Link: The Story of a Great Man

During my first month of college, I met a man who would forever change my life.

This past December, he lost his battle with cancer, and the world lost a lot of it's goodness.

I've tried to summarize what his life has meant to me in a post, but I've never done it justice.

Recently his wife wrote a post entitled,

"The Man behind The Man Song."

I really wanted to share this because her post is eloquent and beautiful and talks about the heart of the man.

At the end a video is attached, it is a joyful parody about being a man.

Book Review: The Mockingbird Parables by Matt Litton

It's not often that you see the Christian faith mingled with great literature, so when I saw The Mockingbird Parables, I had to pick it up. In this unique book about the Christian faith, Matt Litton uses To Kill a Mockingbird to illustrate the tenets of Christian belief.

Care for neighbors, financial responsibility, compassion, care for creation, and Christian courage are all modeled in the persons of Boo Radley, Atticus and Scout Finch, Tom Robinson, and Miss Maudie. Litton is able to draw out these parables from a classic novel without much effort. This contemporary inference could be a trite disaster if done improperly, but Litton is able to pull it off because he makes the metaphors personal.

The Mockingbird Parables is an imaginative work of non-fiction, and should enthrall readers who love great literature and want to stretch their faith.

A Sermon on Worry

The following is an excerpt from a sermon by Brother Woodrow McCall, pastor of Little Hope Baptist Church of Cedar Creek, Texas.

"People will come up and ask me, "Brother McCall, aren't you worried about war in the Middle East?" And I just laugh at 'em. I ain't got no reason to worry about war in the Middle East. Everything that'll happen over there has already been written down in prophecy, years ago.

And I'll tell you what else--I ain't worried about a lot of things.

I ain't worried about global warming. It's all a big sham anyway, cooked up by liberals and scientists and godless communists. People don't need to be worried about global warming, they need to be worried about how warm they're gonna get when they die, amen?

I ain't worried about oil reserves or anything like that. We got plenty of oil, always have. God provided that oil for us, and God will keep providing it. Haven't you heard the story of the widow and the barrel of oil? America is that widow, and we'll always have that oil, no matter what, amen?

I ain't worried about earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, or hurricanes. When I see these things, it just lets me know that Jesus is coming soon. It's just a sign of the times, that's all. People call them disasters, but I call them glorious signs. It's a tragedy that all those people die, but it should just make us look to the sky, amen?

I ain't worried about gays, lesbians, and any other sort of homosexual you can name. You know why? Christians ain't gay. So I ain't worried about them. The Bible says God gave them up a long time ago, so I ain't worried about them. I've never had one Christian in this church admit they were gay. It's just a liberal problem. They can have their parades, and parade straight to hell, amen?

I ain't worried about abortion, either. Them babies are safe in the arms of Jesus, and besides that, Christians don't get abortions. So why should I be worried? That's a worldly problem, not one for Christians. I don't know of one Christian that's had an abortion. If anyone ever did it in this church, they never came and told me about it. No, sir, Christians don't have a hand in a bloody mess like that. Christians don't have blood on their hands, amen?

Listen closely, church--there's a lot of worry in this world, but Christians shouldn't be a part of it. So that's why I don't worry.

Now if there's anyone here who hasn't heard of the compassionate, merciful, love of Jesus, come down to the front and I'll tell you about it."

Book Review: Forgiving as We've Been Forgiven by Gregory Jones and Celestin Musekura

This book would be powerful on its own, but the fact that one of the authors hails from Rwanda lends it even more credence. Musekura was not in Rwanda when the genocide of 1994 occurred, but most of his family was. Since then, he has come to work with many of those who organized the murders of his loved ones. Musekura left a well-paying job to work for the reconciliation of his country.

The authors start with a premise that seems simple, but is so hard for us to understand: forgiveness is not something we can do on our own. It has to be enabled by God. There is an interesting chapter titled "The Dance of Forgiveness" in which Jones lays out the awkward steps of forgiveness which much be rehearsed over and over again before we are able to practice them daily in a forgiving community.

The other focus is on the transforming power of Christ in the work of forgiveness. The authors emphatically point out that forgiveness involves the heart, mind and actions. The book concludes with a discussion of Christian communities that have embraced forgiveness. There is also a study guide included.

A Poem: Concentration

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Thoughts on Love Wins and it's Naysayers.

Revised @ 1:00 pm on 3/17/11

Rob Bell's new book is making a blip on the evangelical radar.

They're sending out the troops in masses.

Hide your kids, hide your wives, hide your heretics

Cause their deciding everybody's fate up in here.

Book Review: Love Wins by Rob Bell

I wrote the original review on Amazon. This will be an appropriated review, however you can find the original here:

Original Review

If Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, The Earth's Holocaust, were to ever become a reality, Bell's book, Love Wins, would burn brighter than most (but not quite as bright as the Bible).

I believe this is Bell's 4th(?) book, and it seems that with each new publication the "controversy" surrounding him increases. It's gotten to the point that I couldn't even find this book in a Christian bookstore; their loss (in a customer and profits). I believe that Albert Einstein said, "Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocre minds. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence." And I believe that sums up the controversy surrounding the book and it's author.

Book Review: What Can I Do? by David Livermore

What Can I Do? is a handbook for Christians on what exactly they can do to help end some of the world's biggest problems. This book is unique, because it immediately puts the responsibility of contributing on the reader.

One of the opening chapters shrinks the global community into a town of only 1000, and then gives you statistics based on that population. It gives some of the arbitrary statistics that are often talked about more significance.

Livermore states that we were made for a better world, and therefore desire a better world. He then outlines seven strategies that individuals can use to impact the world, right now. Some of the topics discussed include the business world (whether you own your business or just work for a corporation), the use of science and art, the impact of healthcare, and the importance of influencing children.

But Livermore doesn't just send people out into the world with enthusiasm. There is a chapter that emphasizes the importance of caution. Livermore doesn't want people to just rely on their zeal. So he includes a chapter on finding your passion, and a subsequent one on how to apply that passion in a community. A great read for anyone looking to help the world.

A Change In Direction

Sitting on a curb
Watching life go ‘round
Engulfed by earth’s matters
Alas, I am drowned.

The world’s path
Just a monotonous routine
Wanting something real
Caught somewhere in between

Movement defined by furry
Looking ahead is just a blur
Something isn’t right
My heart begins to stir

Something different
Caught from the corner of my eye
A unique lifestyle
From some strange passer by

Double take
With curiosity arise
Who is this guy
I can’t quite characterize

Intrigued I follow
Mimicking every step
His stride so smooth
At life so adept

Engaging others
Convincing some to turn
Others disgusted
And do his offer spurn

Seeing his path
Do I continue to follow
Or revert back
To a life which was hollow

Moving on
Tired of the past
He’s now the star
I’m the supporting cast

This new road
Down which he’s taking me
When at the end
All his glory I’ll see

It Begs The Question

“Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your good do not demand them back…”

How literal are we to take this verse?

Do we give to everyone who asks of us? To only those who have specific needs? Only when we feel we have something extra to give away?

In Psalm we read “the righteous is generous and gives,” and in Proverbs we read “the righteous gives and does not hold back.” So if you’re a righteous man you’re also a giving man, but to what extent?

Looking at Deuteronomy it says “you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.” That last phrase is key. It doesn’t read ‘whatever we deem it to be’ or ‘whatever we feel we can spare,’ but rather “whatever it may be.” Too often we look at giving as what I can spare or have left to give. We like living in our luxury and comfort more than taking care of the need of people around us.

We evaluate based upon our perspective of where we stand financially versus looking at what is actually needed by the person. John Wesley looked at it as we should give away all but the plain necessaries of life. And while most people aren’t going to go that far, what would it hurt to forgo eating out once a week or giving up that gift to ourselves, and using that money to help others out.

Also II Corinthians implies that we don’t want to make it a cake walk for the other person and don’t want to burden ourselves by giving away more than can sustain us. We just have to objectively look at where the line is for actually burdening ourselves versus thinking it’ll be a burden because we like our comfort.

Who knows, a little discomfort for us can be a big blessing to someone else, and you just may find a little satisfaction in knowing you made a difference.

Holding Pastors to Unreasonable Expectations

Are we holding pastors to an unreasonable set of standards?

In Rachel Held Evans blog "Dear Pastors - Tell Us the Truth" we see a plea to pastors to be open and honest with us (the congregation), to share their findings and emotions, and to let us know they're real.

Adam S. McHugh gave a response in his blog titled "Pastors and Honesty" in which he describes being open with the congregation only to be burned by his openness later. He mentions that the congregations mentioned by Rachel Held Evans are very few and far between.

So what does (or should) a congregation expect from the pastor?

Should we put them on a pedestal, expect nothing less than perfection, to grow the church numbers, and in some way play intermediary between us and God? Or expect that everything spoken by them is divinely inspired?

Or...

Should we allow them to actually be a part of the congregation, share their findings, emotions and struggles with us, to let them be as authentic as they call us to be? Do we realize that pastors are just as human as we are, and that because they are human they are prone to making mistakes just like we are?

We've come to expect nothing short of absolute perfection out of our pastors. And while we want them to exemplify a God-like character, we need to realize that at the end of the day they're just as human and tempted just like we are. A question we have to ask ourselves is how will we react if we find that our pastor is struggling or has sinned? Do we hold it against them and use it to undermine their authority? Or do we embrace them, extend our love and grace, and move forward together both growing and learning from the experience?

Another question to think about is would you rather find about a pastor's struggle or sin the 'hard' way or have them be honest and open about it from the beginning?