Chris Baker :: Some Guy and His Mac » random thoughts

Sabbath

Chris — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 05:39:27 +0000

Life is busy, its also hard. We get so wrapped up in what we are doing. Yet we often miss the joy of life. The opportunity to sit at the Masters feet and be still.

Life is super busy for me (one of the reasons I haven’t posted much new stuff here). I work a full time job, going to school full time, two side projects I am working on and try to maintain some sort of social life. Plus managing the regular routines of life such as, laundry, exercise, eating healthy, and most importantly spending time with the Father. God has provided incredible friendships and relationships with some amazing people, investing the time with them, takes time. Time well worth spent. So, I need to add one more thing to my schedule right? Well, actually, yes. God has really been challenging to take a STOP. A STOP? Yes. Why should I stop everything when I have so much to do? Why did God rest on the seventh day? Why should I rest at all? God, I believe, did this as a model of how we should live our lives. God intended us to do this.

We get this crazy idea that the Sabbath is church time, and the day you watch football, but Mark 2:27 says differently, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Hebrew 4:10-11 makes an interesting statement about the Sabbath also, “For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.”

It is critical for a follower of Christ to enter such rest. I think the result of falling is to dangerous. People overwork themselves, miss opportunities to spend time with family, focus on gaining wealth, and push out other important priorities in life. We literally work ourselves to death. This probably explains medicated people dealing with depression, anxiety, stress and other personal issues. God never intended this for us. How is this living in a way that is making the most of what God has given us?

I am positive that I could go in depth into studies of why to take a Sabbath, but I will let that up to you, the reader to explore. I write this, because I have been really challenged lately to seek a STOP time. I’ve been able to experience this for a few hours over the past three weeks or so. Some times I go hiking, others I’ve simply taken a nap. It is my desire to enter this time silently, shutting off things that distract me such as cell phones, music, computers and escape. I want to listen to God, I want to enjoy his presence, and take a mini-holiday in Him. I’ve walked back into life feeling refreshed, renewed and focused on the tasks ahead. There is nothing magical about this, its just something God has lead me into, and I desire to be obedient to Him. This is something God has been teaching me lately. Something I have been challenged with.

My fear is that I make this time an interlude to the insane schedule I have. I don’t want that, I want it something that defines who I am, shapes me into the the man God wants me to be. To find clarity and life in Christ and where he wants me to serve and seek others. I don’t have this down yet, and I am sure God will teach me in these times to listen, enjoy and play more intently in and with Him.

Sabbath is not an interlude, but the climax of living. -Heschel

Blessings,

-Chris

To love…

Chris — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 06:34:59 +0000

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heat will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket – safe, dark, motionless, airless – it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least the risk of tragedy is damnation. The only place outside heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is hell.

- Clive Lewis

To piggy back my last post from Rob Bell’s, Sex God, I remembered stumbling across this quote a few months back. I think both posts speak truthfully, honestly, beautifully and open about love. Just wanted to share this as well.

Love is…

Chris — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 04:58:25 +0000

Rob Bell writes in “Sex God”:

Love is handing your heart to someone and taking the risk that they will hand it back because they don’t want it. That’s why it’s such a crushing ache on the inside. We gave away a part of ourselves and it wasn’t wanted.

Love is a giving away of power. When we love, we give the other person the power in the relationship. They can do what they choose. They can do what they like with our love. They can reject it, they can accept it, they can step toward us in gratitude and appreciation.

Love is a giving away. When we love, we put ourselves out there, we expose ourselves, we allow ourselves to be vulnerable.

Love is giving up control. It’s surrendering the desire to control the other person. The two – love and controlling power over the person – are mutually exclusive. If we are serious about loving someone, we have to surrender all of the desires within us to manipulate the relationship.

I don’t have much to say about this, its probably best I don’t…but reading this has resonated so much with me. It’s something I’ve learned, am learning and will continue to learn. This has been something in the forefront of my thoughts. It’s something that I pray to God that He makes a new in my life each and every day, that as I interact with others, I demonstrate this. However there is a risk, one that can and would potentially hurt. I’ve felt that sting, It’s a good chance it could happen again.

Want vs Need

Chris — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 04:04:06 +0000

(ht: http://www.nakedpastor.com/archives/4420)

I hope that I will know the right things I need. That my selfishness just doesn’t get in the way.

What in the World?

Chris — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:05:44 +0000

Yes I know! Its been like 2+ months or something like that since I have last updated. Lots of stuff has been going on! Lots of good things. Hoping in the next day or two I can write about this. Thanks for your patience.

-Chris

Edit: Ok. Make that like 3 months.

The consequences

Chris — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:30:11 +0000

Naked Pastor

A result of salvation…calls us to face certain consequences. Are we willing to accept that?

(ht: Naked Pastor)

Trend Statements

Chris — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 17:30:38 +0000

I’ve Bren reading through Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller….I know finally, right? I’m reading his chapter of belief. These few sentences stood out to me, I wanted to share them.

“Even our beliefs have become trend statments. We don’t even believe things because we believe them anymore. We only believe things because they are cool things to believe.”

He also talks earlier about how some guys don’t believe in God and can prove it and some guys that DO believe in God and prove it. That the argument stopped being about God along time ago, and is now about who is smarter. Humm. This resonates with me and I’m not totally sure why. Just wanted to share that. Not really for any purpose other than it pricked my interest.

A narrow scope of Salvation.

Chris — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:00:36 +0000

The past couple of weeks I’ve been reading a book by Mike Erre called Death by Church. The book purposes a case for what the church should be, how it relates to the world and furthers the kingdom. Erre makes a bold and truthful statement of the Christian’s concept of salvation. I think this rings true more than we care to admit, or even do anything about. Here is what he has to say:

Our traditional conceptions of salvation are blatantly more individualistic, focusing on one’s individual reconciliation with God through a personal relationship with Jesus. The emphasis seems to be only on giving Jesus our sins and not on every area and aspect of our human life. It is more concerted with getting souls to heaven that with bringing heaven to earth. This narrow gospel focuses only on the salvation of the human soul, but the gospel of the kingdom includes the salvation of human beings within the context of the larger story of God restoring all of creation.

This rings loud and clear with what I grew up with. With my own life. Salvation, accepting Jesus was just a way to get into heaven. But it’s so much more than that. There is such a higher calling, a higher risk, a higher cost. I believe its something to be considered weightily. Are you willing to sacrifice choosing the kingdom of God or the kingdom of this world?

Happy New Years and a resolution.

Chris — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 09:55:29 +0000

Happy New Years to you. I pray that Gods blessing and provision for what you need is made known to you this new year and that you will draw closer to Him.

Tonight after I got home I was talking with a family member about resolutions that we had made for this new year. I shared with her that I didn’t really make them cause I either never keep them or remember them. Tonight I was reading Psalm 9 before heading to bed. Verse 1 and 2 stuck out to me as a great resolution to live for this year. Here is the verse:

Psalm 9:1-2
I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart; I will tell of Your wonders. I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

That’s all I can simply think of doing. That’s all I should be doing.

The Dangerous Alternative to Christmas {repost}

Chris — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 16:44:00 +0000

In the gospel of Luke, the most familiar account of the Christmas story—the one most commonly read in churches and homes—is firmly rooted in history. The narrative begins, “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken” (Luke 2:1). Luke’s mention of Augustus isn’t incidental or minor. It sets the whole backdrop for the Christmas story.

Augustus was known as the “Savior” of the Roman Empire, bringing “peace” and “salvation” to his subjects. He was called the “Lord” and came to be worshiped as god on earth. Roman citizens were commanded to pray to him and offer sacrifices. Temples and shrines were built in his name. The census ordered by Augustus was one of the ways he controlled the empire. By demanding taxes (or tribute, more specifically), Caesar could provide for his far-flung armies as well as humiliate the peoples under Roman “peace” by reminding them they lived at the will of Rome.

Against this political backdrop, the announcement in Luke’s gospel is the announcement of a king born in direct opposition to the rule and reign of Caesar. It is almost as if all the titles applied to Caesar were applied to Jesus in order to force people to choose between them. If Jesus had been called one thing and Caesar another, people would have been tempted to believe they could worship both. But when Savior, Lord, King, gospel, peace and salvation are specific descriptions applied to both rulers, the Christmas story forces us to choose: Who is our Lord? Who is our Savior?

The differences between these two saviors could not be overstated. Augustus’s rule was defined by the sword, the shield, and the banners of his legions. The kingdom of Jesus of Nazareth was marked by a manger, a cross, and a tomb. No greater contrast could be imagined. The birth of Jesus Christ was simply revolution: the birth of a different king, ushering in a differing kingdom, and threatening the kingdoms of this world.

Two different empires were established on the day of Jesus’s birth. One built on power, the other on love. One built on control, the other on freedom. One built on oppression and bondage, the other on liberation. Augustus was the embodiment of the best the world in all its ambition and lust can offer, a ruler who sat at the apex of a world-wide system of worship and domination. Jesus, on the other hand, was destined to humble himself on a tree, sacrificing himself out of love.

Jesus represents the dangerous alternative to the power of this world: a different power, a different glory, a different peace, a different salvation. The Christmas story ceases to be an idyllic myth: it becomes clear these two empires are destined to collide. The birth of Jesus is divine insurrection and outright revolution.

The Christmas story forces us to choose between these two kingdoms. Do we bow before the Caesars of our time, or dare we embrace the kingdom of Jesus?

From The Jesus of Suburbia by Mike Erre (W Publishing Group)

{This is a repost from Mike Erre’s blog - Wishing you a Merry Christmas, praying that you chose Christ this season if you don’t know him, and not the temporary “rulers” of this world.}

Death by Church

Chris — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:00:29 +0000

I downloaded a preview chapter of a book by my favorite author, Mike Erre. The book was just released and I have it ordered already. It is called Death by Church. While I am trying to grasp the full context of the book as I read more. As you might have guessed the book deals a good bit about ‘The Church’. The current state of the church, how we got here, and where we are going. Mike quotes a gentleman who made this statement:

It amazes me to consider how much effort and how many resources (time, money and people) are expended for a single hour once a week. We have made church nothing more than a religious show that takes place on Sunday, and after it’s done we all go home, until church starts again next week, same time, same place. Is this what the bride of Christ is?

- Neil Cole

How often I look at church as this. Man this book has been rockin’ my perspective on things. Mike has had a huge impact in my life reading his books. Most likely he doesn’t know this. But I’d encourage you to take a look.

(HT: Mike Erre)

Spiritual Decline :: Quote of the Day

Chris — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 13:30:14 +0000

Periods of spiritual decline occur in history because the gravity of indwelling sin keeps pulling believers first into formal religion and then into open apostasy.

- Dynamics of Spiritual Life

Richard F. Lovelace.

Sorry I haven’t written much lately. Haven’t had much to write about, and been really busy with work and other activities. Been reading through the book I quoted from above. Really good stuff so far.

Alienation

Chris — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:00:49 +0000

Sorry for not posting much original thought stuff lately. Trying to adjust to working and life after work and honestly haven’t had much time to do writing or just thinking about stuff. Life has been going pretty well I would say. But I ran across this cartoon tonight, and it struck me that I sometimes do this. Alienate people and lost or saved. I think through God’s grace this has been something He has really been working on in my life. But honestly how often do we do this through the church? Or the church it’s self? I honestly have loved being and growing in the body of believers in the church I have been attending. I am thankful for their desire to reach out locally and worldwide, and actually do it and love it. It’s been a great change of pace from what I’ve been used to, I think. It’s just different. It’s just good.

(HT: The Ongoing Adventures of ASBO Jesus)

Week Rap UP

Chris — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 17:00:03 +0000

Thin Ice

Born in Sin

(HT: Naked Paster)

If Starbucks looked like most churches.

(HT: Danny)

This guy’s got talent

(HT: Chad Wright)

Regret and Pride

Chris — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:00:10 +0000

Read this on a blog two nights ago…forget which one it was. It’s really good.

When a person allows their regrets to hold them captive – it seems to me that it is the ultimate display of pride. To not forgive ourselves – when God died to forgive us for our mistakes/sins – aren’t we really saying that we think our sin is too great for Christ to forgive? Not to believe fully in His sacrifice – IS the ultimate display of pride and lack of humility. Our regret is somehow too great to forgive?

Here’s the door

Chris — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:00:07 +0000

Seems like I’ve experienced something like this before.

(HT: Naked Pastor)

Revival, The Chalk Beginnings…

Chris — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:00:29 +0000

Revival starts when you take a piece of chalk into your room, enter your closet and draw a circle on the floor. Kneel in the middle of that circle and ask God to start a revival within that circle. When He answers, that’s when revival begins.

Revival doesn’t begin with others, a church, or even a president. It begins with you.

Sand or Stone

Chris — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 21:00:21 +0000

You choose.

(from: The Ongoing Adventures of ASBO Jesus)

Finally…IT’S OVER!

Chris — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:30:23 +0000

(HT: XKCD)

The Obama Worship Song

Chris — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:00:26 +0000

I chuckled listening to this. Other than that I will not make any other comments.

(HT: The Ongoing Adventures of ASBO Jesus)

Thank you Everyone!

Chris — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:00:00 +0000

I don’t know how I can thank everyone individually, I don’t know if everyone will see this. But I must make a public letter of Thanks to all those who have been and continue to pray for me. Most people know, but last Friday I was offered a position at the C&MA national office. I applied there about a month and a half ago and 3 weeks ago I started to volunteer. This lead to a interview and a job offer last Friday. Its been a long 3 months of searching, but God is faithful and provided this amazing job. Its going to be a great challenge and learning experience for me and I look forward with anxiousness and a desire to learn as much as I can and use the abilities and talents God has given me to serve the people in the office, who support church leaders nation -wide and internationally.

I am humbled by the amount of people praying around the world for me as I was seeking employment. From a small church plant in TN, to people on Twitter all over the country, friends and family from home, a small group of folks in Asia, back to family spread around the country. I am without words in the ability to express my gratitude to those I know and to those I don’t. I pray blessing’s on you all. Thank you so much.

Yesterday was my first day at the national office and did some preliminary paperwork, name badge so I can enter the building, etc. I also cleaned my work area and setup my work computer. I look forward to getting integrated into how things operate and learning new things, and building relationships with coworkers.

I am still amazed how when I started volunteering I kinda let things go in the whole job searching area as I had dropped probably over 50 applications at places. And the minute I “let go”, God worked it out. Amazing! Once again THANK YOU! I wish I could express my gratitude to you all beyond this post.

On your knees, to get on your feet.

Chris — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:05:37 +0000

This past Saturday I was traveling back from Denver with a few friends. We decided to read James 4 together as we were going to be studying the chapter in our young adult group the next morning. I read from the NASB as well as The Message. I really liked how The Message put verse 10 of Chapter 4 into a context that really hit me. It actually brought tears to my eyes and was a challenging verse. Here is the verse per The Message.

Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.

Man. What a great reminder.

The Conservative Christian Case for Supporting Obama

Chris — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:30:55 +0000

I’m not a guy who is into politics, and honestly I don’t care for either candidate running for presidency this term. I generally swing to the “republican” side, but this has really challenged my thinking. I still don’t know who I will vote for (if my absentee ballet ever comes). But this is a good and challenging read. How much are the “key issues” really just a platform to get more votes.

The following post is originally from the www.opinionstream.com/blog, which seems to be down at the moment; but I got it from here.

“I am an evangelical Christian with a record of voting in line with the Republican Party. This year, however, I am casting my vote for Barack Obama. My support for Obama stands on its own, and has been well documented throughout this blog. But why would an evangelical Christian vote for a Democrat? The answer is as much a reflection of what Obama stands for as it is what the GOP does not.
Last week I received an email from Dr. James Dobson – whose internet ministry I subscribe to – imploring me to “vote my values,” meaning to vote for the candidate whose “pro-life” and pro traditional marriage rhetoric carried Dr. Dobson’s stamp of approval. My immediate thought was: Why should I vote two of my values to the exclusion of all others? In that question lies the problem of the Christian allegiance to the Republican Party.
Since this country’s founding, Christians have politicized Biblical values (we have as much right to do so as any other group that wants this nation to reflect its beliefs) and have helped the U.S. become a beacon of light to the world. The problem, I now realize, with the union of Christians to the GOP, is that we’ve aligned ourselves with a spokes group that sees Christians as nothing more than a voting bloc to pander to with lip service about two passion-evoking issues while ignoring other values that form the core of our beliefs. And as they grip our hearts with life and marriage, the GOP exploits our values to demonize or vilify those with opposing viewpoints.
A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
John 13:34-35
GOP leadership has (perhaps with the willing participation of some Christian leaders) twisted and distilled our values to the point where we are just hot-button sound bites wrapped up in a platform designed to benefit the wealthy and corporate classes. In the process, they have turned uninformed Christians (me among them) into “single-issue voters,” sheepishly towing the Party line while it exploits the name of God and bastardizes our ideals to foment hatred, division and racism and to engender animosity toward Christians by associating us with a platform that is anathema to God’s love.
The party that sprang back to executive power in 2001 (never mind 1994’s broken “contract with America”) did so headed by a self-professed Christian who took no issue with smearing his opponent (John McCain) with the racist lie that he’d illegitimately fathered a mongrel child. George Bush went on to run not only two of the most vile campaigns in recent memory, but also to hold one of the most deceptive and secretive presidencies ever (kudos to Nixon for the one-upmanship).
Today’s GOP wants to strike out further, exploiting Christian principles to preach a message of hate, division, racism and confused class warfare. Whether it be Nancy Pfotenhauer proclaiming that northern Virginia – which is leaning toward Obama – is not the “real Virginia”, Joe McCain(John’s brother) calling blue-leaning Arlington and Alexandria “communist country”, Michele Bachmann calling for a congressional witch hunt to weed out congressmen – like Obama, apparently – who are “anti-American”, Sarah Palin calling small towns in “red states” the home of “real Americans” (not to mention her derision of community organizers), or Robin Hayes claiming that “liberals hate real Americans that work and achieve and believe in God”, the GOP is doing all it can in the waning days of this campaign to create sloganized hatred and division in this country. And with the “Joe the Plumber” tour, John McCain is trying to trick Americans into falling for the perverse lie that somehow working-class, blue collar tradesmen are economically aligned with the top 5% of wage earners and are on the losing end of a mythical “class warfare” that Obama is waging against the working class. And as if that’s not a far enough transgression, the GOP is on a “religious crusade” to paint all Arabs and Muslims as evil terrorists and to “otherize” a respected United States Senator and fellow Christian who is running for President and happens to be African-American, calling him every conceivable demonized and incendiary word other than (and in at leastone notable case, including) coming out and saying “he’s black.” And if they cannot win again through fear, division and racism, the GOP is fully prepared to use the subterfuge of voter fraud to conceal their disgusting efforts at voter disenfranchisement (each word links to a separate news article).
GOP strategists have substituted hatemongering for the love of God. And some Christian leaders are complicit in this twisted endeavor. At a recent McCain rally in Davenport, Iowa, Arnold Conrad, former Pastor of the Grace Evangelical Free Church, while leading the invocation, said
I would also pray, Lord, that Your reputation is involved in all that happens between now and November, because there are millions of people around this world praying to their god – whether it’s Hindu, Buddha, Allah – that his opponent wins, for a variety of reasons. And Lord, I pray that You would guard Your own reputation, because they’re going to think that their god is bigger than You, if that happens. So I pray that You will step forward and honor Your own name with all that happens between now and Election Day.
So now God’s reputation is maligned if Obama wins? What of the fact that Obama is a Christian? And what of the Christians who are praying for Obama? Trading on the name of God to castigate your political opponent and recklessly fan the flames of racial, ethnic, religious and socio-economic discord is not of God. And yet, in spite of that, the GOP wants Christians to be co-conspirators in a fundamental breach of Christ’s commandment – the modern equivalent of betraying Christ for 30 pieces of silver – in exchange for the perpetually unfulfilled promise that they will one day overturn Roe v. Wade? Are we actually going to let ourselves fall victim to cookie-cutter religiosity – voting one value while casting all others into the abyss?
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Luke 4:18-19
Christians have a ministerial calling to provide aid and comfort to those in our society who are poor and oppressed. These persons also represent our values. And yet the benevolent (and otherwise “small government”) Republican party, which has decided that it’s the Federal government’s duty to protect the life of unborn children, wants to leave those children out in the cold when they need healthcare. For the uber-Christian GOP has determined that though unborn children have a right to life, children who are born to economically depressed parents (who are, by the way, disproportionately represented in the statistics of those seeking abortions) do not have the right to life-sustaining healthcare. John McCain’s policies, while making insurance more – and perhaps cripplingly – expensive for working class Americans, do nothing to ensure that the 47 million uninsured Americans have access to insurance and that all children have a right to insurance.
Likewise, the “compassionate conservatives” who want us to “vote our values” use the power they achieve because of those votes to call for tax policies that place a disproportionate burden on struggling Americans (including the Christians who blindly voted their values) while the wealthiest citizens reap disproportionate tax benefits (talk about engendering class warfare). How can the Republican party care about addressing poverty when it’s tax policies actually create poverty? And how can the Republican Party care about its Christian base when it’s economic and health policies actually harm us and the people we’re called to minister to? The notion that we ought to elect a party that robs us of our health and wealth while blaspheming the name of God just because that party waxes rhetorically about the sanctity of life is beyond insulting.
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15
God wants Christians to not only possess knowledge of the Bible, but also to excel in the knowledge of our trade and to generally possess a dedication to learning that befits a creation endowed with such vast reserves of learning potential. Yet the McCain campaign and GOP operatives are waging a war against intelligence. Whether it’s manipulating the fact that Obama overcame poverty to become a Harvard educated professor who correctly pronounces “Pakistan” to call him an effete elitist, or asking Americans to vote based on slogans (like “Joe Six Pack” or “Joe the Plumber”) that have no relation to reality, Republicans are actually trying to vilify intellectualism (further helping along that class warfare in the process).
When did the party of Teddy Roosevelt decide it was politically expedient to champion mediocrity? With the various “Joe” slogans, Republicans insult blue collar workers everywhere by expecting them to vote for the candidate who’s willing to talk “folksy” and drink a beer with them all the while lying about the fact that “Joes” across America will be worse off under McCain’s tax policies than under Obama’s.
But the poster-child for the Republican assault on intelligence is the once honorable John McCain’s running mate, who, by the way is also an affront to Christians. While professing Christianity, Sarah Palin has shown a penchant for lying whenever she opens her mouth. Whether she’smaking up the story that the Alaska legislature fully exonerated her of abuse-of-power charges, proclaiming that Obama is an anti-American terrorist sympathizer, calling Obama a socialist (and now, a communist) who will raise all our taxes and “redistribute wealth”, or reveling in the hatred and rage she incites at her rallies, Palin has proven herself to be a lying, vengeful, slanderous hypocrite who uses Christianity as a resume booster.
She is also an unabashed anti-intellectual. While she’s not insulting working Americans by speaking with a hokey, sixth-grade-reading-level dialect (as though working Americans are too stupid to understand and relate to anything else), Gov. Palin is expecting the American people to swallow the proverbial tripe that she’s qualified potentially for the highest office in the world by virtue of (1) her ability to see Russia, (2) her overseeing of a national guard that might – any day now (whenever Putin “rears his head”) – be called on to defend the U.S. against a highly improbable Russian invasion of Alaska, (3) her recent U.N. coming out party where she, for the first time in her life, met foreign leaders, (4) the fact that her international travel experience is limited to a trip to Kuwait and Germany to visit Alaska National Guard troops – a trip for which she obtained her first passport – last year, and (5) her governance of an oil-rich state. We’re also supposed to ignore the fact that she cannot make it through softball television interviews – for which she had weeks to prepare – without stumbling incoherently through answers to even the simplest of policy questions and getting hopelessly stumped at both the fundamental questions – whether she agrees with the Bush doctrine, and the “gimme” questions – what newspapers she reads.
And after weeks on the campaign trail, she has yet to demonstrate the desire – as Colin Powell put it, the “intellectual curiosity” – to become a student of the serious international and domestic policy issues that she has no comprehension of but seeks to be in charge of. It was appalling that, in her only debate, Gov. Palin excused her inability to answer questions important to the American people by saying “how long have I been at this, like five weeks?” If she cared about anything other than smiling, winking and regurgitating campaign talking points, Palin would have used that “five weeks” to attempt to seriously consider some solutions to our national and international issues.
In that regard, Palin is an insult and a slap in the face to Christians. When stripped of her contrived “qualifications” we are left with a candidate whose only redeeming quality – with regard to the Christian base for whom she was nominated – is that she is a professed Christian who is pro life. And the implication is that Christians are either too stupid, too emotional, or too single-minded to see through her support for our values to the fact that she is woefully unqualified and was selected merely as a pandering tool. Sarah Palin embodies the ultimate betrayal of the trust that we placed in the Republican Party to champion our message.
I am unashamedly pro life and pro traditional marriage. Christ is also, though he would condemn abortion clinic bombers (who, by the way, Ms. Palin, notwithstanding your attempt to dodge the question and pander to the lunatic fringe of your “base”, are terrorists). And though He obviously did not condone the practices of the sinners of His day, Jesus walked among them, rather than separating His followers from them, for to those persons was His ministry.
True, Obama is not pro-life (though he is against gay marriage), but his stance on abortion is conciliatory, rather than divisive: “We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country.” That statement is from hisnomination acceptance speech. Obama is thus sincere enough to admit that though he has a differing opinion with fellow Christians on an important issue, he is willing to work together to solve a potentially divisive problem in a way that may remove the impetus for women to seek abortions. It is that desire to unite and seek common ground rather than divide that separates Obama/Biden from McCain/Palin.
I do not have any messianic delusions about Obama, but his career background and political message indicate that he has tapped into Christ’s message, and that he understands that a leader must be an advocate for all of us, not just those in his voting bloc. Contrast Obama’s message in his national introduction speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention with the divisive message of the Republican Party.
…there’s not a liberal America and a conservative America; there’s the United States of America. There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America. The pundits…like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue States: red states for Republicans, blue States for Democrats. But I’ve got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don’t like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we’ve got some gay friends in the red states. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq, and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America. In the end, that’s what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism, or do we participate in a politics of hope?
Whether it be his early work as a community organizer and civil rights attorney, his achievement of bipartisan support for ethics and healthcare reform and higher tax credits for low-wage workers while in the Illinois Senate, his involvement with police organizations to enact death penalty reforms and seek an end to racial profiling, or his efforts at improving fiscal transparency (on which he received bipartisan support from John McCain, among others), criminalizing voter intimidation and improving healthcare and education while in the U.S. Senate, Obama has a record of bridging divides, reaching across party lines and working to end the social inequalities that plague the ethnically and economically disadvantaged members of our society. That balanced, unifying leadership is the kind of leadership we need in the White House. We need a leader that restores a sense of hope in a unifying purpose for this country.
[P]art of what has been lost these past eight years can’t just be measured by lost wages or bigger trade deficits. What has also been lost is our sense of common purpose, and that’s what we have to restore…. [T]his, too, is part of America’s promise, the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.
Barack Obama, 2008 Democratic Nomination Acceptance Speech
We are a nation of fault lines. The oneness that saw us through the Great Depression and World War II to become the greatest, most powerful and benevolent nation on Earth has been replaced with a fractured society, defined by social discord and plagued by smoldering racial, economic, class and political tensions. We have become a selfish, individualistic, win-at-all-costs society that seems to only recall a unifying purpose in times of national tragedy. While this predicament is not the fault of one political party, no post-Cold War president has yet called Americans to a purpose higher than themselves. And the narrative-stealing “change” agents on the other side have demonstrated that they merely want to help America further dissolve into national obscurity.
As I’ve said before, Barack Obama pledges to change that course, “to bring to our highest office the wisdom, the morals, the ideals and the people necessary to steer the American psyche back on course…to restore in this country a sense of collective purpose and unified destiny.” Having the potential to be more than just a president, Barack is poised to be a transcendent, generational leader both embodying and effectuating reconciliation and restoration. That’s the change we need – a leader who simultaneously calls America back to a time when we were unified in collective pursuit of the “American promise” and forward to a present and future where we can actually attain that promise; a leader committed to genuinely helping the disadvantaged classes in our society achieve equality of opportunity.
These are values Christians can vote for. Obama’s platform calls for providing realistic educational, economic and healthcare opportunities for the poor, for the socially disadvantaged and for the economically distressed workers in our society. Obama’s vision – the veracity of his belief in which is borne out by his record – is for a country where Christians can fellowship with Muslims, where white Americans can break bread with black Americans, where “liberals” can find common ground with “conservatives”. Obama’s pledge is to restore America as a beacon of light for the world. This platform represents a more holistic cross-section of Christian values; for while Christians will not (and should not) agree with every stance taken by another social or religious group, our ministry is to the world and, thus, our political focus should be on electing leaders who not only advocate a broad swath of our values – thereby exhibiting our values to the world – but also effectuate restorative policies that will help those most in need. The time has come to do away with politics that pander to one of our values while employing rhetoric that spawns division and hatred and policies that do the most harm. The time has come for change. This is Barack Obama’s time.”

Waiting Room

Chris — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:30:28 +0000

Songs have particular meanings for me. Some more than others. This one really speaks of where I am at right now.

waiting room

by shane barnard

i will run when i cannot walk
i will sing when there is no song
i will pray when there is no prayer
i will listen when i cannot hear

sitting in the waiting room of silence
waiting for that still soft voice i know
offering my words up to the rooftop to Your heart
trusting that this closet’s where You are

Lord i know if i change my mind
You will change my heart in time
Sovereign Lord this time’s from You
so i sit in the waiting room of silence
cause its all about You

i will fight when i cannot feel
i will trust when You dont seem real
i will tell when i cannot speak
i will step when i cannot see

Wait.

Chris — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:00:59 +0000

I will wait for You patiently
Praying from my deepest point of need

I was listening to this song called ‘Wait’ by a band called By the Tree this evening. This song is pretty old, but wow this is where I am at right now. Its been a long two months and the search continues for a job. I am kinda to the point where I’m like…ok, now what? What do I do? Its a tough time right now for a lot of people, I am sure I am not the only one. I know God has something for me and am just trying to continue to trust Him. I guess if it were easier, well, I probably wouldn’t be so trusting of God eh?

I’m not at Catalyst, but wish I was :: Unity

Chris — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:00:00 +0000

Brad Ruggles writes a live blog of an overview of what Dave Ramsey spoke on at Catalyst (In Atlanta, GA) this week. I am neither a pastor or have my own church. I do however have a interest in church leadership, churches, etc. I’ve also been apart of a church that spoke a lot about unity, buy never did much about it. What Brad writes here resonates with my so well.

Brads notes are as follows:

Unity is a spiritual happening. You have to be very intentional about creating unity. It doesn’t just occur.

Few churches or organizations experience real unity.

There are 5 Main Enemies of Unity:

Poor Communication
Gossip
Unresolved Disagreements
Lack of Shared Purpose
Sanctioned Incompetence

Poor Communication
Poor communication can take many forms, but when the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing, strife sets in. you have to work to create communication.

Gossip
Gossip is degrading and will destroy a church or organization.

A successful leader develops and maintains a culture in which negatives arehanded up and positives are handed down.

By definition, gossip is when a negative is discussed with anyone who can’t help solve the problem.

Unresolved Disagreements
Unresolved disagreements happen when a leader doesn’t know they exist or when that leader avoids confrontation. When you don’t deal with your “stuff” your stuff gets bigger.

Confrontation
Sometimes Christians avoid confrontation in the name of being “nice”. That’s not nice, that’s wimpy.

A little confrontation cleanses the wound and allows the parties to go forward in a spirit of unity.

When you are aware there are hurt feelings and/or disagreements, act quickly and decisively. Nobody ever killed anything by saying, “Ready, aim, aim, aim, aim….”

Lack of Shared Purpose
Lack of shared purpose is caused when a leader doesn’t restate the goal, the vision and the mission early and often.

Sanctioned Incompetence
It has been said that sanctioned incompetence demoralizes. When you allow someone to goof-off, not execute, or live up to their potential, you damage your witness.

Team members will eventually eventually become demotivated when someone else on the team can’t or won’t do their job and a leader will not take action.

For the sake of unity in the entire group the leader must go to battle early and often with any of these enemies of unity

When unity is valued in the culture, the team will also act to keep these enemies at the gate.

The Coldest of Hearts.

Chris — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:00:00 +0000

Preface: I don’t mean to offend anyone. Specifically family members who may read this, just making it clear that it is my response to things in life.

The other night I was reading through a book that I read a few years ago. It deals with specific relationships and it got my mind thinking about something I’ve thought about several times over the past. I finally wrote down some of my thoughts. So here it is.

I’ve contemplated this a few times in the past, but never really put into words the thoughts and feelings I’ve had toward this. This ever growing coldness in my heart. It seems it has manifested itself in ways and in area’s I only see on rare glimpses. And yet I know it consumes me. I’ve seen how it changes me and how I don’t reach out or care for others. So much from my past: Family, Some friends, work….church. I’ve put this guard of fear of being hurt, of apathy and lack of concern for others, up. I’ve been hurt, bruised, and beaten. My heart was so open, so willing to reach out to others, to serve and love. Coldness creeped in. Coldness took over and has consumed this beating heart. My flame has dwindled and I believe has died out. I’m calous and numb. I only seem to feel pain. Somehow I know I can not change this. Only He can warm this coldest of heart.

Howdy Partner

Chris — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:00:06 +0000

This is my crazy nephew, who lives back in PA. His mom (my sister) sent this video to me yesterday. Apparently he was bored and wanted to make me a video. This is it. I miss picking on this guy. Enjoy.

Hi I’m Toby Flenderson

Chris — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:52:47 +0000

In celebration for tonight’s premiere I figured I’d see which Office character I am. Who are you? I’m super excited about tonight’s episode and can’t wait! Hopefully the writers strike doesn’t interfere again this year.

What NBC “The Office” character are you? Your Result: Toby Flenderson You are a mild mannered, likable person and have a bunch of friends, but you still seem to get left out. Maybe it is because you have low self esteem and often see things as “the glass is half empty”. However, you know what your responsibilities are and get them done. You are a stickler for rules and will make sure things are done right (even if it means a little persecution for you). You are thoughtful and really love your family. “Technically, I am in Human Resources, and Dwight was asking me about human anatomy. Um… I’m just sad the public school system failed him so badly.”
Ryan Howard
Jim Halpert
Angela Martin
Kelly Kapoor
Dwight Kurt Schrute
Pam Beesly
Michael Scott
What NBC “The Office” character are you? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Decoding Culture

Chris — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 16:00:40 +0000

This article is from about a year and a half ago over at Mark Battersons blog. I am finally getting around to sharing it. Mark has great insight and appreciate his ministry in Washington D.C. Here is the article.

Church Steeples

There was a time, just a few centuries ago, when nautical maps of Europe had legends that included the location of churches on land and church steeples doubled as navigational tools for ship captains. Churches were typically built on choice real estate in the center of town or atop the highest hill. And in some places, there were ordinances against building anything taller than the church steeple so it would occupy the place closest to heaven. Nothing was more visible on the pre-modern skyline than church steeples. And in a sense, church steeples symbolized the place of the church in culture. There was a day, in the not too distant past, when church was the center of culture. Church was the place to go. Church wasthe thing to do. Nothing was more visible than the church steeple. Nothing was more audible than the church bells. And it might be a slight exaggeration, but all the pre-modern church had to do was raise a steeple and ring a bell.

Is it safe to say that things have changed?

The church no longer enjoys a cultural monopoly. We are the minority in post-Christian America. And the significance of that is this: we can’t afford to do church the way it’s always been done.Our tactics must change.

Don’t get me wrong: the message is sacred. But methods are not. And the moment we anoint our methods as sacred, we stop creating the future and start repeating the past. We stop doing ministry out of imagination and start doing ministry out of memory. And if we think that raising the steeple or ringing the bells will get the job done; the church in America will end up right where the Israelites found themselves in Judges 2:10:

After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.

Permission to speak frankly?

Too many pastors are getting As in Biblical exegesis and Ds incultural exegesis. We know Scripture, but we’re out of touch with the times. The end result is a gap between theology and reality called irrelevance. We’re out of touch with the very people we’re trying to reach–the unchurched and dechurched. We’ve got to exegete our culture so we can close the gap. That’s what incarnation is all about.

The post-Christian church needs a revelation: irrelevance is irreverence!

Church and Culture

As I see it, the church has four options when it comes to engaging culture: 1) ignore it, 2) imitate it, 3) condemn it, or 4) create it. And each option leads in polar opposite directions.

We can ignore culture, but the byproduct of ignorance is irrelevance. The more we ignore culture the more irrelevant we’ll become. And if the church ignores the culture, the culture will ignore the church.

We can imitate culture, but imitation is a form of suicide. Originality is sacrificed on the altar of cultural conformity. If we don’t shape the culture, the culture will shape us.

We can condemn culture, but condemnation is a cop out. Let me just call it what it is: condemnation is spiritual laziness. We’ve got to stop pointing the finger and start offering better alternatives. If the church condemns the culture, the culture will condemn the church.

Those three options will lead the church down a dead-end road to irrelevance, but there is another option–the only option if we’re serious about fulfilling the Great Commission and incarnating the gospel. We can compete for culture by creating culture.

In the immortal words of the Italian artist and poet, Michelangelo:criticize by creating.

At the end of the day, the culture will treat the church the way the church treats the culture. And we’re not called to condemn. We’re called to redeem.

Cultural Capital

Let me confront an issue spiritual leaders face: it is difficult todemand attention if we don’t pay attention. If we talk without listening, what we have to say is viewed as a diatribe. And we’ll keepanswering questions no one is asking!

A few years ago someone paid me a surprising compliment that caught me off guard. They thanked me for quoting non-Biblical sources in my messages. No one had ever commented on that component of my communication, but that compliment has become part of my philosophy of preaching. I love to read and I’m interested in just about everything, so it’s not uncommon for me to quote anyone from Aristotle and Heraclites to Gladwell and Goleman. And what I realized is this. Quoting Scripture gives me credibility with Christians. Quoting non-Biblical sources gives me credibility with non-Christians. And while our non-biblical sources should never be unbiblical, we have to recognize that cross pollinating with non-theological disciplines gives us cultural capital.

Every year we do two series titled God @ the Billboard and God @ the Box Office that explore spiritual themes in popular songs and movies. The reason is simple: the sixty percent of Americans who don’t attend church get their theology from movies and music. For better or for worse, musicians and movie makers are the chief theologians in our culture.

In the prophetic words of the eighteenth century Scottish thinker, Andrew Fletcher: “Give me the making of the songs of a nation and I care not who writes its laws.”

Our culture is shaped, even more than we realize, by the movies we watch and the music we listen to. And we have a choice. We can ignore them. We can condemn them. Or we can dialogue about them. God @ the Box Office and God @ the Billboards are attempts toexegete the movies and music that are shaping the cultural consciousness of nearly two hundred million unchurched Americans. We exegete the scripts and lyrics and juxtapose them with Scripture. And while a series on movies or music may sound like watered-downor dumbed-down versions of the gospel, they are actually two of our hardest hitting sermon series because movies and music are brutally honest about the human condition.

We need to get serious about exegeting culture and finding spiritual identification points. We need to redeem cultural metaphors to communicate the gospel. Isn’t that what Jesus did as a parabolist? He framed truth in ways that fit within the cognitive categories of his listeners. It was intellectual incarnation.

If we choose to ignore the culture around us, we aren’t following in the footsteps of Jesus. We’re only digging our own grave andburying ourselves alive.