Do you know of Jesus, or do you know Jesus?

Dr. Bright has long been a staple of evangelical Christianity, a soul who does chase the power while also understanding it is not his to wield, but to share. The tears are amazing, because Bill Bright understands that he doesn't need to know of Jesus, he has to know Jesus in a personal and vulnerable way. In need. I think this is probably why we are so impatient with those who we define as "in sin". We don't know Jesus through need, rather we know of Jesus, which means that as we stand in proxy we are able to define and condemn the sins of others; we use our doctrinal positions to assert our superiority and in the end push people away (intentionally, although subconsciously) from a result (salvation) rather than welcome them into a process of sanctification. Accordingly, we miss out on the best part of the faith because we are not participating in it ourselves; the process of being made holy by the hand of God.
Rick is also a gift, one who is not afraid to face the questions of those who have yet to be convinced of the validity of Christ. Don says he has an emotional relationship with the scriptures, a relationship that in not in his head but his heart. He can speak of the compelling nature of the scriptures because the don't just tell him of his salvation, but they bring to life in his soul the Jesus who teaches, loves and touches in order to heal. Can you face the questions of others? How often do you find yourself not "defending" the faith, but sharing it?

Do you listen to jazz music? I was reading one of my guitar mags the other day, and the columnist who is the jazz teacher was teaching that jazz is designed to go beyond the rules, to expand the structure of music to the point where it stretches and grows into a beautiful expression of the soul. Don is right; the act of faith, the discipline of faith is designed to learn the rules so that we don't toss them out, but instead we are transformed by them to do the work of a transcendent God. The rules are so grounded in they ways of the world; this is why they matter. But the transcendent is what Jesus was directing us to when he said I come not to destroy the law but fulfill it. (Matt 5:17)

Are you ready to experience faith as the bounce of an upbeat clarinet solo? Perhaps it is the in the mournful sounds drawn from a deep sax over a Gibson 335 guitar. Maybe the hyper sounds of a piano rolling outside the scales and yet singing of virtuosity?

I was watching something on Neo nazis the other day and was surprised by the uniforms they issue.. uniforms that are designed to affirm their oneness in hate, and those who don't wear unis are ready to tattoo the symbols of the organization all over their body so that everyone could know their values and commitments. In the end, the uniforms just covered up the humanity of each individual (it is very interesting how we often say that we are affirming our individualism in such a context while everything the organization does is designed to remove that individualism) and deny a distinctive potential which exists in each person. This is why God doesn't issue uniforms. God instead prepares us to help create amazing melodies which speak to the nature of eternity. No "oneness" because we are the same; no, oneness because in spite of our differences, in spite of our seemingly divergent values and experiences, we always understand we are part of the melody, not the sum of it. Such humility allows us to listen, to heal, to hurt, to live, just like the Jesus we love so very, very much. Or at least we say we do.


What song will you sing? Ask the Lord, the composer of all things great to teach it to you. Get ready for a class, not a indoctrination. Don't expect to learn about the instrument of faith, but be ready to use it. Yeah, it will squeak like one learning the sax or hurt our fingers like beginning guitar, and sometimes we will feel blue (and even red!) figuring it all out!

But then the time will come that you appreciate the depth of faith, when you feel your life is moving in sound, sometimes the melody, sometimes a harmony, all the time something beautiful expressing a hope and a peace ground in the deep of eternity. Then you will see what faith can do for others, and the blues won't be a moment of pain and ache, but rather you will know that the blue you feel is God taking you through the best and worst not with a formula or "4 spiritual Laws", but by expanding your reach and growing your spirit, outside the lines, and you will know what a reflective, connected love with Jesus is all about.

You will know what it means to be blue, blue like jazz.

Shalom and see you soon as we begin "The Shack"!!

After Christmas special....

Time to pull up a stocking stuffer from a loved one; our next read! Let's begin "The Shack" by William P. Young... I am hearing great, great things about it. It may be a read that deals with some challenging material, but I do think the trek will be worth it. So ask for a copy from Santa and we will begin right after Xmas! (yes, it is ok to use Xmas, chi (X) is the letter in the greek alphabet which the ancient church used to describe Christ, so it is not some kind of war against Christmas thingy!) Let us learn more about Jesus this holiday season!

The end draweth nigh....

at least the end of "Blue like Jazz"!!! I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I did... Let talk about one of the most challenging aspects of the church: worship. If there is anywhere poeple have strong opinions about God, it is in the context of worship. And sadly, my experience in the UMC has found me fighting wayyyyyy too many battles around people's expectations rather than their desire to actually worship God. Yes, we make worship about ourselves rather than about God. "I like this, worship should be like that, are we going to do it the Methodist way" all imply that worship is not an extension of who we are striving to love, but that somehow we should walk away having been "pleased" with worship. There is a reality that must be addressed in the context of worship; an introvert is not going to find their opportunity for expression in a community that believes in shouting, running around and loud guitars! Thier time of adoration might be much more actualized in a Taize setting, or the tradition and history of the ancient liturgy. Likewise, those of us who love lots of praise activity are left out of the structure of a liturgical standard which feels confining and oppressive.

Here me now and listen again later: NEITHER IS "WRONG"!!!!!! Yeah, I have wandered into many settings at the district and conference level of clergy gatherings with a guitar and the appalled looks make me feel like I brought Satan to church! (remember my assertion that just putting a drum set on the chancel will drive away 10% of the congregation in many churches; you don't even have to play them, just put them up there!) I would argue that for worship to be truly an embodiement of our desire to know God, then we are obligated to regularly try a different mode of worship. No, not that "I went to 3rd service and it was so loud so now I am back where I am comfortable" cloak that so many self righteously put on, but on a regular basis keep worship fresh by engaging in many styles. Out of our comfort zones the Lord leads us (our Egypt if you will), and into the place where our return to a specific style reminds us it is all about Jesus, not our opinions, self validation or doctrine/dogma.

Don proclaims that worship is about the mystical, and I do agree. Otherwise it is only about the stuff of life, the tangible, the seen, the selfish. Unless we follow to the "beyond our selves", then we wind up in a very bad place, a place where God is excluded. And then we don't worship. We cling to the formulaic, and there die even as we convince ourselves we are "growing". God is above our ritual and formula, the arithmetic which we keep so simple expecting God to work within it and all the while losing our souls while trying to convince ourselves we really are sheep as we behave like goats.
And it is not just our loss that worship is missing from our lives, it eventually becomes the loss of the people who are called to be community.

How is the Lord mysterious to you? Have you lost the "fear" (awe) of the Lord which commands a respect for moments and people who are holy? What might lead us back to that sense of holiness that grants God a sacred status, not a predominatly human stature?

Have you recently attended a worship form that challenges your capacity to experience God?

What style of worship helps you pray, praise and adore God? Why?