Black and White

You know when he comes in the room.  The lighting completely changes, the shadows deepen, and somehow, the very air of the seems oppressive.  Ominous music plays from nowhere and then you see him.  Black hat, black clothing, and boots.  There are always boots.  All of these things point to him, but you could get rid of all of that and still know him by the eyes.  The eyes say it all.  Squinty.  Shifty.  Dark.   There's no doubt, once you see the eyes.

He is the bad guy.

Years ago, my daughter and I were watching some random kids movie.  If you have kids, you know these movies.  Terrible script.  Bad writing.  Awful acting.  Kid’s love them.  You watch them because your kid loves them.

“Dad, is that the bad man,” my daughter asks in all her innocence. 

“Yes honey, that’s the bad guy,” I answer somewhat offhandedly.  

But wait.  I stopped there.  I realized that perhaps I’ve just taught my beloved child a terrible lesson.

If you’ve spent any time knocking around this world, you learn very quickly that the “bad man” is rarely accompanied by menacing organ music.  The stage lighting doesn’t suddenly change and there is no chorus of gasps when they enter the room.

No, I can tell you as a Pastor, some downright evil people, people so evil that it affects you.  Like an oil slick on the surface of water, you can’t help but get some on you when you touch it.  

Some of the worst people I’ve ever dealt with have had a smile on their face as they stab you in the back.  I’ve seen people lie with so much sincerity that you’re left breathless when they turn on you.  I’ve watched folks who everyone placed on a pedestal turn around and hurt others in the most brutal ways.

It’s the politician who kisses the baby even though he just signed a bill that will leave the baby’s father out of work, and he knows it.  It’s the husband who abuses his family in the most heinous ways, but smiles at church and plays the good Christian.  It’s the teacher that everyone likes who turns out to be molesting kids.  It’s the person at work who schemes and lies for their own benefit, climbing the ladder over the bodies of their coworkers.  It’s the person who brings drama and bile into the lives of everyone she touches, as she plays one person off against another.  

I wish I could continue to tell my daughter that the world is divided nicely and neatly in to categories of good and bad, with the good guys always wearing white hats and the bad guys always wearing black ones.  I wish I could tell her that it was easy to avoid the evil ones.

But no, the truth isn’t in the black and white, but in the grays.

Even an oil spill can be pretty.  Have you ever seen the rainbow of colors on the surface of an oil slick?  Beautiful colors that can hide an appalling evil.

I can’t protect my daughter from the evil people in this world, but I can be honest with her that sometimes bad guys wear masks so good you can’t even tell they are masks. And sometimes the good guy comes out of nowhere and surprises you.

And sometimes, that oil slick of evil is going to stick to you, no matter how hard you try to wash it off.

Life isn’t as easy as a kid’s movie.

I wish that she never would have to learn that lesson.

A Sharp Knife, a Police Officer, and a Christmas Lesson

So, I cut part of my index finger off. A little life advice here: don’t do that, it hurts a lot. Among many other things, this has interrupted my blogging. Even as I type this, I keep making mistakes. Such is life. Fortunately, I have spell check.

Here’s the story: Our church decided to do a service project for Christmas. We made a beautiful Christmas dinner with all the fixings for the 150 police officers in our precinct that got stuck working on Christmas day. No evangelism, no preaching, just serving those who serve us.

While doing prep work for this dinner, I sliced about 1” x ½” off of the front of my index finger. I was chopping celery and missed where the green part stopped and the pink part started. A trip to the emergency room and half a dozen stitches later, everything came back together. It was interesting trying to preach the Christmas Eve service with this great big white bandage showing on my finger. That's not distracting at all. I thought about tying a red bow around it to make it blend in.

The part that I want to share today is the response to the dinner. We have had some police officers stop in our office to thank us for doing this. One officer said that he always feels forgotten on Christmas, no place is open to buy lunch and no one seems to care that the officers are there. Pretty sad.

The comment that really got me was made by a Lieutenant who said that he had been on the Phoenix Police for more than thirty years and no one had ever done something like that for him. He said, “As a cop, you just get used to the fact that everyone hates you.” I think that qualifies as one of the saddest things I have ever heard.

These men and women, for the most part, are doing a hard job that they love because they believe in it. They don’t get paid much and receive far too little respect from the society that they protect. This is something that needs to change. As a parent, I have brought my daughter up to respect and trust police officers and to understand why they are there. We all need to do that.

Let’s be honest, there are a few bad apples, lawmen who do bad things… But that is true of every occupation. That’s humanity. The truth is, policemen put their lives on the line every single day they go to work so that you and I don’t have to worry about carrying a gun around every second of the day to protect ourselves. They enforce traffic laws so that we can safely cross the street or drive to work without risking death every time. They save lives, risk their own lives, protect us, and make a difference.

Let’s treat them as they deserve, with respect and admiration.

Next time you get pulled over for speeding, be polite. Admit that you made a mistake (this means being honest with yourself too). Apologize to the officer for risking his life and yours just to beat that traffic light and thank him for his time.

Next time you see an officer at the mall, thank him or her for their service. If you see some officers at a restaurant, quietly talk to the manager and pay for their meal without letting them know who you are (but let the manager know to pass along your thanks). If you are part of a local church, how about doing the same thing we did and provide a Christmas Day dinner for those officers in your local precinct. Let’s recognize our modern knights-in-armor.

The lesson here today is this, love your local police officers or get your finger cut off!

Scars

8^th Grade. Art class. Nail guns and Junior High boys. Disaster waiting to happen.

Day One: Mrs. Hawkins has us doing a project for the upcoming school play. Wisely, she has a few of the more trustworthy students using the nail guns. Definitely not Mike* and Darren*. These are the two class clowns. The classic example of an 8^th grade boys who have an overbalanced testosterone to brain ratio. Mike is a bully, malicious and obnoxious. Darren is his follower, mostly stupid, really ugly, and occasionally mean.

Day Two. Mrs. Hawkins is out sick. The substitute teacher lets Mike and Darren use the nail guns. Mistake Number One. Then, she leaves the room to get more supplies. Mistake Number Two. Mike discovers that if you unplug the nail gun, it retains enough power to shoot the nail out lightly. He proceeds to shoot a nail into the skin on the back of the hand. It has just enough force to enter the skin and hang there. Mike then goes about terrorizing the girls with the nail in his skin. They scream in that high pitched scream as only Junior High girls can. Great fun!

Darren thinks this looks like a lot of fun too, so he places his hand on the table and then places the nail gun on top of his hand. He missed the part about unplugging the nail gun. He pulls the trigger on his nail gun. THWACKKKK! The nail goes through his hand into the table beneath. Now, Darren is screaming in a higher pitch than any of the teen girls. The substitute teacher comes running back into the room, takes one look at Darren’s hand and promptly goes running back out of the room looking sick.

Paramedics are called, the shop teacher pries the nail out, and Darren heads off to the hospital while Mike heads off for a discussion with Vice Principal Niday (not his first such discussion and not his last either). Darren has such a discussion waiting for him when he returns to school.

Darren proudly showed that scar for the rest of the time that I knew him. He was proud of it. He and Mike continued to be punks and bullies and, as far as I know, they probably still are today. I did find a picture of Mike on Facebook. He’s fat, wearing camoflauge, carring a gun and drinking a beer. He still looks like the kind of guy who'd probably beat you up as soon as look at you.

Darren never learned anything from that scar. Scars are supposed to be a reminder of a lesson learned. I find myself incredibly saddened by people who carry their scars around, but never learn anything from them, or worse, learn the wrong lessons from them.

I see this happen regularly. Friends, relatives, acquaintances, people at work (especially my old secular jobs) earn scars that they don’t learn from. These scars are usually emotional and mental, but occasionally physical. Divorce. Family feuds. Arguments with friends. Bad relationship choices. Poor financial decisions. Again and again, they are hurt, and again and again they miss the lesson.

Single moms bring boyfriend after boyfriend into their family lives hurting themselves and damaging their children. I feel worst for their children who never get to see healthy relationships. They will continue that cycle.

Families spend and spend and spend in fits of materialism that leaves them deeper and deeper in debt and working long hours to pay the bills. This often drives a wedge in the marriage and leaves the family broken and bruised. And yet, they keep spending what they don’t have.

Young women give themselves to guy after guy in an effort to find love and companionship. There is a breed of guy who preys on such women. These users and abusers leave emotional and physical scars on these women and the women continue to let them do it.

There are men who ignore their wives and take them for granted. Then, when the woman finally leaves him, he refers to her as the ‘The Old Bitch’ or some similar denigrating reference. He then makes it very clear to anyone and everyone that he meets that marriage is a mistake, never learning that what you put into something directly affects what you get out of it.

These are just a few examples of unlearned scars, scars that are earned, but never learned from.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Darren probably learned never to shoot himself with a nail gun, but I’m pretty sure that he didn’t learn not to blindly follow Mike. Darren and Mike needed wise counsel in their lives, someone who has been there and learned the right lesson from their scars. We all need that.

It is important to seek out someone wiser and older. This just can’t be anyone. Many people get old and full of scars that they never profited from. Look for someone who has lived well and is still doing so. Seek someone with strong values. Build a relationship and ask them to speak into your life. Learn from their scars and ask them to help you learn the right lessons from yours.

Socrates was credited with saying, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Examine your life. Earn your scars so that you can proudly wear them, so you can point to your scars and say, “This is the lesson I learned from this.” Then someday, you will be able to pass on the same lessons to others.

And, for the record…Don’t shoot a nail gun at your hand.

* names have been changed to protect the stupid

Wisdom of the Ages

You accumulate a large amount of wisdom in life, if you just pay attention. Some of this is very deep, but much of it is mundane. For example, it doesn’t take long to learn that it hurts to touch a hot stove burner or that throwing yourself backwards while having a temper tantrum just hurts you and makes you even more mad. Both of these are learned at a very young age. The longer you live, the deeper and harder the lessons are.

I have been reading Proverbs in the Bible. This is a book of wisdom passed from father to son and from king to successor. There is some great stuff in there and some funny stuff that you just know there is a story behind. I realized that it is important to pass on life wisdom. So, I’ve decided to put down the life wisdom that I learned. None of this is the deep stuff and none of it is the mundane. The following life lessons fall in between somewhere, but I promise you that all involve a painful lesson.

Life lessons that I would like to pass on:

When you are powdering an infant’s bottom, be sure that there isn’t a fan on in the room. This is especially important if the fan is aimed at you.

When carrying several gallons of paint through the church office, be sure that the handles are not loose. An additional lesson here is that latex paint cleans up well and even comes out of carpet if you jump into action immediately. And, the pastor won't find out about it until years later when you tell him.

When your mom says, “don’t play swords with sticks, you can put your eye out”…She is right. And, pulling large wooden splinters out of your eye hurts a lot. Eye patches are cool for awhile, though.

When seasoning a cast-iron pan, do not try to speed things up by spraying PAM on it while it is still extremely hot. Also, when you put out the kitchen fire, be sure to get out of the room for awhile so you don’t breathe too much smoke.

If you are going to ask a girl to go steady with you, be sure that you aren’t wearing roller skates at the time. Also, falling on your rear when she says ‘yes’ is no way to look cool.

Playing tug-of-war with a group of college age guys is fun, but broken tailbones take months to heal and are excruciatingly painful.

When your dad says you can light the grill for the first time by yourself and runs inside to get matches…don’t dump the rest of the bottle of lighter fluid on the coals because you don’t think he put enough on. It is important to note that eyebrows and the front part of your hair take a little while to grow back.

If you are riding your bicycle up a steep hill and think it might be cool to ride up the ramp into the back of a trailer, try to remember that a 50 degree angle + a 30 degree angle = a 80 degree angle which is a bit much to expect to be able to pedal up at a slow pace. By the way, landing on your back in a bike crash knocks the wind out of you.

When running to catch a bus at dusk, don’t take a shortcut behind a grocery store, jumping over a short 2 foot high retaining wall. The other side of the wall is the low end of the loading dock and is six feet lower. A further lesson here is that you can’t run to catch the bus anymore when you have twisted your ankles.

If the woman in the upstairs apartment says she is moving out of state and is selling every piece of furniture in the apartment, don’t buy anything. When the sheriff comes with the rent-to-own store employee a week later after she calls them to tell them where to pick up the stuff, they’ll just take the stuff away from you and you can’t do anything about it.

If you’ve had a little too much to drink last night, don’t let your friend mix macaroni, tuna casserole, and cream of mushroom soup and microwave it for breakfast. Urrrp.

If you are the chubby, nerdy kid in ninth grade and a star player on the football team asks you to tutor him, take advantage of the opportunity. Who knows, maybe there will come a time when a bully has threatened to beat you up after school and a certain star player on the football team beats him up and throws him into a barb wire fence for you.

The newspaper should not publish warnings about the dangers of mixing certain household chemicals when there is a chance that a teenage boy can read those warnings. Also, mixing pool chlorine and a certain automotive fluid does cause instant and intense fire which will burn your friend’s hand. Please note that I did not list which automotive fluid.

Encouraging a friend to put a bunch of salt in his older brother’s brand new coffee pot will get him in trouble. Salt does not come out of a brand new coffee pot once it has gotten inside the works.

Ford Aspires do not take turns well on sandy roads in the middle of nowhere. Yes, time does seem to slow down when in an accident and you can watch an airbag slowly unfold in front of you (even though it is going several hundred miles per hour). Yes, it hurts a lot to have the skin rubbed off of your face and your nose broken by the airbag. A lot.

When you are locked out on a balcony at a hotel and you think that it isn’t that far to drop down to the pool deck; you are wrong. It is much, much farther than you thought and, as I said before, getting the wind knocked out of you is no fun at all. Also, the pool deck entrance door is locked from the inside because the pool is closed for cleaning, so you are still trapped, but now you are in pain too.

When public speaking, always check if your fly is zipped, your tie is clean, and your suit-jacket is not buttoned in the wrong holes.

On your first day at a job, do not have lunch anywhere that you might possibly get food poisoning. Explosively vomiting on yourself, the carpet, and the restroom door is not the way to impress your new boss. However, a good dry cleaner can get puke out of a suit.

If you feel it necessary to comment on a person parking in a handicap space who is not handicapped, be sure to check first to see if the person is built like a linebacker and ready to beat the hell out of the person commenting on them parking in that space.

When you are playing on a frozen creek with your friend, do not push him out onto the deep part where there is still water flowing; it just isn’t as funny as you thought it’d be as you are trying to pull him out of the icy water. Also, it takes an eternity to run back to the house through the snow, while you are soaking wet.

If you are in the back of the band room leaning on the backs of chair during band practice and your best friend kicks the chair legs out from under one of the other guys, making him fall to the floor... Don't laugh. Trust me on this one. The band director will look back and see your best friend (who caused all the ruckus) helping the fallen guy up and he will see you laughing. Who will he think did it? That's right - one free ticket to the office for you.

If you are an agnostic or atheist arguing about the Bible, be sure that you don’t argue with a pastor who knows what he is talking about and is highly educated or he might just make you look like a complete fool as he uses logic and facts to disassemble every argument you’ve ever used.. Then again, that’s why I am now a pastor, so go ahead and do it.

These are just a few of the many life lessons that I have learned. I invite you to comment and share any life lessons that you have learned.

Man of Steel?

I have long had a working theory of life that says, ‘women are much stronger than men.’ I have seen this born out again and again in other people. It flies in the face of Victorian thinking of women as ‘the fairer sex.’ This last week, it was brought to life in a very real way for me.

I observed this from an early age. Whenever someone died in our community, there was a machine that began moving. Women came around each other, cooking meals, comforting each other, dropping kids off at school, and cleaning house for the hurting family. The men always seemed to hang out in another room laughing and joking, however, even from an early age, I saw the tightness around their eyes and the speed to anger during these times. They never faced the pain and never dealt with the loss.

When I was first out of high school, I worked for a time as an apprentice to a blacksmith. One thing I learned about steel is that if you expose it over time to heat in a process called annealling, the steel is stronger because it is flexible. But, if you take steel and suddenly heat it and suddenly cool it, it becomes brittle and will break or shatter.

As I have grown, especially since working in ministry, I have observed this more and more in people. Women are like willows along a river bank, bending in the wind, supporting each other through intertwined branches. Men try to stand alone against troubles and end up breaking when it becomes too much. Obviously, there is some generalization to this, but I can say that experience has shown me that this is more true than not.

There is a reason that you see many more single moms than single dads. This could be the reason that many widowers follow their wives into the grave within a few months, but many widows continue on for years. It likely has some bearing on the difference in life expectancy for men versus women.

As a husband and dad, the hardest thing for me is to see my wife or daughters hurting. I want to take the pain away, to protect them, no matter what it takes. I would walk through broken glass, run through fire, or stand in the way of a bullet to save any one of them. I have long been a man who could handle emergencies, keeping a cool head when others lose theirs, seeing the route out of trouble and directing others when the going gets rough.

But, what do I do when the chips are on the table and there is nothing I can do to affect the outcome? How do I deal with that place where physical strength and mental knowledge are useless to make a difference. What happens when it is my wife or child on the line and there isn’t anything I can do about it? That’s where I find my breaking point.

This last week, I watched my wife show a strength beyond what I ever realized that she had. She had practiced pregnancy exercises, relaxation techniques, pushing past pain. Together we educated ourselves on the issues of birth and pregnancy and made choices on the care and medical intervention that we wanted. When it came time for labor and delivery, she heroically faced 26 hours of intensifying contractions without medications that might harm the baby. She handled it well.

We had two ladies with us who handled it all well too. Zabrina, our doula stayed through the whole experience, supporting, encouraging, and educating us. Our dear friend Kris was also there, helping out, timing contractions, and encouraging Becky.

I handled it well too. I was there for the education and practice (not to mention the conception). I exhorted her, encouraged her, and took care of her. I prayed with her, rubbed her back, talked her through the pain, told her how beautiful she was, held her hand, and brushed her hair. I stayed strong, buoyed by her example. If she could handle the pain well, then I could walk by her side and help her through it.

That was all well and good until the circumstances were taken out of our hands. After 19 hours, she was dilated 9 cm and almost there, but six hours later, there was still no change and the contractions were not strengthening to push the baby out. Her blood pressure was getting dangerously high and she was weakening. Two doctors were in conflict as to what to do. One suggested Pitocyn to increase the contractions. Our doctor was called and he said that could be very dangerous, possibly hurting the baby or my wife because he believed the baby was stuck (shoulder dystocia). As they began to discuss the risks and dangers to both mom and baby...

I broke.

I have known two men who went home from the hospital as single fathers of a brand new born baby with no wife due to death during or after delivery. It still happens.

The combination of being awake for 40 hours and physically and emotionally charged for 26 of those hours had stripped away any defenses that I had.

I broke.

I laid down with my wife and held her, wanting to protect her to take the damage on myself.

I broke.

The nurses and doctors came and went, but I wasn’t much use.

I broke.

Fortunately, my wife stayed strong and helped make the decisions. Fortunately, Zabrina and Kris stayed strong and helped through those important moments. Fortunately the doctor and the nurses did their duty well. My beautiful wife and my lovely new daughter are safe and healthy.

I recognize the truth of male weakness in this area. I’m not sure what lesson to take away from it all, I can only share my observations at this point.

From now on, I hope that all I have to face involves easy stuff like bullets, flames, and broken glass. These I can handle. Just like Lois Lane to Superman and Mary Jane to Spiderman, the women in my life are my greatest strength and greatest weakness. I'm just glad that I have such a tough wife who is able to leap tall buildings and stop trains with her bare hands.

Thank you Becky, Thank you Zabrina, Thank you Kris, Thank you Dr. Holeman and most importantly, Thank you dear Lord.

Ten Things I Struggle With in the Bible

Ten Things That I Struggle With in the Bible

Maybe you’ve met people with all the answers. Maybe you are someone who has all of the answers. I am not one of those people. In fact, the more I learn, the more that I realize that I don’t know nearly as much as I thought I did. I hope it is OK if I am that unflinchingly honest with you about this, because sometimes people expect Pastors to have all the answers.

There are things that I know, things that I am sure of, and things that I have faith in. But there are others that I just don’t know or at least am not entirely sure about. I am very careful not to be dogmatic when I am unsure.

When I was younger, in my late teens and early twenties, I knew everything. I was an expert on lots of things and was very willing to tell people just how wrong they were, whether they were listening or not. I’ll admit it, I was an overbearing, know-it-all jerk. I have softened with much with age. I hope that I am humbler now.

The Bible is full of some wonderfully clear things, but it also contains some things that are less clear, things that scholars have more than one point of view on. Often these are the things in which people loudly offer simple answers for complex questions. In my experience, the louder they are, the less likely they are right.

I just want to let you know that it is OK to question and wonder.

It’s OK not to have all of the answers.

Even pastors and scholars don’t know everything.

Here are just some of them that I struggle with:

Number Ten: 1Timothy 2:12 – 15. Paul telling women that they cannot teach or exercise authority over a man. I struggle with this in light of Debra, Priscilla, Lydia, and others. I struggle with this in light of many gifted teachers that I have had that are women. There are different points of view taking all of 1Timothy 2 in context. In addition, there is Phoebe. Romans 16:1. In some translations, Phoebe is referred to as a servant. In others, she is referred to as a deacon. The Greek word is διάκονος or diakonos. That is the same word we use for deacon. Was she a leader in the church or just someone who helped out? Does this mean we could have female elders and deacons? How much of this is culture?

Number Nine: James 3:1. Teachers of God’s word will be held to a stricter standard of judgment than everyone else. This one scares me a little bit especially when you consider this very list. I am a teacher and preacher, and thus I will be held to that stricter judgment.

Number Eight: Job 1:8-12. God allows Satan to screw with Job, killing his ten children, and taking away all he had. Now Job was a faithful man and God allowed all this and more before Satan was done. I struggle with the enormous injustice that seems to be here.

Number Seven: Exodus 11-12. The tenth and final plague of Egypt. This was the first sermon that I preached to the main church and though I found some timeless truths in it, I struggle with the fact that God killed children just to make a point of his power. Not just the children of Pharaoh and his officials, but every first born son from the most important personage down to the lowliest slave.

Number Six: Acts 15:1-20. The Jerusalem Council. The message of Jesus and the message found throughout the New Testament is one of release from the Old Testament Law. Yet, in Acts 15, they choose to keep a tiny part of the law for the Gentiles. This seems like they came to a bad compromise.

Number Five: 1John 3:4-10. The suggestion that somehow we will stop sinning completely as a follower of Christ. It repeats this twice in 1John. It just doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the Gospel and with observation of real people. It is also confusing based on other statements that he makes within such as 1John 1:8.

Number Four: Romans 8:29-30 & Ephesians 1:5-11. Predestination. Despite the common refrain of ‘Free Will’ by many Christians, there is much more evidence that God chooses who will be saved. Yet, it also says that God wishes all to be saved in 2Peter 3:9. This is the start of the whole Calvinism vs. Arminian arguments.

Number 3: Matthew 25:31-46. The Sheeps and Goats judgement. Does this mean that some Christians won’t be good enough despite believing or does it mean that some non-believers will be given a second chance because of the good works they have done. Either is problematic in light of the Gospel message.

Number 2: Genesis - Malachai and Matthew - Revelation. Canon. I struggle with the methodology of choosing scripture. I have no problem with leaving out goofy things like the Gospel of Thomas which is so popular with pseudo-scholars like Dan Brown. But, it does take a step of faith to consider what was left in and why.

Number 1: Matthew 5:44-47. Love those who persecute you. Love your enemies. OK, I can handle this with regard to the jerk who cuts me off in traffic or my old boss who hurt people and messed with their lives. But… Terrorists? Child Molesters? The guy that just beat his girlfriend’s three year old to death here in Phoenix or the guy who poured gasoline on his little girl and lit her on fire? The guys who flew the planes into the twin towers? Hitler?

There’s more than ten things on this list, but I’ll stop at this point. Now, if you are one of my fellow pastors, seminary professors, or students in Bible college, please don’t comment with explanations of these. I have come to some sort of understanding on each of these and I do know the arguments and the orthodox views. If you are honest with yourself, I know you struggle with some things. I’m just being honest about some of the things I struggle with.

An excellent book on this subject is, “The Blue Parakeet.” by Scot McKnight.

Tomorrow: Ten Verses that People Always Seem To Get Wrong.

Ten Things I Wish Non-Christians Would Move Past

Ten Things I Wish Non-Christians Would Move Past

OK, yesterdays Top 10 got the response I expected. You should have seen my email and facebook inboxes. As I expected a lot of people read down the list until they hit something that they feel strongly about and then stopped there. So much for moving past stuff and focusing on the important message.

Moving right along, today’s Top 10 is the things that I wish Non-Christians would move past. If you don’t believe in the Bible, please take a moment and read this list. Please don’t let any of these things be a stumbling block to you meeting God. He is there and He wants a personal relationship with you and He will make a difference in your life. If you want to know more, just contact me. I’ll buy you a cup of coffee, a soda pop, or even a beer and we can talk about any questions you have. I promise, no spiritual manipulation and no in-your-face stuff, just an honest conversation.

Number 10: Angels. I was at Bookstar the other day and I saw a lady buying this stack of books about Angels. How to get your angel to help you. How to be healed by your angel. How to hear your angel. The Big Book of Angels. OK. It’s all crap. Gotta be honest. Angels are in the Bible, but what you read in all those self-help books is mostly made up, goofy spiritualism which has little or no connection to how they are described in the Bible. Just a thought.

Number 9: Hypocrisy in the Church. Duh. There are hypocrites in the church. For the record, there are also hypocrites in your grocery store, laundromat, bowling alley, on the golf course, and at your work. Look in the mirror and you’ll see one there too. My favorite quote is, “I am comfortable with my own hypocrisy, it is everyone else’s that bothers me.” Laugh. That’s funny. The human condition involves hypocrisy, we all have blind spots to our own problems while seeing other’s very clearly. Don’t let that be a reason for avoiding God.

Number 8: Pushing my values off on you. I blogged about this once before (http://rodg3r.blogspot.com/2009/05/push-off.html). Please don’t accuse me of pushing my values off on you. Of course I am. I have an opinion, I vote, and I have freedom of speech. And, I am honest about it. If you use this as an argument-stopper, then you are the dishonest one. The truth is, everyone has an opinion, and if you vote, make any political comment, protest something, share your opinion, or even just express your belief; then you are pushing your values off on others. That is the great thing about the nation we live in. You are allowed to do that. Let’s go to the polls and you can try to push your values off on me and I’ll try to push mine off on you. Welcome to the process of living in community.

Number 7: I believe that all religions lead to heaven. Goofy, goofy, goofy. Not all religions even believe in heaven. Most religions directly contradict each other. Simple logic therefore is that they must not all lead to heaven. I really wish people put more logic into their thinking.

Number 6: There is no such thing as absolute truth. Another goofy one. That is a self-refuting statement. You are making the statement as if it is truth, but then saying that there isn’t truth. You cannot really believe this and live your life accordingly. (more on this: http://rodg3r.blogspot.com/2009/06/you-cant-understand-this-because-its.html and http://rodg3r.blogspot.com/2009/05/you-cant-handle-truth.html)

Number 5: Televangelists. Yes, most of us think they are ridiculous too. Just turn to the next channel and ignore them. If you want to know about God, find a local church and talk to the pastor. Yes, some of them are weird too, but such is the way of things; every group of people has its weirdos, even Christians.

Number 4: Church is just about money. I believed this too, when I first started coming to church. Every time we met, they passed a plate. They sure are greedy. Actually, the truth is, the church is not a group of pastors asking for money, it is a body of people who are working together to do God’s work and pooling their money to do so. Generosity is an act of worship and obedience that is the complete opposite of greed. If you show up to church, don’t feel guilty or pressured into giving. If you become a part of God’s work, it will be amazing how much you want to be a part of this.

Number 3: Megaphones. That guy standing on a box out front of the stadium telling you that God is condemning you to hell, but Jesus loves you. Yeah, he’s a freak. I agree. Same with Fred Phelps and his gang of protestors with their offensive signs and awful website. And Steven Anderson praying for Obama to get brain cancer and die. Yeah, they embarrass and offend me too. I don’t know what to tell you other than to say that this sort of behavior isn’t found in the Bible. Don’t let those guys turn you off of the real message of Christ and the multitude of Jesus’ followers who would love you to know him.

Number 2: Perfect People. Church people are no more perfect than you. Everyone sitting in those pews is fighting an enormous battle with something in their lives, just like you are. We all face different things. That’s why we need God and why we need each other. Sometimes you will meet the plastic Ken and Barbie Christian who smile and say, “God bless you” all the time, and never have any problems. For the record, those are the ones that usually have the most problems hidden in their closet. They need God too.

Number 1: It really is OK to talk about belief in mixed company. Your beliefs are so much a part of who you are, it is a shame that our culture has decided that you don’t share in mixed company. The rule should be, don’t be a jerk about your beliefs in mixed company, but feel free to talk about them. Who knows we might learn something from each other.

Tomorrow: Ten things that I struggle with in the Bible.

Ten Things in the Bible That I Wish Christians Would Move Past For Awhile

Top Ten Things In the Bible That I Wish Christians Would Move Past For Awhile

I will probably get hate mail and arguments on this one. Sacred cows are so hard to kill. It isn’t that some things are necessarily un-biblical or that they aren’t something to be educated about, it is just that I think we get sidetracked on our own pet issues and forget that our job is to make disciples, to share the Gospel of grace for the lost, and to put our religion into practice by helping the poor, supporting widows, adopting orphans, feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, etc. The message of the cross is offensive because it promises grace to all who sin (but they have to recognize their sin) if they believe. Why are we offending people with side issues?

Before you read more, please note that I could argue each of these point much more, but my very point is that I believe we spend too much time on these items. Also, this is my blog and therefore my opinions. Take them as you will.

Number 10: The End. The book of Revelation. More specifically, End Times Theology (A.K.A. Eschatology). As a pastor, I have to know the four Orthodox views and understand their strengths and weaknesses, but everyone else needs to read Matthew 25 and understand our job is to be ready, not to force current events into a tight mold of what we think might happen. (For the record, I don't think that Obama is the Anti-Christ.) This issue of eschatology distracts us from the real message of grace and gets us into pointless debates over an issue that is ultimately God's responsibility, not ours. Our responsibility is readiness.

Number 9: The Beginning. Creation and Evolution. Genesis 1:1 is important, because it is the start of faith. God created all things. As to the rest of Genesis 1 & 2, it is not a literal science textbook. Those that take this as an exact, literal, word for word explanation (with no regard for the poetic style of the language) of creation end up with crazy ideas like dinosaurs walking around with people. This issue distracts us from the real message of grace and confuses non-believers about what we are about.

Number 8: John 3:16. Yes, it is a beautiful look at God’s love and grace. But, if I see one more John 3:16 sign at a football game or held by some scraggly looking weirdo on the street corner yelling at me through a bullhorn, I might just start throwing things. Do you really think that is an effective way to reach people? Is that what Jesus did? Is that what the apostles did? I don’t think so.

Number 7: Denominations. In light of 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 and Ephesians 4:1-6, how can we still hold ourselves separate from one another and still believe we are being faithful to our calling? Whether you are Lutheran, Baptist, Presbyterian, Anglican, Church of Christ, Nazarene, Methodist, et. al, you are my brothers in Christ. Much of what we have split over in the past are minor issues of interpretation and worship style. Ditch the names on the sign, seek unity with other bodies and just follow Jesus.

Number 6: Legalism. Forbidding rated R Movies, card playing, dancing, and alcohol as well as legalistic attempts at following Old Testament Laws. Hello, I have a book to introduce you to: Galatians. We aren’t supposed to add to the law or try to carry the law anymore. Growth in Christ comes from relationship with God not from artificial rules. Choosing out Rated R movies has two issues: first, try reading the Old Testament, it is Rated R in many parts and NC17 in others; second, there are some excellent rated R movies that deal with powerful issues and there are some PG and PG-13 that are terrible and offensive. Instead of blanket condemnation, try using your discernment, that’s why God gave it to you. As to card playing and dancing, they aren’t even in the Bible. Drunkeness is forbidden, but not the use of alcohol. Finally, the most devout legalists that I have met still disregard some of the law. Try reading James 2:10. I have yet to meet a legalist who does not cut the forelocks of his hair or clip his beard (Leviticus 19:27).

Number 5: Prayer of Jabez and Health/Wealth Gospel. God loves you and wants you to be rich, just buy my book for $34.95 and you will learn how God can make you rich. To quote the late, great poet Janis Joplin (luv you Janis), “O Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz.” This is a popular movement today in our consumerist, materialistic society. It completely disregards the message of Jesus of course and has no basis whatsoever in the Bible, but Oh well, it’s easier to believe. I frankly think that we need to focus on getting all materialism out of the church. This has to be a teaching and discipling choice. If children are starving, if people are going without necessary health-care, if anyone is homeless; how can we in good conscience waste our money on fancy cars, too large homes, gigantic flat panel t.v.’s in every room, and eating out at restaurants every night? When I read the Bible, I see us called to generosity, to giving, to sacrifice.

Number 4: Consumer Church with a self-help message. My wife and I began visiting other church’s for a Saturday service, one where we could go and hear God’s word without working during church. We visited several local mega-churches (because they were the only ones with Saturday services). We found one excellent one at North Phoenix Baptist, but we happened to visit on the last time they were doing it. Bummer. So we visited several others. The main message of these services was self-help- feel-good-about-yourself. No Bibles were ever opened and, if God’s word was quoted, it was a side note that supported the preacher’s talking point instead of being the focus of the message. Church is not an entertainment option, but a calling to change and grow by following God's word. The Bible is not about self-help but about serving God and others. God's word isn't about what's in it for me, but who I'm supposed to be.

Number 3: Sex. Can I say that word in church? For many years, the church as seen this as a forbidden topic. I call this ‘La-La Theology,’ that is, cover your ears with your hands, squeeze your eyes shut, and yell la, la, la, la, la at the top of your lungs so that you don’t accidentally have to hear or see it. Well, the simple fact of the matter is God created sex and trust me, it is good. If our message to kids is abstinence only, followed with, “wait till you get out of college to get married,” we set them up to fail. The church must teach about it, teach the glory of it in a healthy marriage, teach about all the surrounding issues – essentially, we cannot ignore it. Hey, it’s all over the Bible.

Number 2: Church on Sunday. Church is a body of people who worship together, serve together, and reach out to their friends, family, and neighbors. It is not supposed to be a habitual gathering for 90 minutes on Sunday that has no effect on your life throughout the week. Our faith is something to be lived, to be put into action, to be seen by others in such a way that it brings Glory to God. I don’t see very much of that.

Number 1: Homosexuality condemnation verses. How can you expect those who do not follow God to live up to His law? Further, every person who is homosexual also has lied, cheated, hated, gossiped, and committed a multitude of other sins. JUST LIKE ME! JUST LIKE YOU! Why do we focus on this one thing without sharing the message of grace for all sin. It seems that each generation of Christians chooses some sin to be worse than all others to rant about. Thirty years ago it was divorce. Fifteen years ago it was abortion. I even believe that you can be homosexual and come to Christ. Whoa! When I see groups like Westboro Baptist or Steven Anderson’s church in Tempe, I am disgusted because they have forgotten the grace and gentleness with which Jesus dealt with people. The only time he got angry with people was when he dealt with hypocritical religious zealots who hurt other people with their legalistic view of God’s law. (http://rodg3r.blogspot.com/2009/05/apology.html). I will write more on this topic another time, because there is another side to discuss within the church, but for now, I’ll leave it at this.

Number 0: That's right, I am making this list 11 things. It's my blog and I can do that if I want. Politics. Look up at the front and center of your church building. Is that a cross up there or is it a flag. Do you have to where your elephant shaped badge to get in the building? We need to remember 1Timothy 2:1-3 and Romans 13:1-7. Are we praying to the idol of America or are we faithfully serving God by discipling and spreading the Gospel?

Conclusion:

As I said earlier, some of these things have value and should be discussed, but I believe that many of them distract from our central message. When we fight amongst ourselves over petty issues, when we berate non-believers for actions instead of showing them love, when we try to legislate God’s word to change behavior without changing hearts, we forget the central message of the cross. Grace and Love towards those who are in sin and hurting, and exhortation towards growth for those within the church.

Tomorrow: Top 10 Things I Wish Non-Chrisitans Would Get Over.