TRANSFORMISSION...

Redemption...

2011-01-17T14:29:00.002-06:00

I watched the program last night about Ted Haggard and his movement from pastor to pariah and back to pastor again. There is a cynical part of me that wants to judge him, but seeing as how I basically found myself in similar circumstances, I feel like that would be totally stoopid of me to do.

I believe in redemption and restoration and I believe that Pastors have just as much right to be broken as everyone else. True, when a pastor falls, they should have to deal with the consequences and in some cases those consequences mean stepping away from their ministry for a season, and all together in some cases. HOWEVER, I do believe that those who ask us to step away should always have in mind the end goal of restoration and those who do step away permanently should only do so in such cases that they do not meet the end goals of restoration as set forth by those that oversee that process...

But the question for me is, what happens if, like I believe Ted Haggard was, what happens if the leaders who ask you to step away do not oversee a restoration process for you and with you?

For some time now I have been involved with a Church, and its leaders, and have been watched closely and pastored over in such a way that I am being entrusted once again with ministry. For me, this process has taken years and is not something that has happened quickly. Nothing about my life is not known by the leaders at my Church, and I am grateful that they stepped up to me in this manner because it shows to me that:

They believe in me and my calling as a pastor...
They believe EVERYONE can be restored...

But there is still a nagging question: Am I just one of the lucky ones?

I mean, I am confident in Ted's restoration, but it came about for him totally in spite of, and in no way attended to by New Life, the Church he planted? No one was there for him accept his wife whom I believe pastored over him and helped him, and his professional therapist. But where were the followers of Jesus in his life? Where was his Church?

Sadly, they were absent...and that is usually the case and that is sad...

For me, my road is still long...but at least now, I get to start doing something that I love and feel I am uniquely gifted for.

As such, the Youth Ministry at State Street Community Church, "State of Youth" gets started on Wed with the "Wednesday Night Thing"...I feel like I am back now...

Back...

2010-12-30T15:07:00.001-06:00

Hoping to be back and writing more soon....my soul is starting to starve in a dead end Job, that while being a great service to the community, is not a great service to the person I am called to be in Christ.

Christmas Music...

2008-12-20T13:17:00.003-06:00

I don't really like much Christmas music out there. It's not that I don't like the message of Jesus, or the warm happy fuzzy thoughts that Christmas music contains, but I often wonder: What is it about Christmas music that makes us think that we only have to get into, I mean really get deeply invested in the message of Jesus everyday?

This is a common argument, and I am sure you have all heard it before so it's not really anything breathtakingly provocative. But in a strange sense it is. Everyone would agree, even atheists and people who don't have any investment in Christmas from a religious perspective, that we should get away from the:
consumerism...
selfishness...
gluttony of spirit...
etc...
of what is typical of the Christmas season and get back to trying to be a person of character, charity, kindness, servanthood etc... on a daily basis. Everyone would agree that what embodies the Christmas spirit, should in fact be the spirit of life itself. That we should daily be striving to be the kinds of people who are giving of themselves and that we should always be living in a trajectory that seeks to build people up, not build ourselves up.

Just a thought...

ManHood...or something like that

2008-12-06T14:46:00.003-06:00

We had a great discussion last night at Celebrate Recovery about Manhood, and what it means to be a good Godly husband.

With all the struggles that we have in life, I think that when we reach the age where marriage is in the cards for us, the struggle of being a husband can either be the most rewarding or the most damaging to us. In my own life, for some reason the struggle to be a good husband, to truly love my wife beyond all malice, is the hardest thing in the world to do. Why is that?

For me, I am still struggling with the fact that because of my upbringing, I don't know what a good husband, much less a Godly one, looks like. To be fair, I can look at those in our Churches who have successful marriages and ask for advice, but in the end its all just words isn't it? And I can't really trust the appearance of success in their marriages because people are notorious for being fake.

Am I being cynical? Probably...but that really isn't the right question to ask. The more appropriate question is: am I right? Again, the answer is probably.

So how does one learn from "words"?

One thing that I know to be true in all of us when it comes to being a husband is that the real issue is an issue that our relationship with God is not right. So regardless of all reasons and rationalizations, I need to pursue God first and foremost if I am to be a good husband.

So here is to seeking God...again.

Hurry up and wait...

2008-11-28T11:19:00.002-06:00

That seems to be the motto for the Army...which I already knew. I rejoined the Army National Guard in August, after laboring over the decision for nearly a year. My recruiter was pretty cool, but I did feel like I was hurried to get in and now I am having to deal with fixing issues that were not handled correctly when I enlisted.

1: I was promised, based on my college credit and time served that I would re-enter as an E-3, which is a private first class. When I left in 93 I was an E-5 SGT. I had only been that for a few months though before leaving. To be honest, I think that they only gave me that rank to encourage me to re-enlist. Well, since I re-entered I have been getting paid as an E-1 because somewhere or another my transcripts and other paperwork got ginked up somewhere.

2: I have been trying to create my AKO account, which is my military email, and pay information, and basically a portal to everything I would need to know in the Army to get benefits etc... BUT...what is called my Pay Grade Entry Date is all screwed up and I have been fighting to get that corrected.

SOOOOO...this Wed I drove to South Bend and spent about 2 hours and 30 minutes getting all that fixed. I turned in new copies of my transcripts...Found my pay grade entry date and hopefully everything is going to be fixed...

hopefully?

talking...

2008-11-22T13:46:00.005-06:00

I had no idea what to blog about, or what to title it so I just wrote "talking" as the title.

The week has been wierd. I was like really violently ill for about 6 hours Monday night/Tuesday morning...

I ginked up my knee...

Lost two days of work...

Just generally struggle with life this week.

It would be safe to say that I have a whole host of issues, known and some unknown to many of you (and most likely me as well) that give me a great deal of anger, depression, frustration, hopelessness etc...

The real big problem is that there are these really cool phrases that tell me I can leave all that stuff behind and get on with my life, things like:

Leave it at the cross...Let go and Let God...

It all sounds great, but it really just ticks me off because I always ask the question "how?" and no one can answer me. Sometimes I get glimpses of what that looks like, but most of the time I just get angry, frustrated, depressed, and feel hopeless.

What say you?

current...

2008-11-18T13:38:00.003-06:00

It's been a while, but here is some current news:

1: My life is still not near being together in any sense of the word. The past few months have been really hard. I thought that I was on a good trjectory, and then I kinda crumbled a bit after some MAJOR miscommunications happened in many areas of my life.

2: "We're in the Army Now!" Yup, I rejoined the army serving in the National Guard. Starting in May, unless something changes, I will be gone for just over a year for basic and my skill training. I have been to 4 drills so far, and it hasn't been too bad, but I still struggled with being physically and mentally prepared for all that is going to go on there every time I go down. I do fine, but I still get freaked out a bit because I don't perform like I think I should.

3: Trista and I have a new Church that we attend. After Kevin said "I'll call you man" and never did, I just lost all respect for his ability and calling as a leader in the Church. So we go to Lamb's Chapel now and it's pretty cool. I still struggle a bit with finding my place in Church though becuase it all seems to be so "flock" focused, and I have always felt like an outsider. Everything seems to always be geared to those who already speak the language and those of us who don't really get that language, well we get lost. That's not to say that I question peoples intentions, but when you have been either brought up in the Church, or been there for so long that you don't really have any "non"-Church type relationships, its really hard for you to wrap yourself around what is happening outside. It is just frustrating because, short of planting, I am not sure that I will ever really find my place in the Church...

back...again

2008-09-15T16:59:00.002-05:00

Well, it's been some months since I "left" Countryside. Really, I should say that they left me...but we'll just let that drop.

I have been at Lamb's Chapel now for about 2 months. I am still struggling to get use to the fact that I can't "talk" to the preacher, but yet he can "talk" to me. So I still either have some work to do to get past that, or realize that this isn't the place for me and keep looking. Right now it looks as if I may get past it...

Yeah, I know this is short...but I am at the Library now!!!

Yesterday...

2008-05-26T13:01:00.003-05:00

So yesterday I "went" to Church. We were doing this thing were we were using the Internet to guide a discussion, specifically we were using Facebook.

So in the discussion the question was asked, do you believe in miracles?

One of the people online answered "yes, and it would be a miracle if someone from the Church called me after filling out 2 guest cards"

I responded, I thought, to this guy...but of course my response got posted for everyone to see. My bad...

Here is what I said: "Hey Paul, I am with you man, I am a member here and sometimes it feels like your a mouse trapped in a maze and the only way to get around is to find the scent of cheese to guide you. It seems impossible to get any questions answered sometimes, even when you follow the "rules" and use the guest cards, or the online forms, or leave emails or messages for people...you never get any contact or response. It's pretty sad."

OK, I will admit...not the best thing in the world to post for all to see...even if that was not my intent. I really thought that only Paul would see my response, but oh well. Having said that, I don't really think what I had to say was that out of place or warranted the treatment I got from the pastor after the service.

Essentially, I got chased out into the parking lot and chastised for using the service to air my dirty laundry. I didn't really get the chance to respond because the pastor was busy angrily raking me over the coals, or I would have gotten the chance to say that it was a mistake and that I never wanted everyone to see the post, only that I wanted to try to connect with this dude who was having the same problems as I was connecting to the Church...but I never got to say that.

Actually, my wife described the event as a fight, and I even think that she felt somewhat physically threatened because she jumped into the car really quick and locked the doors...locking me out!!

But you know what, I am glad that I got that off my chest. I have tried to get help for others and for myself through that Church for years now. I make phone calls, leave messages, fill out forms...I do all the things that they "advertise" that I do in order to get on what they call "on ramps" into the life of the Church. But ever since I left the ministry there, I (and my wife) have felt like they just want us to go away.

They asked us to resign because of my sin...which I did. Yes I was mad, but I got over it...the problem was that when they asked us to resign the elders made a lot of promises (they were going to pay for our counseling, they were going to help me pursue my education as part of the "path" to restoration etc...) I, and my wife, both heard these promises. When I called them on the carpet about them, their response was "we never said that"...well I should say that some of them said that, the others agreed that they had said it...but, when push came to shove...they fell in-line so as to not rock the boat.

But you know what, I gave up on that...I counted it as a consequence of my sin and have since decided not to hang my hat on that. All I have asked since then are for some simple things:
Help me get into or start a small group...
Help me to get back into meaningful ministry there...

Here is the response that I have gotten...silence.

When I confront them about this, the table gets turned and immediately everything is blamed on me...I'm angry, I have unfinished sin, I need to call so and so, and do such and such.

Listen, in my mind it's pretty simple...If you post in your bulletin and online at your web page, ways to get answers to questions and get connected, and I take advantage of those things...then the ball is in your court to respond. And to blame me when you don't, to excuse your innaction by defaming me...well that's just funny.

new stuff

2008-04-19T11:54:00.003-05:00

Sorry about being gone so long...I have been wrapped up in reading, and working...two things that don't really mix very well sometimes.

I have another blog that I am using to for a book discussion with a friend. Check it out: Divine Study

You can join the discussion if you wish...

I am also going to try to get back here a little more often now because I have lots of things happening and lots of stuff to write about...

Also, check out my latest article at Next-Wave

laters

Love Jim Wallis!!!

2008-01-26T12:08:00.001-06:00

Missing par Deux...

2008-01-06T15:11:00.000-06:00

Without going into to much detail...I have been gone. Dealing with lots of sin, lots of anger, lots of frustration, and usually all rolled up in the general loss of hope.

Things seem to fall apart easily in my "sometimes" life and it seems that recently my "sometimes" life has become a "more often not" kinda life.

My wife and I argue a lot, we both make really bad decisions with our finances and the decisions in our life. Mostly we feel like we have been abandoned by the Church. I fought through a great time of sin in my life almost 4 years ago. I fell into the arms of Jesus and tried to fall into the arms of my Church...but the Church was not there.

I try to paint a pretty picture on it, saying that I would have reacted to us the same way they have if I were in their shoes...but the truth is I would have not acted in that way. I would not have said that there were things that I would do for you, and ways that I would endeavor to be "for" you in your life if I had no intentions to do so. And that is exactly where we find ourselves with our "Church".

I have fought leaving, I have fought giving up, I have tried to be the agent for change even though I myself have bee struggling to recover from the effects of sin...but it's a lost cause.

My wife and I still feel a burden and a passion for what the Church ought to be. We feel like God wants us to step up and lead in that way...but no one else seems to see what is wrong with the Church in their midst.

We are destitute in many ways...left behind by people whose voices say words of wisdom and hope, but whose actions speak poverty, destruction, and hatred. We are tired, and I am tired of standing by and doing nothing.

Who wants to plant a Church?
A Jesus centered, enemy loving, restoring, hope filled Church full of completely broken people?

Missing...

2007-10-24T12:14:00.000-05:00

I am sorry that I have been missing for a month or so. I have just been really busy with moving to a new job, and to be honest...I haven't had much to say because I have been dealing with some anger/depression issues.

I will be back on in a few days with more updates...

The Heretic...

2007-08-29T14:31:00.001-05:00

Here was just the best thing that came out of that "God's Warriors" program on CNN:

It Just Clicked...

2007-08-27T03:36:00.000-05:00

I have been struggling for a year or so with what “The Law”, in the Old Testament sense of the word, is supposed to mean for Christianity. I mean I look around and I see Christian activist groups wanting to control the morality of the American psyche by mandating that we keep the Ten Commandments posted, and that we push for a standard of morality that is mediated by those laws. Hence the outbreak of “one women+one man=marriage” bumper stickers.

Now, as a moderately intelligent Christian, I of course can’t say that I don’t think that the Ten Commandments in some small way represent what God’s best for us is. I can’t rightly say that God does not want us to live a life that honors him by taking the path that the Ten Commandments lights for us, they are after all “God’s words” and God’s words are supposed to be a “light unto our path” right?
But how does one go about being that kind of person, while not letting the kingdom of this world pollute you in a way that waters down faith? Gregory Boyd, in his book “Myth of a Christian Nation” talks about the differences that exist between the kingdom of this world and the Kingdom of God. He makes the point that the kingdom of this world is a kingdom that works on a “power over” principle and that the Kingdom of God works on a “power under principle”.

Power over being coercion, control, intimidation etc…
Power under being humility, servant-hood, hospitality etc…

The major difference is simply that the kingdom of this world is a system that can never have as its goal the glorification of God. So no matter what you do, in the context of the political power systems of the world, is ever going to be able to be counted as something that truly brings glory to God. Which, of course brings up a great question: Are those Christian activist groups looking to ban homosexual marriage, ban abortion, ban alcohol, etc…actually doing any good? Which of course brings up an even deeper question: Is it possible to stand for any of those things as a Christian if we can’t effectively do anything about it in the political realm?
So, I have been wrestling with those questions for almost a year. I even wrote to Greg Boyd a very lengthy email and asked him some questions for clarification, and he graciously responded to me…but it still didn’t help (not his fault though). I was confused, was he (and others like him) saying that we couldn’t stand for such things? That it would be a waste of time for us to actually say, “Hey, what your doing…that ain’t right!” I was so confused because I thought that he was actually saying that I had to give up standing for purity and morality…that I should just grin and bear it.

And then it just clicked…

I don’t remember actually where it came from, but I do remember what was happening. I was watching part 3 of “God’s Warriors” on CNN, for the third time, with these questions in mind. I was listening to Greg Boyd talk about how he came to the point of preaching his series “The Cross and The Sword”, and ultimately writing the book to take a stand for the Kingdom of God and against the kingdom of this world, when I just heard in my mind these verses:

Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Gen 12:1-3)

When I heard those words in my head I immediately knew what Greg was talking about. I knew that the Kingdom that he was talking about was a Kingdom of blessing and that a Kingdom of blessing is a Kingdom of choice.
In the Kingdom of God we CHOOSE to follow God…we CHOOSE to live the Way of Christ in loving God, loving others, building character, and building the Church (thanks to John Burke and Gateway for that!!).
Living in the Kingdom of God is a life that we choose to live. We cannot force it on people; I cannot force people to agree that gay marriage is wrong…I cannot force people to not have abortions…I cannot force people to not drink etc…The point is, whatever people want to do, regardless if we control them with “laws” they will find a way to do it. But what I can do is CHOOSE to follow Jesus and continually offer to others alternatives and choices to get closer and closer to God’s path…to God’s best for their lives.

Me working to make a law against abortion is not going to work, nor will it bring glory to God…me working to end poverty, homelessness, disease, can help…me working to help educate people can help…me working to help young expectant mothers find and fulfill their needs can help…me working from the stance of compassion for them, not judgment against them, will help.

I may not be ethnically Jewish, but I am Abraham’s seed…I am a descendant, and my position in life is to covenant to Abraham’s call, so that I may be a blessing to others…not a curse.

Power Under…Not Power Over.

God's Warriors par deux

2007-08-27T03:27:00.000-05:00

All in all I thought that the whole affair was fairly done. It is self evident that there are extremists on every side of the issue.

I still have to say though, and this may be clouded by my Christian faith, that there are still big differences between the extremists between the faiths.

I think the big problem can be found in how the fundamentalist groups on all three sides behave. On the Muslim side, the fundamentalist groups by and large resort to violence because of a mistaken idea of what Jihad means. On the Jewish fundamentalist side, the groups by and large resort not to violence, but oppression by occupation (hence the west bank). On the Christian fundamentalist side, the groups resort to political sword waving.

There does seem a downward spiral of violence, with the Muslim groups being more violent, and the Christian groups being the least violent. YES...I know that some people have targeted abortionists and burned down clinics and that there has been violence of other kinds as well. But by and large, those people are shunned by the fundamentalist establishment...and our government has a method for dealing with these domestic terrorists. I can't remember the last time that another sovereign Muslim country prosecuted a terrorist of their own volition and belief in what is right (besides the ones that the US threatens, which of course is another post).

Point is, even though the CNN special was fair...I did not see how "warrior" was a fair term to describe all three of the fundamentalist wings...

God's Warriors

2007-08-23T16:39:00.000-05:00

I have been watching "God's Warriors" on CNN the past couple of nights, the last installment is tonight and I may post on it as well.

But a couple of observations, I think, are in order:

1: I am finally glad that some one is showing what kind of sinful, and polarizing effect oppression has on people. On the first night I was struck by what a radical direction the Jewish people would take against it's muslim neighbors after suffering years of isolation away from their homeland.
2: On the second night I was struck by how radical a direction the muslim peoples would take towards Israel because of the West Bank settlements.
3: There is a big difference between the Jews, who want to live beside their Arab neighbors in peace and live in what they believe is their "God-Given" homeland, and the muslim peoples who seemingly don't want to live at peace with anyone, but would rather see them not exist. Yes...that is harsh, and it is probably a minority opinion in the muslim world, BUT the minority of the muslim world seems to be the ones who are in power.

Sometimes...

2007-08-07T15:55:00.000-05:00

I used to believe that the most troubling word in all of the English language was the word “why”. But a recent question posed on a popular blog (http://ginkworld.blogspot.com/) got me to thinking that the word why is actually a word that can be avoided and even thrown away entirely in some cases. So what was left? What word was left staring me in the face, haunting me and taking control of my thoughts in a way that no other word has ever captured my imagination?

Sometimes…

The question posed on the blog was “what are you?” And the author, John O’Keefe was lamenting, as I was, over why people want to label you as “saved”, “un-saved”, “Christian”, “un-Christian”, “NASCAR fan”, or “normal”. The basis of the question is why it is that people feel compelled to label you and force you into a corner. In other words; why do people feel more enlightened than you to define who you are in the world?

I think the answer to that question is that they are only “sometimes” who they claim to be, and we are only “sometimes” who we claim to be…

No matter what you are, what profession you claim to have, how compassionate you claim to be, how smart you think you are, how Christian you think you are…no matter what you are, you can only claim at best to that thing…sometimes.

I have a history of power lifting and bodybuilding in my life, but I can only rightly claim to be that sometimes. As a matter of fact, everything that I identify myself as a human being I can only claim those things to be true sometimes, and that includes breathing.

I believe that one of the things that is at the heart of the Gospel is the fact that we are inconsistent, that we are all cursed as “sometimes” persons. I was just re-reading the book of Genesis, chapter 15, about Abram and his faith. And you know what astounds me? Even as it says “And he (Abram) believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” Abram continued, even after that event to only believe “sometimes”. Abram slept with a concubine (ch. 16), he laughs at God’s word to him (ch. 17)…Abram’s history of faith is scarred, just like ours is, and he only “sometimes” lived up to his words, and yet he was still sealed by the word of God.

Paul in, what I affectionately call the “bonehead” chapter, Romans 7 speaks to how inconsistently we cal live with our faith, doing things we wish and pray that we do not do, and not doing things that we know in our hearts our right. But what does he say? “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death (this “sometimes” kind of life)? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” (Rom 7:24-25) What do we do with our “sometimes” faith? Throw ourselves at Jesus!!

At the heart of sometimes is grace. Because we are only “sometimes” people at best, grace is there to throw ourselves upon. It is there, in the flow of the kingdom of grace, the kingdom of God, that we find something consistent to define and measure ourselves by. This is the gospel! Yes Jesus came, lived, died, and rose again to “save” me from my sins. And yes if I give myself freely to him and ask his forgiveness and grace he will stand in my place at judgment and I will be counted as he is counted before God, perfect. But more than that, the heart of the gospel (for me) is that my “sometimes” life is not the end. And no matter how much anyone would like to hold my “sometimes” life up by putting my “sometimes” life down, they have no power to do so anymore because Jesus has taken away my “sometimes”.

Backed into a corner...

2007-08-01T15:01:00.000-05:00

Over the past, almost, 3 years I have been living with this awareness that I essentially exist in the corner. Not like the kid who pulled Mary Janes pony tail mind you, but rather like the dog who has been cornered and has no place to go.

It just seems like that no matter what I do or say any more, everyone else feels like they have license to play the "wise" card on me and claim that they are more enlightened than I am and can discern my motives, intentions, etc...And almost always, their "interpretation" is that I am:
not really dealing with my issues...
angry...
lying...
etc...

No matter what I do, it cannot be that I am doing it from pure motivess, or pure frustration at being backed into a corner. Ok, yeah, I have wrote a few magazine articles and had a few conversations where I spoke before I thought. I walk away from those things beating myself up wishing that I could take it back. But as the saying goes: words are like arrows, once you let if fly it will hit something and stick.

But you know what? I am not the only person who says smart ass things!! I have never met a person who doesn't have a big mouth, and I am not the only person who has ever wounded another with their words.

So what do I do? I apologize, I try to clarify things and get people to see what is at the heart of what I am saying so that I don't freak too many people out.

But I don't do that all the time...I don't tick people off all the time. Most of the time when I talk to a person I use this method:

"Hey, I am frustrated and here's why...here's the person I need help with...here's the promise I need to be kept" etc...

Most of the time I am asking people for help, thats all I want. I have a physical, financial, relational, vocational, or spiritual problem I need help with, so can ya help me?

But because I am backed into a corner, everyone tries to tell me that my problem isn't physical, financial, relational, vocational, or spiritual, but rather my problem is me...

I suck...
I'm angry...
I'm vindictive...
I'm self centered...

The thought never seems to cross their mind that I am fighting for my sanity, my marriage, my future, my relationsips with God and others...

No, I just suck...

Blog Addiction...

2007-07-25T02:52:00.001-05:00

How Addicted are you??

82%

Free Online Dating from Mingle²

A Big "Sorry"

2007-07-24T16:34:00.000-05:00

It came to my attention today that a post, and subsequent article, that I posted a few weeks ago titled "What I learned from a Cross-dresser..." may have been taken as being directed towards my pastor Kevin Galloway, or any of the other pastors for that matter, at Countryside Christian Church, my home church.

I just want to publically say that:

It was not directed towards them at all but was rather meant to be a reflection back on my childhood, of which they were not involved at all.

So if anyone out there read this post and gleaned from it that I was directing horrible arrows at Countryside, I have to say to you to forget that notion entirely. It was not, and is not directed towards them in any way whatsoever, but was rather just a reflection of poor writing ability on my part.

So I say to you, and to the wonderfully cool guys at Countryside...OOPS!!! My Bad...

:(

Soul Sucking Cell-Phones!

2007-07-23T15:43:00.000-05:00

I have a cell-phone. My cell-phone and I have this really cool relationship in that I keep it turned off most of the time, and when it’s on I usually ignore it. That is unless it is someone I need to talk to. (Of course that is all predicated on the fact that I actually have it on me, which most of the time I don’t.) See, I am kind of weird in that I actually just sort of like to “talk” to the people I am around. I know it may be weird to some of you, but trust me it makes sense to me. Sure, I turn it on when I’m in the car by myself. But if someone is in the car with me I turn it off because I like to be available only to them at that time. Now, I may miss an important “call”, or I may miss what could be called an “emergency” call (although honestly I never have missed a call that could be categorized on either of those fronts). But I have this simple, primitive minded belief that (just like the camera) the phone was created to capture and imprison my soul (doubly so for the cell-phone!!).

Having said all that let me recount an event that took place a few weeks ago:

I was driving home from work and pulled up to a stoplight next to a huge gas guzzling smog producing ginourmous tire animal smashing SUV. As I usually do I looked over to smile or wave (I’m crazy like that) and noticed four people in the car talking on…cell-phones. There were two adults and 2 junior high aged kids in the SUV and all four of them were having conversations totally independent of each other on their cell-phones!! I was completely dumbfounded, so I decided to follow them. (Oh, by the way did I tell you that I have a tendency to stalk?) Anyway, I followed them down the street and at every stoplight they were still talking on their phones. They stopped at the local coffee shop and all of them got out and continued to talk on their phones only pausing long enough to order their drinks…they still did not talk to each other. Then they left the coffee house and drove to the local Junior High School to drop off the kids, still not one word was shared between them. What’s more, the parents didn’t even take the time to drop their phones for a few seconds to say good-bye to the kids, and the versa is true as well.

I went home sad…I went home wishing I had someone to talk to. My wife had gone to work, and I was alone in the house with my dog Zoë. Sure she is good at a little face licking, but it’s not the same thing as having someone to talk to. I could have picked up my cell phone and called someone, but then I felt like I would have been in the backseat of the SUV with the kids being ignored, and ignoring the parents.

Now I could try to wow you by talking about how I knew the family in the car and that they went to my Church or some crap like that, but that isn’t the case. I didn’t know them and I still don’t. Or, I could try to stretch this into some deep spiritually significant commentary, but I won’t (at least not too much). But let me make three points:

1. Seeing this event shamed me because for that whole day, I myself spent more time on my cell-phone talking with people whom I have an association with at best, and talked to my very own wife very little. I threw more words away that day than I care to remember.
2. I believe that God was serious; that He meant it in the deepest sense, when in Genesis 2 He said, “It is not good for man to be alone”. I don’t think he was joking, I don’t think he was playing around. And I believe that he knew that the very first thing that was going to go out the window when sin entered the garden was relationship, and thus community.
3. I also believe the natives are right about the camera, and all other “modern” technology: You know that new iphone you are salivating over? You think that the cost of owning it is over when you hand over that couple hundred dollars, but the truth is that you are going to be paying it off with little pieces of your soul for the rest of your life.

So here is my question: Who do you talk to?

Simple Way

2007-06-21T16:21:00.000-05:00

A few days ago a fire ravaged almost an entire neighborhood and ministry in Philly called "The Simple Way" primarily championed by writer/author/speaker/revolutionary Shane Claiborne. Many familes have lost all their belongings, some have lost vehicles, and some have lost the materials they needed to continue their vocations and raise their families. If you would like to help with monetary support you can donate here:

http://tonycampolo.org/simpleway_donation.php

Eight Dollars...and for what?

2007-06-11T15:02:00.000-05:00

You gotta take a look at this, just absolutely the most upsetting things I have seen in a long time:

Good stuff from the Charlie Rose Show last Fall...

2007-05-23T17:29:00.000-05:00

Take a look at this, its pretty long...but very cool. Pay close attention to the stuff by Gregory Boyd...