How then should we live? (A call to arms)

There has been something weighing heavy on my heart lately... actually, its not something new, and its not something I haven't already written about. In fact, if you know me at all, I've probably talked your ear off about this subject if you've given me the chance.

It is my ardent dislike (I can't say "hate" although I'm running out of reasons not to) of a thing I like to refer to as "American Christianity." Its different than true Christianity... actually, I would venture as far to say it is an imposter of true Christianity. It is a cheap rip-off, that if it were a physical object, you could purchase it only in Mexico where it would be laying on a folding table between the fake Rolex watches and Oakley sunglasses.

Why am I so critical? Well, the Christian Church in America is living Christianity out of context, that's why. Yep, I said it. We missed the boat big time. We completely missed our true mission, and have been off on a rabbit trail for about 2000 years now. We are truly the lost ones... not the non-Christians.

What evidence do I have? Well, for one, we are hated. If we were to poll the non-Christians (our "mission field"), our approval rating would make President Bush look like Ghandi. Now, I don't want to hear any stupid automatic response that comes from the propaganda we've been brainwashed with, like "We aren't supposed to be popular" or "God's ways are not man's ways" or "Jesus wasn't popular, that's why they killed him. Are you willing to die?" Its all bullcrap and totally irrelevant!

How do you really think the Church should look? Should it look like a bunch of lunatics with signs picketing and chanting anti-gay, anti-abortion, anti-"sin" taglines that only alienates people further and confuses the issue of who Jesus is and why do they need him as their Savior?

And why on earth would they want to have anything to do with us? What do we have to offer? Sometimes I wonder if Jesse Ventura was right when he said that church is a crutch for the weak-minded. Okay, so maybe that's going a little too far. But seriously, what have we done lately? If we look back on the last few years, what major changes have we made to society in the United States? Dig deeper than the colorful WWJD bracelets, Prayer of Jabez, and Purpose Filled Life crap that decorates practically a whole section all unto itself at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club. All I can think of is one sickening fad after another that offered no real changes. Seriously, how many times did you stop whatever you were doing and ask yourself "What would Jesus do?" because you noticed the stupid bracelet on your wrist. If it was so transforming, why did you take it off? Why aren't you wearing it still today? Why can't I go into a Christian bookstore and buy one anymore? Is it because it worked so well that everyone was transformed and has it practically automatically programmed in their minds so they no longer need the actual reminder around their wrist... or is it because its no longer popular and wasn't making money?

Why is it that we are known more for our judgement and condemnation than for anything else? Who appointed us the moral police officers of the universe anyway? I seem to vaguely remember a verse that said something about not pointing out a speck in someone's eye... can anyone refresh my memory as to how that ends? I'm pretty sure that it wasn't "feel free to point out the log in your neighbor's eye because it pales in comparison to the speck in your own." Although you wouldn't know it by the way we act, would you?

Remember in the Bible, when Jesus sent the disciples out on what I believe was their first missionary journey without him? They asked that if he wasn't going with them, how would people know who they were? It's a valid question... I mean, would you recognize any of The Heartbreakers unless they were with Tom Petty... or how about the Max Weinberg 7 without Max Weinberg? Jesus responded by assuring them that it was going to be okay because the people would know they were his disciples by their love. Interesting. Not by their words, or their bracelets, or their bumper stickers, or their judgement, or their condemnation, or their passing of "Christian" laws. By their love.
The way they treated the strangers, by loving them, would be enough to identify them as followers of Jesus... the first Christians.

How are we doing at that? Is the way we are treating others compelling them to investigate this Jesus that we follow... or is it repelling them?

Here's the other thing I believe the Church is failing miserably at... evangelism. But then again, when you're one of, if not THE most hated people group in the United States, and you can't get any good press because you keep screwing yourself over by sticking your nose where it doesn't belong (ie, the press, politics, etc), it makes it kind of hard to convince people that the God you love and serve is actually worth following. Gee... I wonder why?

Remember when Jesus was talking to Peter and He referred to him as the rock He was going to build His church on? Remember what he said next? "The gates of hell will not prevail." Think about that... that was Jesus' original vision of what the church would be. How would it look to have this thing called "The Church"? Everyone is known to be followers of Christ because of the way they love each other, and its so powerful that the gates of Hell itself will not prevail. Think about that a little deeper too... when was the last time you brought gates with you into a war? You don't do you? Gates are a defensive mechanism, not an offensive weapon. So what this verse is really laying out is that Jesus' original vision of the Church was that it would be a group of people that were literally storming the gates of Hell... attacking Hell itself and rescuing the lost.

I'm actually ashamed to think, or to know, how miserably the American Church is failing at this right now. Sure, we have altar calls... but what kind of follow up to we offer? What kind of structure do we extend? We're good at coming up with fads that will fade quickly and play as embarassingly as the mix tapes I made when I was in junior high... but what else?

So what does this mean for you and I? How should we live? What can we do? Well, like I've said before, it all comes down to love. Love your God, and love your neighbor... all of the law hangs on this. And they will know we are His followers by our love. And how will we know that we're on the right track? The gates of hell will not prevail.

Tomorrow is never promised...

Okay, I don't mean to be a downer here, but this is going to be a little bit of a more somber blog. Something happened to me while I was working this last hitch, and if anything good has come of it, it has been to remind me that everything can change in the blink of an eye.

There was an incident on my rig that resulted in me coming within 3-4 inches of being speared in the back of the head with a 1500 pound piece of drill pipe. I won't go into detail, but I was working, and heard someone yell, "Whoa!" immediately followed by the sound of a metal clang. I looked over my right shoulder and a couple inches from the end of my nose was sitting a piece of pipe. Had I been standing 6 inches to my right (which "coincidentally" I had been all morning, but wasn't at this moment), the pipe would have speared into me from behind and literally taken my head off. Work was immediately stopped on the rig, and wouldn't proceed for 18 hours as we had a safety stand down and didn't get our clearance to proceed until half way through our shift the next day.

It didn't hit me right away, but as I sat down and started processing everything that had just happened, I began to shake uncontrollably. The cup of water in my hand was spilling out all over my hand and the floor below me, even though I was holding it with both hands. Inevitably, I began thinking about my wife and children... what would have happened to them? Who would have called them and told them? Would they be covered financially, or did I not do enough? My son is only 4 months old... how would he grow up never knowing his father? My daughter is 4 years old... but how fuzzy would her memories become in the years ahead? What was the last thing I said to my wife?

Thank God the outcome wasn't what it could have or should have been. But it really opened my eyes to the reality that nothing is promised to us.

James says, "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow."

I know I am plenty guilty of this. I have plans for the future... grand plans, if I do say so myself. Plans to be debt free, to live in a nice house, to spend my days off traveling the world or fly fishing in a mountain stream. Plans of future ministries. I have plans. And sometimes I find myself living in my future... dreaming about days to come and ignoring today.

But through this experience, I've learned that of the two things: present and future, only one is certain. So why waste time living in the future? Take today while its here. Enjoy what you have right now, don't waste time dreaming about what you don't have.

Live each day to the fullest. Eat, drink and be merry... for tomorrow we die. I'm not advocating a hedonistic lifestyle here (and am very aware of the scripture that speaks out against the pagans with such a mindset), but rather a life of living for the moment. Live for today... grab life by the horns... don't wait!!! You may be waiting to do something until the time is "right"... thats bullcrap... do it now! How robbed would you feel if you never got the chance to do it because you kept putting it off?

Call your mom or dad, husband or wife and tell them that you love them. You never know when the last time you'll get to say this will be. Someday it will be someone else calling them to tell them you're not coming home... how do you want your last conversation to be remembered? How many people left for work on the morning of Sept. 11th thinking they would be back to resolve that stupid little argument with their spouse? And now they'll forever have that in their memories as their last conversation.

All I'm trying to say is to seize the moment... seize the day! We get too comfortable in this life assuming that we have 80 years, plus or minus a few, to accomplish everything we want to. But that's not true, and its sure as hell not guaranteed! Our time on this earth is limited and we need to make the most of it while we can.

Live from your heart. Live from your passions. Live from your desires. And for God's sake, start doing it today!

If Christ were here now, there is one thing He would not be - a Christian.

The following statement is a quote by Mark Twain:

"If Christ were here now, there is one thing he would not be - a Christian."

Now, I will be the first to admit that I don't know what context it was that this was written, other than that it was in one of his personal notebooks. But here's the deal: I want you to tell me your thoughts/feelings about this quote. Do you agree? Do you disagree? Why or why not? How does it make you feel? What does it mean/say to you? This blog will be a little backwards, because I am going to refrain from sharing my thoughts until after I've had a few responses and you have had ample opportunity to share your opinion. Alright, the mic is hot and the floor is open...

At a crossroads...

The Church is living Christianity out of context and I am at a crossroads.

Let me explain.

Say you were to fire a gun and miss the target you were aiming for. I mean, you may only miss by a couple milimeters, but you missed. Now imagine the path of that bullet has enough force and energy in it to continue on it's mis-guided path without losing speed or velocity (all you physics freaks out there live a little!!!). Also, imagine the intended path that the bullet was supposed to take that would have led to the bullseye extending through the target and on out into infinity. The farther the bullet travels, the more off-course it gets. Pretty soon what was initially a miss of only a few milimeters, is now a few feet... and the farther it goes, the wider that gap becomes. Eventually that gap could be a few hundred, even thousand feet off course... I mean, without ever losing its momentum it could eventually get to be a few miles off course! All because of a few milimeters.

I believe the Early Church had it right. They understood what Christ had taught them, and they knew what they needed to do in order to start the new Church after He was gone. But after a while, something started to change. I am not pointing fingers to blame any specific generation or historic event. But somewhere down the line we started to veer off-course. At first it didn't seem like much, in fact some people may not have even noticed they weren't "right on" anymore.

But the longer time went on, the farther down the historic timeline of the Church things started getting more and more off. But at that point, it had been such a slow and gradual change, no one was really noticing. (Kind of like the frog in boiling water... if you drop a frog directly into boiling water, it will jump right out. But if you put it in cool water and place it over a heat source, the frog will never jump out, but rather allow itself to boil to death.)

I can't help but feel that's where the Church is right now. The water is boiling around us, and no one seems to notice, or to care.

Somewhere down the line we have twisted and perverted the original Gospel. I mean, how else can you explain the polar opposite Gospels that Christ and the Early Church preached as compared to the "gospel" that is now preached in America today? I mean one is pro-hate, pro-judgement, pro-condemnation, pro-moral police, pro-America and anti-everyone else... and the other one? The other one is pro-love. Nothing more, nothing less.

How did we get to this point? Where did we lose our path? But more importantly... how do we get back?

That's where I am today... at a crossroads. I feel as if I can no longer associate myself with American Christianity and continue on the path that it is going. To call myself a "Christian" to the secular world already handicaps me from sharing the good news. As soon as someone hears the C-word, they are flooded with preconceived ideas and emotions based on what they have seen from a small, but intensely vocal minority. And it makes my job harder.

I have a good friend who has told me on more than one occasion that he has never felt judged as much as when he is around Christians. Is that what Jesus said when he sent the disciples out on their first missionary journey? "They will know you are my disciples by your judgement?" Ummm... the translation I have says "LOVE." They will know we are His disciples by our love.

That is the path we need to get back on. That is where we are supposed to be. And if the Church is going to continue on a path that takes them further and further away from that, then I guess I need to go off on my own.

I am at a crossroads and need to start forging a path back to the original intention of the Church and I need to distance myself from American Christianity pronto.

The question I have for you is this: Will you continue on the path that is comfortable and familiar? Will you stay with what you know best? Or will you join me?

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry that I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost

The Greatest Tragedy?

"If you're not a born-again Christian, you are a failure as a human being." - Jerry Falwell

"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected him from your city... And don't wonder why he hasn't helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I'm not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that's the case, don't ask for his help because he might not be there." - Pat Robertson, after the city of Dover, PA voted to boot the current school board, which instituted an intelligent design policy that led to a federal trial.

"I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way -- all of them who have tried to secularize America -- I point the finger in their face and say: "You helped this happen." - Jerry Falwell in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

"Well, I totally concur." - Pat Robertson's response to the above statment.


The thought of someone spending eternity in Hell because they did not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is tragedy enough. How much more of a tragedy for someone to reject Christ because the only representation they had was a perverted gospel spoken by a judgemental, unloving "Christian" who completely mis-represented the TRUE loving Creator? The thought of it breaks my heart...

What part of "Love" don't you understand?

A few years back I was on a mountain biking/snowboarding trip and while driving through a little town in the middle of nowhere in Colorado, I saw a sign in front of the only church in this tiny town. In big bold letters it read, "What part of "Thou Shalt Not" don't you understand?" My initial reaction was one of surprise, but it quickly turned to disgust. How could someone have the audacity to put a sign like that in front of a church?

Over the last few years I have returned to that church in my mind numerous times; and the more I think about it, the more it breaks my heart.

Now, in fairness to the pastor of that little church, I am going to withhold aiming my frustration at him and am therefore removing him from the crosshairs of my rant. I don't know the background of that little church. I don't know how many attempts at witnessing and evangelizing to the townspeople had failed. For all I know this was the only way he felt like he could get through to the people in his town. But to me, this symbolizes the larger state of affairs in the Church as a whole in this country today.

For some reason the Church has gotten to a point of righteous indignation where we have become self-proclaimed enforcers of biblical morality in a world that doesn't answer to the same Authority that we do.

I once heard a comedian say, "'Vengeance is mine', sayeth the Lord and I just want to be about the Lord's business!"

It's a funny comment, and I have taken it out of the context the comedian used but I feel as if it is a perfect example of how the Church feels, if not acts, these days. We read in the Bible about God's wrath and judgment, condemnation and damnation and somehow we interpret that as some sort of holy commissioning and a confirmation of the purpose of our existence from God himself.

But I would venture to say the exact opposite is true. In the Bible (specifically Romans chapter 2), the Apostle Paul says

Those people are on a dark spiral downward. But if you think that leaves you on the high ground where you can point your finger at others, think again. Every time you criticize someone, you condemn yourself. It takes one to know one. Judgmental criticism of others is a well-known way of escaping detection in your own crimes and misdemeanors. But God isn't so easily diverted. He sees right through all such smoke screens and holds you to what you've done.

If you read further, it goes on to talk about God and how he will judge everyone. To me, that pretty much means the job of judging is up to God, not us. Do you know what our job is?

People often times look at the Bible as a list of do's and don'ts and they get bogged down in the immensity of it all. "Its too much to think about", they feel. "How can I remember all of that?" they ask.

I've got some good news for you. Get this: it's really a lot easier than you think. In fact, Jesus himself said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Did you catch that? All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. One more time, ALL THE LAW HANGS ON THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS! Look it up yourself, there is nothing about judging. Nothing about being the moral police. Nothing about petitioning and rallying against gay marriage. Nothing about abortion, or creation nothing about republicans or democrats. I know it sounds really tree-huggerish and hippy-esque, but it all comes down to love.

Think about it for a minute and let it fully sink in. All you need to do is love God and love others. Nothing more, nothing less. If you do that consistently, 100f the time then you will also be following every other command that God has given us. Try it. Look in the Old Testament where we find what's referred to as The Law. Look at every command that is given (start with the 10 Commandments in Exodus chapter 20, if its easiest) and read it with the question "If I am loving God and others with all of my being, then is it possible to break this command?" You'll find it is impossible.

Now think about how the Church as a whole acts most of the time. Is it with love? Is it free of judgment? I would venture to bet that it is not. Now look at those who don't know God and aren't in a saving relationship with Him. Isn't it also our job to share the good news with them? After all, it is good news isn't it? I mean, if you held the cure for cancer or AIDS wouldn't you feel a moral obligation to share it with the rest of the world? We have the cure for sin, which everyone on this earth is dying from, and we have the same obligation to share that with everyone who doesn't know it. Our main purpose in this life should be guiding people TOWARDS the Truth, not scaring them away from it. But how can we share with those we've alienated because of our judgment? They will never be open to anything we have to say if the first thing we say is to point out where they are wrong and what they need to do to change. I once heard the statement, "You don't need to get cleaned up to take a bath." People need to come to Him just as they are, and we need to lead them.

It's not our job to judge, its not our job to condemn, its not our job to point out what sins and lifestyle changes the person needs to make. Our job is to love, and lead that person to the only source of water that will clean them up. What happens next is not up to us; it is not in our job description.

All we need to do is love. Period.