Christians vs. Gays

I recently borrowed a book from the library, because it had been recommended reading by Pastor Dave. I wasn't sure how TORN: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-Vs.-Christians Debate, by Justin Lee, was going to go down my mostly-conservative gullet, but I can now say without any equivocation that I am abundantly glad I read it.

The problem is, it's the kind of book that you really need to read all of, because taking a few paragraphs out of context or trying to summarize any kind of "bottom line" message will not do justice to the author's intent.

However, I will share these heart-breaking words from the first chapter, and hope they encourage you to digest the whole book:

A 2007 study by the Barna Group, a Christian research firm, asked 16- to 29-year-olds to choose words and phrases to describe present-day Christianity. Among the many choices available to them were positive terms like "offers hope" and "has good values" along with negative terms like "judgmental" and "hypocritical."

Out of all of it - good and bad - the most popular choice was "antihomosexual." Not only did 91 percent of the non-Christians describe the church this way, but 80 percent of churchgoers did as well.

In the book unChristian, Barna Group researchers David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons describe the results of their three-year study of young Americans' views of the church:

In our research, the perception that Christians are "against" gays and lesbians...has reached critical mass....Outsiders say our hostility toward gays - not just opposition to homosexual politics and behaviors but disdain for gay individuals - has become virtually synonymous with the Christian faith.

Truth is...the idea of the church being characterized by what she is against is saddening. And the idea of people who call themselves Christians disdaining particular members of the human race for whom Jesus died is appalling. This book can help stop the accusations and start a meaningful dialogue.

Laughable Liturgy

Compellingly-stated opening thought, to get people to actually click to the blog-post.

Explanation of what to be expecting from the video clip that follows.

https://youtu.be/-egY6t9BMGI

Concluding kicker of a thought that puts a badda-bing on the whole thing.

Truth is...The theatrics of worship, whether modern or not, have always been meant as a tool to get people to switch their focus to God instead of their current circumstances. Let's hope and pray that we aren't really as cynical as this video would make us look, but also be wary of letting ANYthing we do fill a purpose other than honoring our creator.

Age Is Just A Date On The Calendar

If you're feeling like time is running out in your race to do something significant with your life, consider the example of Caleb.

The children of Israel had escaped from slavery in Egypt, seen the pursuing army drowned in the Red Sea (that they had just walked across the dried bed of), and were standing at the brink of the Promised Land. Representatives from each of the 12 tribes were sent in to scope out the place.

Joshua and Caleb were the only two who came back saying, "This is a great place! Let's go in and take over what God has promised to give us!" The other 10 were all "This is a great place! There's no way we can defeat the current inhabitants!"

Fast forward: After wandering around the desert 45 years, partly as punishment for their lack of faith, partly as a training ground for trusting in Yahweh, the nomads are once again preparing to take possession of the land. Caleb speaks: "I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.’

“Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this mountain that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.” (Joshua 14:7-12)

In other words, because he was trusting in God to do what God had promised, this 85-year-old man looked giants in the face and said, "Bring it!" 

For non-Biblical examples of those who arrived at greatness later in life, take a minute and a half to look at this video by Tadas Vidmantas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQGhlDo7m1U

Truth is...there's a flip side to this. None of us are guaranteed to wake up tomorrow. So yeah, make plans and try to have your life make a positive difference, but hold lightly to the things of this world and find some way to serve and something to enjoy in each day.

Tiger Tells Truth

Calvin & Hobbes creator, Bill Watterson, knew how to tell the truth with clarity, conciseness, and humor.

Case in point...in the following panels, Hobbes is very practical in his proposed solution to Calvin's desire for knowledge:

And then, the 500-pound anvil of Truth drops on our heads:

Truth is...this is funny because we recognize our own tendency to want things without working for them. Thankfully, the laughter helps ease the pain of that confrontation with Truth.

In Evil Long I Took Delight

Having prosified (turned poetry into prose) John Newton's Amazing Grace in an earlier post, it's only right that I should pass along a less-well-known work from his pen in all its original splendor.

In evil long I took delight,
Unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object struck my sight,
And stopped my wild career.

I saw One hanging on a tree,
In agony and blood,
Who fixed His languid eyes on me,
As near His cross I stood.

Sure, never to my latest breath,
Can I forget that look;
It seemed to charge me with His death,
Though not a word He spoke.

My conscience felt and owned the guilt,
And plunged me in despair,
I saw my sins His blood had spilt,
And helped to nail Him there.

Alas! I knew not what I did,
But now my tears are vain;
Where shall my trembling soul be hid?
For I the Lord have slain.

A second look He gave, which said,
I freely all forgive;
This blood is for thy ransom paid;
I die that thou mayst live.

Thus, while His death my sin displays
In all its blackest hue,
Such is the mystery of grace,
It seals my pardon too.

With pleasing grief and mournful joy,
My spirit now is filled;
That I should such a life destroy,
Yet live by Him I killed.

Truth is...I could never earn, nor hope to repay, the love poured out on me that day.
 

How You Look Could Save Your Life

A man is walking along a busy sidewalk, starts to cough, and collapses to the pavement. Do you stop to help? What criteria do you use to decide whether or not to stop?

The following video by NorniTUBE suggests that the clothes on a person's back could spell the difference between life and death.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGPjUyVtTQw

Anybody else think of the ethic of reciprocity when watching this? Yeah, me neither, but what about The Golden Rule? Jesus said it in Matthew 7:12, "Do to others what you would have them do to you."

Truth is...we could also deepen this by going past Matthew 7 and hitting on Matthew 25: "Whatever you've done to the least of these brethren of mine, you have done to me." The video asked, "What if this were you?" I'll go beyond that and ask, "What if this was Jesus?"

A Better Way to Say "Sorry"

For those of you who are parents...or were ever children...does the following sound familiar?

“Say sorry to your brother.”
“But he’s the one who–”
“Say it!” you insist, an edge of warning in your voice.
He huffs, rolls his eyes to the side and says flatly, “Sorry.”
“Say it like you mean it,” you demand.
“Sorrrrry,” he repeats, dragging out the word slowly with bulging eyes and dripping insincerity.
You sigh in defeat and turn to #2, “Now tell him you forgive him.”
“But he doesn’t even mean it!”
“Just say it!”
“iforgiveyou…” he mutters, looking down to the side dejectedly.
“Now be nice to each other.”
Harumphy silence.

That's how many a long, slow, burning resentment begins...and it's also how JoEllen, over at cuppacocoa.com, begins her extremely helpful piece, A Better Way to Say Sorry.

She shares how she has trained her fourth-grade students to go far above and beyond this kind of forced, pseudo-apology to a process that truly brings about awareness of the wrong done and hope for future change.

CLICK HERE to read the entire piece, or copy-and-paste this URL into your browser: http://www.cuppacocoa.com/a-better-way-to-say-sorry 

Truth is...I'm going to use this in my own I'm-a-grown-up-now apologies...not just as a technique, but in an attempt to really repent and really be forgiven.