I think a lot of churches are getting confused about what they are suppose to be doing. I would add to that, I think a lot of churches are getting confused about what they should be preaching. So here are some of my thoughts.
1. The Church should bring people into the fold, accepting, loving, correcting and helping them to become more like Christ. This is clearly what the Great Commission states. On the other hand, the Church is not to force its values upon outsiders - there is nothing in the Bible to support this.
2. The Kingdom of God is not the U.S. or any other country or political party for that matter. The U.S. (or whatever country you live in) is a power that belongs to this world. The Church is a group of people who are ambassadors for the Kingdom of God, not countries of this world.
3. The Kingdom of God is comprised of people from all types of countries, groups and lives. Separating ourselves from them and / or demonizing them for the sake of nationality is a sin.
4. Jesus Christ and him crucified was Paul's primary message and focus. Jesus' life on earth was John's focus. We should not make modern self help psychology and political / social issues our primary focus. These are tools that can be important and / or destructive, but cannot become the primary platform of the Church. The cross and resurrection of Jesus cannot and should not be eclipsed by these other things, or else, we will cease to be the Church.
5. We should serve Christ and His kingdom as his bride, as his ambassadors, and as his body. Our mission is not to feed our hunger for personal fame, wealth, prosperity, and feeling good. Our mission is to help and to serve others, to feed the hungry, help the helpless, visit prisoners and sick, and so on; bringing Christ to them.
6. As Christ's ambassadors, our focus should be outward directed, not inward. A constant inward directedness is a clear sign of immaturity in faith for a church or for an individual.
7. The Church should be on the offense and not always be on the defense. The gates of hell are built to defend against the Christ and His church. Jesus overcame the world and his crucifixion exposed the principalities of this world. The Church marches from victory to victory.
8. The Church should stay away from and warn its people to avoid the currents of this world that create and promote fear, anger and hate. The Gospel promotes love, faith and hope - the Church must do the same.
9. The Church should not use the scripture to justify or promote its own agendas and pet issues. Rather the Church should let the Bible should speak for itself, directing us into holiness, service to others, and the fear of God.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Sunday, January 13, 2013
The End Is Here
We just safely passed the end of the Mayan calendar without the end of the world happening.
Earlier in the year we passed the predicted rapture of the Church and the end of the world in May and in August.
We passed the predicted catastrophes that were to destroy planet earth with the aligning of the planets in May 2000.
We passed the predicted Y2K world wide computer crash (this one actually had some remote possibilities).
We lived through the predicted Anti-Christs - Russian Rulers, President Kennedy, Htler, the Unions (in the 1910s and following, joining a Union was considered the same as receiving the mark of the Beast), and we are watching the Church of Rome grow more and more feeble (this is still considered by many to be the evil empire in the book of Revelation).
Every generation rewrites Revelation to fit their own world, never seeming to notice that the prophecies were as fitting to the last generation, to the last Century and to the times when they were written, 2,000 years ago..
When I went to a Pentecostal Bible school, there was rumor that some Christian lady had recently predicted that a wave was going to hit Florida. Tension built throughout the campus as people feared the oncoming tsunami. One or two students left to go to other states, and one teacher walked around campus with a surf board. He won my admiration.
During the 70s, my Mormon Brother-in-Law was storing guns, water and boxes of Cheerios in his basement for some coming disasters.
I have heard more than one preacher say that Jesus will come back before his/her life is gone, but they die in peace with no return from Jesus. I have heard countless preachers say that Jesus will come back in their generation; but their generation came and went without the return of Jesus.
WHAT'S GOING ON?
For some reason we are drawn to end of the world disaster scenarios. Even though we have passed so many promised disasters, we are drawn to them like magnets. People build bunkers and load food and guns in storage for the sure government take over or whatever other disaster is sure to come. Movies and T.V. shows are filled with stories of Apocalyptic disasters. Zombies take over the earth, vampires rule the nations, and us normal people struggle for survival in small communities of people fighting to stay alive.
What is this all saying about us?
Meanwhile, time passes by and the world continues to move along. Natural and human disasters do come and go, but no comet comes to destroy the planet; no governmental coup takes over the country; presidents who are sure to destroy the nation, come and the nation still moves on; the zombies don't come out and eat us up at night, and life goes on; the Rapture comes and goes, and everybody is still here.
Nevertheless, I too have a bit of this end of the world feeling. I believe that one day a human disaster will hit us.
MY OWN APOCALYPTIC PREDICTIONS
I believe that we will see bad climate results from stripping away the ozone layer, while this is happening, many will deny that we had anything to do with it (the same denial or responsibility that the biblical prophets faced in their days).
I believe that eventually some zealous or mentally unstable person will break through our nation's security and create a huge disaster, killing thousands if not millions.
I believe that our nation will one day be eclipsed by other nations.
I believe that in time the world as we know it will end. But by then, I will have been gone from this world for thousands of years.
Jesus said he would come back to this earth, and I believe that he will in his time and his way.
Never mind what I just said. Really, Jesus will come back to take his church on January 20, 2014, and to prepare for that, you should sell all of your possessions and send the money to my me so I can warn people and tell them to get ready. And if that day comes and goes without event, well then, Jesus didn't come back because of something you did.
Earlier in the year we passed the predicted rapture of the Church and the end of the world in May and in August.
We passed the predicted catastrophes that were to destroy planet earth with the aligning of the planets in May 2000.
We passed the predicted Y2K world wide computer crash (this one actually had some remote possibilities).
We lived through the predicted Anti-Christs - Russian Rulers, President Kennedy, Htler, the Unions (in the 1910s and following, joining a Union was considered the same as receiving the mark of the Beast), and we are watching the Church of Rome grow more and more feeble (this is still considered by many to be the evil empire in the book of Revelation).
Every generation rewrites Revelation to fit their own world, never seeming to notice that the prophecies were as fitting to the last generation, to the last Century and to the times when they were written, 2,000 years ago..
When I went to a Pentecostal Bible school, there was rumor that some Christian lady had recently predicted that a wave was going to hit Florida. Tension built throughout the campus as people feared the oncoming tsunami. One or two students left to go to other states, and one teacher walked around campus with a surf board. He won my admiration.
During the 70s, my Mormon Brother-in-Law was storing guns, water and boxes of Cheerios in his basement for some coming disasters.
I have heard more than one preacher say that Jesus will come back before his/her life is gone, but they die in peace with no return from Jesus. I have heard countless preachers say that Jesus will come back in their generation; but their generation came and went without the return of Jesus.
WHAT'S GOING ON?
For some reason we are drawn to end of the world disaster scenarios. Even though we have passed so many promised disasters, we are drawn to them like magnets. People build bunkers and load food and guns in storage for the sure government take over or whatever other disaster is sure to come. Movies and T.V. shows are filled with stories of Apocalyptic disasters. Zombies take over the earth, vampires rule the nations, and us normal people struggle for survival in small communities of people fighting to stay alive.
What is this all saying about us?
Meanwhile, time passes by and the world continues to move along. Natural and human disasters do come and go, but no comet comes to destroy the planet; no governmental coup takes over the country; presidents who are sure to destroy the nation, come and the nation still moves on; the zombies don't come out and eat us up at night, and life goes on; the Rapture comes and goes, and everybody is still here.
Nevertheless, I too have a bit of this end of the world feeling. I believe that one day a human disaster will hit us.
MY OWN APOCALYPTIC PREDICTIONS
I believe that we will see bad climate results from stripping away the ozone layer, while this is happening, many will deny that we had anything to do with it (the same denial or responsibility that the biblical prophets faced in their days).
I believe that eventually some zealous or mentally unstable person will break through our nation's security and create a huge disaster, killing thousands if not millions.
I believe that our nation will one day be eclipsed by other nations.
I believe that in time the world as we know it will end. But by then, I will have been gone from this world for thousands of years.
Jesus said he would come back to this earth, and I believe that he will in his time and his way.
Never mind what I just said. Really, Jesus will come back to take his church on January 20, 2014, and to prepare for that, you should sell all of your possessions and send the money to my me so I can warn people and tell them to get ready. And if that day comes and goes without event, well then, Jesus didn't come back because of something you did.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Would the Beatles Autotune Their Songs?
There is this movement against the music of today because recording companies help write the songs, auto-tune the musicians' voices and place creative parameters on those who record. There are purists who hate today's music factory that pumps out song after song that are written with the help of professionals, tuned so that off notes are pitch and beat perfect, adjusted to sound better, and sung by some pretty face or faces.
This is contrasted with the past writers and singers like the Beatles who were considered purists who never did these things. But let's look at the facts:
THE PRODUCTION OF THE MUSIC
The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein made them wear nice matching outfits and told them to bow at the end of every performance. He helped give them a friendly image for the public. That image was a far cry from who they were and what they looked like when they performed in Germany and in England before they became famous world wide.
When the Beatles' manager (Brian Epstein) found what was perhaps the only record company (EMI records) that would record them (Rock and Roll was considered to be a dying form of music), EMI had George Martin work with them as their producer.
George was sometimes called the "fifth Beatle" for his role in helping to produce, bring in new instruments, and influence the music of John, Paul and George. Is this all that different than today when young bands are helped out by their record companies to help sell more records?
WHO WROTE THE SONGS?
When the Beatles began, they covered a lot of Blues and Rock songs. Their first 3 albums had a lot of songs that were written by other people. Today's boy bands are not all that different in this respect.
AUTO-TUNING
Finally, the Beatles did in fact have their own form of auto-tuning. Technology would not permit them to change their voices as much as it can be done today, but they pushed the technological limits of the day when it came to retouching their voices and their instruments. When they recorded, they slowed recorders down so they could comfortably reach notes outside of their vocal ranges and play piano and guitar at a tempo they could master. When the recorders were reset to the original speed, their voices were higher and their instrumental speed was faster than they could ever accomplish in real life.
CONCLUSION
I love the Beatles and do consider their voices, talent, and accomplishments unmatched by any other group since them, but the purists need to back off a bit.
There is a lot of good talent out there today, and by being so anal about purity and the past, we miss out on some new surprises.
I do want to mention one other observation. I find that there is a certain age in our lives that music has the most influence on us. I think its roughly 12 years old to early 20s. Whatever you listen to and are drawn to then becomes the dominant sound (not the only sound) you will be drawn to for life. I grew up with the English Invasion of Rock and Roll, and I love it more than any sound that has ever come since then; but I try to remain open to a new generation of talent and am surprised with a few awesome songs that surface, even some that are noticeably auto-tuned.
This is contrasted with the past writers and singers like the Beatles who were considered purists who never did these things. But let's look at the facts:
THE PRODUCTION OF THE MUSIC
The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein made them wear nice matching outfits and told them to bow at the end of every performance. He helped give them a friendly image for the public. That image was a far cry from who they were and what they looked like when they performed in Germany and in England before they became famous world wide.
When the Beatles' manager (Brian Epstein) found what was perhaps the only record company (EMI records) that would record them (Rock and Roll was considered to be a dying form of music), EMI had George Martin work with them as their producer.
George was sometimes called the "fifth Beatle" for his role in helping to produce, bring in new instruments, and influence the music of John, Paul and George. Is this all that different than today when young bands are helped out by their record companies to help sell more records?
WHO WROTE THE SONGS?
When the Beatles began, they covered a lot of Blues and Rock songs. Their first 3 albums had a lot of songs that were written by other people. Today's boy bands are not all that different in this respect.
AUTO-TUNING
Finally, the Beatles did in fact have their own form of auto-tuning. Technology would not permit them to change their voices as much as it can be done today, but they pushed the technological limits of the day when it came to retouching their voices and their instruments. When they recorded, they slowed recorders down so they could comfortably reach notes outside of their vocal ranges and play piano and guitar at a tempo they could master. When the recorders were reset to the original speed, their voices were higher and their instrumental speed was faster than they could ever accomplish in real life.
CONCLUSION
I love the Beatles and do consider their voices, talent, and accomplishments unmatched by any other group since them, but the purists need to back off a bit.
There is a lot of good talent out there today, and by being so anal about purity and the past, we miss out on some new surprises.
I do want to mention one other observation. I find that there is a certain age in our lives that music has the most influence on us. I think its roughly 12 years old to early 20s. Whatever you listen to and are drawn to then becomes the dominant sound (not the only sound) you will be drawn to for life. I grew up with the English Invasion of Rock and Roll, and I love it more than any sound that has ever come since then; but I try to remain open to a new generation of talent and am surprised with a few awesome songs that surface, even some that are noticeably auto-tuned.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
The Pop Conservative
At one of my jobs, I work with Conservatives. They listen to Fox radio and Rush Limbaugh. They believe in the Bible. They may not know much of the Bible, but they believe in it. They believe in the Bible, but for them it seems like the Bible is only a tool used to support Fox and Rush.
I like and respect Conservatives who study different views and who can argue a good case for their beliefs, having understood other ideas. I love talking to these people - they bring a lot to the table. But I have no respect for debate from those who surround themselves with Fox radio and Rush L. day after day; and because they do, they think they know so much more than most about society, economics and politics.
When my coworkers found out that I voted Democrat this year, one (23 years old) said in front of all my other co-workers, that for the first 20 years of life Liberals have a heart, but for the rest of their lives they're just plain stupid. There was so much inside me that welled up in that moment, but I refrained from saying anything. I felt like I wasn't going to change anybody's mind with a one minute response to the absurdity I just heard. I guess in the moment, I just didn't think of any way that I could think of that would counter such a wild and mean spirited statement. I suppose I could have said, "That is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard." And that would be true, but then, I don't like putting down people in front of others. I don't even like putting them down in private. So I took the blow and let it go.
People want to believe that their group is superior, or I should say, people want to feel like their group is superior to all others. What I heard from my co-worker was just that. He gave no legitimate reason to support his conclusion that Liberals are stupid, because he had no legitimate reason. I'm sure that he heard enough of one side of the debate (Fox News, Rush L. and others) to convince him that we are stupid; and that made him feel good about himself and his beliefs.
I have lived in and worshiped in many groups and in many cities (and several countries). Everywhere I go, I see that people need to feel like their group is the best or the one that is better than others in being good, right, moral, and so on. But that feeling that "we are number one," or, "we are the best, because..." blinds them to reality. It is pride in a bad way. I have seen it with Democrats, but more so recently with Born Again Republicans like my co-worker.
Arguments are getting less and less biblical (except a few chosen verses - usually out of context), and less and less knowledgable of any other side but their own.
I have occasionally met Republicans who think on their feet and have done their homework outside of the box (and I find them to be delightful), but I find them only rarely.
I have met Democrats who have likewise surrounded themselves in liberalism, but they don't seem to be compelled to tell everybody else about how superior they think they are.
I think my Christian conservative friends and coworkers are far more versed in Rush and Fox than they are in the Bible. Their world views betray it. Their talk betrays it. Their prejudices betray it.
Most Evangelicals think the Republican party is the closest to what the Bible would want, but I say that the Bible has both conservative and liberal views (socially and politically speaking); but dealing with money, what Jesus and most of the prophets pointed to was far more liberal than modern liberalism (as defined in the U.S. today).
I like and respect Conservatives who study different views and who can argue a good case for their beliefs, having understood other ideas. I love talking to these people - they bring a lot to the table. But I have no respect for debate from those who surround themselves with Fox radio and Rush L. day after day; and because they do, they think they know so much more than most about society, economics and politics.
When my coworkers found out that I voted Democrat this year, one (23 years old) said in front of all my other co-workers, that for the first 20 years of life Liberals have a heart, but for the rest of their lives they're just plain stupid. There was so much inside me that welled up in that moment, but I refrained from saying anything. I felt like I wasn't going to change anybody's mind with a one minute response to the absurdity I just heard. I guess in the moment, I just didn't think of any way that I could think of that would counter such a wild and mean spirited statement. I suppose I could have said, "That is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard." And that would be true, but then, I don't like putting down people in front of others. I don't even like putting them down in private. So I took the blow and let it go.
People want to believe that their group is superior, or I should say, people want to feel like their group is superior to all others. What I heard from my co-worker was just that. He gave no legitimate reason to support his conclusion that Liberals are stupid, because he had no legitimate reason. I'm sure that he heard enough of one side of the debate (Fox News, Rush L. and others) to convince him that we are stupid; and that made him feel good about himself and his beliefs.
I have lived in and worshiped in many groups and in many cities (and several countries). Everywhere I go, I see that people need to feel like their group is the best or the one that is better than others in being good, right, moral, and so on. But that feeling that "we are number one," or, "we are the best, because..." blinds them to reality. It is pride in a bad way. I have seen it with Democrats, but more so recently with Born Again Republicans like my co-worker.
Arguments are getting less and less biblical (except a few chosen verses - usually out of context), and less and less knowledgable of any other side but their own.
I have occasionally met Republicans who think on their feet and have done their homework outside of the box (and I find them to be delightful), but I find them only rarely.
I have met Democrats who have likewise surrounded themselves in liberalism, but they don't seem to be compelled to tell everybody else about how superior they think they are.
I think my Christian conservative friends and coworkers are far more versed in Rush and Fox than they are in the Bible. Their world views betray it. Their talk betrays it. Their prejudices betray it.
Most Evangelicals think the Republican party is the closest to what the Bible would want, but I say that the Bible has both conservative and liberal views (socially and politically speaking); but dealing with money, what Jesus and most of the prophets pointed to was far more liberal than modern liberalism (as defined in the U.S. today).
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Problems and Solutions
I live in the movement called the Evangelicals.
I have always rebelled against my own and yet need to belong to it.
I have both loved and been frustrated with my own. I have loved and needed my own people, respecting and wanting to be a part, and yet seeing all too much that isn't right.
A lot of people are in my boat, I suppose. I hear complaints and frustrations, anger and disagreements people make about their own groups, their own churches, and their own nations. How many times I have heard "If everybody would only live like they should...." And like me, their frustrations have more to do with disappointments and inabilities to reach certain status or acceptance within the group.
We are all going to have our disagreements and frustrations with our own groups and more with other groups. We're all going to want to change things for the better and be frustrated with things that don't seem right.
Some will take strong stands, find followers and "buck the system."
I think most will cling to simple black and white problems and answers. Some even make their living by selling simple solutions to complex issues, convincing the simple minded that they and they alone know the answers.
Some will have worked through the issues and come up with possible and real solutions, but their answers will be too complex, too difficult, or simply too unpopular to find others who will have the power to make the changes needed.
Occasionally, someone or some group comes along and is able to make the necessary changes for society. But, people will be people. In the end, people return to their same behaviors and same prejudices.
There is a French saying, "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose." It means, "The more things change, the more its the same thing."
I have a brilliant friend who happens to be an Anarchist. He can argue anybody under the rug because he is smart and a great debater. During one of our long discussions about society and politics, it occurred to me that he had marvelous insight into what was wrong with society, but had nothing to say about solutions.
Although my friend never said it, the undercurrent solution he held to was there all along - it was the same solution that I hear the Republicans say. Let us control everything and society will reach its golden age.
I don't buy it.
I have always rebelled against my own and yet need to belong to it.
I have both loved and been frustrated with my own. I have loved and needed my own people, respecting and wanting to be a part, and yet seeing all too much that isn't right.
A lot of people are in my boat, I suppose. I hear complaints and frustrations, anger and disagreements people make about their own groups, their own churches, and their own nations. How many times I have heard "If everybody would only live like they should...." And like me, their frustrations have more to do with disappointments and inabilities to reach certain status or acceptance within the group.
We are all going to have our disagreements and frustrations with our own groups and more with other groups. We're all going to want to change things for the better and be frustrated with things that don't seem right.
Some will take strong stands, find followers and "buck the system."
I think most will cling to simple black and white problems and answers. Some even make their living by selling simple solutions to complex issues, convincing the simple minded that they and they alone know the answers.
Some will have worked through the issues and come up with possible and real solutions, but their answers will be too complex, too difficult, or simply too unpopular to find others who will have the power to make the changes needed.
Occasionally, someone or some group comes along and is able to make the necessary changes for society. But, people will be people. In the end, people return to their same behaviors and same prejudices.
There is a French saying, "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose." It means, "The more things change, the more its the same thing."
I have a brilliant friend who happens to be an Anarchist. He can argue anybody under the rug because he is smart and a great debater. During one of our long discussions about society and politics, it occurred to me that he had marvelous insight into what was wrong with society, but had nothing to say about solutions.
Although my friend never said it, the undercurrent solution he held to was there all along - it was the same solution that I hear the Republicans say. Let us control everything and society will reach its golden age.
I don't buy it.
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