Christian Nationalism: maybe it's a good thing

I do not really think that there is anything good about Christian Nationalism.
However, I do see some good coming from the boldness of our current nationalist movement in the US.

The Christian Nationalist movement that we see now has always existed in a much more subtle form. It has existed in the God and Country services, in the congregational reciting of The Pledge of Allegiance at camps and vacation Bible schools, even in the quiet display of the American flag in churches across the country. 
Christian Americans have been trying to convince all Americans that we are a Christian nation in subtle ways for a very long time. 

Now that it has made the national spotlight and is rearing its ugly head at the highest levels of government, many mainline Christians are beginning to see it for what it is and are questioning or leaving their long time faith communities that support or are okay with this perverse type of Christianity. People are beginning to see that they have been following a religion rather than following Jesus and are waking up.
Yes. I said it. They are becoming "woke" and realizing that being woke is a good thing.

I do not, in any way, expect to see a large national revival of Christianity sweeping our nation.
I do expect to see, or rather feel, the subtle change in the spirit of a nation as more and more followers of Jesus begin to be less about following religion and more about following the actual teachings of Jesus.

Megachurches are just monstrosities build to glorify themselves and scream "Look at us! Look at us!" They are not temples built to honor God. They are what happens when capitalism corrupts religion. They have money, they have influence, and they have power. They have become their own gods.

People that follow Jesus will do so without fanfare.
They will take care of the earth and take care of each other and few people will take notice.
People that follow Jesus will encourage other people to do the same -- not by loud preachers and fiery sermons, nor with flashy worship services, but just by simple words of encouragement and actions of love.

I still have a few friends that are church pastors. I am not much of a church person myself these days, but I respect the work they are doing and the challenges they face. The world would certainly be a better place with more people like them and fewer loners like me.
This Sunday morning they will encourage gatherings of a few dozen to a few hundred people. They will encourage them to follow the Jesus of the Bible and not the Jesus of Christian Nationalism. They will love their people and encourage them to love one another.

I will sit on my deck, listen to the birds, watch the clouds roll in, and tap out meaningless words on my Chromebook.
Even as I write that the world needs more people like them and fewer people like me, I am not making plans beyond finding myself in this present of mine. I don't think I'll be a church guy anymore. It is far easier for me to hear God while I am tending to flowers than it is when I am in church.
I am hopeful that raising the mirror to see Christian Nationalism in our churches and in ourselves will encourage more people to seek the true Jesus and leave the religion and all of its idolatrous trappings behind.

Love God.
Love one another.

That's not the doctrine of Christian Nationalism.
It's the teaching of Jesus.

John

Thursday Theology -- Deconstructing Your Faith

A recent post from a friend has had me thinking.
The post was an ask for spiritual counseling or for somebody to talk to about faith and questions about God/faith/etc. Honestly, I don't remember exactly how it was worded and I don't know what their particular crisis of faith might have been at the time of the ask. What I do know is that faith deconstruction is a difficult and often lonely process -- one that often leaves people with no faith at all. 

Here's the thing --
I have no theological education nor background of any kind.
I have no qualifications as a counselor of any kind.
I am no longer (and never really was) a preacher nor clergy of any kind.

But...
I have been through my own faith deconstruction and managed to come out of it feeling closer to God than I was when I was burdened by all of the religious crap that was the foundation of my previous spiritual experience.
I get needing or wanting somebody to talk to or to be able to verbalize what you are going through. I really didn't feel like I had that. I was pretty much a heretic in my previous circles, but I was okay with that. Yes, having a qualified spiritual guide to talk to might have been helpful -- but I didn't even realize I needed it at the time.

As I said -- I am no expert in deconstruction, but I have a personal experience that I can share.
I can listen to your questions and maybe help you find answers. 
I can offer a couple of books that I found helpful.
And I can do it through private written communication or over a cup of coffee or a pint beer.
For some people, it might be best to meet in a small group where others can share both experience and insight as well as asking their own questions.

Anyway, I've been thinking about it, so I just thought I'd throw this out there.
Hit me up if I can serve you as you walk your own faith journey.
(Comments to this blog are moderated so you can request not to have your comment published if you include contact information.)

John

Thursday Theology

This week's gospel reading is a familiar one for most of us. John 3:1-17 is the story of one of the day's religious leaders coming to Jesus in secret to ask questions.

When I read this passage today I think, "Some things never change."
Even 2,000 years ago you couldn't ask questions that challenged what was the accepted belief! Nicodemus was a "teacher of Israel" and had to come to Jesus in secret to ask his questions and find out what Jesus meant by his teaching.

I guess that's what religion does. It establishes what you have to believe in and is not open to learning anything else. It is not to be questioned nor debated any longer. There is nothing new to learn.

I wonder if this was the beginning of Nicodemus's deconstruction. I wonder if he began to question what he had been taught and what he had been teaching. I wonder if he ever voiced his questions and concerns out loud. I wonder if he was ever told you can no longer be a teacher; you can no longer be trusted to teach The Law. 

A place where it is not safe to ask questions is not a safe place.
Here is some BREAKING NEWS: Most churches are not safe places!
It's probably safe to say that most religions are not safe places.
I think it is safe to say that not one liturgical church will be preaching about the deconstruction of Nicodemus this weekend. 

It's funny how we can read a passage of the bible over and over without questioning what we know about it and then life happens and we interpret it differently or see it from a different perspective. Maybe the best practice would be to read it from Jesus' perspective. He recognized that Nicodemus was trying to understand heavenly things from an earthly perspective. Even as mere mortals, we have to try to see things from God's perspective.

What is God's perspective?
Love.
Love is God's perspective.
That changes a lot of what I've learned about the bible.

Maybe this picture from artist David Hayward will help:

You can find or purchase more of David's art here.

John

Recognizing Authority

This week's gospel reading in the lectionary schedule is Mark 1:21-28.
This is one of those passages that always amazes me. Jesus encounters a demon or demons, they recognize him as the Son of God, they always obey his command.

It's weird, isn't it.
Followers of Jesus say they recognize him as the Son of God -- as God Incarnate, but so often refuse to obey his simple commands. I know the "love your neighbor" thing is tough, especially when Jesus considers everybody to be your neighbor. 
Feeding the hungry, clothing the needy, welcoming the stranger, taking care of the sick -- why do we as a "Christian nation" oppose these things?

It would be one thing if the secular side of the nation opposed these Christian acts, but it is too often the party that professes to be the Christian party that is so against helping those in need. I know it doesn't sound right for the one sharing the gospel message to drop an F-bomb, but I can't help but say, "WTF?"

I like to try to differentiate between what I call Christianism -- believing in the church and doctrinal stuff of Christianity, and actual Christianity -- actually following the teaching and commands of Jesus. The Christian nationalism of today is very much like the Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus's day. It just seems too weird that the demons are the actual followers of his instruction.

As one who has been demonized by the evangelical church of today, maybe it isn't too weird after all.
It's just sad that actually following Jesus means going against the organized churches that are supposed to be teaching us how to follow Jesus. 
But, I've said it before -- Church leaders teach us to follow church leaders, not Jesus. They have no control of people that follow Jesus. They only have control over people that follow them.

If you know who Jesus is
If you believe he is the Son of God
What are you doing to...
    feed the hungry?
    clothe the needy?
    welcome the stranger?
    help the sick?
    Love your neighbor?

John

Leadership vs Followship

Yeah, I know -- followship isn't really a word. It's not even a concept that is considered, but maybe it should be.

This week's lectionary text is from Mark 1:14-20. Read it and then come back.
It's a pretty familiar story -- Jesus calling the brothers Peter and Andrew, and brothers James and John. I don't know what pastors and preachers will be talking about on Sunday. I imagine many will talk about the willingness of the men to leave their nets and businesses and begin to follow Jesus.

But I wonder what Jesus saw in them. These men would eventually become leaders in the movement of following Jesus, but I don't think that Jesus was looking for leaders. In truth, I don't think Jesus is looking for leaders today.
Jesus is still looking for followers.
Churches look for leaders.
Churches control followers.
Church followers worship church leaders.
Yeah, I know -- I'm way too cynical, at least where churches are concerned.

I really don't know what compelled those men to leave everything behind and follow Jesus. Even with what we know about Jesus 2000 years later, the thought of setting everything aside to follow him is an incredible thing. I struggle to follow Jesus and his teachings. I struggle to be less of John and more of Jesus. I don't want to be thought of as some kind of religious leader. I would love to be thought of as a Jesus follower. 
Maybe some day.

In any case, don't follow me. Follow Jesus.
Don't follow your church leaders, either. Follow Jesus.
And for God's sake, don't idolize your church leaders. They aren't worthy of your worship.

I may have to rethink this Thursday Theology thing that follows the lectionary. I don't want it to be a negative thing and when it comes to churches and preachers/pastors in general, I may be a little jaded. I know that's because the preachers/pastors that seem to get the most attention are the ones that work hard to make themselves the center of attention.
The ones that I've really grown to love are the ones that quietly and tirelessly work out the Matthew 25 version of following Jesus. These are the ones I watch. These are the men and women that show me who Jesus is. They expect no praise. They expect no worship. They appreciate those of us that work alongside them to show our neighbors who Jesus is and that God truly loves them.

I know that leadership has its place. Leaders in business, in government, even on sports teams are vital to success. But I think churches would do better to seek after those that model followship. Don't you?

John

"Come and see."

This Sunday's gospel reading is from John's gospel and is found at John 1:43-51.
Go ahead, click the link, read the passage, and then come back here.

The former evangelist in me loves this simple passage. I'm sure there are plenty of good, deep, sound theological lessons to be explored in this passage, but the one that stands out to me is Philip's statement at the end of the 46th verse. He says to his skeptical friend Nathanael, "Come and see."

The same call is used in the fourth chapter of John's gospel when Jesus stops at a well in Samaria. The woman that encountered Jesus at the well goes into town and declares, "Come and see a man that told me all about myself. Could this be the Messiah?"

Today's evangelicals are more likely to help you find Jesus by shoving a Bible down your throat and expecting the ingestion of the Word will make you a Christian. It turns out that there is a sizable difference between professing to be a Christian and actually acting Christlike.

I get that the whole "Come and see" approach to evangelism was very different for Philip and the woman at the well when they could actually bring their friends to Jesus. But we can still show our friends Jesus by acting in a Christ-like manner. 
I know it's not easy, but I think the "Come and see" approach is pretty effective if we can show them what Jesus is like.

"Come and see" is a good invitation to discuss Jesus, God, philosophy, faith, or whatever. It can be a discussion with you, your pastor, or others that might shed some light on the character and teaching of Jesus. Teaching what Jesus taught isn't as tough as you might think. Start with the love God, love your neighbor bit and never get too far from that.
I mean if you're going to use the "Come and see" approach to introduce people to Jesus, you are going to have to produce a Jesus at some point. Just make sure it is God's son Jesus and not some Jesus of your own design.

What are the things you think about when you read this passage?

John

Thursday Theology

I am thinking that I may try to make this a regular weekly feature. There is a part of me that misses the discussions around biblical texts and stories. Putting together a sermon was never really fun, but the experience always seemed to benefit me and sharing what I learned through the prep was generally enjoyable. For me personally, the random texts or "waiting on the Spirit" to guide me was always difficult and I suspect that will continue to be the case.

Therefore, I think that I will choose to use the Liturgical Calendar for my bible texts. I don't know if there are many of my regular readers that attend churches that use this schedule. I suspect that there are not. I haven't fully decided on whether I should be using the last Sunday's text or the coming week's, but will most likely use the coming week.
Also, since I haven't put much thought into it at this particular point, I also haven't done any real study on the text for January 7. 

For this week (and it may be the case in future weeks) I'm just going to give you the text and my gut reaction to it. In any given week, my take on the material and what you'd likely hear from a real pastor/preacher in church will no doubt differ by a great deal. I, after all, am somewhat of a heretic in the world of preachers.

The text, Mark 1:4-11

John the Baptist sees himself as unworthy to be a servant of Jesus, the Messiah. In The Gospel According to John, he says that he must diminish so that Jesus can increase.
This doesn't seem at all like the attitude and character I see from preachers, pastors, and proclaimers of the gospel today. I wonder how church life in general and Christianity in particular would change if our pastors were truly servant leaders rather than persons to be idolized and worshiped. 

As I said, this isn't much in the way of a message today. In fact, it is much more negative and critical than I intend to be if I continue to make this a regular post. Perhaps this first text will serve to remind me of my place in the sharing of the story of Jesus.

Until next time,
John <><

When Our Focus is Wrong

Most of you that know me, know that I ride a motorcycle. As a rookie rider I undertook a long cross country trip and included some riding that was probably too advanced for my time in the saddle. While I definitely lacked experience, I was not totally unprepared. I read and watched motorcycle training videos to help prepare me for my solo ride.
My planned ride included riding the famed Tail of the Dragon, an 11 mile stretch of US 129 with 318 curves. I took a few rides along MO 125 and rode some of the twisty roads in Northern Arkansas to prep me. The instruction that I kept seeing to avoid ending up in a ditch or straying into the oncoming lane of traffic was to focus on the road you want to ride. If you focus on the ditch, you'll end up in the ditch. If you're watching the center line, you'll cross the center line. Watch where you're riding and you'll ride where you're watching.

It works.
Mountain bikers, trail runners, skiers -- are all taught the same thing. Look where you want to go. If you focus on the obstacles you want to miss you will invariably end up hitting them!

So...
Why do Christians and church leaders tend to focus so much on sin?
Isn't that counter-intuitive to the results we're hoping for?
Wouldn't reminders to be kind, to love our neighbors, to follow Jesus -- be better ways to encourage real Christianity than the constant turn or burn fear mongering that seems to be the bent of all of the outspoken, loudmouthed evangelical preachers, teachers, and disciples?

What if we stopped focusing on what we need to stop doing to get to heaven and started living like we're already living in the presence of God? 
What if salvation isn't about saving us for an afterlife heaven, but to allow us to experience heaven now?
What if Jesus wasn't about getting us from earth to heaven, but was about bringing heaven to earth?
"...Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (is here)."
Remember those words?

Just thoughts in my head this morning (after scrolling my Twitter feed).

John

Words of Wisdom

I'm not offering any today. I'm seeking them.
What have you got for me?
I'm talking about real gems; not the smart-ass kind that I might offer. If you were to boil all of life's experiences and lessons into one pearl of wisdom -- what would it be?

I was asked this question recently. My answer was -- Be kind.
It seems like a no brainer, but very few people seem to understand its importance and effectiveness. It's a lesson I should have learned much earlier in life since I grew up in a household that had the kindest person I know. I just never paid enough attention to the great benefits of kindness and the impact that it has on the giver, the recipient, and even on those that observe or hear about it later. 

I'll admit -- sometimes people make being kind difficult for me. Sometimes the best I can do is walk away and not be an ugly person back. I don't think that's truly an act of kindness, but it often feels like it is.

Anyway --
Help me out here. I'm still working on being a better person and learning about wisdom, love, living in community (ugh), and contributing something worthwhile to society.
What is the gem that you would share?

Meditate on that for a time and let me know.

John

Pride

It's June
and it's Pride Month.
Over the past several years I've become much more acquainted with, an ally to, and even a friend to many people in the LBGTQ+ community around Springfield. Even just five years ago, I knew few people that were a part of that group. Today I have nearly as many queer friends as straight ones and I refer to them as -- get this -- my friends; not my gay friends, not my lesbian friends, not my trans friends -- just my friends.

The thing about Pride Month is to bring an awareness to everyone of the injustices that are faced by the community. Contrary to what you've been told -- there is no agenda, no one is trying to indoctrinate your straight kids, and nobody is trying to get preferential treatment of any kind. Everybody just wants to have the same rights, privileges, and choices that the majority of people already have.

There was this dude that lived a couple of thousand years ago that taught us to treat others the way we'd like to be treated. He taught a lot of good stuff and I've found his teachings to be a good foundation for life. While this one seems pretty simple and straight forward, so many of his followers have a very difficult time with it when it comes to how they treat the LGBTQ+ community.

It's no longer just suppression or unfair treatment. Today's militant right is about actively harming people in the queer community. They are passing laws that make it legal to withhold healthcare. They are encouraging rage and violence against the community. Politicians in the state of Florida are even issuing warnings -- Don't come here. You are not welcome.
If you are supporting these kinds of actions, you need to re-evaluate your humanity.
If you are silent about these kinds of actions, then you are complicit.
My friends are in danger because of self-righteous religious bigots and their ignorant, hateful behavior.

Be aware
Be kind
Be an ally

John

Today's Contemplation (it's kind of sad)

I'm not sure what to make of spring so far this year. The temps have remained cool enough that we've still had to run our furnace on and off through April. This final week of the month and the beginning of May still has daytime highs in the mid 60s (17-18c) and nighttime temps down around 40 (5c).
I think we are past a freeze point and hope to get some more flowers planted this coming week. I also hope that some of the ones that I've already planted will start to grow.

I think I'm only doing a few vegetables this year and will have to rely on the grocery stores and farmers markets (like most of the US) for my fresh produce. While I enjoy the homegrown stuff, I'm really not very good at tending to it as it grows. We finally got a little bit of rain yesterday. We seem to miss a lot of the area rainfall. Even while neighboring communities are getting rain, we seem to just miss it. Keeping seeds and seedlings damp can be quite a chore with several spread out flower beds. I suppose I should be thankful for the daily activity.

I know there are those that really love the cooler days and are fine with wearing sweatshirts and long pants. I'm more of a t-shirt, shorts, and barefoot kind of person and will happily sweat my ass off during the mid 90s (35c) of summer. I know that I'm not going to be running or working too hard in the hot part of the day, so that doesn't really come into play for me. Sitting in the shade of the deck with a ceiling fan on and a cold drink is not a bad way to spend an afternoon, even if it is 95 degrees (35c) outside.
I still think I need to get a pool. I really don't think I want to spend the money for an in-ground pool, but  I'd be okay with an above ground pool to lounge in on warm sunny days. I'm sure that I can contemplate life while soaking in a pool as easily as from on the deck. Smoking a cigar might be a little trickier, but I'm sure I'd find a way.
Hmmm...

Speaking of contemplating life...
I'm halfway through the 10 week Reading the Bible as a Storybook group and I am enjoying it more than I expected. I am pleased with the group's perspective and questions as we look through different stories. We started in Genesis and have barely made it into The Promised Land. I hadn't planned on going through in a chronological order, nor on covering the Bible in a survey kind of undertaking. I think this week I'll just tell a story and let them tell me what they think it means -- both for the people of ancient Israel and for us.

It's an interesting exercise, even for me. My own perspective of God has changed greatly over the past decade or more. As my understanding of God grows, my perspective of those old bible stories changes. In many cases, they hold less meaning or importance as lessons in living, but give me a much greater understanding of how ancient humans perceived God and the things they couldn't understand. That also helps me to understand people today as they react to things that are new and that they don't understand. It is a sad situation that humanity has developed so little in several millennia that our initial reaction is still fear rather than curiosity.

Why haven't we learned that our survival no longer depends on our eliminating those which are different or weak?
Why haven't we recognized that we can care for each other and still thrive?
Or leave each other alone and we will be okay?
Very few of us (humans) are in situations where we have to compete for food or resources to survive. Why are we still acting like that is the case? Why do we still feel it is necessary to hoard resources and deny others what they need to live well?
Has our intellect and instinct developed so little that we are still thinking and acting like ancient tribal peoples of the past?

Damn
That's pretty sad.

I should probably stop this line on contemplation this morning. It's too depressing. I think I'll go dig in the dirt and absorb some of that good earth energy into my being. You should do that too. You'll feel better for it.

John

Storytime with John

Tonight's the night that the small group study Reading the Bible as a Storybook begins.
I have to admit that I am entering it with some mixed feelings and mixed expectations.

Part of the mixed expectations comes from the fact that I haven't really planned out the entire 10 weeks of classes and materials. I did that purposefully so that the group could have some input into how the study actually goes. I have tonight's introduction meeting setup to be just that -- an introduction to me and to what I am expecting, as well as a time for each person to briefly introduce themselves and what they are expecting or hoping to get out of our time together. 

I have week two planned out with an Old Testament story (really more of a story behind the story) and week three is a bit of a blend of an Old Testament/New Testament kind of story -- sort of a linking of the two.
Beyond that I'd like to take on some of the favorite stories of the group or perhaps (big maybe as I'm not too keen on giving away that kind of group control) allow others to share their favorites in their own ways. Whether I continue to choose stories to share on my own or examine bible stories of their choosing, there is more than enough material to cover the 10 week session. 

I plan on keeping good notes just in case the class goes well enough that it is run again with a different group or calls for another session to continue what is started in this one. I don't know if that is a fear or a hope when it comes to expectations. I'm just considering the possibilities.

It's weird how something that was once very familiar and comfortable has become something that holds a little anxiety and doubt. It has been a while and The Venues ain't your daddy's church!

John

I Was Wrong

I was wrong.
I didn't know that.
That's new information to me.

These are not bad things.
These are words from someone that is learning.

The ability to challenge what we know as a means of finding truth rather than to look for information that shows we are right is a mark of intelligence and essential to learning and growing.
Opinions are not evidence.
However, the opinions (or conclusions) of experts are more valuable than the opinions of non-experts.
Not only should we question what we know; we should question the sources of our information - both new and old.

I've learned that I have been wrong about a lot of things.
I wonder what I know now that I will later learn is wrong.
I've also learned that different perspectives can yield different truths. 

I think my 30 year old self would look at my 60 year old self and say I've gotten soft.
My 60 year old self wonders how often I hurt people because I couldn't see things from their perspective or even acknowledge that there could have been another perspective.

What lessons have you learned that changed how you think or who you are?
What are you learning now?
What do you know that just ain't so?

John

Monday Motivation

 

Changing Routines and Getting Back to Teaching

I don't lead a very structured life. Other than my morning coffee and quiet time, I really can't say that I have much of a routine going throughout each day. But I may be wrong about that. I think that doing nothing or having no routine has become a routine of its own.

I say that because I've noticed that I really seem off when I've worked the night (or a couple of nights) at the shelter. It seems to take me longer to readjust to my normal hours than it used to. I don't know if it's due to age or maybe it's just so different from what I've become used to doing. In any case, I am pretty much back to my daily routine of having nothing planned and doing just that.

It looks like I will be adding teaching a weekly class to my routine in about a month. 
I'm going to be leading a small group study on the Bible as a storybook. I think that I'll be looking at taking stories from different sections of the Bible -- law, history, wisdom, prophets (major and minor), and the New Testament -- and examining them from a fresh perspective. It will only be a ten week class. I don't yet know if I will plan on doing just one story per class and little insight into the Bible itself, or maybe do two or three stories per night. I have a few weeks to figure that out and want to be sensitive to adapting to class expectations, as well.

It has been a while since I've done much teaching or preaching and I have a feeling doing the prep work for each session will be a challenge. I was looking for recordings of my few times speaking at The Venues at 425 (previously known as Barchurch), but only found one still in the archives. We had been studying the effects of change -- how changing our minds affects our brains, the actual physiological changes to our brains and our bodies. My message was on changing our religion or perspective on how we see God.

If you have 30 minutes to spare and want to hear it you can find it here. My part begins about the 27 minute mark.

Storytelling from the Bible is my style, but I don't want this class to turn into a preaching kind of thing and will have to take care that it doesn't. I do hope that people will be encouraged to read the Bible and to find a connection to God and to one another through its stories. I hope that we all have open minds and are willing to change our perspectives to get a better view of what is true.

John

Sunday Thoughts

It's Sunday and I'm thinking about churchy stuff while not actually going to church. 
Weird, huh?

I was just thinking about Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Church from a couple of decades ago. He gave the church five main functions or purposes - worship, discipleship, fellowship, ministry and mission. I was thinking about this as I was wondering why I'm not going to church anymore.

Is it because I've gotten lazy?
Is it because the church doesn't meet my needs or expectations?
Have I just become a heathen or outcast of the church?
All of the above?
None of the above?
Something else?

I don't think that worship is really a main function of most churches today. It's kind of weird because most of them still call their meeting time worship service. Sure, they sing songs but it generally feels (to me) like there is more emphasis put into the production of the service than into the actual worship of God. Maybe that's the reason (or one of the reasons) I don't really feel compelled to go to church any more. 

I checked and it looks like fellowship is actually the second purpose of the church. Fellowship of any kind isn't very high on my personal list of priorities these days. I do enjoy occasionally getting together with some of the people from church and should probably do more of that - either more often with the same people or the same frequency with different people. Fellowship isn't the draw for me that it once was.

My experience has been that most churches pretty much suck at discipleship. I don't know why that is. Maybe it's because people don't really want to learn about living like Jesus taught us to live. If we learn that stuff and then don't actually do it, we're even worse hypocrites. It's way easier to just tell people they need to follow Jesus than to actually follow Jesus. 
Plus not actually doing discipleship saves the time and cost of all that teaching and learning of stuff that we're not going to do anyway.

Ministry is the one thing that really reached out and grabbed hold of me at The Venues. The Venues serves the community around the church better than any church we have ever been associated with. The resources and volunteer hours poured into community service projects are pretty amazing. Through participating in some of those projects, I have found other church communities that also do the ministry thing well. 
I have observed that the church communities that do ministry well are the more liberal, progressive churches. Maybe the more conservative churches are too busy judging to serve.

I honestly don't remember the mission part of the Purpose Driven Church. I imagine that it has something to do with evangelism or sharing the message of the gospel. Today I believe that ministry should be the mission of the church. I believe the message of the Bible is meant to teach me and not for me to tell others what it means for them. I'm not selfish about what I've learned and will gladly share that with others, but I'm no longer compelled to convince others that they need to believe what I believe. 
My faith gives me hope. It gives me peace. And it also gives me purpose.

Why don't you go to church?
or
Why do you go to church?

Just wondering

John

Who gets who?

Sure Jesus gets us, but do we get Jesus?

In full disclosure -- I only watched the last few minutes of the Superbowl so I didn't see any of the commercials on the game broadcast. I have seen several "He gets us" commercials on various internet sites, both before and after the game.
I should also say that there was a time when I might have thought these were pretty cool ads and not given much thought to the money that was spent on advertising Jesus vs. what could have been spent on actually doing good.
WWJD?

Although I once traveled to churches and church camps with the message of turning to Jesus and accepting him as your Savior, I no longer feel compelled to convince others that I have that whole life-after-death/eternity thing all figured out and that everyone should believe what I believe. I'm pretty sure that most self-proclaimed Christians don't even believe what I believe when it comes to actually following the teachings of Jesus or about heaven and hell or any number of faith related topics.

Today I am much more likely to follow the teaching of James (show me your faith by your works) than to tell you what I believe in sermon or in simple conversation. And it is extremely unlikely that I will try to convince you to "turn or burn" or to tell you what you need to do to attain eternal life in heaven when you die.
As much as I might try to follow the teachings of Jesus, I have to admit that it is a struggle. I mean - would Jesus sleep in late and then spend a quiet morning sipping coffee and typing out a blog that will only reach a few dozen people while there are a thousand people nearby that are looking for a place to stay dry on this cold, rainy morning? 
Probably not.

But I think that Jesus would be okay with me doing it. Afterall, "he gets us," right?
I think that Jesus is okay with us living our lives as we seek to follow him or as we seek out how to best live in this life. There is an often spoken thought about being so heavenly minded that you're of no earthly good. I think that fits many Christians today. 
I think it fit me not too far in the past. Maybe it still does.

In any case, here's what I think about the He gets us ad campaign:
*Using the Superbowl platform to get people to think about Jesus/God isn't a bad thing.
*Although I do believe that there are better ways to spend all that money, the simple truth is that it's not my money and I don't have any say-so in how it gets spent.
*In my own past, I spent plenty of time (and got paid for it) telling people about Jesus. 
*I agree -- He gets us.
*Figuring out the John/God relationship is more than enough for me. I don't need to spend too much time or energy sorting out how anyone else is relating to God.
*I'll stick with the struggle I have of just trying to be more like Jesus and understanding the struggles of others to the point that I can get them, too.

John

2023: Here We Go!

It's post number 2,500!
I can't believe I've been at this for more than fifteen years. Only a couple of the bloggers that I started following way back then are still posting regularly. Most have moved on to other media or quit publishing content all together. As I have personally evolved over the years, so has Out of My Hat. 

If you've been along for the ride for a long time - Thanks for continuing to read my ramblings and putting up with me. 
If you are relatively new to Out of My Hat - Welcome! I hope you have found a place that touches, stirs, feeds, or disturbs your spirit in such a way that you will come back for more.

I had thought that maybe post number 2,500 would be something special or profound.
It's not. It's just another rant.
I thought that maybe my first post of 2023 - my New Year's Day post - might be something motivating and meaningful.
It's not. It's like any other New year's Day post.

I do plan on changing in 2023, but in the daily growth/be better than yesterday gradual kind of change and not the turn over a new leaf dramatic kind of change. Change comes slowly for me - more like turning a ship at sea than changing directions with a quick U-turn on the motorcycle.

I'm not real big on the whole New Year's resolution thing. I do think that January 1st provides a good time to make an honest assessment of how things are going in life and perhaps, make a few necessary adjustments in habits and practices. The calendar provides pretty regular opportunities for such assessments and adjustments throughout the year.

In fact, each day gives us new opportunities to enhance or change our station in life. Changes are often small, maybe just changes in attitude or perspective - like turning that ship at sea. But it is your day, your story. I know that some days don't feel like you have much to work with, but work with what you have and write a good story. 
Truthfully, I doubt if I venture out of the house to interact with anyone today. Perhaps that is its own type of kindness to others. If I am going to be kind to anyone today, it will have to be through offering some encouragement or something of value through writing on this simple blog.

2022 may have been filled with some significant challenges - but you made it!
You may still find yourself in the midst of some severe struggles - but you are here and still making it.
In fact, you have survived everything life has thrown at you to this point.
Pause.
Take a deep breath,
and be proud of your badass self.

When writing a story, you kind of have to have an ending in mind. Not every story has a happy ending. Maybe your story today is going to be one of those. You already know that it isn't going to end the way you'd really like it to end.
If you are struggling today, let me suggest an ending for today's story. I mean, it is your story and you can do whatever you like, but consider this for a closing line:

"I took everything the day had to offer and I survived. I made it to tomorrow. 
And yes, I was a badass!"

Now, go write today's story!

John

A Love/Hate Relationship

I'm wondering about Love vs. Hate.
Yeah, I'm wondering about the relationship between love and hate -- not the love/hate kind of thing where you both love and hate the same thing or person, but I'm wondering why it is so much easier to spread hate than it is to spread love.

Obviously it is way easier to ignore someone or someone's need than it is to do something.
Is indifference the same thing as hate? Is not helping someone the same as hurting them?
Maybe indifference isn't the same as hating, but it certainly seems to create a breeding ground for hate to fester and grow. Maybe indifference is a kind of passive hate rather than the active hate of actually doing harm to someone. 
It seems that there is way too much of both today.

It doesn't seem like kind, loving words would be more difficult to share than harsh, hateful ones, but we see and hear far too few kind words while being bombarded with hateful and demeaning words.
What would happen if we were all more purposeful about sharing loving words and kind actions?
What would happen if we were less indifferent and more involved in issues of social justice?
What would happen if we all pointed out indifferent and hateful words and actions when we see them?
What would happen if we stopped sharing hateful tweets/posts/memes/etc.?
What would happen if we made spreading love as natural as being indifferent or spreading hate?

Just wondering...

John

It's a Work Week---sort of...

When I retired (now 7+ years ago) one of my older cousins warned me that there are no days off in retirement. Well this week will be a little bit of a work week, but not really.

I get to preach again this morning at Sparta Christian Church, it is my week of rotation as volunteer chaplain at  Mercy Hospital in Aurora, and I will serve as the minister at the interment of an old friend's ashes at the Missouri Veterans' Cemetery on Friday.

I do feel better about preaching today than I did last week. Hopefully I'll find my rhythm this morning and be a bit like my old self. Currently, I'm watching and listening to the chatter of hummingbirds at their feeder while enjoying my morning coffee, reviewing my notes, and now typing out a short post. 
Asking about favorite Bible stories in my last post didn't generate any comments. I hope that part goes better at church this morning!

Have a great week.
Say a prayer for the retired guy that's taking time off from being retired this week, if you don't mind.

John