness, and no tears.  

Only act in ways that you'd want the rest of the world to follow your example. Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. Live Life Abundantly and point forward to something so much better. 





Root, Andrew, and Kenda C. Dean. The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2011. Print