One question I'm not likely to ask God...

...is, "why did you think Barack Obama needed to be President of the United States?" I'm not likely to ask him that, because despite the "Hope" posters that failed to deliver on their rabid optimism and awesome artwork, I've got hope that God had a way better reason for putting the guy in office and keeping him there than anybody else does. Part of me thinks that the man's mad with power and he's got the government drifting away from democracy and freedom and more toward the things that we hated about Britain a couple centuries ago. Then another part just reminds me to chill out. Here's why: "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." WTF. That's supposed to calm me down? We're supposed to submit to this guy, even if the founding fathers would've taken up arms and rebelled? Maybe. We'll cross the rebellion/revolution bridge when we get to it. What I take away from that passage in Romans 13 is that God's ultimately in charge. I realize that some people reading this may not be that into God--if at all--and that sounds either like some kind of ignorant bliss or a cop-out. Not really.

Ultimately, I don't know if we're a Christian nation or just a nation with a bunch of Christians. I'm not sure what God thinks of our country or if he really blesses America as an entity. He used to do that exclusively with Israel and, according to the Bible, they couldn't handle it. So I doubt he would've tried that again with a bunch of smelly, rude Europeans. What I think could've happened is that he saw how much politics inside and outside the church and government hindered most peoples' relationship with him, so he let us have America as a sort of "non-smoking area". Did he want us to kill the Injuns for it? Doubtful. Did he think we could've asked their permission to share the land and shared the joy of Christ with them instead? Probably! That probably really happened in some cases. Despite the sinful way we treated the tribes that were here, it seems like God's still forgiven us and let us have free haven to worship him. IMO, that is good.

Let's get back to Obama. A lot of people seem to think he's destroying everything that's good about America. When I listen to too much talk radio, I'm inclined to agree. However, deep down in my heart, I know God's on top of this. Unless Obama goes back in time and stops Jesus from dying on the cross (I wouldn't put it past him at this point), then my future is fine. The whole country's future would be like that if they just believed Jesus has made their futures just as good. It's crazy to think that the Romans putting a Jew to death 2,000 years ago would have that much of a personal impact on me, but it did. The Romans have seen better days, the Jews have seen better days, but that execution really resonates and physically alters my life. Seriously...that came out of a death, not strength or might or policy. Had the Romans wanted to use all the might of the empire at its peak to make my life better 2,000 years into the future...they would've failed miserably. But a death--something that had no life to begin with, let alone enough energy/power to conquer most of the world--was able to transcend wars, revolutions, invasions, natural disasters to do that. Either that's some pretty faulty logic or it's just so contrary to the way the world works that it might just be a very good thing.

So if Obama completely screws us and does obscene things to our freedom and our way of life, it still won't kill our life in Christ, because he already died. It sounds ridiculous, but in this case, our best horse in the race is the dead one. Completely ridiculous. We wouldn't re-elect George Washington to the White House, so why should we bother with Christ? Well, the Bible has it that he, unlike George Washington, didn't stay dead and, for those who believe, made it possible to know a God that brings change we can believe in. Yes, we can believe in Obama's hope, but how would he know what's best for us? Now THAT doesn't make sense. What does sort of make sense is that if there were anyone who knew what was best for us, it would be this supernatural being that's got the potential of creating us. So if anyone knows us, it'd go something like that. Fortunately, God tends to make good on his campaign promises, even though we may not always be receptive or attentive to that. Yes, we can put our hope in the next sweet-takling politician or Obama, in all his foolish egotism...but where does that get us?

Touchdown Jesus Touched By a Fire Angel...or just fire.

So the latest WWE-style wrestling match I've been having with both God and the rest of the world or some brothers and sisters in the faith. It's all got to do with Touchdown Jesus, the big old goofy statue by the side of I-75 north of Cincinnati. It burned down recently and now we don't really have anything to poke fun at when we drive up to Dayton or beyond, as the case may be.

This has been an interesting issue to consider, though. The gut reaction to the thing when you drove by was to laugh at it. "It's good!" Here's another country megachurch full of rich people that have no idea what they're doing and they just wanted to spend money so they built a goofy statue. Then when you heard it burned, the gut reaction was, "It's finally out of its misery! But now it's no fun to drive by anymore... *sigh*"

That's when it struck me. What if the people of Solid Rock church thought that was good art but didn't know any better? I mean sure, at Sojourn, we think we're making good art all the time because most of us went to college, studied art, we think we're cool, and think our work's a shoo-in for God's acceptance. But compared to what we'll do in Heaven, does our stuff even come close? Like we think our stuff is close to the mark and Solid Rock's isn't, but how are we to know it's not the other way around or if there's any difference?

A friend of mine, who is the graphic designer at another megachurch about an hour north on I-75, said the statue kind of aggravated him because the church spent a quarter of a million dollars on a statue instead of helping the people around Monroe, Ohio. That's an incredibly valid point, but what he said was word-for-word what the disciples said when the woman poured the rich perfume on Jesus. And Jesus rebuked them for rebuking her. But he did it on the grounds that she was getting him ready for burial and that they'd always have the poor, but not him. On the other hand, though, it was still pointless for her to use the perfume because even though he was going to die, he wasn't going to stay dead. So I'm not sure if this passage applies to Touchdown Jesus or not. But I'm going back to the idea comparing the world's idea of good art to God's.

The church, in an interview, said that the statue was supposed to be a beacon of hope for people, not a way to impress people. If that's true, then that's definitely not what a lot of people got from it. Or if they did, we're not really hearing from them because they're probably not this tech-savvy. But was it wrong to build? Yes and no. Just because it was flawed and an epic fail at communication, I think if it was still an honest expression of love for God, he would've been pleased with it just as much as the work we do at Sojourn.

The graphic designer friend said he'd been to Solid Rock before and they were a Pentecostal church and didn't have much of a missional focus. He felt that didn't really give them the right to build a big-ass statue of any kind for that amount of money. Personally, I'm not sure what I think of that. It depends on what kind of light the anointing at Bethany is supposed to shed on this issue. But it definitely wouldn't be wrong of them to take up more of a missional mindset in addition to building big-ass statues.

The point I want to make, though, is that I really feel convicted for scoffing at Touchdown Jesus...maybe it's me wanting to have respect for the dead. I don't know what those people know or don't know about art. It sort of looks like they don't know much, since not many people saw it as a beacon of hope, like they'd hoped. Also, as an artist myself, I know how hard it is to create work that's relevant and effective at communicating. I'm kind of new to it myself. I'm sure if I were to throw everything I had into creating the best possible piece of art I could create, it'd still be a piece of shit in someone's eyes and maybe even mine in a few years. God would still love it, though, because it was worship nonetheless. Bad worship is better than none at all and maybe even better than no action at all, including not doing anything missional.

With that in mind, I'm glad Solid Rock's going to rebuild. What I'd like to see, though, is that they really try to articulate the statement they're trying to make with it and make sure the new one will effectively communicate what they want. It'd also be nice if they didn't pay so much for it or maybe tried to spend as much on outreach or ministry. Also, it'd be cool if they got as many members of the congregation to help rebuild it, each of them adding their own touch to it and helping in the creation process. On top of that, it'd be cool if other churches donated some money to help them not just rebuild it, but to help their outreach ministries within the community. Also, it'd be cool if churches like Sojourn (and there aren't many) were to reach out and help Solid Rock learn how to express itself effectively and create some quality art that inspires thought, not ridicule.

The Conundrum of Oil

Maybe I'm missing something here, but crude oil is a natural resource composed of the fossilized remains of some earlier inhabitants of the ocean. If so, then what BP has done is taken a naturally-occurring substance that's safely contained in one place and spilled it in another. The only problem is that it's toxic to its new environment. Had BP not been so careless, this would've been prevented. However...how is this any worse than what Mother Nature does on its own?

Consider Eyjafjallajökull, that meddlesome volcano in Iceland.

I'm sure there was a bird or two killed by the ash plume and maybe some plant life killed near the blast zone of the volcano. Where's the furor over that and the initiative to create "clean" volcanic eruptions? What about floods or blizzards that deposit inches and feet of precipitation on land and kill people, animals, and plants? Or lightning fires?

BP's disaster is nothing compared to what Mother Nature unleashes on all forms of life on a somewhat regular basis across the planet, aside from the fact that they can actually be hauled into court to face a lawsuit. Somehow, as fragile as it is, life on this planet still goes on. As destructive as it is, God created a pretty solid place for us to live. He went to the trouble of dying so we could live, so why would he have dropped the ball when it came to making a place where we could do that? Granted, this world is still fallen, but it gives us a reason to hope for the day when he renews it and us too.

Even though BP could've prevented this mess, there's still nothing that says a fissure won't rip open another oil reserve on the other side of the world and cause ten times as much damage. No matter how much we try to keep our environment clean and perfect, it's never going to be enough, much like our ability to keep ourselves righteous outside of God. I'm not saying BP shouldn't try to clean up after itself, but I think demonizing them is a bit over-the-top. What makes their sins any worse than ours? They're greedy and selfish just like we can be. Their sins might be more far-reaching, but what do their sins steal from us that God can't provide?

In God's eyes, we, as humans, have screwed the earth up, the one thing he puts us in charge of. But I think he knew what he was doing and still chose to redeem us and our pathetic attempt at work. I think the correct response to all this is to forgive BP as God has forgiven us, ask God to forgive BP's people, ask him to forgive all of us for not maintaining his creation to the best of our ability, ask Him to show us all grace by helping us to not only clean up the mess, but help us do a better job in the future. Amen.

Now thanks for hanging in there. Here's your funny (and really vulgar) reward. Ladies and gentlemen, I present the late George Carlin on the planet.

Keystone: Hold Your 'Stones

In the last month, I've seen a new billboard pop up along our stretch of Bardstown Rd. in Fern Creek with Keith Stone's mug on it (or whatever the actor's real name is). At first, when I saw it, my first impression was that Coors had created a new ad gimmick based off "My Name is Earl". Then I took a second to challenge that assumption by considering, "Maybe he's not as redneck or ignorant as the ad people want us to think we are." After all, I just had a billboard to go on.

Then I saw an ad on TV.

Coors, the makers of Keystone, is obviously trying to get guys everywhere to do a "Mirror, mirror on the billboard/TV, who's the badassest of them all?" Maybe not guys everywhere. Just in areas where you're likely to see guys like Keith Stone. My gut reaction is that of revulsion. Seriously, by seeing that ad, I feel like Coors sees me as a narcissistic redneck who enjoys cheap beer, since they put this ad close to where I live and hope I relate to it. Two, they're hoping other males in this area will relate to it and see themselves as Keith Stone. And my guess would be that they do, more often than not.

My objection to this is seemingly two-fold (be ready for more). One, Keith Stone just looks annoying and ignorant. He's the king of his hill, which really isn't that big...but he doesn't know that. And I'm sure there are guys out there who really act like that and think he's cool/hilarious, so they try to aspire to that. Yes, Margaret, those men are annoying too. Two, if I'm going to be annoying, I'd rather be a nuisance of higher class and sophistication than that. Like a snob! Three (told you there'd be more), I think I have a natural aversion to that stereotype and Coors's attempt to cluster me into that, because I know I'm made in the image of God. (Said like a true snob!)

In all honesty, I don't think God's against drinking. What he's against is getting drunk and chasing tail like Keith Stone. And he's not against it just because he said so. It's because he didn't make tail to be chased that way. The idea is while everything is permissible, not everything is beneficial. Chasing tail, getting drunk, and looking/acting like Keith Stone is cool, but it's nothing compared to living in Christ. Living like Keith Stone leads to death. You're not doing anything with your life. It's a waste. In Christ, you're submitting to God, but you're also letting him get inside your soul and put your interests and your passions to work for his kingdom. Plus, you get to enjoy the same things like drinking and sex, but you figure out the right ways to enjoy them. Excess was not that. You never need to drink to escape; you drink to celebrate life and rejoice in Christ. It's even better with friends.

So regardless of your spiritual leanings, Coors is full of crap for making me think I'm not made in the image of God, but I'm the image of Keith Stone to them. Ridiculous. I refuse to buy their beer because it's cheap and because they think I'm a dumb hick who'll buy their beer just because cool guys like Keith Stone do it. If I had my own brewery, I'd go with the image of some old German monk, who was a master brewer for my spokesmodel. Kind of like Volkswagen did with the Beetle with a microphone with the guy who had a German accent. There's nothing better than pondering theology over a nice stein full of dünkel.

A Serious Man

I could probably make this post on my Old Ticket Stubs blog, but then I'd be talking about the movie called A Serious Man. Lately, my life's taken a huge step forward in evolution--I think. About a month ago, I crazily turned in my 3 ½ week-notice at WLEX-TV before I found a job in Louisville. Heather and I'd been married four months at that point and I thought it was high time I got my ass outta Dodge. The day after that, Heather gets laid off from Sts. Mary & Elizabeth. So by the end of March, at that moment, we were both going to be unemployed. Rather than worry, we were given the strength by God to laugh it off. If one of us was crazy enough to take the plunge and trust our unemployment to Him, why not both of us? Since when did God say He'd only take care of one of us?

So we just continued with our plan for me to move up here and be a husband and a servant at our church--among other things which are sure to come, I'm sure. A lot of people wanted us to reconsider our situation and wanted me to take back my notice. Not a chance. Before my 3 ½ weeks were up, Heather already had another job and she's still there. There's even a good possibility that she'll stay there. Two weeks to the day after I moved up, I started a new job--one that was right up my alley and, in many ways, an extension of my last job. That is f*cking CRAZY!

I've got one thing to say to the world: THE BIBLE IS NOT A JOKE! Why don't more people try it? Why was my default setting set to "Play It Safe" when it came to figuring out whether or not I should quit WLEX? A big thanks to all my spiritual mentors/family for helping me sort that out.

Oktoberfest Season

This entry isn't going to be a rant. It's not going to be critical, sad, or smart-alecky. No, it's going to be appreciative. Appreciative that God allowed the people of the earth to create their own cultures, their own versions of sustenance, and festivals to celebrate just how awesome that is.

In this particular entry, I'm appreciative of the part of German culture and heritage that created the Oktoberfest. German governments haven't exactly set the best standard for the world. Whether it's the landlust of the Hohenzollerns or bloodlust of the Nazis, they're not exactly making a good name for themselves. As for the people, though, I suppose they're doing okay. When I think of German culture outside of the unpleasant parts, I think of the tiny cottages nestled in the Bavarian Alps. Kind of like the picture you see above. Cobblestone roads, fresh flowers hanging from eaves and awnings, the echoes of accordions from a bierhaus down the street. (There's a cottage-town nestled in the Cascades of Washington state called Leavenworth that brings all that to the US. Great place. Not much to do, but it was fun. We went there on vacation once. In fact, that's a picture of it above...not the real Bavarian Alps. Sorry.)

There's just something to all that that makes it very comfortable. You feel right at home in that kind of environment. Maybe it's the German blood in me. Maybe it's because Mom fixed German a lot for dinner growing up. Whatever the reasoning, I just feel very relaxed and content after a fine German meal at home or out at a restaurant. No other type of food or restaurant generates that kind of after-dinner warmth quite like that. After Cracker Barrel, you're content, but ready to move onto some other activity. After Olive Garden, you're the same way. But after German, you just want to kick back and really let the ecstasy of the meal set in and savor the last few drops of bier in the stein. Ein herzhafte Mahlzeit (a hearty meal).

So with that level of respect and admiration for the experience of German cuisine, I excite myself over the prospect of Oktoberfest. A festival devoted to this unique culture and taste of the world can't be all that bad. Hopefully, I actually make it this year. Viel Glück!

God of Grace

With the wedding coming up and getting down to the wire (59 days), it's starting to become apparent what's still left to do. We still need to officially reserve the church. Penciled in, but we just have to turn the form in. Plus, not exactly sure what the groomsmen will wear. Or me for that matter! Want to do a tweed jacket and stuff, but that might not happen. If it does, Goodwill's going to be to thank for it. Of course this is without trying to find a way to scientifically make money materialize from well...nothing! We don't really know what's going to happen with a honeymoon. Chicago was the plan for a long time, but bad financial planning has put that in jeopardy. So now it's maybe a tossup between Gatlinburg, Chicago, or staying at home.

Let's juxtapose this scenario against what's happening in my spiritual life. A couple weeks ago, a friend posted an article from an arts pastor who was about to leave a church in Austin, TX and head to another church in North Carolina or something. This article describes how humans create art because it illustrates grace. Here's the gist:

• God got fancy with the earth and created more than just enough to get by.
  
• For example: instead of having just one kind of fruit, we have a variety of fruits to choose from that all have a range of flavors. Not to mention God created a system in our bodies so those flavors could be enjoyed.
• Q: Why are flavors necessary, when most fruits do the job of sustaining us? A: They're not necessary, because that's all part of grace. While we need grace to not only live, but live like God intended, part of that gift is that we're given more than we need.

Which leads us to last week. One morning in the shower, barely awake, I prayed that God would intervene whenever I felt like I was going to say something about someone that was going to be hateful and/or ignorant. I'm bad about that. (Especially when I'm driving.) It's getting old, it's not helping anything, so I want to quit and have more productive, loving thoughts about people. Then after that prayer, I said another one, asking God to let me see His grace in action. I understood about the passive grace going on with fruits and nuts and how good they taste, but I wanted to see grace take an active role in my life.

So here's what went down. A week prior to this, our friend, who was going to photograph the wedding, told us that they had a family commitment that they couldn't postpone and wouldn't be able to make the wedding. They were going to do the wedding for free, as a wedding gift. So that meant now we'd have to pay someone to do our pictures. The cheapest offer we got was $250. That we didn't have. Eventually, Heather and I decided that we would just try and get my dad to take pictures from the pew during the ceremony and then he'd get pictures at the reception. Wouldn't be nice, fun ones...but it'd be better than nothing and better than paying for something we couldn't afford. Fast-forward to the day when I prayed for grace: we get an email from our friend, saying they got the dates mixed up and would be at our wedding with bells on!

That, friends, is God's grace. We didn't need a bona fide wedding photographer; we had my dad. I asked for grace, though, and I got it. When I asked for it, I thought God might let me find a quarter on the sidewalk or someone would give me some food they hadn't eaten. He surprised me with the photographer thing. I'd left it wide open for Him to do something cool. Wouldn't have even suspected that's what He would've come up with.

After all this, I'm no longer afraid to ask for excess like I used to be. For the longest time, it felt like if you were a Christian, you learned to live an ascetic life of minimalism and denying yourself. You learn to live on bread and water and use rocks for pillows. Not at all. I'm not advocating a pray to gain gospel here. I'm just saying that grace is more than a generic, bland word that's tossed around so freely in Christianity. There's a specific defintion and function to it. It's having God's favor and access to whatever we need and don't need in the physical, spiritual, and relational realms. I'm not going to pray for a brand new Lexus, but I'm going to pray for a nice honeymoon in Chicago. We don't need it. We could settle for a week without work at the apartment. But God has the resources to spare for a nice honeymoon in Chicago and all I need to do is ask.