Read This Post or I'll Shoot My Cat

Just take a look at this big, fat ball of hair (the cat, not me). You wouldn't want his death on your conscience, would you? I'm completely serious. Have you ever seen Boondock Saints?

OK, so, now that I've got your attention, I'll go ahead and let you know that I have absolutely zero intention of hurting Deputy. He's my cat. Come on. I'm not gonna shoot my cat. If the post had been about me shooting my sister's dog, you would have had legitimate reason for concern, but I would never purposefully bring even the slightest harm to Deputy, so you can go ahead and stop writing your angry e-mails to the ASPCA and just pay attention.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The Life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the Eternal Life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.

- I John 1:1-4

That's the prologue to the first of John's epistles. It's a beautifully expressed declaration of the tangible reality of both the person and the divinity of Jesus Christ, and opens up one of my favorite books of the Bible. But for the purposes of this post, I really just want to focus on verse 4: "We write this to make our joy complete."

Proselytizing, evangelizing, whatever you wanna call it - spreading the Gospel, telling others about Jesus, and bringing people into God's presence is an absolutely undeniable part of Christianity. If you're not sharing your Christianity, you're not actually doing your Christianity.

It doesn't have to be so overt as this blog, or so obliviously ineffective as standing on a street corner in a sandwich board and shouting at passers-by, but it's got to happen. That's made perfectly clear throughout the entire New Testament.

But why?

"...to make our joy complete."

I'm sorry to resort to such a low-down dirty trick as pretending to threaten my cat, but I'm just trying to do whatever I can to get you to notice this stuff. It's not so much because I crave an audience as much as it is that I just want to talk to you for a few minutes. I have something to say that I think you would benefit from hearing. I actually think it's important enough that I'm willing to play whatever cards I've got at my disposal just to get you to read at least ONE of these posts, hopefully more. And it's not like I've got any kind of ad revenue coming to me off of this. Facebook definitely ain't payin' me, even though it alone is at least a part-time job just based on the hours I put in each week...

But I do get something from it. I get something of a completion of my joy. I get the thrill of knowing that I've helped people focus on God, maybe even in a way that they never had before. That is awesome for me. And not because it's got anything to do with me, but because it's entirely about you, the one reading this. If you are reading this, I am thrilled. I'm even more thrilled if you're actually absorbing any of it. I'm elated if it challenges you to think about your relationship with Christ and the improvements you can make to it. I'm overjoyed beyond the limitations of the English language to express if, by some movement of the Holy Spirit through me and my keyboard, you - the actual YOU reading this right now, not the general "not me" version of "you" - take a step closer to God that you'd never taken before, whether you've been going to church your whole life or you've never once heard a word of the Bible.

And it doesn't give me all those warm fuzzies because I'm the one that wrote whatever words changed your life. It rocks my gypsy soul for the same reason that the shepherd rejoiced when he found his lost sheep, the woman rejoiced when she found her lost coin, the father rejoiced when his lost son came home, and the Father and all the hosts of angels rejoice when one repentant sinner accepts the Grace of God and steps into the Light.

It makes my joy complete.

If I can be the instrument God chooses to use to bring you, in any way, closer to Him, hey - that's awesome. You will not find me complaining about that. I try not to complain about God using me in general, but that specific use would be pretty solid.

But why? Why does it even matter to me?

Because I fully believe that everybody's life - and I mean everybody-everybody - could be improved by better knowing the Majesty, the Splendor, the Glory, the Holiness, the Power, the Presence, and the unfailing, unending, unmistakable Love of God.

Look, folks... God is... the best. The. Best. Imagine the best thing you've ever experienced. Now go infinitely better. That's a rough picture of the goodness of God. I cannot possibly explain to you in enough detail how good God is. 1) I don't have the words to convey it all, and 2) you don't have the patience to read my futile attempt, which would be so overly verbose that Google would shut me down for clogging up the internet.

I don't know what your relationship with God is like. I hope it's incredible. I hope that whatever you're getting is anything like what I'm getting, because folks, I ain't lying when I tell you that what is happening in my life is so very good that I cannot possibly keep it to myself.

It's Oreos and Led Zeppelin and good Batman comics and perfect air conditioning and the comfiest couch in the world and every other possibility of anything GOOD in this world all rolled up into one inexpressibly perfect thing, and I would feel like an absolute jerk if I kept it to myself.

If you eat at an awesome restaurant, you tell your friends, right?

If you see a mind-blowingly good movie, you tell your friends, right?

If you have goodness, you share it with the people you love, right?

That's what I want to do.

I want to tell you how awesome God is for me, because I know that when you let Him, He will be every bit as awesome for you. I mean that, no matter where you are in your walk with Him. If you're a staunch atheist, I want to talk to you about God. If you've never missed a church service in your life, I want to talk to you about God. If you just don't know where you fit in, I want to talk to you about God.

And I am totally willing to cheat in order to get that done.

Why else would I have been writing posts openly drawing comparisons between God and Batman or God and Eric Clapton?

It's not (exclusively) because of my inability to escape my own nerdiness, but it is because I am trying to do anything I can to get people to read this. I want to talk to you about God. That is my goal. If this means I lure you in with sensationalist headlines about killing my cat, so be it.

Jesus performed miracles for a reason - to get people to listen to Him. The Holy Spirit manifested miraculous gifts in the early church for the exact same reason - to get people's attention and show them the glory of God. Whatever gifts I do have from the Spirit, I have not as yet been able to heal a lame man with my shadow, so I will have to do what I can to bring people in, because I can think of absolutely nothing in existence that could ever be any more fulfilling than to encourage those around me (and, through the magic of the interwebs, those nowhere near me) into a closer relationship with God.

It makes my joy complete.

But here's the twist.

I jokingly threatened my cat just to get you to read this. It's an absurd example, but it worked, right? I mean, you are, after all, reading this...

How would you have responded if this week's entry had instead been titled "Live Your Life By My Rules or I'll Shoot You"?

I don't think there's any point in being bashful about my intentions. Yes, I want to encourage you to grow closer to God. That's my goal. Again, I don't care if you're already a very strong Christian or if you're a very strong atheist or if you're just very strongly confused. I want to talk to you about God. And my ideal outcome of any conversation that we should ever have about God is that we both walk away with refreshed spirits, renewed minds, and rejoicing hearts.

But the last thing I want to do is bully you into accepting what I believe.

I do believe, fully, that Christianity is the best possible way to live your life. I also believe, with every bit the same fullness, that the Christian life that I'm living is the best I can do with the knowledge and understanding that I currently have. In other words - yeah, I think I'm right. Of course I think I'm right. If I didn't think I was right, why would I continue to think things that I thought were wrong? That's dumb.

But there is a gigantic difference between my telling you that I feel that the truths behind my beliefs would be of great benefit in your own life if you applied them the same way I do and my telling you that you're evil and stupid for believing something other than what I believe and should immediately recognize the rightness of my beliefs and just stop your silly questioning because how could a fool like you ever know anything worth saying in the first place.

Put a bit more simply: there is a HUGE difference between sharing the Gospel through Love and forcing the Gospel down people's throats through arrogant moral superiority.

I'm perfectly willing to trick you into a conversation about God. I don't feel bad about that.

I'm also completely at peace with the idea of using whatever connections I might have with you or anyone else I ever encounter to find a way to get my foot in the door and then get to that conversation about God. It's worth working towards. In my work towards connecting people to God, I'm willing to be a downright snake in the grass, if I have to.

So that's what I've got this week. I've got nothing to hide - my mission, my purpose, my goal is to talk to you about God. I don't care where you stand with Him, I fully believe that both of us have everything to gain from striving for a more perfect understanding of the infinite goodness of God.

It is to that end, then, that I would like to close this post with an especially heartfelt encouragement and sincere exhortation: talk back. I have always wanted this bloggery business to be a conversation more than a sermon. I would LOVE to hear from you - no matter who you are, no matter what you believe. Ask questions. Debate points of doctrine. Drop a truthbomb on me with a scripture I might not have thought of that shows things in a different light. Whatever it is, please... do it. I want to be better at this, and a lot of the learning comes from feedback.

I do sincerely appreciate those of you who do comment and write me and everything else. It definitely means a lot, and please don't feel that I don't value your input - I do. I just want more. Is that so bad?

God bless you... And hopefully we'll talk soon.

The Gospel According to Led Zeppelin

In case you're just tuning in, here's the story so far: my favorite musical entity in the history of time is Led Zeppelin. It is kind of a thing with me.

Led Zeppelin. Just... oh, so good. So very good. My goodness, the goodness of Led Zeppelin. From the first album to the last, including the live shows, the bootlegs, the outtakes, the studio sessions, the rough cuts... everything. If it was Led Zeppelin, I love it. I'll admit that it's kind of an existential quandary whether I love everything Led Zeppelin did because it was Led Zeppelin doing it or if Led Zeppelin just did everything that I love, but either way - I love Led Zeppelin. Quite a bit.

My favorite song is "Over the Hills and Far Away," which is found on Zep's fifth album, Houses of the Holy, which, as it turns out, is my favorite album. Not just my favorite Led song and my favorite Led album, but my favorite song and favorite album.

A buddy of mine once asked me who I'd pick if I could put together the ultimate super-group consisting of my favorite vocalist, guitarist, bassist and drummer. My answer was Led Zeppelin. He said, "No, no, I don't think you're quite getting what I'm asking. I mean, like, if you could take a drummer from one band... and then a guitarist from another band... and, you know, make a whole band like that... who would you pick?"

Yeah, I got it the first time. My answer is still the same. Led Zeppelin. Jimmy Page is my favorite guitarist, Robert Plant is my favorite vocalist, John Bonham is my favorite drummer, John Paul Jones is my favorite bassist/organist/horn accompanist/everything-else-he-did-ist. Led Zeppelin is my favorite band.

If you hang out with me in a place where I have any control over the music, ever, there will come a time where Led Zeppelin comes up. It's just how it is. I'm GONNA play some Zeppelin. I don't care who I'm around, where I am, what's going on... If there's music to be heard and I'm at all in a position to choose what is played... Yeah. Zeppelin's gonna happen at some point.

I have been accused before of musical snobbery, and it's not like I can really rebut that accusation with too much truth... Yeah. I'm a music snob. I know what I like, and I'm pretty vehement about it. Is it possible that there is (or will be in the future) a band that I would enjoy more than Led Zeppelin? Well... Yeah... It's possible... But then, it's also possible that the entirety of the British monarchical family is killed in a freak photography accident and I'm crowned the next king of England, resulting in all sorts of zany mishaps with my clumsy attempts at a knighting, applying my own inimitable style to delicate matters of international diplomacy, and dealing with the pressures of being recognized at the Burger King nearest to Buckingham Palace.

Doesn't mean it's very likely.

I could go further, but I figure the point is pretty well made, and I'm definitely aware that most of my posts are long enough as it is. We don't need another 8 pages of me telling you how much I love Led Zeppelin. But what I do need for you to understand - in case you haven't picked up on it yet - is that I am a fan of Led Zeppelin. This point is integral to the case I am presenting in this post.

So now let's talk about God.

As much as I do love Led Zeppelin, God still wins. I know, I know... the previous fanboy rant may have called that into question for some of you, but I don't have a weekly blog dedicated to Zep. God is still my primary focus.

But part of what I've been thinking about a lot lately is the idea of apologetics. I know that's kind of a loaded term for a lot of people, and a confusing one for others. It's always hard to think about "apologetics" and not get to "apology." The two words are related, both rooted in the Greek word απολογία (apologia), which means "speaking in defense." We've come to think of an "apology" meaning simply an admission of guilt and an expression of regret, but the original usage of the word actually meant a formal defense of an idea, and that's all apologetics actually is.

I am specifically interested in the idea of Christian apologetics - a defense of Christianity. Not that I feel that Christianity needs protected, lest it fall apart under the scrutiny of the skeptical world, but a defense based on correcting misconceptions and misunderstandings of the Christian faith (that is - Christianity as I see it, which I would like to think is at least in the ballpark of the way God is showing it to us through Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Bible).

It is in this same sense that Paul "defends" the gospel in Acts 26:2 and Philippians 1:7, and also in which Peter tells us to "be prepared to give an answer" in I Peter 3:15.

So what, then, are we to do?

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

- Matthew 22:34-40

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

- Matthew 28:19-20

Here's how I see the total sum of the responsibilities of Christianity: Love God, Love others. In Loving God and Loving others, we are tasked with the responsibility of introducing others to God. I briefly touched on this last week, noting that it's important for us to be able to find connections to God in the world outside of "the church" in order to build bridges of communication between ourselves and "the World." But what I want to specifically stress now is that it is every bit as important that we all, each of us, understand (to the fullest extent which we are able) the intellectual reasoning of our Faith.

What I'm saying here is that it's not enough to just say "God said it, I believe it, that settles it." That is an outrageously dangerous theological position to tie oneself to. I'm not saying that it's wrong to have a strong faith in the Word of God - that's very commendable. But to have a singularly directed and blind faith in the Word of God... Yeah, that's pretty dangerous.

It isn't enough that we know the Truth of the Bible and believe wholeheartedly that it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. We've also got to know why it is that which it is.

Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.

- I Corinthians 14:20

Within the context of that chapter, Paul is specifically addressing the issue of speaking in tongues. In the Corinthian church, there had apparently been a problem of some members expressing the gift of speaking in tongues through the Holy Spirit to just babble on with nobody to interpret what was being said. While thanks were being given to God for the miraculous gifts displayed, the gifts were pointless because nobody was learning anything.

Paul's exhortation then is a reminder that we are to come together in our worship and fellowship not to praise God for blessing us with things that we haven't bothered to examine and understand, but to encourage, enlighten, and educate one another to the deeper truths of Christianity.

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.

- Hebrews 5:11-6:3

Notice that the writer says that those in his audience should be teachers by this point, and yet they constantly need reminded of the elementary principles of Christianity. This, to me, pretty plainly says that it is not enough for us to accept the gospel as infallibly true and never open our eyes or ears to anything else ever again.

Let me switch back over to Led Zeppelin for a minute.

As I'm sure you'll recall, Led Zeppelin is my favorite band.

Led Zeppelin is not, however, the only band I've ever heard.

Recently, I've been listening to a whole lot of the original line-up of the Allman Brothers Band. Led Zeppelin is still my favorite. I've been digging around and finding all sorts of live material from the early years of Yes that I'd not heard before. Led Zeppelin is still my favorite. Last week, I wrote about Eric Clapton, and the week before that, I wrote about Perpetual Groove. Led Zeppelin is still my favorite.

I've heard Lady GaGa. Led Zeppelin is definitely still my favorite.

I've got enough music on my computer that if I were to put it all into one big playlist, start at the beginning and let it play all the way through, I could go for some three months non-stop and not hear a song twice. Most radio stations have a library of something like 7,500-10,000 songs. I've got somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000+ songs.

Led Zeppelin isn't my favorite band because they're the only thing I've ever heard, but instead, it's because I've actually heard a ridiculous amount of music that I can therefore say in the face of countless potential challengers, Led Zeppelin still tops my list.

I am not (necessarily) saying here that we can only be good Christians if we go out and research the tenets of other faiths. But I will say that it's very hard to show someone why Christianity makes more sense than other faiths if we don't even know why Christianity makes sense on its own.

Too often I have seen an approach to Christianity that doesn't allow for any questions. It is as though the beliefs of Christianity are so fragile that they can't stand up to even the slightest examination and scrutiny. Don't we believe that this is the Way, the Truth, and the Light? Isn't this supposed to be following after God's own Son, the Word made flesh? Aren't we actually operating under the assumption that our faith is correct anyway?

So what is there to be afraid of?

It doesn't do us a lot of good in spreading the gospel if our only response to an atheist's assertion that there is no God is to run away screaming, or to brand the atheist a heretic, or to quote Bible verses to someone who doesn't believe in the Bible in the first place. We've got to know what we're talking about.

Can you offer any evidence for the existence of God beyond your own beliefs?

Beyond that, can you help others understand why Christianity is the path you've chosen to follow, excluding all of the other thousands of options in the world today?

Or are you still living out a faith that was handed to you? Is your faith your own, or is it your parents'? Or your preacher's? Or your professor's? Or your spouse's?

Do you know why you believe what you believe?

Do you believe that what you believe is able to stand up to the tests of reason and logic? Or do you believe that "faith" is sequestered off in its own little corner of the brain, permanently exiled from rational thought?

What are you going to do when somebody tells you that God cannot possibly exist because evil exists in the world? How are you going to answer that? ("God moves in mysterious ways" is a cheap cop-out, by the way.)

I am really having to fight the temptation to lay out all "the answers" here. It somewhat defeats the purpose of asking if you have any answers of your own if I give you all of mine.

I can (easily) tell you for hours how much I love Led Zeppelin. But if you've never actually heard them, it doesn't make a difference in the world. And if I'm going to be the guy saying Led Zeppelin is so much better than everything else, shouldn't I at least have something to back that up? Shouldn't I at least be able to play a song or two for anybody who asks?

I'll admit here that not everybody likes Led Zeppelin. I can at least acknowledge that fact, even if I don't really get it. I can sit you down and play their entire catalog, from the 1968 Scandinavian tour as the New Yardbirds to the 1982 "leftovers" album, Coda, and you might not enjoy a lick of it. I don't at all see how that could be true, but it is definitely a possibility.

But that doesn't mean that I'm going to stop listening to them, or stop trying to expose every person on the planet to their awesome.

Similarly, I've got to admit that not everybody is going to become a Christian. I could present a defense for the faith on par with Paul in the Areopagus or C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity to every single person on this planet and there would still be plenty of folks who don't see it. There would still be folks who don't believe. That is to be expected. That is Biblically guaranteed.

But it doesn't mean I'm going to stop believing, or stop trying to share my faith with the world over.

There are people in the world - like Brian Flemming, writer/director/narrator of "The God Who Wasn't There" - who will try to tell you that Jesus of Nazareth wasn't even a real person, much less the Son of God.

What are you going to say to that?

Have an answer. Not only does the potential faith of the people you encounter in your life depend on it, but it's very probable that your faith depends on it as well.

Just a Few Questions

I eat too much Taco Bell.

I doubt that's a huge surprise to most of you. Anybody can take a look at me - even just a passing glance, really - and it's not gonna be that much of a stretch to get to "This dude eats too many things that are mostly comprised of meat and cheese."

But the thing about me eating too much Taco Bell is that I actually eat less of too much than I used to. I used to eat way too much. Now... yeah, it's still too much, but it's less than it was. My run for the border occurs a little less frequently than it used to, I don't order an entire side of the menu when I go, and I've pretty much abandoned trying to actually live up to the idea of "Fourthmeal," even with that being as pleasant of a challenge as it was.

Now, the goal here is obviously to get to a point where I don't eat "too much" Taco Bell, but in fact eat the right amount of Taco Bell. (I fully realize that there are some in our world who would suggest that the "right" amount of Taco Bell is no Taco Bell at all, but I don't care about those folks' opinions, because they're also the kind of people who insist that a half-cup of ice cream is a "serving," and we all know that's patently ridiculous...)

I'm not at the goal... And it's arguable that I'm not really even all that close to the goal just yet... But I'm definitely closer than I was... So is that progress?

More than that being progress... is that good?

I know that it is not good in and of itself that I still eat too much Taco Bell. That's bad. I know that.

But is it good that I eat less of too much? Or is it still just hopelessly awful all the way up until I'm only ordering a single "Fresco" burrito once every three months? (This will never happen.)

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My buddy Will and I went into Dickson the other night to see a movie. Once it was over, we got to doing what we do best - cruising around aimlessly, listening to music and shooting the breeze.

Will was driving, and our wanderings took us fairly deep into what was unfamiliar territory for him: the vast untamed wilds of Dickson County, including but not limited to the sprawling metropolises of Vanleer, Slayden, and Tennessee City.

So once we'd decided that it was time to turn back towards home, Will didn't really know where we were. And it's not like I'm super familiar with Vanleer or anything, but I at least knew how to get back to the house, and gave directions along the way. After a while, though, we came back into a part of Dickson where I thought Will would be able to recognize where we were. We came to a red light and Will asked me which way we should go.

"Dude, don't you know where we are yet?"

Will replied with a tone of humble resignation. "No, man... Not at all."

I pointed out the window. "The high school's right there."

"Oh! Oh, yeah, yeah... OK. I got it now. Awesome."

And then we drove home. End of story. Yaaaaaaaaaaay.

But what I wanna know is this: is it entirely necessary when giving directions to spell out every step that's going to be taken on the drive, or is it good enough to just point out familiar landmarks and let the driver take it from there?

Will didn't know where we were for a good bit of that drive. He had vague ideas of how to get back home - if you're in Dickson County and trying to head to Hickman County, at some point South has got to happen. I gave directions when they were necessary, but for the most part, I let Will do the driving on his own. After all, he was the one driving. I was controlling the iPod, and that's a job that takes some serious concentration.

So did that make me a bad navigator? Or can my success be judged by the fact that we actually got home?

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When the discussion comes around to which actor had the best portrayal of James Bond, the answer is Sean Connery.

This is not a matter of opinion, it is simply how it is.

Sure, you may prefer Pierce Brosnan or Daniel Craig... Or if you're some kind of weirdo, Roger Moore... (I don't think there's really anybody out there who would pick George Lazenby or Timothy Dalton, but if you happen to be reading this, congratulations, you're a statistical singularity.)

But it doesn't matter what you prefer: Sean Connery is the right answer.

James Bond creator Ian Fleming was not originally sold on Connery as Bond. Roger Moore had actually been considered during production of Dr. No, but was rejected as being too young. Moore later went on to become the oldest actor to portray Bond (58), even beating out David Niven (57) as Bond in the spoof version of Casino Royale. (Niven had in fact been Fleming's first choice to portray Bond in the "official" EON production series.)

After the release of Dr. No, however, Fleming changed his mind about Sean Connery. In fact, he changed his mind so much that he changed James Bond. In On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the first novel written after the Dr. No movie, Fleming provides details about Bond's lineage, stating that his father was Scottish, which was a change from the earlier novels which provided an Irish upbringing for Bond.

So, yeah. Sean Connery was so good at being James Bond that the creator of James Bond changed James Bond to be more like Sean Connery.

But what about when I do have those discussions with those seldom people who - for some reason - prefer another actor over Connery, what can I say? Yeah, they're entitled to their opinions... but their opinion is objectively not right.

So when are we allowed to say, "You're wrong"? When can we actually bust that out? It seems to me that "You're wrong" is just about the ultimate taboo phrase in today's world. People will insist that there's really no right or wrong, it's all just whatever you believe that works for you.

I dunno about that. You can believe that 2+2=5 all you want. I can't stop you there... but is it part of my responsibility to tell you the actual truth?

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Consider a man whose entire adult life has been in pursuit of satiating the carnal desires of the flesh. When he meets a woman he likes, he uses all of his considerable charm to land her in his bed. Maybe it's only once, maybe it's several times, but either way, it's sex. That's how this guy operates: he has sex with women. It's his deal.

Now let's say that this man encounters Christ in a way that he never has before and finally begins to understand the point of Christianity. He decides to at least attend services regularly, and is becoming genuinely interested in the message behind each sermon.

As he continues to get churched up, he reconsiders his approach to women and decides that maybe - just maybe - his incessant fornication is not the best choice he could be making. Does he still pick up the occasional girl? Sure does. Is he moving towards monogamous relationships? Yeah, seems like it.

Is his view on sex all the way up to good yet? From a Christian standard, of course not.

But... is it better?

In one's pursuit of holiness, there should never be any mistaking "less bad" for "good," but all the same, "less bad" actually is less bad, and that's a lot to be considered, especially when thinking about those who are considering Christianity.

And with those same folks considering Christianity, do we really have to give them the instructions on how to get all the way home when they're still a long ways out?

From what I've seen, there's this kind of drive in evangelistic or missionary outreaches to get people to commit to Christ immediately, just in case God shows up in the next twenty minutes. As soon as the conversation turns to God, there's a loaded Bible pointed at your head and somebody's hunting down a swimming pool to use as a baptismal immediately if not sooner.

What happened to taking our time? What happened to actually counting the cost? Too many of today's Christians became Christians when they were too young to actually understand what they were getting themselves into. Too many of today's former Christians were the ones who became Christians at a time when their ideas of how people function in the world were still being shaped, and the shortcomings of the Christians around them turned them off to the faith that they had so recently proclaimed.

Is it entirely necessary to make every single attempt of spreading the Gospel a conversion experience? Is planting a seed not good enough anymore? Is there a reason we act like we have to clear the land and replant an entire tree now, all in one move?

And what about the other people sitting around the churches who are imposing impossible moral standards on these new converts? What about the people who are uncomfortable letting the guy in the less-nice clothes with the tattoos on his neck into church because he looks like a sinner? When can we say, "HEY! YOU'RE WRONG!" to those folks?

I know that it's pretty much the worst thing in the world to tell someone, "I'm being a better Christian than you," but sometimes I think I'd be willing to cross that line if I thought it would do any good.

We've come to a point where, like the Pharisees, we expect people to live up to our moral codes and meet our standards for righteousness - a moral code and righteousness defined in most cases by a lifetime of growing up in a church. What about a guy who grew up in the most evil, hate-filled, miserable pit of suffering on this Earth? Should we expect him to immediately conform to our standards of morality? Does God expect that?

Or should we be looking for improvement?

Don't get me wrong... Sin is sin is sin, all the way through. One sin is just as damning as one thousand sins. But in a pursuit of perfection, managing to go from one thousand sins to one sin is pretty commendable. Is it perfection? No. Is it better? Well... I think so.

We've come to a point where, like the Pharisees, we smack people right on the nose with the full out strength of the Gospel as soon as they show the slightest interest in knowing anything about God, and we hold a spiritual gun to their heads, telling them they've got to become Christians NOW because they might die AT ANY SECOND and if they died on the way to be baptized then they'd still go to hell because God is super scary and doesn't actually like any of us. Fear is an awesome motivator for a religion based on love, don't you think?

Shouldn't we maybe just be content to plant the seeds? I have atheist friends. It is kind of silly for me to try to convince them that they should give their lives up to Christ when they don't believe that God even exists in the first place. So maybe there's gotta be some groundwork done. Maybe there needs to be some foundation laid before we can get to Jesus. Maybe we're trying to shove a pre-packaged form of Christian outreach down people's throats so we can tick off "Spreading the Gospel" on our How-To list for going to Heaven.

And maybe that's wrong.

Maybe we've lost sight of the fact that our journey to God is a... uhh... you know... journey. Jesus refers to the straight and narrow path, not the straight and narrow landing platform. The entire point of this whole thing is that we all grow closer to God. If somebody goes from very, very, very far away from God to just far away from God, I think that's a step in the right direction, don't you?

Owning Up to Myself

I really miss comics.

I know it's just stuff, but it's still some of my favorite stuff. I haven't read Daredevil in so long it hurts. I try to keep up on at least some of the must-read favorites. I don't let too much of The Goon, Hellboy, or Invincible slip by without trying to at least read a copy at some point soon, even if that means pretending to drink coffee at Borders. And of course there's still all the online comics I read, like The Adventures of Dr. McNinja and Garfield Minus Garfield, both of which I am of course strongly recommending to you - it's why those words changed colors.

Of course, I realize that not everybody is into comics... for some reason quite unknown to me, at least.

I still get some sideways looks and curious remarks when I talk about certain comics around people. Sometimes it's not so bad, like when I mention the Scott Pilgrim series that inspired the movie that just came out a few months ago. Lots of folks don't know that's a comic, so they're just surprised to learn it. Sometimes it's a little worse, like when I get jittery and kinda agitated talking about the 1966 Adam West "Batman" TV show.

I'd say it's not too much of a stretch to say that comics were my idol at a few points in my life... Especially for a few years in college. And it's not that I loved comics more than I loved God, but I definitely loved comics more than I loved people. Not ALL people. There were some people I loved more than comics. There were a few I loved a LOT more than comics. But comics were the priority. (Still are, in a lot of ways - I just have no money.)

There's no way around it - I am a nerd.

And it's not just comics, although comics are definitely what push me over the edge into "nerdiest dude in the room" territory 90% of the time. I'm a nerd about movies, music, food... It's a pretty big deal.

For a long time, I tried to be more like the world was telling me I should be like - because trust me, if there's anything the world likes making fun of more than a fat nerdy guy, I sure haven't found out what it is.

It only took me 27 years to get here, but I think I'm actually to a point where I'm kinda OK with who I am.

I think I finally understand that maybe God has a reason for me to be the guy I am. I don't know if God inspired my dad to hand me that copy of Wolverine #21 all those years ago that started me on the path to undeniable nerdosity, but what if He did? What if there was a divine reason for me growing up soaked in superheroes and sci-fi? What if God purposefully directed my life so I would find hours of entertainment in Dungeons & Dragons or Magic: The Gathering?

What if God made me a nerd on purpose?

What if I'm the way I am because it helps me reach out to the people who don't get reached out to very often?

What if, in order to better spread the Gospel, I've not only been blessed with Biblical understanding, but also a deep understanding of the Avengers?

It's not impossible. I've definitely found myself in situations where the only reason I could talk to somebody was because we both liked the same comics. I've found myself in situations where I could talk to somebody because we didn't like any of the same comics. And I'm not saying it's an easy jump from Batman to Jesus Christ, but it's not too much of a stretch to go from talking about Batman to actually being friends and then actually connecting on a personal level deep enough that the work of Christ can begin in earnest in someone's life because I took the time to get to know them and show them God's Love for them the same way He's shown His Love for me.

We are all different parts of the body. The hand cannot say to the foot, "I have no need of you." But so, too, the hand cannot say to itself, "Well, I'm not a foot, so what good am I?"

There are a lot of things about me that are just weird. And for a long time I tried to change that. I tried to fit in more. I tried to be more charming. I tried to be more focused on the same things that everybody else was focused on....

And then I realized all of those things are very boring.

God put me where I am for a reason, and that reason is to bring others around me closer to Him. I've been paying a bit of attention to it lately, and I've come to realize that most of the people God puts in my path have a lot in common with me in at least one way - they've had a hard time fitting in with the mainstream, too. And that's why I can talk to them. I've been there. I am there. I know what it's like to be laughed at because of my hobbies. I know what it's like to get mad about it. But I also know what it's like to finally be OK with who I am and realize that even though I may not be the shiniest car on the lot, I can definitely go some places that others just can't.

And that's pretty awesome.

I've finally realized that I'm a nerd FOR GOD. From here, can I reach the whole world? Maybe not. But can I reach the guy in the park reading the latest issue of Daredevil? Well, it can't hurt to try.

Take the time to understand who you are FOR GOD. Look around yourself, understand yourself, and - with prayer and diligent study - try to see where God is asking you to be your brightest and best to show others His Glory. Let's all stop trying to be the same person and just focus on following the same Christ and bringing others with us.

Rules of Engagement #3 - It Doesn't Matter

For the three of you reading this who might not yet have figured this out about me, I'm a comic book nerd. That's just a thing that straight up is about me. I love me some comics. I read some Captain America a few days ago that made me weep. My senior English paper at Harding was over the first 103 issues of the Fantastic Four - the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby run. Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli's "Born Again" arc from Daredevil vol. 1 #227-233 is seriously on par with Hamlet in my book.

Now, while I may not understand it, there are a lot of people - like, a disturbingly large number of people - out there in the comic book reading world who think that Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen is the greatest comic ever written.

Personally, I don't even think Watchmen qualifies for "not bad."

But when I was standing in line at HeroesCon a few years back, waiting to meet Gene "The Dean" Colan, it really didn't matter what my opinion was on Watchmen and it didn't matter what the opinion of the guy behind me was on "Born Again" - we had something bigger to focus on. We were both excited about what we had in common: a tremendous respect for a legendary artist of the classic Marvel Bullpen. When we both realized we were in the presence of a man who, even at 80-something years old, can still draw an Eisner award-winning Captain America story, we stopped caring about the little stuff that divided us, like preferences for certain titles, certain artists, certain authors... and we really came together on the big thing we shared. We were both just nuts about comics. American comics, European comics, Japanese comics, comics from the 30's, comics from last week, superhero comics, cowboy comics, regular-ordinary-guy comics... We liked comics.

Unfortunately, it's not like that very often. If you've never been around a whole bunch of us comic book guys in one place at one time, it can be hectic. There's this deep well of vicious bile stored up for anyone who disagrees with the majority of comic book readers. You don't like The Dark Knight Returns? Get behind me, Satan!

Can't we just not agree on stuff?

If you're reading comics, I'm thrilled. Absolutely thrilled. I don't care what it is, it's awesome that you're reading it. That's how much I love comics. It makes no difference to me if your favorite character is Batman or Jeffy from The Family Circus. It's comics. I love the art form itself enough that I can be OK with you not loving the exact same things the exact same way I do.

I think it's important to be a lot like that with my Christianity.

There are things that we obsess over and fight over and divide over that really... well, they're just not worth getting upset about in the first place.

Especially not when we're all supposed to be focused on something bigger than any and all of us anyway.

My goal is not for you to fall in love with "Born Again" the way that I am. I would love it if that happened, because yeah, it's an awesome book, but it's not so awesome that I think that everybody on the planet will dig it exactly the same way I do. You gotta know some stuff about Daredevil to really get that book. It helps to have read the original Frank Miller run, as well as a lot of things that came before it. It's not for everybody.

But my goal definitely is for you to fall in love with comics. There's something out there for you, I promise. It does not matter who you are, I promise you that there is a comic book out there with your name on it. I believe that with all of my heart. Young or less young, male or female, "Jesus Is Just Alright" by DC Talk kind of Christian or "Jesus Is Just Alright" by The Doobie Brothers kind of Christian, it doesn't matter*, I know there's one out there for you.

So let's corral this back down to reality for a minute.

My goal in reaching the lost is not that they become a Christian the exact same way that I am a Christian. I'm a somewhat-conservative libertarian Southern boy raised in the church of Christ from 1983-onward, absorbing years of niche pop culture with a steady soundtrack of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Jimi Hendrix. There aren't going to be a whole lot of people who fit that mold. So there's no need for me to try to shove them into that mold.

But my goal in reaching the lost definitely is to show them Christ. I want them to see Jesus. I want them to know God. I want them to understand the same things that I understand that have led me to change my life for the far, far, far better. I want them to know that there is a way to escape their past. I want them to know that there is an answer for a better life that really just makes too much sense to be ignored. I want them to know that Christianity works. It is the power of God in the world today, transforming men and women, young and old, rich and poor, across all divides of race and power and prestige and nationality, seeking to bridge the gap between the creation and its Creator.

I want people to see The Big Thing. I want them to know Absolute Truth. I want them to know God.

And God is big enough that I can be OK with them disagreeing with me on a few things.

There are good Christian folks out there who believe that the Leviathan and Behemoth mentioned in Job are dinosaurs. That's cool. I don't believe that, but I don't think it matters, because no matter what Leviathan and Behemoth were, the point is that God is bigger.

There are good Christian folks out there who believe that Ezekiel the prophet may have been an epileptic. That's cool. I don't know whether he was or not, but even if he was, the point is that God still used Ezekiel to accomplish His Will. God's bigger than epilepsy.

There are good Christian folks out there who believe that it's a sin to ever drink any alcohol in any form. That's cool. I completely disagree. God's bigger than alcohol.

Here's the thing... When you are completely zeroed in on nothing but following Christ, you start to notice just how much you've got in common with the Christians around you. You see that we are all going after One Purpose. We are all going after One Truth. We are all going to One Place.

But when you lose that focus on Christ and start to look around at other people, it's easy to notice how different everybody is. And sometimes in those differences, it's easy to think that if somebody's not looking up to Jesus from the same vantage point as me, then he can't possibly be seeing the same Jesus I'm seeing. He can't be worshiping God right. But in reality, he's seeing the exact same Jesus Christ, the exact same Son of God... he's just standing on a different hill, so his point of view isn't the same as mine.

But since it's still the same Jesus...

Isn't that OK?

If we don't go to the same kind of church but we still love the same Jesus, isn't that OK?

If we don't listen to the same music but we still show unending love to those around us because we still love the same Jesus, isn't that OK?

If we don't read the same version of the Bible, but we both still apply what the Bible teaches into our lives and let God transform us into the people we were meant to be because we still came to love and worship the same Jesus, isn't that OK?

These questions are rhetorical, but I really do need to make sure that you all understand that the answer is "yes."

When C.S. Lewis was writing the radio lectures that would eventually become Mere Christianity, he sought out the help of four clergymen: one each Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian and Methodist. He wanted to make sure that he was speaking to the great truth that united them all - a love for God through Jesus Christ. And you know what happened? He did just that! He talked about Christianity, not Catholicism or Anglicanism or Presbyterianism or Methodism. He talked about what unites us - because there's a whole lot more that unites us than separates us. He talked about what we have in common, because what we have in common should be what identifies us, not what separates us from each other.

And if we can't do that amongst ourselves, then we're never going to be able to really bring people in to Christ the way we were meant to.

When you're talking to someone who doesn't even believe in God, it really doesn't matter what you believe about how and when the Lord's Supper is observed. That's not the important part. That's not what we've got to show people. We've got to show people God.

Jesus, God's One and Only Son, died to forgive the sins of humanity.

After that, it's pretty much all details.

The important part - the part that matters - is how people react to Jesus. That's what matters.

So next week we'll talk about just exactly what falls into that "doesn't matter" category. Some of you might be surprised. I know I was.

* - I'm personally a "Jesus Is Just Alright" by Robert Randolph and the Family Band featuring Eric Clapton kind of Christian, but hey, it still doesn't matter!

Bold As Love (Just Ask the Axis)

So there's this gas station a few miles from my house, out in Fairview, on Highway 100. It's just a little country store gas station, one of the few that's open 24 hours in this neck of the woods, and it's got a sign out front that normally displays people's birthdays or anniversaries, or some prayer request for a family touched by grief, or some other little personal message. The last time I drove by, it was showing one of those personal messages, and here's the message:

ID LOVE 2

GO WITH

U

SASHA

Now, I don't have any idea who put this up, what he'd love to go to with Sasha, or who Sasha is, but I sure hope she liked it. I hope she melted into a puddle of goo. I hope she had to park on the side of the road, take a picture, upload it to Facebook, and then wipe the tears from her eyes while calling her best friend just to say "Oh, he's just so sweeeeeeeeeeeeet!"

But I'll admit it: even though I'm a die-hard romantic, I can understand that it might not have gone quite the way I hope it did - or quite the way the guy who put it up had hoped it would!

It's entirely possible that Sasha saw this guy's bold declaration and was embarrassed by it. Maybe she was embarrassed that the whole town of Fairview saw it. Maybe she was embarrassed by the fact that it was on the sign at the gas station. Or maybe this guy who put up the sign is just completely nuts and she was embarrassed by having this weirdo publicly longing for her.

But in either case... Good for him. Good for that guy having the guts to put something like that out there in public for everyone to see. It thrills me - as a romantic and as a Christian - to see that there's still at least one dude out there who's not afraid to show love in a public way - boldly, even.

Love is tricky stuff. For those of you who know me, whether it's personally or just through this blog, you'll recall that I'm not exactly lucky when it comes to romantic love. (I'll fully grant the possibility that I'm not "lucky" in romantic love for the same reason I'm not "lucky" in Calculus - I could very simply just have no idea what I'm doing.)

But despite my failures and/or shortcomings as dating material, I think I'm starting to figure out some stuff about the Love that is all you need, which is - in fact - everywhere.

One of the things I've learned - I think - is that there is a certain boldness required in Love. A lot of times we see in TV shows (like House the other night) or movies where there's a guy completely lovestruck, but he's too afraid for whatever reason to confess his love for this girl who is just aching for him to say something, this girl who would love to be in love with this guy, but she won't say anything about it, either.

Now, I think it's fairly safe to say that I'm not taking any notes from TV in that area. Girls that I'm fond of tend to find it out. Sometimes it has worked for me. I basically made a bet with my ex-girlfriend Michelle that us dating would be a great idea. And it was, for a few months! But other times it just winds up being the elephant in the room, you know? There's a genuine friendship connection built up, and then "Oh, hey, here's a... ummm... poem. For you. That I wrote. Because apparently I do that?" But since we're already good friends... Yeah, it's a thing. (That one doesn't have a good track record so far.)

But the point is not that I share my dating woes with you (but I do hope you're laughing at them), the point is this boldness in Love thing. It might not be the greatest approach when it comes to romance, but I believe that when we're talking about the Love we should have for everybody, there's really no other choice.

In the first few verses of John 5, Jesus heals a paralytic at the pool. One of the things that I find interesting about this healing in particular is that Jesus just up and does it. In a lot of the other specific instances we have recorded of Jesus' healing miracles, He is asked to perform the healing, usually by the sick person, but occasionally by a family member of the sick. But in John 5, Jesus just walks up, sees a man, and goes out of His way to heal him.

In Luke 13, we see another instance of Jesus healing without being asked. This time, it's the story of the woman who was bent over and couldn't stand up straight - Jesus saw her, called her over to Him, and healed her.

So Love, right? Love means you go out of your way to make someone's life better. Love means you don't always have to wait until people ask - when you see something that you can do, you do it.

But even then, there's another miracle of Jesus that I really like. In Mark 10, Jesus and the disciples were leaving Jericho, and they come across a blind man named Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus calls out to Jesus, and when Jesus talks to Bartimaeus, the first thing He says to him - and this is in verse 51 - is "What do you want Me to do for you?"

This is the first time Jesus ever met Bartimaeus, and the first thing Jesus asks is how He can serve Bartimaeus - how He can show His Love.

So Jesus sets a pretty solid example for how we ought to Love people, especially when gifted with the miraculous powers of healing. Snag is, I don't have that one.

But thankfully, the book of Acts is absolutely stuffed with examples of the apostles and early church showing Love through their actions, boldly preaching Christ, and serving one another in Love.

But it seems to me that we've lost sight of something in the years since. It seems that we've lost some of the edge, some of the boldness that Jesus and the early church displayed.

Love is not self-seeking, according to I Corinthians 13:5. But I look around - and look at myself - and see a Love that is hindered, a Love that seems to be sleeping, and that's not OK.

We've let the world talk us into shutting up. We've let the world talk us into calming down. We've let our own fear of looking weird or being mocked or persecuted push us back into our own little comfort zones where we don't step out and really confront people with the Love that we have been shown from God.

I know that I'm guilty of it, at least. I know that I am paralyzed by my own fear when it comes to showing Love for others. I'm weird enough as it is, there's no reason to go throwing fuel on the fire. I can't just go out of my way to be kind to strangers, can I? I can't make it a point in my life to improve the lives of those around me with every move I make, can I? I can't unashamedly speak the truth with every word, can I?

How would the world react to that?

Oh, yeah, that's right - they'd crucify me.

And I think that's part of why we've lost our edge on Love. I think that's part of why we're not being as bold as we should be. I think we've seen the world crucify one too many.

I think we've seen fellow Christians crucify one too many.

I think we've let sin and complacency and the love for "religion" rule our lives instead of the genuine Love for God, Love from God, and Love for His world. And I don't mean that to say that every one of you, any one of you, or really even myself, is guilty of some heinous sin where we've ignored God's commands to show Love. I think we're just holding back.

And I'd like to see that come to an end.

I'd like to see the body of Christ, His church, His people, His children, rise up in unity and in strength and say, "Hey! I'm gonna Love you, no matter what!"

And I'd like us to keep doing that even after the first shots are fired.

Because if there's any one thing that I've learned, it's that Love can be a tricky thing.

And sometimes even when you're showing Love to someone, they don't want it. Sometimes they can't see it as Love. Sometimes they do see it as Love, but still don't want any part of it, because Love is contagious, and Love means putting others before yourself. Love means sacrifice. Love means doing the hard things to help someone, even if they don't want it.

How do we show Love to someone who's crippled by a heroin addiction? How do we show that person Love when the very thing they want the most in this world - the thing that they in fact physiologically need - is also the very thing killing them?

How do we show Love to someone in an unhealthy relationship? How do we show them Love when their current idea of love is filled with manipulation and fear, jealousy and insecurity, or lies and pain?

How do we show Love to someone who is blatantly, knowingly defying the word of God in the pursuit of their happiness? How do we show them Love when their idea of love is one that allows complete moral freedom without any reproach? How many times have you heard this? "If God/Jesus/you really loved me, He/you would let me do what I want, because it makes me happy. That's what love means - making other people happy."

Say it with me everybody! No. That's not what Love means. Letting others do what they want isn't Love, it's apathy. Love means helping others be their best. Love means showing others how to care for themselves as well as those around them. Love means all of us working to make everyone's life better today than it was yesterday, and then making sure that tomorrow is even better than today.

And sometimes that Love means telling people things they don't want to hear.

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'"

"Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy."

Jesus looked at him and Loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

- Mark 10:17-22, emphasis added

What happened there? This young man, obviously enthusiastic about meeting Jesus, obviously enthusiastic about seeking holiness, obviously enthusiastic about knowing the heart of God... This young man comes up to Jesus and says "I want to do it right." Jesus checks him and finds him to be a righteous young man - except for one thing. And then, in the perfect Love of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, He tells the young man the last thing he wanted to hear. Jesus - in perfect Love - wrecked this guy's world. Jesus - the embodiment of Love - said something that made this guy sad! Jesus - who Loved us enough to die for us, even while we were still sinners! - showed this man Love, and in Love, told him the truth, even though the truth hurt.

So I don't know about you, but I've got some adjusting to do. I've got some learning to do. I've got to figure out how to Love people better. I've got to figure out how to get up the guts to tell people what they need to hear - in grace, truth, and Love - instead of just letting them live their lives in sin, deception, and pain.

I've got to move past my fear of the world and embrace the spirit of courage that I have been given through the power of Christ's redemption into the Love of the Father.

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of Love and of self-discipline.

- II Timothy 1:7

Love others. Love all others. Love your family, Love your friends, Love your church, Love your co-workers, Love your enemies, Love everyone you come in contact with. Love them whether they're ready for it or not. Love them whether they LIKE it or not! Love every single person you come across in this world with the Love that has been shown to you, the Love that laid down His life for us, the Love that bled for us, the Love:

Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

but made Himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled Himself

and became obedient to death—

even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place

and gave Him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

- Philippians 2:6-11

God Loves you. YOU. You reading this right now. You, personally. YOU are His special child. YOU are His, forever. YOU have been bought for a high price. God loves YOU enough that He took on flesh and died for YOU.

And to the best of my limited abilities, I Love you, too. Yes, again - YOU. I Love YOU. Which is why I'm telling you to go out and Love others. Love them like you mean it. Love them like your very soul depends on it - because it does! Love them the way that you have been shown, with the Father's Love, through the Love of the Son, in the Holy Spirit of Love.

Next week, I'll be writing about how Love can save you. So look forward to that. (Also, I wanted to throw in one more tune.)

The Necessity of Common Ground

Do you believe in Jesus?

What does that even mean, really? What does it mean to "believe in" Jesus, as opposed to saying you "believe in" Benjamin Franklin?

Well, let's start with this... Do you believe that Jesus existed?

I sure hope you do, as it is a historically ignorant position not to. H.G. Wells once said, "I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history."

So if you believe that Jesus existed, do you believe that the record we have in the Gospels to be an accurate representation of who Jesus was, what He did, and what He taught?

I must here confess, with no small amount of regret, that I do not have very much education in the field of Biblical textual criticism. I know a few things about the sources of the Gospels, the dating of their writings, and the process by which the four that are now seen as canonical became "canonical." But I'll admit... I don't know as much about that field as I would like.

But even within my confessed ignorance of the mechanics of the construction of the text we now recognize as the Holy Bible, I do know that the text itself makes claims on more than one occasion to be the incomplete work of men trying to attest to something they believed, and it takes a leap of faith to trust them or not.

So if you, like me, do believe that Jesus existed, and you do believe the Gospels to be an accurate record of His life, nature, and ministry, do you believe in Jesus? Do you believe in His message? When He says, in John 14:6-7, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really knew Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him," do you believe Him?

How about God? Do you believe in God? Belief in Jesus as who He claimed to be is somewhat predicated upon a belief in God. It's hard to believe in the Son of God if you don't believe in the God that had the Son in the first place.

I am pretty confident in the idea that, at the very least, the majority of you reading this are all believers in God, Jesus, and the authenticity of the Bible. And I'll readily grant that even within that subset of faith, not all of us are in the same place. Some of you are new to this, some of you have been following Christ steadily for years, and I would imagine that some of you - like me - have been going to church since the Sunday after you were born but maybe haven't really seen just how incredible this Christian life can be until more recently.

But not everybody is there.

Back on the posts Seeing the Love of the New Testament In the Wrath of the Old Testament, Part II from last month and How Do You Not Get This? from last week, there was a (rather lengthy) comment exchange that - to put it politely - was a prime example of two ideologies that simply do not match up trying to engage in a discussion and producing only futility and frustration.

Look - I'm a Christian. I'm kinda operating under the assumption that even a brief reading of my stuff would show that to be true. As a Christian, then, there are certain things I believe. For starters, that there is a God, that Jesus Christ is His resurrected Son, and that the Bible is His written message for us down here in this world, this life. Believing that, then, there are things that I see as truths about the very fabric of reality which are inextricably linked to those beliefs.

For instance - the nature of morality is, in my view, completely Divine. That man has attempted to "reason" out morality apart from God is undeniable, yes, but I believe that a solely human standard of morality is woefully incomplete.

So, fellow believers... How do we engage belief systems that are radically different from our own? Especially when the assumptions about the nature of reality itself are completely different? And how do we do it in such a way that we actually accomplish something, instead of just beating our heads against the wall, arguing with someone who might as well believe the answer is "red" where we believe it to be "7"?

Well, apparently, I don't have the faintest idea.

The whole issue here is with the tiny little concept of faith. It is faith in the unseen God that separates the wheat from the chaff. Is there any faith in the Bible without a faith in the God of the Bible? That there can be a faith in God without believing the Bible is undeniable, but would anyone hold the Bible to be worthwhile and reject its presentation of God?

So, then, how can we expect the Bible to be a compelling text for someone who doesn't believe in it or in the God it portrays, or even in any version of God at all?

To an atheist, the Bible presents every bit as much truth about the universe as the latest issue of The Amazing Spider-Man.

So the Bible's out, right?

Well... again... I have no clue.

I've had a couple of conversations about this lately that have really had me thinking. The first centered around the idea that, even if the person you're talking to doesn't actually believe in the Bible, you can still at least let them know that the Bible is your personal source for inspiration, wisdom, encouragement, moral guidance, etc..., and allow your actions and words to serve as a proof for the Bible's validity. If it makes you a better person, then it is at least possible that it can serve to make someone else a better person, which may then very well lead to an investigation of the scriptures in that person's life, and from there, the search for holiness can begin.

The second conversation was not as much centered on using the Bible, but instead, on the actions inspired by the Bible. I was talking with a friend who was a missionary in Ghana for some time, and she told me that a lot of the conversions came from the Christians working at the health clinic, putting their faith into practice by caring for the sick. This connective, human, tangible expression of faith led to conversions from Muslims in the area who were experiencing the power of the Gospel as it led others to make a very concrete impact on their lives. In this same conversation, I also learned of a man who expressed his faith through actions as well - changing someone's flat tire, helping carry groceries, feeding the homeless, etc... When the people he helped began to thank him, he would simply give them a business card - with no contact information on it - that said (and I'm paraphrasing this, I don't quite remember it wholly) "Whatever good deed has just been done for you was done because of Jesus Christ."

Does that work?

In case you haven't picked up on the trend here... I just don't know.

I'm gonna 'fess up to a pretty strong bias here... I'm pretty useless when it comes to the emotional "soft sell" of Christianity. When I worked at Heritage Place last summer, I tried very hard to avoid the over-used youth ministry model of stirring up the kids' emotions to the point that they cried at my devotionals. I hated that stuff when I was their age, and I still hate it now. Understand me, though - I'm not saying that there's no room for emotionality in Christianity. I'm just saying that emotions change. Emotions are fleeting. If your entire evangelistic approach is centered around making someone cry, making someone feel God, then they're going to be absolutely zeroed-in and strictly focused on God... until they're distracted by just about anything.

So manipulating emotions... well, it seems pretty shallow to me. Again, this is just me, and I'm not saying that the emotional tactics don't make some HUGE differences in people's lives.

But at the same time, it seems to me that if you strictly appeal to someone's emotions, they're only going to be with you until their emotions change, which (as I'm sure you ALL understand) is a completely unpredictable thing. I experience emotions that have absolutely no trigger sometimes. I'll find myself in the middle of a very stern and serious discussion about some really deep, important stuff... but can't stop thinking of jokes only a 3rd grader would love. Or at least admit to loving.

But if you appeal to someone's mind, if you appeal to their understanding... Well, that's where I think you can get 'em hooked.

But again... I don't really know a whole lot.

One thing I do know, however, is this...

You're not going to reach everyone, and that's OK.

As Christians, we have a duty to God and to our fellow man to spread the message of Christ throughout the world to the best of our abilities - and since we're backed by God, our abilities are pretty impressive!

But there are some people out there who you just can't reach. There are some folks who, despite your best efforts, you just won't be able to find any common ground with.

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear."

"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

- Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Look, folks... Even Jesus, Peter, and Paul didn't convert everyone. There are some folks out there who are never going to see what we see, hear what we hear, or believe what we believe.

Even though that absolutely breaks my heart, it is still the truth.

And you know what else? As hard as it may be to believe, there are going to be some folks who are just outright hostile towards you, simply because you wear the label of Christian. There are people who are going to reject not only what you believe, but you altogether, because you believe what you believe.

If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them.

- Luke 9:5

Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

- Matthew 7:6

How do people get so worked up, railing against something that is centered around pure love? What is so bad about that? What is it that inspires so much bile and hatred? Beats me! I just know it's out there.

But here's another truth to take some comfort in...

Just because you aren't the one who can reach someone doesn't mean they can't be reached at all. God didn't create us all with the same strengths or the same vision or the same understanding. We are all chasing after the same truth, yes, and we all believe in the same unifying things, but we are coming from very different places to reach that one Truth, so our views will always be a little different until we are restored in perfect unity.

So whereas the conversations that I have with someone might not get anywhere... Maybe you'll do better. And maybe I've got something that you've never seen that I can show someone else. This is why it's so very important that we are ALL working towards sharing Christ's message - by sharing Christ's love - with everyone we come in contact with.

We've got to put it out there like it's the only thing that matters, since - guess what! - it is the only thing that matters.

So what have you found to be helpful? Where can we go with this? What can we do to reach people who aren't even standing within our concept of reality? Show them God by showing them love... They may not directly see God, but they'll definitely see love. Maybe that can lead to a conversation. Maybe that can lead to a teaching moment. Maybe that can lead to a real connection of your faith into their lives, and from there... Who knows what God will do?

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.

- I Corinthians 3:6-9

So get out there, fling those seeds, and let me know how it goes for you. I'll be sure to do the same.

I pray that God blesses our hearts, that we may show His love to His creation.

I pray that God blesses our minds, that we may understand the pain in the world and see how best to be a comfort.

I pray that God blesses our words, that we may speak the truth in grace and love.

I pray that God blesses our actions, that we may be His Hands and Feet and carry out His Will.

In Christ's name, Amen.

How Do You Not Get This?

You can ask anybody who really hung out with me when I had my (completely awesome) apartment back in Searcy... Pink Floyd's Live at Pompeii was a thing. I would say that it's entirely probable that there were stretches in that year where the boys and I watched Pompeii at least once a week. And it wasn't just so much that we were all so eager to experience it again (even though there were definitely never complaints from any of us), it was just that every time we turned around and realized that another of our friends had never had Live at Pompeii happen to them yet... Well... We just had to fix that mess, immediately!

Apparently Live at Pompeii struck my friend Lane's resonant tone. He just DUG IT. Got big into the Pink Floyd. Actually had Pompeii on his iPod when he went to Europe over the summer and got to listen to the whole thing in the same ancient Roman amphitheatre where the show was recorded, in Pompeii. I envy him on so many levels for that.

I have been known to say that I would break up with a girl for the Beatles, and this is an entirely accurate statement. It's not so much that the Beatles have to be her favorite band or anything - they're not my favorite band. It's just that there are some ground rules for what constitutes "good music" as far as I'm concerned, and if a girl can't at least get on board with Revolver or Abbey Road, then we just ain't gonna have a whole lot of common ground to work with as far as music goes, and - call me a jerk if you must - I'm just passionate enough about tunes that I can't have a woman that doesn't get "She Said She Said" and really expect her to get me. It is just a thing that is.

Back in August I gave my friend Rebecca a copy of Revolver, which was her first exposure to the Fab Four... She is now a bigger Beatles fan than I am.

The other night my buddy Will and I met up for a few oat sodas and barley pops. Right about the time we were letting "Albatross" by the original Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac do all of its good stuff to our ears, I looked over at him and said, "Man... I just don't get how Rory Gallagher doesn't completely blow your mind. I know you like Peter Green, I know you like Jimmy Page, I know you like Eric Clapton... How does Rory not grab you?"

He looked at me for a second with a puzzled expression and said that he honestly couldn't recall ever having been exposed to Rory Gallagher. Now... that just ain't so. I know I'd played Rory for him - I've played Rory for everybody who'll let me. When I first heard Rory Gallagher about two years ago, I completely lost my mind. But when I first played Rory for Will, he just wasn't impressed. It didn't grab him, and I could not possibly wrap my mind around that.

But he said that he was willing to listen to it again. So once we hit the road, I fired up Rory Gallagher on the ol' iPod and cranked it up good and loud.

This time, Will got it.

After we'd parted ways, I got a text message from him which read, "I apologize for ever claiming that this is anything but epic."

He got Rory Gallagher.

All I did was turn it on for him.

Rebecca got the Beatles.

All I did was turn it on for her.

Lane got Pink Floyd.

All I did was turn it on for him.

Now why in the world can I not do the same thing for my God and Savior?

I fully realize that there's a bit of difference between introducing someone to a band or an album and introducing someone to Christianity. It takes an hour to watch Live at Pompeii, thirty-five minutes to listen to Revolver, and somewhere in the neighborhood of ten seconds for Rory Gallagher to completely wreck your mind.

But how long does it take to show someone the picture of Christ in my life? At what point in my friendships do I say, "Hey, wait, you're telling me you're not a Christian? Dude! You have no idea what you're missing! We gotta fix that RIGHT NOW!"

I can't help but think back to what I talked about last week with the guy driving by and verbally assaulting me and the guys with the Gospel... I really don't think that approach works, and I would be surprised to learn if it has ever actually worked on anybody.

Even Jack Chick tracts at least make an attempt to convince audiences of their sin and its consequences, and Jack Chick tracts are unbelievably horrid.

I've had evangelism sitting on the back burner of my mind for a while now, and with all the other stuff that's been thrown in over the past few weeks, it's finally all boiling over.

Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am, My servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves Me.

"Now My heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your Name!"

Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to Him.

Jesus said, "This voice was for your benefit, not Mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."

- John 12:20-32

There is a school of thought among smaller, more conservative churches - especially within the church of Christ (not like I know much about how other churches operate anyway) - that basically goes like this... A member from congregation "A" will state that if congregation B has more than X members (where X equals congregation "A" plus 15), then obviously congregation "B" is diluting the truth of the Gospel. There's no way the Gospel can possibly be presented in its full form and actually attract hordes of people. After all...

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

- Matthew 7:13-14

So - obviously - if there's "many" people at a church, then they're on the broad road to the wide gate of destruction, and the sign of a good church is that "few" people are there, since it's the narrow road and small gate.

I really hope you've never personally encountered this, but I assure you, it's real. And the saddest thing about it is that there's this underlying mentality that focuses not on the amount of people we could be bringing into the church and introducing to God and His awesome love, but instead, on keeping all the other people out, never opening up arms and hearts and homes and kitchens and minds and conversations to show people "Hey! This is what it looks like! This is what Jesus was talking about! This is how this is supposed to work!"

And the thing is... I really think that once everybody starts showing that...

Oh, man...

Then we'd just be irresistible.

Jesus said it - "...when I am lifted up from the earth [I] will draw all men to Myself."

So... Are we gonna take Jesus at His word here or what?

In the current socio-politically correct pluralistic world climate where there are no absolutes when it comes to philosophy, morality, or theology, it's kind of an unpopular position to say this, but yes, I do believe Christianity is better than every other religion on the planet.

I don't just believe it's better for me... I believe it's better than any other option out there.

And - through that - I also believe that if we were to actually show the world what Christ's message really meant, if we can get over ourselves and really love each other and love our neighbor and love God and feed the hungry and clothe the naked and care for the sick and visit the lonely and the prisoners and look after the widows and the orphans and keep ourselves from being polluted by the world...

I really think that when that happens... The whole world will get it.

I think that too often our approach to evangelism is simply to talk to people - or even shout at them - about Jesus instead of just showing them who He is by showing them who He's made us.

I can talk to you about how awesome Live at Pompeii is for longer than it takes to actually sit down and watch the thing. I can show you, literally, entire books worth of material talking about how incredible Revolver is and the impact it has had on music. I can tell you stories about the reactions I've gotten from every person I've sat down and shared Rory Gallagher with.

Or I could just sit down with you and watch Live at Pompeii. I could just play Revolver for you. I could just let you actually hear Rory Gallagher.

See, the thing is... I'm not gonna be able to represent any of those three better than they already represent themselves. It doesn't matter how much I tell you how awesome it is until you actually experience how awesome it is on your own.

So what I am attempting to do when it comes to giving you the blessing of awesome music is to just shut up, push play, and let the music do everything for me. There is nothing I can do to make what comes out of the speakers any better than it already is.

And that's how I think it's gotta be with Christ. I can't make Christ any better. I can't show you anything about Jesus that He didn't already put out as complete perfection. I can tell you about Jesus all I want, but it really doesn't matter until I show it.

Turn to Me and be saved,

all you ends of the earth;

for I am God, and there is no other.

By Myself I have sworn,

My mouth has uttered in all integrity

a word that will not be revoked:

Before Me every knee will bow;

by Me every tongue will swear.

They will say of Me, 'In the LORD alone

are righteousness and strength.' "

All who have raged against Him

will come to Him and be put to shame.

- Isaiah 45:22-24

It seems to me that there is an inevitability to the recognition of God by everyone in the history of ever. I will just go ahead and say right now that I don't understand a whole lot of the Revelation to John, but it really doesn't leave a lot of room - in my understanding - for atheism or anything else other than the absolute recognition of God and His Son.

So here's the way I see it....

Everybody's eventually going to recognize that God is real anyway. That's just gonna happen. I hold the belief that once someone experiences God, sees God, knows God... well, that's it. It's not like you've got any options after that. You can listen to Revolver and still like Abbey Road more. I don't personally understand it, but hey, it's not like I can say I don't completely love Abbey Road a whole lot anyway. But once you know God... I don't see how someone walks away from that! It's GOD! He IS Absolute Truth! He is Absolute everything! Everything that is is because He is! There aren't options! His business cards read "I AM" for a reason!

And so, we chosen, down here on the ground, are meant to serve as guideposts - no, as lights! Lamps on the tables, cities on the hills... We're meant to shine a light that shows everyone the Truth. We're meant to shine our light - which comes from God - straight back to God to show the entire world how He meant for this to all work out, how He had this planned from the beginning.

There are some folks who aren't gonna get it.

There are some folks - close friends of mine - who weren't impressed by Live at Pompeii. I still love them, but... Man... I just don't get it.

There are folks - not as many of them on the "close friend" side here - who don't dig the Beatles, whether it's Revolver or Abbey Road or anything else. I just don't get it.

There are folks out there who don't dig Rory Gallagher. I don't know that I've actually met any of them, but I'm kinda forced to assume that to be true because there are way too many people on the planet who've never heard OF Rory Gallagher, much less ever actually heard his music. I still just don't get it.

There are some folks out there who - for one reason or another - don't get God. They don't get what this is about. I think that, in most cases, the only reason people don't understand it is because they haven't actually seen it.

Yeah, they may know Christians... But they haven't known Christ's universal love.

Yeah, they may have been told the Gospel... But they haven't been shown the effect the Gospel has on someone's life.

And what's worse is that there are folks out there who - for one reason or another - almost got it, but then lost it, or walked away, or gave up, or moved on... And I still think that the only reason that ever happens is because they still haven't actually seen it.

Yeah, their parents may have taken them to church when they were kids... But I don't think they ever really experienced a connection with the Father that changed their life.

Yeah, they may have studied the Bible, may have read it all the way through, may know every word it says... But I don't think they've ever actually heard God speak to them in a way that redefined who they are.

God still works wonders in this world today without our help. He does not need us for anything. He can accomplish everything on His own just fine.

But since we're already here...

What if we started showing people what God is really all about? What if we really lived out the life Jesus prescribed for us, the way He meant it to be, not filtered through some political label or national identity or social status?

What if we completely died to ourselves and took on the very identity of Christ in this earth and spread a message of love and peace and holiness and patience and understanding and kindness and gentleness and joy and self-control and faithfulness and mercy and truth and everything else that God calls us to be?

What if I did that?

Would the people around me get it? Would it finally hit them? Would they finally see it? Would they finally go, "Oh, man! Aaron! You weren't kidding! This is awesome!" and let God change their lives the way He's changing mine?

I guess there's only one way to find out.