On the subject of wine and bread…

how hard DO you work?

Of course the big question everyone seems to have an opinion about is the healthcare debate.

Some people love our healthcare system, wouldn’t change a thing. it’s just perfect. (these people more than likely work for an insurance or pharmaceutical company)

Most seem to agree that we have a high level of health care in America, it’s not perfect but we have many of the best doctors and scientists in the world practice and research here. Most would also agree the bureacracy of insurance companies is ridiculous and it’s become way too expensive to afford healthcare outside of an employer-based benefit.

Where we seem to disagree is in just WHO should have healthcare. Some think everyone should have access to it (i.e. education, electricity, etc). Others think that only those who can pay for it, should have it. Is healthcare a product to be consumed or a service to be provided?

Last night I was talking with my Dad about his family. He had an older sister who passed away before he was born when she was only a year old. This was during the depression of the 30′s and they lived in eastern Kentucky where there was obviously no health care system. She died from diarrhea. They had no access to a doctor or hospital who could help this dehydrated little girl. That is almost unfathomable in 2009 to think a child in America would die from that so I guess we have progressed some.

Some might say, “not my problem” or “if her parents had worked harder they could have gone to a doctor” or “why should I have to pay for this little girl?”

This is the point in the discussion where this person begins to rant about abuse of the welfare system and how “those people” (whoever “they” are) are just lazy and want to take advantage of the system. Again, I think most would agree there is some serious abuse in our welfare system. The rant then usually includes some form of the rhetorical question: “Do you know how HARD I work? Why does the government get to take that away and give it to someone who doesn’t work?”
At this point, I usually want to ask, “how hard DO you work?” Like an old standup audience waiting to hear the punchline. “I work SO hard ….(rim shot)”

What has really bothered me is the way Christians argue about this issue. I think Chrisitans start with at least 2 presuppositions in this discussion that basically revolve around possession.

1 – Some presuppose that all that they have worked for belongs to them. They have worked hard, they have earned it, they get to decide what to do with it. They do business the old fashioned way…they EARN it. This is logical and makes sense. No free lunches. Everything has a price. No pain no gain. (insert your own quip here). When the Sermon on the Mount is mentioned, these folks quote Proverbs or some Levitical rule. (They sometimes also confuse scripture with talk radio.)

2 – Others presuppose that they deserve nothing. All that they do “have” really belongs to God. Without him they would have absolutely nothing. They are recipients of grace and receive what they have with the realization that God gets to decide where it goes. If you want more, give it away. If you want to gain, you must lose. If you want to live, you must die. The parable of the workers fits them (Matthew 20:1-16).

I think the people in group #1 have missed it. I am guilty as all Americans are of consumerism and selfishness, but I can still believe that part of our very existence on this earth, is to follow Christ’s example to care for those that nobody else cares about. I don’t know what that means in terms of national budgets and tax cuts and employer incentives. I don’t know if that is accomplished through socialized medicine or strict reform on health insurance companies. I just know the Church used to be the people who started hospitals and schools and orphanages and you name it. If nobody else wants you or will help you, the Church is supposed to embrace you. Somewhere along the way, we got out of that business. Maybe someone realized you can’t make any money taking care of “those people”.

I don’t have any answers to the debate. But I think if the Church took care of people, the government wouldn’t have to.

Pet Peeves: Forks/Teeth, Pantyhose/Sandals, Pastoral #FB Status

I have more than 3, but tonight I want to explore 3 pet peeves that I have.

1 – Forks on teeth – I absolutely HATE the sound of forks being scraped on teeth. It sends chills through my entire body.

A particularly long grind on the ole metal fork can make me fall to the floor in a fetal position. Just thinking about it gives me chills. It’s not just on MY teeth, but the teeth of anyone near me. The last time I went to the dentist they had a new instrument which they said replaced their toothbrush. It was basically a piece of metal that vibrated really fast. After 10-15 minutes of the dental hygiene equivalent of waterboarding, I was prepared to tell every secret I knew or thought I knew. I think at one point during the torture I may have shared Osama Bin Ladin’s current location.

2 – Pantyhose with open toed shoes – really grosses me out. I assume this is not part of appropriate women’s fashion, but even if it is, it just looks gross to me. I mean seriously? If it’s cold enough outside to warrant the nylons, then perhaps it also warrants shoes that cover the whole foot.

Pantyhose and sandals defy any logic in my mind. This is from the guy who has no problem when old men where dress socks with shorts or when people where socks with sandals. I can give a little there. Old men are exempt from any societal fashion norms, and white socks with sandals could be explaned as “European”. Pantyhose in general are fine. Maybe you want the “control” that panthose offer, they make things for that tht don’t have to be seen. No one (except Jessica Alba) should be wearing nude color stockings with open toed shoes.

3 – Pastors who use their FaceBook status (and/or Twitter) to talk about how “excited” they are about their next event/service – annoys me. FB and Twitter statuses can be cheesy enough without pastors thinking it’s a way to drum up excitement about church. “I’m really jazzed about service tomorrow at ________ Community Church located at 1000 Jim Bob Hwy” or “can’t wait to see what God does tomorrow at the 8am or 10:30 am service at _________ Church of My God”. Some at least try to be subtle about it like it’s not shameless promotion.

I don’t think a lot of people who are riding the fence about coming to your church/event are going to be swayed by your FaceBook status. I could be wrong but I think we have 1 of 2 things at play here: 1) they’re trying to psych themselves up about going to church or at least trying to put on the good face; 2) they’ve hit desperation stage of trying to increase their numbers and they figure shameless promotion can’t hurt. Have we gotten to the place where we really think a 140 characters or less promo is going to turn things around for your church?

We just beg people to come to church. Why? Seriously . . . why do we BEG people to come to church on Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings, or Wednesday evenings? I’ll just leave that question out there for you to answer honestly amongst yourselves.
“Well maybe the FB status just reminds people so they don’t forget?” you say. Do they have to be reminded when American Idol comes on? Do they forget when it’s payday? I don’t buy it.
I will now publish this post, which will update my Twitter and Facebook status to promote how excited I am about my newest blog entry!

In an unexpected turn of events, Voices of Lee have advanced to the season finale of NBC’s “The Singoff”.

“Look” said an ecstatic Danny Murray, the groups director, “No one is more surprised than I am. From the very beginning, I never saw this group of kids going very far in life. I’m sure we’re all a little shocked.”

One item worth noting during the competition has been the group’s wardrobe, which appears to have been taken directly from Old Navy’s Winter catalog.

While sources have not been confirmed as to the exclusivity of the Voices wardrobe contract, one top-level Old Navy exec who spoke with The Insurrectionist off the record said, “Let’s just say we’re a little excited. Watching those kids singing Michael Jackson songs while wearing Old Navy 2009 action fleece brought a tear to my eye.”

For now America can only hold it’s breath to see if the Voices will show up on Monday sporting Argyle Crew-Knit Sweaters or matching Cable-Knit Cardigans.

Developing…

I got this from mondaymorninginsight.com. I think I scored about a 70% that I am a Christian hipster.

Are you a ‘Christian Hipster’? Do you consider yourself a ‘cool’ Christian? See if you qualify…

Do you like?

Christian hipsters like music, movies, and books that are well-respected by their respective artistic communities—Christian or not.

They love books like Resident Aliens by Stanley Hauerwas and Will Willimon, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ron Sider, God’s Politics by Jim Wallis, and The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis.

They tend to be fans of any number of the following authors: Flannery O’Connor, Walker Percy, Wendell Berry, Thomas Merton, John Howard Yoder, Walter Brueggemann, N.T. Wright, Brennan Manning, Eugene Peterson, Anne Lamott, C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, Henri Nouwen, Soren Kierkegaard, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Annie Dillard, Marilynne Robison, Chuck Klosterman, David Sedaris, or anything ancient and/or philosophically important.

Christian hipsters love thinking and acting Catholic, even if they are thoroughly Protestant. They love the Pope, liturgy, incense, lectio divina, Lent, and timeless phrases like “Thanks be to God” or “Peace of Christ be with you.”

They enjoy Eastern Orthodox churches and mysterious iconography, and they love the elaborate cathedrals of Europe (even if they are too museum-like for hipster tastes).

Christian hipsters also love taking communion with real Port, and they don’t mind common cups.

They love poetry readings, worshipping with candles, and smoking pipes while talking about God. Some of them like smoking a lot of different things.

Christian hipsters love breaking the taboos that used to be taboo for Christians. They love piercings, dressing a little goth, getting lots of tattoos (the Christian Tattoo Association now lists more than 100 member shops), carrying flasks and smoking cloves.

A lot of them love skateboarding and surfing, and many of them play in bands.

They tend to get jobs working for churches, parachurch organizations, non-profits, or the government.

They are, on the whole, a little more sincere and idealistic than their secular hipster counterparts.

Do you dislike?

megachurches

altar calls

door-to-door evangelism.

They don’t really like John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart or youth pastors who talk too much about Braveheart.

In general, they tend not to like Mel Gibson and have come to really dislike The Passion for being overly bloody and maybe a little sadistic.

They don’t like people like Pat Robertson, who on The 700 Club famously said that America should “take Hugo Chavez out”; and they don’t particularly like The 700 Club either, except to make fun of it.

They don’t like evangelical leaders who get too involved in politics, such as James Dobson or Jerry Falwell, who once said of terrorists that America should “blow them all away in the name of the Lord.”

They don’t like TBN, PAX, or Joel Osteen. They do have a wry fondness for Benny Hinn, however.

Christian hipsters tend not to like contemporary Christian music (CCM), or Christian films (except ironically), or any non-book item sold at Family Christian Stores.

They hate warehouse churches or churches with American flags on stage, or churches with any flag on stage, really.

They prefer “Christ follower” to “Christian” and can’t stand the phrases “soul winning” or “non-denominational,” and they could do without weird and awkward evangelistic methods including (but not limited to): sock puppets, ventriloquism, mimes, sign language, “beach evangelism,” and modern dance.

Surprisingly, they don’t really have that big of a problem with old school evangelists like Billy Graham and Billy Sunday and kind of love the really wild ones like Aimee Semple McPherson.

Talking to my friend Cameron via email today.

Me: Why is this guy so negative?

Friend: He’s a Lutheran… he gets all the guilt of Catholicism without the 3^rd party absolution. (rim shot)

This reminded me of a class I took at seminary where the local Lutheran pastor came in to speak to us.  Trying to appeal to us “low church” folks, he said the Lutheran liturgy was “streamlined”.  They didn’t have all of the “trappings” of Roman Catholic or Episcopal mass.  He quickly realized that much of what we all valued from liturgical churches, had pretty much been removed from his church in an effort to appeal to a broader base.   He tried to save himself by saying, “well…sometimes we still do that stuff.”

It was too late.

If you’re Lutheran, don’t get mad at me.  My church (small “c”) has its own problems.

“I Like Jesus…and Bourbon.”

For a long time now, my tag on the interwebs has read, “I like Jesus…and Bourbon.”

The phrase dates back to the beginning of Troubletown records and a conversation that I had with my friend and business partner at the time, Casey Tuggle.

While I don’t remember every detail of the conversation, I do remember the essence. We were talking about the things that made Troubletown unique, and the biggest thing was that our artists lived in that odd crossroads where faith and culture collide. Not just any culture, but a sort of, not-quite-ancient America. (Dustbowl, not Founding Fathers)

I pointed out that yes, I am a Christian, and yes, I do love a glass of fine alcohol from time to time. (Note: I’m not pro-drunkenness, which I shouldn’t even feel the need to say, except that I don’t feel like dealing with the angry emails should I forget to mention it.)

More than anything, the statement is simply true, which is to say that, yes, I do in fact love Jesus AND Bourbon.

As Fall gets into full swing, I find my love of both seem to intensify, and I revel in spending time reading my Bible and when I can, sipping a fine Bourbon.

I remember the fall that Davis and I, in a fit of superb manliness decided to become “Bourbon Men”. Looking back, it is interesting the little paths we take in life. I suppose we could have decided on anything that night…to drink Scotch perhaps, or maybe Irish Whiskey. We could have, I suppose, even chosen something entirely different, like playing horseshoes or backgammon.

We drove to Chattanooga and purchased our first bottle of bourbon, which was Elijah Craig. I remember that we chose it for the look of the bottle and not because we knew one darned thing about drinking bourbon. We sat on the farm that night and forced ourselves to drink it, as it burned our tongues and ripped into our throats like razor blades. It wasn’t until much later that we learned some bourbons are meant to be cut with water. (Note: Elijah Craig and Water is FANTASTIC)

Since that beautiful Fall night, there has always been something special about purchasing my first bottle of fine Kentucky Bourbon each season. I never really know what it will be. Last year it was Woodford Reserve, and the year before that was, if memory serves, a limited edition bottle of Makers Mark.

Well, last evening, I bought my bottle for this Fall, and it was really fantastic. It’s called Buffalo Trace, and I heartily recommend it to anyone who enjoys an excellent whiskey.

It had brilliant caramel overtones and a musky-leather taste that was great straight, as well as when I mixed it with a bit of ginger ale. It was very smooth with the just the slightest bit of burn. It felt like the perfect companion for chilly Fall evenings.

Jesus, by the way, is also a great companion for Fall evenings. He is smooth…but without the burn.

Non Sequitur is a Latin term that basically means “does not follow”.  It’s used when someone’s line of reasoning does not follow the trajectory already set.  In other words, someone’s conclusions make no sense based on the previous statements.  Some are obvious. “My uncle loves jelly . . .  I think I’ll go see a movie.” While we see more subtle versions on TV, “If you don’t buy this brand of Peanut Butter . . . you are neglecting your family.”  There is not a clear logical correlation between movies and jelly (unless I suppose the movie is about jelly or your uncle).  One can also not make such a certain statement about neglecting one’s family based solely on their brand of peanut butter. Sometimes the non sequitur can be funny.  The illogical statement is so absurd and unexpected that it makes you laugh.

faith – hope – love . . .  greed – control – selfishness

It’s 5am but I’m wide awake. There are two reasons for this.
1. Our son was crying and I got up to check on him.
2. I was dumb enough to watch the trailer for “Paranormal Experience” last night, and it was scary enough to keep me up. No lie. Just the trailer is that scary. I am thinking the critics may be right in calling this the scariest film on years.

I have been thinking lately about my stubborn faith. It just keeps hanging around no matter how hard it gets pushed on. This may be a testament to my Sunday School teacher, Ms. Ethel or perhaps my dear Mother. I have no idea really. Regardless, it is here and here to stay.

Do you recall last year when Mother Theresa’s journals were found and the world was shocked to hear that she had spent most of her life not hearing from God? I wasn’t shocked for a moment. In fact, I think that most anyone who has spent any significant time in ministry understood her precisely.

I am beginning to see that doubt comes alongside faith very often. True faith is the ability to overcome doubt, not to pretend it isn’t there.

In many ways, my own life is a living, breathing example of this.

Just think: I love, yet dislike most people who claim the Bible to be true, yet I would fight with anyone who would claim it is not true. I go to Church though my own theology disagrees with the majority of what goes on there. In my book, NT Wright and Bono hold equal position as understanders of the Gospel though Bono probably practices it better. Some nights I wake up in a panic because I’m not sure God exists but every day I am keenly aware of His work and providence in my life. I am fearful and I am blessed.

One would be forced to wonder just what exactly is going on here.

I suppose day after day of feeling disconnected from the God I serve is a huge part of this. The fact is that even though I see him at work in my life, I long for a more tangible connection. This is something that, so far, has not been granted.
And so I plod on in this balance of faith and doubt, taking my place alongside such scoundrels of the faith as Mother Theresa, C.S. Lewis and anyone else who is honest enough to admit that they don’t know. They are my companions in faith and my companions in doubt. I value their company in a world that is desperate to know the Jesus I serve, regardless of how elusive he can seem.

I’ve been thinking quite a lot lately about the word “unique.” This is due primarily to the fact I keep running into senior pastors, church staff pastors, and other people in ministry leadership roles who are convinced of how unique their church, vision, ministry, tradition, denomination is. While I don’t know if any of them have actually used the word “unique” to describe just how special they are, they are definitely impressed with themselves and their very “unique” place in the kingdom of God.

So what does it mean to be unique in the first place? The word is defined as, “existing as the only one or the sole example; single; solitary in type or characteristics; having no like or equal; unparalleled, incomparable; limited in occurrence to a given class, situation or area.” You and I both know plenty of pastors and churches that have deluded themselves into thinking their church/ministry fits these descriptions. This thinking stems from a level of arrogance that seems to be pandemic in the American church today. When you add to that arrogance the willful ignorance that causes a person or church to convince themselves they should pay no attention to what others in the Body of Christ are doing, you end up with a fractured spiritual landscape, full of competitive, narcissistic, and un-Christlike churches and ministries who are actually part of the larger cultural problem rather part of the cultural solution.

Some of the common statements of these types of churches include, “We don’t care what the church down the street is doing, we’re going to preach the gospel here (which is typically code for “the gospel according to us”),” or “We are (fill in the name of the church/ministry/denomination) and we have no need to know what other churches/ministries/denominations are doing because they should be copying us, not the other way around.” One of my favorites is, “We’re not going to compromise the truth,” which means those ministries who are doing things differently are automatically compromising the message of Jesus. This would all be funny if it weren’t so blatantly full of self-worship. But, there’s nothing funny about it.

When arrogance and ignorance collide, you end up with the statements and scenarios I’ve just described. The larger issue, of course, is why so many of us claim allegiance to the mystical, universal Body of Christ, but at the same time do everything within our power to separate ourselves from the rest of those who make up that Body. So, with that in mind, here is a brief open letter to all of the “leaders” of “unique” ministries out there:

Dear senior pastor/staff pastor/ministry leader,

I know you think you’re unique. You’re not. Stop it. I invite you to join with your brothers and sisters throughout the rest of Christ’s Church so that together we can all be part of the solution.

Sincerely,

Your brother Jerry

Hmmm…unity. What a unique idea.