Righteous Insanity

Who wins?

A common line I hear from fellow believers these days is, "Well, at least we know who wins in the end."

 

If you believe the Bible (and Revelation), it's indisputable that Christ will indeed rule over Heaven and Earth one day. It is also beyond dispute that those who accept Christ will live with him forever in Heaven. But if our definition of victory means vindication for our side and defeat for the other side, we are NOT thinking with the mind of Christ.

 

Christ defined what winning means for believers when he said, "Go and make disciples." Whenever we lead someone to Christ, that's a win. Whenever an atheist comes to believe, that's a win. Whenever God is able to work past our shortcomings to reach the lost through our meager efforts, that is a win.

 

Any time a sinner perishes without knowing Christ, that's a loss. It mean we have failed to live out the gospel. It means we have failed to be Christ to someone Jesus died for. And lest we forget, Christ died for EVERY man, woman, and child ever born: the pagan, the atheist, the socialist, the fascist, the totalitarian, the bigot, the womanizer, the racist, the mean, the rude, the crude, the hateful, the criminal - even hypocrites like us.

 

Don't look to the end of times as a "win" over people who are evil, mean, and wrong. If your victory means the damnation of others, you need to look to the example of Christ who, even on the cross, forgave those who cursed him. "Father forgive them. They know not what they do."

Simple things that might change the world

Turn off the Powerpoint this Sunday. Pull the hymnals out of the back of the pew and sing some of the classics.

Look for common ground in other people, not disagreements.

Stop forcing your non-Christian friends to watch sub-par Christian films; instead, learn to look for God's truth revealed in other films. (Ex. The "desire gives birth to sin; sin leads to death" motif in every horror film ever made.)

Turn off your favorite partisan political commentator and pray - really pray - for your country. Ask the Lord to remove your biases, and to learn to love those you disagree with. If he can do it, so can you.

Don't argue about global warming or the environment. Just shut up and put your trash in the garbage.

Hijack a truckload of Joel Osteen books on Audio CD, and replace the CD's with copies of Jonathan Edwards "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." (Add your favorite, fluffy, pseudo Christian feel-good book to this list.)

Turn off that reality show, celeb gossip show, etc. and pray for the people who made you tune in in the first place. They need it. So do you.

Do your next Bible study, small group meeting, or missions project some place that (a) isn't your church, (b) isn't a private residence, and (c) doesn't have a beach, arcade, or amusement park adjacent.

Have a book burning. Burn every top selling Christian book you've bought the last ten years. Then for once open up and read your Bible.

Just some thoughts for the weekend.

Another log in the eye

Fifteen years ago, the idea of gay marriage was a joke to most of us in the evangelical church. Matter of fact, homosexuality in general was regarded as a joke. I can remember hearing pastors make inappropriate jokes about gay celebrities in their offices, at lunches, and even in their messages – things that were simply uncalled for, and unthinkable today.

Of course now, with gay marriage legal in a handful of stages, homosexuality is anything but a joke. Gays are no longer laughed at, but demonized, and homosexual acts have replaced “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” as the one unforgivable sin 

You want to know why the church has no credibility on this issue? Because we forgot the second greatest commandment: love your neighbor as yourself.

Homosexuals are no more deviant than the auto mechanic who cheats his customers, the realtor who uses church to prospect for clients, or the beauty pageant contestant who lies about those questionable photos. We need to repent of the way we have treated others. We need to STOP treating gays as the enemy and embrace them as human beings, sinners like us who need the saving grace of Jesus. Most of all, we need to get back to being disciples who not only obey the command to love our neighbor, but lovingly share the good news of the gospel. 

National Day of Prayer

It's the National Day of Prayer, and I've had Morgan Cryar's classic Christian rock anthem "Pray in the USA" stuck in my head all day. It makes me feel incredibly old to think that the song I LOVED in seventh grade (featuring background vocals by Ty Tabor and Doug Pinnick of King's X) is now more than 2 decades old. What's more, it has now been a decade since I tormented the Dramamaniacs by pulling the song out of mothballs and making them do a choreographed dance to it in our production of "The Pizza Boy."

 

Nevertheless, the song still rocks as far as I'm concerned, and the message is still relevant. We still have a first amendment right to pray and practice our faith. Not that we would ever stop if that right were taken away; matter of fact, history has shown that taking the right of freedom of religion only causes Christianity to spread faster... but I digress.

 

Say a prayer for our nation, our leaders, and our world. And do so with an open heart, not an agenda. Prayer is about getting our hearts right with God, not getting our way.

The paradox of the non-Christian nation

The United States may no longer be a "Christian nation," but taking the phrase "under God" out of the nation's pledge does nothing to remove us from God's creation. We are still under God. We live in His world, created by His hands. His laws still apply, and they are as unchanging as the law of gravity. God has granted us the free will to become a secular nation. But if this secular nation chooses to break the laws of God, we do so at our own peril.

A vote for Miss California

Perez Hilton knew exactly what he was doing when he asked Miss California about legalizing gay marriage. Not only did he intend to sabotage her chance at becoming Miss USA, he wanted to demonize her, to destroy her. He wanted to make an example out of her for anyone else who would dare speak against gay marriage.

 

Hilton made an example out of her all right, but not necessarily in the way he intended. Carrie Prejean set an example that we as Christians need to follow, boldly proclaiming what she believed in a gentle, humble way.

 

There's no doubt she has reaped the whirlwind and will be a whipping girl for gay marriage supporters for time to come. Supporters of gay marriage have waged a powerful campaign in the media and the court of public opinion, shaming and silencing all who oppose them. Then a beauty pageant comes along who values God's judgment more than the opinions of the Miss USA pageant judges.

 

The question is, will we who support traditional marriage stand with her... or continue to remain silent?

 

Bravo, Miss California, but choosing to be biblically correct over politically correct. I pray that this will be a wake up call, a rallying point for the silent majority to speak up and say, "Enough."

 

Say what you will, Sean Penn, but I'd rather the whole world be ashamed of me than my God.

Edge Outreach

It took me fourteen years, but I finally figured out the deal with Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. Sad that I took six classes in college where the Hierarchy was covered and never got it. Sadder still that I paid six times to learn the same thing that, only last year, sunk in.

 

Maslow's basic tenet is this: before you can meet a person's deeper needs, you have to meet the surface needs. Human beings are programmed to seek basic needs like food and shelter before they are willing to seek out spiritual connections.

 

Sometimes ministries and missions organizations end up turning this upside down, focusing on the spiritual needs and not even paying attention to the physical. Kind of silly when you think about it. Christians going up to people with no house or food saying, "Believe in the Lord, and you will be saved." It rings a little hollow. If we took the time to meet them where they are and fulfill the physical needs, we'd be much more likely to convince them that God does love them. After all, he sent these nice church people to give us water and food and clothing that we desperately need!

 

One organization that gets it is Edge Outreach. I've been working with these guys for more than a decade now, starting back when they used to hold city-wide, non-denominational youth worship services, where Baptist music teams led worship and Methodist ministers spoke, all inside a Catholic church. There's another novel idea we might look into, huh?

 

Edge evolved from a city-wide youth ministry to a global missions group that focuses on providing clean, purified water to people who desperately need it. They train and send out mission workers all over the world who make contact with people in remote villages where clean water is scarce. Their primary goal is to install a water purification system that the local people can operate and maintain themselves with very little expense. The long term goal is building relationships that allow the mission workers to share the love of Christ with others.

 

Part of the training at Edge's annual water conference in Louisville involves a visit to Miranda, a tiny third world village that is in desperate need to clean water. The village is set up at the conference site and manned by a group of actors trained by Righteous Insanity. Mission workers can test their new skills and sharpen old ones in a safe environment (no second chances on the real mission field to make a first impression!) and get immediate feedback from observers and the actors themselves.

 

As the mission of Edge has grown, so has Miranda village. This year we anticipate using Miranda at other training seminars as well as Edge's biggest fund raisers. In addition, trainees at the 2009 water conference may pay a second visit to Miranda to do hands-on training with the water purifiers.

 

I'm very proud of the small role we've played in assisting such an important ministry. These are some of the nicest, most loving people you'll ever want to meet, and they have surrendered their whole lives to serving the Lord. They have a thirst (pun intended, sorry) for helping people, and they do an amazing work. It's a worthy mission organization that I would recommend to anyone looking to invest in the kingdom.

 

For more on Edge Outreach visit www.edgeoutreach.com

 

And for a look at Miranda village, check out www.righteousinsanity.com/miranda.html

 

Be sure to take a few minutes to view the "Man from Costa Rica" video. This one missionary worked the system and played the game better than anyone so far. It's really fun to watch him work the chief, and very touching.

 

Change - It's for conservative Christians too

"Change" is less than 48 hours away. Like it, hate it, you can't stop it. 

The new guy's going to take power, and boy does he have plans. Some of them are good. Some of them... well, opinion is divided, and will remain so. No, we are not "One." We remain divided on a great many things. Thank God we still live in a country where we can disagree without fear of oppression by our government. 

Complaining and arguing about politics is not going to do a bit of good. Besides, it's time we stop relying on politicians to do the Lord's will. We are his hands and we are his feet. It's time we act that way. 

Jesus never won an argument in a crowd. He won people over individually, one at a time. Whether your cause is abstinence, the rights of the unborn, the sanctity of marriage, religious liberty, whatever, the only way we'll change the country is by changing hearts. 

Ask the Lord to show you how you can effect change in your community. There are hundreds of ministries creating change, nationally, locally, even one on one. Find one. Volunteer. Give. Most of all, pray.  

Hypocrites

If you believe in women's rights, if you are pro-choice, if you are a crusader against sexual harrassment, but say nothing when women are beaten and murdered in the Middle East for no other crime than being women, you are a hypocrite.

 

If you believe in civil rights, if you march for gay marriage, if you believe in affirmative action, but you would hush a student for praying in the name of Jesus at their graduation, you are a hypocrite.

 

If you believe, like the Beatles, that love is all we need, yet you hate Rush Limbaugh, George W. Bush, or those darn Christians, you are a hypocrite.

 

If you call yourself a follower of Christ, yet you hate homosexuals, CNN, or Barack Obama, you are a hypocrite.

 

If you advocate cutting social programs because you believe private donors should fund them, and you give nothing to charity, you are a hypocrite.

 

If you believe in government funding for social programs but do not give any money privately, you are also a hypocrite.

 

If you believe in the way of the Jedi, yet you hate Trekkies, you are a hypocrite.

 

If you believe in the mission of Starfleet but hate Star Wars geeks, you are a hypocrite.

 

If you are a Christian, if you fight for prayer in schools and God in the pledge, if you fight for having the Ten Commandments and the Nativity on public ground, but you say nothing when Christians are imprisoned and killed around the world, you are a hypocrite.

 

The world is full of hypocrites. Every day, all of us encounter hundreds of them. And it all starts when we look in the mirror.

Missing the Mark

I know now why realtors, car salesmen, and other folks who make you sign multiple, multiple documents mark each line with an X - because if they didn't, people would sign everywhere except the dotted line!

 

A few years ago, working at the UPS Store, we had a form every customer was asked to sign as part of the shipping agreement. There was a blue box with a tiny X set aside for signatures right at the bottom. No joke, people signed that document every where on that form except that little blue box.

 

Currently I work for a company that faxes order confirmations to our customers, asking them to sign off on the order and fax them back. People sign beside the line, below the line, all over the page. Once in a blue moon, people sign on the line.

 

It's not a question of ignorance to people being dumb; we just don't pay attention Which begs the question: how often do we miss the mark in real life because we're not paying attention?

 

Every day God sends people into your life. Often times people come in with needs, hoping someone will step up and meet them. When it happens, do you hit the mark - or is your aim wide right?

 

When someone needs you to listen, do you give a lecture?

 

When someone needs tangible help, do you brush them off with the promise, "I'll be praying for you."

 

When someone comes to you for food, do you hand then a tract and walk away?

 

Look, we're creatures of habit. We like order. We like things to happen in a certain way. There is order in Creation, but not in human nature. 

 

There are six billion very unique people walking this Earth, every one of them with free will. Every person is different. Every need is different. You can't rubber stamp mankind. You have to take them one at a time. The first step is to slow down, listen, and ask the Lord: "Show me the mark."