There are cetain people in life who teach you what it means to be selfless and to love others sacrificially. Such a person has a lasting impact on you and changes your life forever. Gary Blum was one of those people in my life and today, March 19, 2011 he passed away unexpectantly from a heart attack. He is now at rest after a life of loving service. I cannot put into words what his loss means to me. The only way I can express myself right now is through my guitar. This video is rough, I admit, but it's how I feel right now. So for those of you who knew Gary and can't wait to see him again, enjoy. For the rest, maybe this will give insight into the legacy he has left. God bless my friends.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Our Lazy Faith: What is Going on with the Church?
If you have been following developments within the faith of the Western Church over the last decade or more, you may notice a number of odd and worrying things take place. The rise of modern contemporary worship has driven most younger people away from the more "traditional" churches that once decorated the blocks of towns and cities accross America. I know firsthand that this movement has sought to bring passion and energy back into the worship of the Church, hoping to reach out to today's technologically driven society. In response, those who hold to the more liturgical forms of worship have claimed that those in the contemporary movement are only seeking their own emotional needs rather than a desire to truly worship the God of the Bible. They have an argument in many cases.
Meanwhile, new emerging and emergent Churches seek to find new ways of reaching out to the lost, broken world that both parties claim to be Biblical. And the debates are not solely ecclesiological (focused on the church and how it should operate), but theological as well (a trend which is only about 2000 years old). As I type this, Pastor Rob Bell's new book Love Wins has already caused great controversy and debate just days after its release. The quesions are raised as to whether or not he is a universalist, what his view of hell really is, and what he sees as truly constituting the Gosepl. Regardless of how Bell's book is received, there are sure to be divisions in many places.
So what is wrong with the Church? I believe all of what I have mentioned stems from a problem articulated by Bell himself, as well as my friend and fellow blogger David Ketter. We have become so individualistic as believers in the West that each of us carries our own form of dogmatism. In other words, because my faith is my faith, I know I am right, and I know that anyone who disagrees with me is either mistaken or heretical and clearly does not know God like I know him. Now, while it is great to be certain of truth and what we believe, the problem is that many of us do not have the time, training, or tenacity to study Scripture properly. Couple this with the fact that we have nearly forsaken authority and wisdom from those more seasoned Christians in our lives, and we really have a problem.
Over the past four years of my educational endevours at Geneva College, I have discovered just how difficult and time consuming it is to dive into the Bible in a way that challenges me and gives me greater insight into truth. It has take me entire semesters to learn the proper ways to read and interpret the Word of God. Most theologians and pastors would probably say they even have a long way to go in this process.
But let's face it: most of us grab a quick devotion guide, read for 5-10 minutes over a cup of coffee, and then head to school or work for the day. I know this to be true of my younger generation, but I would bet that the same can be said of working adults as well. Though there is nothing overtly wrong with this, I believe it points to our spiritual laziness. We are not gaining a deeper understanding of the principles of biblical interpretation that unlock some of the mysteries of our faith and the Bible. After all, we simply don't have time. Or do we?
Maybe the problem is that we are lazy. Maybe we actually do have some extra time on our hands that we could give over to the spiritual disciplines that God uses to transform us each day. Maybe the problem is that we become so burnt out, so inudated with information that the last thing we want to do after a long day is sit down for half an hour or more and simply read and pray. While I sypathize with this situation, the problem is that spiritual maturity is not like a trip to McDonald's or Burger King. You do not order what you want and get it hot and ready in 2 minutes (and even that would be too long). It takes time, patience, struggle and discipline to experience growth. Not to mention, we have forsaken the wisdom and insight of pastors and elders who have been in the faith for a much longer period of time than we have. How in the world are we ever going to have the maturity, boldness, and power to impact this world for the Gospel if we do not even really know what the message is?
While I am sure that I will talk about this in more detail with examples in the future, I just want to get all of us thinking about our own lazy faith, and challenge us to get real for a second. We all have the time. We all have an extra hour or even more to spend with the Lord. We do, only if we really view our faith as the central aspect of our lives. Otherwise, it is easy to throw our time away doing nothing. Am I there yet? Not at all. But I know I'm convicted.
So while we disagree with one another over musical styles, or call out "heretic" before we've even read Love Wins, we must ask ourselves if we are giving God the time he deserves and whether or not we are allowing others to speak into our lives. It is easy to be a backseat-theologian. It is difficult to jump up front and allow God to direct our spiritual growth. It will be risky and even a little dangerous to our own egos and biases, but maybe this is exactly what we need if we are to be the Body of Christ God has saved us to be. After all, isn't Christ worth it?
Meanwhile, new emerging and emergent Churches seek to find new ways of reaching out to the lost, broken world that both parties claim to be Biblical. And the debates are not solely ecclesiological (focused on the church and how it should operate), but theological as well (a trend which is only about 2000 years old). As I type this, Pastor Rob Bell's new book Love Wins has already caused great controversy and debate just days after its release. The quesions are raised as to whether or not he is a universalist, what his view of hell really is, and what he sees as truly constituting the Gosepl. Regardless of how Bell's book is received, there are sure to be divisions in many places.
So what is wrong with the Church? I believe all of what I have mentioned stems from a problem articulated by Bell himself, as well as my friend and fellow blogger David Ketter. We have become so individualistic as believers in the West that each of us carries our own form of dogmatism. In other words, because my faith is my faith, I know I am right, and I know that anyone who disagrees with me is either mistaken or heretical and clearly does not know God like I know him. Now, while it is great to be certain of truth and what we believe, the problem is that many of us do not have the time, training, or tenacity to study Scripture properly. Couple this with the fact that we have nearly forsaken authority and wisdom from those more seasoned Christians in our lives, and we really have a problem.
Over the past four years of my educational endevours at Geneva College, I have discovered just how difficult and time consuming it is to dive into the Bible in a way that challenges me and gives me greater insight into truth. It has take me entire semesters to learn the proper ways to read and interpret the Word of God. Most theologians and pastors would probably say they even have a long way to go in this process.
But let's face it: most of us grab a quick devotion guide, read for 5-10 minutes over a cup of coffee, and then head to school or work for the day. I know this to be true of my younger generation, but I would bet that the same can be said of working adults as well. Though there is nothing overtly wrong with this, I believe it points to our spiritual laziness. We are not gaining a deeper understanding of the principles of biblical interpretation that unlock some of the mysteries of our faith and the Bible. After all, we simply don't have time. Or do we?
Maybe the problem is that we are lazy. Maybe we actually do have some extra time on our hands that we could give over to the spiritual disciplines that God uses to transform us each day. Maybe the problem is that we become so burnt out, so inudated with information that the last thing we want to do after a long day is sit down for half an hour or more and simply read and pray. While I sypathize with this situation, the problem is that spiritual maturity is not like a trip to McDonald's or Burger King. You do not order what you want and get it hot and ready in 2 minutes (and even that would be too long). It takes time, patience, struggle and discipline to experience growth. Not to mention, we have forsaken the wisdom and insight of pastors and elders who have been in the faith for a much longer period of time than we have. How in the world are we ever going to have the maturity, boldness, and power to impact this world for the Gospel if we do not even really know what the message is?
While I am sure that I will talk about this in more detail with examples in the future, I just want to get all of us thinking about our own lazy faith, and challenge us to get real for a second. We all have the time. We all have an extra hour or even more to spend with the Lord. We do, only if we really view our faith as the central aspect of our lives. Otherwise, it is easy to throw our time away doing nothing. Am I there yet? Not at all. But I know I'm convicted.
So while we disagree with one another over musical styles, or call out "heretic" before we've even read Love Wins, we must ask ourselves if we are giving God the time he deserves and whether or not we are allowing others to speak into our lives. It is easy to be a backseat-theologian. It is difficult to jump up front and allow God to direct our spiritual growth. It will be risky and even a little dangerous to our own egos and biases, but maybe this is exactly what we need if we are to be the Body of Christ God has saved us to be. After all, isn't Christ worth it?
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Constant Reminders
Let's face it, all of us do dumb things that get us into trouble. It doesn't matter how hard we try, we always seem to find a way to mess it up. We open our big mouths, we treat others in ways that we know they don't appreciate, we fail to meet a responsibility, or a number of other stupid mistakes and choices that we could possibly make.
For me, I constantly find myself unable to keep up with the whole host of things I have gotten into. School, my part time job at my Church, leading worship, being president of a ministry at Geneva College, and maintaining my relationships with friends and my girlfriend are all things that I have filled my life with. The fact is, I enjoy them all, at least to some extent. I also feel as if they are all fulfilling in some way or another. Unfortunately, I've never been able to juggle them as well as I would like. I get worn out.
But don't we all do this? Our society tells us that the key to success is to do as much as you can as well as you can. The younger generation today has bought into the idea that in order for them to look as attractive to jobs and colleges as they can, they must fill their lives with as many random and sometimes disconnected activities and projects as possible. I can tell you this from experience. The problem with this mentality is that it wears kids out and frustrates them from doing the very things that they are most passionate about. I didn't get into college because of the dozens of things I was involved in. I got in because of my writing ability and my grades. So my first thought is: specialize in something. Become really good at it and sell it to whomever needs to know. Employees, schools, friends, everyone should know that you are good at what you do, not that you can juggle 80 million things at once.
My second thought is based again on my own experience. Sometimes we can begin to do so much that we do wear ourselves down and become completely ineffective in everything we do. I discovered this lesson when I was diagnosed with mono last fall. It may not be the worst thing you could be diagnosed with, but like some of the worst, it stays with you for life. It runs you down and weakens your immune system. You body just can't do the things it used to, and I do a lot. I am constantly reminded that I can't keep running myself ragged. I need sleep. I need time off. I need a chance to relax and unwind. Mono has forced me to learn this. And when I become stubborn and think I can do it all, I become run down and worn out again, forced to stay in my bed. It truly is a constant reminder.
So don't let your lifestyle run you down. Don't let something in your past become a constant reminder of the mistakes you have made over the years. Learn to be really, really good at whatever you are passionate about and run after that, not everything you possibly can. This way, you will be able to keep your life in check and never need one of those constant reminders.
For me, I constantly find myself unable to keep up with the whole host of things I have gotten into. School, my part time job at my Church, leading worship, being president of a ministry at Geneva College, and maintaining my relationships with friends and my girlfriend are all things that I have filled my life with. The fact is, I enjoy them all, at least to some extent. I also feel as if they are all fulfilling in some way or another. Unfortunately, I've never been able to juggle them as well as I would like. I get worn out.
But don't we all do this? Our society tells us that the key to success is to do as much as you can as well as you can. The younger generation today has bought into the idea that in order for them to look as attractive to jobs and colleges as they can, they must fill their lives with as many random and sometimes disconnected activities and projects as possible. I can tell you this from experience. The problem with this mentality is that it wears kids out and frustrates them from doing the very things that they are most passionate about. I didn't get into college because of the dozens of things I was involved in. I got in because of my writing ability and my grades. So my first thought is: specialize in something. Become really good at it and sell it to whomever needs to know. Employees, schools, friends, everyone should know that you are good at what you do, not that you can juggle 80 million things at once.
My second thought is based again on my own experience. Sometimes we can begin to do so much that we do wear ourselves down and become completely ineffective in everything we do. I discovered this lesson when I was diagnosed with mono last fall. It may not be the worst thing you could be diagnosed with, but like some of the worst, it stays with you for life. It runs you down and weakens your immune system. You body just can't do the things it used to, and I do a lot. I am constantly reminded that I can't keep running myself ragged. I need sleep. I need time off. I need a chance to relax and unwind. Mono has forced me to learn this. And when I become stubborn and think I can do it all, I become run down and worn out again, forced to stay in my bed. It truly is a constant reminder.
So don't let your lifestyle run you down. Don't let something in your past become a constant reminder of the mistakes you have made over the years. Learn to be really, really good at whatever you are passionate about and run after that, not everything you possibly can. This way, you will be able to keep your life in check and never need one of those constant reminders.
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