Archive for March, 2007

Mar 22 2007

The Day Our Country Will Weep

Published by under Theology Reloaded

The day is coming. And I’m not only referring to the day Jesus returns. America is a very proud country. As the days go by, more and more of us are ending up further and further away from Jesus. That is not God’s desire. After all, Jesus tells us that He came to seek and save what was lost (Luke 19:10). If that is His aim, we can imagine that He will see it through to completion. Roy Hession, in his little gem of a book We Would See Jesus (1958), says it this way:

“If an aeroplane designer designs a plane to fly at a certain altitude and finds that it will not leave the ground, he will bend every effort to make that plane do that for which he designed it. So does God bend every effort to bring us back to Himself.”

I imagine God employs many methods to bring us back to Himself. One of the most powerful He uses, as a last resort, is calamity. Calamity on grand scale. It’s all over the place in the Old Testament, so I don’t think it would be fair to accuse me of being unbiblical.

I was driving down the road, taking my brothers to the airport today and wondered what would happen if our economy suddenly came to a grinding halt. What if some nuclear attack happened? What if the bird flu went berzerk? What if the financial markets collapsed because of some hedge fund that had done something illegal? I tried to imagine how I could reduce my exposure to such an event because, certainly, no one would need IT work done then. People would be in survival mode on the most basic of levels. The result of any of those catastrophies would be devastating on all our lives.

America today is affluent enough that we don’t think God is necessary. It’s only when most of us get backed into a corner that we cry out for help to Him. So, tell me…what happens when God removes His hand of blessing from us? (Let me be clear that God owes us NOTHING! Any thing that we have in our life, including our breath, is a gift of grace from Him. We may not acknowledge it as such, but that’s the way it is). What happens when He removes His hand? Now all of a sudden, there are millions of people without any hope. Where do they turn? They would turn to God. Even though they may not have a conception of what god they’re calling out to, they would call. It is during these times of calamity that true Christ-followers would be roused from their spiritual slumber and begin coming alongside their neighbors and explaining theology to them – letting them know that affluence isn’t the reason God created us. Knowing HIM is the reason we were made. And that opportunity is available through the forgiveness of sins in Christ. Having a changed heart that desires the good of other people is available through Christ.

Calamity may be physically uncomfortable but it is often spiritually fruitful. If it is the only way God can get our attention (after He’s exhausted all other avenues), can we really think it will be too much longer before He allows broad-scale calamity to strike our nation? If His aim is to bring us back to Himself and nothing else will work, won’t He strip us of everything to show us that all we have is Him? I think so. And I think the day may be close. Christ may not return for thousands of years, but what if our nation is close to trouble?

My fellow Christ-follower, are you ready? Have you steeled yourself for hardship? Are you ready to proclaim the love of God to humanity in Christ? If God’s aim is to bring people back to Himself, are WE employing our lives toward His end?

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Mar 22 2007

O Brothers, Where Art Thou?

Published by under Music

I went running today and I was listening to Marc Broussard and JT. I came up over the top of a hill and it hit me. I listen to secular music about 75% of the time. Why? Well, one, I like to be up on culture. But another reason is that it is just straight up better. There are so few Christian musicians today who are doing innovative things, making music that moves my soul. A handful of bands come to mind, but nothing like the bands in the secular market. I realize some may disagree with the bands I’m about to name but Imogen Heap, Sigur Ros, John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Justin Timberlake, Appleseed Cast, Ray Lamontagne, Keane, Coldplay, Bjork, Death Cab for Cutie, Talib Kweli, Common, Jurassic 5, Daughtry, Fall Out Boyetc.

Now, there are some notable Christian acts – David Crowder Band, Third Day, Switchfoot, Leeland, Further Seems Forever, Downhere, Big Daddy Weave, Future of Forestry, Relient K, Salvador, Bebo Norman, etc. But so much of the Christian music that is made today is horrible. Either horrible musically or lyrically. Where are the musicians who are able to create incredible acoustic experiences while maintaining integrity in their lyrics? Even Switchfoot and Relient K can be very shallow in their lyrical content. Chris Tomlin’s latest offerings are, in my opinion, so trite they’re unlistenable. Hillsong even gets into much triteness. There are other artists who are Christian, but you’d have no idea by listening to their albums. They’re Christian in label only.

What I’m saying is this. I know that Jesus has given gifts to kids in our generation to make rich music. Where are you? I know you’re out there. I even know a couple of you personally. Brothers and sisters, we need you. I’m serious. Please start dreaming. Catch a vision of producing music independently. Talk to ME about your vision. I will encourage and help you. If you put a vision out in front of you and believe it’s in line with God’s will, it’s going to happen. He doesn’t care what you do – except glorify His name!!! Let that sink in. He wants His glory to be seen – in creation, in Christ, in our lives. Whether that’s at Target or Citi Group or McDonald’s or wherever. Are you leveraging the gifts He’s given you to glorify Him?

If you want someone to wrestle through issues with or make plans with, talk to me. My ears and my soul long for your tunes. There are thousands just like me out there. Music is a language of our generation. You speak it. So speak. I want to go running and be compelled to listen to your music.

Listen, there are thousands of things that are vying for your attention – many of those things are good. But if you are convinced that music is the GREATEST good and you’re not moving toward it, start asking yourself why. CS Lewis, in an essay he once wrote said, “every preference of a small good to a great, or partial good to a total good, involves the loss of the small or partial good for which the sacrifice was made.” That’s a pretty tricky sentence. Here’s an example. Suppose alcohol is the small good you enjoy. You decide to make this your life’s goal (they’re called alcholics). What happens? The alcohol is no longer good. Or what happens when you rearrange all of your life for a girl/guy? Most often, without balance, that small good that we elevated ends up becoming what we loathe. We end up not liking that person. The point? Stop elevating the small good in life. There are better things for you! It means you’ll need to say no to those other activities sometimes – even though they’re good. After all, you have a craft to perfect and songs to write and theory to study and bandmates to find, if you’re to be the real deal.

BREAK OUT of the mold you’re in. BREAK OUT of the conventions. THROW DOWN normalcy. Let your life get insane. Let your heart dream. Write it down. And then email me because I want to talk to you!

As a post-script…If you’re NOT great at music, find something at which you’re great. I’ll just be straight up…the last thing we need is mediocre music. But I know there are people out there who are just hiding!

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Mar 21 2007

How To Lose In The Online Dating Game

Published by under Humor

Ok, so I will admit it. Not only have I dated a girl I met online, I genuinely enjoy reading through profiles. I figure I may get married some day, so why not figure out what I really want, you know? It’s no-risk to read the profile. Kind of like all you ladies…many of you go browsing in stores for a long time before buying something. Well, since I’m might buy a wife someday (that’s what the whole ring thing is about, right?), I figure it’s cool to look through profiles. eHarmony, Relationships.com, ChristianCafe.com, match.com…I’ve done them all. I might even say I’m addicted to them…except that would be a lie. But they ARE fun!

This is where my keen insight and rapier wit will pay YOU dividends. I offer my wisdom for free. All free. These are a few of my suggestions on how to lose at the online dating game. This list only includes things having to do with photos. More suggestions on other topics are forthcoming.

1) Don’t post any pictures. Why bother? After all, you have a sparkling personality. There’s a huge flaw with this reasoning. Do you know why I don’t have a GPA on my resume? Because my GPA stinks. At least, _I_ don’t think it’s good. Some guy at a company may think I’m just what he wants. So the whole personality rationalization? Drop it. Post your picture. Don’t hide. Even if YOU don’t think you’re pretty, someone does. All those friends who tell you that you’re dumb for not thinking you’re pretty – they’re probably right. Your GPA probably wasn’t that great either if you consistently think all your friends are wrong about your looks!

2) Go to Glamour Shots and get a photo with a boa. I’m not hating on Glamour Shots. I ranted on this a couple blogs ago. The boa is played out. I’m not sure if feather scarves give a feeling of sophistication or glamour or what. I can tell you that the knee-jerk reaction of most dudes my age is, “Oh geez.” I don’t even think about it, the words just come out of my mouth. “Oh geez!”

3) Use a real small picture. Real small. Use a picture so small that I can’t see anything about you.

4) Use only pictures with you and 54 of your closest friends. Listen, I know you’re popular and all, but I can’t tell which person is you. I’ve scanned back and forth and I think 3 of the people MIGHT be you because your profile says you have strawberry blonde hair. But I remind myself that this is not “Where’s Waldo?”

5) Use only pictures with a horse in it. Ok, now I don’t want to hate, but that’s just not healthy. Fill in the blank. Maybe it’s not a horse, maybe it’s something else. Dudes taking pictures with cars in every single shot? Also weird. (n.b. I’m not looking at DUDES’ profiles). I understand a [horse] may be a part of someone’s life, but certainly not enough to warrant 23 out of 23 pictures having [horses] in them.

6) This is more of an observation. Me to my friend: “Bro, where can I take a picture of myself where the ladies will think I’m extra hot?” My friend to me: “Oh, homes, go out to your car. You sit in the driver’s seat and use your camera phone to snap a shot. They’ll go nuts!” I have never felt the urge to take a picture of myself in the car. How is it that so many people take pictures of themselves in the driver’s seat?

7) Wear almost nothing in your photos. Be as promiscuous as possible. This is not a surprise. I’m a Christ-follower, so I think girls should be respectable in what they wear. But think about this. Hot is hot. Whether you wear revealing clothes or not. I know YOU, as a girl, may not think that, but to honorable men…that’s the way we think (of course, I use the word “we” as though I’m an honorable man). If your heart tells you to be modest, don’t look back! Honorable dudes appreciate you more than they say (and maybe we SHOULD say more how much we appreciate you…without being all weird about it).

8) Post more photos where you’re wearing sunglasses. Hey, your eyes are windows to your soul but who wants to get into all that commitment right away. Wear those huge sunglasses that take up half your face.

9) Use Photoshop to edit your photos. Go ahead. Work your magic. Whiten up your eyes a little bit. Make them a deeper shade of blue. Smooth out your skin. We can’t tell at all that you’ve enhanced the picture. Most beautiful women look like werewolves with plastic skin.

10) Use a super awkward picture with you and the birthday cake you baked. I know you like to cook. Your influences say Rachel Ray, Paula Deen, and Emeril. And, honestly, that cake does look tasty. But you didn’t want your picture taken with it anyway. Someone forced you to do it. I can see it in your face. So why insist on sharing the awkwardness with me? Really, it just makes me feel awkward, too. Ok, and a little hungry. Ok, you know what? You’ve sold me. If you promise to cook for me, maybe we can talk.

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Mar 17 2007

Saying No

Published by under Theology Reloaded

The question is how do we spend our time? And the question below the surface is why do we desire to spend our time in certain ways?

No matter how you live life, you have a reason you do what you do. All of us are driven by pleasure. Some of us seek it in stuff. Some of us seek it in Jesus. Whichever our end, our energy will be spent in pursuit of that end. So most people in life look forward to the weekend because work is not the pleasure they desire. In fact, work in itself (not considering the money it produces), is a barrier to their pursuit of pleasure. The real pleasure for them (or maybe you) is found in the bars or clubs or entertainment.

There has now come a time in my life where I’m saying no to those things. Not because I believe they are all explicitly evil (although some are) but because I see pleasure in something beyond these self-serving activities.

The vision I have to live in the inner city is not small. It will include scores of people, hundreds of ideas, dozens of classes, and thousands of dollars. In other words, it’s not the type of thing that just sprouts up. It takes work – lots of it. And the sooner that prep work gets done, the sooner I head to the city – where people need me far more than I need to go hang out and sing karaoke or play board games. That’s just a fact. I’m not trying to diss anyone. It’s just true.

So I’ve started saying no. No, I can’t go out tonight. Or tomorrow night either. Not just to hangout, anyway. I’ve spent too much of my life doing that and all it’s left me with is a feeling like I’m 26 and I’ve done nothing with my life (because I haven’t). And I KNOW there are dozens of my friends who feel the same way. But instead of trying to change that, they keep on living the same life, while pouring out ridicule on me and telling me I need to loosen up. Straight up, living a “loosened up” life is 1) not exactly working for us, 2) not even biblical, and 3) boring as crap. How many times can I go to a club and listen to Fergie tell us that she’s tasty (which she doesn’t even spell right in the song)?

I know there are a boatload of people who totally disagree with me. In honesty, if you feel that way, I’m not writing this to you. I’m writing it to the people like me who are looking for a new way of life. The thing I want you to take away from this is that, as Christ-followers, He IS teaching us to think differently. And the new category that needs to get into your mind is this: what gives us pleasure will drive our actions.

Examining what you really value and sticking by those convictions will, by definition, dictate how you spend your time. These convictions need to be in our minds because we have grown accustomed to living life the “loosened up” way. Our lives will default to that if we don’t consistently remind ourselves of where our greatest pleasure is. I’m living proof. I value inner-city people more than I value hanging out. So I’m working toward that and it is freaking exciting. Every day I program and read/write, it is one dollar, one skill, and one component closer to showing people Jesus and helping them get out of poverty. But there are always haters. Peter said so…

“Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do – living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry. They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you” (1 Peter 4:1-4).

Undoubtedly, some will say that hanging out with friends isn’t sinful and doesn’t hurt anyone. That’s actually wrong. What is one primary responsibility God has given us? It’s to take care of the poor. So while we’re doing nothing with friends, the poor go about their lives without anyone to care for them. Our “doing nothing with friends” is doing nothing, indeed. It’s doing nothing about the command that Jesus gave us. And it’s doing nothing to ease the hurt of the poor. So it is both sin (disobedience) and hurtful.

The question is how we spend our time. And why do we spend it that way? The greatness of Jesus is waiting to be seen in the world. Not by a people playing board games and going to clubs. It’s waiting to be seen in the good works that He’s prepared in advance for us to do – good works that will cause people to glorify God on the last day. His greatness is waiting to be seen in clothing, feeding, and, generally providing for the poor. So for us, it should be as Martin Luther said: “There are only two days on my calendar: today and THAT day. Live this day for that day.” Word is bond.

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