Lady Gaga on Church

Lady Gaga is on the top of the music world right now. She is a very controversial musician and as an individual that works with teenagers, she is talked about quite frequently. She reminds me of the Madonna when I was a teenager.

She is "racy" and she tackles some themes that are very edgy and many would consider very disturbing. However, this post is not about that. I just want to share a PG picture of her (in case you do not know who she is) and some of her words recently about church that she shared when she was on Larry King.

"I struggle with my feelings about the Church in particular....in terms of religion, I'm very religious. I was raised Catholic. I believe in Jesus. I believe in God. I'm very spiritual. I pray very much. But at the same time, there is no one religion that doesn't hate or speak against or be prejudiced against another racial group or religious group, or sexual group. For that, I think religion is also bogus. So I suppose you could say I'm a quite religious woman that is very confused about religion. And I dream and envision a future where we have a more peaceful religion or a more peaceful world, a more peaceful state of mind for the younger generation. And that's what I dream for."

I put a bold on the word that is very telling for me. I think that there are many individuals are CONFUSED about religion, church and spiritual issues. They are on a journey and they struggle to grasp what is happening in their life and this crazed world that we live in.

Just some words to think about. For me, it is just a reminder of how important conversation is and to listen and hear people's stories.

Theology of Pooh

“If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together.. there is something you must always remember. you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. but the most important thing is, even if we're apart.. i'll always be with you.”

I posted this quote this morning and my good friend Tom, mentioned how similar those words are to the words that Jesus spoke to his disciples and he is absolutely right.

Jesus left his disciples and he promised them that he would leave them, that he would be there with him through the helper that he had sent. They did not know what to do; they had just previously been locking themselves in the upper room.

The quote can also be about friendships. I have met some amazing people that need to hear these words. They are braver than they realize and they are much stronger than they give themselves credit for and they are definitely smarter than they think. And no matter what occurs, I am there for you, my friends.

I See You

I have been thinking of those words from the movie of Avatar. It was a very good movie. However, I was thinking ------ what would happen if we actually saw people in our daily lives ??

The Song Lyrics

Walking through a dream
I see you
My light in darkness breathing hope of new life
Now I live through you and you through me
Enchanted
I pray in my heart that this dream never ends

I see me through your eyes
Living through life flying high
Your life shines the way into paradise
So I offer my life as a sacrifice
I live through your love

You teach me how to see
All that’s beautiful
My senses touch your world I never pictured
Now I give my hope to you
I surrender
I pray in my heart that this world never ends

I see me through your eyes
Living through life flying high
Your love shines the way into paradise
So I offer my life
I offer my love, for you

When my heart was never open
(and my spirit never free)
To the world that you have shown me
But my eyes could not division
All the colors of love and of life ever more
Evermore

(I see me through your eyes)
I see me through your eyes
(Living through life flying high)
Flying high

Your love shines the way into paradise
So I offer my life as a sacrifice
And live through your love
And live through your life
I see you
I see you

The Song & Movie Clips



From Vimoh

When the Na’vi meet, they greet each other with, “I see you”. The phrase is more than a simple greeting though. “I see you” is an acknowledgement.

Think about it. Why tell someone you see them? Isn’t it obvious that you see them? Obvious unless you are implying something more than the obvious when you say “you”.

In India, the common greeting Namaskar or Namaste is no simple Hello. When one says Namaskar to someone, what it means is that he/she acknowledges the spark of the divine that is present inside them. Hinduism believes that God is an all-pervading force that envelopes all beings and things.

A great metaphor for this concept is The Force from the Star Wars movies. It is an invisible field of living energy that spreads across the galaxy and connects every creature in it to every other. In Avatar, the natives of planet Pandora realise this connectedness of all things too. Only, they call it Eywa instead of The Force.

What this acknowledgement means is simply empathy. It means that you acknowledge the other as one like yourself. It means that the ‘I’ and the ‘You’ are the same – parts of a bigger whole. Empathy and compassion are at the root of all great religions of the world.

What this awareness does is that it makes the individual recognise his place in the world. It makes him humble (like Yoda from Star Wars) and it makes him care for the world around him (like the Na’vi in Avatar).

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Today, let us "see" people.

Compassion

We can always come up with legitimate-sounding reasons not to get involved. But if our compassion doesn't translate into action, we haven't really answered Jesus' call

I am working on a lesson about compassion for the youth on Sunday and the above sentence is swirling around in my head. I think that there are many individuals who say that they have compassion and their willing to extend a hand but it is often lip-service.

Keeping it at the lip-service stage is understandable. Acting on compassion is not easy. It involves taking emotional, financial and physical risk. Each individual probably holds one of those three to a different light.

Thomas Merton says the following:

To say that I am made in the image of God is to say that love is the reason for my existence, for God is love. Love is my true identity. Selflessness is my true self. Love is my true character. Love is my name.

I think that we need to be God's love and that means that we need to extend compassion.

Francis Chan / Balance Bean / Risk

I really enjoy reading and listening to Francis Chan. His Crazy Love is a great book and what their church does is amazing. I really wish that churches lived out a crazy love for their neighborhoods.

Here is a small piece of a message/sermon about Risk. It may not be his best illustration / his best point BUT ..... I am "wrestling" with risk and pushing people to risk. Watch it.



Are you playing it safe ?

Broken ....

I have had many conversation today and I have seen a lot of people who are broken. They are in a tough spot. Life is hard and it is rough and if we were honest, life has plainly dealt them a bad hand and they are having trouble playing with the hand that they have been dealt.

At times, they just want to "call" the game or fold.

Here is a stolen thought:

If we are the body of Christ - and Christ came not for the healthy but the sick - we need to be fully present in the places where people are most broken. And it has to be more than just a financial presence. That helps, of course. But too often money is insulation - it conveniently helps us from ever having to come face-to-face with a man or woman whose life is in tatters.

We, as Christians, are too afraid to take risk though and truly be present for people. Will you be willing to be present to the broken ??

Silence & Speech

I am pondering this quote this morning as I am listening to music and working on some vacation bible school material:

The mark of solitude is silence, as speech is the mark of community. Silence and speech have the same inner correspondence and difference as do solitude and community. One does not exist without the other. Right speech comes out of silence, and right silence comes out of speech

This is powerful and challenging for me. I am going to have to mull on this for awhile.

Two Quotes on Religion & God

Lenny Bruce
"Every day people are straying away from the church and going back to God."

Jonathan Swift
"We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another"

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Just things to think about

The Bible in 50 Words

I came across this today ....

God made,
Adam bit,
Noah arked,
Abraham split,
Joseph ruled,
Jacob fooled,
bush talked,
Moses balked,
Pharaoh plagued,
people walked,
sea divided,
tablets guided,
promise landed,
Saul freaked,
David peeked,
prophets warned,
Jesus born,
God walked,
love talked,
anger crucified,
hope died,
Love rose,
Spirit flamed,
Word spread,
God remained.

Vocation, Listening & Compassionate Justice

Here is a little "recap" from a team meeting we had last night for our national gathering trip to NOLA this summer:

On March 8th, we had our National Gathering meeting and the focus of our lesson was on those three themes. We "zeroed" in on listening and then connected listening to vocation and compassionate justice.

I think that the conversation and the lesson that we went over was very good and we (as a group) are getting a great understanding of what to expet when we get to New Orleans. Preparation for the trip is very important.

I am going to share with you the "wrap-up" that we did last night for the recap portion of the night:

Vocation

God's call that frees us to listen

Listening

Putting aside our preconceived outcomes to hear and comprehend the needs of others.

Compassionate Justice

Our response to the needs of others, discovered through listening and accomplished through the freedom of God's call.

Vocation, listening, and compassionate justice are three vital and beautifully interconnected pieces of our Christian life. They shape not only how we approach time in New Orleans, but also how we live out God's promises here at home.

These are three very important words and words that I believe that we need to have close to our heart, no matter where we are out and where we are serving.

My Wife Will Love This Photo

N O T !!!



So, here is the story of why the photo is on my blog and why my wife would not like the photo and then some ramblings .....

Roy Almquist said the following: It is painful and a sign of our brokenness, that our synod sends hundreds of gifted, motivated young people on mission trips while our city congregations struggle and our city cries out for mercy.

Roy is a former bishop in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod and he was speaking about youth mission trips and service. We are to contemplate on the statement as we get ready to go to the Gathering. We are going there to serve the community of NOLA.

The quote has us question our motives and to take a look at our own backyard, what are we doing for the community around us. There are many hurting and need help and instead of helping them, we head out .....

Why ?

Is there theological ramifications that go with it or does it "really" matter because if you go - you are still out serving - it does not matter where ...

Things to think about .....

So, back to the picture. Why in the world do I have four teenage girls in a bikini jumping at the beach ?

Well, I was doing a search on the former Bishop and trying to get more information and trying to get a better feel of him and the context of his quote. When I did the search, it took me to a church in Pennsylvania and this picture (up above) was the first picture on the churches EASTER web page .....

Anyways, my wife would have gone through the roof if she was on the trip with the church group and all the girls in the group on the beach was in bikinis.

So, this post hit on a few things I guess but if you would, I would like to hear feedback on the quote. I have placed it in a few places to get feedback and the responses have been interesting. Here is the quote:

It is painful and a sign of our brokenness, that our synod sends hundreds of gifted, motivated young people on mission trips while our city congregations struggle and our city cries out for mercy.

Theology: Who Is Right ?

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I took this from Mark who took it from Lionel
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I Love This.

Yes, I know there will be many who visit who will say, "no imposible for me to be wrong because I follow Scripture"

Abundant Living

Abundant living means embracing and engaging the world around us.

On December 19th Jim Carrey returns to the cineplex in the comedy Yes Man. The film is adapted from Yes Man, the unintentional self-help book that tracks one year of humorist author Danny Wallace’s life after a stranger on a late-night bus suggests
that he should “say yes more.”

In order to make his life more interesting, Wallace pledges not just to say yes more—but to say yes to everything: “I, Danny Wallace, being of sound mind and body, do hereby write this manifesto for my life. I swear I will be more open to opportunity. I swear I will live my life taking every available chance. I will say Yes to every favour, request, suggestion and invitation. I will swear to say yes where once I would say no.”

We need to find ways to say yes to life, to relationships, and to engaging God’s world more fully. But we cannot say yes to everything, and there is still a place for saying no. Danny Wallace’s approach to life, choosing to say yes to everything without thought or consideration, comes with plenty of problems.

Wallace must have been aware of this fact; in Yes Man he enlists a close friend, Ian, to make sure that none of the ventures are too wild. While we should not close ourselves off from the world by consistently saying no, we must use wisdom and discernment before saying yes.

I know that to a few individuals that I have been saying "yes" to too many things. As, I look back at the last few months, I have definitely took on a few more things and with "Bridges" coming around the corner, this will definitely be the case.

However, I am doing so - saying yes - with a purpose in my. Recently, I saw some talking points (3) and I believe they are "fitting" to me. Here they are:

Talk Topic #1: The Habits of No
KEY POINT: If we make a habit of saying no to new experiences and opportunities, we may miss out on the abundant life that God desires for us.

Talk Topic #2: The Power of Yes
KEY POINT: Saying yes means actively engaging and embracing God’s children and God’s creation.

Talk Topic #3: Saying Yes to God
KEY POINT: Theres a difference between constantly saying yes and saying yes to God. When we say yes to God, we are actually saying yes to God’s will for our
lives, even if this means sometimes saying no.

Also, I have recently had a scripture come to mind that has really grapped a hold of my heart strings. Throughout my life, during different periods, there were certain Scriptures that "drove" me. Here is the one that is my driving force:

Proverbs 31:9 (The Message)

"Speak up for the people who have no voice, for the rights of all the down-and-outers. Speak out for justice! Stand up for the poor and destitute!"

I want to be the "voice" for those who do not have a voice or am not sure how to use their voice.

Jesus is in the Film Frame ....

Jesus is in every film frame ....

Numerous times in my life, I wish that I could have fast-forwarded life. As I look back, in particular, on the last 2 1/2 years, I would have loved to have the thumb on ff button and quickly move on. However, in life, we do not get that option. We must live through every frame of life.

We do not usually see Him though because we are not looking and we are consumed with what is occurring in our lives and are blinded. Most times, we may even be able to justify the blindness because the things that we are going through "are just not fair".

But, if we look back, we can see that He was there in every frame. Would it not be great if as we walked through life, we would recognize his face at every frame. If we could do that, it would make the journey a little more bearable and we may be a little less likely to press the ff button because we might miss something great and we may miss a very valuable lesson.

If I were honest, I know that I would have loved to press the ff button through numerous areas of my life in the recent past. however by doing so, I know that I would have missed out on a great deal. I try very hard and I think that I succeede most times in looking "for and at" the Divine in the daily moments, if we do not; we are going to miss out on a great deal and our hurt will be greater than it needs to be.

I am sorta reminded of the following icon:



God is No Where

or

God is Now Here

My challenge to me and my challenge to you is to recognize that God is now here. Our life is a "movie" and He is in every frame for us. Take comfort in that and has you go through life and the "kitchen sink" is being thrown at you; see God and grab a hold of him.

People Like Problems ....

People like problems they know MORE than problems they don't know

Hmmm, I think that this might sum of why some individuals do not like change and the reason that they are "comfortable" with the status quo.

I believe that there are a few things that we need to "shake-up" but if we shake things up, we do not know what problems will come our way. If we remain on the path that we are on, there are going to be a lot of problems, however, we know the problems and can navigate them a little more easily. Going in a different direction, it will cause a bumpy ride.

In areal sense, I want the bumpy ride.

Marketing: Starbuck's Vs. The Church

This (in my opinion) is a great Parable on Marketing and looking at it through the lens of the church & starbucks. Unfortunately, I recognize all the "pokes".



Consumerism in the church, what do you think ?

Poverty: What Me? I Don't Give a Shit

There is something that is stiring inside of me. Over the next couple of weeks, I am going to try to come to grips with it. It is going to be hard to explain and share, but we will see where it goes.

The post that you are reading is not going to be mine. This post is much better than I could ever do. It comes from one of my new blogs that I read called: Pragmatic - Eclectic. The post hits a homerun in my opinion:

As Jesus started on his way, the Church ran up to him and fell on it's knees before him. "Good teacher," it asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother."

"Teacher," the Church declared, "all these I have kept since I was young."

Jesus looked at the Church and loved it. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

At this the the Church's face fell. It went away sad, because it had great wealth.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!"

Poverty means illiteracy, inadequate medical care, disease and brain damage. Church when you tuck your children in this night - Thank God you were not born in the Third World relying on you for help. This night through your inaction thousands will die. I praise God that He is biased towards the poor, He needs to be due to our sinful unconcern.

After all, it is the poor who will judge us. It is the poor person we encounter in the crucified and risen Christ who calls us to account for our actions, and it is the poor person of Jesus Christ who says to us, "whatever you did or did not do for 'the least of these' you did or did not do for me."

"I have three things I'd like to say today. 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." T.Campolo

There are 2,000 verses of Scripture that tell us we must be committed to protecting the poor and the oppressed ...

"I see Christ in the ... poor. Sometimes we meet Jesus rejected and covered in filth in the gutter. Sometimes we find Jesus stuffed into a drain, or moaning with pain from sores or rotting with gangrene, or even screaming from the agony of a broken back. The most distressing disguise calls for even more love from us." Mother Teresa

I posted these thoughts a few days ago.

How can the Western Church - share in the eschatological feast, some call communion, if we don't display God's future in which all will be equally fed, all will be equally clothed, all will be equally treated, all will be equally loved and all will join together in universal praise?

If we eat the body and blood of Christ in expensive churches without care for the hungry, the sacrament is no longer a fortaste of things to come but a trivialised picnic to which not everyone is invited. So Church - OPEN YOUR DOORS - invite ALL to come to the feast. Jesus is saying to you this day - Church go sell all you have and give it to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me.

Church you got fancy expensive audio visual gear? How about a cappucino machine out front? Nice comfy chairs? Yeah ... you look really pretty .... in a wordly kind of a way. It is my prayer this night, you will hear in your dreams - the sounds of a grieving mother as she tries to nurse her dead child from her dry breast and see her mouth the words to you - help me, help me, please.....

This is so powerful.

I find myself in a struggle. I believe that we need to be doing so much more for our community. I feel that my family does and my church family. I am trying to get a better grasp on the problem.

This morning, I was having a conversation about my heart for the hurting and the poor and the need for more outrach and our church needed to step up to the plate more and it was drowned out a little by the sound of: we need more money to fix the building, we need money to pay bills, we need to concentrate on reaching families that will give, so we can have extra money to give to the needy ....... ugh

So, here is the deal, over the next few weeks, I will be sharing some more thoughts and stories on poverty and how they may be insecting our lives. I will also then begin sharing a project that I am going to attempt to work on to bring awarness to our community, both the church community and the community )county) that I live in.

To quote Mother Theresa:

It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.

To quote Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children.

To quote Gandhi

Poverty is the worst form of violence

Let me see where this journey will take me.

Pulling My Hair Out

Yesterday was a very long day and at 10 pm when I walked into the doors of my house, I wanted to pull my hair out. It has been 10 hours since I have walked in the door and even after a decent night of sleep, I am in shock and disbelief over what occurred yesterday.

I am not going to "expose" all the dirty laundry from the meetings but I will just say that I was very disappointed. The reason for my disappointment is that I believe 100% that there is majority consensus maybe even unamious consensus from Council on the decision that needs to be made .... but yet ... no decision and another meeting on the table for Oct. 27th.

My fear is that in the end, we are going to suffocate the issue and it is going to be dead and in the end, we have WASTED numerous hours of peoples time for NOTHING.

Here is another thing that is driving me NUTS and I know some of it is just "my problem". But let me share it with you. I am in a constant struggle with the issues of the world and the issues of the church. With my work in the community, I see the need and struggle that is out in our community: poverty, homelessness, lack of education, health care issues and more. I like trying to help and assist in these community issues and then ..... yesterday, I spent 4+ hours in meetings at church about job descriptions and what time will our worship services be.

DON'T GET ME WRONG ..... those are issues and discussions and decisions that need to be made. HOWEVER, can we move on and focus on people and the issues of our community. We have a great opportunity to make a difference. We can influence the lives of the people and we can impact the community.

BUT, I am afraid we will never get to tackling these issues and when we get to heaven, what a conversation with God it will be .....

Yes, God, I know that we did not do anything about empowering parents to teach their children and we let our city go to hell in a handbasket BUT we did get a building up after 5 years of planning and we finally made a decision on worship times.

Now, that is something to get excited about.

To my church family that reads this, if this is offensive, please come and chat with me. We have the opportunity to quickly make the decisions that are facing our congregation and then move on to make an impact in our community. We can do it.

Join the World in Suffering

A church is not a center for religious goods and service, where people pay a fee and receive a product in return. A church is not an organization that surveys its demographics to find out what the market is demanding at this particular moment and then adjusts its strategy to meet that consumer niche.

The way of Jesus is the path of descent. It is about our death. It is our willingness to join the world in its suffering, it's our participation in the new humanity, it's our weakness calling out to others in their weakness.

I do not think that we as individuals and as churches really want to suffer. We really love our comfortable life and we do not want Jesus to mess that up. Well, at times, maybe a lot of times, we need God to mess our lives up.

The gathering of the church, in a service or worship or teaching setting, is to remind, instruct, and inspire people about being Eucharist for the world they find themselves in.

We as individuals and as churches really need to have a fuller understanding of the Eucharist and what it means to our lives and to those lives that we come into contact with.

The Eucharist is ultimately about what we do out there, in the flow of every day life.

We need to fully understand (as much as our mind can grasp) the grace of God, so we can extend that grace to individuals. In my opinion, we are not good at extending grace.

Need God's Grace ?

There you go :)