My baby is super talented

This is The Van.  The Van is operated by Aaron Reddin.  <You can read his story there and all about the non profit he started up in Little Rock called  The One Inc.  The One Inc. owns a fleet of vans and their vans supply the unsheltered homeless in Little Rock with their needs (hygiene, food, clothing, even portable showers).

A couple of months ago, Aaron tweeted that he’d like to see more vans in more places and even named me specifically as to who he thought would be a good person to start one up.  And I really liked the idea.  The only problem was I was preparing to move from Central Louisiana to the Atlanta area at the time so it had to be put on hold.

Now, about four months later, I am preparing for the arrival of my The Van.  It’ll be The Van Atlanta.  We have a temporary site at thevanatl.wordpress.com but, I hope soon to have something a little cooler.  Today you can follow @TheVanAtl on twitter and like us on Facebook.

If you’re looking to help out the Van Atlanta, the site will be updated soon with a needs list, places you can drop off said needs and you can always donate at theoneinc.org.

Much love.

#GLYD

I remember every year in the fall we would slaughter a pig.  Paw Paw or my father would shoot the pig.  The pig would then be hung upside down and the men of the family would start “dressing” this pig.  It would provide us with pork sausage, pork chops and roast for the winter, usually.  The last time I remember seeing this done I was around 8, so it’s possible my memories are exaggerated.

If it was a 450 pound sow, there might be 250 pounds of usable meat on the animal.  And I would see all this body fat, stomach parts, and meat we could not use thrown away.  It seemed like a waste to me. But it was what had to be done.

I love it when my pastor talks about “rightly dividing the Scriptures”.  We have to take what is good for edification and store it up.  But, is it possible that some of it isn’t meant for us?  Is it possible that this whole “word of God” that I was raised to revere as the fourth part of the Trinity isn’t all usable for my edification?  Absolutely some have used Scripture to tear down and not build up.  But are there even some verses (or chapters) that we need to cut?  I can tell you, there are some portions of Scripture that I read that make me sick.

The Old Testament is littered with examples of nationalism, pride and racism, all perpetrated by the God of love that I know.  This doesn’t fit with me.  How can my God who even calls Assyria his people in Isaiah be a nationalist?  How can he be a racist?  How can he call for the annihilation of entire tribes?  Is it possible that imperfect people wrote these stories and attributed their own desires onto God?

I don’t know.  I know that I love Jesus.  I know that my faith in Jesus is sincere and confirmed in my Spirit, but is it time for me to cut some of the fat out of my Bible?  Is it time for me to take what is good for edification and throw away that which tears down?

That’s a line that will forever stick with me from Forrest Gump.  That was, in my opinion, Hanks’ best work to date.  That one sentence reminds me that love is not something we recognize with our minds.  In Spanish, there are two words for “know”.  One is saber and the other is conocer. Saber is knowledge of the mind.  We would use that to say, “I know that there are four oranges in the basket.”  Conocer is of knowledge of the heart or spirit (or perhaps experiential).  We would use that to say, “I know that those oranges are delicious.”

I conocer that my parents love one another.  I know it beyond a shadow of a doubt because I’ve seen it.  I grew up in an unconvential household.  That is, my parents are still married (nearly 33 years).  I think that makes me and my sister a minority among millenials.

Every morning (for the past 33 years), my dad wakes up, makes coffee for him and my mother.  About an hour later, my mom gets out of bed.  They start making some sort of breakfast (even if it’s pop tarts) and they typically put some sort of finishing touches on their lunch for the day.  They ride to work together, they work in the same office.  They spend every single minute of every single day together.   And they love it, because they love each other.

Then, they come home and make dinner.  Typically dad works on the main course and mom works on the vegetables or bread.  This is the way it’s been for 33 years.  They work in the kitchen together and to see it, it truly is a work of beauty.  They don’t get in each other’s way because they seem to conocer what each of the other’s next move is.  When they’re in the kitchen, it’s almost an art form and the product is always delicious.

My parents love each other and I know that, not because of the words they tell one another but the way they act towards one another.

I have said this to preface a couple of conversations I’ve had on social media this week.  I’ve been talking with some folks about what it means to be Christian. We’ve even asked and answered (with many different opinions) how one would know you were a Christian without your saying so.

In the 13th Chapter of John, Jesus says they will know we are His disciples by our love.  This verse is my cornerstone for my Christian faith (if I had to pick one).

In his letter to the Corinthians Paul says, if we have music, if we have prophecy, if we have preaching or teaching, but not have love, we are worthless.

The Prophet Ezekiel (c. 16) tells of a place called Sodom that was destroyed because they were a wealthy town that did not have love for the poor and needy.

In the 2nd Chapter of the Revelation of John, Jesus speaks to the Church at Ephesus.  “You have done good things.  You persevere.  You have no tolerance for the wicked.  But the love you had at first, you no longer have.  Come back to the love, or I will remove your lampstand from you.”

I repent.  I have not loved loudly.  I have not been the man God has called me to.  The more Scripture I read, the more of my own desolation, I see.

I am an enemy of God every time I react harshly to a well meant facebook post.

I am an enemy of God every time I use my words to tear down a man or woman who has called by God.

I am an enemy of God every time I call someone whose ministry God is obviously blessing a heretic.

But I am a friend of God on those rare occasions when I act in love towards those who are hard for me to love.

On those rare occasions that I act in love towards those I disagree with theologically, I am a friend of God.

Here’s to my falling back in love with the Creator and being His friend again.

¹Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. ²Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation — ³if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

⁴Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and ⁵like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶For it stands in scripture:
     “See, I am laying in Zion a stone,
          a cornerstone chosen and precious;
     and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
⁷To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe,
     “The stone that the builders rejected
          has become the very head of the corner,”
⁸and
     “A stone that makes them stumble,
          and a rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

⁹But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. ¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

We, friends are a royal priesthood.  We are a chosen generation.  But, just like the Prodigal we can deny that royal heritage and live with the swine.  The choice is ours.  When we choose to rid ourselves of all malice, all forms of slander, all envy, all guile and all insincerity, we choose to live into our royal heritage.  When we choose to fill our lives with all those evil things, we choose to deny that royal heritage.

When we deny malice, slander, envy, guile and insincerity we accept Christ.  When we accept those things, we deny Christ.  When we deny those things we help create Heaven on earth and when we accept those things as part of our lives, we help create Hell on earth.

We are all Priests.  We all have that general call.  We live out that call in different ways but God has called you to be Priest (one who brings the Kingdom with you).  I deny Christ every time I walk by someone and fail to show love to them.  When I do that, I am the mortal that denies the Cornerstone that God put into place.  But, on a rare occasion when I adequately show love to the poor, the homeless, the sick or the prisoner, I accept the Cornerstone that God put into place.  When I do not, I am choosing to live with the pigs but when I do, I am living into the royal life God has called and ordained me into.  I fail at this more than I do good, but I’m attempting to live into the royal life.  This “royal life” that I am speaking of is not something that makes me better than another, but the royalty that Jesus spoke of wherein the least shall be made greatest and the greatest be made least.  When I elevate everyone else’s needs and well-being above my own, I am living into that royalty.  Yet, when I am snobby and look down on those that are less fortunate is when I’m living like a pig.

We are not perfect.  We can never “gain our salvation”.  We can never become more worthy of the love of God.  But we have received the love and mercy of God.  And when we hoard that love and mercy for ourselves, we look like pigs to God.  Let us be the sons and daughters we are predestined to be.  Let us be the imago dei on earth, the royal priesthood and the chosen generation.

I am working on living into those titles. 

Let us finish this conversation in the comments, eh?

Love you guys.  Thanks for reading and may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you from now and unto the end of the age, amen.

¹³Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; ¹⁴but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” ¹⁵And he laid his hands on them and went on his way.

¹⁶Then someone came to him and said, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” ¹⁷And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; ¹⁹Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁰The young man said to him, “I have kept all these; what do I still lack?” ²¹Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” ²²When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

Why does Jesus love the little children? We sang that song as a child in Sunday School and VBS…..  We’ve heard it, “Jesus loves the little children, all the little children of the world.  Red, yellow, black and white, Jesus loves the little children.”

I have a little cousin who has never met a stranger.  From the time they were first learning to walk, they were around and wanted to be in the adults’ conversations and was always the first to talk when meeting someone new.  They never had to “feel accepted”.  This is a beautiful way of living life.  In Southern Evangelicalism, it seems that we always hear of what we have to do to “get saved”.  We do this so much that we create a society that feels they have to work for the approval of the God who created them.

I think this is why Jesus calls us to be “like little children”.  It’s not that we have to “get accepted” but that we already are.  The good news is not that we can be saved if we complete the right rituals or say the right things or live a “holy life” but that WE ARE SAVED by the work that Christ has already done.  AMEN?

I find it funny that in the same chapter, following one another, we have a Jesus of acceptance and then a Jesus of rejection (or at least what appears to be Jesus rejecting a young man).  The man comes to Jesus and asks, “What good deed must I do to inherit eternal life?”  And then Jesus basically spits in his face.  Not many people focus on the offense of Jesus’ next words.  Jesus says, “Good?  Why do you ask me about good?  You can never be good.  Only one is good and that is the Father.  If you want to inherit life, keep the commandments.”  This guy had the perfect religious answer, “I’ve kept every commandment in the book. What do I lack?”  And Jesus says, “Sell al you have and give it to the poor.”  The young man goes away dejected, missing the point.  The point of this text is not social justice or the evilness of being wealthy.  The importance of this text is YOU CAN DO NOTHING to make God love you more.  How hard would it be if we had to sell all we had and give all the money to the poor?  I don’t think Jesus ever expected this young man to do that.  He hoped the young man would realize you can not earn salvation.  It is a free gift. Now, there’s something to be thankful for!

What kind of free gifts are you still trying to earn?

I know that’s an obscure statement, but I have faith.

I read Revelation.  I see the metaphor.  People forget that John did not “die” during this time of prophecy, but it was a worship experience.  Revelation  talks of an age to come but it also talks about the age that is here and now.  Revelation is a picture of how the CHURCH SHOULD BE TODAY.

God is in the process of making all things new, but how does he do that?  He does that through us.  He does that through HIS CHURCH.  Yes, I still believe in the importance of a local community of believers. Let us not get too concerned with what we believe or how we believe it.  Here’s my question: How are you making your community new? If your local community of faith stopped participating in the local area, would anyone notice?

Every week, we (The Church of the Misfits) have to park on the street and walk between a block to two blocks to get to where we meet.  And it never fails that every week we run into someone asking for money or food on the way to Church and the way back to our car.  And every week we buy one of them food.  We have come to expect this occurrence.  Next Sunday, we’re going to take sandwiches with us.

So, every week we feed one person and may give another something between 50 cents to two dollars.  Is this part of “making our community new”?  Well, we do what we can.  I’m not saying we’re changing the world, but we make one person’s (sometimes two) night a little better.  We keep one belly from going to bed hungry, hopefully.  Maybe, eventually these folks will begin to recognize us.  And maybe we can comfort one of them and let them know that Jesus loves them in a tangible way.  Maybe.

I don’t think we’re at the point that if we stopped meeting, anyone would notice, but hopefully soon.  I’m looking forward to this Sunday when we bring sandwiches.  I’m hoping that’ll start conversation and such.

What are you doing to make your community new?  What are you doing that is helping complete the work of God?  We are his plan for a re-creation of earth and my hope and plan is to eradicate a little bit of the Hell and make a little more Heaven in my corner of the planet.

The only way for it to get better is for US to make it better.  Will you join me?

¹At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ²He called a child, whom he put among them, ³and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

⁶“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. ⁷Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes!

⁸“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire. ⁹And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell of fire.”

When I was a youth pastor at a conservative Southern Baptist Church in Louisiana, the pastor there liked to say that everyone has to come to Jesus like a child and to have a child-like faith (never doubting, being very assured of what you heard) was a noble quality. As that faith works for some, it doesn’t work for me anymore.  I believe a little differently now.  Now, I’m more at the point that a faith that does not hold up to questioning or doubt is not a very valuable faith.  But, I like the fact that Jesus took a child (probably a young boy) and said, “You want to be great in the Kingdom of God?  Be like this.”

This statement had to befuddle the disciples. They asked him how to be great in the Kingdom and Jesus shows them a weak and gullible boy?  What does it mean to have the humility of a child?  This hurts my head.  Does that mean to put everyone else’s value above my own?  Does that mean to be great in the Kingdom of God is to maintain the ability to continue learning?  Perhaps, does that mean that to “be great” in the Kingdom is to stay curious?

Then Jesus gets a little graphic.  “If any of you cause these little ones to stumble, it is better for you to have a stone put around your neck and cast into the sea.”  That puts a pretty high call on pastors to young people, I would think.  Jesus took those who were considered the least important members of society and made sure we knew that they were important to him.  How much emphasis do we put on the young kids in society?  Or do we say things like, “Oh, they’re just kids.  Maybe one day they can come to ‘real church’.”   Do we hold them in the same regard Jesus did?

Verses 8 and 9 are two verses that those who are not universalists most often use when they have the desire to argue with me.  They are quite troublesome for someone who doesn’t necessarily believe in an eternal (punitive) fire.  The question we have to ask ourselves is how do we define sin?  I define sin as anything that separates me from God or comes in between God and I.  If there are any things (and there are some) in my life that cause me to be less Christ-like, then it is sin.  If there is anything I do that harms another human (either physically or emotionally), it is sin.  It is better for me to enter into life without those parts of my being than to further perpetuate Hell on earth.  I do believe we are fallen beings.  We are not born Christ-like.  It is the Holy Spirit’s work that makes us Christ-like, but no work of our own.  We are not saved (reborn) by our vain attempts at being “Christ-like”, but we are saved to TO Christ-likeness.  Christ-likeness is not the means of our salvation (rebirth) but it is the product of our rebirth.  It is better for me to enter into life without the evil parts of me than further the Hell on earth and have all of my human attributes.

May we please continue this conversation in the comments.

May the Peace and Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Psalm 54
¹   Save me, O God, by your name,
and vindicate me by your might.
²   Hear my prayer, O God;
give ear to the words of my mouth.

³   For the insolent have risen against me,
the ruthless seek my life;
they do not set God before them.                              Selah

⁴   But surely, God is my helper;
the Lord is the upholder of my life.
⁵   He will repay my enemies for their evil.
In your faithfulness, put an end to them.

⁶   With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;
I will give thanks to your name, O LORD, for it is good.
⁷   For he has delivered me from every trouble,
and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies

Revelaion 21
¹Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ²And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
⁴   he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.”

⁵And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” ⁶Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. ⁷Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

There opinions I have concerning Revelation.  1) It is written in an Apocalyptic genre that contains prose and poetry.  2) John was having a WORSHIP EXPERIENCE.  John did not “die” in his vision.  In my opinion, Revelation is much more about God’s expectation of his church on earth than an afterlife.

I see a new Heaven in a new earth, for the earth had no heaven in it.  I pray for Heaven on Earth.  I pray at a time when the “sea” is no more”.  I pray for a time when there is no division in God’s Church.  I pray for the Church to be born of Heaven rather than born out of man’s selfish desires.  A spotless bride for Christ can never be born of man.  The Church has to be the home of God among mortals.  We who are filled with the Holy Spirit are the dwelling places of God on Earth, so our churches should be where the best part of our God selves are seen.  Yet, at many churches I find more gossipping, back biting and pure evil than I find at the pub on Friday nights.  We are God’s people and God himself is with us.  We have the choice to recognize the God self within us.  God wipes the tears from our eyes through others.  God works through his people.  We can choose to live in the New Heaven on Earth or to choose to live on the old earth.  This decision to live in the New Earth is intertwined with our decision to wipe the tears from our brothers eyes.

God is making all things new through us.  We are his plan.

There’s your heresy for today.