What Do You Win when You Win and Argument?

I going to take a quick break from the worship series for just a moment to post about something that’s been bothering me lately… Have no fear, I will return to the worship posts soon.


I read a blog a couple of days ago that really frustrated me… I realize that’s pretty common place these days. Everyone has an opinion, and these days everyone feels the need to make theirs heard. But I just can’t shake this particular guy… This one blogger is becoming somewhat “famous” in the blog world - at least in the so called “Evangelical” blog world. Many folks follow his blogs daily and he has even been a guest blogger on various news and pseudo-news blogs/sites and articles. And I understand his take on most things, albeit, I just don’t agree with him on most of his stances….

Now, this guy is a professing follower of Christ. And from the blogs and articles I’ve read from him, I can affirm his faith journey. He uses his understanding of Scripture and the world to help shape what he believes, just as I do… And just as you do…

And that’s why I need to be careful as I write this…..

But his last blog I read (not to date by the way - this particular one just happened to pop up on my Facebook feed) didn't sit well with me. The way he addressed the topic at hand - suicide on this specific post - was what bothered me. He approached this topic the same way he does most: he takes the opposing view point and clobbers it to death with that which he calls “Truth”.

Now, he uses various scriptures, thoughts, and even traditions to back up his “truth” and battles hard to win every argument he approaches… And it doesn’t bother me that he can defend his belief system. Good for him. I think more people need to learn to defend what and why they belief what they do.

So it doesn’t bother me that he can intellectually think through an argument and defend it.

It bothers me that he defends his belief system with opinions that come across as absolute truth. And in my opinion, there’s only one absolute in this world… And there is only one truth…

We as humans have been seeking it out since the beginning of time.

I’m reminded of an encounter in the Bible where Jesus is standing before the Roman Governor Pilate and he and Jesus have this interesting conversation. In the exchange, Pilate is asking Jesus whether he is the “King of the Jews” as he has been labeled. In that time, this would no doubt be considered heresy, because to the Jews there was only one King, GOD, and thus Jesus could be condemned to death for such a heresy. But as Pilate and Jesus talk, this question of truth comes up. Jesus said, “Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.” (John 18:37). And Pilate responds with a question many of us are still asking today, “What is Truth?” (John 18:38).

I find this interesting, because here is Jesus - the very essence of truth; Truth personified. The very reason we have and can find truth… He is staring Pilate in the face and Pilate still asks, “what is truth?”

You see, Jesus said he came to testify to the truth. When you look at the life of Jesus, there’s not one instance where He forced truth on anybody. He never went up to people and said, “This is my way… Believe it or else!” He never pounded his opinions and beliefs into people by winning the argument. Jesus simply presented himself as he was and people responded.

Now one could argue there were times Jesus used force. Sure, but those times He did were towards the religious leaders; those who should know better anyway. He was forceful with those who had spent their lives studying God’s law - the Law, by the way, which point to Jesus. They missed the truth too…

So, where does this leave us? What does this mean for us now? Let’s go back to my blogger pal for a minute… He claims to know truth and to reveal that truth (or proclaim that truth in a loving manner - as he puts it).

And here’s what bothers me… When did “we” - and by “We” I mean those of use professing to follow Christ - come to the conclusion that we had to tell everyone our truth lest they be wrong? Who decided that we had to tell everyone our truth and make sure they believe it as we do?

What really bothers me is the “This is the truth as I see it and you should believe this too or else” Mentality.

I believe we as followers of Christ should proclaim the truth… But here’s how I think we should approach it. I think that instead of yelling at everyone about the truth that we claim to have, I Believe we are to point everyone toward the truth… Let me put it this way, If Jesus is the Truth - And we believe that because he said, “I am the way, the TRUTH, and the Life.” (John 14:6) - Then why not point people to Christ and let them discover that Truth for themselves?

It may sound weak, or even watered down. But I believe that when people discover something for themselves, it is way more powerful than just winning them over with an argument.

Growing up, my dad would ask us, “What do you win when you win an argument?” Let’s not argue the Truth… Let’s lead people to the Truth and let them discover it for themselves… I bet it will last longer.

Until next time.

Let's Talk About Worship (pt. 1)

This is probably going to be a several part post… I’m not sure what you call that… not sure what the plural for blog post is… Maybe “posts” or “posti”….  In any case, there’s more than just one post in all this.

So, Let’s talk about Worship…

What is this thing we call worship? This thing we “do” called worship? This thing that people seem to keep passing articles around my Facebook feed about?

Worship…

It seems like a simple word. It seems like it should be a simple answer. And really, it kinda is.

There is something innate inside everyone of us to respond to things we sense or feel are greater than we are. We naturally respond to the things that excite us, that we feel are worthy of our attention, or our affection, or our admiration. We continually pour out our feelings and joys and express our emotions toward ideas, or philosophies, or theories. And I would argue, that if we didn’t do this we wouldn’t be human… So, this natural response is something that makes us human…  Because we’re human, we are wired to respond…

Much like a dog naturally barks, and a cat naturally meows, and a camel naturally chews cud and spits, and an elephant…. does whatever an elephant does… So too, we as humans naturally respond to the things that we find worthy of our response. And this response is what we call worship… 

A guy named Louie Giglio has taught about worship pretty extensively for the past couple of decades. Louie is the founder of an organization, known as the Passion Movement, and more recently started a church in Atlanta, GA called Passion City Church. Louie defines worship as: 

“Worship is my response to God 

for who He is and what He has done; 

expressed in and by the things I say 

and the way I live.”

If we use this definition as our basis for discussion, then the first thing we see is that worship is, in fact, a response. We’ll discuss a little more about that in a bit, but I want to jump ahead to point 2 and then we’ll come back to 1.  If the first thing we see about worship is that it is a response, it begs the question: Response to what? Well, that leads us to point #2… it’s a response to God. So, the first 2 things we learn about worship is that it is 1) a response and 2) it is about GOD. Giglio says it is “my response to God for who He is and what He has done…” So ultimately, Worship is my response to God. And that response is all about Him… It is my response to all that He has done, and will do. It is my response to how I see Him, what I learn about Him, and all I know of Him. It’s a response about Him, GOD.

You may be reading all this and asking, “Well that all sounds good, but does the Bible back this up?” Well, I’m glad you asked… 

I want you to take a minute to read Acts 17:16-34…

Did you see what happened? Paul went into Athens and saw all this great response of worship… Apparently, the Athenians were great worshippers. It’s said that in Athens there was this great hall known as the Parthenon. Originally build to honor the Greek god Athena, over time it came to be known for all gods to whom people worshipped. The people of Athens were great responders. In fact, they had gods for just about everything you can think of: A god of weather, a god of the sky, a god of the water, a god of fertility, a god of wealth, a god of health, etc… They worshipped just about anything and everything. In fact, they had so many gods, they even had a god for the unknown… Just in case you didn’t have a god to worship, you could worship this god.

So, Paul seeing all this, tells the Athenians how good they are at worship… He tells them they respond well. They understood they had to respond to the gods they viewed as bigger than themselves. The only problem is, they are responding to the WRONG gods… The one, and only One they should be responding to and worshipping is Almighty God, Yahweh - the One who created it all…everything we see and have.

So we learn from this passage, again, that worship is a response and it is about God.

Now let’s go back and talk about point 1, real quick… We naturally respond to the things that we sense are worthy of our attention and our affection. We are wired to respond… Much like the Athenians responded to so many gods, we too respond to many things… But take note, just as the Athenians worshipped the wrong gods, we too can worship the wrong gods when we give our attention and our affections to things that are not the One True GOD, Yahweh. Because true worship is a Response to GOD, if my response is to anything else, it can still be worship, it’s just not the right god. We call this worshipping a false God. The response is true, but the god is not (but that is a discussion for next time).

So, the first things we learn when we start talking about worship is that worship is 1) a response and 2) it is about GOD.

Well…  if worship is a response, what’s yours?

Stay Tuned... 

J.

Stay Tuned for More…

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged…. well… anything. I’m not sure why. Just busy I guess…. and to be honest, there’s so much I’d like to say, but it’s hard to figure out just what will be a good topic to discuss and what not. You know I like to write things that really make me think… things that (I hope) will make others think. So, with that, I think I’ve found something to discuss a point of view and hopefully it will make you think too…

As of late, I’ve seen a lot of talk about worship over social media. Whether on Facebook or Twitter or blogs or online articles. Everyone I’ve seen tries to explain why worship in churches is changing or declining, or Why people should use one style of worship verses another, or why people don’t sing anymore or Why you should or shouldn’t do music that is “too churchy” versus only good, deep theological songs, or should you allow children in worship or not?…. and the list goes on and on and on…

While, I enjoy reading the various opinions and views of those who write these posts, I try not to engage with them too much. You’d think as one in the worship leading line of work, I would enjoy or even welcome the exchange of thought. But usually I just try to remain quiet on it all. I find that too many opinions seem to bog us down as people… Then it all becomes camps… If you believe this, then you’ll be in this camp. But if you believe this, then you have to be in this camp… And well… It just all gets old real quick for me.

Well, I guess you can say, I feel like I’ve remained silent long enough. So, I thought I would throw my voice out there with the masses. And maybe you won’t agree or you see things a different way, and I suppose you’re entitled to that. I mean, if we can’t have a little healthy discourse, then we’ll never grow as people. I will do my best to share with you my view and limited understanding of this grand subject… And while I can’t promise I will have all the answers wrapped up in pretty bows, I will share with you the best I can what I’ve learned, what I see, and what I understand from God’s Word about this thing we call worship…

So,  Stay tuned for more…

J.

"And Down the Rabbit Hole she Fell...": A Thought and a Question?

So, it's been a while on the blog, I'll admit... And I have to be ever so careful sometimes what I put out on the web for the world to see.

But I do have one question to pose...

I've been seeing lots of stories and news articles lately about the world's events: i.e., BSA's inclusion of homosexual members, Marriage equality, Government sequestration, growing unemployment, Growing debt crisis, etc. And many of the articles I've seen, on certain websites or news organizations, at least some of the ones I read - I will admit, are of a more religious nature - have all approached the issues the same way... There's always some big-whig who thinks he has all the answers claiming this particular stance or that particular stance. Every article its always somebody else and there's always a dire issue. But no matter who it is, their end message is always the same: "The Moral Decline of Culture and America". And no matter what the issue really is, it's always a detriment to the moral compass of our nation. And we are slowly "killing and compromising our morals." In essence, the world is going just going to pot!

I'll admit, I sometimes grow tired of reading and hearing all the hub-bub about it. I mean, really, if after all it all ends the same, so why do I need to concern myself with it....?

Well, as I've thought over these things recently, a question has lodged itself in my brain. And it won't go away. Every time I read an article of this nature, its slapping me in the face... Every time I hear someone tout a moral message of America, I can't help but think it.... "Who decides that our morals are declining? How do we really judge that our world is in moral decay?"

I mean when you consider the history of the entire world... Why is it just now in the 20th and 21st centuries that we have decided that our morals are decaying? That we are somehow worse now, than we were say 500 or 600 years ago? Or 1000 or 2000 years ago? Who judges that? And what is the litmus test for it?

This isn't simply a post for pondering today... Perhaps I should rename the blog "Questions from the Thinking Chair." In any case, I am curious your thoughts....

Are we as a nation, culture in a downward spiral of moral decay? And if so, How do we judge it? And if so, when will we hit the bottom? Will we hit the bottom? And what happens then?

Questions, questions fill my head....

J.

Two Guys Walk Into a Bar...

So, for several years of my bachelor life, I work for a summer camp organization called Centrifuge Camps. I loved my time with “Fuge” because I learned many life lessons, made life-long friendships (including my wife), and grew my creativity in many ways. But sometimes feel like I’ve been cursed by some the doctrines I learned while with Fuge. One of the things Fuge is very good at (and I would say probably best at) is teaching you how to look at the big picture and see things that need to improve. Looking at things through an eye of excellence. One of the big draws for me to Fuge was how well they build excellence into their program. They are constantly looking for how to better and improve themselves.
    Now at first glance you may say, “what’s the big problem with always trying to better the program?” Well, nothing. Except when it becomes a problem...

You see, every year Fuge would come out with a new idea (or mantra) they would use to inspire you to excellence... One year was “Challenge the Norm”, the next year was “Bump the Lamp”, and the next year was “Throw the Fish”, and so on... Whatever the saying, it was always meant to look for the small things that make it all better - going the extra step to make camp that much better for all attenders. I liked that approach. I wanted all who attended camp to not only have a fun time, but to have a life-changing, and life-altering experience.
    You may be thinking at this point, “Well, why do you feel cursed with this idea?” Well, its like this: Where, as the thought of always looking to improve and be excellent is good, there is one fault with it. It doesn’t take into account people. If for say I’m working by myself, this idea is no problem. I can always improve upon myself. However, when other people get involved, it gets to be a bit more difficult to improve. The variables change. Most people in the world understand this. In fact, we’ve developed a rule of judgment for such situations. We call it: The BAR.
    Through my years of working with people, I’ve learned that there are mostly 3 types of people in the world.

1. People who are at the bar. These people will always go to the bar. They will do the work that is expected of them and will probably go no further. They are ok, in fact they are very pleased, to just go to the bar and stop. They have no qualms with not going the next step or not doing things that obviously need doing. Their only concern is doing just enough to get the job done and make it to the bar.

2. The second type of people, are below the bar people. These types may or may not see the bar at all. They never get to the bar and don’t even consider the option of getting to the bar. These are main laborer types. They may work hard, but as it concerns them, their focus is when it’s time to hit the bar (the non-pun type).

3. The third type of people in the world are the people who see the bar, and move right on past it. These types always see the bar behind them. They do the work that must be done, and then some, to get over it. These types of people are zealous for the work they do, and can’t for some reason understand why other people wouldn’t want to work like them. In fact, they often wonder why not everyone can see the obvious bar that they have just raised. They wonder why nobody cares to see all the hard work they’ve put into their precious previous efforts.

As I look back, I often find myself as a third type of person. And as much as I would like to be a first or second type person, there’s something built into my psyche that makes me want to go a step beyond the bar. There’s something innate in me that makes me want to see that bar, getting a running start, jump up on it, and start dancing! And you know, it gets frustrating at times... But you know, I have to remember one thing: People are different. And that’s OK. The Word says that we as people are fearfully and wonderfully made, created in the image of God the Father.
    That makes me think... my God likes creativity. He likes to make all different types of things. And that means people who go to the bar, people who are below the bar, and people who dance on top of the bar. He creates us all in different ways so we can learn how to make it all work together. Whether we see it or not, we all need the other types of people in our lives. Because they challenge us and help us to grow. And I won’t lie, that’s sometimes not easy... 

But that discussion is for a different blog post...

A Penny For My Thoughts...

So, it's been several months since I've posted anything....

I've been really busy, and If you know me, you know I like to post things that really challenge me and encourage me to better myself and those around me. So, before the next post, if you're curious to see what I've been up to this past year, check out my better half's blog over at Rocket City Ramblings, as she has a great round up of Spring adventures!

So, now for the post this week.....

I've had many friends as of late putting their blogs to use with their thoughts and opinions concerning the recent social media storms and how it relates to us as followers of Christ: the health care debate, Same-sex marriage debate, immigration debate, among other things that are sometimes good to debate but actually lead no where in life! 

So, I thought I would put my blog to work with my thoughts concerning a couple of these debates...

My thoughts aren't that amazing... in fact, they might be boring compared to some of my friends views on the subjects. But here's my thoughts.... Are you ready?

Hold on......

At some point, we followers of Christ are going to wake up and realize our battle is not with the government concerning health care. It's not with the gay's in wanting to marry one another. Our battle is not with whether people should be deported or not. It's not even with those who give or have abortions. Our battle is not with the gamblers, or drunks, or druggies, or prostitutes. Our battle is not with the homeless population who are left to beg on street corners. And our battle is not with Occupy Movement.

If we look at God's word closely, we see Paul in Ephesians 6:12 telling us what we, the followers of Christ, are fighting against: 

           "For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." (NLT)

Our battle is not with the things we deem unholy and unrighteous. Our battle is with things that are not of this world. Our purpose is to love those around us and realize that there's much more at work than meets the eye. And, by the way, here's the good news: Jesus Christ has taken care of it ALL!!! All the unholy and unrighteous things.... He's taken care of them. His power is far greater than the "evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world." 

Our job is not to tell people how unholy, unrighteous, and messed up they are. Our job is to love God and love those around us with the love of God, to the best of our ability. That doesn't mean shunning them for their sins or calling for their deportations, or alienating them because they have misguided intentions. We are to simply love. Now, I'm not saying there are not times we shouldn't open our mouths... but that is for another blog post. 

We are to simply show Christ.... and to be honest, that's a funny thing to me, because it's not in my nature to be like Christ. It is my nature to want to look down my nose at people and judge them for not being like me or not being better people. But just like all things that Christ makes new (2 Corinthians 5:17), I must work to see others the way Christ does.

My thought is we are all fallen people in need of Savior. And our battle is not with this or that. Our battle is with sin. Our battle is with seeing people the way Christ does and still loving them despite it and through it. And yes, I do realize this is easier typed than done...

but that's why this is called a blog.

'Til next thought.....

J.

I Knew A Man Bojangle's...

You know, sometimes, you just need to go to Bojangle’s

For those of you that aren’t familiar, I’ll explain. Bojangle’s is a Southern restaurant chain. I first came to know Bojangle’s when I was working for Lifeway’s Centrifuge camps in Greenville, South Carolina. Bojangle’s is probably best known for their Cajun chicken biscuits. They are simply delicious. You’re doctor may not approve, but those chicken biscuits are definitely worth the cholesterol that it adds to your body.

We occasionally swing by the Bojangle’s drive thru on the way to work to pick up a chicken biscuit or some Bo-Berry biscuits (assorted berry sweet roll biscuits) and a large sweet tea. Did I mention they have sweet tea? Some of the best in the South. In the words of Jeff Foxworthy, “If you put that on top of your head, your tongue will beat your brains out trying to get to it!” Yeah, it’s that kind of place.

Well, today, Kristin and I had some errands to run and decided to eat out. We’re driving around and decided to try out Bojangle’s for lunch, a bit of change from our regular routine. You might think this is a no big deal or you’re thinking, “So what?” Well, let me explain a bit more.

This particular Bojangle’s restaurant isn’t exactly in what we call “the best part of town.” In fact, it’s in a bit of a run down part of town. The old part, you might say. It’s the part of town that you quickly reach over on the car door and make sure your doors are locked. It’s the part of town where it’s not uncommon to see several police cars investigating a single car or a building. It’s the part of town where squatters and junkies are known to hangout.

In fact, the restaurant itself has a sign up front that reads, “Please keep your meal to 30 minutes or less.” I suppose this is to help with making sure people are in and out and not setting up house over in the corner.

Inside this particular Bojangle’s you’re not likely to see what we call “trendy” people. You more than likely won’t find any hipsters with skinny jeans and scarves around their necks and a fedora on their heads typing away on their new Apple MacBook or iPad while they casually sip on their skinny chai latte. You might see someone with a tattoo, but it won’t be of their favorite word in Hebrew or Chinese.

Instead, you’re probably going to see people who may look a little different. People who may look a little bit out shape. People who may not wear matching clothes. People who wouldn’t exactly be invited into certain “trendy” areas of our world. In fact, you might call some of these people misfits or socially awkward. Socially awkward not because they do anything peculiar, but socially awkward because we don’t know, or are not comfortable with having to converse or do life with them.

Not to be deterred from our chicken and tea (did I mention the tea?), we parked our car and braved the pouring down rain and entered Bojangle’s. As we entered, we were greeted by the guy at the front counter saying, “It’s pouring down rain outside and you’re wearing flip-flops?” I just grinned and said, “Sure. And what better day when it’s pouring down rain? And the best part is, no wet socks and shoes.” He smiled and replied chuckling, “I’ve never thought of it like that before. I’ll have to try it sometime. What can I get ya?”

We ordered, laughed with the folks behind the counter a bit, got our food and sat down. As we ate (trying to keep our meal to 30 minutes), there was a lady walking around who kept checking up on our food. “Would you care for a free Bo-Berry Biscuit?” Absolutely! “Can I get you some more tea?” Yes ma’am! Kristin and I chatted a bit about life as we ate. And some where in the course of our meal Kristin looked at me and said, “You know, this has been a very pleasant and enjoyable experience.” As I chewed my biscuit, I thought, “You know it really has been a pleasant and enjoyable experience. And all we had to do was break out of our normal routine for a minute to experience something that was unexpectantly extra-ordinary.”

Sometimes, breaking out of routine brings about some pleasant experiences. Now, don’t get me wrong, there were still some moments that caught me off guard. Kind of like the couple making out in front of the restaurant while I’m trying to eat. Or the man who came in wearing a dress shirt, sweat pants and yellow work boots. But in the end of the day, I realized that sometimes the most pleasant and enjoyable things happen when and where we least expect them. Especially, when we break out of our normal routine.

You know, sometimes, you just need to go to Bojangle’s.