Sorry there haven’t been as many posts lately. I am working on creating a new format for the blog. So stay tuned to some of the changes and more regular postings… coming soon!

Thanks!

Many people have various reasons for loving Christmas. For some it can be the presents. For others it could be spending time with family (and not at work!). Some people love it because of the snow and the cold. Others think its great because of all the decorations and lights and things. There are thousands of reasons why people love Christmas. And I just thought I would take a quick minute to share mine with you.

My favorite part of Christmas is the nostalgia. I absolutely love the connection with the old days. Whether it is a beautiful picture of a horse and sleigh shooshing through the snow to get to a far away country home or if I am watching White Christmas – I love the fact that Christmas connects us with how life used to be.

Really, I am not trying to spell out doom and gloom or anything by defaming Christmas in its present form today (no pun intended). Even though Christmas today is different than it used to be, that is not all bad. No, the reason that I love the nostalgia around Christmas is because it takes us back to a simpler time – a time where everything about Christmas was much more simple yet no less joyful.

I love seeing people get delighted over a cup of hot chocolate. I love it that families used to read Christmas stories around the fire to each other. I am amazed that simple gifts like marbles and oranges and candies and nuts were met with smiles and excitement when found in stockings. I love that people actually used to carol. I love it that snow was a big deal. I love it that people used to only get one present each – and that was a great Christmas. I think it is so cool that people used to stand around the piano together and sing Christmas songs. I love that folk used to go downtown to shop and walk around and see all of the Christmas decorations. I love that Christmas trees were all real, and they were decorated with popcorn and tinsel and holly. I love that eggnog was a specialty. All of these incredibly simple things were considered such treats to people in years past.

Can we ever connect the present with the past? I hope so. I know things will never be like they used to be. But I also know that some elements of the Christmas spirit in years past can be incorporated into our Christmas lives today. We can look in wonder at the beautiful Christmas trees that we pass everyday. We can bask in the glow of all the Christmas lights that surround us. We can treat presents more like gifts and less like obligations. We can walk downtown and see the shops. We can enjoy our moments in the snow. We can sing the old songs and tell the old stories. We can connect the present and the past.

Really, we are not doing that bad today. But I think that we can learn a lot from looking back. They were doing a lot of things right back then. There’s a reason those were the ‘‘good ‘ol days’’. And it would be good for us to take a more simple approach to Christmas – to take joy in the actual things and not the quantity of something.

And, of course, the farther we look back to connect the present with the past leads us all the way to Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus…and that was a pretty simple Christmas, too.

Merry Christmas, ya’ll. Enjoy the simple pleasures of the season.

Man, I thought and I thought and I thought about it. And I’m sure someone who is a better person than I could have thought of something great to do on World AIDS Day. But I did realize something throughout my process I realized that I am missing the point completely by trying to make a difference on that specific day. We can’t just focus on AIDS for one day or try to make a difference only for one day. We have to expand our our priorities, focus, and attention. I need to expand my priorities, focus, and attention on AIDS from just one day to all year.

So whether you know about World AIDS Day or not makes no difference. (Don’t get me wrong, World AIDS Day is great. It brings awareness and connection and publicity. It’s a great supplement to the overall fight against AIDS). The thing that makes the difference is people working towards the end of AIDS on a daily basis all throughout the year.

So World AIDS Day was yesterday.

But the day to make a difference against AIDS in the world is today.

And each day afterwards…

A simple enough question. And a question that is seldom asked. But its implications have affected tens of thousands of stories, myths, men, and women for generations upon generations. It is a foundational question. It is at the heart of the great deeds of mighty men. It is the beginning of age-old stories. It is the start of a thousand journeys. And its answer has far-reaching implications for me and for you.

Do you find adventure or does adventure find you?

There are countless stories told throughout the centuries that revolve around a basic premise. A person is minding their own business when a chain of events out of their own control puts them in the middle of a great adventure. Throughout history there are examples of great men and women who had no intention of being involved in an amazing story but were unexpectedly thrust onto the path of adventure. There are stories and myths about unassuming heroes who followed their hearts and their convictions and that led them right into the midst of an adventure. Some people might use the word ‘destiny’ to describe a person who was not looking for adventure, but adventure somehow found them.

But is that how adventure works? Do you find adventure or does adventure find you?

There are also stories of great men and women who went out on journeys seeking adventure, and their desires were met in a variety of ways. From Achilles all the way down to General MacArthur – people have sought out adventure and found it. They have wanted to be a part of a grand story, and they succeeded. Whether there was a specific enemy that needed to be destroyed or a person or people that needed to be saved – there are countless stories of men and woman who chased after adventure and found it.

But, again, do you find adventure or does adventure find you?

I think that all of us – whether you think so or not – want to have adventures. We all want to be a part of a story – an amazing, adventurous story. There is something deep down inside of our hearts and souls that longs to be a part of something heroic and romantic. Even if it is way down there (and each and every day you push it down a bit further and a bit further…), each one of us has a longing to be a part of an adventure. So how do we do it? Do we seek it out or do we wait for it to find us?

Anti-climatically, I think that we can probably find adventure both ways. There are times when adventure will just sneak up on you and carry you off like a wave. There are also other times when the adventure is out there waiting for you only if you have the courage to find it. It is a boring answer, but I think it is the right one.

So if you are seeking adventure and want to be a part of an exciting story – then keep going, my friend.

And if you are not seeking adventure then, well, be careful: it just might be seeking you.

But this is not true Christian activism.

This is only an outer shell – a prideful outer shell that is more focused on the activism part than on the Christian part.

In order to see the true heart of Christian activism, you have to look at the heart of Christ. Would Jesus Christ care if there was a monument for the Ten Commandments that nobody ever saw in a lonely park? Or would He instead care about the homeless man who sleeps next to it – and try to fulfill His life through hope, purpose, help for his addictions, and job training. Would Jesus be holding huge anti-abortion signs in front of a clinic? Or would He be talking with the young girls and their families in their homes – trying to bring restoration and healing in the midst of a difficult situation. Would Jesus travel all the way to China just to get arrested for illegally throwing His beliefs all over the country? Or would He focus on real and practical ways to be able to spread His church around the globe?

The heart of Christ is other people. The heart of true Christian activism needs to be other people. It needs to be tangible help and hope for the lowly and the poor. It needs to be relevant assistance for those who are suffering or being oppressed. It needs to be a loving strategy, loving actions, and loving attitudes.

True Christian activism flows from the heart of Christ.

The things that some people are doing now are not Christian activism.

So where are all the true Christian activists? Who will stand up to take back the reputation of the Church and bring real help and hope to those who really need it?

Things like this happen all the time. And they all happen under the title of “Christian activism”. There are many other things that happen under similar ‘Christian’ titles, as well. Violence and gross protests at abortion clinics. Money-grubbing televangelists. Affairs and indescretions from top leaders. Really dumb Christian t-shirts. All of these things happen within the name of Christianity – and that is usually all that everyday people see about Christianity.

The reputation of Christianity is built upon the things we do that make the news and that are interesting to people. I mean, I know that Christians do lots of good things in the world. But these types of things are not in newspapers and on magazines and debated in talk shows. Nope. The things that are on the news and in the media and engrained in people’s psyche are these other things that make us look so bad. But who’s fault is that? Is it the everyday person’s fault because they only know about Christianity what they read on the newspaper and see in the streets? No. It is Christianity’s own fault that our reputation is so bad.

We have to be more mindful of our overall reputation. The local ‘Christian activist’ who I referenced at the beginning was nnot thinking about the overall reputation of Christianity. Her actions did not help anyone over in China. They did nothing for anybody over there. And her exploits were plastered all over the news here in the US. So the reputation of Christianity being a religion that does not respect other countries, does not do anything to really help people, and has selfish and oblivious ‘activists’ is furthered and cemented. Basically, this woman’s actions did more to hurt Christianity’s reputation than to help anyone.

We have to protect the reputation of Christianity. We have to value the reputation so much that we do not allow other people to ruin it. We need to do all that we can to restore the reputation of Christianity so that it accurately reflects our heart, beliefs, and personality.

And we have to do it now.

So how big do you think Bigfoot’s carbon footprint is?

Probably pretty big, right… Yeah.


So the delivery might be a little off on that joke. But it is my part in helping out with the environment. So I sojourn on.

Here we come, Reader’s Digest.

In fact, I was reading an article lately that brought up one of the reasons why a certain pastor was against the Emergent Church. After generalizing the Emergent Church based on the thoughts of a very few individuals, the author gave an all-encompassing illustration to clarify his position on the entire Emergent Church Movement. He stated that the Emergent Church Movement is like a porcupine – don’t get too close or else you will get hurt.

When I first read this, I thought it was ridiculous. Actually, I still think it is ridiculous now, too. It is extremely unfair to put a blanket illustration over the top of a multi-faceted and still developing concept. But since this author is employing that tactic, I will do the same. But I will show you an illustration that actually makes sense for the current status of the Emergent Church Movement.

The Emergent Church is like a teenager. I really feel like this is a perfect description. Just like a teenager, the Emergent Church is still developing and growing. Like a teenager, they might make a few mistakes every now and then. They are still young enough that they do not quite know how to do everything exactly right yet. And, just like a teenager, the Emergent Church is not fully aware of who it is yet. It has not had enough time to develop and grow. But, also like a teenager, the Emergent Church is filled with potential and hope for the future.

Nobody would judge a teenager forever simply by the things that he or she does when they are in their teen years. No good parent gives up on their teen because they make a few mistakes during their growing teen years. That would be ridiculous. It wouldn’t be fair, and it would just be ridiculous. Everyone knows that teenagers need their teen years to grow and develop into the person that they are going to be. They need encouragement and support to become all that they can be.

This is exactly the same with the Emergent Church. Why are so many pastors and leaders putting it down? Why are so many influential people telling others to stay completely away from it? They are treating it like the porcupine when they should be treating it like a teenager. If these same leaders took the amount of time that they spend decrying it into supporting it – then the Emergent Church would be developing and shaping into the church of the future.

Don’t let leaders fool you. Don’t let them scare you into missing out on something great. And, leaders, don’t give up the Emergent Church. Instead, treat it like a teenager and help it, shape it. Come on, now, everybody.

Let’s stop putting things down and start building things up.

The Emergent Church is not a porcupine that we should not get close to.

It is a teenager that we should help shape and grow in these developing years.