We've moved to WordPress...
Please head to blog.bobskyyoung.com for the latest posts.
You may also be interested in our related sites:
Delta Twins music
Delta Twins blog
Bob Sky Young music
The Leap of Doubt
Thanks for stopping by!
Monday, April 8, 2013
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Good Things
(This is a looooooooooooooooooooooong post, but I hope you'll find it worth reading all the way to the end).
I used to perform music primarily in churches. For many years I would lead people in singing songs about things they claimed to agree with, and at times I felt like I helped them make a genuine connection with the God of the universe.
About a year and a half ago, I sensed that God was calling me away from that, and calling me to use my musical gifts and passions in other ways for the sake of the “kingdom of love”. It’s been a very interesting ride to say the least.
On the Good Side...
On the good side, we started with hardly any material that would work out among the general population, but the vision and songs came shortly thereafter to where I now have about three albums worth of new material (and one live album to show for it). Not all of the material is appropriate for our band, so I end up performing a number of the new songs at coffee houses and open mics as a solo act from time to time.
This has led to making many new friends that I would never have met otherwise. I’ve learned much from them, enjoyed their company, and been an encouragement to them in return at times. I’ve even had the privilege of recording live albums for several of these new friends.
We’ve been surprised at the poor turnout to our shows, but stepping back I see that most people are doing exactly what I’d want to do at the end of a long day or long week - staying home and relaxing. So please don’t feel any guilt about not coming out (but please know that those who have made the effort are deeply and profoundly appreciated).
The Mission
Anyway, our musical mission has been to proclaim the kingdom of love, it’s beauty, it’s characteristics, it’s values, and at times to sing about the contrasts and consequences of those living in opposition to it. And unfortunately, I’ve noticed that many of the ones living in opposition to God’s way are not “unchurched heathen”, but rather self-assured religious types. It’s been sobering and saddening to see people claim the name of Jesus while living nothing like him.
I don’t care what church you go to, what prayer you prayed, what transaction you think you did in order to get into God’s good graces. These days I don’t think God much cares, either. The thing that has mattered all along has been whether or not you’re living according to the way Jesus taught, or to use his analogy, building your house on the rock rather than on the sand.
Yeah, we’re all screwed up, we all come from dysfunctional families that couldn’t help but lead us astray from the start. We’re all in need of some direction, some assistance, some mentoring, and some deep, heart-based changes. And only God can make that come to fruition, but not without our desire and effort. It’s a partnership where we do what we must and he does what only he can do. In time, a new life is born out of the old. Attitudes are altered, instincts re-programmed, and where there was worry, fear, doubt, and negativity, there is now love, joy, peace, and hope.
Jesus talked about how the needy outcasts of society were entering into his kingdom ahead of the religious people. It was both an encouragement to those who already knew their need, and a shame on the those who should have already known better. And that brings me to my story...
The Story
Life has been hard in these economic times. Business has been bad. At times I’ve worried, at times I’ve prayed, and at other times I’ve written songs to work through it. I wrote “All Thumbs Up” to address my fundamental need for hope rather than skepticism. The song “Work My Blues Away” empathizes with anyone who loses their job, is willing to work, but can’t find employment.
Things were looking bleak. I was making efforts to drum up new business, but there really isn’t any of it out there. Debts started to mount, while our oldest daughter is looking to head off to her first year of college away from home... but where will the money come from? Will she have to come home after a month? Hey God - what are you doing here?
In this particular case, he was reminding us that our true hope can only come from him - not from any government loan, not from any particular customer, not from the lottery, or from any other effort where we “take matters into our own hands”. Our hope was in him loving us, not willing to devastate us (though he is free to do so), and willing to rescue us so that we can boast about how great he is, not how crafty and resourceful we are. I can’t speak for you - I only know that this is what he was teaching us in our particular case.
What do you know?
And then what do you know... a government loan did come through. So did a new customer. So did other unexpected money. The next thing you know, I’m on a plane to Utah, and the project is perfectly timed to where we are able to provide exactly what the customer needs at the precise time they need it. And my key resource at this client is also a musician (which provides a great built-in camaraderie). Now some of the debt is started to get repaid, and the outlook is positive that it will continue for a while. Dumb luck? Sorry, I don’t buy that..
On my second trip to Utah I asked to borrow a guitar from my kind friend, and though he was busy, I found several open mics in town and decided to show up and play some of our “kingdom of love songs”. On Tuesday I performed first at Alchemy Coffee Shop, then I headed over to Mo’s Bar & Grill for a rip-roaring session that was one of my most fun experiences ever.
At Mo’s I spent a good deal of time talking to a relatively new resident of Salt Lake City named Bennett. He’s a music lover who has lived all over the place and had a wide range of musical experiences. He has a bit of Joe Cocker in his voice when he wants to, and plays a really mean guitar. He gave me some contact info and recommended an open mic that he goes to on Wednesdays, and before I fell asleep that night I had already found his music page and friended him on Facebook.
On Wednesday I decided to head over to Mestizo’s Coffee Shop, but before doing so I thought I had better listen to some of Bennett’s music online first in case he asked what I thought. I found his YouTube site and enjoyed a few of the tunes, and then I watched a sortakinda comedy video he did...at least, I thought it was going to be a comedy. In it he revealed that he was homeless and described some of what he went through in the frigid October air in Utah. I didn’t know if it was a joke, an empathizing with the homeless, or if it was real.
It was real
I arrived at Mestizo’s and signed in, then found Bennett sitting at a table with his laptop, guitar, and the rolling cart he had the night before. I needed to put a new battery in the guitar I was using, and he was kind enough to help me out. As he was helping me, I asked “what’s up with the homeless shtick?” He responded with the same grace and smile from the night before that yes, he was living in a car that doesn’t run, playing music on the streets for food, and desperately looking for work with no real prospects in spite of a wide range of skills he possessed.
He’s not a drug addict or alcoholic. He doesn’t smoke. He’s not mentally ill. He’s not negative or scary or freaky or anything. He’s a loving human being who had several too many bad breaks and is doing all he can to survive. I didn’t have time to contemplate it too much because they called my name to come and play and I had to quickly tune my guitar and figure out what songs I was going to do.
I opened with “November Sky”, a brooding tune I composed a year ago that ends with the verse:
I thought of Bennett as I sang it, trying to encourage him and the other in the room to keep hoping no matter how bleak it gets. Next I did a love song for my wife, a recent one that just celebrates the joy of being in love and the healing and acceptance it brings that makes life worthwhile. Then I closed with a newer Delta Twins song called “All Thumbs Up” that describes how I cope by letting God be God and just living in hope.
Bennett heard me play that song at Mo’s the night before, so he quickly grabbed his guitar and played some sizzling lead guitar - it was special. The 20-25 people there seemed to enjoy and appreciate it, too. And then it was Bennett’s turn to play.
He opened with “Never Been To Spain”, a great Three Dog Night classic. He rode the dynamics on that one - soft to LOUD and back again - it was really soulful. And then something even more special happened. He introduced the next song and said it wasn’t going to sound as good it could because it really needs the harmonies that were written for it. And when he started singing it, I could’ve fallen out of my chair - it was “Good Things” by The BoDeans (a Milwaukee band that Joyce and I absolutely love and have seen in concert). And I knew all the words...AND the harmonies.
When he got to the second chorus, I jumped up and joined him. He looked a little shocked that I actually knew the song, much less the harmonies, and then a huge smile came across his face as we sang together:
I just about cried as I was singing it because I was thinking about Bennett’s story and how I longed for him to experience the goodness of God. I sang, I willed, I prayed, I hoped that song for him and with him - “don’t pass me by... I can see good things for YOU and I”. It was one of those musical “moments” that pulls me back onto the stage like a 300 yard drive and a birdie putt beckons a golfer (in spite of the nasty sand wedge shots and slices into the woods).
All We Are Saying
The next performer had a Russian-tinged speaking voice, but the voice of John Lennon sang out from him. He segued from “A Day In The Life” to “Give Peace A Chance”, and encouraged the crowd to join in. I’m trying to sing the high harmonies on it as the entire room is filled with voices crying out for peace, for shalom, for and end to conflict and an embracing of love and justice (not judgment/punishment justice, but the Old Testament meaning of “setting things right” like a broken bone or an unfair action). I was reminded of my friend David Nefesh’s use of the Hebrew phrase tikun olam (“reparing the world”) to describe his (and my and I believe Jesus’) mission.
Then I heard a man who goes by the name Utah Slim sing a song that likened the ugly oil fields of his home state to the raping of a girl, and suggested that no one would normally just stand by and let that happen (and yet we do). I found myself agreeing with him, with them, with this roomful of people ten years ago I would have avoided and condemned as hippies or worse. And yet now I’m sensing the solidarity, the beauty of these people, thinking that maybe like the outcasts of Jesus’ day they were entering the kingdom of God ahead of the overtly religious.
When the Native American named “Jaguar” came up at the end to offer up a closing prayer to the Great Spirit, I sensed it was a holy thing that was happening there at Mestizo’s, and I was privileged to be there. My Baptist upbringing had me analyzing his heartfelt prayer in spite of myself, and I was a little sick that I was glad that I found nothing objectionable. Some old habits die hard.
Jaguar came up to Bennett afterward and inquired more about his situation (they had met previously, and Bennett is why Jaguar came). Jaguar then proceeded to offer some opportunities to Bennett as well as all of his cash. This was God’s economy at work. And though I only had a dollar in my wallet (I always use credit cards when I travel), I did what I could and offered Bennett a ride home to his car. He accepted, and I enjoyed the last few minutes I had to talk with him.
Not for the World
I expect to continue to communicate with him online, and I hope to see him again next time I come to Utah, but one never knows. Even more than that, whether I ever see his face again, I hope and pray that the Great Spirit, the God of the Universe himself, will meet Bennett’s needs every single day, that they will partner together to bring life, beauty, healing, and grace to this scarred world.
And as I drove away I mused on how if I had never followed the calling to stop “singing to the choir” as it were, then I wouldn’t have developed the material or love for playing at open mics and coffee houses, and I would have more likely than not been squandering my evening watching stupid movies and TV shows in my temperature-controlled La Quinta Inn room instead of seeing the kingdom of love thriving in downtown Salt Lake City. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
P.S.
One of the young men at Mestizo's was recording both audio and video for the entire evening. The host of the open mic suggested that Bennett and the video guy get together and maybe do a documentary on his situation. Bennett insisted it not be to garner more support for him, but rather that it be used to encourage other homeless people to not become discouraged, to not give up, and to keep doing what they can until things improve for them. Please pray for the success of this effort.
I used to perform music primarily in churches. For many years I would lead people in singing songs about things they claimed to agree with, and at times I felt like I helped them make a genuine connection with the God of the universe.
About a year and a half ago, I sensed that God was calling me away from that, and calling me to use my musical gifts and passions in other ways for the sake of the “kingdom of love”. It’s been a very interesting ride to say the least.
On the Good Side...
On the good side, we started with hardly any material that would work out among the general population, but the vision and songs came shortly thereafter to where I now have about three albums worth of new material (and one live album to show for it). Not all of the material is appropriate for our band, so I end up performing a number of the new songs at coffee houses and open mics as a solo act from time to time.
This has led to making many new friends that I would never have met otherwise. I’ve learned much from them, enjoyed their company, and been an encouragement to them in return at times. I’ve even had the privilege of recording live albums for several of these new friends.
We’ve been surprised at the poor turnout to our shows, but stepping back I see that most people are doing exactly what I’d want to do at the end of a long day or long week - staying home and relaxing. So please don’t feel any guilt about not coming out (but please know that those who have made the effort are deeply and profoundly appreciated).
The Mission
Anyway, our musical mission has been to proclaim the kingdom of love, it’s beauty, it’s characteristics, it’s values, and at times to sing about the contrasts and consequences of those living in opposition to it. And unfortunately, I’ve noticed that many of the ones living in opposition to God’s way are not “unchurched heathen”, but rather self-assured religious types. It’s been sobering and saddening to see people claim the name of Jesus while living nothing like him.
I don’t care what church you go to, what prayer you prayed, what transaction you think you did in order to get into God’s good graces. These days I don’t think God much cares, either. The thing that has mattered all along has been whether or not you’re living according to the way Jesus taught, or to use his analogy, building your house on the rock rather than on the sand.
Yeah, we’re all screwed up, we all come from dysfunctional families that couldn’t help but lead us astray from the start. We’re all in need of some direction, some assistance, some mentoring, and some deep, heart-based changes. And only God can make that come to fruition, but not without our desire and effort. It’s a partnership where we do what we must and he does what only he can do. In time, a new life is born out of the old. Attitudes are altered, instincts re-programmed, and where there was worry, fear, doubt, and negativity, there is now love, joy, peace, and hope.
Jesus talked about how the needy outcasts of society were entering into his kingdom ahead of the religious people. It was both an encouragement to those who already knew their need, and a shame on the those who should have already known better. And that brings me to my story...
The Story
Life has been hard in these economic times. Business has been bad. At times I’ve worried, at times I’ve prayed, and at other times I’ve written songs to work through it. I wrote “All Thumbs Up” to address my fundamental need for hope rather than skepticism. The song “Work My Blues Away” empathizes with anyone who loses their job, is willing to work, but can’t find employment.
Things were looking bleak. I was making efforts to drum up new business, but there really isn’t any of it out there. Debts started to mount, while our oldest daughter is looking to head off to her first year of college away from home... but where will the money come from? Will she have to come home after a month? Hey God - what are you doing here?
In this particular case, he was reminding us that our true hope can only come from him - not from any government loan, not from any particular customer, not from the lottery, or from any other effort where we “take matters into our own hands”. Our hope was in him loving us, not willing to devastate us (though he is free to do so), and willing to rescue us so that we can boast about how great he is, not how crafty and resourceful we are. I can’t speak for you - I only know that this is what he was teaching us in our particular case.
What do you know?
And then what do you know... a government loan did come through. So did a new customer. So did other unexpected money. The next thing you know, I’m on a plane to Utah, and the project is perfectly timed to where we are able to provide exactly what the customer needs at the precise time they need it. And my key resource at this client is also a musician (which provides a great built-in camaraderie). Now some of the debt is started to get repaid, and the outlook is positive that it will continue for a while. Dumb luck? Sorry, I don’t buy that..
On my second trip to Utah I asked to borrow a guitar from my kind friend, and though he was busy, I found several open mics in town and decided to show up and play some of our “kingdom of love songs”. On Tuesday I performed first at Alchemy Coffee Shop, then I headed over to Mo’s Bar & Grill for a rip-roaring session that was one of my most fun experiences ever.
At Mo’s I spent a good deal of time talking to a relatively new resident of Salt Lake City named Bennett. He’s a music lover who has lived all over the place and had a wide range of musical experiences. He has a bit of Joe Cocker in his voice when he wants to, and plays a really mean guitar. He gave me some contact info and recommended an open mic that he goes to on Wednesdays, and before I fell asleep that night I had already found his music page and friended him on Facebook.
On Wednesday I decided to head over to Mestizo’s Coffee Shop, but before doing so I thought I had better listen to some of Bennett’s music online first in case he asked what I thought. I found his YouTube site and enjoyed a few of the tunes, and then I watched a sortakinda comedy video he did...at least, I thought it was going to be a comedy. In it he revealed that he was homeless and described some of what he went through in the frigid October air in Utah. I didn’t know if it was a joke, an empathizing with the homeless, or if it was real.
It was real
I arrived at Mestizo’s and signed in, then found Bennett sitting at a table with his laptop, guitar, and the rolling cart he had the night before. I needed to put a new battery in the guitar I was using, and he was kind enough to help me out. As he was helping me, I asked “what’s up with the homeless shtick?” He responded with the same grace and smile from the night before that yes, he was living in a car that doesn’t run, playing music on the streets for food, and desperately looking for work with no real prospects in spite of a wide range of skills he possessed.
He’s not a drug addict or alcoholic. He doesn’t smoke. He’s not mentally ill. He’s not negative or scary or freaky or anything. He’s a loving human being who had several too many bad breaks and is doing all he can to survive. I didn’t have time to contemplate it too much because they called my name to come and play and I had to quickly tune my guitar and figure out what songs I was going to do.
I opened with “November Sky”, a brooding tune I composed a year ago that ends with the verse:
and if my faith is all I own
coupled with a love refusing to die
I suppose that hope will be enough
to get me through this cold November sky.
I thought of Bennett as I sang it, trying to encourage him and the other in the room to keep hoping no matter how bleak it gets. Next I did a love song for my wife, a recent one that just celebrates the joy of being in love and the healing and acceptance it brings that makes life worthwhile. Then I closed with a newer Delta Twins song called “All Thumbs Up” that describes how I cope by letting God be God and just living in hope.
No, no, no - I’m not in on that great big scheme
It’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright - I’m still living the dream
I just take, take, take each day as it comes
And if you ask me how I’m doing, “I’m all thumbs up!”
Bennett heard me play that song at Mo’s the night before, so he quickly grabbed his guitar and played some sizzling lead guitar - it was special. The 20-25 people there seemed to enjoy and appreciate it, too. And then it was Bennett’s turn to play.
He opened with “Never Been To Spain”, a great Three Dog Night classic. He rode the dynamics on that one - soft to LOUD and back again - it was really soulful. And then something even more special happened. He introduced the next song and said it wasn’t going to sound as good it could because it really needs the harmonies that were written for it. And when he started singing it, I could’ve fallen out of my chair - it was “Good Things” by The BoDeans (a Milwaukee band that Joyce and I absolutely love and have seen in concert). And I knew all the words...AND the harmonies.
When he got to the second chorus, I jumped up and joined him. He looked a little shocked that I actually knew the song, much less the harmonies, and then a huge smile came across his face as we sang together:
Haunting love is all that I feel when you’re passing by
Haunting love is all that I see - it’s there in your eyes, so I say
No, no, no - don’t pass me over
No, no, no - don’t pass me by
See - I can see good things for you and I
yeah, good things for you and I.
I just about cried as I was singing it because I was thinking about Bennett’s story and how I longed for him to experience the goodness of God. I sang, I willed, I prayed, I hoped that song for him and with him - “don’t pass me by... I can see good things for YOU and I”. It was one of those musical “moments” that pulls me back onto the stage like a 300 yard drive and a birdie putt beckons a golfer (in spite of the nasty sand wedge shots and slices into the woods).
All We Are Saying
The next performer had a Russian-tinged speaking voice, but the voice of John Lennon sang out from him. He segued from “A Day In The Life” to “Give Peace A Chance”, and encouraged the crowd to join in. I’m trying to sing the high harmonies on it as the entire room is filled with voices crying out for peace, for shalom, for and end to conflict and an embracing of love and justice (not judgment/punishment justice, but the Old Testament meaning of “setting things right” like a broken bone or an unfair action). I was reminded of my friend David Nefesh’s use of the Hebrew phrase tikun olam (“reparing the world”) to describe his (and my and I believe Jesus’) mission.
Then I heard a man who goes by the name Utah Slim sing a song that likened the ugly oil fields of his home state to the raping of a girl, and suggested that no one would normally just stand by and let that happen (and yet we do). I found myself agreeing with him, with them, with this roomful of people ten years ago I would have avoided and condemned as hippies or worse. And yet now I’m sensing the solidarity, the beauty of these people, thinking that maybe like the outcasts of Jesus’ day they were entering the kingdom of God ahead of the overtly religious.
When the Native American named “Jaguar” came up at the end to offer up a closing prayer to the Great Spirit, I sensed it was a holy thing that was happening there at Mestizo’s, and I was privileged to be there. My Baptist upbringing had me analyzing his heartfelt prayer in spite of myself, and I was a little sick that I was glad that I found nothing objectionable. Some old habits die hard.
Jaguar came up to Bennett afterward and inquired more about his situation (they had met previously, and Bennett is why Jaguar came). Jaguar then proceeded to offer some opportunities to Bennett as well as all of his cash. This was God’s economy at work. And though I only had a dollar in my wallet (I always use credit cards when I travel), I did what I could and offered Bennett a ride home to his car. He accepted, and I enjoyed the last few minutes I had to talk with him.
Not for the World
I expect to continue to communicate with him online, and I hope to see him again next time I come to Utah, but one never knows. Even more than that, whether I ever see his face again, I hope and pray that the Great Spirit, the God of the Universe himself, will meet Bennett’s needs every single day, that they will partner together to bring life, beauty, healing, and grace to this scarred world.
And as I drove away I mused on how if I had never followed the calling to stop “singing to the choir” as it were, then I wouldn’t have developed the material or love for playing at open mics and coffee houses, and I would have more likely than not been squandering my evening watching stupid movies and TV shows in my temperature-controlled La Quinta Inn room instead of seeing the kingdom of love thriving in downtown Salt Lake City. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
P.S.
One of the young men at Mestizo's was recording both audio and video for the entire evening. The host of the open mic suggested that Bennett and the video guy get together and maybe do a documentary on his situation. Bennett insisted it not be to garner more support for him, but rather that it be used to encourage other homeless people to not become discouraged, to not give up, and to keep doing what they can until things improve for them. Please pray for the success of this effort.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
What DID Jesus Do?
So I'm lying down last night at a decent time for once, exhausted and ready to sleep when I start to think what just might be deep thoughts. I don't know how long I was in this state - it may have been 30 minutes or 3 seconds - the brain does strange things at night. And of course I don't remember much now...
What I do recall is that it had something to do with comparing and contrasting what Jesus actually did while walking this planet 2000 years ago. If these thoughts don't interest you, please feel free to drop out now...
Now, I don't mean later events like the crucifixion or resurrection or ascension; I'm talking about what he actually said and did, why he did it, and what he wanted his disciples to learn to do and to become through close and regular contact with him in order to accomplish that mission.
Was he trying to get people to vote for him or to side with him politically? Was he trying to draw people into growing religious club that sings songs about him, talks about him all the time, and thanks him for good things that happen to them? Was he trying to clarify and refine a set of rules we need to live up to in order to be in his good graces? Was he really only coming to die, and all those speeches and healing and stuff were really just the warm-up act? What was he really doing and why?
When I look at his very first public words in the synagogue (yes, he was a Jew talking to Jews almost all of the time), he reads from Isaiah 61 and applies it to himself, saying that passage is fulfilled in their sight that day. Read the historical account in Luke 4:16-21 - it'll take less than a minute.
Assuming you read it, you had to notice phrases like "good news to the poor", "freedom for the prisoners", "recovery of sight to the blind", "to release the oppressed". I guess one could try to spiritualize all of that, but when you look at what he actually did, he healed blind people, he did bring good news to poor people oppressed and held captive by a brutal Roman Empire. He did show them the way to liberty - and it seems to still apply to us.
If you keep reading in verses 22-44 you see that he ticks the religious people off because they wanted to see a show and he wouldn't do it - so of course they wanted to kill him. So he goes to another town and in their religious meeting there was a crazy person (the scriptures say he was demon-possessed), and with a word Jesus sets this oppressed captive at liberty from his insanity. Then he goes to a friends house and starts healing people, starting with the guy's mom. More crazy people show up and walk away healed.
When he tries to leave in the morning to go do the same kinds of stuff in other towns, he says:
At times huge crowds would come to him dying to hear more about this "Good News about the kingdom of God". Luke 6 contains one instance; Matthew 5-7 contains another. His message was essentially the same, and it was not "just ask me into your heart and you'll go to heaven when you die", nor was it "believe that I'm the second person of the Holy Trinity and that my death which hasn't happened yet was for all your sins and my resurrection which also hasn't happened yet proves what I'm telling you is true...and you'll get to go to heaven when you die." What was it? You really should read it for yourself.
His message for them - probably the same kind of stuff he was already saying as he toured the region - is that their attitudes and perspectives need to be almost inverted in order to be healthy, to see things from a "kingdom of God perspective", to brings shalom (peace, wholeness, harmony) to the world:
- learn to love even your enemies
- say good things to those who curse you
- pray for those who insult you
- be kind to those who hate you
- don't immediately react in vengeance when wronged
- give without expecting anything in return
- treat others how you would like to be treated
- be merciful and patient, like God has been with you
- stop condemning and holding people in contempt
- stop treating people as merely objects for your pleasure
- don't be showy with your religious activities
- don't worry about the future
- and much more
In the Matthew account he says we should work to see these values embraced and practiced in the world as our first and foremost job, and that if we do that we don't need to worry about food or clothing or shelter. And then as you read how his disciples did exactly that, they were indeed provided for. The phrase he used was
So when one mentions the concept of "following Jesus", is that what comes to mind? When you compare and contrast these thoughts to the faith traditions and religious assemblies you are familiar with, do you see these kinds of things actually happening to this day? Are those of us who claim to follow him working at the same mission, or have we been side-tracked and distracted?
Are we merely trying to get converts to our ideology? Are we merely trying to pad our numbers with people who say they agree with us about religious things? Are we merely doing our own thing, and not living, practicing, and spreading the Good News of the kingdom of God, that inclusive community where people are loved, embraced, restored, healed, nurtured, and engaged in bringing shalom to their homes, to their communities, to the world?
There's a lot I've left unsaid. I haven't addressed where the cross and tomb fit in, nor have I addressed anything beyond the gospels. This subject is probably dense enough to write a whole book on it. Maybe these will become some of the notes for it. In the meantime, I'd recommend Dallas Willard's classic "The Divine Conspiracy". I saw an ad for another book by him yesterday...and I suspect that's what got my mind going as I lay my head down last night. And now I wish I could go back to bed, but I'll pour a cup of coffee and hope and pray you found these ramblings helpful. Peace.
What I do recall is that it had something to do with comparing and contrasting what Jesus actually did while walking this planet 2000 years ago. If these thoughts don't interest you, please feel free to drop out now...
Now, I don't mean later events like the crucifixion or resurrection or ascension; I'm talking about what he actually said and did, why he did it, and what he wanted his disciples to learn to do and to become through close and regular contact with him in order to accomplish that mission.
Was he trying to get people to vote for him or to side with him politically? Was he trying to draw people into growing religious club that sings songs about him, talks about him all the time, and thanks him for good things that happen to them? Was he trying to clarify and refine a set of rules we need to live up to in order to be in his good graces? Was he really only coming to die, and all those speeches and healing and stuff were really just the warm-up act? What was he really doing and why?
When I look at his very first public words in the synagogue (yes, he was a Jew talking to Jews almost all of the time), he reads from Isaiah 61 and applies it to himself, saying that passage is fulfilled in their sight that day. Read the historical account in Luke 4:16-21 - it'll take less than a minute.
Assuming you read it, you had to notice phrases like "good news to the poor", "freedom for the prisoners", "recovery of sight to the blind", "to release the oppressed". I guess one could try to spiritualize all of that, but when you look at what he actually did, he healed blind people, he did bring good news to poor people oppressed and held captive by a brutal Roman Empire. He did show them the way to liberty - and it seems to still apply to us.
If you keep reading in verses 22-44 you see that he ticks the religious people off because they wanted to see a show and he wouldn't do it - so of course they wanted to kill him. So he goes to another town and in their religious meeting there was a crazy person (the scriptures say he was demon-possessed), and with a word Jesus sets this oppressed captive at liberty from his insanity. Then he goes to a friends house and starts healing people, starting with the guy's mom. More crazy people show up and walk away healed.
When he tries to leave in the morning to go do the same kinds of stuff in other towns, he says:
"I have to tell the Good News about the kingdom of God in other cities also. That's what I was sent to do."Then Luke says Jesus went all around the region doing the same stuff in the religious assemblies. It seems to me that he was pretty clear about his mission, and was actually doing it. And his disciples were watching, learning, and waiting their turn (which they soon got).
At times huge crowds would come to him dying to hear more about this "Good News about the kingdom of God". Luke 6 contains one instance; Matthew 5-7 contains another. His message was essentially the same, and it was not "just ask me into your heart and you'll go to heaven when you die", nor was it "believe that I'm the second person of the Holy Trinity and that my death which hasn't happened yet was for all your sins and my resurrection which also hasn't happened yet proves what I'm telling you is true...and you'll get to go to heaven when you die." What was it? You really should read it for yourself.
His message for them - probably the same kind of stuff he was already saying as he toured the region - is that their attitudes and perspectives need to be almost inverted in order to be healthy, to see things from a "kingdom of God perspective", to brings shalom (peace, wholeness, harmony) to the world:
- learn to love even your enemies
- say good things to those who curse you
- pray for those who insult you
- be kind to those who hate you
- don't immediately react in vengeance when wronged
- give without expecting anything in return
- treat others how you would like to be treated
- be merciful and patient, like God has been with you
- stop condemning and holding people in contempt
- stop treating people as merely objects for your pleasure
- don't be showy with your religious activities
- don't worry about the future
- and much more
In the Matthew account he says we should work to see these values embraced and practiced in the world as our first and foremost job, and that if we do that we don't need to worry about food or clothing or shelter. And then as you read how his disciples did exactly that, they were indeed provided for. The phrase he used was
"seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things (food, etc) will be added unto you."
So when one mentions the concept of "following Jesus", is that what comes to mind? When you compare and contrast these thoughts to the faith traditions and religious assemblies you are familiar with, do you see these kinds of things actually happening to this day? Are those of us who claim to follow him working at the same mission, or have we been side-tracked and distracted?
Are we merely trying to get converts to our ideology? Are we merely trying to pad our numbers with people who say they agree with us about religious things? Are we merely doing our own thing, and not living, practicing, and spreading the Good News of the kingdom of God, that inclusive community where people are loved, embraced, restored, healed, nurtured, and engaged in bringing shalom to their homes, to their communities, to the world?
There's a lot I've left unsaid. I haven't addressed where the cross and tomb fit in, nor have I addressed anything beyond the gospels. This subject is probably dense enough to write a whole book on it. Maybe these will become some of the notes for it. In the meantime, I'd recommend Dallas Willard's classic "The Divine Conspiracy". I saw an ad for another book by him yesterday...and I suspect that's what got my mind going as I lay my head down last night. And now I wish I could go back to bed, but I'll pour a cup of coffee and hope and pray you found these ramblings helpful. Peace.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Like Father, Like Son
I love my son. He's thirteen, on his way to being a good man. He's kind, intelligent, sensitive, passionate. He's a baseball player, a musician, a budding songwriter, an aspiring comic, a goofball, and in general a joy to my heart. I absolutely love spending time with him, but I also enjoy seeing him go off and accomplish things by himself and be a friend to others. I don't dominate his existence, but I do enjoy our time together.
I think it would be absurd for me to plan out his life in excruciating detail. There's so much he's interested in, so much he could do; I wouldn't want to lock him into just one thing like "son, be a doctor and make me proud" or anything like that. Sure, I'll provide some guidance along the way, but I know that the only things that will stick will be things he personally chooses to do, not out of manipulation or guilt or shame or pressure, but out of the depths of his heart, out of his true passions, and consistent with the skills and talents he has and has developed.
I suspect one reason God designed the roles of father and mother was so we could understand in hindsight his perspective toward us as his children and grasp the true nature of our parental roles. As father he is a strong, supportive, encouraging, wise provider. His maternal nuturing, compassion, mercy, and gentleness demonstrate other facets of his deep love for us.
That's why I find it implausible when some suggest his sovereignty results in micro-managing every little facet of our lives like some cosmic control freak. I've seen some parents like that, and they don't resemble at all the God I've come to know and love.
I also find it unnecessary to live in fear of missing "his perfect will for my life" (a man-made phrase if ever I've seen one, right up there with "just ask Jesus into your heart", something no apostle ever did). Sure, I'd be a wise child to seek his guidance - especially about big matters - but ultimately that choice will be mine to make and hopefully I'll do so in a way consistent with the values he has instilled in me.
I also know that I'm free to try and to fail, and that it's OK. Just as I'll be there to help my own son pick up the pieces, sort things out, and try to do better the next time, so I know he'll be there for me and that ultimately even the mistakes will teach me something and work out for some kind of good in the end.
And so I enjoy the time I do spend with "heavenly father" in private. But I also know that he wants me to go out there and be all that I can be for my sake and for the sake of the world that he created. Sure he'll be watching, and ready to help me pick up the pieces once again, but he's given me the freedom to choose, the encouragement to try, and the hope that I can make a contribution to this good, great world of his.
I think it would be absurd for me to plan out his life in excruciating detail. There's so much he's interested in, so much he could do; I wouldn't want to lock him into just one thing like "son, be a doctor and make me proud" or anything like that. Sure, I'll provide some guidance along the way, but I know that the only things that will stick will be things he personally chooses to do, not out of manipulation or guilt or shame or pressure, but out of the depths of his heart, out of his true passions, and consistent with the skills and talents he has and has developed.
I suspect one reason God designed the roles of father and mother was so we could understand in hindsight his perspective toward us as his children and grasp the true nature of our parental roles. As father he is a strong, supportive, encouraging, wise provider. His maternal nuturing, compassion, mercy, and gentleness demonstrate other facets of his deep love for us.
That's why I find it implausible when some suggest his sovereignty results in micro-managing every little facet of our lives like some cosmic control freak. I've seen some parents like that, and they don't resemble at all the God I've come to know and love.
I also find it unnecessary to live in fear of missing "his perfect will for my life" (a man-made phrase if ever I've seen one, right up there with "just ask Jesus into your heart", something no apostle ever did). Sure, I'd be a wise child to seek his guidance - especially about big matters - but ultimately that choice will be mine to make and hopefully I'll do so in a way consistent with the values he has instilled in me.
I also know that I'm free to try and to fail, and that it's OK. Just as I'll be there to help my own son pick up the pieces, sort things out, and try to do better the next time, so I know he'll be there for me and that ultimately even the mistakes will teach me something and work out for some kind of good in the end.
And so I enjoy the time I do spend with "heavenly father" in private. But I also know that he wants me to go out there and be all that I can be for my sake and for the sake of the world that he created. Sure he'll be watching, and ready to help me pick up the pieces once again, but he's given me the freedom to choose, the encouragement to try, and the hope that I can make a contribution to this good, great world of his.
Monday, November 23, 2009
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
Jesus with the religious leaders
The night before Jesus died
Many years later by John, one of Jesus' disciples
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.
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.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
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
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.
Friday, October 30, 2009
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
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
Friday, October 9, 2009
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”:
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?
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?
Sunday, October 4, 2009
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
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
Thursday, October 1, 2009
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. :)
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. :)
Friday, September 4, 2009
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.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Rollins on desire
More from Peter Rollins' book "How to [Not] Speak of God":
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...
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...
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
You might be...
...emergent?
...reformed?
(Thanks to iMonk for the post and the link)
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)
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Rollin' with Rollins
Here's another great little story from Peter Rollins' book "How to [Not] Speak of God":
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.
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.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
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.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
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. :)
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. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
