You can't remove Christ from Christmas

Thanks, Roland, for saying this better than I could. Merry Christmas!!

(CNN) -- This whole push to remove Christ from the Christmas season has gotten so ridiculous that it's pathetic.

Because of all the politically correct idiots, we are being encouraged to stop saying "Merry Christmas" for the more palatable "Happy Holidays." What the heck are "Seasons Greetings"? Can someone tell me what season we are greeting folks about? A Christmas tree? Oh, no! It's now a holiday tree. Any Christmas song that even remotely mentions Christ or has a religious undertone is being axed for being overtly religious. And I'm sorry, forget X-M-A-S. Malcolm X? Yes. X replacing Christ? No.

Don't get me wrong; I'm very respectful of other religions. I don't want anyone to be afraid of discussing the Jewish faith when we address Hanukkah. And we shouldn't dismiss Muslims when the annual pilgrimage to Mecca is held during December. In fact, Americans are so ignorant of other faiths that we can all learn from one another.

But this seeming backlash against Christianity is bordering on the absurd, and we should continue to remember that Jesus is the reason for the season.

I know that may sound strident, but it's true. We spend an inordinate amount of time focused on shopping and buying gifts, but really, what does any of this have to do with the birth of Jesus? We have families all over the nation killing themselves to buy a tree they can't afford, running up their credit to buy toys and other gifts, all in an effort to make someone else happy.

What if families decided to forgo gifts, and instead, used their shopping days giving back to those in need? What if more of us went into our closets, grabbed old toys and clothes, repackaged them, and provided them as gifts to those without? Instead of gorging on food, what if we used some of the dough to feed those who are in need? What if we blew off those gift cards to electronic retailers and signed up with Networkforgood.org, and gave someone a gift card to their favorite charity?

Sure, I know I sound like a reincarnation of a flower child, but really, do we have to be so crass during the Christmas season?

Its time that we return to traditional values, and end this ridiculous charade. It's important that we take a fuller account of WHY we celebrate Christmas, as opposed to falling for the barrage of ads that tell us what is most important.

Parents, don't be so consumed with the notion that your children will have a terrible Christmas because the tree isn't overflowing with gifts. The true love that you show them is more important than anything else.

America might be the king of capitalism, but secularism must never become so prevalent that our religious traditions are discarded.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/20/roland.martin/index.html


Roland S. Martin is a nationally award-winning journalist and CNN contributor. Martin is studying to receive his master's degree in Christian communications at Louisiana Baptist University, and he is the author of "Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith." You can read more of his columns at http://www.rolandsmartin.com/.

A Personal Blog *gasp!!*

My church has a new & awesome website: http://www.crossroads.net/ . One area is called "Forum", where news, questions, and general sharing occurs. Someone posed the question today: "How are you changing and questions you are wrestling with"? Great question! So here was my response. Please tell me (honestly) what you think:

Thanks for this. It's a great topic. It's one of the things that I love so much about Crossroads -- the opportunity to be honest and live our lives transparently and openly.

The Lord is challenging me in a number of areas, one 'biggie' is being able to see Jesus in all people, not just the ones I consider "godly" or "righteous". As a result of this conviction that He's put on my heart, I have had to face some pretty difficult and ugly things about myself. That's a good thing, but painful nonetheless.

True, sincere, and unconditional love of all people is my current "big" area of struggle/growth. I'm not proud of this. On the contrary, I'm really ashamed. It's easy for me to love those that are approachable, approving, law-abiding, encouraging, funny, and somewhat mature in their faith and Bible knowledge. Oh. And it helps if they interpret the Scripture in a similar manner as I do and like/dislike the same authors, music, preachers, and teachers. Pretty selfish, smug, and self-righteous of me, isn't it? Ouch. Talk about growing pains.

What's ironic and conflicting is that there is nothing I love more than seeing people grow and receive healing change by the love and power of God. But that's part of it, I guess. I like to see growth in people and get frustrated when I see their lives and behaviors not changing, just staying in the same place day after day, year after year.

As I've been searching the Scriptures and praying about this (and more importantly, listening), I've found out so much about my own attitudes regarding this part of me and even more about the Person of Jesus. I've been taking a close look at His friends, those He deeply loved and embraced. They weren't the "beautiful people". In fact, they were the opposite. They were those that society mocked, scorned, and avoided. Thieves, prostitutes, drug addicts, murderers -- people that I make every effort to avoid in my "precious Christian bubble". Sure, I am kind to these folks that I consider "different" from myself, I pray for them, and am tolerant of them. But do I love them? Do I love them the way that I love others more like myself? Most importantly, do I love them the way that Jesus does?

So I am on a personal journey to love people, really love them. Just as they are, just where they are. In this process, I am learning to repent of my attitudes, my indifferent heart, and receive the forgiveness offered to me for these ugly and shameful traits.

It's a good journey so far. I am beginning to recognize when these attitudes pop up, ask for forgiveness, and be ever-so-grateful for the more tender and sensitive heart God is giving me.

And you know what? In God's eyes, I'm no different than anyone else. When He created us, He did that personally and intimately. And when Jesus died on the Cross, He did that for each and every one of us, just as personally and just as intimately.

Lord, please never let me forget the filth you have rescued me from and the filth that continues to exist in my heart. Thank you for loving me RIGHT WHERE I AM, JUST AS I AM. Help me to give that same love to others.

Feeding the Hungry

Here's an awesome news story about my church's Thanksgiving food drive. Jeff and I dropped off our box last Saturday and were amazed at the people, the traffic, and the fun everyone had -- truly a joyful experience.

Enjoy the clip!

http://www.wlwt.com/video/14661951/index.html

A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words

What it is speaking to you?

Tozer on Failure & Success

This was in my inbox this morning. I'll let Tozer speak for himself.

October 1

Failure and Success: Paralysis From Past Mistakes

For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. --Psalm 103:11-12

Do not let any of the things of the world or past mistakes paralyze your hearts. I believe there are Christians who have allowed some of their past mistakes to paralyze them. You were so bright and cheerful in your spiritual life once, and then you made some tragic mistake or had something happen to you. You got out of it somehow, and prayed and wept your way out of it. But it did something to you, and now you cannot lick it. Past wrongs that have been done to you, past failures, times you thought you were going to win and did not, or present sins or discouragement -- these things are not mental at all. They are deeper than that; they are subconscious, and they prevent us from believing.

I most urgently exhort you, and I trust God Almighty to deliver you; to sponge that out of your spirit; to sponge that out of your heart so you are not hindered by unbelief. Rut, Rot or Revival: The Condition of the Church, pp. 162-163

"Lord, I'm surely not the only one who desparately needs this reminder this morning. So many of us struggle with past sins, failures, or hurts. I pray for all of my fellow-servants who need deliverance, who need to have the past sponged out of their spirits and hearts. Amen."

Revival: Blessing on Our Terms

On Wednesday night, our pastor challenged us to run -- run as God ran to the prodigal son, run as Jesus runs to embrace and love those who are lost, run to share Jesus with those we know who don't know Him. There was a huge burst of applause and cheering as everyone promised to take up the challenge.

And then service was over.

This morning, I woke up and opened my devotion from A.W. Tozer. Once again, Tozer stopped me in my tracks and sent me to my knees. Here it is:

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."
-Matthew 16:24

Here is what grieves me, and I believe this also grieves the Holy Spirit: My hearers rise to this call emotionally, but they will not confirm it by a corresponding change in their way of life. Their goodness is like the morning clouds-by 9:00 o'clock the sun has burnt off the fog. This is what happens to many people's good intentions. They rise emotionally to an urgent message that we become a New Testament church, that we become a model church, that we have the order of the New Testament and the power of the Holy Spirit in order that we might worship, work and witness. Emotionally they rise to it, but they will not confirm their emotions by corresponding changes in their way of life.

They want to be blessed by God, but they want God to bless them on their terms. They look pensively to God for victory, but they will not bring their giving into line. They will not practice family prayer, rushing off without it. They will not take time for secret prayer and will not forgive those who have wronged them. They will not seek to be reconciled to those with whom they have quarreled. They will not pick up their crosses and say, "Jesus, I my cross have taken, all to leave and follow Thee." Rut, Rot or Revival: The Condition of the Church, 146-147.

"Lord, may my desire for You rise above emotions. I do want to be blessed of You, both personally and in my ministry. I commit myself this morning to a willingness to take my cross and follow You-and to take the necessary action to come on Your terms. Amen."

Leadership: Obedience, Servanthood & Maturity

Ahh, how I love Jean Vanier. His book, Community and Growth (Paulist Press, 1989) was one of the key books I treasured when I lived in community at Jesus People USA. There is so much amazing stuff in this book. I encourage you to read about him and his life in communtiy with God and others. Really, really good stuff.


“In order to be able to assume the responsibility for other people’s growth, leaders must themselves have grown to true maturity and inner freedom. They must not be locked up in a prison of illusion or selfishness, and they must have allowed others to guide them.

“We can only command if we know how to obey. We can only be a leader if we know how to be a servant. We can only be a mother—or a father—figure if we are conscious of ourselves as a daughter or a son. Jesus is the Lamb before the He is the Shepherd. His authority comes from the Father; He is the beloved Son of the Father” (p. 225).

Healing marriage

I usually don't post testimonies but I should more often. There is something powerful and beautiful in a person's personal testimony of what God has done in their life. Denise Jackson has one of these testimonies that I found, of all places, on CNN.com.

Jeff and I are on a marriage ministry in our church. Jeff had one previous marriage, I had two. We continue to be amazed that even our marriage, which began on pretty rocky ground, has been transformed into something beautiful and sacred. We attribute it to God and God alone. We've seen amazing restoration and healing in other people's marriages as well, with God at the helm doing what He does best.

This testimony of Denise Jackson blessed and encouraged me. I hope it does you, too.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Denise Jackson knew that her marriage to Alan Jackson wasn't perfect. She was too needy and insecure in the relationship, and he was on the road a lot, becoming one of country's biggest superstars.

Denise Jackson's marriage to Alan Jackson was crumbling until she turned to God.

Still, she wasn't prepared for the shock she got in 1998, shortly after the birth of their third child, when Jackson -- her sweetheart since their teen years -- told her that he didn't want to be in the marriage anymore. Hurt and disillusioned, she tried everything to get him back, and turned to prayer.

A revelation came one day when a friend told her she wouldn't pray for Alan Jackson to come back, but instead, would pray for Denise Jackson to become the woman that God intended her to be. From that day on, Denise Jackson began to reassess the role God played in her life -- and, instead of focusing on how to repair her relationship with her husband, put her efforts into rebuilding her relationship with God. In the end, she says, becoming closer to God helped her become closer to her husband -- and save her marriage.

Jackson writes about her journey in the new book "It's All About Him: Finding the Love of My Life." And while her husband is on the cover of the book and included a CD of two songs, after the first few chapters, it becomes clear that the country singer is not the ultimate focus of her book.

Q: What made you want to write this book?

DENISE JACKSON: Honestly, I've had this desire in my heart for nine years, soon after we separated. I really started thinking about how my story is a story of hope, and I really wanted to share with people how nothing is impossible with Him and how He can tackle relationships and restore them, and really just so people can be drawn to Him.
One of the points I make in the book is that I have everything in the world ... and yet at one point, I was insecure and my marriage was not right, and how none of that stuff really brings lasting joy and contentment, but the thing that does is available to everybody, and that's a relationship with God.

Q: What kind of pressure did you feel to have this perfect relationship with your husband?

JACKSON: I put so much pressure on myself. Everyone, I felt, was looking at us under a magnifying glass and I had to be the perfect wife, who was the perfect size, who wore the perfect gown, who had the perfect jewels, and it was so stressful to live like that and to base your self worth on what you thought other people felt about you. So that's why it was so freeing to really come to the place in my life where I realized that I shouldn't base my self worth on any of that, that my self-worth really comes from being a child of God.

Q: When your marriage broke up, you describe it as a total shock.

JACKSON: All along in our marriage we'd have these discussions about something just doesn't feel right, and it really boiled down to a codependency. Alan was the stronger one, I was the weaker, needier partner, and it just didn't feel balanced. And he kept wanting a partner who would be equal and who he could respect, but we really just didn't know how to get there. So that was really the issue that played out over the years. But it really wasn't until '98 that he said, "You know what, I can't live like this anymore, and I don't know if we know how to fix it," and that's when he left.

Q: He revealed that he was unfaithful at one point. How did you regain the trust?

JACKSON: First of all, I had to be able to forgive him, and that's a free gift that you offer someone. So I was willing to do that but in return he had to show me in tangible ways that he was trustworthy. And over an extended period of time he showed me in numerous ways.

Q: Do you always have that doubt though?

JACKSON: It's been almost 10 years, and initially when we got back together I did worry and wonder -- was he really and truly committed to our marriage? But now I have such a peace and contentment about it, because he has shown me over and over and over that he does want to be in the marriage, and it's evident; it's evident every day.

Q: After he left, did you ever feel like, "OK then, I'm just gonna take everything you have" and get revenge?

JACKSON: I have to admit that I did have those feelings, especially when we had been separated for several months and he really wasn't acting as if he was interested at all in reconciling. But then again, as I just stayed in my Bible study and really developed this relationship, I think God just softened my heart and made me want to have him back.

Q: Was Alan worried about you writing this book?

JACKSON: I think he was a little nervous at first. None of us want to tell people about our mistakes. But I also feel like he knew how passionate I was about this message and he knew that in order to really tell it fully that I was going to have to reveal some details about our marriage and our relationship, and he really consented for me to do that and graciously wrote the forward for the book and included the two wonderful songs that you can get with the book. He's been wonderfully supportive of the whole thing.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/books/08/31/celeb.qa.denisejackson.ap/index.html

The Beginning of Love

The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.” -- Thomas Merton

Quote of the Day

I love this quote about sharing about Jesus with others. Just show the One I love.

Have you ever seen someone pull a photo out of their wallet and argue about the supremacy of this particular loved one? Of course not. They show you the picture and give you the opportunity to see what they see. -- Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis

20/80 or 80/20?

by Dan Kimball
http://www.vintagefaith.com/artilces/20-80.html


If you attend enough church growth conferences, you eventually hear the Pareto Principle taught in regards to church growth. Basically, it states that 80% of results flow from just 20% of our efforts.


Considering this, I would say that in church leadership we’d generally agree that 80% of true discipleship and spiritual growth occurs from mentoring, from home groups, from smaller group gatherings, and so on. I’d also bet—if we are brutally honest—that we’d agree that probably only 20% of true discipleship is a result of our weekend services. So why then, do we focus 80% of our time and effort in what produces 20 percent of what we should be considering as results—becoming disciples?


I know that the larger worship gathering is a part of spiritual formation. But what concerns me is that the more I talk with church leaders, the conversation generally revolves around the weekend service. We focus so much of our discussion about the style of music we use, the atmosphere, and our preaching style. We spend lots of time and many meetings coming up with ideas for the weekly event: creative team meetings, band rehearsals, PowerPoint, and tech meetings. The larger the church, all the more time goes to this. Our sermons take 10 to 20 hours a week to prepare. When we evaluate our budget, my guess is that in terms of staffing, where we use volunteers, and money, a great percentage goes to what happens on Sundays at the “big event.” The big event comes, people come, sit, and then go home. But is what we spend 80% of our energy, conversations, and thoughts on producing 80% of what makes disciples?

Sometimes I wonder if Jesus were to look at our time, our focus, what we think about, and what we talk about, what would he say we should spend most of our time doing? If we generally agree that 80% of our results of making disciples come from what we do outside of the weekend event, then what are we doing (for those that do this)?

You may think you don’t do it, but what do you spend the most time on in your week? What do you think about the most? What do you desire to improve the most? I know we desire to make disciples, but could our time be spent in an inverted way, according the Pareto Principle, where we spend 80% of our time on what produces 20% of true spiritual growth?

100 Pianos

Every morning, I get a devotional in my mailbox by Tozer. I became a big Tozer reader when I was living and serving at Jesus People USA -- Glenn Kaiser turned me on to his writings. This guy doesn't pull punches; he cuts to the quick.

This morning's devotion really hit home with me. As most of you know, I am part of a "seeker-driven" church and it is our desire that people will find community in each other as they seek relationship with Jesus and will grow in both community and with Christ as a result.

This morning, Tozer showed me a beautiful picture of how true community comes about. I thought I'd share it with you.

Happy Monday. :)

The Church: 100 Pianos

..that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You,that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. --John 17:21

Someone may fear that we are magnifying private religion out of all proportion, that the "us" of the New Testament is being displaced by a selfish "I." Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become "unity" conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. Social religion is perfected when private religion is purified. The body becomes stronger as its members become healthier. The whole church of God gains when the members that compose it begin to seek a better and a higher life. The Pursuit of God, page 90.

"Lord, let this start with me. Give me a closer walk with You today. Then as a leader enable me to encourage others as well, individually, so that all to whom I minister might be in harmony as we individually are close to You. Amen."

Quote of the Day

"This disparity between economics and justice is an issue of worship. According to the narrative of Scripture, the very heart of how we show and distinguish true worship from false worship is apparent in how we respond to the poor, the oppressed, the neglected and the forgotten."
-Mark Labberton

Blue Like Jazz: The Movie

Blue Like Jazz is definitely one of my favorite books. I have bought extras just to give away. But as a movie? I dunno. Donald Miller is pretty pumped about it. Here's his announcement.

13 JUN 07 Steve Taylor and Ben Pearson have been in Portland for the past week and we’ve pretty much completed the screenplay for Blue Like Jazz the movie. We’ve been working on the script for about a year, either with me flying to Nashville for a week at a time to sit around a table and hash out the story, or with Steve and Ben coming to Portland to stay at my house. When studios became more excited about the screenplay, we felt the need to wrap it up, and in the last few days we’ve pretty much done so. And I dont know if I’ve had more fun, or been more challenged, with any other writing project. I’m excited to see how the guys end up shooting the story.

To say we’ve given the book a Hollywood treatment is an understatement. The book itself would be, of course, difficult to turn into a movie, and so we took creative liberties. But in my opinion, the movie will be infinitely better than the book. Essentially we’ve taken the major, real life characters from the book, and gave them a story all their own. The end result is provocative and humorous and in my opinion quite moving. I cant wait for people to see the film.

We think production will be able to start next year, and the film will be shot on location in Portland. And I am as excited about showing off my town as I am about telling the story. I will keep you posted.

Don

Do Christians love to be hated?

Dan Kimball (I know, I know, I write about him alot, but he is constantly challenging me and stretching me) wrote on his blog about the response that some Christians have to the verses of being hated. "Everyone will hate you because of Me..." (Matthew 10:22) and "Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you." (1 John 3:13). I know (or have known) a lot of Christians that use these scriptures when they are rejected by nonbelievers and they just seem to shrug it off or, even worse, wear it as some sort of martyr badge. To me, it just always seemed like an excuse -- I mean, what do you expect when you walk up to a complete stranger and shove a tract into their hands about sin and hell and smile at them and say "God loves you". I'd be like uh, thanks, buddy, but no thanks. Kimball asks some great questions and offers some of his insights. I've posted some of the questions he's posed. You can read his take on answering them here:

http://www.dankimball.com/vintage_faith/2007/06/do-some-christi.html

Is it the gospel that is rejected
or is it the personality of the Christian and the evangelistic approach that is
being rejected and "hated"?

With this view, people skills then don't make too much
difference or matter a ton. Our tone of voice or how argumentative we are
doesn't make a difference. When and how we share about the gospel doesn't make a
difference - as long as we feel we said it and got it out. So when we have
people respond back that they don't want to hear it - then we feel we are simply
fulfilling what Jesus said about being "hated" and we can run back to our
Christian circles feeling like we have done our duty and the Lord must be
pleased as we are "hated" by the world and rejected.

- Yes, I fully know the gospel is a stumbling block and
people will reject the gospel. But I am wondering are people rejecting the
person because of how they go about sharing the gospel, more than rejecting the
gospel itself?

- Are people "hating" the personalities of the Christian
and the sometimes awkwardness of the approach used than actually hating the
gospel itself?

- Could it be the lack of interest that the Christian can
show for the other person, the lack of listening to the other person and people
skills (yes, I know the Spirit is who does it, but the basic ways we communicate
do matter) - so when people say "I'm not interested", it is because we haven't
really shown interest in them as a person to befriend them, hang out with them,
be caring about them, going to movies with them, building trust so when we do
talk about the gospel, we have earned the right and trust for them to want to
hear what we say?

- Could it be, that for some people, the "they will hate
us" saying of Jesus, makes it easy to stay enclosed in our Christian bubble,
stay on Christian blogs and talk with other Christians all the time, and feel
like we have done our job evangelistically if we have shared with a stranger on
a plane or with someone new at our workplace and they didn't respond?

- Do some Christians use "they will hate us" as an excuse
for lack of fruit or effort to be out among non-Christians?

Quote of the Day

Warren Buffett, the third-richest man in the world (he's worth $52 billion), has criticised the US tax system for allowing him to pay a lower rate than his secretary and his cleaner. Speaking at a $4,600-a-seat fundraiser for Hillary Clinton, Buffett said:

“The 400 of us [here] pay a lower part of our income in taxes than our receptionists do, or our cleaning ladies, for that matter. If you’re in the luckiest 1 per cent of humanity, you owe it to the rest of humanity to think about the other 99 per cent” ...

Shane Claiborne/Rich Mullins

As I mentioned in the previous post, Shane Claiborne was here a couple of weeks ago speaking. He shared an awesome quote from Rich Mullins that stopped me in my tracks. I found that quote in an interview that Shane did with Relevant magazine a while back and thought it was worth sharing with the rest of you.

A lot of what we believe about money and its hold on our lives comes from the story of the rich young ruler. What are your thoughts on that story?

I think that is one of the stories that we’ve kind of lost. Rich Mullins—I often talk about him when I talk on that parable—showed up in chapel and said, “You guys are all into that born-again thing, and that’s awesome; we’ve got to be born again. You know Jesus said that to Nicodemus. But if you tell me that I got to be born again, I can tell you that you’ve got to sell everything you have and give it to the poor, because Jesus said that to one guy, too.” I love that. And then he said, “But I guess that’s why God invented highlighters, so we can we highlight the verses that we like and ignore the other ones.”

The interview in its entirety can be found here: http://www.relevantmagazine.com/beta/issue_26_claiborne.php

It's well worth the read.

Fire on Potter Street: What happened, how you can help

Shane Claiborne is the founder and member of The Simple Way Community in Philadelphia and the author of The Irresistable Revolution. (If you haven't read it, run out and get it. It's an amazing and important book. It can change your life. Seriously.) On June 22, there was a devastating fire that destroyed the community and many families homes and belongings on Potter Street as well as many of the ministries that The Simple Way operates. Please read the details of the fire below (as posted on their site) and ways you can help. Please pray for these folks. They're doing important work for the Kingdom and are the hands and feet of Jesus to a lot of beautiful and needful people in that area.

The picture is of me and Shane (yes, I'm standing up!) when he was here a couple of weeks ago.

Updates, photos, video, and information about the community and how to help can be found at http://www.thesimpleway.org/

6/20/07 11:25PM (UPDATED)
This morning, a 7-alarm fire consumed an abandoned warehouse in our Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia. The Simple Way Community Center at 3200 Potter Street was destroyed as well as at least eight of our neighbors’ homes. Over 100 people were evacuated from their homes, and 400 families are currently without power. Despite this tragedy, we are incredibly thankful to share that all of our community members and every one of our neighbors is safely out of harm’s way.

This fire will forever change the fabric of our community. Eight families are currently homeless, and in many cases have lost their vehicles as well as their homes. One of our neighbors, the Mahaias Family, lost their three cars as well as the equipment one family member uses for her massage therapy business. Teenager Brian Mahaias is devastated not because he has lost his belongings, but because he fears that this fire will force him to move away from this neighborhood that is his family as well as his home.

The Simple Way has lost a community center that was home to our Yes! And… afterschool program, community arts center, and Cottage Printworks t-shirt micro-business as well as to two of our community members. Community members Shane Claiborne and Jesce Walz have lost all of their belongings, Yes!And…’s after school studio and library were ruined, and community member Justin Donner’s Cottage Printworks equipment and t-shirts were destroyed.

We are thankful that we are able to help each other during this time of need, and we will continue to keep your informed about today’s events.

We have established funds to support the families who have lost their homes, the Yes! And… afterschool program, and the Simple Way community.

These funds have been established through a partner organization, EAPE. Tax-deductible donations can be made at http://tonycampolo.org/simpleway_donation.php. Please make sure to designate “TSW-Kensington Families Fund” or “TSW-Rebuilding Fund”.

-The Simple Way Community

Love your Enemies

Jesus said, "Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account." Matthew 5.11

Jesus said, "You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: 'You must not kill; and anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court.' But I say this to you: anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the court." Mt. 5.21-22

Jesus said, "You have learnt how it was said: 'Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.' But I say to you, Offer the wicked man no resistance. If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; if a man takes you to law and would have your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone orders you to go one mile, go two miles with him." Mt. 5.38-41

Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy; But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those whose persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Mt. 5.43-46

Jesus said, "You will be hated by all men on account of my name; but the man who stands firm to the end will be saved. If they persecute you in one town, take refuge in the next; and if they persecute you in that, take refuge in another." Mt. 10.22-23

Jesus said, "No intimidation! No extortion! Be content with your pay." Lk 3.14

Jesus said, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly." Lk. 6.27-28

Jesus said, "Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judge yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned." Lk 6.27

Jesus said, "What is written in the law? What do you read there? He replied, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." "You have answered right," said Jesus "do this and life is yours." Lk 10.26-28

Jesus said, "This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you." Jn. 14.22

Jesus said, "What I command you is to love one another." Jn. 14.27

Jesus said, "If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too; if they kept my word, they will keep yours as well. But it will be on my account that they will do all this, because they do not know the one who sent me." Jn. 15.20-21

Jesus said, "I have told you all this so that you may find peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but be brave: I have conquered the world." Jn. 16.33

Being Robust

Scot McKnight is the Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies at North Park University. The author of more than ten books and numerous articles and chapters in multi-authored works, McKnight specializes in historical Jesus studies as well as the Gospels and the New Testament. As an authority in Jesus studies, McKnight has been frequently consulted by Fox News, WGN, US News & World Report, Newsweek, TIME, as well as newspapers throughout the United States. [1] McKnight is also an advocate of the New Perspective on Paul.

Is Your Gospel Robust?


Scot McKnight on why our gospel is right, but not right
enough.


A few weeks ago Scot McKnight shared how the gospel we preach is having an adverse impact on the church. Last week at the Spiritual Formation Forum he spoke in greater detail about this problem. He called the standard evangelical gospel, outlined below, “right, but not right enough.”

Essentially, we’ve watered down the good news in a way that has marginalized the church in God’s plan of redemption.


This fact was driven home recently by a friend of mine who teaches at a Christian college. He said a hand in the class went up in the middle of his lecture about the church and culture. The student, in all sincerity, asked, “Do we really need the church?” My friend was struck by the question, and by the fact that the classroom was filled with future church leaders. Something is amiss when even Christian leaders are questioning the necessity of the church. That something, according to McKnight, is the gospel we’ve been preaching.


Scot McKnight summarized the “Standard Gospel Presentation” this way:


God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.Your problem is that you are sinful; God can’t admit sinners into his presence.Jesus died for you to deal with you “sin-problem.”If you trust in Christ, you can be admitted into God’s presence.


He went on to say that the problems with this popular evangelical gospel include:


1. No one in the New Testament really preaches this gospel.

2. This gospel is about one thing: humans gaining access to God’s presence.

3. This gospel creates an individualist Christian life.

4. This gospel sets the tone for the entire evangelical movement.

5. This gospel leads to spiritual formation being entirely about “me and God.”

6. The evangelical gospel has created a need for evangelical monasteries.

7. The evangelical gospels turns the local church into a volunteer society that is unnecessary.

8. The evangelical gospel is rooted in Theism or Deism, but not the Trinity.


In contrast to this anemic gospel, McKnight believes a more accurate and “robust” gospel presentation would include the following features:


1. A robust gospel cannot be “tractified.”

2. God made you as an eikon (Greek for “image”) to relate in love to God, to self, to others, and to the world.

3. The “fall” cracked the eikon in all for directions.

4. Bible readers cannot skip from Genesis 3 to Romans 3.

5. Genesis 4-11 reveals the “problem” of sin: the climax is a society of eikons trying to build their way to God.

6. Genesis 12 begins to restore the eikon by a covenantal commitment and forming the family of faith. The rest of the bible is about this elected family of faith.

7. The “problem” is finally resolved in “four atoning moments”: the life of Jesus, the death of Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

8. The “locus” of resolution is the family of faith: three big words in the bible that describe this family of faith are Israel, the Kingdom, and the Church.


This understanding of the gospel would not marginalize the church, but instead make the community the heart of God’s work in the world. Is McKnight’s more robust gospel better than the pervasive 4 spiritual law version? Is the tract gospel the source of our diminished ecclesiology and individualism? Are we even open to a wider discussion about the nature of the gospel, or is such a thing taboo—to only be permitted in “emerging” circles?



http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2007/06/is_your_gospel.html#more

Core/Non-Core Beliefs: More from Dan Kimball

I think what I like most about Dan Kimball is that, unlike a lot of what I see (or perceive) in the emerging church, is that he always, always keeps Jesus as the central core of who we are and what we are doing. I think that often the lines get blurry in emerging churches as we get so caught up showing people the love of Jesus that we fail to show them Jesus Himself. Dan Kimball never seems to forget this & constantly reminds us to do the same.

This latest entry is directly from his blog at http://www.dankimball.com/vintage_faith/2007/06/what_to_use_for.html#comments.

Be challenged and enjoy.

What to use for a metaphor of "core" or "non-core" beliefs

I was part of the Emergence event this weekend that was in Seattle that Zondervan put on. It was an informal panel discussion based a lot out of the Listening to Beliefs of Emerging Churches book.

On the panel was myself, Mark Driscoll, Doug Pagitt, Karen Ward, and the moderator of the panel was the NPR radio host of "Speaking of Faith" Krista Tippett.

I got to go out with Mark D. afterward on Friday night and he took me to a Seattle hang out and we chatted for a couple hours. It is always good to hear what is going on in his life and in the incredible growth and story of Mars Hill Church. Then Saturday, I went to Karen Ward's church, Church of the Apostles, which I have been wanting to go to for many years. Then Saturday and Saturday night hung out with Doug as went to where he spoke at Mars Hill Graduate School. And it was fun to see my old dear friend from Santa Cruz, Wendy Elizabeth who was at the event too and hung out with us.

The format of the panel was fairly loose - we sat in chairs in a row and had informal sort of dialog about a wide variety of issues. In the beginning to start it, we each presented a little about our church. So I walked through how as a 3 year old church, we are "asking God to transform us into a-worshiping-community-of missional theologians".

When I got to the "theologians" part I tried to describe how we want to focus in terms of doctrines and beliefs on the ones which throughout church history and whether one was reading the Bible in the year 500 or 1500 or 2007, would be truths that have been understood by Spirit-filled believers. I labeled these are "Core Beliefs". These are the ones which I believe we should be uniting over and focusing on, especially as we are living more and more in a post-Christian culture.

I then put up another slide showing what I called "Non-Core" beliefs - which are doctrines and beliefs that have a diversity of opinions on them throughout church history. These are ones that someone may have a personal opinion about - yet at the same time there are godly, Spirit-filled scholars and theologians who have differing opinions. Which to me, shows that God knows what is truth on these matters, but we as sin-tainted human beings have a harder time understanding for 100% certainty on these issues.

For example, in the "Core Beliefs" I listed that Jesus will return and there is judgment that will happen. But in the "Non-Core Beliefs" I listed that how Jesus will return but the timetable is not clear. The clarity is that He will return, but the unclarity is how He will return (amillennial, premillennial, post-trib, pre-trib etc.) We may have an opinion, we may think we are right. But the fact is, there are differences of opinions about these issues throughout church history and in the church today. Or that God created everything ex nihilo "out of nothing" (as I believe) but not argue about whether it was a literal 6 day creation or if it was a 6,000,000 year creation. We may have an opinion, but there are godly Spirit-filled Christians who agree on ex nihilio, but differ on how long it took and whether Genesis 1 and 2 was supposed to be looked at as literal 24 hour days or not.

So I was trying to stress, that I wish we would focus on what I called "Core Beliefs" and unite on those. I hope we don't fight, point fingers, slander, argue about the "Non-Core Beliefs". I have read and heard such ugly attitudes from Christians about these things in the "non-core beliefs". I know that "the role of women in the church" is such a very hot and understandably emotional issue, and some may say it is not a "Non-Core Belief" but a "Core Belief". But the fact is, there are wonderful people who take the study of Scriptures very seriously, and hold the Scriptures with high authority and do have differences of opinion on that and are complementarians or egalitarians. So I put that in the "Non-Core Beliefs" category, as something we shouldn't fight over or slander others if another church holds a different opinion than our own.

After I said this, I was challenged that coming up with distinctions and using a metaphor of "Core" and "Non-Core" is not a good thing to do and metaphors fall short etc. I agree that every metaphor falls short. But as I have been thinking about it, I cannot think of another way to put it. I know God does not see "core" and "non-core" beliefs, as the whole Bible is inspired and He knows what He meant in the ones we have a harder time figuring out.

If someone has a metaphor, or way of describing what I am trying to communicate with this, I would love to hear it. I just looked at the slides I used again, and of course there could be a hundred things listed on each one. But it was best attempt at trying to explain the difference of "core" and "non-core" and make a summary of what I was trying to communicate for a slide presentation. I do wish we would stop pointing fingers and mocking, slandering, bickering, and all that happens about the "non-core" beliefs though. Especially in the days we live in. I did include Apple/PC and the DLR/SH letters stand for "David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar" and that who is the better singer for Van Halen is a "non-core" issue.

I don't want to make light of the seriousness of doctrines, but I also was trying to stress that I hope we don't go too far and argue about things I wonder if we will be ashamed at one day with other brothers and sisters in the "non-core" list. Maybe it is too hard to even try and make some sort of list and use a metaphor. But that is my thinking as of 12:08 AM as I sit in Timberline Lodge in the mountains of Oregon. I am here for the Doctor of Ministry class that I am in, and we are here all week.

Posted by Dan Kimball on June 05, 2007 at 12:22 AM Permalink

Dan Kimball on the Consumerism of the Church

Dan Kimball is a guy who has really challenged me in the past few months. I am on my second read of "They like Jesus but not the Church", this time around with highlighter and pencil in hand. Super challenging, incredibly enlightening.

This is from "Out of Ur"'s blog. Well worth the read.

Vintage Consumerism

Dan Kimball on the history and impact of consumer Christianity.

We caught up with Dan Kimball, pastor of Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, California, and author of They Like Jesus but Not the Church (Zondervan, 2007), at a conference where he was talking to other leaders about consumerism and the church. Kimball says the size of a church isn’t what makes it consumer driven, but how the leaders define success.

You’ve been talking to other pastors about consumerism in the church and the impact it’s had on our theology. How do you begin to recognize that impact?

You hear a lot of the complaints and valid criticism about the church being “a provider of religious goods and services,” as Darrell Guder says in the Missional Church. I started thinking about my own church and asking could the leadership be the ones who are really guilty of this? How did that happen?

I began to think about our meeting spaces. The early church met in homes where it is easier to participate, people can contribute, can be more vocal, make a meal, whatever. And then worship moved to the Roman basilicas and the format changed. People became more passive, but they still walked around and engaged. After the Reformation pews were brought in and people began to understand church different because they become passive. Expectations of a pastor and a leader become different. People expected us to do things for them.

So how has that translated into the church today?

We’ve been taught that this is how church goes. This is what you’re supposed to do. But now we’re making it better and bigger—better seating, better lighting, better sermons, better parking, better children’s ministry, better youth ministry. We’re simply fueling the whole thing.

But all of the consumer assumptions underneath are the same.

Yeah. And we haven’t yet challenged those assumptions. But my bigger question is what is this producing? Is it really producing people who are living and demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit in their lives? Are they loving one another and loving God more? What are we looking at for success?

So what is your sense? Are the ‘bigger and better’ churches producing the fruit of the Spirit?

I think it depends on the church leadership. As you talk to different leaders you pick up what they focus on. Ask them how they define success or what are they most excited about. That’s an interesting question. It reveals a lot. You can have a church of twenty thousand but what are you looking at as success? If I walked up to a person at your church would they say I’m here to get my religious goods and services. Or would they say I’m an active participant in the mission of this church, and this big worship meeting is just one part of it. Of course you can go to a small worship meeting and have the same exact thing. So it’s not about big church or little church necessarily.

So what are you guys doing at Vintage Faith to question those underlying assumptions of consumer faith?

We are asking God to transform us into a worshiping community of missional theologians.

Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Say that again.

We’re asking God to transform us (because it can’t be done through human effort); into a worshiping community (because we want to be worshipers first); of missional theologians (because if we’re on a mission in our culture we have to be thinkers).
We’re calling the church more of a missional training center as much as we can. We’re launching community groups. We’re calling them "community groups" even though we see them as house churches, but that name has weird connotations for some.

And what about your worship on Sunday, does that look different too?

Not really. Sunday meetings are just one part of the rhythm of the week when we all gather together, and we try to express worship to God and to teach in ways that creatively reflect who we are and the values we are striving to hold. Sundays are about community, care, worship and Scripture. But I’d hope that if you were to walk up to someone in our church and ask them “What is church?” they wouldn’t talk about the big meeting but about being on a mission.

Posted by UrL on May 29, 2007

http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2007/05/vintage_consume.html#more

Grateful list part one

I'm grateful for Jesus. You have rescued me. You have rescued my family. You have made us whole. You have transformed our lives. You did this all by Your own sacrifice. You amaze me. I love You.

I'm grateful that I went to Bible College. I learned so much of the Word of God. Thanks, Zion.

I'm grateful for my brother. He introduced me to Jesus. His life of faithfulness and unconditional love is an example to me and an inspiration. I love you, Joe.

I'm grateful for my parents. They taught me about forgiveness, laughter, healing, and love. They taught me about letting go, about rejoicing in each other's victories and successes. No regrets. The best is yet to come. I love you, Mom & Dad.

I'm grateful for my sisters. My oldest sister taught me what love and loyalty and family first means. My middle sister taught me how far being kind and persistant and working hard can get you. I love you, Joan & Lynn.

I'm grateful for being sick. Having a potentially fatal disease makes you prioritize. It makes you rethink what is important and what isn't. It forces you to cherish each moment. It teaches you to revisit and explore wonder. It teaches you to anticipate Eternity with expectation and joy.

I'm grateful that I lived in community. I learned so much about grace, living by faith, justice, tolerance, equality amongst the brethen (and sistren?), sharing, selflessness, and dying daily. Thank you, JPUSA. I love you guys.

I am grateful for my husband. Your love of Jesus has shown me God in a way I'd forgotten -- God of miracles, God of answered prayer, God of healing, God of restoration, God of wonders, God of love, God never-failing, God everlasting. You show me a life of unfailing and incredible faith. You crack me up every day. You teach me honesty and integrity. You show me delightful love and laughter. You show me tenderness and humility. I love you so very much, Jeff.

To be continued ...

What if?

This video was made by our church during the Kingdom series. Music by the Desperation Band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGBRkx--w7I

Religious Leaders Propose a Way out of Iraq

It could work. It could definitely work. Tony Campolo & other religious leaders have come up with a proposal to get us out of Iraq. Inspiring. Please pray. Tony Campolo is founder of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education (EAPE) and Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Eastern University.

Charles De Gaulle once said that politics
is far too serious to be left in the hands of politicians. I
agree!

The politicians in Washington are painfully
divided over what should be done about the war in Iraq. The Republicans talk
about “staying the course,” which our nation can ill afford. The Democrats, on
the other hand, propose a “cut and run” policy, and everyone knows that this
would leave a vacuum to be filled with the chaos of all-out civil war. But some
of us in the religious community propose a third option, which we believe could
get America out of Iraq without leaving a total mess behind. Our plan has three
parts.

First, we propose that American and British
troops be replaced by an international police force composed of those who better
understand the Iraqi culture. Leaders in Saudi Arabia proposed such a solution
almost three years ago. Americans and Brits are not only devoid of any grasp of
the language and the religion of the Iraqi people, but are defined by many
Muslims as a Christian army that has invaded a sacred Islamic land. Our army’s
presence is perceived by many in the Muslim world as a rebirth of the medieval
crusades.

Second, we propose that the United States
appropriate $50 billion to rebuild the towns and cities that the invasion of
Iraq has left in shambles. This would be a small price to pay, considering the
$2 billion we are presently spending every week in order to keep this war
going.

Third, we propose that our president go
before the United Nations and ask the world to forgive America for what we have
done to Iraq, and how we have set back efforts for world peace. He should point
out that he is asking forgiveness on behalf of almost all Americans – because we
overwhelmingly lent support to the invasion of Iraq some four years ago. He
should further point out that our original intentions were good! We Americans
were told that we were invading in order to remove the threat of what we thought
were Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

Repentance of this kind is necessary
because we need to re-establish our moral standing in the world, and confessing
wrongdoing is a start for doing that. It is not weakness to admit that we did
wrong, especially when the whole world knows that we did. Now is the time for us
to live out that verse from 2 Chronicles 7:14, which reads:

If my people, which are called by my
name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their
wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will
heal their land.

If you are willing to support this
proposal, go to www.tikkun.org/iraqpeace. You will
find an expanded version of this proposal there, along with an opportunity to
sign on with us. Do it now, because time is short and the days are filled with
evil (Ephesians 5:16).

http://www.beliefnet.com/blogs/godspolitics/2007/04/tony-campolo-religious-leaders-propose.html

Jesus was Homeless

What goals do you have as a leader?

"Stay faithful every day and make
aggressive mistakes. Goals are too limiting. I have none."

Brian Tome, Pastor, Crossroads Community Church

http://leadershipblog.blogspot.com/2005/08/leadership-blog-interview-brian-tome.html

12 Steps for a Recovering Pharisee (like me)

I have always like John Fischer. He has been a key speaker at Cornerstone Festival many times over the years (the Jesus Rock festival that Jesus People USA, the community I used to live and serve with for in Chicago for several years, puts on) and I've always enjoyed his honesty and ability to share sometimes difficult realities in a lighthearted and gracious manner. This is from a book of his by the same title that he wrote several years back.

The 12 Steps of a Recovering Pharisee (like
me)

by John Fischer

1. We admit that our single most
unmitigated pleasure is to judge other people.

2. Have come to believe that our means of obtaining
greatness is to make everyone lower than ourselves in our own mind.

3. Realize that we detest mercy being given to those who,
unlike us, haven't worked for it and don't deserve it.

4. Have decided that we don't want to get what we deserve
after all, and we don't want anyone else to either.

5. Will cease all attempts to apply teaching and rebuke to
anyone but ourselves.

6. Are ready to have God remove all these defects of
attitude and character.

7. Embrace the belief that we are, and will always be,
experts at sinning.

8. Are looking closely at the lives of famous men and
women of the Bible who turned out to be ordinary sinners like us.

9. Are seeking through prayer and meditation to make a
conscious effort to consider other better than ourselves.

10. Embrace the state of astonishment as a permanent and
glorious reality.

11. Choose to rid ourselves of any attitude that is not
bathed in gratitude.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of
these steps, we will try to carry this message to others who think that Christians are better than everyone else.

The Real Agenda

Wow, CNN is rocking out with the commentaries this week. I just read this commentary by CNN contributer Roland Martin, author of "Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith". I haven't read the book nor am I familiar with Mr. Martin , but he has some bold truths and challenges to share with the Christian community. I don't agree that Rick Warren should have been included in the list of those who Mr. Martin alleged to have a limited agenda however. Rick Warren is one who has greatly influenced me to step out and see the world as Jesus does and act accordingly. I also don't agree that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are part of the solution as I view them as causing more division than reconciliation regarding some of Martin's key points, but that's my personal opinion and observations. Despite these personal reservations, this article is definitely food for thought and well worth the read!

NEW YORK (CNN) -- When did it come to the point that being a Christian meant only caring about two issues,­ abortion and homosexuality?

Ask the nonreligious what being a Christian today means, and based on what we see and read, it's a good bet they will say that followers of Jesus Christ are preoccupied with those two points.

Poverty? Whatever. Homelessness? An afterthought. A widening gap between the have and have-nots? Immaterial. Divorce? The divorce rate of Christians mirrors the national average, so that's no big deal.

The point is that being a Christian should be about more than abortion and homosexuality, and it's high time that those not considered a part of the religious right expose the hypocrisy of our brothers and sisters in Christianity and take back the faith. And those on the left who believe they have a "get out of sin free" card must not be allowed to justify their actions.

Many people believe we are engaged in a holy war. And we are. But it's not with Muslims. The real war -- ­ the silent war ­-- is being engaged among Christians, and that's what we must set our sights on.

As we celebrate Holy Week, our focus is on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But aren't we also to recommit ourselves to live more like Jesus? Did Jesus spend his time focusing on all that he didn't like, or did Jesus raise the consciousness of the people to understand love, compassion and teach them about following the will of God?

As a layman studying to receive a master's in Christian communications, and the husband of an ordained minister, it's troubling to listen to "Christian radio" and hear the kind of hate spewing out of the mouths of my brothers and sisters in the faith.

In fact, I've grown tired of people who pimp God. That's right; we have a litany of individuals today who are holy, holy, holy, sing hallelujah, talk about how they love the Lord, but when it's time to walk the walk, somehow the spirit evaporates.

A couple of years ago I took exception to an e-mail blast from the Concerned Women for America. The group was angry that Democrats were blocking certain judges put up for the federal bench by President Bush. It called on Americans to fight Democrats who wanted to keep Christians off the bench.
So I called and sent an e-mail asking, "So, where were you when President Clinton appointed Christian judges to the bench? Were they truly behind Christian judges, or Republican Christian judges?

Surprise, surprise. There was never a response.

An African-American pastor I know in the Midwest was asked by a group of mostly white clergy to march in an anti-abortion rally. He was fine with that, but then asked the clergy if they would work with him to fight crack houses in predominantly black neighborhoods.

"That's really your problem," he was told.

They saw abortion as a moral imperative, but not a community ravaged by crack.

If abortion and gay marriage are part of the Christian agenda, I have no issue with that. Those are moral issues that should be of importance to people of the faith, but the agenda should be much, much broader.

I'm looking for the day when Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Joyce Meyer, James Dobson, Tony Perkins, James Kennedy, Rod Parsley, " Patriot Pastors" and Rick Warren will sit at the same table as Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Cynthia Hale, Eddie L. Long, James Meek, Fred Price, Emmanuel Cleaver and Floyd Flake to establish a call to arms on racism, AIDS, police brutality, a national health care policy, our sorry education system.

If they all say they love and worship one God, one Jesus, let's see them rally their members behind one agenda.

I stand here today not as a Republican or a liberal. And don't bother calling me a Democrat or a conservative. I am a man,­ an African-American man ­who has professed that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that's to whom I bow down.

If you concur, it's time to stop allowing a chosen few to speak for the masses. Quit letting them define the agenda.

So put on the full armor of God because we have work to do.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/04/martin.jesus/index.html

Science as a means of Worship

While I don't necessarily agree with all of Dr. Collins scientific theories, I do agree that God and science are not at odds but in perfect harmony. This is a pretty cool article from CNN.

Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., is the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute. His most recent book is "The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief."

ROCKVILLE, Maryland (CNN) -- I am a scientist and a believer, and I find no conflict between those world views.

As the director of the Human Genome Project, I have led a consortium of scientists to read out the 3.1 billion letters of the human genome, our own DNA instruction book. As a believer, I see DNA, the information molecule of all living things, as God's language, and the elegance and complexity of our own bodies and the rest of nature as a reflection of God's plan.

I did not always embrace these perspectives. As a graduate student in physical chemistry in the 1970s, I was an atheist, finding no reason to postulate the existence of any truths outside of mathematics, physics and chemistry. But then I went to medical school, and encountered life and death issues at the bedsides of my patients. Challenged by one of those patients, who asked "What do you believe, doctor?", I began searching for answers.

I had to admit that the science I loved so much was powerless to answer questions such as "What is the meaning of life?" "Why am I here?" "Why does mathematics work, anyway?" "If the universe had a beginning, who created it?" "Why are the physical constants in the universe so finely tuned to allow the possibility of complex life forms?" "Why do humans have a moral sense?" "What happens after we die?"

I had always assumed that faith was based on purely emotional and irrational arguments, and was astounded to discover, initially in the writings of the Oxford scholar C.S. Lewis and subsequently from many other sources, that one could build a very strong case for the plausibility of the existence of God on purely rational grounds. My earlier atheist's assertion that "I know there is no God" emerged as the least defensible. As the British writer G.K. Chesterton famously remarked, "Atheism is the most daring of all dogmas, for it is the assertion of a universal negative."

But reason alone cannot prove the existence of God. Faith is reason plus revelation, and the revelation part requires one to think with the spirit as well as with the mind. You have to hear the music, not just read the notes on the page. Ultimately, a leap of faith is required.

For me, that leap came in my 27th year, after a search to learn more about God's character led me to the person of Jesus Christ. Here was a person with remarkably strong historical evidence of his life, who made astounding statements about loving your neighbor, and whose claims about being God's son seemed to demand a decision about whether he was deluded or the real thing. After resisting for nearly two years, I found it impossible to go on living in such a state of uncertainty, and I became a follower of Jesus.

So, some have asked, doesn't your brain explode? Can you both pursue an understanding of how life works using the tools of genetics and molecular biology, and worship a creator God? Aren't evolution and faith in God incompatible? Can a scientist believe in miracles like the resurrection?

Actually, I find no conflict here, and neither apparently do the 40 percent of working scientists who claim to be believers. Yes, evolution by descent from a common ancestor is clearly true. If there was any lingering doubt about the evidence from the fossil record, the study of DNA provides the strongest possible proof of our relatedness to all other living things.

But why couldn't this be God's plan for creation? True, this is incompatible with an ultra-literal interpretation of Genesis, but long before Darwin, there were many thoughtful interpreters like St. Augustine, who found it impossible to be exactly sure what the meaning of that amazing creation story was supposed to be. So attaching oneself to such literal interpretations in the face of compelling scientific evidence pointing to the ancient age of Earth and the relatedness of living things by evolution seems neither wise nor necessary for the believer.

I have found there is a wonderful harmony in the complementary truths of science and faith. The God of the Bible is also the God of the genome. God can be found in the cathedral or in the laboratory. By investigating God's majestic and awesome creation, science can actually be a means of worship.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/03/collins.commentary/index.html

Amazing Grace

"And Grace calls out: you are not just a disillusioned old man who may die soon, a middle aged woman stuck in a job and desperately wanting to get out, a young person feeling the fire in the belly begin to grow cold. You may be insecure, inadequate, mistaken, or potbellied. Death, panic, depression, and disillusionment may be near you. But you are not just that. You are accepted. Never confuse your perception of yourself with the mystery that you really are accepted ... Whatever our failings may be, we need not lower our eyes in the presence of Jesus. Jesus comes not for the super-spiritual but for the wobbly and the weak-kneed who know they don't have it all together, and who are not too proud to accept the handout of amazin' grace. As we glance up, we are astonished to find the eyes of Jesus open with wonder, deep with understanding, and gentle with compassion."
The Ragamuffin Gospel
Brennan Manning

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Quote of the Day

"I have three things I'd like to say to you tonight. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don't give a shit. What's worse is that you're more upset with the fact that I said shit than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night."

-Tony Campolo