I asked Austin to guest blog for me. The question I asked him was: “What has God been teaching you lately?” Here is his response:

“I have been reading a lot about the beginning of the church. It is really incredible for me how these people stayed in Jerusalem just like they were told by Jesus and waiting for the Holy Spirit. As I read through this in the beginning of Acts, it really hit me just how incredible this must have been for these people. Here they were sitting together just waiting for the Holy Spirit to come over them. I have never ran track before but I am sure it was just like that for the apostles. They had their feet all ready to go and they were just waiting to burst out with energy and excitement. That is what I imagine it was like for the apostles, all of them waiting in a room with a tremendous excitement for what was to happen. They knew when the Holy Spirit came upon them it was like the gun had sounded. All of a sudden they would be able to go out and share the gospel. And they did just that.

Acts 2:6-7, “They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” I love this passage so much I just think that would be the most amazing thing to see. The Holy Spirit sure did come into them but in an incredible way. And what is even more incredible is what they were able to do after that. They spoke in people’s own language. They didn’t need Rosetta Stone. They had the Holy Spirit. And God gave the Holy Spirit to the apostles at the perfect time. Pentecost, the Jewish harvest festival, requires all the Jew’s to come and give their 10% to God. Now just as all the Jews are in Jerusalem, they are able to hear the truth of Jesus in their own language.

Once I finished reading this passage it helped me to realize that I can speak to my non-Christian friends about Christ because I have the Holy Spirit with me. Even though I might not have a “tongue of fire on my head” I have a renewed energy to go out and help those who need Him.  And I know He will give me the words to say when the time comes.” — Austin

Jeremy: Tell us something odd/unique about you.
Nate: The older I get, the more I like hats.  My wife says it’s a sign of dementia, and I’m beginning to think she might be right.

Jeremy: Do you think people are born leaders or develop into leaders?
Nate: I think God gives each of us at least one leadership-related skill, and under certain circumstances our leadership is needed. Unfortunately, the systemic insanity of this fallen world causes a few of us to conclude that we are omnipotent, and the rest of us to lapse into passivity.

Jeremy: How can people put themselves into a position to influence culture?
Nate: Show up in the culture as a friend, not a critic. Love people. Appreciate beauty. Commit to excellence. Serve others well, regardless of their religious pedigree.

Jeremy: Why are you a follower of Jesus Christ?
Nate: It feels like Jesus keeps tracking me down. I follow him, but poorly. Most of the time He follows me. Sometimes I wish he’d leave me alone.

Jeremy: What do you do personally to fuel your spiritual life?
Nate: Some people thrive on solitude, but I tend to daydream (or worse) when I’m alone. What really fuels my spiritual life is getting together with other Christian guys and telling the truth about my life.

Jeremy: What is your hope for the future of the Church in America?
Nate: I’m encouraged by the declining political power of the Church, and the disinterest that younger believers are showing in seizing control of society for Christ.  Jesus himself refused to seek or accept political control during his earthly ministry, choosing instead to launch a revolution of a radically different kind.  In some parts of the American church, at least, I think the revolution is getting back on track.

Jeremy: Should we abandon the use of the word “Christian” for a better term? If so, what?
Nate: Changing our name feels like a superficial solution to me — kind of like a floundering restaurant deciding to change its name but not its menu. Christians certainly have a serious PR problem, but I think the better way for us to tackle it is to: 1) admit that it’s mostly our own fault, and 2) starting acting more like Christ and less like the Taliban.

Jeremy: What blogs/websites do you regularly check?
Nate: Only yours. (wink wink)

Jeremy: Which books have shaped your thinking?
Nate: Mmmmm. I’m always reading, and my thinking is always in flux. Looking back, the books that stand out at this moment are: The Pursuit of Excellence (Peters and Waterman) Compassion and Self-Hate (Rubin), The Road Less Traveled (Peck), Les Miserables (Hugo), The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (Wilson), Blue Like Jazz (Miller), Memoir from Antproof Case (Helprin), and The Safest Place on Earth (Crabb).

Jeremy: What music moves you?
Nate: I’m a fan of old-school country: Cash, Kristofferson, Willie, and Tom T. Hall.

Jeremy: Any other thoughts or advice?
Nate: I think it’s time for me to meet a guy for coffee.

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Kimeron: “My first response would have to be the assumptions that people make about me or other gay people based only on stereotypes or characters from TV or the movies. For example, not all gay people cross dress, or are sexually promiscuous, or are anti-religion. We are individuals just like not all straight people have affairs or get divorced. It is awkward and uncomfortable when people make assumptions about me, which requires sometimes taking a light-hearted moment and making it serious because I need to speak up and counter the impression that person has. Listening to jokes about gay people, even if not intended to be hurtful, but that perpetuate a stereotype is very uncomfortable.  Jokes, for example, where the person mocks effeminate men or masculine women, suggest to me that the person telling it is not comfortable around gays or is incredibly insensitive to the possibility that someone they know or love might be offended.

Other more obvious ways that people can create an uncomfortable situation is by asking questions that assume the person you just met is straight. I am asked frequently about my “wife” because I wear a wedding band as a symbol of my commitment to Brad. It creates a moment of awkwardness, especially if I don’t know the person, because I have to decide whether to bring up the issue for discussion (which I may not want to do in every social setting) or to avoid answering, etc. It’s much simpler if the person just says “what does your partner do?”.  I know it takes some getting used to when you first start using the term “partner”, but actually I’ve found that in California many people use this term I think because of the many varieties of relationships out here (including heterosexual couples who may not be married, or are domestic partners, or are just dating, etc.).  Not inviting my partner to dinners or social events is another way that can be unintentional, but is unfair and hurtful.

There’s an excellent book written by Episcopal bishop John Shelby Spong called ‘Living in Sin:  A Bishop Rethinks Human Sexuality’ that I read some years ago that was just an amazing blessing to me. Rev. Spong is himself heterosexual, but believes that many Christians have missed the boat on ministering to the human sexuality side of us all. He talks about for example how the church has rites to bless marriages (of straight people), but has no formal form of ritual to help people deal with divorce. He also believes strongly that dogmatically rejecting gay people based on a few Biblical passages that may or may not actually mean what we think they mean, is wrong. His other significant book to me personally is called ‘Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism.’”