Let Me Just Put Down This Here Crack Pipe...
Look, if you wanna ride off into the sunset in a blaze of glory after bidding all of this a grand faretheewell, okay. I can understand anyone having other priorities that have nothing to do with blogging.
But then to come back a scant two weeks later and pass random judgments on folk is kind of rude. Now, I know bloggers aren't a family, per se. (I found this out when I asked Bill Hobbs for the keys to his car. "I'm not your dad!" he said. Which is good, because if he were my dad he would have fathered me when he was like 5 or something.) But we're like a family in that you can criticise from the inside but if you're not part of the group then you can just take your hatin' elsewhere. Yes, I just said "hatin'." I'm officially two shades too pale and 10 years too old to do so comfortably, but it's late.
I'm a Christian. In case you didn't know. (There are some people who maybe don't know. Maybe.) So when I read things like this, I get a bit hot under the collar.
I wish professing Christians would spend the same energy reading and studying God's Word as they do worrying about what to Tivo or how good the latest book or sitcom is!
Odds are that Brother Dan is not addressing me, specifically. But seeing as how I'm a professed Christian who talks on her blog about her TiVo and the books she reads, I infer that perhaps I am one of these folk whose personal walk with Christ isn't just now receiving the Brother Dan Seal Of Approval®.
Here's the thing. I've been in this deal with the big guy for around 32 years now. He and I know each other pretty well. He left me a huge stack of instructional notes and anecdotes along with a 24-hour toll-free number at which I can reach Him for clarification. I've read through those memos plenty of times now. I've got several versions of them, including one that is never more than 18 inches away from me when I'm at my desk, so I can periodically leaf through it. I have chunks of those memos memorised (engraved upon my heart, as the Deuteronomist instructed). Some of those words include things like "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." That "Gospel" is the good news that Christ has been offered as a remissions for sins and stands as our High Priest before the throne of the most high.
I was not told to go me into all the world to tell people they shouldn't have a beer after mowing the lawn. I was not told to go me into all the world to tell people to stay out of movie houses, bowling alleys and high school dances. So as I sit here and make connections with a small part of the world via my blog I'm going to talk about what we have in common. In this case that involves what we TiVo and what books we like to read. I think most of the folks around here who know me know that I'm a Christian. I don't think they think any less of my Christianity because I read Stephen King, Harry Potter and Dan Brown. I could be wrong. But I doubt it. Besides, it's not my Christianity I want people to see. It's my relationship with Jesus. One that is so tight that it isn't threatened by a random joke on Last Comic Standing, a beach read or a popcorn movie.
posted by Kat Coble @ 1:47 AM
10 comments
10 Comments:
That's funny, I thought Dan was done.
Your theme seems to be resonant with lots of people I know... this week, in particular for some reason.
Whatever your thoughts about Tony Campolo, his Agnes story is similarly thought-provoking.
I LOVE The Agnes Story.
I have a Love/Annoyance relationship with Campolo (as you probably already know.)
You're surprised with Dan passing judgment???
I suppose so many people think that every oz. of our life has to be spent discussing or dealing with important issues, whether it is the Christian who passes judgment on those who do not spend every blog post discussing deep theological issues, or the radical liberal who wonders how we can enjoy a sports game while people are dying in Zimbabwe or someplace.
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Hmm. It seems that Dan has taken down the entire blog...
I know...I saw that late last night. I feel awful about it.
Politics is laced with religion so much these days. We currently have a Christian network (Bott) attacking a Republican Senate nominee (Corker) on religious grounds. I understand holding candidates to values you hold dear, but sometimes I wish people would set religion aside from the political attack arsenal.
Good post!
Russ, I'm not surprised as much as I am disappointed.
Chance, That's a really good point.
Funny, but I wrote something alone those lines yesterday in my blog too. Great minds think alike?
Who Do we think we are?
1 Timothy 3: 15 ...if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. (NIV)
A school coach in our town is being vilified because he told one of his students to “just read your Bible.” Church people are up in arms, claiming ‘religious discrimination.’ Infuriated pastors are ready to march on the school.
A pastor and other church members in the Mid-West go to a homosexual’s funeral with placards, condemning the deceased to Hell and make loud protests during the graveside service.
Ministers preach from their pulpits about the sinfulness of our public education system and demonize the teachers, appealing to their members to send their kids to church schools.
Meanwhile thousands of people are killed in Darfur, Sudan for their faith.
Meanwhile hundreds of thousands of kids in the United States go to bed hungry each night.
Meanwhile millions of people around the globe die of curable diseases.
In other words, the Church is becoming isolated and alienated from the real world due to arrogance, elitism, and pettiness. The world is on fire, folks, and we are peeing in the roses.
I just wonder what Paul would think about all of this? When he wrote to Timothy about people knowing how to conduct themselves in God’s household, did he really mean us? When he called us the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth, was he really referring to us hyper-sensitive Christians who are ready to cry “Discrimination!” when things don’t go our way?
It’s about time we grew up spiritually, and started to take our mission in the world seriously. Instead of being whining Christians, we should be winning souls. Instead of moaning about our rights, we should bring meaning into the world. Instead of compacting conspiracies about being mistreated, we should be conveying compassion to the maltreated.
We have a great message, a great hope, and a great mission, which have the potential to reform, transform and enhance the world. So, let’s not focus on our petty grievances, folks. Both Christ and the world deserve far more than that. Let’s turn the other cheek, instead of trying to stick the boot in. Let’s win our enemies, instead of whining at them.
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