Learning New Stuff and Changing Your Mind

A week from tomorrow I'll be speaking at Downtown Venues. The current series is on having permission to change your mind. Pastor Jodi has been teaching about the psychology behind changing our way of thinking and the natural resistance we often encounter when we come across new information that contradicts what we've been taught and accept as truth.

I've been thinking about my contribution for next week for a couple of weeks now, but haven't written any notes nor documented any scripture verses or appropriate quotes. Pastor Jodi has set me up well for sharing some of my own journey as well as taking a look at a New Testament evangelist that underwent a pretty drastic change -- the apostle Paul.

It's not the first time I've spoken at Downtown Venues (aka Barchurch), but I am still a bit intimidated by it. I think that comes from recognizing that our Venues' pastors are well educated (I am not) and they make great use of technology for enhancing their messages and even for keeping it light with a little humor. I'm kind of stuck in the--tell a good story and let the listeners come up with their own images--kind of message delivery. The Venues' culture refrains from using normal church speak. We sing together at church, but don't call it congregational singing. We generally have a song that leads into the message time, but don't call it special music. And we speak, teach, or share a message, but we never preach. It's a church that doesn't want to look or act like a typical church because too many people have been rejected and hurt by -- you guessed it -- churches.
It's probably natural for a former itinerant Southern Baptist evangelist to worry about being too churchy, right?

For the most part I've already set aside the proverbial cleric's collar and I'm okay with that. Getting the chance to "speak" at Downtown Venues is a real honor and quite a treat for me. But while The Venues is a pretty open and inclusive community, I don't want to overstep the privilege of speaking and have my style or message be the reason for not being able to speak again in the future. The spiritual responsibility of preaching/teaching/delivering a message at church is one that truly burdens me. It's actually been a bit of a relief that it is no longer a big part of my being.

Stay tuned. I'll let you know how it goes.

John

Pray without ceasing

Like most mornings, today is beginning with quiet time and coffee on the deck. It really is such a peaceful and serene way to begin the day. This day differs from most in that my mom is also having her quiet time and coffee on our deck.
While I am blogging, she is deep in her daily practice of prayer. Her prayer time is very intentional and purpose driven. Most people would consider it to be quite lengthy, as well. She says, "God gives me 24 hours each day; surely I can give him one!"

Admittedly, my purposeful, intentional prayer time has become nearly non-existent over the past few years. And yet I have become closer to God and more aware of the presence of God in me and around me than ever before in my life. I think this is the feeling Paul was experiencing when he wrote in 1 Thessalonians 15, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, ..."

In my awareness and communion with God, I don't begin and end with the Catholic salutation, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Most of the time I don't even directly address God. It's more like just being in the presence of God; each of us aware of the presence of the other, each sensing the thoughts of the other. I do petition God for the health and well being of others, but it isn't the same as the shopping list approach that I once had.
That's not meant as a criticism of anyone else's approach to prayer; it's just a recognition of how automatic and insensitive my own prayers had become. It's like the adult version of me seeing the kid version on Santa's lap. While the kid version was sincerely expressing his desires, the adult version sees it as cute, but pretty futile.

But enough about me!
How do you acknowledge or communicate with God, the Christ, the Universe, the Tao, whatever you call the greater power of the universe?
Do you have a prayer time or prayer place?
Do you use daily or a regular practice of meditation?
Do you connect through a physical practice like yoga or running?
I know some use a walking meditation or labyrinth to ground their spirit.

If you don't have a regular practice to connect to God or ground yourself to the world around you, i would strongly encourage you to find a way to do that. You can begin by simply sitting still and focusing on your breath as you slowly breath in and out. Be purposeful about each breath -- slowly and deeply in, slowly and peacefully out. Feel your feet connecting to the ground or the floor. Recognize the spirit within you. Breathe.
Seriously, a few minutes of simple breathing can slow the heart, quiet the mind, reduce stress, and bring peace to your soul.

If you are on Facebook and want to begin a simple practice of meditation, try The Mediocre Buddhist.
You can participate in morning meditations MWF at 7 central time, or watch at your convenience anytime.
I really believe that before you can find God in the Universe, you need to find God in yourself. The Bible says that we are created in the image and likeness of God. When you look in the mirror, look for God. Look into your eyes, look into your soul. Find God in you. You are connected to all things through The Christ that lives in you!
That is the Good News!

John

My Favorite Bible Story

Well, ...one of my favorites.
It's the one I think of whenever someone asks the question, "What's your favorite Bible story?"
The first time that happened to me was at an evangelism conference in Southeast Missouri. I was the new guy on the circuit and I was at breakfast with two of the oldest and most experienced of the group. One of then asked, "Hey guys, what's your favorite story from the Bible?"

I jumped on it! I said, "I've got this. At the end of The Sermon on the Mount, chapter 8 begins with the story of a leper that encounters Jesus. He says, 'Lord, if you will it, you can make me clean.' Then the Bible says that Jesus reached out and touched him and said, 'I will it. Be clean,' and immediately he was healed." 

Okay, it isn't that spectacular of a story when you consider all of the other miracles that are laced throughout the gospels. Big deal, right? Jesus heals a leper. So what?
What strikes me about this story is that the Bible says that Jesus touched him and then he healed him.
Jesus touched him while he was still unclean!
I wonder how long it had been since he had been touched by another human being? From the moment he had been diagnosed with a disease determined to be leprosy, he was unclean and shunned by everyone. People wouldn't even sit where he had been sitting until that place had been cleansed.

Look, I know that preachers fit the lessons they want to teach into the stories of the Bible all of the time. Maybe that's what I'm doing here, but I don't think so. I often try to read the Bible like I'm reading it for the first time; like I don't know what's coming. I had read and heard this story so many times before, and then one day--it hit me! Jesus touched him before he healed him! Why would he do that, and is it important? Or was this just the way Matthew wrote the story and it all happened in the same moment?

It think Jesus did it on purpose and even though the moment may have been lost to the disciples, the leper knew. He had been stripped of his value, his humanity. He had been condemned to live out his life alone or with other outcasts. He was nothing -- until that moment. While he was still unclean, Jesus touched him. I imagine that touch conveyed so much love. Jesus, looking into his eyes and saying, "I feel you, man. Be clean."
Actually, until he completed the rites of purification and presented the required offering he was still technically unclean, so I guess Jesus was, too(?). I don't know how that part works, probably some divine exemption or something.
Anyway, I think the dude got way more than he asked for, way more than he was expecting.

And so did we.
Maybe we can takeaway a lesson that even when the rest of the world thinks that you are unworthy of love; even when your own people, your own family, your own church have cast you aside, Jesus is there to tell you that you are worthy of love, that you are valuable--just as you are!

One of those two men at breakfast that day has been blessed with the most incredible memory and has memorized the entire New Testament of the Bible. He said, "I know you know this already, John, but I'm going to give it to you anyway," and he reached into his memory and recited the story verbatim from the Bible.

John

I've Repented (about Repenting)

In Matthew's Gospel, John the Baptist is preaching the message -- Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand! (3:2)
This is the same message that Jesus uses to begin his preaching/teaching ministry. (4:17)

I'm wondering about this translation and how I've been taught to understand it. 
The Greek word metanoeo is translated here as repent, but it means to think differently or to reconsider how you think. It means to change your way of thinking.

What if John and then Jesus are teaching that the Jews of the day (and possibly us today) have the wrong idea of where (and what) heaven is? The Greek word ouranos -- the abode of God, is the word translated as heaven.

What if the real message for us is -- You've got it wrong. You need to change your way of thinking. Heaven isn't where you go when you die. Heaven is here! This is where God lives! God is with you and you are in God's presence right now!
If we believe that the Universal Christ--the very essence and Spirit of God, lives within us, then heaven is here. Is it possible that the spiritual realm of heaven and the physical place on earth overlap but we have forgotten how to see with our spirit? 

I have repented about repenting.
I have changed how I think and am reconsidering what I've been taught.
I am re-examining life through the eyes of the Spirit in me rather than how I perceive things through this physical being.

Something to think about...

John

The Easter Cookie Re-run

If you have followed Out of My Hat for very long, you will recognize this familiar post. I originally posted it on Good Friday twelve years ago and have re-run it several times in the following years. If you have little kids at home, it is a good way to tell the Easter story.

If you use this, I would appreciate hearing about it. 

Here is the link to the original story and recipe.

John

Happy St. Patrick's Day

 From Sunday's Student Venues

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

What do you think of when you think of St Pat’s Day?

I always think -- I don’t have any green clothing to wear because it’s such an ugly color on me!

March 17th is a day when everybody claims to be Irish.

“Kiss Me, I’m Irish” will be seen on t-shirts and caps that are only worn one day a year.

People will eat corned beef and cabbage and wash it down with green beer.

Throughout the parties and celebrations, there will be little that accurately depicts the character of the Irish or of St Patrick.

So how about we take a few moments to look at the traditions of Celtic Christianity?

While much of Western Christianity seems focused on the depravity of man and our inherent evil, Celtic Christianity says that we are connected by God’s goodness, that God’s goodness is in each of us -- even if we have strayed from God’s vision and purpose for our life.

When I think of symbols that connect us to the Irish, I think of shamrocks, rainbows, and pots of gold -- probably a misguided connection to Lucky Charms and childhood memories.

The biblical reference to the rainbow doesn’t mention a pot o’gold. It comes at the end of the Noah story when God destroys the earth, all of mankind, and most of the animal life. The story says that God set his bow in the sky and promised never to destroy the earth by flood again. The rainbow is going to remind God to calm down and not destroy us!

(These are the things that convince me that much of the Bible is man-made stories. Does God really need a reminder of a promise not to send another great flood?)

Even so -- this covenant is made with all of humanity. It is for all men, women, boys, and girls. It is for every member of the LGBTQ+ (maybe that’s why they picked the rainbow symbol) community. It is for Muslims, Jews, Christians, atheists, and members of every faith tradition. It is for every nationality and race. The covenant is an all inclusive deal.

It is so weird to me that we can see inclusivity in God’s promises and dealings with humans, but we make up our own rules about separating people based on gender, race, sexuality, etc.

Long before feminism was a thing, St Patrick taught women to read -- something unheard of and frowned upon in his day. He taught that all people were equal -- slaves, free, men, women, clergy, laity.

Like so many of the other world religions, Celtic Christianity believes that we are connected to nature; that God is expressed in nature. (I know that Western Christianity is supposed to believe this too, but it is rarely taught and even more rarely emphasized.)

Pelagius (another Celtic Christian) wrote:

“...it is not what you believe that matters. It is how you respond with your heart and your actions. It is not believing in Christ that matters; it is becoming like him.”

He was considered to be a heretic by his contemporaries and I’m sure he is still considered so today -- but I like it! I’ve known far too many that talk the belief talk, but fail to even try to emulate Christ in their actions. If trying to live like Jesus is heresy, then maybe we should all become heretics.

I often wonder what and how Jesus would teach us in the USA today.

Would he teach us that we are connected to nature?

Would he teach us about climate change?

What would he teach about gender equality?

...about race equality?

...about nationalism?

Wouldn’t it be great to sit with Jesus over corned beef and cabbage this week and get some real-life instruction from him? I have a feeling I know how it would go:

Me: So, Jesus, what do I need to do to get to heaven?

Jesus: It’s simple, John. Just love everybody that I love.

Me: But you love everybody!

Jesus: Yep. Pass me another bottle of Guinness, will ya?

Church Hurt: a rant

I don't even know where to begin.
I suppose an easy place to begin is with the reason for thinking along the lines of people being hurt by the church or by church people. While Beth Moore has been in the Baptist news circle for some time, she recently made it into mainstream news by making the announcement that she is leaving the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).  

Over the years there have been many of us that have left the SBC for a number of reasons. Many have been sexually abused at the hands of church leaders. Others have been spiritually abused and manipulated. So many of the ones that left the SBC have completely left church, religion, even God. (I wonder if this is where that millstone thing from Matt 18:6 comes into play.)
Perhaps the most disheartening thing about Ms. Moore's leaving the SBC is the comments being left by people that feel it's the best thing -- for the SBC. They view a woman that loves Jesus to her core as more of a threat to their patriarchy and would rather see her silenced than have her spreading the Word of God.
And while there are some in the SBC world that will lament her leaving, there has been no one to notice nor mourn the thousands that have left before her (and continue to leave) because of the very non-Christlike behaviors and opinions of church leaders.

It's pretty amazing once you are able to step back from the midst of the chaos. I now know so many people that have struggled with being hurt by the very people that are supposed to love and comfort you. Each time I hear their stories I have to wonder if my words or actions played a part in someone's being hurt or in their leaving God behind.
I wonder if there is a millstone (or worse) waiting for me.

How is it that we have let religion separate us from God and from each other?
The very word - religion - means to re-connect (think re-ligament).
 
If I am to be honest with you and with myself, I really don't think much of American Christianity. I think it has become a power structure like any other power structure where the leaders exert control and suppression and do so for their personal gain and glory. They have set up their rules about who can join their churches and who gets into heaven. Even those that genuinely love Jesus are coerced into working within the accepted rules to share that love or (like Ms. Moore, myself, and countless others) they are silenced or forced out and condemned. 

While I no longer have the platform (nor the pulpit) to share God's love with others, I am pretty convinced that God doesn't need me to tell people about God's love and mercy. I believe what God wants is for me to show people that love and mercy. When I look at the preachers of my past (myself included) I see a lot of talkers. When I look at the people that surround me today, I see people that daily show God's love to the ones that most need to know they are loved.  

I'll take these meek, more organic, non-churchlike, followers of Jesus over the loud talking American Evangelical (self-proclaimed) Christians any day. 

(end rant)

John

Changing My Role as an Evangelist

In many ways I have given up on my calling as an evangelist. I no longer feel led to preaching the gospel as a means of recruiting souls into a place where we go when we die. As a Southern Baptist evangelist, that was the role I was expected to fulfill. If the role of the itinerant evangelist is to convince people to walk an aisle, pray some magical words, and receive everlasting life -- well, I was probably never that good at it anyway. Over the past few years, I've been rethinking my calling as a preacher of the gospel.

Depending on where you look, you'll find evangelism defined as something like -- the act of preaching the Christian gospel as a means of sharing the teachings and message of Jesus.
Somehow modern day Christian evangelism has been boiled down to "How to get to heaven" rather than "How to live and love as we make this human pilgrimage."

I just finished reading Matthew's account of The Sermon on the Mount. Over and over, the teachings of Jesus are about how to treat each other and how to honor God. Love your neighbor. Love your enemy. Be kind. Be generous. Be honest. Be forgiving. Love -- did I mention that already?

Jesus says that you can know a tree by the fruit it produces. You can know a person by what they produce, as well. Someone that preaches love, but acts hatefully is a false profit. If your good works are motivated by a need to cover up hateful things, you are not a good person producing good fruit.

I ran across this statement in the middle of a twitter thread this morning:

   
Could it be that the best form of evangelism is not to speak, but to do?
It is said that we should always preach the gospel and when necessary, use words.
That will put a lot of evangelists out of a job!
It's a good thing I had that air traffic controller gig to fall back on!

Love your neighbors.
Love you enemies. (sometimes they're the same people)
Love yourself, too!

John

Is this heaven?

There is a line from the movie Field of Dreams where a ball player from the past comes out of the cornfields and asks, "Is this heaven?" 
We spent a few years in Iowa so we've modified the reply to -- "Hell no! It's Iowa."

But what if I missed out on the beauty of our four and a half years in Iowa?
What if the people that live there and consider it to be heaven on earth are right? ...at least for them?
What if heaven and hell aren't places where you go in the future, but are places where we dwell in the now?
What if heaven and hell aren't places at all, but are states of mind of our own choosing? 
What if living like you want to go to heaven puts you in heaven right now?
What if an obsession of not going to hell, is in itself -- hell?

Just thoughts in my head.

John

Not your typical love story

 This is the lesson for this morning's Student Venues. It's not your typical love story nor is it about the kind of love you might expect on Valentine's day, but it is about the kind kind of love that we (or at least I) most need to hear today.

 

It’s Valentine’s Day!
St Valentine was executed on February 14, 470 CE for performing weddings for Roman soldiers - which was against the law. I guess it’s appropriate to celebrate romantic love by honoring a guy that was killed for performing illegal marriages. It’s a little weird how little we’ve changed in 1500 years.

When it comes to talking about romantic love, 1Corinthians 13 is often read or recited. It’s a common wedding text. It was read at our wedding nearly 40 years ago.
Although we might be familiar with the text, we rarely consider that Paul wasn’t writing it for future wedding ceremonies. He was writing it as an admonition to a church group that was in conflict and needed some instruction on how to get along with each other.  When I find myself thinking about that now I’m a little embarrassed at how I’ve acted toward some of my “neighbors” that have different political views or even religious views. In fact, I’ve probably been more tolerant (or loving) toward those with different religious views than with different political views.
Shame on me.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing.

Paul begins this text by really emphasizing the importance of love. He says that without it, we are nothing and all of our status and stuff is worth nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

In looking at what he writes about what love is, we are reminded of the kind of love that God has for us. Our love for others isn’t supposed to be about us; it’s about them. It isn’t about them understanding us; it’s about us understanding them. It isn’t about them being patient and kind toward us; it’s about us being patient and kind to them. Love isn’t about getting our way and it isn’t resentful about letting them have their way.
Geez! Love is hard!

Sometimes you may find yourself loving someone that doesn’t really love you back - at least not to the extent that you love them. This can be the kind of love between friends, coworkers, even family members. Understanding our differences and making allowances for them is difficult. Many friendships or even romantic relationships and marriages are lost because we fail at understanding each other.

Right now there is a great level of disharmony in our nation. It goes beyond the political divide. There is also distrust and division between social classes, between races and cultures, between people of different sexual orientation or gender identity, and of course--people of different religious backgrounds.
The community at Corinth was facing the same kinds of diversity that devolved into discord that we are facing today. Paul’s words from nearly two thousand years ago are very appropriate for us today. We need to seek to understand each other and care for each other -- we need to love one another.

Even though these words make for a pretty wedding reading, that’s not how they were written. I think Paul was angry when he wrote them. He was writing to people that were supposed to be modeling the love of Jesus and they were being selfish and childish. Paul closes out this admonition by saying - Grow up! Quit acting like spoiled brats! 

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

Ugh!
Is he talkin’ to me?
Am I going to have to delete social media posts or comments?
Love is hard, isn’t it?

But there is good news --
In the end -- Love wins!

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

John

Focus on the Family -- NOT!

This is the lesson I wrote for our Student Venues for the week. It follows along with Pastor Phillip's current study, mostly using his scripture texts and (hopefully) conveying a similar message. (Again -- sorry about the font. Also, the hyperlinks don't open in a new window so you'll need to use the "back" button to return to the text. Just an issue with the copy and paste from Google docs to Blogger)

There are a lot of things that cause family feuds. Some differences last lifetimes. A 150 years ago there were brothers fighting against brothers in our nation’s Civil War. Even in today’s very polarized political landscape we see great political differences that have viciously divided families.

Some family disputes happen in family businesses; some in dividing family estates. There are marital differences and divorces that tear families apart. Often it’s finances.
Dealing with a tragic death can destroy a family unit as can addiction or mental illness.
Sexual orientation is often the reason a person gets outcast from a family unit.
It seems so weird that God is also a reason that families fall apart.

But maybe it shouldn’t.

Both in church life and in society, we are taught that the family is the core unit. Destruction of the family is the beginning of our downfall. I do believe that the family unit is important and I believe that the Commandments teach us about honoring our parents.
But the New Testament has some contradictory stories.

In Matthew’s gospel (4:18-22) we see two sets of brothers that suddenly leave the family businesses to follow Jesus. This is a pretty big deal. It was more than leaving the business; they were leaving the family. Not only was Jesus okay with this, he was the one that told them to follow him!

What about Luke 9:59-60?
Maybe this was the case of someone telling Jesus that he couldn’t follow until after his father was dead and it wasn’t like the dad was going to die any time soon. I have a difficult time thinking that Jesus didn’t want someone to go to a parent’s funeral - but I don’t really know.

In Luke 14:25-26, Jesus tells us that we must hate our family.
What’s up with that?
Is this a case of real hatred or is it a comparison kind of thing like placing love of God so far above family that it seems like hate?

Have you ever had to prioritize your love for family against your belief is something else?
Politics?
Social justice?
Sexual orientation?
A particular person?
Religion?

Even though your choice doesn’t mean that you hate your family (or that they hate you), being on the short end of that priority stick certainly hurts -- a lot.

Jesus even said that families would be divided because of him.
So what happens when the family values of society or religion clash with the values of Jesus?
What happens when we see the values of God differently than our family sees the values of God?
How important is it that we see God’s way the same way that others see it?
Jesus didn’t seem to make a big deal of it. He taught God’s way and moved on. He didn’t demand that people follow him -- not even the members of his own family.

Is that something that we can do? Can we love people the way Jesus teaches us to love them and be okay if they choose not to do the same for us?
Jesus knew that he wasn’t always going to be accepted by his community, his religion, even his own family -- and he seemed to be okay with that. It wasn’t his mission to please everybody. He taught us to love as God loves us. He taught that God loves us without conditions. God doesn’t demand we love him first or even after he demonstrates his love for us. God doesn’t hold out his love as a bargaining chip or something to be earned.

I don’t know how you compare total love. I don’t know if you can.
Is it possible to love God completely and not make that your most important love? Can we love our family as much as we love God or is it possible that we may have to make a determination of whom we love more?

Personally I believe that we need to focus on our love relationship with God. I believe that when we are in a right relationship with God it is impossible for us to be a poor son or daughter. We can’t be a rebellious child when we are right with God. We can’t be an unfaithful spouse when we are in a right relationship with God. We can’t be an abusive parent or a bully when we are in a right relationship with God. We can’t be a lazy employee or a manipulative boss if our relationship is right with God.

I’m not talking about following church rules or checking off religious boxes. I’m saying that when we understand the love of God and choose to love like God, our other relationships flow out of that.

Will that make it a perfect world?
No, it won’t. Remember that the religious leaders of Jesus’s day worked to have him arrested and crucified. Love isn’t easy.
But there is a peace in knowing that you are loved by God and doing your best to love others the way God loves you. It is a peace that is beyond our ability to understand or express.

It is my hope and prayer that you find this peace. John

Sunday Morning Thoughts

These are some thoughts I shared with our Student Venues today. I figured I'd post it here as well. 
Sorry about the font change. That's all a part of being a tech illiterate old guy.

It’s Party Time!

There weren’t a lot of parties in 2020. And the parties that did take place were usually condemned in the news as super-spreader events. But it’s 2021 now and hopefully we’ll soon be (but not yet) partying again.

If you were going to throw a big party when the all clear for big parties is given, who would you invite?

Imagine with me for a moment --
You are in charge of inviting people to the biggest party ever.
Money is no object.
This party will make all of the news outlets--even international news organizations will cover it because there will be satellite parties all around the world and the only people that get in are the ones that you invite.
The Host of the party (your boss) really wants everyone to attend.

After the great pandemic of 2020 where so many people struggled financially -- some lost homes or businesses, many went hungry or waited for hours in food lines -- this party will be an incredible event. There will be literally tons of free food and drinks, live music of all kinds, so many jobs will be available and everyone will benefit from the generosity of the Host.

Who do you invite?
Who do you leave off of the invitation list?

Jesus tells a story of a Great Host that throws a big party. Many of the people that were invited to the party decided they had more important things to do and didn’t show up at the designated party time. The Host really wanted this party to take place, so he told his workers to go into town and invite everybody to the party. They told everyone they encountered that their boss was throwing a party with free food and drinks, live music and lots of fun. Go and enjoy the generosity of The Host.
Even after the townspeople showed up, The Host knew there was still food and fun for more. The Host then told his workers to hit roads leading to and from town and compel travelers to come to the party. He wanted his celebration to be completely full.

I think this parable was really hard for the Jewish people of Jesus’s day to understand. Although they believed that their God was greater than all of the other gods and that their God truly was God -- they believed that God was their God alone, and they alone were God’s people. They really believed that salvation was for them and them alone. Why would God invite others to their party? 

Sometimes I think that we haven’t learned much from the stories of the bible. We often think like the Jews did and we place our own restrictions on who God should invite to his party.
We say that Jesus died for everyone and then we turn around and tell certain people that they’re going to hell because of their lifestyle choices, their addictions, their failures, etc.
What if it turns out that they are invited to the party, too?
What if we spend so much time and effort trying to keep certain people out of the party that we miss out on the celebration ourselves?

I think that when Jesus said that he came so we could have life and have it more abundantly, he was telling us to go have fun at the party!
When we realize that God has more than enough life for everyone; more than enough love for everyone, maybe we will stop trying to horde God’s love and keep it all to ourselves and the people that we think are deserving of it. Maybe we will finally realize that God loves the people we see as unloveable -- and we will love them, too.

What if it turns out that God really does want everyone to come to his party -- even the people that we don’t think deserve to be there? Would you still go? Would you party with the people you believe are unworthy of God’s mercy and love? Would you be like some of the people in the parable and find something else to do?

It sounds like a pretty incredible party.
I’m going. I hope to see you there

John

Still Doing Old School

I'm kind of looking forward to teaching at barchurch tonight. I guess that's an evolution of sorts since I've been a little uncomfortable in the past. I still worry that my storytelling style is far different from what everyone is used to, but I am trying to adapt as I go -- except tonight. There isn't going to be a whole lot of adapting going on; just me telling a story and sharing a few thoughts on it. There won't be any slides, no power point stuff, nor cute memes. It'll just be some old guy telling an ancient story and trying to figure out what it might mean for us today.
If you're up for it, we'll be live here at 6:30 (CST) tonight (Thursday), or you can find us on Facebook where we'll also be live. Drop in, grab a drink, enjoy some music, listen to an old story.

John

Morning After Reflections

It's early on Friday morning and I've been reflecting on last night's message. Admittedly, I'm probably my own worst critic. I know that I was never a very typical Baptist preacher, but at The Venues I feel very much like a Baptist preacher.
I am always impressed by the teaching of Pastors Phillip and Ben. I know the time that they put into their messages -- both in biblical study and in searching for contemporary quotes, memes, writings, and applications.

I just tell stories.

And I would probably rather tell you a story or just have a one on one conversation than a one-sided monolog to a group. There is no timely feedback when preaching - no questions, no clarifications, and often times there isn't even the ability to see facial expressions or postures due to lighting. I worry about clearly communicating my thoughts and feelings. Maybe I should use more notes to help me stay on course. 

I greatly appreciate the after message feedback from my Venues people -- more so than I have from church people in the past. There seems to be a more genuine attitude at barchurch where people feel like they can be themselves and free from judgment.
In the end, I think I'll accept that and rest ... until called on again.

Be well.
Tell your story.
Demonstrate your faith.
Share God's love.

John 

Twofer Tuesday

Just a quick little note for this afternoon.
I had my first magic show since about this time last year. The program was booked last fall/winter for a senior adult group at a local Church of the Nazarene. Due to the pandemic, this was the first time the group met since last March. 

Instead of their normal potluck style luncheon, they had catered box lunches with ham, turkey, or roast beef sandwiches, fruit, chips, and bottled water. Tables were well spaced and only sat four people to round tables that would normally seat twice that. Everyone wore masks except while seated at their tables.

Senior adults are a great magic audience. They are as easily entertained as kids and generally better behaved! I had a good time -- and I think they did, too!

Now to prepare for Thursday night's barchurch message!

John 

The Ambassador

I've been thinking about that Disney Princess Theology that I wrote about last week and how I see myself in the stores of the bible. But more than that, I've been trying to use that to shift my perspective in the real life stories as well.

During our current President's term, much has been made of the evangelicals endorsement, adoration, even worship of Donald Trump. He's been called God's chosen one (by himself and others). Exvangelcals (like myself) have railed against such comparisons and against those making them. Many outspoken critics have opined that such hypocrisies are the reason than many are leaving the church and are in search of another god or at least in search of a place that sees God more along the lines that they perceive the God of the bible to be.

But what happens when I stop looking at others in judgment and turn a critical eye towards myself?
What do people think when they judge God by my thoughts, words, and deeds?
If you were God, would you want me representing you?

It's a little funny how each time I sort of accept that maybe I'm not really cut out for (or called to) that preaching thing, I get another call or opportunity to do it just one more time. In an honest assessment of myself, I'm not really much of a preacher/teacher. I have no formal education, nor do I have any training for such an undertaking. I'm basically just a storyteller with a platform. 
But let's be honest -- people love stories!
And people learn from stories. 
Maybe that's why Jesus taught by telling stories as much as he taught by personal example.

I really need to be more concerned with how people perceive God when they look at God through the lens of John. I've heard (both directly and indirectly) some of their perceptions of me and those don't bother me too much -- even the ones that are very wrong. 
However, I would be greatly troubled if they saw God as an angry, judgmental, waiting to condemn them for every minor violation of The Law kind of being rather than as the loving, merciful, and understanding being that I know.

If we are Ambassadors to the Kingdom, how well are we representing the God we worship?
Maybe it's time for a little personal assessment -- without the Disney Princess Theology.

John

Storytime with Pastor John

Over the past couple of decades I've served as camp pastor, bible study leader, guest speaker, or entertainer at kids' camps and youth camps throughout the state. I generally referred to my message time as Storytime with Pastor John.

I'm not sure if I adapted my normal preaching style to kids or my camp style to pulpit preaching, but they've ended up being pretty much the same. In any case, that particular style of preaching/teaching is quite far from the preaching and teaching at The Venues...so I'm a little anxious about filling in for Pastor Ben at barchurch this coming Thursday night.

The current series is Lose Yourself to Find Yourself and the key scripture is from John's gospel.

I'm going to go a little different direction from Pastor Ben's mindful messages on the false self, the true self, and the non-self. This won't be so much about surrendering our will to find the Spirit, but about protecting the will of the Spirit by guarding against the voices that try to direct us away from God's love and our place in God's kingdom.

I thought about a delivery that is more in line with the norm for The Venues, but in a way that might be counter to the message itself. I'm good with growing and evolving as a preacher/teacher, and it may be that I'll need to in order to teach at The Venues in the future. 

If you're up for it, check out The Venues at 425 on Facebook. We'll be live with music at 6:30pm Thursday. Storytime begins around 7.

John

A Little Sunday Morning Religion

It's a grey kind of sunrise in the Ozarks this morning. I took advantage of the mild temperatures last night and slept on the deck. The futon is comfortable enough and I slept well.

I woke up around 4:30 and opened my eyes to Jupiter and Saturn in the southern sky -- at least I was pretty sure it was them since I know they are in conjunction this month. Checking my SkEye app verified that it was and I was wishing I had my glasses to better see the constellations of Sagittarius and the Scorpion. By 5 o'clock the stars were obscured by clouds that are moving in for some possible Sunday morning showers.

I think the thing that woke me up was the noise from the birds. I had forgotten how loud they can be in the early morning. The treeline at the southern end of our property is about 1/4 mile (400m) from the house. Those are the nearest trees and the morning sounds are loud enough to wake me. There are also a couple of competing roosters from different farms that add to the morning cacophony. An occasional mooing cow and a couple of distant barking dogs -- yeah, we are not in the city anymore!

In spite of the noise of nature, I am finding my morning coffee and "quiet" time to be a pretty cool way to connect with God. In looking at the etymology of the word religion, we see a couple of different possibilities. Re (again) legere (to read) or to read again is one. A more common thought is re (again) ligare (to bind, the same root as in ligament) as in to reconnect with God.

Yeah, I like that.
The religion of Nature.
Reconnecting with The Creator through the created.
I'm going to contemplate on that for a time. I'll get back to you and share my thoughts sometime soon.

John

An Unpopular View

Facebook has had its unpopular dislikes theme running to pass away shelter at home time. It is interesting to see people's uncommon dislikes. If you aren't familiar, it was to list ten things that you don't like that most people do like.
I really don't have very many dislikes and I'd have a difficult time coming up with ten, much less ten things that most other people like.

With Easter behind us now, maybe I'll share an unpopular view of this annual celebration. I get into a bit of a bah, humbug mood around the holiday, particularly during Holy Week. It seems we go through this make believe time of imagining that the events of two thousand years ago are taking place in the present. We tell the stories of the last supper, the mock trial, the crucifixion, and the resurrection as if they took place last Thursday night through Sunday morning.
We proclaim God's great love as he sacrifices his son (on Friday). We rejoice in the resurrection on Sunday, and then on Monday ...

... it's back to life as usual.

Yeah, I know it happened 2000 years ago.
And I know it is worth remembering and celebrating.
But it seems like we over emphasize days like Christmas and Easter so that we can allow ourselves to feel good about what we believe without really thinking much about it the other 360 or so days of the year.

The birth of Our Savior -- yeah, it happened 2000 years ago.
His death and resurrection -- same thing.
Both stories are most definitely worth remembering and sharing. But if we aren't living a life that reflects the love of the God that authored these stories -- What's the point of the celebration?
Is it to give honor to the Day without having to give honor to God?

It's probably heresies such as these that are why I'm no longer preaching.

To be fair --
I know of people that celebrated Jesus's resurrection yesterday morning and spent the afternoon preparing food for our unsheltered friends -- just like they do every day.
I know of people that scrambled to find overnight sheltering arrangements and opened their churches because the thermometer dropped below freezing last night.
I know there are people that live lives of love each and every day. These are the people that celebrate God's love and sacrifice by the way they live -- 365 days per year.
The events of 2000 years ago changed their lives!
I want to celebrate the risen Jesus the way they do.

Working on it,
John

What if ... This is Heaven?

What have you learned about life?
I know that we're all still working things out, but are there things that you've already concluded that these things are true and we need to accept it as true?
What are the questions you struggle with today?

Even as I struggle with an aging physical body, I am learning that life is much more than the physical world. But as I grow in the spiritual realm, I am learning how taking care of the natural (physical) world is becoming more important. The daily awareness that we live in both worlds is both exhilarating and a little frightening -- not frightening in a scary way, just frightening in a new perspective sort of way.

For most of my life I've kept the two worlds compartmentalized. When dealing with the spiritual world, it was generally in an afterlife kind of way -- e.g. What happens when you die?
Consequences of decisions in the physical world seem to manifest themselves in rather predictable, physical ways, but we often seem to ignore or remain unaware of the potential consequences of spiritual decisions and non-decisions. When we think of those consequences as post-life, we can only guess what they might be. Religious leaders seem to have an inside track on post-life consequences and often use fear as a motivator to inspire some sort of current physical behavior or response.
Apparently good physical behavior = spiritual reward.

What if it isn't about reward?
What if God isn't dangling a carrot (or a crown) for us?
What if we already possess a spiritual crown? (We are created in the image of God, right?)
What if becoming more aware of God, our own spiritual being, and the other spiritual beings around us is enough to change our physical behavior?
Spiritual reward (awareness) = good physical behavior.

What if ... ?

What if when Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand," he meant that we can experience heaven right now?
What if we don't have to die to experience heaven?
What if it is possible to live in the physical world and the spiritual world of heaven at the same time?

What if Jesus has accomplished everything necessary for us to have heaven and the only thing that is keeping us from experiencing heaven right now is our lack of awareness of being in the presence of God?
What if the very moment that we begin to see God in the people and in the world around us is the moment we experience salvation and become aware that this is heaven; that the kingdom of heaven is here?

What if ... ?

John