Exsurge Domine

I know that there are those who I call friends that may take offense to this blog. I am sorry, because that was not my intention, nor will it ever be. I love you, just as Jesus did. But as much as we water down his truth, Jesus’ message was subversive, it was offensive.

No matter what side of the religious fence you find yourself on, I pray that if you find yourself upset; that you would take this as God's loving Spirit calling your name to know him, his love, and his acceptance, maybe for the first time, maybe for the hundredth. In order for this to happen he has to get rid your junk, your sin or anything that is going to keep you from him. If you become offended, Jesus would have had dinner with you and talked it over. And if I can, I will too.
So with that said I only make one apology. If you have ever sought the church and been turned away or met a "Christian" (and I use this term lightly) and been told you are not good enough, faithful enough, holy enough... If in their attempt to “evangelize” they botched being Jesus to you... If they were quick to judge and failed to love, I am so… sorry.

I pray that God's grace would find you wherever you are, that you would meet true followers of Christ who show you what life is all about. And that through that you would hear His gentle whisper ask you the same question that He asked the prophet Elijah so long ago,

"Why are you here?"

And when you hear his voice, may you have the courage to talk back.

Exsurge Domine
Exsurge Domine, the title of this blog, is Latin for "Arise O Lord." I find more and more I need grace, not to be selfish, but probably more than you. I need a living God to save me, not a religious anchor to drown me. Rules and regulations are crippling, my God's grace is freeing.

So... Arise O God; speak to our sleeping generation, who is dreaming to belong, searching for more, and longing to die for something worth dying for.

We long for You to simply call us, "YOURS"

Crimes not Signs
When the world fails to live up to what many Christian's expect, it seems that their gut reaction is to act out. Sadly, many times this is a violent reaction. This is not a new thing, however. In fact it’s been happening for years, centuries, even millenniums.

Take the some of the Jewish leaders in the first century for example. They were trying to create a holy country. The problem however, was not their intentions but their methods. Their spiritual quarantine was depriving the people of the very thing that would make them holy, Jesus. Their attempt in obtaining a spiritual monopoly led to many deaths, not only theirs but an innocent man as well. So we shouldn't be surprised (though I always am) when these same type of Monopolizers today, do things that glaringly contradict scripture, it's nothing new.

I cannot see how they justify hate with scripture. Such examples of this: homosexual and soldier funerary protests, abortion clinic bombings and hate websites toward homosexuals or any other minority. One such website proudly displayed in its "Learn More" section... Please excuse my commentary denoted by ( ), I couldn't resist. "We display large, colorful signs (probably not rainbow colors though) containing Bible words and sentiments (this should be good), including: GOD HATES FAGS (That’s in the Bible?), FAGS HATE GOD (Just because I sin doesn’t mean I hate God), AIDS CURES FAGS (Is their research to prove this?), THANK GOD FOR AIDS (…and Pepsi!? This is the dumbest this I have ever read, cause obviously only homosexuals get aids.), FAGS BURN IN HELL (so do ALL sinners!), GOD IS NOT MOCKED (Finally something we agree on), FAGS ARE NATURE FREAKS (I'm sure I am taking this wrong but didn't God create nature, therefore, are you saying homosexuals are closer to God and than you?), GOD GAVE FAGS UP (for adoption, to the authorities? Can we get some clarification here?), NO SPECIAL LAWS FOR FAGS (So how would you feel if we took away your church's tax exempt status?), FAGS DOOM NATIONS (So does all sin, Thank God for Jesus) THANK GOD FOR DEAD SOLDIERS (Yes thank you that Men and Women who gave up their lives to protect the rights of idiots who say and write stupid things like these protest signs), FAG TROOPS (what does that even mean? This sign could be used to support the opposition too), GOD BLEW UP THE TROOPS (ALL OF THEM? missed that in the news), GOD HATES AMERICA (Yet you continue to live here), AMERICA IS DOOMED (Everyone run!), THE WORLD IS DOOMED (apparently everyone is... except the people who support these sayings), etc."

The list goes on and on, though I respect their sincerity, I hate their method. We should all be so passionate about something, but not at the sack of others.

Many things are done with great sincerity, but many sincere things are stupid.

I don't condone sin of any form (even my own, which I believe in God's eyes is all the same, which is exactly why we all need Jesus. No matter what the sin is.), I certainly do not condone hateful acts of any kind. Yes... I believe that Homosexuality is wrong and abortion is murder, but so is lust and heterosexual infidelity. But just as with any sin, this type of hateful behavior CANNOT be tolerated. Something must be done about sin in general. Attacking homosexual marriage or abortion clinics will never get to the root of the problem.

That root is an ineffective, uneducated, and naive church.

If this is being paraded around as Christian thought, it becomes painfully obvious why people don't want to be Christians. I wouldn’t either after reading their mantra. So let me be so bold as to say that I believe that this is not the God of Abraham, the very God that humbled himself and became man. I DO NOT serve their hateful God. My God taught that I should love Him with all my heart and love my neighbor as myself. In fact Paul’s main focus in his writings was primarily on loving your neighbor. Because it is assumed that if we know how to love our neighbors then we know how to love God and when we know how to love God then we can not help but love our neighbors.

Walk like an Egyptian
In the 1986; The Bangles topped the chart with their song "Walk like an Egyptian" to which it had everyone doing a ridiculous dance. To this day when someone says those words people’s thoughts go right to the dance, some might even do it.
Isn't it interesting however that “Walk like an Egyptian” was written in 1986, Jesus however walked the Earth some 2,000 years ago, this is much longer tract record but many people couldn't tell you what Christians do, they can only say what Christians don't do. Christians have become the people who "don't."

I believe that Jesus intended us to be the people who "do"

The call of Jesus is not "sit and listen." He led by example not by condemnation. One only has to look to the Gospel of Mark to see that when Jesus wanted his followers to learn compassion for people just like them, He fed the 5,000. When He wanted to teach them compassion for those who were nothing like them He fed the 4,000. His actions were out of love and compassion, not threats and fear. His driving force was love and all that he did was filtered through this view that if I love my neighbor I am loving God. Jesus refused to use fear to control people, even when they threatened his very life.

When the people struck out,

Jesus reached out.

He loved those who needed love, touched those who society called unclean and ate and drank with those who were detestable. Put quite simply, Jesus cared. Shouldn't people who profess to be His followers do the same? How many people have been turned away from seeking God because they were told that they do not have all of their sin "taken care of?" Jesus did not seem to care what a state a person was in when he met them, he only cared that after they met, that the person was radically changed. This gives way to Paul’s New Creation, Covenant theology. But that topic is outside the scope of this blog.

A Child Named Purpose
It enrages me to see so called Christians condemn people before God's judgment has even occurred. The gift of God righteousness is offered to all and happens, according to Paul, simultaneously upon belief. We would be foolish to limit who can and can not apply for Righteousness.

Paul wrote, "But now a righteousness from God...has been made known...This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."

The only prerequisites you must have in order to come to Jesus are 1) you must have sinned; 2) you must have faith in Jesus Christ. Nothing says that you must have everything figured out before you come to Jesus. In fact I'm guessing that Jesus actually prefers it this way. He will use me however he needs me. He specializes in giving order to disorder, function to the dysfunctional and purpose to those who have none. It is when we find our purpose in Christ that we see that His call to follow him is not a stagnate suggestion.

It was a call to purpose.

Bolts, Nuts, and Screw-ups
But we must be careful that when we find that we have been justified out of God's sheer generosity, that we do not forget how we act toward others. Shane Claiborne writes, "Many spiritual seekers have not been able to hear the words of Christians because the lives of Christians have been making so much horrible noise. It can be hard to hear the gentle whisper of the Spirit amid the noise of Christendom." So if you claim to be a Christian and can't go shopping without yelling (or in Rob Bell's case, people giving the "bird" in the church parking lot) please STOP CALLING YOURSELF A CHRISTIAN.

"You'll screw it up for the rest of us."

I want to love more deeply and live more passionately.

If God and his followers won't do this then who will? I just want to follow Jesus, the dreamer, the winner, the fighter. And if something stops that from happening, then that obstacle must go. When we love like Jesus did, we will find ourselves serving the despised, hugging the immoral, and even eating with the outcasts.

Social distinctions become invisible.

We are no longer defined by our 9-5 jobs or what we wear or even where we eat.

Suddenly we find that being a Christian is not as simple as how we feel about abortion or even gay marriage. Being a follower of Jesus transcends being a Republican or a Democrat. When uninhibited love occurs, surveys, trends, polls, and the media cannot predict what will happen next. This is the Kingdom of God responding to our actions, the dream of God becoming reality, the good news being fleshed out. This is the Spirit in action. When this happens….

Life becomes all about love and love becomes a way of life.