What would Jeff have said?

I was asked to prepare some scripture readings for Jeff Moore's funeral last Saturday, verses from Jeff's perspective of what he'd want people to know and a few things he might have wanted to share. Here's what I came up with...

Moses to Israel

Deuteronomy 6:1-2 This is the commandment, the rules and regulations, that GOD, your God, commanded me to teach you to live out in the land you're about to cross into to possess. This is so that you'll live in deep reverence before GOD lifelong, observing all his rules and regulations that I'm commanding you, you and your children and your grandchildren, living good long lives. 3 Listen obediently, Israel. Do what you're told so that you'll have a good life, a life of abundance and bounty, just as GOD promised, in a land abounding in milk and honey. 4 Attention, Israel! GOD, our God! GOD the one and only! 5 Love GOD, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that's in you, love him with all you've got! (from "The Message" paraphrase)

Jesus with the religious leaders

Matthew 22:34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

The night before Jesus died

John 13:33"My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. 34"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

John15:9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. … 17This is my command: Love each other.

John 17:20"…I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Many years later by John, one of Jesus' disciples

1 John 4:7Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Love God. Love others. It’s real living, full of joy.

Yes it costs, but everything requires some kind of sacrifice – it’s just a question of what you give up in order to get what you want. When you look back on your life, will it be worth it? Love God. Love others.

Or in the immortal words of Bill and Ted: “Be excellent to each other…and party on, dudes!” (This was really in my notes, but there were so many old people there who wouldn't get it I decided to skip it).

We’re here for God and for each other, and for just a short time. Let’s learn to love.

Probably the first of several

You Moved On

You were my fullback, I was your keeper
just a few shots, each game was a sleeper
left `em weeping, waltzing away with the win

Power forwards, rebounding, blocking
on the floorboards, shooting and rocking
to the rhythm of high school hoops with my friend

and on the diamonds all across town
racking runs up and gunning `em down
it was a good year I never wanted to end

you built me up
you cheered me up
then you moved on ahead of me...

a few years later we were at it again
making movies, mixing songs with my friend
so much to learn, so much you already knew

you were patient, willing to teach
never cutting or trying to preach
you were a hero though I wasn't aware of the truth

you built me up
you cheered me up
then you moved on ahead of me...

decades passed...
children grew...
then your dad moved on ahead of you...

then you came back larger than life
same old humor - sharp as a knife -
a deeper faith, anchored in something secure

oh, how you helped out - late in the night
pushing, prodding, getting it right
trying to fashion something that just might endure

you built me up
you cheered me up
then you moved on ahead of me...

this time you can't return
but there's one thing I've learned
you moved on to lead the way for me.

c. 11/18/2009 by Bob Young

Jeff Moore, 1960-2009

He introduced me to Steve Martin's comedy on the soccer field when I was 16. He told me what Mensa was (and he was a member). He showed me how to listen to a song one instrument at a time so I could learn to then hear the whole mix. He had an uncanny ear to point out the slightest buzz, pop, blip, or other artifact. He had the most amazing stories (most of them probably true) about meeting Rev. Al Green, Marc Cohn, and about his dear friend Darrell becoming friends with Jerry Reed. His smarts and speed (in spite of his size) enabled our soccer team to only use two fullbacks, and teams could go an entire half getting maybe one shot on goal. He had the ability to size people up and keep them honest with humorous little zingers that never became malicious. I don't think I ever saw him angry. He had an amazing singing voice, but was far more comfortable behind a mixing console. He taught me how to use head voice instead of falsetto. He was a very good record producer, patiently pointing out what could be better, and always keeping in mind the goals of the band, the capabilities of the musician, and the possibilities of the song. He helped produce my first recording, the one that got my dad to lay down $5000 on a home studio to get me started. He could be trusted with the most embarrassing details. I'll ignore the video production company we started - not every venture pans out. I'd only once gotten so drunk that I couldn't remember what I did or said (just before I met my future wife after a high school basketball game); it was on the way to his house for a party, and he was kind enough to remember what I said and did and recall it for me over the years. My buddy Tom and I visited him in the hospital a few weeks back when he first got sick. I called, emailed, and texted him a few times since. I heard he got out of the hospital and had to go back in because the breathing was just too difficult. I didn't sleep well tonight, and got up at 3am only to find out from a friend that he had gone to meet his father and his Heavenly Father. He was gentle and strong, care-free and careful, fun and funny. He was my friend and I'll miss him very much.

After The Fall

Tomorrow would have been my dad's 72nd birthday. Two years ago he was dying in a hospital while his second wife picked a fight and ran my brother and I off on two separate occasions. This time last year I didn't think about him. This year I did.

After The Fall

I lit another candle today
but not for you per se
but you still came to mind
how many years left behind?

Dreaming through these golden leaves
as one whose heart still grieves
for what could never be
and what never was in reality

So the heavens drop a tear in return
Some lessons are not meant to be learned
They're really not lessons at all
they're just the sky crying after the fall.

And so I bury my thoughts inside
as if my soul could hide
forever what I'm feeling
it just leaves my mind reeling

An open door breaks my reverie
a rushing wind of clarity
that I neither asked for nor wanted
yet it arrives undaunted

as the heavens drop a tear in return
Some lessons are not meant to be learned
They're really not lessons at all
they're just the sky crying after the fall.

And the chill is on its way, I know
Isn't that the way all things go
I'll fight this fire with fire
until I shiver uninspired and tired
waiting, waiting on the snow...

and the heavens drop a tear in return
Some lessons are not meant to be learned
They're really not lessons at all
they're just the sky crying after the fall.

c.10/30/2009 by Bob Young

Faith, hope, and love

So these three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the best one of these is love.
(1Co 13:13)

I was having lunch with my friends Chris and Kevin the other day and we were talking about hard times that are upon two-thirds of us. We've all seen hard times before, and over the years we've learned to trust God more and more through them. His past deliverances speak hope into our current problems. That's the way it works.

But I was reflecting on the fear I still felt having to face yet another crisis - one of the fears being that I lose heart again just before God rescues me. But what seems even worse - remaining full of faith past the point where I've lost faith before... and God NOT rescuing me just yet, but rather leaving me hanging, waiting, the dull ache of desperation lingering.

I got to thinking about nature of the whole "transaction" - I hold out HOPE that God will rescue me like He has done in the past, and I take risks in FAITH (confidence) that the hope will be realized in His perfect timing (so I can brag about Him and His powerful, timely, poetic deliverance and not about my own smarts & skills). But something is missing... why am I still feeling the fear?

No fear exists where his love is. Rather, perfect love gets rid of fear, because fear involves punishment. The person who lives in fear doesn't have perfect love.
(1Jn 4:18)

God didn't give us a cowardly spirit but a spirit of power, love, and good judgment.
(2Ti 1:7)

No fear exists in LOVE. God didn't give us a spirit of fear, of cowardice. So who did give it? Oh... the enemy of faith, hope, and love. And perfect love gets rid of fear...

So I pray, "Oh God, fill my heart, my soul, my being with your love. I hope in you. I take face the risks before me in confidence of who you are, remembering what you have done (and what you promise to do). But I desperately need more of your love in me. Vanquish the fear that lurks, that tries to sneak in (and, to be honest, has snuck in). Help me to avoid a life of me-centered fear and instead radiate others-centered love through the power of your Spirit. Amen."

What do you want...really?

It hasn’t happened yet. As I write this, I’m 48 years old (but feel like 28). I have four children still at home and a wife of 27 years who loves me very much. I have a little software business I started 17 years ago that has paid the bills, but nothing to speak of set aside for retirement. I’m a composer and musician with a pretty good band, but we can’t quit our day jobs to go full-time so we play at festivals, fundraisers, and coffee houses when we can and record on a shoe string. My family attends a church that the kids love, but it honestly doesn’t really feel like home. We’re not depressed or sad – we’re actually very grateful and content for now because we’ve been in much, much worse situations. All in all things are pretty good. Which is why it’s all going to have to change.

Over the years I’ve been taught many things (books, television, seminars, and even churches) and have found that a lot of it really doesn’t work out in practical experience. Life has a way of making liars out of us. Even my own beliefs have changed and changed back again so many times that I’m left with more questions than answers… but I’m finally OK with that. But a few things that I have come to believe grow stronger and stronger in my mind and my life as I see them play out in reality over and over:

• I believe – heck, I KNOW -- that everything you want requires some kind of sacrifice.
• I believe that every success requires risk (and it’s essential counter-part… faith).
• I’m beginning to believe that the best way to seeing your own dreams come true is to help fulfill the dreams of others.

The book of Proverbs, wise sayings largely collected by Solomon, says “Delight yourself in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” Hmm… what are the “desires of my heart”? Does the Lord give me what I want, or does he give me the right desires, and THEN give me what I now want? Wait – why am I focusing on what I WANT? The passage says I’m supposed to delight in THE LORD… my wants are not the issue. I have to really, really, really, really believe that my deepest desires will naturally be fulfilled – by God Himself – and stop worrying about that and start thinking more about what makes God happy.

So what makes God happy? Well, if God is our “father”, then maybe I have a clue - what would make me as a father happy? Seeing my kids grow up to become joyful, loving, wise, successful people who have a positive impact on the world – that would be a nice start. Quite the opposite of the family in Harry Chapin’s class song “Cats In The Cradle”:

My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it, and as he grew
He'd say "I'm gonna be like you dad
You know I'm gonna be like you"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home dad?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

My son turned ten just the other day
He said, "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let's play
Can you teach me to throw", I said "Not today
I got a lot to do", he said, "That's ok"
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah
You know I'm gonna be like him"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

Well, he came home from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
"Son, I'm proud of you, can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head and said with a smile
"What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

I've long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"
He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time
You see my new job's a hassle and kids have the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad
It's been sure nice talking to you"

And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then.

Self-centeredness really is destructive. The “Me” Generation left us millions of selfish land “mines” – careful where you step, one of them may explode. I've been one of them. The way of love – the very way that Jesus himself taught – is the opposite of that. When I cross paths with someone who really knows how to love, I don’t fear an explosion for having violated their territory; instead, I feel invigorated, more alive than before I chanced upon them. I feel loved and want to pass that love along. I feel more ALIVE. I want to be the kind of person who breathes life into others by my love... God's kind of love.

I'm struck by the question "What do you want...really?" A character in a film or play is driven by what they desire, both secretly and openly. The choices the character makes reveal who they are and drive the story of their life. What do my choices tell about me? What kind of story am I living out? Could it be a better story? If so, how? What do I want... really? I know what I say I want, but what do I really want down deep in my heart?

I think this is a question that can't be left on the coffee table to collect dust... do I really delight in God and actively partner with Him in the things that bring Him joy? Do I really want to see His kids full of joy, life, peace, and growth - do I want that so much that I invest my time, money, creativity, etc. to see that happen?

I started asking this question almost two years ago - this blog post was really written back then and has been adapted to now because this must be the lesson God keeps repeating until I get it and can move on to the next lesson. What do I REALLY want? And... what am I doing about it?

Jesus Lit the Menorah

I've written a few Christmas tunes (not enough for a complete album...yet). Here's another one for the pile, though. I was thinking about The Junction's upcoming "Hope For The Holidays" event on Dec 5, 2009 and "out of the blue" (I love that place) the thought hit me that as a boy and as a man, Jesus would have celebrated Hannukah along with everyone else in remembrance of the miracles experienced. I find his Jewishness intriguing, inspiring, and incredibly relevant. I want to understand that better. I had to do a little research, and I'm sure that some of this may sound to a Jew like a Martian commemorating an Independence Day celebration, but here goes:

Jesus Lit The Menorah

Snow was falling somewhere, but not there
No carols being sung there, or anywhere
No mistletoe, no ho-ho-ho
No candy canes, no tv show

When Jesus lit the menorah,
Jesus lit the menorah.

For eight nights in December, he remembered
The miracle in the temple, it was simple:
One night's supply of candle light
for eight straight nights kept burning bright.

So Jesus lit the menorah,
Jesus lit the menorah.

And they offered prayers as a family...
And they blessed their God as a community...
And they lit the candles in unity...

Jesus lit the menorah (Hanukiah - for the miracles)
Jesus lit the menorah (Hanukiah - for the wonders)
Jesus lit the menorah (Hanukiah - for redemption)
Jesus lit the menorah (Hanukiah - for salvation)

(Blessed are You, LORD, our God,
King of the universe,
Who performed miracles for our ancestors
in those days at this time...)

10/4/2009 by Bob Young

Head vs. Heart

The following is from a ridiculously long email I sent to a friend regarding the question "If we are to live holy we must know what is right and what is wrong", which I suggested gets into "how" we "know" anything. Here's what I had to say (with a few selective edits)...

There are two kinds of knowledge - rational/natural/head knowledge and instinctive/supernatural/heart knowledge.

I rationally know that 2+ 2 = 4, Lansing is the capital of Michigan, etc. I've been led astray though by false syllogisms, faulty logic, and emotional manipulation (guilt, pressure, shame, etc) posing as knowledge.

I instinctively know that Joyce is the one for me, that God is real, that Jesus' way is best, that there is a hope for those who follow him. I can't prove these things rationally, but I do know them in a way more enduring than reason.

For the follower of God, heart knowledge is superior to head knowledge, and has a pervasive effect on one's life because God has given us a new heart in fulfillment of the covenant in Jeremiah so that our heart is no longer deceitful above all things and untrustworthy. For a true believer, following your heart is tantamount to following God (though for an unbeliever that's impossible; at best it's following self-centered whims). The Holy Spirit indwells the heart and communicates through it.

The mind, on the other hand, is still affected by the god of this world and must be renewed, transformed, every thought must be "held captive to the obedience of Christ" as Paul wrote. It is the mind that fears, worries, doubts - these do not occur in the heart. It is the mind that must be subjugated to the heart where we KNOW in ways we can't rationally explain that God is good, trustworthy, merciful, and will defend us now or in the end.

When we approach scripture, we need to learn to interpret it with our hearts, not merely our minds. That is not to say that reason has no place, but it does not have the preeminence. Reason is subordinated to the Holy Spirit who assures us at a much deeper level of what is true and what isn't.

I have lost arguments and been "convinced" rationally to follow someone who claimed to have the correct interpretation of scripture only to find that it wasn't the whole counsel of God and that my heart (and Joyce's) had been warning against it all along but we refused to heed that innermost warning. It cost us many years and tears, but God is good, we have been forgiven, and we forgive in return for all He's done for us.

I know now that I must come to scripture with humility, realizing that the reality of God is greater than any doctrinal statement about Him, that His wisdom exceeds our best attempts to grasp it, that His love is so endless that I have little clue and yet so desperately need to embrace it.

I'm not worried about "living holy" - if I love Him, it will occur both naturally and supernaturally. I'm not in fear of disappointing God - God has already paid my price and has not given us the spirit of fear (and I know who does give such a spirit and he is my enemy). Love fulfills the law. Perfect love casts out all fear. Love is far more powerful than condemnation. Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God (1 John 4:8).

Sometimes it seems like people pick over the teachings of Moses, Jesus, Paul, etc. and strain at gnats to feel self-assured of their correctness (a la the Pharisees in scripture) while at the same time totally avoiding DOING the teachings. James lets us know that this is empty, dead, in vain. We don't do works to earn anything, but if we've been changed by His love and grace and power, we will do good works because of who we now are - it's just what kingdom kids do. It's their DNA.

So as I follow God, as I try to more and more follow the way of Jesus, I plan to follow my heart in the process - it won't mislead me like faulty logic has.

P.S. I may have misspoken here or there, stated something that on further review I don't agree with quite that way, but it's like Bluto in Animal House giving his speech - "Don't stop him - he's on a roll..." Anything I said that is true is not true because I said it, but because God made it that way. I accept responsibility for anything less than true. :)

All you need is love...

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."
- 1 John 4:7

I'm struck by the thought that no theological system is implied here - those who are born of God are not said to first have mentally assented to dogma or doctrine, to have completed certain rituals, etc. The people who truly, intimately KNOW God are those who LOVE. They are "born of God"... born again. They "get it".

Jesus told his followers, "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples - by your love one for another." This was recorded by John (known as the disciple whom Jesus loved... imagine that).

For decades I have participated in religious institutions that were filled with judgment, hatred, racism, condemnation, gossip, harshness, lies, deceit, greed, and worse. In that time Joyce and I have commented on more than one occasion that we have experienced far more love from people outside the walls of that religious assembly than we have from those inside.

Many of the "outsiders" we knew actually loved - and I'm not merely talking about self-centered give-to-get kind of love. No, these people (knowingly or unknowingly) practiced the example of Jesus by self-denial and sacrifice in order to better other peoples' lives. They "got it". And based on the verse above, it seems that they "knew God" in ways that hadn't dawned on me at the time.

Paul wrote, "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law."

To "fulfill the law" means to actually get the point; to "abolish the law" conversely means to totally miss the point. Those who love their fellowman "get the point" of the law - it's not a list of things to not do or to do in order to avoid punishment or guarantee prosperity. Rather, the law provides a framework that helps us understand what it means to love each other and bring shalom to our world.

Those who love will be sure to love and honor God first and foremost, respecting him with their time, their bodies, even their tongues. They will honor and bless their parents, the first ones to show them love. They will treat their fellow man in a way that respects their lives, property, bodies, possessions, etc. And beyond the "big 10" there are numerous guidelines that help us understand how to love the poor, the opposite sex, foreigners, animals, victims, criminals, and society at large (as well as how to address situations where to love one party seems to conflict with loving the other party).

All you need is love...
All you need is love...
All you need is love, love...
Love is all you need.

- John Lennon

"Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."

- Jesus

"Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."

May that be true of me.

Rollins on desire

More from Peter Rollins' book "How to [Not] Speak of God":

Rather than desire being fulfilled in the presence of God, religious desire is BORN there. In short, a true spiritual seeking can be understood as the ultimate sign that one already HAS that which one seeks, or rather, that one is already grasped by that which one seeks to grasp. Consequently a genuine seeking after God is evidence of having found.

Of course, much desire that appears to seek after God is nothing of the sort. For instance, to seek God for eternal life is to seek eternal life, while to seek God for meaningful existence is to seek a meaningful existence. A true seeking after God results from an experience of God which one falls in love with for no reason other than finding God irresistibly lovable. In this way the lovers of God are the ones who are most passionately in search of God.

Thus the emerging community celebrate the centrality of religious desire, acknowledging that it is a necessary part of faith. This approach can help us to appreciate why the psalmist writes, 'those who desire God lack no good thing' and why the Gospels tell us to 'seek first the kingdom'.

I guess that's the point I really want to get to... where I desire God for himself, not for what I think he'll give me (like some magical Santa Claus in the ether). I have a vague intellectual knowledge that he is a beautiful person, supremely smart, overflowing with joy and wonder, unflappable, compassionate, radiating love and welcome and even humor.

I know in my heart that he is all that and more. But instead of relying on other people's description of this mind-boggling being, it's time to begin experiencing him more and more first-hand...

A song I'll never play

Sometimes you write just because you write, not because you'll ever use it for anything. This is one of those.

Lovers with Soul

a murder of crows is crowing `bout a murder
cold blooded killer, midnight thriller
shock and awe awaiting on the dawn
for the word to unfurl to the ghetto

calm disposition, disposed over the girder
deep into the river, food for the fishes
a simple solution to a pretty pesky problem
a missionary missing in action

eyes in the sky see past their surveillance
this rock ain't no planet for damage control
eyes in the heart search under the covers
looking for lovers with soul, lovers with soul...

slip some scratch in the back of his jacket
attractive racket for the easy money, honey
blood is gold, it gets bought and sold
and taken for granted, a breath for the Grants, yeah

eyes in the sky see past their surveillance
this rock ain't no planet for damage control
eyes in the heart search under the covers
looking for lovers with soul, lovers with soul...

watching, watching - eyes that never sleep
waiting, waiting - tables left to turn
willing, willing - to take it to the deep
wishing, wishing - they finally would learn
that nothing, nothing comes easy
no nothing, nothing comes easy

eyes in the sky see past their surveillance
this rock ain't no planet for damage control
eyes in the heart search under the covers
looking for lovers with soul, lovers with soul...

8/25/2009 by Bob Young


I think it's about contract killers and the monetary value placed on life with no fear of God. And yet one day, there will be a reckoning.

You might be...

...emergent?

After reading nearly five thousand pages of emerging-church literature, I have no doubt that the emerging church, while loosely defined and far from uniform, can be described and critiqued as a diverse, but recognizable, movement. You might be an emergent Christian: if you listen to U2, Moby, and Johnny Cash’s Hurt (sometimes in church), use sermon illustrations from The Sopranos, drink lattes in the afternoon and Guinness in the evenings, and always use a Mac; if your reading list consists primarily of Stanley Hauerwas, Henri Nouwen, N. T. Wright, Stan Grenz, Dallas Willard, Brennan Manning, Jim Wallis, Frederick Buechner, David Bosch, John Howard Yoder, Wendell Berry, Nancy Murphy, John Franke, Walter Winks and Lesslie Newbigin (not to mention McLaren, Pagitt, Bell, etc.) and your sparring partners include D. A. Carson, John Calvin, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and Wayne Grudem; if your idea of quintessential Christian discipleship is Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, or Desmond Tutu; if you don’t like George W. Bush or institutions or big business or capitalism or Left Behind Christianity; if your political concerns are poverty, AIDS, imperialism, war-mongering, CEO salaries, consumerism, global warming, racism, and oppression and not so much abortion and gay marriage; if you are into bohemian, goth, rave, or indie; if you talk about the myth of redemptive violence and the myth of certainty; if you lie awake at night having nightmares about all the ways modernism has ruined your life; if you love the Bible as a beautiful, inspiring collection of works that lead us into the mystery of God but is not inerrant; if you search for truth but aren’t sure it can be found; if you’ve ever been to a church with prayer labyrinths, candles, Play-Doh, chalk-drawings, couches, or beanbags (your youth group doesn’t count); if you loathe words like linear, propositional, rational, machine, and hierarchy and use words like ancient-future, jazz, mosaic, matrix, missional, vintage, and dance; if you grew up in a very conservative Christian home that in retrospect seems legalistic, naive, and rigid; if you support women in all levels of ministry, prioritize urban over suburban, and like your theology narrative instead of systematic; if you disbelieve in any sacred-secular divide; if you want to be the church and not just go to church; if you long for a community that is relational, tribal, and primal like a river or a garden; if you believe doctrine gets in the way of an interactive relationship with Jesus; if you believe who goes to hell is no one’s business and no one may be there anyway; if you believe salvation has a little to do with atoning for guilt and a lot to do with bringing the whole creation back into shalom with its Maker; if you believe following Jesus is not believing the right things but living the right way; if it really bugs you when people talk about going to heaven instead of heaven coming to us; if you disdain monological, didactic preaching; if you use the word “story” in all your propositions about postmodernism—if all or most of this tortuously long sentence describes you, then you might be an emergent Christian.

...reformed?

After reading nearly five thousand blog posts of Reformed Christians, I have no doubt that the so-called “Young, Restless, and Reformed,” while loosely defined and far from uniform, can be described and critiqued as a diverse, but recognizable, movement. You might be a Reformed Christian: if you listen to Caedmon’s Call, Bob Kauflin, and Derek Webb’s She Must And Shall Go Free album (but never his later stuff), listen only to expository sermons through Romans, drink orange juice to the glory of God, and always use an Amazon Kindle to read publications from Crossway Books; if your reading list consists primarily of John Piper, John MacArthur, R.C. Sproul, J.I. Packer, D.A. Carson, Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, Michael Horton, Wayne Grudem, Bruce Ware, Tom Schreiner, Kevin DeYoung, and Ted Kluck (not to mention Mahaney, Mohler, Dever, Duncan, etc.) and your sparring partners include Brian McLaren, Rob Bell, Greg Boyd, and Rick Warren; if your idea of quintessential Christian discipleship is John Calvin, Martin Luther, John Owen, John Bunyan, Jonathan Edwards, or anyone just named John; if you don’t like Barack Obama or conversations or contextualization or egalitarianism or Left Behind Christianity; if your political concerns are abortion, gay marriage, abortion, gay marriage, abortion, gay marriage, abortion, gay marriage, and abortion and not so much health care or the economy; if you are into singing Psalms, hymns, or Puritan Paperbacks; if you talk about penal substitutionary atonement and the sovereignty of God; if you lie awake at night having nightmares about all the ways Pentecostalism has ruined the church; if you love the Bible as a inerrant, infallible, verbally inspired book that can be used for psychiatric diagnostics and scientific proof of a young earth; if you search for unity with other believers but aren’t sure it can be found; if you’ve ever been to a church that teaches exclusively out of the ESV, has a large Reformed bookstore, promotes several conferences a year all with basically the same speakers; if you loathe words like story, narrative, relational, open, and seeker-sensitive and use words like God-centered, hedonist, regenerate, error, heresy, discernment, and authority; if you grew up in a Christian home that in retrospect seems semi-Pelagian, naive, and about works righteousness; if you forbid women in all levels of ministry, cater to white suburbia, and like your theology systematic instead of practically relevant; if you disbelieve that God really wants to save everyone; if you want to stop dating the church; if you long for a community that exercises church discipline, thinks criticism is a good thing, and doesn’t allow dating; if you believe the “loving your enemies” prooftext gets in the way of the Just War criteria; most of humanity is predestined to hell and no one can do anything about it; if you believe salvation has a little to do with responding in faith and repentance and a lot to do with sovereign grace and limited atonement; if you believe following Jesus is about being doctrinally correct but not necessarily walking as he did (because that’s impossible!); if it really bugs you when people talk about wanting to see heaven getting into people instead of getting people into heaven; if you disdain efforts to help the poor as liberal or supplanting the gospel; if you use the word “justification” in all your arguments against NT Wright–if all or most of this tortuously long sentence describes you, then you might be a Reformed Christian.

(Thanks to iMonk for the post and the link)

Rollin' with Rollins

Here's another great little story from Peter Rollins' book "How to [Not] Speak of God":

There was once a wise teacher who would go to the temple every evening to pray with his disciples. By the temple there was a stray cat who would wander in every evening during these prayers and disturb the peace. So, each evening before prayers the teacher would tie the cat to a tree outside before entering. The teacher was old and passed away a few years later. His disciples continued to tie the cat to the tree each evening before prayers.

Eventually the cat died and so some of the disciples purchased a new cat so that they could continue the ritual. After a hundred years the tree died and a new one was quickly planted so that the cat (by now the eighth-generation cat) could be tied to it. Over the centuries learned scholars began to write books on the symbolic meaning of the act.

Rollins had a particular point he was making with that story, but to me it seems to have even broader application (read the book to know his intent).

The story reminds me of another book "A Canticle for Leibowitz", that describes future history after a third world war (nuclear) ravages the world and a new dark age follows. Some of the traditions and myths that are formed over hundreds or thousands of years are hilarious (especially the prophecies of The Poet and his famous line "Non cogito ergo non sum").

Of course, none of these references clarifies what this post is about. Then again, it's not just about one thing. I'm struck by many things that remind me of the symbolic cat tied to a tree and the canonization of Mr. Leibowitz:

* Plymouth Brethren communion services
* Asking Jesus into your heart
* the song "Mansion Over the Hilltop"
* The modern use of the term "saved"
* Systematic theology
* Neo-Reformed Fundamentalists
* The Religious Right as a political force
* "culture" and "truth" wars
* Bible version wars (especially KJV-only)
* The terms "heaven" and "hell"

There's probably more, but that's probably enough of a taste to get this iconoclast improperly branded. Sometimes I think God cares more about the poor cat tied to the tree than our loud prayers as they tried to drown out its mewling.

Two Perspectives

There is an old anecdote in which a mystic, an evangelical pastor and a fundamentalist preacher die on the same day and awake to find themselves by the pearly gates. Upon reaching the gates they are promptly greeted by Peter, who informs them that before entering heaven they must be interviewed by Jesus concerning the state of their doctrine.

The first to be called forward is the mystic, who is quietly ushered into a room. Five hours later the mystic reappears with a smile, saying, ‘I thought I had got it all wrong.’

Then Peter signals to the evangelical pastor, who stands up and enters the room. After a full day has passed the pastor reappears with a frown and says to himself, ‘How could I have been so foolish!’

Finally Peter asks the fundamentalist to follow him. The fundamentalist picks up his well-worn Bible and walks into the room. A few days pass with no sign of the preacher, then finally the door swings open and Jesus himself appears, exclaiming, ‘How could I have got it all so wrong!’

This story is told in Peter Rollins' excellent book "How [not] to speak of God". It is a very deep, thoughtful book that provides a strong philosophical framework for the "emerging conversation." If all you've heard is sound bites against the emerging church or Emergent Village (two different things), and if you think you have some mental chops, then for the sake of intellectual honesty you owe it to yourself to read this book (or just shut up about the emerging conversation because you don't really know what you're talking about). :)

He makes a case for two kinds of idolatry - one physical, one conceptual. In each case, the object has no inherent "idolness" about it, but one's view of the object is what makes it into an idol. The conceptual idolatry he warns against is doctrines and ideologies about God which have been fashioned by men.

This is what the story above satirizes, as though the fundamentalist's ideas about God gleaned from scripture were so comprehensive and true that he could actually teach Jesus! The evangelical is really in the same boat, but with a bit more humility, while the mystic comes from a very different viewpoint.

The mystic realizes up front that he knows very little of God, even from his interpretations of things God has revealed in nature or scripture; God is simply to big to objectively know. And besides, the mystic realizes that God is really to be known SUBJECTIVELY, not objectively; God desires a RELATIONSHIP with us, not for us to study him like a college course. We are like a baby in the arms of its mother, hardly comprehending her or her thoughts at all, but knowing her love, her smile, her tenderness.

As my children grow to adulthood, they will probably understand a lot more about me; if they read my blog entries, study my song lyrics and poetry, scan my photo albums and scrapbooks my mother made of my years in little league and high school sports, they will know more about me. And yet, there is SO MUCH they don't and likely never will know. It saddens me some, because I really would like them to know me better. But I'm content with having a relationship in the now with them and letting it grow. It may never really be of eternal consequence for them to know which year I won the school spelling bee and which year I lost to Cathy Lloyd by my misspelling "occurrence".

So call me a mystic. Call me emerging. Heck, just call me - I'd rather have a relationship with you than merely know a bunch of factoids about you and delude myself into thinking that because I know about you that I somehow know you.

Citizens of the kingdom of love: UNITE.

Once upon a time there was a super-power that exercised its military might over most of the civilized world. It provided detailed infrastructure, maintained the peace, and provided substantial freedoms for its citizens. Even though it did not abide by a strict, bible-based morality, it had its own sense of fairness and justice, and was willing to use imprisonment and torture to keep the peace and make its point.

One day a man came along inviting people to change their allegiance from this empire based on force to his new empire based on love.

The powers-that-be laughed it off until the movement began to gain steam and affected the position and power of those in influential positions (especially the conservative and liberal religious types who sought either an alliance or to discredit him). Extremist groups tried to link themselves with this new “king”, but he wouldn’t allow it. Isolationists looked to see if he was one of them, but he was far too public for them.

When confronted with the question of paying taxes to the current empire, rather than arguing against taxation, this “king” demonstrated his position by happily paying his share. His later supporters would further clarify this position, stating that the governmental authorities should be obeyed, taxes and “tribute” should be paid, and that this was all in keeping with this new “kingdom of love” somehow.

His later supporters also made it clear that they were first and foremost citizens of this “kingdom of love” and that their role in the empire was to be ambassadors sent with messages from their king for peace and harmony. They were also to encourage citizens of the empire to switch allegiances because of the better way of life found in the new kingdom.

The empire rejected the idea of allegiance to anything other than itself; that was tantamount to treason, and was punishable by harassment, imprisonment, torture, and even death. Public verbal affirmations were required (similar to “Heil Hitler” in recent times).

Supporters of the kingdom, however, encouraged its citizens to only verbally affirm their king’s right to allegiance. They were grateful for certain freedoms and peace within the empire, but they realized where those freedoms ultimately came from (and it wasn’t from the empire).

The citizens of the kingdom realized they were dependent upon their king and interdependent upon each other. Independence was not a thing to be celebrated, nor was rebellion against the empire. Love, mutual submission and respect, mercy, truth, and goodness were their hallmarks, and they stuck with this even when the empire finally grew tired of their growing numbers and began slandering, imprisoning, and killing them. But they were willing to endure these trials because they knew that one day their king’s wishes would be done in every empire and kingdom, and that his better sense of justice would ultimately overcome.

Citizens of the kingdom of love: UNITE.

Cafes & Festivals & Theaters, oh my!

After 10 years, BYB is shifting our focus. It's actually been a long time coming, but sometimes you don't notice things like that until they are upon you or past.

We've been functioning primarily inside what is sometimes called the "Christian Ghetto" - and we'd gotten pretty good at it for a local/regional group. But it's gotten to the point where it felt like we were "preaching to the choir" and in some ways stagnating as artists, musicians, etc. We plan to stop playing churches and focus on making music appropriate for cafes, festivals, theaters, etc.

While we still think there is some value to making music for the purpose of helping people worship God, there is also a glut of great music out there (and some not so great). Inspiration is a funny thing, so I try to never say never, but at this point we're moving on with no plans to return.

The concept that has been capturing our hearts and minds over the last two years, though, has been the over-arching story of the scripture: the devastating impact of man's attempt to be God and the restoring, healing impact of God becoming man. It's the contrast of two kings and two kingdoms - the empire of earth vs. the kingdom of heaven. Fear of death vs. the hope of resurrection. Darkness vs. light.

The goals and principles of these two kingdoms are polar opposites, and they have played out through all of human history. We're intrigued by the tension of the two, by the results of following either way, and the impact that can have on a home, a community, a nation, and the planet.

Just look at the current economic crises - the causes and effects, the possible responses. There's probably enough there for a whole album (so far we only have one new song, but it begins the discussion at least).

All of life comes under this tension - empire of man vs. kingdom of heaven. The good news that Jesus brought included a study of this very tension, and his recommendations for how to respond to injustice, anger, sensuality, oppression, poverty, religiosity, condemnation, and more. We plan to explore these things from both sides in the coming months, years, and albums.

We think that the notion of any form of Christian religion as primarily a "get out of hell free card" or a "we're right and everyone else is wrong club" is absurd and contrary to the teachings of Jesus (the smartest teacher who ever walked the planet). His focus was on changing/transforming our character to heal and restore the world. And the ones who hated his teachings most were the religious, rich, and powerful.

We suspect that some of the religious types out there won't understand or agree with our shift in focus, but we're beyond caring. We see that the kingdom really is the pearl of great price (just like some famous teacher once expounded). And it's stuff like that that inspires, invigorates, and propels us as artists. We hope you join us on our journey. :)

Commencement 2009

Our daughter Hannah Joy was one of 37 graduates in the 2009 CHEM Graduation Ceremonies. Each family provides a brief charge (or "blessing") and then hands the diploma to the graduate. It was pretty moving ceremony (but also pretty long - Joyce and I have a few ideas to chop out about an hour from it!). Anyway, since our surname is so late alphabetically and there were no Zalewskis or Zyzyks, Hannah was the last to receive her diploma. Here is the text from my charge to her:

---

Hannah Joy... we love you, and we’re very proud of you. Having you and being able to homeschool you was a dream for us... that turned into a quite an adventure. We’ve loved it. However, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into! Along the way we learned that all great things require:

• Significant risk – and the enemy will fiercely attack with thoughts of fear and failure. But remember, God has not given us the spirit of fear.

• Desperate faith – where the resources you lack can only be supplied by God himself. Trust Him.

• Hard work – God won’t do it all for you, you have to be diligent with what you can do. Just do it.

• Personal sacrifice – you show what you truly value by what you’re willing to give up for it. May you sacrifice for the best things.

If you choose this path of risk, faith, work, and sacrifice, trials are guaranteed… but so is great joy as God provides and proves himself to be your God, not merely the God of your parents.

And don’t forget: knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. As you go to college to acquire the knowledge you need for your calling, may you primarily be known for your love for God and for others.

Your future is very bright. We named you Hannah, which means "grace". Hannah Joy. May you always live up to your name. We love you.

Yet another inner revolution (aka "Get out of the bedroom!")

A few months ago we visited Oak Pointe Church in Wixom or Novi (not sure which) two Sundays in a row. The first Sunday the pastor said it's not only important to know what your gifts ARE, but also what they are good FOR in relation to the kingdom of God. I had already begun musing on such things that morning prior to church, so it was a confirmation and a timely word for me. He also talked about how God doesn't want our words of praise if we're not living praiseworthy lives. In other words, don't tell me you love me when you're not acting like it.

That was a beginning of sorts of yet another inner revolution. I've been doing the worship leading thing for about 12 years now. It seemed like I kind of "had it down", but what I didn't realize was that I was stagnating as a musician and as an artist. I've been so busy in the spiritual bedroom telling God how much I love him that I rarely left to go show him how much in the great big scary world outside.

Alongside these thoughts has been the growing awareness that the gospel evangelicalism has been preaching for decades (if not longer) has a comparative donut hole to the entire donut. It's been a micro-focus on a single facet of the diamond, without celebrating and offering the WHOLE diamond to the world. We've been selling a spiritual fire insurance as though it's the main thing that was on Jesus' mind as he instructed thousands at a time. We've been wrong.

The gospel is much richer, much fuller, with much further-reaching here-and-now implications than merely getting into heaven and out of hell when you die. It is the good news that brings shalom to our selves, our homes, our communities, our world - if only we would believe it and do it. I'm finding the teachings of Jesus more and more compelling, practical, relevant, and different than I was led to believe in the religious institutions of my past. His methods would get him kicked out of most churches if his acquaintances didn't first. This is someone and something worth investing the rest of my life in. But that means change - what he called "dying to self".

I'm tired of merely helping people tell God they love him and then watch them go off and misrepresent what he's really about. I'm tired of the pride and power and posing that goes on in safe little moral church buildings. I'm compelled to follow a brave, humble, loving Jesus as he reaches out to those outside the synagogue, outside the church, outside safe, polite society.

Now that we have begun the next leg of this risky, scary journey, God has begun giving the voice, the message, the songs again. He's been leveraging the relationships developed over the last few years as the foundation for a new thing that he is doing through us. We want to connect, to love, to empathize with the real life problems out there, and hopefully gain the trust and opportunity to share how the way of Jesus applies to each and every problem we could face - but not in some arrogant, condescending, close-minded way. We want to foster understanding on both sides (unlike the screaming polemics you see on talking head political shows).

If you're the praying kind, please pray that God will use us in the lives of needy people to provide love, hope, direction, and support. Pray that the songs keep coming, and that they are helpful and excellent in quality. Thanks!

2007 Beliefs

A few years back I decided to try to put into my own words what I thought about God, the Bible, Jesus, etc. I felt it was important to separate what is revealed by God from what we deduce, experience, and document as history. I suspect I'll need to revisit this every few years, because even now I would word things differently, emphasize things that are not even included here, and de-emphasize other items or eliminate them entirely. But, for what it's worth, here's what it was...

God exists; creation implies a powerful Creator, and the intricate design in creation reveals much about him. God speaks; throughout history he has communicated with the hearts of individuals, and guided them to write these communications, history, ethical teachings, collected wisdom, poetry, songs, etc. in their own language and style.

These writings were collected into what we now call “The Bible”. People who love God generally agree which writings were truly from God, and carefully copied/translated them for thousands of years. Those who agree the Bible is from God trust its accuracy, submit to its authority, practice its teachings, and believe its revelations.

One revelation is that we’re all fundamentally a hopeless mess. This goes back to the first man, continues with our children, and distances us from God. He still loves us, but we’re unable to rightly love him and others. We simply fall short. We are naturally selfish, and any apparent generosity is tainted with ulterior motives.

People across history agree that thoughts and actions generally have consequences; this is widely known as “karma” – you get what’s coming to you. The revelations also agree: those who don’t love God rightly don’t enjoy his presence and blessings, and tend to suffer appropriate consequences for their thoughts and actions.

Another revelation is that God showed us his perfect love by becoming a man named Jesus of Nazareth. He loved through his words and actions, and paid the consequences for, not himself, but everyone else by being publicly executed on a cross. He demonstrated a “grace” that worked outside the law of karma.

God even revealed thousands of years ago that one would accomplish all that Jesus did. The writers referred to this person as the one “anointed” (chosen) by God. The Hebrew word for this is “moshiach” (Messiah); the Greek word is “christos” (Christ). That’s why he is commonly known as “Jesus the Christ”, or simply “Jesus Christ”.

History records that Jesus came back to life after three days in the grave, taught his friends over a period of forty days, and then ascended up to heaven. His friends banded together as an extended family called “the church”, and spread the good news that a new way of living in freedom and love was available to all.

For those who believe that this good news is true and commit their lives to it, they are set free to enter into a loving relationship with Jesus/God, with all their consequences paid in full by him. They become new people inside. As they live out this faith God changes them, patiently teaching them to truly love. He no longer holds their failings against them, since they are a “work in progress”. He calls them “children” and “friends”.

Over time, God’s friends realize more and more how involved God is with them. The Bible reveals that God’s Holy Spirit is actively working in his people so they become increasingly more like Jesus in word and action. People often refer to God/Jesus/Holy Spirit as the Three-in-one, or the Trinity. Trying to fully understand this is like trying to comprehend the universe, predestination, or anything thing else infinite; our finite brains aren’t made for it.

The Bible reveals that God provides special gifts and talents to all of his friends so that they can help each other in unique, inter-connected ways. So, one benefit of a local “church” community is that each person can practice their abilities for the benefit of everyone else. They work together and grow together as grateful friends of God.

God’s work continues in this world and in the lives of his friends. He revealed that his love is so endless he will provide his friends with new, eternal bodies at death. Death isn’t something for them to fear; instead, it’s a portal to a life even more exciting that the one they experience with him here and now. In the meantime, his friends have much living, loving, and growing to do as they partner with him to make this good news known to the world.

Quick Fix

"...life is complex, and the idea that you can break it down or fix it in a few steps is rather silly. The truth is there are a million steps, and we don't even know what the steps are, and worse, at any given moment we may not be willing or even able to take them; and still worse, they are different for you and me and they are always changing. I have come to believe the sooner we find this truth beautiful, the sooner we will fall in love with the God who keeps shaking things up, keeps changing the path, keeps rocking the boat to test our faith in Him, teaching us to not rely on easy answers, bullet points, magic mantras, or genies in lamps, but rather in His guidance, His existence, His mercy, and His love."

- Donald Miller, "Searching for God Knows What"

This quote reminds me of a song I wrote close to 20 years ago and that we're putting on our new CD (to be released in March 2009):

Quick Fix
c.11/18/1990 by Bob Young

When I skinned my knee Momma made me feel better
but the wound still needed time to heal
When Betty broke my heart you know I wanted to die
somehow I survived that long ordeal
Heartache to heartache I grew strong
learning to take whatever comes along

and now I don't want a quick fix,
I don't need a quick fix.

I went to Sunday School, I heard the Golden Rule
from folks who fought over chairs and padded pews
When my friend got fired he made their prayer list
but they kept their cash - he didn't share their views
I grew disillusioned but I held on
`cause there's no confusion between right and wrong
(I think that's wrong)

but I don't want a quick fix,
I don't need a quick fix.
No, no - I don't want a quick fix -
Mister, you can keep your quick fix!

Some talk of pie in the sky in the sweet bye and bye
Well, I believe in a place called Heaven
No tears, no fears, no sin, no dyin'
but in the meantime I've got to keep on livin'
through laughter and sorrow, sun and rain
sharing the Savior's great love and pain

I don't want a quick fix,
No, no - I don't need a quick fix.
Hey, hey - I don't want a quick fix -
Mister, you can keep your quick fix!

It turns out that I also put it into a beat poem (all you first edition owners of "The Big", please raise your hand...):

Nix
c.3/17/1989 by Bob Young

The ecstatic fanatic
is an addict
for the hot quick fix,
but what sticks through shocks
is nix (or not a lot, at least).
They feast on yeast,
they lick the bowl,
and in the end
they lose the life
and the control
they pained and strained
and racked their brains
and sweated and fretted
and dreamed and schemed
and tried and died
to hold on to.
Nix on the quick fix.

I wonder if I've actually learned this lesson yet? Or maybe it's one of those lessons that keeps coming back around again and again to pry yet one more grasping finger off the hold of my life. In any case, God is relentless and will settle for nothing less than my complete trust in His way, His goodness, and His timing. Nix on the quick fix.