Growing Pains

The phrase, growing pains, generally refers to the stage in human adolescence during which maturing / growing-up = aches / pains. 

...it comes to mind...  

Funny how we both begin and end this life with similar side effects. Maybe young and old have more in common than we realize.  Hmmm...  Another topic for another time...  Stay focused Jeremiah...

Growing pains...yes.  Most of the time, this phrase is applied to the physical body, but sometimes it is applied to our spiritual life. And rightfully so. After all, pain and the Christian life go hand in hand. At the center of the Christian message is an emblem of capital punishment.  The cross is not a guillotine, quick and efficient, it is a painful, prolonged, and messy business. ...yeah...the Christian life. 

Yet there is a side to spiritual growing pains that makes them doubly-painful - the process of growth not only pains the one growing, but everyone around them. Your pains pain me and my pains pain you. I know, *chuckle* growing pains are "a pain!"

So, with a strange sense of joyful acceptance, I smile and anxiously look to those around me. I'm ready to suffer with you (definition of compassion). 

And...  I also digitally pin this blog to be read by my some-day-future-church where I will learn how to pastor. God help them!  God help me!  Jesus, help us all. 

His Alone,

Jeremiah

A Hypocrite - So What?

With regard to all the hot topics circulating the Christian blog world these days, it's not hard to find discussions on homosexuality, recreational drug use, Hell, and the like. What I have found so frustrating is the approach many Christians are taking when addressing these issues. 

Time and time again, I both read and hear Christian pastors, bloggers, and concerned-filled Church-goers "caution" the Church about fulfilling one of the most significant roles of the Church - speaking the Truth found in the Bible. 

The point of contention centers on hypocrisy. How can a person share what the Bible says when they themselves are failing to live out the Truth they are proposing?  

Without a doubt, hypocrisy is a devastating issue, but it is a separate one. 

Lets consider something...

When demons confessed that Jesus was the "Holy One of God" in Luke 4:33-36, did it make the claim untrue simply because the Truth came from untrue ones?  

What makes the Word of God (Bible) the Truth is not the piety of the ones proclaiming it (the Church?), but the One whom it reveals. 

I, as a preacher, have validated this by my own shortcomings. Haven't we all?  Hasn't every preacher, teacher, and average-Joe-Christian shared some nugget of Truth from the Bible that has not been fully synchronized, at whatever degree, into their own personal walk with Jesus?  Does our own shortcomings dilute the actual Truth?

I don't think it does. ...or at least, it doesn't have to. 

I recently read a quote from a lady named Dorothy Day. You might have read the more edgy translation of it. 

"The Church is a whore, but she's still my mother."

Perhaps the better approach, when broaching such topics as those surrounding the LGBT movement, Hell, recreational drug use, and abortion, is to let the Bible be the Bible and the Church be the Church. 

The moment the Church, or anyone belonging to it, moves the validity of The Message from Bible to the Church, we immediately lose our center of gravity and fall over in defeat. 

Share the Truth...

Disciple believers...

Love the lost...

Do not tolerate sin

Walk with Jesus...unceasingly

jb

Bury Your Head in the Sand

My wife tells me from time to time, “Burying your head in the sand won’t make the problem go away.”  

Now, in case you’ve never heard that little phrase before, it means that ignoring something won’t fix it.  Pretending that it’s not there or not happening, doesn’t help.

By default, I spend a lot of time hanging around the Church - I mean, I’m a traveling preacher, where else would I be?  Therefore, I hear a good amount of “Church-people-perspective” on political and social issues.  All to often, and most of the time with good intention, Church folks embrace the “bury your head in the sand” approach to the World around us.  I often wonder, is this the best approach to the World in which we live?

I wonder…  Is my “bury my head in the sand” approach more about fear of rejection and persecution and less about keeping my “white hat” free from the dirt of this World?

I wonder…  What does “garbage in / garbage out” really mean?  Should I shun the world and isolate myself from all ungodly people or should I be aware of / familiar with / keenly in-tune with the World in which I live?

I wonder…  Are we, the Church, cowards?  I think not…  Ignorant?  Maybe irresponsible is a better term.

I wonder…  How did Jesus act to the World He lived in, 2,000 years ago?  Did He bury His head in the sand and go about His business?  What was His business?  What is our business?

I wonder…  In the midst of a world where everyone is shouting, fighting, parading, rebelling, hurting others and being hurt, showcasing, fronting, posing, and defending - if there is a place for some who calmly linger in their midst...whistling softly...with a smile on their face?

If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a sound?  Yes, it does.  But that is irrelevant when the tree falls through your TV set onto your pretty, clean, and organized ottoman.  

I think…  In the same way that a father is inherently responsible for his child, perhaps the Church is equally responsible for the neighborhood / town / state / country in which it is located.  Perhaps me being a Christian is just as much about me as it is about the World in which I live. 

I wonder if you will wonder with me…  What are we going to do about what we see taking place around us...everyday?

A non-bury-my-head-in-the-sand guy,

jb