Tired

I'm so tired right now, and I don't mean physiologically. I'm just spiritually, mentally, and emotionally tired. I just feel like God has been doing so much in me and through me and that satan is just trying to get his little doubts and fears into my head. I love everything about my life right now and I love all that I am blessed to be allowed and able to do. I have a great job that pays well, which is huge during this economic strife. I have a great family that loves me and supports me in all I do. I have a wonderful church where I get to serve and be served. Everything is wonderful, but I feel like the life is being sucked from me. I feel like mediocrity has become the norm of all things. I feel like I'm mediocre at loving my family. I feel like I'm mediocre at serving at my church. I feel like I'm mediocre at loving God. I feel mediocre, and mediocrity is not what I do. I am too competitive to be mediocre. I am too, dare I say.. prideful, to be mediocre. I am not satisfied with mediocre. My job, my wife, my church, and especially my God, deserve more than mediocre. I deserve more than mediocre. From this moment on, I refuse to be mediocre. I refuse to give mediocrity. I refuse to live a mediocre life. I choose excellence, through the power and grace of Christ.

I choose excellence because HE IS EXCELLENT

He is in me

That makes me excellent

Not mediocre

Get behind me satan

Excellence has arrived

WARNING!!! Political Content Ahead

I got this email today. It was a forwarded message called "Well Written Letter". Basically, it's one man's reasoning for voting for John McCain. I thought it was pretty good, so I wanted to share. Keep in mind, these are not my words, but I do agree with them 100%.




My name is Dan Frost. I live in Kokomo, Indiana. I'm 45 years old, a Christian, a husband, a father, a veteran, and a homeowner. I don't consider myself to be either conservative or liberal, and I vote for the person, not Republican or Democrat. I don't believe there are 'two Americas ' -- but that every person in this country can be whomever and whatever they want to be if they'll just work to get there - and nowhere else on earth can they find such opportunities. I believe our government should help those who are legitimately downtrodden, and should always put the interests of America first.



The purpose of this message is that I'm concerned about the future of this great nation. I'm worried that the silent majority of honest, hard-working, tax-paying people in this country have been passive for too long. Most folks I know choose not to involve themselves in politics.. They go about their daily lives, paying their bills, raising their kids, and doing what they can to maintain the good life. They vote and consider doing so to be a sacred trust. They shake their heads at the political pundits and so-called 'news', thinking that what they hear is always spun by whomever is reporting it.

They can't understand how elected officials can regularly violate the public trust with pork barrel spending. They don't want government handouts. They want the government to protect them, not raise their taxes for more government programs.

We are in the unique position in this country of electing our leaders. It's a privilege to do so. I've never found a candidate in any election with whom I agreed on everything. I'll wager that most of us don't even agree with our families or spouses 100% of the time. So when I step into that voting booth, I always try to look at the big picture and cast my vote for the man or woman who is best qualified for the job. I've hired a lot of people in my lifetime, and essentially that's what an election is -- a hiring process.. Who has the credentials? Whom do I want working for me? Whom can I trust to do the job right?

I'm concerned that a growing number of voters in this country simply don't get it. They are caught up in a fervor they can't explain, and calling it 'change'.

Change what?, I ask.

Well, we're going to change America, they say.

In what way?, I query.

We want someone new and fresh in the White House, they exclaim.

So, someone who's not a politician?, I press.

Uh, well, no, we just want a lot of stuff changed, so we're voting for Obama, they state.

So the current system, the system of freedom and democracy that has enabled a man to grow up in this great country, get a fine education, raise incredible amounts of money and dominate the news and win his party's nomination for the White House -- that system's all wrong?

No, no, that part of the system's okay - we just need a lot of change.

And so it goes. 'Change we can believe in.' Quite frankly, I don't believe that vague proclamations of change hold any promise for me.

In recent months, I've been asking virtually everyone I encounter how they're voting. I live in Illinois, so most folks tell me they're voting for Barack Obama. But no one can really tell me why -- only that he's going to change a lot of stuff.

Change, change, change. I have yet to find one single person who can tell me distinctly and convincingly why this man is qualified to be President and Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful nation on earth-other than the fact that he claims he's going to implement a lot of change..

We've all seen the emails about Obama's genealogy, his upbringing, his Muslim background, and his church affiliations. Let's ignore this for a moment. Put it all aside. Then ask yourself, what qualifies this man to be my president? That he's a brilliant orator and talks about change?

CHANGE WHAT?

Friends, I'll be forthright with you -- I believe the American voters who are supporting Barack Obama don't have a clue what they're doing, as evidenced by the fact that not one of them -- NOT ONE of them I've spoken to can spell out his qualifications. Not even the most liberal media can explain why he should be elected. Political experience? Negligible. Foreign relations? Non-existent. Achievements? Name one. Someone who wants to unite the country? If you haven't read his wife's thesis from Princeton, look it up on the web. This is who's lining up to be our next First Lady? The only thing I can glean from Obama's constant harping about change is that we're in for a lot of new taxes.

For me, the choice is clear. I've looked carefully at the two leading applicants for the job, and I've made my choice.

Here's a question - where were you five and a half years ago? Around Christmas, 2002. You've had five or six birthdays in that time. My son has grown from a forth grade child to a high school freshman. Five and a half years is a good chunk of time. About 2,000 days. 2,000 nights of sleep.. 6,000 meals, give or take.

John McCain spent that amount of time, from 1967 to 1973, in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp.

When offered early release, he refused it. He considered this offer to be a public relations stunt by his captors, and insisted that those held longer than he should be released first. Did you get that part? He was offered his freedom, and he turned it down. A regimen of beatings and torture began.

Do you possess such strength of character? Locked in a filthy cell in a foreign country, would you turn down your own freedom in favor of your fellow man? I submit that's a quality of character that is rarely found, and for me, this singular act defines John McCain.

Unlike several presidential candidates in recent years whose military service is questionable or non-existent, you will not find anyone to denigrate the integrity and moral courage of this man. A graduate of Annapolis, during his Naval service he received the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. His own son is now serving in the Marine Corps in Iraq. Barack Obama is fond of saying 'We honor John McCain's service...BUT...', which to me is condescending and offensive -- because what I hear is, 'Let's forget this man's sacrifice for his country and his proven leadership abilities, and talk some more about change.'

I don't agree with John McCain on everything -- but I am utterly convinced that he is qualified to be our next President, and I trust him to do what's right. I know in my heart that he has the best interests of our country in mind. He doesn't simply want to be President -- he wants to lead America, and there's a huge difference.

Factually, there is simply no comparison between the two candidates. A man of questionable background and motives who prattles on about change can't hold a candle to a man who has devoted his life in public service to this nation, retiring from the Navy in 1981 and elected to the Senate in 1982.

Perhaps Obama's supporters are taking a stance between old and new. Maybe they don't care about McCain's service or his strength of character, or his unblemished qualifications to be President. Maybe 'likeability' is a higher priority for them than trust'. Being a prisoner of war is not what qualifies John McCain to be President of the United States of America -- but his demonstrated leadership certainly DOES.

Dear friends, it is time for us to stand. It is time for thinking Americans to say, 'Enough..' It is time for people of all parties to stop following the party line. It is time for anyone who wants to keep America first, who wants the right man leading their nation, to start a dialogue with all their friends and neighbors and ask who they're voting for, and why.

There's a lot of evil in this world. That should be readily apparent to all of us by now. And when faced with that evil as we are now, I want a man who knows the cost of war on his troops and on his citizens. I want a man who puts my family's interests before any foreign country.

I want a President who's qualified to lead.

I want my country back, and I'm voting for John McCain.

Semper Fi, Daniel L. Frost Jr. GySgt USMC Retired Kokomo, IN

Unity In Christ 2

I don't like posting comments on my own page because I don't know if people will come back and check them, so here's my responses to the comments on my "Unity In Christ" post. The first is to Cassie, then the next will be to Josh.

Cassie,
I absolutely agree that I need to be careful not to fall into the trap of letting the bitterness that I saw in the WOTM get to me and cause me to be bitter in return. I started to recognize that I was letting the bitterness take over which is why I stopped and prayed and started to suggest that we all pray for the guys at WOTM too. I don't want to fight. I'm tired of fighting. I'm tired of fighting with Josh. I'm tired of hearing about other people fighting over similar issues. I'm tired of this civil war that shouldn't be happening. We should be fighting a war against Satan, but while his armies are lining up for battle, we are killing off our own soldiers one by one. Satan is just watching us eat ourselves alive. God is not pleased with any of this. I want to be the solution. I want to be the answer, not more of the problem. I apologize for any offense I may have given off in my post. Like I said, I began to recognize, as I wrote it, that I was not in the complete right heart. However, I decided to use Shaun as my shining example in not deleting what I wrote so that I could appear without fault. I wanted everyone to see how angry and bitter I became to show that I am flawed. I am not perfect, but I recognize that and I want to be better. I want to stop fighting and start loving. I want to stop accusing and blaming and start praying. I wanted people to see that the bitterness of the WOTM created bitterness in me. It doesn't excuse me from blame, but their bitterness spread like a plague to me. It was my responsibility to stop it, and I began to fail. I can tell you right now though, Christ has had the victory in me. I am not bitter any more. I stopped being bitter while I wrote the post. I am still anger, with what I believe to be righteous anger. I'm not angry about them disagreeing with Donald Miller, I'm angry that they, in the name of our saviour Jesus Christ, mocked and persecuted a man for sport and entertainment. I think Christie said it best on Mike's blog, "for the love of God, let's put down our stones".
As far as my prejudging their comments and having made up my mind before I gave them a chance, I agree that there is a risk of doing that, and I truly appreciate you questioning and challenging me on that. I would like to respond, though, by assuring you that I did take their comments as seriously as I possibly could. Their message was difficult to hear among the donkey sounds and snide remarks, but if you go back and read what I wrote, I think you'll see that I did say their points seemed somewhat valid, especially about the ending of the prayer. Again, my purpose in the blog was not to defend, support, or reject any particular doctrine that was postulated by either WOTM or Donald Miller. I have read "Blue Like Jazz" and thought it was a decent book, but I have no "allegiences" to Donald Miller. I don't know particularly much about his personal theology, short of what I read in the book. The same is true for WOTM. I know a small bit of what they believe, but not much. I can assume quite a bit of their theology based on Josh's endorsement of them, but that's probably not a completely fair assumption, because I don't really "know" what they believe. What I'm trying to say is, I could care less if it was WOTM vs. Donald Miller or Joe Bob vs. Jim Dean (both made up names). I could care less who's fighting, it needs to stop. To further the war analogy, if it doesn't stop, Satan will win the war without firing a single shot. Every round of ammunition we pull from our dead and wounded will have been from our own guns.
Again, Cassie, I truly do appreciate your questions and comments. I welcome your wisdom. I hope this answers any questions you had and explains a little better where my mind and heart are at on this issue.


Josh,
I understand and respect your position. However, I think your basis for judgement is fundamentally flawed. I agree that there are tons of unrepentant, unbelieving, unsaved people who call themselves Christians. The issue is how do we determine or discern who those people are. Even more importantly is, how do we deal with those people when we find them.
Let me first address the flaw I see in the discernment. I would definitely say the Bible never commands us not to judge, nor does it say not to look at others to see if they are saved. I would also not go as far as to say the Bible commands us to pick apart every person every second to see if they are saved or not. However, when we do go about trying to determine whether a person is saved or not, the Bible does give us clear guidance on how to do this. We will know Christians by their fruits. Please read Galatians 5, below.

Galatians 5
Freedom in Christ
1It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
2Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

7You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? 8That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9"A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." 10I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. 11Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

13You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature[a]; rather, serve one another in love. 14The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."[b] 15If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

Life by the Spirit
16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

-End of chapter-


Nothing Donald Miller prayed in his prayer fits into the criteria of verses 19 through 21. However, much of his prayer does fit into the criteria of verses 22 through 26. By his fruits, I can reasonably assume that he is truly a believer. However, look at the way the WOTM guys respond to his prayer. Much of how they act fits into the first set of verses. I heard "hatred, discord, fits of rage, selfish ambition (ratings - this is a radio show), dissensions, factions, and envy." The envy isn't as obvious, but part of what they are talking about is how it isn't fair that Donals Miller gets to pray at the DNC when the "rest" of Christians are told to stay out of politics. He may not have really been jealous, but he sounded like it. Regardless, the other 6 points remain obvious. As far as the fruits of the spirit, I did not hear "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness or self-control." Now, please understand I am not saying that the guys on WOTM aren't saved, but, based on the criteria the bible puts forth, they aren't looking so good. I agree that theology is important and we need to do our best to make sure our theology is sound and in accordance with the Bible, but the Bible doesn't say that the World will know the Christians by their theology. The Bible says that the World will know the Christians by our love. I know you claim that churches preach too much love and not enough repentance and wrath. You say that we need to preach both sides. I agree. Please listen to your own advice though, because I don't ever see grace, mercy, or love mentioned by you when you talk about Christ. You truly do preach the "turn or burn" doctrine. A half-doctrine is dangerous whether you only preach love or only preach wrath. I believe our church does an incredibly good job of preaching both. However, if you are a good example of what your church preaches, I would have to say that Cornerstone does not.
I might also bring up that you have mentioned the leavening of the bread before to me as a reason why Mike is not a good pastor. You claim that he has faults or even maybe sin that is bad enough to exclude him from being able to perform that function for Christ. The interesting thing is, as you read the entire chapter, the leaven he's talking about is hatred and argumentative behaviors. Now, I can't say Mike has been completely innocent when it comes to these back and forth blog wars, but I will say that all his comments have been in defense of himself, not as attacks. He is always being attacked first. I'm not trying to be a jerk at all by saying this, but please read Galatians 5 again and pray and ask God where you truly fit into that picture.

One final thing. You said that the guys at WOTM were "rebuking" Donald for his incorrect theology. I absolutely disagree with this statement. Rebuking involves going to someone "IN LOVE" and telling them their error. IF they don't listen, then the next step of rebuke is to bring a few more brothers. The final step, IF the person still isn't listening, is to take him before the church. IF he still doesn't listen, disfellowship occurs. Now heres the thing, WOTM didn't go to Donald at all, let alone in love, to express their views. They didn't give him a chance to explain himself. They didn't give him a chance to correct any of the potentially valid errors. What they did was not rebuke, it was on the verge of slander, and that is what upset me. I wasn't upset that they disagreed with him, I could care less. Like I said to Cassie, I'm not particularly intersted in Donald Miller. What I cared about was that he was needlessly attacked for the entertainment of others. I have a friend who used to listen to WOTM while at work and he would bust out in laughter constantly. It makes me sick to think that anyone would have listened to what WOTM did to Donald and laughed at it. The Devil is winning. Josh, I want us to be united in Christ. Can we please stop the fighting and start loving each other? You mentioned on Mike's blog that your "dear friends" still go to his church. If we are truly dear friends and you're not just saying that, then start loving us, supporting us, and encouraging us. Like I said before, God is not pleased with any of this fighting and I want it to stop. I respect that Mike has said he will no longer respond to your comments. He's tired of fighting. I will still respond to you, but only to tell you how I feel about things. I refuse to fight anymore.


This is the end of my response. For all those who took the time to read this novel, I would like to close with this last recitation of Galatians 5:15.

"If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other."

Unity In Christ

I haven't written in a long time. You might say I've been hibernating for the wint... ummm... summer. Anyhow, I don't know if Josh intended to wake me from my slumber by posting his comment on my blog, but that's exactly what he did. If you haven't been to the link Josh put in the comments of my last post, please go there and then read this. This won't make much sense if you don't.

I don't know the guys on "Way of the Master" from Adam, so I could care less what their opinions are. What I do care about is that they are dividing Christianity in half, and they're doing it for the sake of entertainment. If you listen to their show for 5 seconds you can see that they have taken a page out of Howard Stern's book on how to produce a radio show. Anyhow, I digress. The point is that they attack Donald Miller FOR PRAYING. Donald didn't sleep with another man and hide it from his gigantic congregation and his wife about it for years. Donald didn't skip out on his taxes. Donald PRAYED and the "Way of the Master" mocks and ridicules him for it. Now is that REALLY the way that the Master would do it? NO!!! Christ rebukes and defies the religiously proud. Nothing in Donald Miller's prayer seems religiously prideful, but much of the "Way of the Master" strikes me as arrogant, pompous, proud, and self righteous.

In fairness, I want to look at what the radio show's complaints were with the prayer.

Their first issue is that it seems preachy and like a lecture. The funny thing is if he hadn't done that, they would be complaining because he missed out on an amazing opportunity to preach.

Their second issue is that he doesn't mention unborn babies in his list of people we need to do a better job of reaching out to and providing opportunities for. This commplaint is somewhat valid, but their method for arguing their point is that he only refers to his "pet emergent issues". I'm sorry, but we are COMMANDED by the Bible to care for the widows and the fatherless. We are COMMANDED by God to take on these issues. I find it sad that "Way of the Master" finds the widows and fatherless to only be issues taken on by the emergent church movement. Shouldn't they be Christian concerns? So, do the radio guys think we should ignore the widows and the fatherless? Sounds like that's how they feel to me.

Their third issue is that he closes the prayer by saying that he is making these requests in the name of Jesus who gave His life to fight the forces of injustice and that Jesus should be our example. Now their issue is that Jesus died to save sinners souls not to fight the forces of injustice. Now, while I agree on the surface with their complaint, it is undermined completely in that they continue to play the donkey sounds over and over and over again. Yes, I know, this was at the DNC and the dems are donkeys, but it is obvious that they are suggesting that Donald is a Jack Ass. It is obvious and obnoxious. They then make some snide comment about Donald possibly not knowing that the gospel is really about Jesus saving sinners and that his prayer is somewhat reminiscent of an interfaith prayer. Like I said, I agree that Jesus didn't really die to fight injustice, but that doesn't mean he doesn't know the gospel or that his prayer wasn't effective and that God didn't hear it.

It's easy to find fault when you're specifically looking for it, and that's what these guys seem to be doing. Sometimes it feels like there is this group of "Christians" who roam around the internet and monitor the radio and tv stations looking for something to pick at. It resembles, in my mind, a group of vultures circling overhead, just waiting for some creature to make a mistake so they can swoop in and devour it. Christianity should be more than that. We should be more concerned with those "pet emergent issues" and less concerned with tearing each other limb from limb for entertainment. I don't recall mockery as being one of the fruits of the spirit, but maybe I missed that week in Sunday school. If it is a fruit though, then these "Way of the Master" guys are definitely on the right track.

I guess my point is that I don't fully agree with every tiny aspect of everything that people like Donald Miller or Rob Bell have to say, but I don't have to agree with everything. That's why God gave me a brain and the Bible. He gave me the ability to discern, and I have to use this ability or I'll get sucked into this trap of believing everything that other people put in front of me. The thing is, I can disagree with Donald Miller and Rob Bell while still respecting them. I can disagree and still recognize that they are my brothers in Christ and we need to work alongside one another to further the cause for Christ. I can disagree and know that God is using them. I truly don't know that I can say the same for "Way of the Master". I'm not saying these guys aren't saved. I don't know them and can't tell you that. But I can say the bit I have heard from them does not exhibit ANY of the fruits of the spirit the Bible tells us we WILL, not might, but WILL, find in a believer.

One final note...Right before they go on about Donald Miller's prayer, the guys on the radio show make a comment about Ted Kennedy not undergoing chemo. They then say "It looks like the man is dying. Let's pray that the fellow get's saved, shall we?" YES we shall, so why don't you. Why does he throw that line out there like it's a tagline? He seems to be treating the idea of praying for someone's salvation like it's a game or a way to get ratings....
I just stopped writing for a moment to pray. I prayed for Ted Kennedy, and I prayed for the guys on "Way of the Master". I say this, not to boast that I prayed, but to urge you to stop reading this right now and pray for Ted Kennedy. Pray that he would be saved. Seriously, stop reading, the web page will still be there when you're done praying. STOP READING AND PRAY.

Ok, now, pray the guys on this radio show would be opened to the error of their ways. Pray that God would convict them of their arrogance. Pray that He would show them mercy and gentleness. Pray that He would use them for His work and that the Devil would not be able to use for evil what I know they truly "intend" for good. I know they think they're doing the right thing and I know they are trying to serve the Lord, but I think they are missing the mark. Pray that God would guide them and correct their wrongs. It makes me sick to think of the hatred and bitterness they are spreading. I pray that this would end. I look at even my own post and see how their hatred and bitterness spread to me and I responded in bitterness. I pray that God would end it. Please pray with me that God would end these wars we are starting among ourselves. The Devil wants us to fight each other so that we are too distracted to get any real work done and fight against him.

May God bless you and may we bless each other.

They'll Know Us By Our T-Shirts

Set Apart (Part 2)

Please read the comment left by my friend Josh on the previous post entitled "Set Apart". I wanted to respond with a new post as opposed to a comment just because I like doing it that way.

Josh has an incredibly good and valid point. I wrote that post at 1:30 in the morning. I had just read some things that made me question what it means to be set apart. I don't think Josh misunderstood me, I think I misstated my point.

Josh is absolutely correct, when we get saved, we should and do become "different" than the world. Things will "naturally" change as our nature is replace with the Spirit of God. I was glad to see that Josh walked away from the points I was making about drinking and cussing and smoking, because he was right, that wasn't the point.

Now it may seem that I'm contradicting my original post by saying that we really are supposed to be different than the world. Here's what I guess I was trying to say last night, that I garbled so badly...

We aren't called set apart ourselves, it is something that God does to us. Regardless of how you believe salvation occurs (free will vs. election), the fact is, when we get saved, GOD sets us apart. We are not called to set ourselves apart from the world but to allow God to set us apart. This is one of the main issues I think we get wrong. So often, we try to live "holy" lives on our own, without the assistance of God. This is what I was trying to show in my Van Gogh example. We look the part, but the heart of it isn't there. We look like we are a part of God's people, but we're missing something. We say the right things, but there is no life in us. I wouldn't necessarily say all people in this state are not saved, because salvation doesn't equate to perfection, but a saved person cannot live like this for long (it is against their new nature).

So that's the first part. There are people who try to look set apart, for one reason or another, but are not truly set apart by God. They are still trying to live under their own strength, and ultimately, that strength will fail. We are all sinners and there is no one who is perfect, not even one. We cannot be set apart on our own.

The second part of my issue is this... What does true Christian holiness look like? What does it look like when someone has truly been saved and set apart by God? How will a saved person look different than the world? I did not intend to make the statement I apparently made and I appreciate Josh calling me out on it. I don't think we should try to be like the world to save the world. I don't think we need to drink in order to save drunkards. I don't think we need to cuss in order to save sailors. I don't think we need to smoke in order to save potheads. Relevancy does not come from imitation, but from understanding. I do not think it's bad that some Christians find it necessary, for themselves, to not cuss, smoke, or drink. What I do have a problem with, is that those things are our focus.

If we want to be different than the world, let's actually be different in the ways that matter. Being loving to the unloved is different. Being compassionate to our enemies is different. Giving out of our poverty is different. Admitting our faults and confessing our sins before God and man is different. Letting go of selfish ambition is different. Being active in the community is different. Acknowledging the homeless man on the street and meeting his needs is different. Visiting the widows and the fatherless is different. Treating people who have no dignity left as though they are beloved children of the King is different. Being like Jesus is different.

Not smoking isn't different. Not drinking alcohol isn't different (drunkeness is a separate issue). Not cussing isn't different. Screaming condemnations from a street corner isn't different. Playing in a worship band isn't different. I'm not saying these things aren't good, they just don't strike me as what God was referring to when he said be holy as I am holy. I truly think that Satan has caused us to focus so heavily on these ridiculously minor issues in order to take our focus off of Jesus' true purpose for our lives and for the church as a whole. Josh is right, we should be different, but I just don't think we are most of the time, regardless of whether or not we cuss, drink, or smoke.

I guess my last question would be this... ask yourself which of the 2 following people you think is "more Christian". Which do you think is "Set Apart" from the world? I'm not asking you to post a response on which one you think, although you can if you want. I'm just asking you to ask yourself and be honest with yourself.

Person 1: Goes to church every Sunday and Wednesday night. Doesn't drink any alcohol. Always participates in group discussions and says all the right spiritual things. Doesn't smoke. Is a member of the building committee and the grounds committee, spending 5 - 10 hours a week at meetings. Plays in the worship band. Never cusses. Pays 10% of his income to the church.

Person 2: Attends church when he can. Other weeks he volunteers at a homeless shelter serving food. Has an occasional beer with friends or glass of wine with dinner. Mostly listens during small group discussions. Has a lot more questions than answers. Smokes a pack of cigarettes a week. Doesn't belong to any church committees. Spends a few hours a week tutoring underprivileged kids. Occasionaly takes a youth that most other kids ignore out for some fun like bowling, not necessarily to talk about Jesus, but just to have fun. Sings off key during "worship" time at church. He's so bad he distracts everyone, even the band, but he keeps on singing anyway because he's in the moment with Jesus. Cusses every once in a while for no real reason other than habit. Gives money to the church as he feels led. Sometimes it's not 10%, sometimes it is. He often gives money to people to buy groceries instead of giving to the church building fund. Some months he uses the money he would have given to the church to pay off old credit card debt because he thinks God hates debt more than God needs him to give money to the church.

Neither person looks perfect to me, but no one ever will. The interesting part is that person 2 is a literal compilation of a few really good friends of mine (you know who you are) with a little bit of myself (or who I'd like to be) mixed in. My opinion, and I guess that's all it is (an opinion), is that, although both fall far short of Christ, person 1 has missed the point completely. He doesn't look set apart to me. He looks like a corporate clone, only the corporation is "Christianity". He looks like a Christian imitation of the world to me. Person 2 looks like the kind of guy that Jesus told to follow him. He looks flawed, but he looks different. He looks like he knows something the world doesn't. He looks set apart, despite the flaws.

To one of Josh's points... Again, I'm not saying we should celebrate the flaws, or even accept them. I just think we need to start doing the big things before we focus so much on stopping the little things.

I hope this all made more sense, but I'm sure it didn't.

Could I Be An Author?

I'm reading a book right now called "Blue Like Jazz", written by a gentleman named Donald Miller. At first I thought the book was somewhat bland and disappointing. I'd heard some really good things from multiple people, but I just wasn't seeing. I kept on reading, despite the fact that the content seemed very elementary and simple. It seemed as though Mr. Miller didn't really know what he believed about Christ, but he was writing a book on the subject. Why did I keep reading? I kept reading because I enjoyed Mr. Miller's style. He wasn't writing a book, he was telling a story. As elementary as it was, the story was intriguing. I was curious as to where he was going. I couldn't imagine the whole book to be this basic, and yet be successful. Well, I was right. Had the book remained flat and on pace with the first few chapters, it would never have made it to anyone's bookshelf, much less mine. I still have not finished the book, but I have become pleasantly surprised by it. I am into the 12th chapter and the depth has really started to come through. I have started to become convicted over things I wouldn't have thought this book could have even addressed, let alone convict me of.

This whole experience I've had with this book has made me wonder, "who is Donald Miller, and what gives him the authority and ability to write a book and have people like me read it?" The answer is, he's just a regular guy who decided to put his questions, thoughts, and dreams about his faith, and Christianity as a whole, into a book. He has no real authority aside from the authority his passion and desire allot him. He does not necessarily have any special ability either. He is simply telling his story the only way that comes naturally to him. I have realized that Donald Miller (or any other author for that matter) and I are not so different. The only real difference is that I put my thoughts and ramblings onto this blog, instead of into the pages of a book.

I am beginning to wonder if I shouldn't start praying over the idea of writing a book. I've always thought about it, but I never felt capable or "worthy". I look at these 100 - 200 page works of spiritual conviction and think, "I could never come up with enough valuable things to say in order to fill a book like that." I look at men like Bell, McArthur, or Osteen, regardless of whether I agree with their theology or not, and think that I could never do what they've done. I could never accomplish what they've accomplished. I can't imagine anyone going to LifeWay or Family Christian to pick up that new book by Brent Van Camp. Even moreso, I could never imagine someone using something I've written as a basis for a Bible study, like I have done with 2 of Jim Cymbala's books. I guess the real question is, "why can't I imagine that?" These men are just men. They are not gods. They are not special. They are men. Some have Bible college degrees or Master's in Theology, and some don't. Some pastor churches, and some don't. I think the only criteria that matters when writing on things of spirituality is that Christ be real in the author's life. Christ gives us our authority. That is all we need.

I sometimes get wild and crazy ideas and then want to jump in head first, throwing caution to the wind. I am beginning to get the wild and crazy idea I should write a book. I think I'll pray about it and see what God thinks about that.