Monday Motivation

 

Biblical Womanhood: Un-Mansplaining the Bible

For the past few years Downtown Venues has been my go-to safe place in the semi-church world. Although it has evolved and morphed into something much different than it was in its beginning, it is still a place that is pretty unique among church-like gatherings. The moniker of Barchurch doesn't quite fit the way it did when we actually met in a bar, but you can still grab a beer, cocktail, or glass of wine while listening to music or the message.
The changes in our Downtown pastors has also shaded the overall vibe changes of our gatherings with each person adding their own personality and style. Sometimes I have to face my own conservative tendencies when I realize how much I really enjoyed and miss the original brand of Barchurch. I understand the changes we've undergone and managed to adapt because there really isn't a lot of choice in the matter.

I'm posting this to attempt to underscore the feeling that last Thursday's music-less version of Barchurch was the absolute best that I can remember. I don't think I've ever left a service as inspired, moved, and heartbroken as I did Thursday evening. 
I want you to listen as these five women leaders tell small parts of their stories.
It will take an hour of your time, but it is well worth it. Find an hour to set aside and come back here to listen. The first five minutes of the video are announcements for The Venues and you can skip or use it to grab a beer or pour yourself a drink.

To the women and young girls that I may have influenced by contributing to the teaching of patriarchy or somehow diminished your value or place due to nothing more than your gender -- please, know that I am sorry and I am changing that old, stinking thinking. 
To the men and the young boys -- we are better than that.

Please, listen
...and learn.

John

Barchurch
Biblical Womanhood: Was the Bible Mansplained, week 3

What's Your Story?

Politically, I've gone from moderate right to left-leaning to left.
Religiously, I've gone from Catholicism to evangelical to ex-vangelical to a struggling follower of Jesus.
Socially, I am becoming more comfortable being alone and less likely to want to interact with others, especially in larger numbers.
I've become much less nationalistic -- no more "Rah, rah for the red, white and blue, and mostly just blue (the sad kind of blue, not the liberal kind of blue) that we've become so divided and hurtful to one another.

It is apparently natural that I relate to people with similar stories even though the reasons and circumstances may have been quite different, but I currently find myself curious about people that have moved in the opposite directions.
I'm trying to think of people that were politically left that have moved to the right, that were so-so or struggling religiously and are now much more devoted or even fanatical, that were wallflowers and are now the life of the party, or that went from ordinary citizens to flag wearing, flag waving, gun toting patriots.

I'm not sure that I even know anyone that has made any of these opposite shifts.
I want to hear those stories -- not to ridicule or disagree, but to understand.
I want to know the whys, what moved them in the opposite way from me.
If you have such a story or know someone with a story, I'd like to hear it.

I know that most of my readers may find themselves in the same predicament -- not knowing many people that have moved in opposite directions. To be clear -- I know people that are on the right side of the political spectrum, the zealot side of the evangelical religions, the social centers, and the patriots -- but that's pretty much where they've always been. 
I'm interested in people that have changed and what drove the change to go to the places that I left.

Share this post and send some people my way.
My contact info is in my bio.

John

Wednesday Wisdom

 I needed this
...and I don't hike.

Monday Motivation

 

Reading and Writing

It's been a few days since I've posted and I hope that you've continued reading through John even though I've not been writing. Picking something to write about as I'm reading through it is kind of a pain in the butt. As I mentioned before, it's not like I'm doing a deep study. I've just been sharing some things as they come into my head.

I think I'll just encourage you to take it from here. 
Maybe it's winter dragging on, or maybe it's something else, but I'm just not feeling the daily writing thing right now.

John

According to John, Chapter 11

John 11

There is a lot in this story of Lazarus. I know I should write more, but I'm just not feeling it this morning.
If you've been following along (either one if you), feel free to share your thoughts on this chapter.
My minuscule contribution is pointing out more of John's confusing writing.
I know the writing attributes these words to Jesus, but they are so confusing that I think maybe John didn't get it quite right (so much for that inerrant, infallible belief).

From vss 25 & 26
Jesus said to her (Martha), "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

So Martha says yes. She believes him.
I'm saying, "Wait. What? That doesn't make sense."
What is he saying? He first says -- If you believe in me and die, you'll live. But then he says if you believe in me you won't die.
I'm all for trusting God and following Jesus, but I'm not going lie to you -- this confuses me.
It is probably stuff like this that makes people want a Bible study so that somebody can explain exactly what Jesus means.
NEWS FLASH! Nobody really knows. They just make up shit about what they think he means and expect us to accept it. My thought is that it's been maybe 50 years between when this happened and John is writing about it, so maybe he didn't get it quite right. After all, he would have been 70 or 80 years old at the time and we know how memory fades, right?

I'm not meaning to sound sacrilegious here; it's just that sometimes I scratch my head and ask, "What?!"
It is difficult to read through the Bible without the baggage of what you've been previously taught. Sometimes I try to read it as if it was my first time through. It helps me to see the things that make me ask questions and probe a little deeper.

I should probably reaffirm that I do believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. I do believe in eternal life as he teaches it. I do believe that Jesus is the Son of God and is God in the flesh. 
But I don't have all the answers. In fact, I have very few answers. Mostly, I have questions -- lots of them!

So--
Not a very devotional kind of daily reading today. I'll try to do better tomorrow.
Or maybe I need a day off from posting.
Maybe...

John

According to John, Chapter 10

John 10 

I ain't no sheep herder!
This is one of those places where it is obvious that Jesus is speaking to the people of that time and culture.
Seriously, what do I know about caring for sheep? 
Even many of the people that heard Jesus didn't understand what he was talking about.

So what is in this story for someone that isn't a first century Jew that cares for sheep?
Good question.

Here are my thoughts:
1) We can find out about sheep and shepherding. 

Typically we find someone else that has found out what it's like to shepherd and listen to their explanation. If you are like me, that means you've listened to preachers and teachers that have learned from preachers and teachers about lessons that have been handed down from one person to another. I really don't think I've heard much in the way of first or even second person teaching on the lessons regarding sheep and shepherds. That doesn't mean what you've heard is wrong, but it does give me some concerns about the typical agenda manipulation that takes place in religions throughout the world.

2) We can see if any of what Jesus says about sheep applies to us.

Here's what I think.
Jesus says that his sheep know him and they know his voice. Listen for his voice. 
You will hear it in nature. You will hear it in other people. Your will hear it in the stillness of your own heart and being.

I'm not talking about the god-spoke-to-me-now-I'm-going-to-do-whatever-I-feel-like bullshit that batshit crazy evangelicals and fanatics use. I'm talking about God/Jesus speaking to our spirits in ways other than through the words of the Bible.
Jesus says, in this very passage, that there are other sheep from other flocks and he plans to bring us all together. What if it is God who speaks to the Native Americans through The Great Spirit?
What if it is God who speaks to Asians through the Buddha? What if it is God that speaks to the Arabs through Islam? What if many of the world's religions are God's voice being filtered and distorted by man?

Listen.
You know him and you know his voice.
If it is not speaking love, it is not him.
If it is self-centered or self-serving in any way, it is not him.
If it harms another person, another creature, or even the world around us -- that's not him.
Listen,
and follow the voice of love.

John

According to John, Chapter 9

John 9 

What has Jesus done for you?

In the ninth chapter of John, Jesus encounters an adult man that has been blind form birth. The Jews thought his blindness was the result of someone's sin -- if not his since he was born that way, then perhaps his parent's or someone else's. It may seem weird that they would think that way, but people still think that all manner of things are punishments from God. Even severe weather events have been attributed to God's wrath. Remember hurricane Katrina was said to be God's judgement on the sin of New Orleans. I guess God doesn't really care about collateral damage or maybe it's okay since we are all sinners.

While the giving of sight to the blind man is a noteworthy miracle, what happens afterwards is where the real story takes place. The Jews seemed to be less concerned about the miracle of a blind man seeing and more concerned about people recognizing God in Jesus who healed him. The religious rule by fear is evident when the man's parents are afraid to speak on his behalf for fear of what the religious leaders would do to or say about them.

The man's testimony was simple -- "I don't know anything about the guy. All I know is I used to be blind, but now I see." (Pardon the paraphrase)
Our own testimony or witness about God's influence in our life is similar. People can argue about whether or not it was Providential influence, fate, or coincidence, but no one will ever convince us that God's actual intervention in our life didn't happen.

I believe that our encounters with Jesus should affect us the same way that the encounter with the blind man affected him. I believe the change should be noticeable. Everyone that knew the blind man knew that something was different and that difference was plain to see. They didn't know how he could see; they simply knew that he used to be blind, but now he could see.
When they asked how it happened, his response was simple -- "The man called Jesus healed me."  That's pretty hard to argue with.

Jesus was a pretty famous guy back in the day. He still is.
And there are still people that name drop to gain status or influence.
The thing is -- the real one-on-one, personal encounters with Jesus are evident by the change that happens in our lives. If there is no real change, then I wonder if there was ever a real encounter.

Has your encounter with Jesus changed how you think?
...how you act?
Has anyone ever noticed the difference or asked why you think or act the way you do?
Have you ever responded with something similar to -- "I know, I used to be a jerk, but then I met Jesus?"

Vision isn't the only way that people are blind. Mud made from dirt and spit isn't the only way that Jesus helps us to see.
What are your thoughts about about this story?

John

According to John, Chapter 8

John 8

If you've never really read through John's gospel before, you are probably beginning to understand why it took me so long to really appreciate it. 
It is difficult to understand. It is so much more than a record of miracles, events, and sayings of Jesus. 

I feel like a modern day Jesus would have to have a lecture series on confirmation bias. In today's reading, Jesus is pretty much saying, "You don't believe what I'm teaching, because you don't want to believe it."
Accepting that what we believe might be wrong is a very difficult thing, especially when we've pretty much built our life's work around it. (Again, ask me how I know.)

I want to be a learner. Learners are continually seeking new information and new perspectives on old information. Often we discover things that contradict what we've previously thought or believed. In the decades that took place between the actual events of John's gospel and the writing of it, many Jews shifted their beliefs about God, heaven, hell, eternity, etc., based on the teachings of Jesus and his followers. I can imagine that these shifts towards Jesus as the promised Messiah created some great difficulties for them. They were probably ridiculed and eventually shunned by people they loved like family and friends. Even though they found themselves closer to God, they were very much alone. If you have watched somebody else go through that, it makes it even more difficult for others to follow.

Things haven't changed much in two thousand years. Confirmation bias tends to keep people right where they are -- This is the truth and you can't teach me anything different!
That is the attitude that led to Jesus being crucified by the very people he lived with and loved.

Contrary to popular convention, I think it's healthy to examine our beliefs from the perspective of -- What if I'm wrong?
Today's John (me, not the gospel guy) would have to look at my past self and realize that I taught some things that I'm no longer sure of. I am sorry about that.
I am also much more careful about what I teach or share now. While I am more than willing to share my perspectives and my current way of thinking, I am also careful to do it in a way that generates thought and discussion rather than conversion. 

Do I still want you to know and follow Jesus?
Absolutely!

Do I still want you to believe in God?
Jesus says that eternal life is in knowing God, so yes, absolutely!

Do I still think that your knowing God and following Jesus is my responsibility?
Not so much.

Yesterday a friend of mine introduced me to a friend of hers. She seemed to find great pleasure in introducing two people that she liked to each other. That's kind of how I feel about you getting to know Jesus. I don't know if you are going to be friends with Jesus. That's pretty much up to the two of you. But I would like for you to get to know one another. That's why I'm doing this daily devotion kind of posting.

Although it really started out to help a single friend get back on track to knowing Jesus, it has also put me in a position of re-examining my own relationship with God/Jesus and it reminds me that I should share this feeling of peace and love with others. I really don't believe this is the best forum for sharing God's love, but it is what I have available to me short of going out and actually being around people.
Also, this is a pretty limited forum with a very limited following. 

If you think it would be helpful in your introducing others to Jesus, feel free to share it. It might serve as a conversation starter if nothing else.

To sum up today's reading, I'd simply say don't be so sure of your position that you are unable to look at it from a different perspective. Don't be afraid to learn something new.
To borrow a line from chapter 4's woman at the well, "Come and see a man, ... Could this be the Christ?"

John