Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Roughly two thousand years ago, Jesus was born in a dumpy, rural, hick town, not unlike those today where guys change their own oil, think pro wrestling is real, find women who chew tobacco sexy, and eat a lot of Hot Pockets with their uncle-daddy. Jesus’ mom was a poor, unwed teenage girl who was mocked for claiming she conceived via the Holy Spirit. Most people thought she concocted a crazy story to cover the “fact” she was knocking boots with some guy in the backseat of a car at the prom. Jesus was adopted by a simple carpenter named Joseph and spent the first thirty years of his life in obscurity, swinging a hammer with his dad.

Around the age of thirty, Jesus began a public ministry that included preaching, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and befriending social misfits such as perverts, drunks, and thieves. Jesus’ ministry spanned only three short years before he was put to death for declaring himself to be God. He died by shameful crucifixion like tens of thousands of people before and after him.

At first glance, Jesus’ résumé is rather simple. He never traveled more than a few hundred miles from his home. He never held a political office, never wrote a book, never married, never had sex, never attended college, never visited a big city, and never won a poker tournament. He died both homeless and poor.

THIS IS AN EXCERPT FROM VINTAGE JESUS BY MARK DRISCOLL.

(LAURA BOUGHT ME VINTAGE JESUS AND VINTAGE CHURCH FOR CHRISTMAS, FOR WHICH I AM GRATEFUL, BECAUSE I NEVER HAVE ENOUGH TO READ)

90% of churches don't bother with their Twitter/Facebook pages

from Justin Wise on Church Marketing Sucks:


Churches (and a lot of organizations) get swept up in the fad of social media without thinking through a long-term strategy. Someone on staff will get excited, grab a Twitter account or start a Facebook fan page, and then stall out. Once the “high” of getting the first few followers wears off, these social media become dormant and neglected communication channels.

In other churches, you’ll find an ambitious staff person who has taken the initiative for their church. They have started generating content on multiple social networks and are getting a great response. What happens next is someone higher up on the food chain will find out about it and want to control it. Or shut it down. Or turn it into an “info dump”, clogged with redundant church advertisements and announcements. Once that happens, social media fails to be social.

Courts Helping Banks Screw Over Homeowners

Here is a great article from this week's Rolling Stone: Courts helping banks screw over homeowners.


Here is the final paragraph of the article:


When you meet people who are losing their homes in this foreclosure crisis, they almost all have the same look of deep shame and anguish. Nowhere else on the planet is it such a crime to be down on your luck, even if you were put there by some of the world's richest banks, which continue to rake in record profits purely because they got a big fat handout from the government. That's why one banker CEO after another keeps going on TV to explain that despite their own deceptive loans and fraudulent paperwork, the real problem is these deadbeat homeowners who won't pay their bills. And that's why most people in this country are so ready to buy that explanation. Because in America, it's far more shameful to owe money than it is to steal it.

Church: According to Legacy

Here is an excerpt from Legacy Church that I liked:


Church (ekklesia) means a gathered and unified people. Legacy Church gathers around a King, not a building or time. I sure didn't grow up this way, so we "went" to church rather than "gathered" as the church. It seems like splitting hairs doesn't it.

Right now we meet in a pretty small place, but will grow to a bigger one, the whole time splitting off in smaller groups. During all of this we never stop being the church. Church is a lifestyle - a people continually on mission together. We might be eating together, working out together, meeting as men, as women. We might be worshipping, studying God's story to us, helping the disenfranchised, you get the picture. The whole time we are the church.

Legacy Church meets at 7905 Woodland Brae, Knoxville TN
Legacy Church meets at 5:30 PM on Sundays

South Florida Amber Alert: Hospitality and Kindness

I was speaking to my new neighbor today. She moved here from Puerto Rico last winter and bought the foreclosed, run-down house next door.

I told her that we were planning on leaving Sunny South Florida at some point for a destination further north. I explained that that were a myriad of reasons for our planned departure (hot weather, cost of living, over-stuffed schools), not the least of which is our aversion to the culture and people of South Florida.

People in South Florida are uncaring jerks, for the most part. Anyone who would deny this is either in denial, or they are in fact one of those jerks. We come from the Midwest (Detroit) where people are actually friendly, and more importantly, neighborly.

In the five and a half years that we've lived in our home, we have extended every effort to build good relationships with our neighbors. No one has returned the favor. With two kids under our roof, we simply no longer want to be "missionaries" to this uncaring culture.

My neighbor, from Puerto Rico, stated that she actually thought that this culture was indicative of the U.S. as a whole. I told her that she couldn't be more wrong. In the Midwest, people are friendly, conversational, and neighborly. We sense it the second we step foot off of the plane in Michigan.

She told me that, where she comes from, the neighbors ask each other for help, hang out together, and aren't afraid to ask for "eggs or milk" when they've run out.

I laughed. I can relate.

I've gone to my neighbors for these things and received looks as if I were some sort of alien. We've invited our neighbors into our home on many occasions. Our immediate neighbors have lived here for 25 years and they've never received such an invitation from any other neighbor in that time. The irony is that our immediate neighbors are the "nicest neighbors" we have - and they are the couple from Brooklyn who always seem like they're yelling. The bar has been lowered.

In Tennessee, my aunt knows everyone who lives in her neighborhood, after only living there a couple years. I count myself lucky because I know about a dozen of my neighbors. Most of my neighbors don't even know each other.

Here's what I don't understand. If South Florida is so full of the Hispanic Culture, why doesn't it have more of an impact on our hospitality to each other? You would think that the Melting Pot/Salad Bowl of South Florida would be a better place to live, but it isn't.

Being "Spirit-Led"

Can being "Spirit-Led" be learned behavior? If one where truly led by the Spirit, wouldn't it automatically be spontaneous, authentic, and unique to the individual?

I was raised in a Baptist environment where "charismatic" was almost a bad word. Upon arrival in South Florida, we begrudgingly became a part of the Southern Baptist Denomination, where "charismatic" was an unspoken bad word.

When I read through the Baptist Faith and Message, I definitely noticed the ill-will that it held toward charismatics. I noticed this same ill-will as I read through the commentary in my John Macarthur Study Bible.

As much as I had no background involving the charismatic lifestyle/worship (whatever you want to call it), I found some of these arguments against it to be weak and reeking of personal bias.

Personally, I'd give someone the benefit of the doubt when they claim to be led by the Spirit - to a point. I'd also say that I'm probably skeptical of these people as well. But this is the conundrum in which I find myself - I'm skeptical, but desiring my skepticism to be discounted.

From personal experience, I've come to believe that in many instances, this Spirit-Led behavior is learned from others, rather than spontaneously given from within. This is unfortunate.

We had a guy going to our church a few years back that would stand in the front row with his arms raised, or sometimes lay flat down on the ground (face down) during worship. Some others in the church complained about his "behavior" citing the usual "Baptist/Biblical" excuse of his behavior being distracting from worship. I disagreed with this criticism, and expressed that his behavior was actually uplifting for me and aided in my worship experience. I wished that I could be the one dancing, raising my hands, and laying on the ground - but the truth is that the Spirit wasn't leading me to do it.

I sometimes look around at the crowd at our Mega-church and wish that the crowd were more into it. I've been to churches where the crowd seems to be totally disassociated with the worship to which they're being led. It makes me sad. Its true that most people find it easier to worship at a sporting event or a concert than they do at church - a depressing fact.

On the other hand, I've been to churches where the congregation is totally into the worship experience. I give them the benefit of the doubt that the experience of most of the individuals is sincere and authentic, but sometimes I wonder. Is it sincere, authentic, and spontaneous, or is it really just learned behavior from those around them? This possibility (and a strong one I suspect) makes me sad as well.

We went to a church a couple years ago where the pastor "prodded" the people into speaking in tongues, and told them what to say if they faltered. This seemed totally inauthentic to me and it was really a downer.

We also went to another church where one of the singers pulled out a Bible and spit out lyrics on the fly right out of the Bible. At the time, I found this practice awe-inspiring, but I've since learned that this is also a trained behavior/skill called prophetic singing. How exactly can you train someone to "sing prophetically"?

This is exactly what I'm struggling with. I want to believe that the Holy Spirit is alive and well in our churches, our lives, our worship, etc. I don't want to be a Baptist Kill-Joy. As Mark Driscoll puts it, I'd at least like to be a Charismatic with a Seat Belt. But I really struggle with people who are not able to just be themselves. This goes for people on both sides of the fence really. One of the joys that I find in Jesus is the freedom to just be myself, regardless of what anyone else may think of me. This is a joy and a freedom that many Christ Followers miss out on.

When I was a teenager, I went on an outing with the youth group from my church. When the invitation was given at the end of the event, every single youth from our group went forward to answer the call to the invitation. I was left sitting alone with our group leader, Sandy Jelsomino. She leaned over and asked me if I was okay, if I wanted to respond to the invitation. I told her that I kind of did, but I was turned off by the fact that most of my school-mates weren't going forward because of a change of heart, but rather because that was the thing that was expected of them.

At the age of 12 or 13, I'd already declared myself as the anti-hero that I still am today, 20 years later. I refuse to toe the line when it comes to my relationship with God. I'm going to do what comes naturally to me, while still stretching my comfort zone and being open to being led by God's Spirit. I don't want to be a stodgy prude, but neither do I want to be an inauthentic "Spirit-Led" person who's simply going through the motions for which they've been trained.

Christianese

Thanks to the Urban Dictionary......

Christianese:

Christianese is the language spoken by Christians. It makes no sense to anyone unfamiliar with biblical texts, but earns you major points in the eyes of other Christians, because it means your words are holy.

Darrin Patrick

A Different Perspective

I was recently given two job offers. While, in the past, I might have jumped at either one of them, this time I was forced to look at them from a new perspective.

As a part of the back-to-school / having kids plan, I am currently waiting tables at the Cheesecake Factory while my wife stays home with our two infants.

Generally, I am a morning person, and would prefer to work 7-3 if at all possible. But given the current circumstances, the gig waiting tables is actually quite agreeable. When given a "day" shift, I don't go in until almost noon, which is very helpful for my wife as she isn't left to fend for herself during the morning hours.

While at first my body was screaming "it's past our bedtime!!" every time I had to work late, after five months, I've finally gotten used to the routine of staying up late and even sleeping in a little.

My wife and I have always had separate health insurance plans because that was the least expensive option - let each of our employers subsidize our premiums individually. But now, as the sole earner for a family of four, health insurance premiums and the coverage they provide were a big factor in the decision making process. The difference between $300 a month and $800 a month is a big deal in our current budget.

Lastly, and perhaps the most important factor, was "Time Away from Home". My last job expected me to work six days a week and pull as many as 10 hours a day. Imagine my appreciation of a workplace (the restaurant) that doesn't want me to work more than 40 hours a week. Not to mention the complete absence of a commute. In my book, commute time counts as "time away from home".

Having a desk job (and back to back pregnancies) helped me to gain weight and reach a lifetime peak of 265 lbs. Not fun. After waiting tables for five months, I've lost 30 lbs - down to 235 lbs. I used to try to go to the gym at 5:30 am but it was nearly impossible.

As much as I hated to "go back to waiting tables", these job offers have made me realize that this is actually the right place for me to be at this time. It's hard to believe. My job is totally flexible, will allow me to go back to school, will provide pretty decent benefits, time at home, exercise, etc.

The Graff's: 1 City Furniture: 0

We took our non-functional recliner back to City Furniture as they directed us that they would "allow" us to re-select another piece of furniture for equal or greater value minus a restocking fee of $50. They gave me a form that would need to be filled out by the salesperson on the floor. The salesperson informed me that the guys at the loading dock wouldn't "take back our recliner" unless we also had a purchse order for the reselected piece of furniture.

This sounded a little fishy to me. I decided to call their bluff. At the back loading dock, the under-paid gentleman gladly took back the recliner, flinging it across the floor and ripping it in the process. I remarked on his treating it so roughly, and he exclaimed that "the furniture will just go to a charity, it won't be restocked." Apparently poor people don't appreciate brand-new furniture, and apparently the "restocking fee" is just B.S. That figures. Nothing would surprise me from this company at this point.

Now came the waiting game. Would they refund the money to our credit card? Or would they simply keep an in-house account open for us with the amount that we had spent on the recliner? I called our credit card company and informed them that we had returned the merchandise and we were expecting a full refund from City Furniture. (Hogwash, but worth a try anyways.)

Low and behold, yesterday our credit card statement arrived with a full refund credited, including the "restocking fee" that they had threatened to ensue.

Suck it, City Furniture.