Love One Another?

So if we call ourselves "Christians" or "Little Christs" by definition, then we are followers of the Scriptures.  The Scriptures preach love, for each other, for everyone really.  Just look at John 13:34, people will recognize us by our love. This is where the song "They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Love" comes from as well.  Why then is that not what we are known as?  As Christians there are a host of things that we are known for, and typically love is not one of them.  There is this amazing set of Scriptures from Acts chapter 2 that really back up what love and community is supposed to look like for Christians.  

When we aren't following what the Scriptures say then we aren't being "Christians."  Simple thought right?  I know it's hard though.  It's crazy all the things we go through, how busy we are ect.  I got to thinking though, did you know fellow followers are sending missionaries to America?  Crazy thought right, that what some people believe to be a nation founded on Christian principles is having missionaries being sent to them..

So why don't we walk what we talk?  After all, it is that simple right?  To just keep our word.  That's what we should be doing all the time.  Keeping our word is a commandment, so if we aren't doing our job, not only is it a sin, it's a bad representation of what Christians are, we are supposed to be known as people of love, but we aren't, to the point that other countries are sending us missionaries to help.

ReFuel

So recently I've been reading this book by Doug Fields.  It's been a really good source of insight into the struggle of a daily relationship with Christ and steps to take to draw close to him.  Everything that I've read have reaffirmed thoughts that I have had on the subject.  Christ strives for a daily connection with us, he yearns for it, more than we can ever imagine.  There is this song, called "How He Loves" (lyrics) that starts off saying "He is jealous for me" and that's so true, Christ longs for that connection with us.  The thing we need to realize is, that it doesn't always come in the form of reading the Scriptures.

We can connect to Christ in things other than reading the scriptures.  We can connect through worship, prayer, evangelism, art, nature, the list goes on...It's a revolutionary thought, conveyed in depth in the podcast "Wind" from Mosaic church.

Connecting with Christ doesn't have to be something that takes 30 minutes of the day, it can be longer, it can be shorter, Christ just longs for that connection.  Sometimes we have to take small steps to get to the big stuff, so perhaps between tasks on the computer we stop to thank Him for providing for us, or maybe we do just stop for a moment and meditate on the daily verse that you get emailed to you everyday.  If we are looking through the small stuff for ways to connect to Christ, he will reveal himself to us, cause he is constantly wanting to be connected to us.

More Stuff For Class

 

So I had to make a magazine Cover, I figured I'd make one relevant to the people......

pun intended...lol

How To Get a Video Downloaded

Ok info on how to get a video put into movie format off of youtube, for free..
http://www.zamzar.com

The question came up in class, and here I am posting it for everyone

Leaders and Soul Environments

So I asked the question in an earlier writing, should not all Christians be judged the same.  Then last Thursday I was sitting in my bible study and this verse was brought to my attention James 3:1-12.  In this passage James is speaking of taming the tongue later on, but at the beginning, he says that teachers will be judged stricter than others.  Though he also says in verses 2 and 3 that no person is without fault, because if they were they'd be a perfect man.  The Scripture states however that there is no perfect man.

So as teachers we need to watch ourselves.  We need to constantly be examining ourselves to make sure that what we are doing is correct. Galations 6:1-10 talks about this, how we should examine ourselves and make sure that what we are doing is for the correct reasons.  If we do not watch ourselves then we will be judged accordingly in the end, but if we do examine ourselves, and we stay focused on righteousness, then we will inherit great rewards.

So here it is, another blog, recently I've been listening to podcasts from Mosaic Church in California, where Erwin McManus is the pastor.  It has been good listening to sermons that focus on how we should live as a church, and then taking those same concepts and putting them into how we should live as individuals.  The podcast I've been listening to is a series entitled "Soul Environments."  There is a group of promo videos for each sermon on youtube, below is the promo for the sermon titled Wood.  If you have the opportunity to listen to all five of them I would suggest them.

I heard that was a good movie

"Hey Tommy, Seth's about to rent a movie, he's thinking about getting Brokeback Mountain"
"Cool, I've heard that it's a good one"
*Laughing*
"Tommy do you know what that movie's about?"
"It's about two cowboys right?"
"Yes Tommy, two gay cowboys"
"Oh, I don't wanna watch it then"


So that's a dialogue that two of my friends had a few years back while I was in a movie store about to rent movies, today to my disgust, I watched the film for film class.  Now I don't hate gays, in the least bit, it's just when I watch a film, I try to involve myself in it, and there was no way that I could imagine myself as a gay person.

I think it's interesting how much controversy  came around the video when it was released.  Funny that people should raise a stink about it.  Sure it was a big deal and all that they made it into a feature film, but I really don't see the point.  You see Genesis 19:1-26 is as far as I can remember the first time a gay act is mentioned in the Bible, which would be pretty much recorded history as well, according to some scholars.  So this is an interesting thing, all these people freaking out about a gay movie, when for some of these same people, the first book of their "Holy Book" is mentioning the same thing, the same thing, WITH ANGELS, not just two ordinary men wanting to have some fun, these are men of a city, wanting to take angels....maybe it's cause they were beautiful who know, but still, anyway, the whole concept really grosses me out to a degree...

Here's the deal, we aren't called to hate them.  As Christians we are supposed to love them.  Even to the least of these is what Jesus said.  So here's the deal, no matter who or what a person is, we are supposed to love them.  We are also called to show them the error of their ways.  So think on that, that's what has been on my mind all day since I watched that video.

For Class pt.2

So it kinda pains me to post this here, cause this is no where near the topic that I write about, but whatever.

One of the Preacher Dudes

         So tonight I ate supper at Wendy's with some college friends.  While in line one of my students from London came in, and was explaining to her parents who I was, and referred to me as "One of the Preacher Dudes" so I figured I'd use that as my title for tonight.
          How is it that we get these titles?  I mean sure it is part of my job, ministry, yes I get paid to go to church essentially.  We get these titles because we are defined by what we do, our daily actions, be it work, play, ect.  So being defined by our actions is an interesting thing.  If we call ourselves Christians then we had better live like that, because we have just defined ourselves.  Erwin McManus has this thing, he hates Christians, which is weird, cause he's a pastor, of a very large church in California.  Here's why he hates them: they give him a bad name.  Crazy stuff right? but isn't it true, I know I can be a lousy disciple of Christ.
         I've been dealing with what I've been defined as this past week, and it's really something to think about.  What is it that we need to look like as Christians?  What will it take for us as Christians to change the negative stigma that comes with the title of "Christian"?  While I'm asking questions, why is it that "Pastors" are held to a higher standard than non-pastors, aren't we all just regular Christians?  These questions are part of the reason why I changed the title of my blog to "ReThink:Christianity."   Cause I can guarantee you there's no merit system, no visible way to tell who is "better" than the other.  Sure we are going to get rewards in heaven, but guess what, we are all going to be there, and if someone who isn't a pastor, lives just as much for Christ as the pastor does, they are both going to receive the same amount of heavenly rewards.
          Some food for thought for this week, I may start answering some of these questions eventually, just depends on how much free time I have.

So Lets Forgive E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E, E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E, E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G, ALL THE TIME

          This week has been an interesting one for me.  I have been getting to know people that I've been around for a while and with that they have been getting to know me.  This is an interesting thing if you think about it, getting to know someone.  The reciprocal action is just as interesting, people getting to know you.
          Friendship should be transparent, but it isn't necessarily.  I read in my Intro to Comm class that relationships are like onions with many layers.  I think this is an interesting thought, with each part being removed you're getting to know someone alittle bit better.  If relationships didn't work this way, people would know who a person was, the moment they started talking to them.  Instead though we spend hours, days, months, getting to know people, getting to understand their thought process, peeling deeper into the onion so to speak.
          As I've gotten to know people, they peel deeper into my life, but because each person is different, they peel into different sections of the onion.  Essentially different people learn different things about me.  Why doesn't everyone know everything about me?  Because it'd be uncomfortable, people would JUDGE me.  That's an interesting thought, people judging, when if they were solid Christians, they would know that judging me is a sin.  If they aren't a Christian, then typically they don't judge, they live and let live.  Now why does this happen?  Maybe that's a question for another blog.
          We are supposed to be about love, we aren't supposed to be about judging.  Instead people are afraid to be open, cause they will be judged.  I'm afraid to be open about my life because I will be judged.  So this is the thought, why not be like Christ?  Isn't that what we are called to do?  Christ loved people no matter who they were.  Now I'm not implying that I'm a horrible person, I'm not implying that I'm hurt cause people judge me, that's their problem.  I'm just saying that things need to be different.

Stuff For Class

Before

After

Everybody trying to sell me their product...

          So today we had the organizational fair for timeout for Tech.  This is where you set up your material to promote your group to incoming and prospective students.  The BCM sets up a booth to promote not only BCM but specifically Freshlife.  This is our ministry for freshman.  Our booth was between two other ministries, that were between two other ministries, that were between two other ministries; sounds like alot of Jesus right?
          Anyway so I got to thinking, we have all these ministries, there for the same purpose, to try to engage students in a meaningful relationship with Christ as well as other believers.  Each ministry just has their own unique way of doing it, sure there may be some aspects that look the same, there are even times when they talk about the same subjects, but each place has their own identity.
         If we all have the same purpose, then why do people involved in the different ministries not approve of the others?  This isn't anything new, in ministry we see it everyday, but it's something that I wanted to talk about real quick.  Sure, sometimes things are done that are contrary to Scripture, but then if you really stop and think about, there is something each of us has done recently that is contrary to Scripture, (speeding, malice towards a brother, something...).
          Why then do ministries speak out against each other, are we not supposed to instead edify each other?  We are supposed to lift each other up, we should be thankful for the amount of students that we have attending each individual group on campus.

I thought you were a believer. Someone who'd want to blog about our ideals

For those of you who don't realize, the title is a quote from a Twix commercial.
I don't know why I thought about that but I did.  So last Wednesday I had someone inform me that they had switched campus ministries because the other was more "real."
           I just don't understand it though. There is a line in a recent movie To Save a Life (Link To Download There are two movies under click to download, both are applicable) where the youth pastor says "I know there are people who settle." Or something like that, and it's true, we all know that there are people who pretend, who settle in our ministries so that's kind of why it makes it hard for me to grasp.  Sure someone may seem more "real" but are they really being real, or are they just being outgoing.  There is a difference.  I think this gets confused and easily so, because places of worship are known for being stand offish ect.  The moment someone decides to actually greet guest and attempt to get to know them, we are quick to label them "real" or "exciting" or "vibrant" or any other number of things.  Being real, which is something that I struggle with myself, is something more than that, it's being able to admit that we mess up, that being a Christian is not all black and white (when it comes to happiness n such) being a Christian doesn't move you into an alternate world, when a person chooses to actually act upon their faith, to live it out, they still live in this world, they still experience the pain that this world has, they just have a greater power to help them through.  If we are not willing to be transparent in our faith, good or bad, people won't want it, cause they can be a hypocrite sitting on the couch saying that they spent the time exercising.
      I don't think it's right though to leave a place where you have attempted to get established, and were somewhat established, to try something else. Then after one experience completely start talking about how much better it is...I don't know maybe that's what God wants in certain people, but personally I believe that unless Christ has revealed to you, that where you are is a sin and that there is somewhere else you should be, I don't think you should leave a place.  That's not just for student ministry but for ministry as a whole, there is too much of this "hopping" as it's called that goes on, and it makes seekers (people who are interested in being disciples) nervous.  We should be committed to one ministry and only there, now I'm not saying stop at the first choice that comes along, but I'm saying once you've picked a place stay there, cause you have established yourself.


This concludes my rant for the evening, I may create a part 2 to this one...