Matthew Paul Turner grew up in a fundamentalist Christian church, a place where people did strange things, like destroy secular music CDs, or stage theatrical, WWE-style smack-downs during which the pastor would taunt someone dressed in a Satan costume while the rest of the congregation cheered. If that weren’t strange enough, the pastor would make off-the-wall proclamations, such as, “a man’s hair should be tapered up the sides and in the back,” because Jesus didn’t have long hair, and anyone who thought he did was in cahoots with homosexual lobbyists. “Jesus was all man,” the pastor said.

There were two streams of thought that ran throughout Turner’s upbringing: the first being that the outside world was evil; and the second being that someone (or some thing)—the devil, Democrats, Disney, Hollywood, the ACLU, Catholics, tobacco, alcohol—were out to destroy Bible-believing evangelicals. Evil was around every corner, the world was going up in flames, and it was up to the redeemed to stand firm.

Out of this bizarre milieu, a writer was born. Turner didn’t know he was a writer at first. Not until after graduating from college and working a series of odd jobs, including waiter, factory worker, and manager of a Christian coffee shop in his home state of Virginia, did he even begin to put his church experiences down on paper. But put them down he did, eventually developing a reputation as an irreverent commentator on culture and faith and the bizarre ways that the two intersect. For instance, Turner’s first book, The Christian Culture Survival Guide (Relevant Books, 2004), was a quirky tome in which he explored evangelicalism’s propensity to churn out products and pop stars.

Today, Turner, 34, is the author of ten books and a contributor to several others. He is also the former editor of CCM, a popular Christian music magazine, and a past contributor to crosswalk.com. Yet of all his essays, books and articles, Turner’s latest—Churched: One Kids Journey Toward God Despite a Holy Mess (Waterbrook Press, 2008)—is the work he points to as being the most authentically connected to who he is as a writer. That’s because the book—more a collection of essays than a standard memoir—delves into his painful experiences with fundamentalism and how they affected who he is today. “Faith involves every aspect of your life. Even the most shallow person becomes changed by it, hurt by it, or finds freedom in it,” Turner says. “And I was a kid who felt everything and wore my emotions on my sleeve. I soaked everything in.”

Turner—who, unbeknownst to much of the reading public, is a deeply sincere, painfully thoughtful person—is best known for his Jon Stewart-caliber sarcasm, and Churched has it in full measure. While he hopes that his tongue-and-cheek style never glosses over the painful realities of life, Turner says humor is “a healing thing, and also something that you can combat fear with.” It seems to be working. After growing up in a environment so legalistic that Turner recalls smokers being relegated to hell by his fellow church members, he now says it’s no longer God he’s afraid of, but rather “the god with the copyright trademark, the manufactured god we’ve come up with in America.”

Turner recognizes people’s propensity to create God in their own image, and the evil and hurt that often result from such solipsism, but he still looks back on certain aspects of his fundamentalist childhood with fondness: the way people cared for one another, or the warm, homespun talks his father gave to his Sunday school class about being faithful people. Turner says that as he gets older, everything in the world seems more complex—more gray than black and white—and so it’s perhaps not surprising that even fundamentalists are often more complex than the caricatures they’re made out to be.

Yet in the end, writing about his childhood in all its complexity is about rejecting the fear that too often ran through Turner’s life and faith, and still creeps in. “When you were introduced to God by way of hell, that’s a springboard into a pit of being afraid on various levels of life; whether that’s afraid of getting in trouble or afraid of failing or afraid of revealing the real you,” Turner says. “Probably in the process of writing this book even, I realized that some of my closest friends don’t really know me because I’m afraid, and only recently I’ve been able to open up. I hope people who read this book ask, ‘Does my truth make me free, or does it make me lie?’ Truth will always set us free.”

The above bio was written by Cameron Conant

David Hayward goes by ‘The Naked Pastor”.  To know why you need to listen.  He’s really following God’s word, and this time around the Caffeinated Crew get down and get serious.  This is one of the most inspiring, raw, incredible podcasts I’ve ever recorded, and I hope the guys would say the same.

David is a pastor, an artist, a writer, and a follower of Jesus Christ. Other than being Canadian, he is amazing.  I would highly recommend going and reading some of his stuff, looking at some of his art, or his T-shirts, and possibly making a purchase.  I hope you like what you hear, and don’t forget to call, leave a comment, or e-mail!

Community.  If I have a prayer that I’ve been praying, and I’m to pray unceasingly, how do I do this?

Perhaps that’s where community comes in?  If I ask you to pray for me. Maybe you’ll be praying for me in a time where I cease.  Maybe I fell asleep, got caught up in the day to day mess, or maybe I am even just feeling distant from God.

What’s scary is we can throw out the “I’m praying for you.” so easily, on later to be dismissing it, forgetting to, or just not meaning it at all.  This is a pretty big deal.  Praying for someone and not, could be the difference between unceasing and ceasing.  I know that’s a stretch, but my belief is Jesus put a pretty huge focus on community for a reason.  I do believe, with all of my heart, we were called to community, not to talk the controversy, not to talk about the other person is doing wrong, but to support each other, and help each other grow unceasingly.  I believe a big part of this is prayer.

Unceasingly praying is not something that is easy.  It’s not something to take lightly.  It’s not something to dismiss as, “I’m just not good at prayer.” or, “He never listens anyway.”.  It’s something to work towards, unceasingly, until you are there.  And when you fall, work at it again, until you are there again.  

Thoughts?

Have you ever heard the phrase “Speak it into existence”?  I still am not 100% sure what that means.  But I know this, when I say things enough, it happens.  Especially things like, “Today is going to be a horrible day.” I don’t know that the day is actually horrible, or if that’s what I’ve placed in my mind/heart.

When I repeat a phone number, I memorize it.

So, what do I repeat, with my mouth, or in my mind to count as constant prayer? I don’t know the answer to that question, so I did what I know how to do.  I Googled it.  I simply typed “Jesus Prayer”.  The first result was Wikipedia, so I clicked on it, I found this.  It actually talks about Hesychasm, which I think means silent prayer, or something like that.  Not really sure.  Anyway. Turns out the “Jesus Prayer” is “Κύριε Ιησού Χριστέ, Υιέ του Θεού, ελέησόν με τον αμαρτωλόν” or “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

I started repeating this, whenever I can. (Yesterday)  I still do.  In my mind, mumble it out loud. whatever I can do.  I think the idea I have is, if I repeat this, it will embed itself into my heart. To where, my heartbeat will cry out, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!”  It seems like a far fetch.  It seems like it’s  a desperate attempt, which is what makes me believe it will work.

Another one I’ve been repeating is simply, “The Lord is my Shepherd.”  Repeating. Repeating, like a drum a rhythm in my body.  The more I repeat it, the more the imagery of that becomes real.  The more Jesus Christ actually being a Shepherd is a reality in my life.  Insane.  The reality shatters my soul.  The idea of declaring that, and that being embedded in my soul is really crazy.  I find myself, in moments of silence, realizing that instead of that song stuck in my head, I may mumble “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” or “The Lord is my Shepherd”.   I can’t say any real change has happened in the past few days, but I can say that I feel a little better.

I can say that, at least, in my mind, I have a prayer, that I try to repeat as much as possible.  My hope is that this prayer, will play in my mind like music enough to move to, and embed itself into my heart….. Unceasingly.

Ok. I’m just kidding.  Jon Acuff has written a great book called “Stuff Christians Like”, named after his blog.  He was a great guest and rolled with the punches.  He has a blog, that you can find here, and you can order his book here.  We’re hoping to have him on again here shortly.

We thought we’d give away a copy of his book. It’s our first givaway!!  So here’s how you enter to win.

1. Follow us on Twitter (@caffeinefaith)
2. tweet this:  Win a copy of ‘Stuff Christians Like’ by @prodigaljohn.  Just RT this and Follow @caffeinefaith to win http://bit.ly/ddroWl“.

The contest starts immediately, and will end Sunday, July 11th, and 11:59 pm.

We interview Andrew Marin, and talk about homosexuality in the church.  Jesus’ call for us to love EVERYONE, and a ton of other stuff.

You can follow max on twitter here, facebook, or read his blog Nu-Fit.

Thanks everyone!!!

Suomi’s songwriting ability is something that music has needed for quite some time.  He cuts away the cheesy crap about “he said, she said” junk that you keep finding weak-ass bands puking up all over the radio & TV.  There’s nothing cookie-cutter, over-produced, or pretty about his music and that’s exactly why I’ve been drawn in to it.  Because it’s real.  It’s  deep.  It’s thought provoking.  Finally, there’s no big lights and big-show facade to hide behind like we see on shows like American Idol.  Here’s a man with his guitar & a story to tell.

Suomi can play the guitar as well as he writes lyrics.  When I hear him play, I can’t help but hear little movements maybe borrowed from Hank Williams, or Chet Atkins.  Then there are times you might catch a hint of Dylan or Taylor.  Then there’s the angst of a Neil Young.  It’s really diverse and matches his lyrics perfectly.  For this EP, you’ll hear a range of different instruments.  On 2/3 songs you hear a piano.  And not just any studio piano.  Reminds me of an old harpsichord or one of those player pianos you’d see in an old Western.  It adds such an interesting layer to the music.

What struck me immediately after listening to this EP is that there’s an overwhelming theme of honesty throughout the record.  It’s as if Suomi is sharing the deep parts and wanderings of his soul with us; a portrait which seems central to Suomi’s music.

Let’s talk tracks.  My favorite of the 3?  My numero uno favorite is the third track, “The Lion, The Ram, and the Fish”.  I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more honest monologue written about life.  The first time I heard this song I was near tears because it’s a lot of what I’ve always wanted to say or hear from other people…just an honest explanation of how we all fail at life and what remains true and constant.  Loved it.  I will probably never be able to write how good that song is.  After that, track 2, “Burn the Pain” really tickled my fancy.  Honest lyrics, excellent composition & arrangement, and overall, just the kind of song you want to sing along with…in fact, one night me & 2 of my friends found ourselves sitting around a guitar singing it!

Suomi reminds me of a more polished, less seasoned Neil Young.  In fact, whenever I listen to his records, I’m always transported to a different time when the singer/songwriter reigned supreme.  As far as I can tell, we may see that time again with guys like Damion Suomi leading the charge.  This EP is a brilliant showcase of what’s to come for Suomi’s sophomore release on Panda.  Looking forward to it.

5/5 Cups of Coffee!  Good to the last drop!!

Now, on to WHAT’S BREWING!  In the most recent front, we should have a review of Damion Suomi’s newest EP, Damion Suomi Needs a Little Water up and available for reading.  If you’ve never listened to Damion’s music you should check him out on iTunes or at his label’s website, P is for Panda Records, there you’ll see that ‘Panda Records is doing something more than just putting out great music.  Their motto: Music+Art+Charity.  Not only do they produce great music and t-shirts, but they also donate a portion of the earnings from each shirt or album to a charity of the artist’s choice…talk about giving back!!  Wonder if they’d do something for our efforts to raise money for Hope Chest!?

LET’S GET PHYSICAL, PHYSICAL!

That’s right!  Our upcoming podcast interview this weekend (05.16) will be with Max Barry, CPT and founder of Nu-Fit.net Max is a Certified Personal Trainer, Nutritional Consultant, Wellness GURU, and all around great guy!  We’re excited to have him on and have a chance for all of us to learn from Max, how we can experience OPTIMUM WELLNESS!  Please make sure you visit his site at Nu-Fit.net and follow him on twitter at @Nu_Fit.

There are girls who are pregnant in this world today.  They are pregnant, and being sold as sex slaves, and because they’re pregnant, the guys selling them are making more money.  Because they are pregnant, they are appeasing a fetish.  Because they are pregnant.

When they aren’t pregnant anymore, these children’s children are abandoned, or also raised into a life of sex trafficking.  This happens all over the world, but one of the highest rates of something like this happening happens in Moldova.  There are girls, starting around the age of 12 years old, being sold for sex.  Sometimes, they will sew their hymen, because they can make more money for a virgin.

These girls aren’t any different than any 12 year old you may know, except for the fact that they were born, a lot of times, out of a result of prostitution.  They never had the childhood we were blessed to have, and now, they’re trapped, being held captive, and being sold as objects.  They’re being passed from man to man, kept in a brothel, having their dignity stripped, their hymen sewed, and their innocence taken, day in and day out.

I’m not talking about once or twice a day here guys, I’m talking about 20 or 3o times a day.  A DAY!  So, how can we help?  Head on over to http://www.nicolewick.com/2010/05/stopping-the-secret/ and read all about Children’s HopeChest.  If you don’t have time to head over there today, simply click the image below and give.  $1.00, $2.00, whatever you can.  Every single penny helps.

$1,200 will finish renovation on the group counseling area.

$14,500 will provide an addition onto the building that will serve as an individual counseling area.

Listen to the Podcast here, or Download on iTunes:

Wrong.

There are more slaves today than ever before in the history of humans.  MORE.  The industry makes an estimated $32 billion a year.  That’s more than Starbucks, Nike and Google combined! 

How does this happen? 

A lot of different ways.  A woman desperate to escape poverty is promised a new life in America.  She accepts the offer, and next thing she knows she’s in a brothel.  A young man’s parents were killed in a war.  Next thing you know, he’s snorting cocaine and fighting a grown man’s war.  A young lady was proposed to.  She goes to get married, and ends up a slave to her ‘husband’.  A parent, husband or boyfriend, in efforts to make some money sell thier girls into it.  Not just mature grown women.  I’m talking 6-death.  The average age is 12 years old, but can start as young as 6. 

A lot of times they will force these women into using drugs, (Which probably isn’t difficult, as it offers some sort of escape) so, when/if someone tries to rescue them, they have withdrawels, and go back to their pimp/drug supplier/the only thing they know.  Women are sold and forced to sleep with men 20 – 60 times a day!  When they’re younger, their hymens are sewed, to remain ‘virgins’ because that brings in more money. 

Where in the world does this happen?  All over.  Atlanta is the number 1 city in America.  But sits at #8 for the entire world.  They are kidnapped, and flown to America.  They are kept under the radar in brothels, in your backyard.  This could be happening just five minutes away from your house.  Yet, we sit comfortably by and ignore it.  Knowledge is power, yet we choose ignorance, because it’s bliss.  Now you know.  You can sit on this.  Odds are good, if you live near a major city, or an airport of any kind, this is happening.  What does our country do about this?  Well, typically, instead of going after the big dogs, we arrest the 17/18 year old girl.  Get her bail and fine money, which is chump change to her pimp, and don’t offer her any help, we just send her back out to the street to be raped, beaten, abused, tortured emotionally and physically. 

Do you watch porn?  Did you know that over half of the porn on the internet today is actually a guy with a video camera and a hundred bucks to buy this girl?  Did you know that he’s recording these slaves, and then charging you to watch them on the internet.   Did you know, that your hunger for porn is helping fund the demand for sex slavery?  My guess is you had never thought about that. 

There are thousands of places you can go to help fight this.  There are places all over the internet.  Here at the Caffeinated Faith studio, we will be posting links, advertisements, and talking about it at least once a week.  This is something we all feel very strongly about, and 3 of us have little girls of our own, and can’t imagine something like this happening to them.  Please think about this, and spread the word.  The world needs to know about the biggest slave trade in history happening right behind our backs.

This episode we look at our upcoming interviews, talk about our newest edition to the show, Scott Finn, and take a look back at some classic moments in CaffeinatedFaith.com podcasts, including the ever illusive clip that includes a friend, a hamster, Andy and his dead mom.

They say that laughter is the best medicine.  Well…. you can throw away your pills, because we have all the medicine you need…….

ok. You better keep your pills, just in case.  (Michael Scott Reference)

So, grab a cup of coffee, sit back, relax, and enjoy. 

- CF.com Team

P.S. Please… Please…. feel free to comment.

We talk about Mega Churches, Haters, T-shirts, touring, adoption, family, intentional relationships, our mothers and…. Jesus.  Oh, and of course, we talked about Andy’s love for Ellen.

During the Podcast we talked about a blog that Carlos put up 2 years ago on Easter.  You can find that exact blog here.

Carlos is a down to earth man, who really has a heart for worshiping Jesus Christ.  What he’s doing with online networking, his music, and his attention to family is admirable.

Listen to Carlos Whittaker’s Podcast here.  If you like what you hear, subscribe to our podcast on iTunes:

Last week we interviewed Nicole Wick of nicolewick.com who’s a blogger and speaker who deals directly with families who are affected by Porn Addiction.  She’s awesome!  Be sure to check out her blog and comment.

Here ya go!

–Adam, Andy & Brad

Listen here, or download the podcast.

Brad went to a Starbucks.

Brad picked up some guy and brought him home.

No Really – he did.  James was a total stranger. But as it turns out – he’s an AMAZING photographer.  You can see his work -here.

Now, be sure to hang around for the very end of this one. You get to hear Andy rant about a Twitter attack – AND his tribute to the late-great Patrick Swayze.