Taboo

Christians, as the people of God who should be assisting in the redemption of creation in Christ, have some difficulties to face. One of those is cultural taboos. There are many things which are considered taboo which we as Christians need to participate in. Our culture tells us that the homeless are on the streets for a reason which they caused and that we should not acknowledge their existence. Yeah, it is o.k. to give to the Salvation Army or volunteer at a soup kitchen around Thanksgiving. But actually acknowledging the homeless as people, that is something different.

The Healing Game

Here I am again

Back on the corner again

Back where I belong

Where I've always been. . .

I'm back on the corner again

In the healing game

Van Morrison's song The Healing Game is a heartfelt tale of an Irish singer returning to the streets to sing the long lost songs of oral tradition. As I was listening to this song the lyrics really began to resonate with me and I felt as if God was speaking to me through this song, and possible speaking to the entire Church through this song.

Bringing Religion Back

For about the last ten or fifteen years it has been popular among evangelical Christians to deny "religion." Many who have grown up in the evangelical church if asked what religion they were might answer something like, "I don't have any religion, just a relationship," or something else catchy like that. I hear this response, in one form or another, all over the place, from people in almost every denomination among the evangelical churches. This response has made me to ask two questions, which are the basis for this post. Why is it that the religious have turned their back on religion? And, Is it possible to be a Christian and not be religious?

Is Jesus a Polygamist?

When the Church is wedded to Jesus will Jesus become a polygamist? Is he going to be wedded to one body or to separate bodies? Many Christians live as if Jesus is a polygamist. They do not see the Bride of Christ as one but as many. Think about it at a macro level we have the Catholics, the Orthodox Church and the Protestants. At a micro level each of these can be divided into many other groups, the Protestants the worst. Some might argue that these are just different expressions of the same Body of Christ, while others consider all who are outside of their tradition as heretics. I lean more toward the former. However, these divisive groups do not act as different expressions of the same Body. They ridicule each other, they condemn each other, they refuse to work with each other.

Drop in Consumerism . . . Bad?

In the last decade or so there has been much critique on the consumer driven culture in which we live. Many people have spoken out against this vast expanse of consumerism. It finally seems that the message has been heard (well maybe) and it is being viewed as a horrible thing. It is actually being viewed as something which we should actually fear.

Redemption Song

“Old pirates, yes, they rob I;

Sold I to the merchant ships,

Minutes after they took I

From the bottomless pit.

But my hand was made strong

By the 'and of the Almighty.

We forward in this generation

Triumphantly.

Won't you help to sing

These songs of freedom? -

'Cause all I ever have:

Redemption songs;

Redemption songs.”¹

While suffering from cancer the Rastafarian Bob Marley recorded "Redemption Song." The song is one which expresses a hope for future freedom, however at the current time all that can be done is to sing songs of this future freedom, redemption songs.

I'll be back

As you may have noticed, I have not posted anything new lately. Life has gotten really busy and I have not had time to post anything new.  When things slow down I will begin posting again.

Thank you for reading.

Unity as More than Equals

Unity seems to be a buzzword in many congregations today. It is good that many churches are seeking to bring unity among the body of Christ, however their approaches can be very damaging. The starting point of many congregations is to compare the good things their congregation has to offer with the bad things the other congregations in their areas have to offer. In doing this a barrier is created which will hinder the development of unity. Imagine if congregations began looking to the good things which other congregations had to offer, looking to the good which might develop if weaknesses are cast off and true unity in Christ were embraced. Imagine if we all began looking at others in the body of Christ as better than ourselves, as more than equals.

How Can They Get Involved?

Sitting around dynamic Church leadership meetings, church board meetings, church staff meetings, and the question almost always comes up, "how can we get people involved?" It seems that a problem exists in churches everywhere, a problem of Christians not stepping up and serving. I have another question to ask, it is not how can we get people involved, my question is "how can you not get involved?" Is it really possible to "take up my cross" and "present my body as a living sacrifice" if I am not involved?

The problem, seems to begin with church leaders. They are asking the wrong question. They should not be asking, "how can we get people involved?" They should be asking, "how can we get people to become followers of Christ?" Christian leaders (myself included) have greatly missed the point. In many cases we have come to the conclusion that if people are involved they are walking with God. It is not our role to get people involved, but to help people develop a relationship with Christ. If people begin to develop a strong relationship with God they will get involved. Our focus should not be on getting people involved in ministry but getting involved with Christ.

Windows

Windows are intriguing things. Think about it, windows are pretty humble. A really great window is one which never wants to be looked at, never wants to be noticed, and never wants any attention. A really great window is looked straight through. A really great window clearly shows what is on the other side of it, without getting in the way. Although not all windows are humble. Stained-glass windows for example, they are never looked through. A stained glass window is always drawing attention to itself, to its broken shards of glass. As Christians what type of windows are we?

As a Christian I am called to show Christ to others. I am to be a window of sorts. A window through which Christ is revealed. It is tempting to be a stained-glass window. Often times I want people to look at my life and see what Christ is like. I try to order the broken pieces of my life in such a way as to create an image of Christ. The problem with this is that people only see me. They see my broken pieces, even if they are beautifully placed together. They do not actually see Christ, they only seen an image of Christ. Even if Christ is really behind my life, all that will be seen is his shadow through the colorful glass. As a stained-glass window I draw attention to myself and become a barrier between others and Christ.

I should desire to be a standard window. A window which people look at and see Christ. My life should be transparent, not so people are looking at me, but so that people see Christ. I desire that people see right past me into the face of our Lord. To do this I must ask myself why I do the things I do. Do I do them so that others look at me or so that others look at Christ. Am I concerned more with my reputation, or the reputation of Christ. I need to ask if I am acting in such a way as to draw attention to myself or through myself.

I pray that we and our church leaders would desire to be standard windows and not stained-glass windows. Transparency should not be the revealing of my inner thoughts, secrets and skeletons in my closet but it should be the revealing of Christ through my life.