Words from the WellRandom Thoughts on Christ, the Church and Technology

Sex, Lies and Religion is a book that will cause you to think, or perhaps seethe with anger, or maybe it will open your eyes to a new, but not-so-new way of thinking. For sure each reader will respond to this book differently, according to the traditions and baggage that they bring with them, but one thing that I am sure of, it will make you uncomfortable, perhaps in a good way. In this rather compact book Randy tackles issues like nudity, art vs. pornography, masturbation, sexual fantasy and sexual equality. That’s enough for some of you to never want to touch this book, much less read it. But I would encourage you to pick it up and read it with an open mind. Here’s why:

This is not just a book about sex, and it’s not just another book attempting to deal with religion. It is a book that attempts to tackle what is one of the most important subjects in our lives, sex and it’s connection with God. This book suggests that sex is not some dirty act that we can’t keep ourselves from participating in, but instead that sex is part of God’s original creation that is intended to draw us closer to Him. It is a result of religion and it’s inane attempts to control believers that we have turned sex from something beautiful into something dirty. Randy says, “Many of us feel the effects of past religious control, and our immortal longings have been rendered shallow and dirty.” Our eternal longings for God and our inability to fill the hole in our lives has resulted in a society that attempts to fill those longings with pornography, affairs and strip clubs. These things attempt to destroy the beauty of sex that God originally created. Sex, Lies and Religion proposes that “Instead of following the rules of religion and culture, we instead pursue relationships in the Spirit.” We need to return to the Garden where sex was about oneness with our helpmate AND God.

This book is well worth a read.  You can get it HERE.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from cre:ate 2.0 Publishing to read and post a review on my site. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

I just finished reading through one of the passages in the Bible that has long been an excuse not to read the Bible from cover to cover.  As I finished reading Joshua 19 today I let out a little, “Hooray!”  My wife looked at me as if I had lost my mind (this is not an unfamiliar look from her), and asked what in the world I was thinking.  I read to her, “Now they had finished dividing the land.”  She didn’t get it at first, but then it hit her too and she joined in my, “Hooray!”  We have been talking about how dry these chapters in Joshua were and how we struggled to find the meaning in them, now we are glad that they are over.  I am still wondering what the purpose in those forever long, seemingly meaningless chapters is.  Then I move to the next chapter in the reading plan and it hits me like a ton of bricks.  Isaiah 25:1 says,

“Lord, you are my God. I honor you and praise you, because you have done amazing things. You have always done what you said you would do; you have done what you planned long ago.”

There it is.  The reason to wade through all of the from here to here and there to there verses.  Without those verses this proclamation is just not as powerful.  But add this proclamation to those chapters and wow, what a reminder of the awesome, gracious, loving, promise-keeping God we serve.

God made a promise to His people and it took a long time to fulfill, over 40 years to be sort of exact.  His people turned away from Him several times, but He was always there leading them back, sometimes gently, sometimes forcefully, but the bottom line is that God never gave up on His people and He never, ever denied them what He had promised.  He was patient and faithful with them.  He is patient and faithful with us.

I remember during my ordination, 14 years ago, that someone whispered to me that God “had great things planned for me.”  Those words have rung in my heart for the past fourteen years.  In my mind I have yet to accomplish those great things, part of me believes that my life in some ways mirrors the lives of the Israelites in the desert.  Times of feast (when I am close to God) and times of famine (when I am far from Him).  I still believe that He has great things planned for me.  I will make every effort to be faithful to Him, knowing that He will be faithful to me!

Part 2 of What God has been teaching me.

• Six verses of absolute beauty!  A testimony, if you will, a blueprint for life. Isaiah 12

1. God was angry with me, now He is not
2. God saves me, gives me strenght adn makes me sing
3. I receive my salvation with joy!
4. I must tell everyone what He has done.
5. I must sing His praise to the world.
6. Shout for joy! – He does great things!

• Sometimes I have to act before I know the whole plan.  I have to stick my foot in the river before I know the how, where and why.  Joshua 3
• God is never done with me.  even though I think that I have received all the blessing that I deserve (that’s funny, if I got what I deserved…oh boy) God is not done yet.  He always has more.  He wants the best for his children. Joshua 13

What is God teaching you?

As I was thinking back over the past few weeks I began to compile a list of what God has been trying to get past my hard head. Here are a few.

• God’s people were known as being rebels. Jesus was a rebel. Why am I so worried about seeming normal when compared to the culture and society around me. It’s OK to be a rebel! Ezra 4:12
• God gives me the freedom to fail! He knows that I will mess up, and yet He still wants to use me for His glory. This is huge, it provides the freedom from fear, the freedom to try new things, the freedom to fail and freedom from legalism. Deuteronomy 31:21
• God wants my motives to be pure, not just lip service, attempting to please Him so that I will be blessed. God wants me to follow Him without reservation or hesitation. He wants me to obey Him fully. The consequences of failure to obey are serious. Joshua 7

But wait there’s more! Check back for part 2.

What has God been teaching you?

When I was a full-time member of a church staff I always dreaded the benevolence requests. I didn’t hate them, I just dreaded the uncomfortable feeling that I got. It was caused by my struggles between the commands of scripture and the realities of needing to determine the neediness of the person making the request. We have all been told that most people asking for money from a church just want to buy drugs, or alcohol; or that they don’t really need the money, they are just playing the system. So to combat this churches have come up with elaborate systems to make sure that they don’t get abused. These systems range from the “no cash” policy, to extensive databases that catalog requests. Now I am not saying that those systems and policies are wrong, but I am saying that I am afraid that they breed a form of fear, apathy and spiritual arrogance that is dangerous for the Church and it’s witness. Let me share with you two stories that illustrate my point…

The first story happened just a few days ago and really broke my heart. This is what happens when our attitude towards those less fortunate goes the wrong way.

I was at church early on Sunday afternoon for a Children’s Choir rehearsal. A man who didn’t look like me (or anyone else at church) entered the building and sat down in the sanctuary. At some point someone asked him if he was looking for someone and he said that he was looking for some gas money. My wife heard this and asked if I could help him since she was busy with the kids. I took the man to the office so that I could find a staff member to help him. I knew that the church has policies and resources that I personally don’t have. Since it was early, there was no one on staff at the church. I decided to do something that is contrary to what most churches allow. I gave the man some CASH! That’s right, I handed him $5 and looked him straight in the eyes and said, “You ARE going to buy gas with this, right?” He said yes and left. Now you’ve gotten this far and are wondering why this broke my heart. Here’s why. As he was walking out the door and I was walking down the hall one of our members came in the same door that he exited. She saw me and hollered down the hall to me, “Kenny, do you know that man?” ( I don’t know, but I am pretty sure that he was still within earshot.) The sub-text of her question seemed to say to me (and him?) “what was HE doing here?”, “what did HE want?”. About this same time, another member came down another hall, and asked the lady questioning me if she would walk her granddaughter to the sanctuary because she didn’t want her walking in the church alone after what she had just walked in and seen in the church (she was referring to the man that I had tried to help).

Now before you start making comments about all the reasons that these ladies had to be worried, concerned, etc. Let me say that I totally understand their comments, but, they illustrate a disease that the church suffers from today. This is why this story breaks my heart.

1. The first ladies immediate thought was that the man was an enemy that could not be trusted. I so wish that the first words out of her mouth were something like, “Kenny, did that gentlemen need some help?”
2. The grandmother’s statement was made in front of her granddaughter, it sent two possible messages, one was racial, the other was that people who don’t go to church here may be out to hurt you. So wrong on both counts.
3. I didn’t tell anyone but my wife that I gave the man cash, because I knew that I would what others would say about my breaking the rules!

Here’s the second story.

A pastor friend of mine was in his office one day when a homeless man entered the church office needing some assistance. My friend has told me that he really wasn’t “in the mood” to deal with this man. He was dirty and stinky and my friend had things to do. He knew that he HAD to deal with it but his heart wasn’t really in it. He spoke to the man and then went to get some paperwork. He took his time. When he came back he couldn’t believe what he saw. On the floor beside the man was the pastors secretary, on her knees, with a bucket of water and a wash rag. She had removed the man’s shoes and socks and begun to wash his nasty feet. BAM! There she was, being Jesus to this man. My friend said that he has never been the same. I never will be either.

My point? My point is that we should welcome the uncomfortable feeling that I described in the beginning. That feeling that is a struggle between just tossing money at everyone and being effective stewards of what God has entrusted to us. I gave that man cash because at the time I felt the Holy Spirit leading me in that direction, I decided to be obedient. What I long for is for us to rely more on what the Holy Spirit is leading than what our policies and procedures demand. I want the “least of these” to stir our compassion, not our indignation. I want the Church to become known for love, not for rules. I think that this is what God wants too.

If by some strange chance one of the people in these stories reads this. I am not aiming to judge you or your actions, you simply provide illustration for what I perceive as being a problem with the Church and Christians. It’s not personal.

A few months back I had the awesome privilege of baptizing my youngest daughter. Words cannot express how amazing it is to be able to baptize both of your children. Our church records every baptism and each person that is baptized gets a DVD of their baptism. Here is the video of Sarah’s, I just wanted to share it with the world.

Sarah’s Baptism

For the past few weeks my family and I have been going through some pretty heavy stuff. It has been on my mind night and day and has really pushed me into deeper Bible study and prayer, in addition to adding a significant amount of stress to my life. I have not slept very well and my days have been spent in prayer at my desk while I try to get some work done.

Well, this morning was different! I got up and got ready for work without any personal meltdowns. I felt this overwhelming calm about me, I was at peace. I knew that it was in God’s hands.

As I opened my Bible I decided to read from Ezra this morning because yesterday one of my tweeps mentioned how much Ezra had impacted him yesterday. As I read chapter 1 my peace only deepened. I was reminded that God is in control. He works in us and through us in varying ways (I am really resisting saying “God works in mysterious ways.”), but the truth is that God is a mystery and how he works in each of our lives may be different. I am learning to let God out of the box that I have placed Him in. I want to see him work in unexpected ways in my life and in the lives of those around me.

I also decided that I would live out of God’s Grace and not in my self-pity.

How is God working on your life? I want to know!

Today we are in Esther 5…

Esther has agreed that she must act to save her people. She will do so risking her own life by going before the King without being requested. But before she goes she knows that it is only God can the actually perform the work that needs to be done. She is only His vehicle. So she does what every good Christian would do in this situation. She prays and she requests prayer from others.

Now there is nothing wrong with praying or requesting prayer when God requires us to act. But what I find interesting here is that Esther doesn’t pray for weeks or months. She doesn’t have endless committee meetings to discern God’s will, she already knows what God’s will is. Esther calls for three days of prayer and fasting and then approaches the King.

I find that for many of us today, prayer is a crutch. When we don’t want to act, we pray. The lesson from Esther is that we must pray, but we also must act.

Are you acting?

Disclaimer: I never promised you anything new or earth shattering on this blog, just life as it happens to me. This is where God is working in my life. Therefore that is what I write.

Reading Esther 4-5 and had a few thoughts…

There comes a time when action is not only advantageous, but it is necessary.  Enter Esther, the King had decreed that all of her people were to be slaughtered.  Mordecai asked Esther for her help, but she refused, fearing that the King would kill her for entering his court without being requested.

This got me thinking.  How many times do we not take action simply because it is easier to do nothing, or because action would cost us something?  We convince ourselves that “it’s not our problem,” or that it will go away if we ignore it, or maybe we just let fear of the unknown keep us silent.  Perhaps we think like Esther, that there is nothing that we can do.

Esther was reminded by Mordecai that she held a royal position for such a time as this.  In other words, there was nothing that she could do, but God had put her in a position so that He could work through her.

Where are you? Are you in a position to do something? Has God given you a task that you are putting off for some reason? Is there a hard conversation that you need to have with someone?

These are question that I constantly have to ask myself. It helps keep me moving.

Check back tomorrow for part 2.

I am in a season of intense questioning, struggling with what I am supposed to “look” like as a Christian.  This is an interesting, confusing, exciting time of personal growth.  I invite you to join the ride with me, as I look deeply inward at who it is that God created me to be, and far outward at His creation.

13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.  http://youversion.com/nlt/Col.2.13

I struggle with the truth of this passage.  I know what it means, I know that it is true, I believe that I am saved only by God’s grace. BUT (you had to see that one coming) I really struggle living this truth out in my life.  Partially I blame the Church.  (Before you post that nasty comment about personal responsibility, please note that I said partially.) Instead of being a safe place to find refuge, comfort and forgiveness the Church has become a place of dogmatism, condemnation and hate; not really the picture of Christ that we are supposed to be.  Consider the church sign that I pass every day on the way to and from my home.  This morning it read “Consider the high cost of low living.”  Sounds good right?  Nice little turn of phrase, shows a little creativity and it is true, there is a cost to living out of God’s will, but is that the message that we want everyone that drives by a church to get?  I don’t think that it is.  As the old saying goes, “You catch more flies with honey, than you do with vinegar.”  God’s grace disarmed the religious authorities and their attempts to use religion to rule, in some ways I think that is what the Church is trying to do today.  Christians are sometimes more interested in condemning than they are in redeeming.  As Christians we are called to be salt and light, two things that are good, two things that are positive, two things that bring about change.  We are to be Christ to a world that doesn’t know Him.  We are called to live in His grace and we cannot do that when we are pointing out the faults in others.

I want desparately to live in Grace, both for myself and for those around me that do not know Christ.  How about you?