Rucksack Revolution

Here's Life At The Williams

2011-11-22T02:10:00.001-05:00

So here's the major problem.

Crackheads and drunks.

This could be a beautiful neighborhood.

'Cept for the damn crackheads and the sorry ass drunks.

Some of you might remember this movie...The Lost Boys.

Well, we got a lot of lost boys and girls in St. Petersburg and everywhere else.

It's like that here at the Williams Hotel, except that the movie had better looking actors...

I have no idea what to tell you, except that if you live in a "safe space" and don't live in the world of this shit, you have no idea...take your Social Gospel and shove it...you DON'T KNOW.

The Gospel you preach ain't easy.

It's hard.

Real hard.

Here's the world where your car gets stolen...

Here's the world where your edges get loose...and then they harden up...

Here's the place you have to decide which way you go to your Lord...

Make up your mind Mr. and Mrs. America...

Mr. and Mrs. sign of the cross.

Get up on it or get out of the way...

Machine guns might be best.

Crackheads and the worthless suck.

Or do they?

Hell Is For Children

2011-11-20T17:11:00.001-05:00

Let me begin this post by saying that this is the most difficult

blogpost I have ever written.

I have spent a week mulling over it.

I have spent 30 years living with it.

It will remain with me for the rest of my life.

My Sunday School teacher, who was also the Associate Pastor at the church I attended as a teenager, was (and still is...if he is still alive) a child molester.

He not only was my Sunday School teacher, he was formative in my spiritual development. He was a friend, a mentor, and a confidant.

And he spoke openly about sex in ways he never ought to have, masturbated openly in front of me once (inviting me to join in) and regularly sodomized a young girl in our youth group in he and his wife's bedroom.

I didn't know about that last part until she told me of it (in tears) years later.

His name was Phil Crabbe.

I've never spoken about this in a public way, but the recent allegations at Penn State University brought it to the top of my heart.

I simply HAVE to speak out.

He was not the only molester at the church. We had another one.

His name was Thad Wells.

Thad liked boys. He molested several in the church, including the Lead Pastor's son.

He tried to molest me once at a cookout. He and I were driving over to the church from the cookout to get some things that were needed. As we drove to the church (we were unaccompanied), he asked me if I masturbated and told me it was a sin, but that he understood if I did it because it was fun and enjoyable and quite natural for a guy my age.

I didn't know what to say, so I sat in the passenger seat and tried to ignore the question.

He then told me he knew a spot on my body, near my genitals, that he could press that would tell him if I masturbated or not.

I declined the "offer", we got to the church and returned to the cookout.

It's impossible to "clear history" about this. It's impossible to act as though these men were not a part of my life and spiritual development. It's impossible to try to figure out how they affected me or how my life might have been different had they not been a part of the church I attended. There is no way of knowing how things might have been different if the church had acted in a forthright manner, rather than playing it off and simply running Thad out of the church and letting Phil continue to preach and teach because he did a good job for little or no pay.

And this was a "Spirit-Filled, Holy Ghost" church.

Some kind of Holy Spirit...

I never spoke about this during my ordination process for fear that some one might label me a potential child molester, since it is "common knowledge" that children who are abused sometimes become abusers later in life. I did not mention it for fear that I might be labeled a "homosexual" and denied ordination. I did not mention it because I feel shame I do not deserve to this very day.

And it will most likely never go away.

Phil and Thad went away.

Thad was run out of the church. Eventually, his wife left him and raised their daughter as a single mom.

Some years later, I saw Thad. He was managing a shoe department in a department store. He saw me, said hello, and acted like old friends were meeting again. I decided to invite him out for a drink or two after he got off of work. He agreed.

When I returned to the store an hour or so later, the salesgirls in his department said he had hurriedly left just after we had talked. He must have got the hint.

I planned on taking him out for a few drinks and then taking him out with a large wrench I kept in my truck.

Revenge is sweet but it doesn't remove the pain and anguish.

Phil moved to Stanfield, Arizona and worked with youth there at a community center in the late 1980s.

Some abuse never ends.

But it should.

Notes From the Underground

2011-11-17T23:22:00.001-05:00

It's been a rough couple of weeks here at the Williams Park Hotel.

My daughter has disowned me (again).

I got laid off from my job, nothing against me, but it would have been nice if some training would have been provided.

I came home from church Sunday, my hands full of grocery bags, left my key in the door to my room...and my car was stolen.

I passed a kidney stone earlier this week.

Tonight....there was a stabbing (quite possibly fatal) in the park across the street from the hotel tonight.

Nothing is ever easy, nothing at all.

The above picture (of a lily-white Jesus) says it's all worth it.

I'm beginning to wonder.

The Gospels speak of people who sought Christ.

I wonder anymore if people who smoke crack, stay drunk in the park, steal, rape, and plunder are worthy of helping anymore. I wonder if the person who stole my car is worth more than a slug in their chest. I wonder if it isn't much more intelligent of me to do my best to leave this life behind and do my best to capitalize on my degree (my grad diploma was in the car) and blow these animals off.

I'm just tired of all the bullshit.

Some of you are thinking, "What kind of minister is this, who doesn't care about the poor and sick of our society?"

If you live where I do...fine. If you live in a "nice" suburban place....then kiss my ass.

Armchair quarterbacks for God have no interest for me.

Unless you are are willing to save me a seat next to you.

Then we'll talk.

What's Happening Now!!

2011-11-09T20:42:00.000-05:00

Actually, what's happening now is pretty simple. I'm just chillin', listening to some great tunes on Pandora and I decided to share one with you. I was trying decide on something to blog about and then simply decided to share the song I was currently listening to with you.

It was "Rain", by Corciolli.

Anyways, that's not the song I'm gonna share with you.

Instead it's this one by the same composer...

Preacher. Poet. Percussionist.

2011-11-08T22:33:00.000-05:00

Preacher. Poet. Percussionist.

That pretty much sums it up, I suppose.

I'm not much of a minister by some folks standards, but I'm told I preach well.

Although I hesitate to say it, I think some of my poetry has been worth a damn or two at times.

I even play the djembe on occasion. Like at the beach, drumming down the sunset, Sunday nights.

I'm just writing this lil' bit of assertion and/or affirmation to remind myself that I do need to blog regularly again. I'm saying these things because sometimes living by yourself isn't the easiest thing to do. I feel life perhaps a bit too strongly these last few days.

It's gonna be ok.

Truth be told, I'm doing better in some respects as compared to the last time I lived downtown somewhere in an old residential hotel whose glory days had passed it by.

That was back in 1996, in San Francisco.

I really partied WAAYYYY... too much back then....totally out of control.

Now the train wreck goes by so slowly.

Depakote does that to a person, I guess.

Anyways, just to let you know I'm still blogging.

Thank you for the encouragement.

I couldn't do it without you.

And that's not bullshit.

Here...Is Where...I Am...

2011-10-08T23:07:00.000-04:00

Here is where I am. A nondescript hotel downtown, one that in its pristine glory days was probably really something, but with time and erosion, it has withered like so many of those who call it home. This is my new parish, my new home, my new place to sleep, eat, and spend nondescript time.

It's an amazing place with stories to tell in each and every forlorn room. One wonders what accompanies the muffled sounds behind the doors, each numbered with a small metal sign shaped like an old school road marker like Route 66. Angels, demons, humans in form and substance, souls beyond measure. Here, 100 years of solitude is measured out in coffee cups and nicotine smelling clothes. Billy Holiday and John Coltrane sound good here.

Of course, it's not as bad as the last place like this I lived in, another nondescript post-glory day hooch in San Francisco back in the 90s. That place was a freak show in the Tenderloin District, where the smell of high quality crack cocaine regularly filtered under cheap doors set in hell. Here, the warm, friendly smell of relatively fine grade weed might mysteriously wend it's way into the hallway on occasion. And in my honest opinion, that is a blessing after living in a place where robbery, rape, and even cold-blooded murder could be the norm on any given Saturday night. Saturday night here, on my first night, is a steady gentle rain with a stiff October breeze off the nearby bay. A jazz club up the street sends the sound of lively music and laughter my way. I've played my drum there in the past and plan on making my way down there in a few minutes after I finish my writing for the evening.

So there's a jazz club a block away on one side and a cheap strip bar a couple doors down the other direction. Club Lust it is called. Some of the girls who work there live in this hotel and some of their so called boyfriends live here too. I'm gonna check that place out along with the other local places, because a pastor needs to know his neighborhood and so do writers as well. It seems like a place that may have a well-worn pool table or two, tables that might make for a worthwhile evangelism tool or a place to win a few bucks for a couple cans of beer and a microwaved Cuban down at Tony's on the corner.

My room is simple. A bed, a small table, dresser, TV, mini-fridge and microwave. My Mezuzah on the door frame, an icon of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the wall, meditation cushion and djembe tucked into a corner. And wireless, thank you God, for the wireless.

Peace be with you, even as it is with me.

It's good to be home.

Two Great Pioneers...

2011-10-05T20:19:00.001-04:00

I guess by now most of y'all have heard about the passing of Steve Jobs, the energetic and extraordinary co-founder of Apple Computers. He was a genius in his field, who understood not only the world of technology, but perhaps much more importantly, the world of human interaction.

He will be missed, for he was a pioneer in the new and exciting world of high technology.

But some one else of incredible importance also died today, some one who was not known for their input into the world of developing technology, but was known for their indelible footprint in the world of civil rights and human interaction.

The Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth also passed on today. Perhaps many of you have never heard of him, but I assure you, you know of his ministry. He was the original driving force behind the liberation of Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. Along with The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. and The Reverend Ralph Abernathy, Shuttlesworth was an amazingly important and influential part of the Civil RIghts Movement in the United States of America during the 1950s, 1960s, and beyond.

Both of these human beings, Steve Jobs and Fred Shuttlesworth, understood the absolute importance of human community, human dignity, and human respect. Both of these people have played a major role in bringing the human race together.

WHAT WILL WE DO TO FURTHER THIS JOURNEY,

THE BRINGING TOGETHER, RATHER THAN THE TEARING APART,

OF THE HUMAN RACE?

The above pictures of Jobs and Shuttlesworth were taken in their later years, but they did much of their original, most important work when they were much younger. Here they are, in their youthful glory...

Steve Jobs died at 56 years old, Fred Shuttlesworth at 89.

Time is wasting, let's keep working on coming together,

rather than breaking apart...

Amen.

Rangers 4, Rays 3

2011-10-04T19:50:00.000-04:00

Seventh-inning stretch,

"Take me out to the ballgame"

Father, Son, Spirit...

Just a Little Keith Green...

2011-10-01T22:23:00.000-04:00

For a number of reasons, a few I am aware of and some I cannot quite put my finger on, I feel the need to listen to and share with you some music by Keith Green. The longer I am a Christian and the longer I am in ministry, the more I realize the impact Keith's music and life had on my personal development.

I was a teenager during the years of Keith's music ministry and his music still affects me deeply. I'd like to share my favorite Keith Green song with you tonight..."Your Love Broke Through".

Listen to the words, soak the music into your soul...and consider the meaning and impact of grace in your life.

Or the impact it could have.

Trading Paint With A Lexus

2011-09-30T21:39:00.000-04:00

I did a 15 mile bike ride this evening.

Early in the ride (like in the 1st or 2nd mile) I "traded paint" with an older woman driving a Lexus.

It was her fault. She took a turn and left me with nowhere to go but into her passenger side door.

I won't bore you with the whole story, but I do want to share a few observations with you:

Hitting a car (especially when it's expensive and their fault) is kind of exciting if you've been through it before. It stills sucks because you just know something on you is gonna wind up hurting for a few days, but it's still kind of cool. Not so your first time. It'll simply scare the hell out of you.
It felt really good to know that at 48 years old, I can hit a car and still finish my ride. Of course, I was only going about 10-15 miles per hour when I made contact and my crash and roll wasn't too bad. Still, I am reminded by this that I've still got some real good years left in me.
When you take a fall, whether on a bike or in life...get up, brush yourself off...and keep on riding.

PAIN IS TEMPORARY

YES, IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL SUNSET!!!

Wandering Along the Way...

2011-09-29T22:24:00.000-04:00

Go with God...

Wandering along the Way...

A journey to the East...

Reunion with the Son rise.

BE BLESSED!

Don't Dis the Dishdog!

2011-09-28T21:38:00.000-04:00

You should ALWAYS respect and honor your dish dog.

Your dish dog is absolutely the most important person in the kitchen, nay, in the entire restaurant.

If you don't believe me, see what'll happen if your dish dog walks out on you on a busy night, say like, New Year's Eve or Mother's Day. Or God forbid, the health inspector walks in and takes the water temperature in the sink or dish machine and it's too cold.

Then you'll know what I mean.

If a server doesn't show up, other servers can cover their section. If a cook doesn't show up, other line cooks (or perhaps a prep guy) can make due to take care of the situation.

But the dish dog, now that's another matter.

You might think that the term "dish dog" is a form of cut down, I mean calling some one who works so hard a dog and all that.

Not so, for to be called a dish dog is a term of honor and total respect.

There are a whole lot of dishwashers in the world, but only a few dish dogs.

The few, the proud, the dish dogs...

Who are the dish dogs in your life? In your community? In your church?

Who are the people who go unnoticed by so many, yet make so much happen?

How might you honor and respect them more?

Mark 10:43-45

New International Version (NIV)

⁴³ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

It Would Seem I Have A Job!

2011-09-27T20:54:00.000-04:00

Thank you, Jesus, it seems I have a job!!!

Finally, after literally months and months of searching, depression, more searching, more let down...it would seem I have a job...

I am cooking at an elder care facility.

I am one of "the help".

And the funny thing is that in so many ways I feel more in community at work than I generally ever do in church.

Maybe that's because the folks who work in the kitchen at our facility genuinely share their lives together without a bunch of pretense. Maybe it's because we see ourselves as providing an important ministry to those we serve, therefore creating a sense of community with mission at it's heart.

Maybe it's the woman at work who keeps her five-generation old bottle of anointing oil in her purse in the break room...ready for any and all spiritual necessities.

Thank you Lord,

For bringing me to this place.

Thank you Lord,

For bringing me to a place

Where I can use my culinary skills

In a way that builds lives

Rather than simply

Lining the fat pockets

Of some rich man

On some far away golf course.

Thank you, Lord,

For allowing me to be at a place

Where the breaks are long enough

To read a good book...

And learn of You.

Thank you, Lord.

Amen.

First World Monday

2011-09-26T21:09:00.000-04:00

Today was my day off from work.

I woke up this morning and spent some time listening to ambient music on Pandora.

I went to the convenience store and got some gas and an energy drink.

The white Ford Mustang at the gas pump in front of me was much nicer than my white Hyundai Elantra.

I cashed my honorarium for my pulpit supply in Tampa yesterday at the local Publix.

A whole lot of preachers around the globe preached for free yesterday.

I went to the beach and enjoyed the sun for several hours and read a book about folks in other parts of the world who lives are much harder than mine and who never go to the beach or see the ocean in their entire lives.

Many who do see the ocean are forced to work harder than me for much less money.

I make 10 dollars an hour.

But that's a lot of money compared to many people around the world.

I got a bit of a sunburn from enjoying the beach too long.

Many people get sunburn from working too long for far too little.

I went to a thrift store and bought some shirts and a pair of really nice linen slacks.

The slacks were only a dollar and one of the shirts was a Perry Ellis, also linen.

I can't afford name-brand stores, but I can still get designer labels.

Most people in this world have very few clothes.

After I finish writing this blog post on my ACER PC, I'm going for a bike ride to hopefully burn off some calories from all the food I ate today.

I'm rather chubby these days.

I wish I was "with it" and had an Apple Computer.

Most people in this world don't have any computer at all.

So, I guess when I think about it, there really isn't much difference between a white Ford Mustang and a white Hyundai Elantra.

Perspective is everything...

Sermon Notes, Sunday 9/25/11, Bayshore Presbyterian, Tampa, Florida

2011-09-25T01:22:00.000-04:00

Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors

and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.

For John came to you in the way of righteousness

and you did not believe him,

but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him;

and even after you saw it,

you did not change your minds and believe him.

Matthew 21:31,32 (NRSV)

1. It is certainly not easy to come into a church one has never been to before to do a pulpit supply and preach on these words.

2. It is especially difficult to do so when these words must be weighed and considered, chewed upon, swallowed, and used for spiritual growth by the preacher himself...namely ME.

3. This is most certainly true when I have just begun a new job this week that has taken much of my time that might have been used to prepare this sermon...therefore, as my new boss/coworker (Miss Louise) said to me the other day..."Pastor, if that church is only used to an ol' 20 minute sermon, why you jus' need to get on up there and jus' testify to the goodness of God in your life!" So here I am to testify. And my testimony is this...THE DAYS OF BUSINESS AS USUAL ARE OVER.

4. It is time for "good church folks" to get over themselves a little, or maybe even a lot. We need to get back to the question, only answered experientially, as to who Jesus is. We need hearts shaped by ORTHOPATHY...a feeling, a heartfelt affection for God through Jesus Christ, energized by Holy Spirit. How we gonna testify to something not in our heart?

5. It is time to place ORTHOPRAXIS, the practice of righteousness, holiness, justice, and grace above the dry intellectualisms of dogma. But without first experiencing ORTHOPATHY, practice becomes simply works righteousness or even spiritual codependence.

6. Lastly comes ORTHODOXY, the mind, the intellect, the analysis of faith...for the Way is truly faith seeking understanding and not the other way round.

7. Who are the "tax collectors & prostitutes"? They are those who do not make into our company...the "help", as it were. And yet, the Help know how to pray...church so often seem to know prayers, yet do not know how to pray. ORTHOPATHY

8. Miss Louise shared with me the other day her vivid testimony of God's great work in delivering her from colon cancer. Miss Louise knows this simple truth in her heart...we are called to testify of God and not to apologize for God, whether by word or deed!!! ORTHOPRAXIS

9. If all this confuses you, if the affection of God within your heart seems foreign if you know prayers, yet have difficulty praying, if you find works of mercy and righteousness becoming programs rather than outpourings of Spirit, if you do not see your "faith statement" being not words but the very fabric of your "spiritual journey", then by all means you are lost in the idol of ORTHODOXY! Think back to the most important question Jesus asked his disciples: "Who do you say that I am? Hearts, Hands, Head...HUMILITY...

"Let this same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,

but emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave..."

Philippians 2:5-7

For God's sake and your own,

learn from those you have previously excluded,

whether due to color, class, income, origin,

occupation or otherwise.

And be glad, for Jesus says you will make it into the kingdom

Only a little behind them.

HEART // HANDS // HEAD

Thank you Alan Hirsch, Michael Frost, Eugene Peterson, and Miss Louise

for helping me to see this sermon prep through...

And thank you God for everything...

Introducing John Jensen

2011-09-24T00:13:00.000-04:00

I want to tell you about my friend on Twitter, John Jensen.

John is one of the finest Christians I know, not because he is perfect, certainly not because he is "nice" all the time, and not because he has all the answers. He is a good Christian because he humbly walks with his Lord and tries to do the right thing.

Jesus lives in his heart.

I could tell you some of the ways John has helped me in the past, with a good and timely word or a favor, but I don't think he would want you to know all that. He's just not the kind of guy who puts his news out there that way. He's not too much into his left hand knowing what his right hand does, if you know what I mean.

Today, John posted an incredible piece on his blog about something he and I share...our struggle with Bipolar Disorder. We both have it and we both struggle with depression and manic behavior at times. We both take similar medications to help ourselves through it.

But much more importantly, we both know that God walks with us through it.

We are destined to be overcomers through our mighty God who is strong to save.

One day, I hope to meet John face to face, to see him as he truly is. In the meantime, we chat on Twitter and occasionally by phone.

Stay strong in the faith, John. Thank you for everything you have done for me. I love you, man...be blessed!

http://reverendjohn.blogspot.com/2011/09/what-depression-looks-like-for-me.html

A Poem I Thought Of At Work Today...

2011-09-23T16:14:00.000-04:00

Today, while I was at work, I thought of this poem by Ezra Pound. It is one of my favorite poems and it really seems to get at the heart of some issues I've been mulling over as I prepare for this Sunday's sermon, in which part of the Scriptural text reads...

"Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes

are going into the kingdom of God

ahead of you."

Spoken by Jesus in Matthew 21:31

Take a minute to read this short poem. Chew on it, mull over it, listen to it in your heart...

SALUTATION

O generation of the thoroughly smug

and thoroughly uncomfortable,

I have seen fishermen picnicking in the sun,

I have seen them with untidy families,

I have seen their smiles full of teeth

and heard ungainly laughter.

And I am happier than you are,

And they were happier than I am;

And the fish swim in the lake

and do not even own clothing.

--- Ezra Pound ---

It is said that Ezra Pound went insane.

It is true that he was placed in an asylum for a number of years.

That being said,

If he could understand,

Then why can't we?

Night Meditation

2011-09-21T23:48:00.000-04:00

Night

Meditation

Slowing

Down

Process

Ends

With

Soul

Rest

Weary

Time

Dream

Down

Again

Rhythm

Breath

Deeply

Easily

Regular

Senses

Brush

Evening

Stillness

Calm

Down

Sleep.

10 Things You Should Know About Homelessness From The Inside Out...

2011-09-20T23:17:00.000-04:00

I have a personal apology to make to Beth Orchard. She is an incredible young, upcoming writer and playwright who is currently writing and producing a play concerning homelessness. She asked me some time ago to help her with some aspects of the characters in the play, most notably, the lead character, who is a homeless man suffering from mental illness.

Guess I know something about guys like that. Guess I'm a guy like that. Oh well.

Unfortunately, I haven't followed through on the project as well as either she or I would have liked.

Beth, I apologize and intend to make it up to you in this post.

It's difficult for me to describe being "on the road", living "on the streets", and suffering from a "mental illness" without becoming intensely "in the moment". To try to explain these things casually over the phone or in an e-mail is very difficult for me. It would be different if I were to take some one out there with me, whether as a co-minister on a weeknight of hands-on ministry or to spend a week or so on the street itself.

So Beth, here goes...a list of things to know about street life. These are some reflections I have, looking back into my past and may or may not resonate with others who have had similar experiences.

I hope this will help you and your project, because I want to help you and your project.

You deserve it, because you care.

1. You are on your own. Ultimately, you can trust no one, not one person in the world. Be a coyote, constantly sniffing the air for a bad scent that means danger. Stay on your toes. Always.

2. Decide early on if you are damned or blessed. Everything will depend on that decision.

3. Keep in mind that you are a human being. DO NOT expect others to consider you to be one, especially the average guy with a home and a job, and most especially if they have a wife and kids.

4. Gas, grass, or ass...nobody rides for free.

5. Bedding is essential. Never let anyone mess with your bedding. If you mess with some one else's bedding, prepare to be beaten down or prepare to do the beating. People have been killed for breaking this simple rule.

6. Staying dry is essential. Sure, in the summer a nice rain may be downright cooling. But eventually your stuff will mildew. In cold weather, moisture can kill you.

7. Both rules #5 and #6 mention the word "kill". To quote the Smashing Pumpkins, "The world is a vampire." Be prepared to do what you have to do to survive. Refer to rule #4.

8. You live in the present. The past is over. The future doesn't exist and never will. Permanent present, like an animal. Realize this rule is in constant tension with rule #3 and that this tension will eventually drive you mad.

9. Avoid cops like the plague.

10. Use churches, but never expect them to understand or truly care about you. Sure, sometimes it will happen, but as a rule, refer to the second part of rule #3 with regards to this matter.

Beth, I hope this helps you a little. Perhaps I will write a little more on this in the future. In fact, tomorrow night, I think I will post a poem I wrote on a cross-country road trip some years ago, entitled "The Commission". I think it will help you some in your endeavor.

Beth, thank you for caring. Be blessed, for you are a tremendous blessing to others.

Sharing Some Shalom...

2011-09-20T00:24:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted anything in close to a couple of weeks now. I've had some ideas to write about and I have a pulpit supply coming up this Sunday I may share on the blog, but mostly I've been spending my spare time seeking shalom through peaceful music.

Lately, I've begun enjoying Ambient and "New Age" music again.

It really seems to help center me. I'm discovering that listening to Ambient music does things for me that Prozac can't touch.

It's like aural meds.

Here's a song by Deuter that really helps to center me. I share it with you in order to pass the peace, increase the wholeness, and share some love.

Shalom unto you...

Technicolor Blues

2011-09-08T02:08:00.000-04:00

Tonight, for the second time, I read at IV Poets, a bi-weekly spoken word event held at Cafe Alma, here in Saint Petersburg.

It's a really great reading, with a lot of talent and energy to go around. It starts about 10 PM, so it's got that late-night feel to it. It's diverse, it's raw, and it's necessary...and I wish church were a lot more like it.

If you want to check out some photos of what's goin' on, click here.

If you'd like to find out more about Laura Yes Yes, tonight's featured reader, click here.

Here is the piece I read tonight. It's an old one, I wrote it way back in 1987, when I was 23 years old.

Technicolor Blues

I've got a feeling

Lives deep in the base of my skull

Comes out at night

If the stars play silent guardian to my deepest fears

I'll sense it's presence

Ice water down my spine

Still motion generation,

"Watch the replay,

Did the bomb miss us this time?"

I keep all my anxieties in a little box

Under the sofa I lay on to watch

The evening news

With perfect apathy

I consume their views

While contemplating the fact that my shoes

Tracked in some mud,

Spattering my crushed velvet lifestyle.

Frozen resonance strikes against my heart

And with a bit of a start

I attempt to explain to myself

Without a doubt

What it's all about

But then George Jetson comes on

So I sit and I quit

Not a moment too soon

For my minute ride

To a cartoon moon

Wondering all the while,

"Does a nuclear war come in Technicolor?"

Follow-up to Previous Post...

2011-09-06T23:35:00.000-04:00

Earlier this afternoon, I posted an article from today's New York Times, that discussed Gov. Rick Perry's "jobs program in his home state of Texas.

It really upset me, to think that Americans are so deceived by the current Presidential process and by the media machine that upholds it.

Am I against our system of government or electoral process?

No.

But I am against an idolatry that places profits ahead of people, things ahead of human beings, and "free trade" beyond the memory of the spirit of Tom Joad.

When will we learn? When shall we see?

"The last shall be first and the first last..."

---spoken by Jesus Christ

quoted by Frantz Fanon---

Jobs? Are you kidding?

2011-09-06T19:13:00.000-04:00

I have been looking for work as a cook and had very little luck. But overall, my prospects are good if I keep on looking. Compare that to this area of Texas that Gov. Rick Perry lauds as an example of substantial job growth...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/opinion/yes-we-need-jobs-but-what-kind.html?_r=2&src=tp

When will America wake up to the fact that things are worse than the politicians and the press are telling us? Jobs? Are you kidding?

A Tribute to Dr. N. Gordon Carper

2011-09-06T00:56:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, September 3rd, one of the most important people in my entire life passed away. Dr. N. Gordon Carper, "Doc" to those of us who knew him well, was THE History Professor at Berry College in Rome, Georgia.

But he was much more than that to me and to so many others who knew and loved him. He was like a second father to us.

He was a professor, a mentor, a friend, a counselor...a teacher in the highest sense of the word.

I know for a fact that I would never, ever have had the opportunity to go to a school like Berry had it not been for Doc offering me a scholarship to play College Bowl, a game he developed, coached, and loved.

Here is Doc's official obituary. Below it is a tribute written by my friend and former college bowl teammate Dren Rollins, which tells much of Doc's achievements with the development of College Bowl, a game that put myself and so many other people through school.

Beneath these two tributes to Doc is something he wrote to me in a book he gave me (pictured above) at the beginning of my Senior year of studies at Berry. I share it with you...

Obituary for Dr. N. Gordon Carper

Dr. N. Gordon Carper of Rome passed away on September 3, 2011. Dr. Carper was born in Bettsville, Ohio on May 10, 1935, son of the late Glenn and Cleo Carper. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother, Gene Carper, and a sister, Eileen Warner.

Dr. Carper served 3 years in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He was a graduate of Heidelberg College, received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Florida State University, and did post-graduate work at Harvard.

In 1965 Dr. Carper came to Berry College as Chairman of the Social Science Department and was Dana Professor of History from 1969 until his retirement in 2003. He established Berry’s nationally ranked College Bowl program, which he led for over 30 years. He was honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards by the Association of College Unions and by College Bowl Inc.

He was recognized for excellence in teaching on numerous occasions and received commendation by the Georgia House of Representatives for 35 years of leadership at Berry College. In 1994, he received the Governor’s Award in the Humanities. He served on the Georgia State Committee for the Humanities and was Chairman for 1 term. With his wife, he edited The Meaning of History, A Dictionary of Quotations. Dr. Carper is listed in Directory of American Scholars and Who’s Who Among American Teachers.

Dr. Carper is survived by his wife, Joyce; sons, Noel Carper and Todd Carper; daughter-in-law, Karen; grandchildren, Kallan Carper, Justin McNeal, and Kristen McNeal; brother, Ken Carper and his wife Beverly; and several nieces and nephews.

Celebration of life services will be held on Saturday, September 10, 2011, at 2 p.m., in Berry College Chapel at Berry College. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to the Dr. N. Gordon Carper History Scholarship, Berry College Advancement Office, Mt. Berry, GA 30149 or American Lung Association.

On September 3, 2011, one of the brightest lights in the Academic Bowl universe ceased to shine. Dr. N. Gordon Carper, Dana Professor of History Emeritus, of Berry College passed away due to complications from multiple illnesses. For those who were not privileged enough to meet or know Dr. Carper, just a few of accomplishments are listed below.

From 1959-1970, GE College Bowl was a staple on CBS and NBC where college teams from across the country competed against each other for scholarship grants. By 1970 the program was cancelled, and the game was in danger of dropping completely from the national consciousness. That same year, Dr. Carper was one of a group of college professors, who enjoyed the game, who began with few teams and no buzzer systems what became recognized as the first modern collegiate tournament: the Southeastern Invitational. The Southeastern, now held annually at Berry, is in its 41st year.

For 33 years Dr. Carper’s Berry teams went onto win 3 College Bowl Inc/ACUI Regional championships, multiple Southeastern Invitational Championships, and were fiercely competitive on the national circuit. In 1999, the Berry team had their biggest success winning what Gordon would refer to as his “National Championship” when his team finished as the top undergraduate only squad (6th overall) at the Academic Competition Federation (ACF) National Championship tournament at the University of Chicago. The ACF also honored him with the N. Gordon Carper Lifetime Achievement Award which has been awarded annually “for meritorious services in sustaining and enriching collegiate academic competitions." ACF founders Don Windham and Carol Guthrie, both former Berry players, were honored with the Carper award in successive years. College Bowl Incorporated named its Region VI championship in his honor.

Dr. Carper’s influence reaches far beyond the college game. Since 1974, Berry has hosted its annual Scholars’ Bowl tournament which has evolved from a Georgia high school invitational competition to a regional open tournament. Many current and former Berry players played at and were recruited from the Scholars’ Bowl competition. Many program alumni have gone on to coach at all levels of the Academic Bowl world. One hallmark of Carper’s legacy is that the Berry program boasts one of the most loyal and active alumni networks in the nation. He was also honored by the Georgia State Legislature for his "expert and unwavering guidance" which enabled his "perspicacious students" to develop and refine the "mental agility, verbal dexterity, and intellectual acumen that are necessary for continued excellence in college bowl competition.”

Even though his light no longer shines, Dr. Carper will live in the hearts of every player who sits at a table with buzzer in his/her hand. For every first time player that catches the fever in their first practice, to the seasoned veteran who still smiles when the reader says, “Tossup #1,” Dr. Carper’s indomitable spirit will shine through.

Dren Rollins

Berry College Bowl Alum

Class of 1998

"Gene,

I am pleased that your work has been meritorious enough to qualify you for this award. We have enjoyed a number of intellectual activities in our travels and will no doubt share many more in the months and years ahead. The quality of your work has shown improvement each semester. Berry has given you an environment where you could grow in general and history has opened your mind to numerous exciting and rewarding academic pursuits. May your last year at Berry be even richer than your past ones and may your graduate years be even more uplifting than you anticipate.

Best regards,

Doc

8/30/00"

(As written in The Meaning of History: A Dictionary of Quotations, by Dr. N. Gordon and Joyce Carper, copyright 1991...presented to me as part of a scholarship presentation in Berry Chapel, August 2000...the same chapel where so many will remember him this coming Saturday.)

Throughout this week, I want to tell you some personal memories of Doc, some funny, some serious, some perhaps both...

If you read this blog and also have some to share, please do, in the comments section.

We love ya, Doc...

Guest Post: "Is Loyalty A Bad Word?" by Timothy Baranoski

2011-09-02T23:57:00.000-04:00

When Tim Baranoski isn't looking the part of "mild-mannered" Presbyterian minister, he is preparing for a big move, a really great leap of faith, and a journey into the unknown...

Tim is not only a PC(USA) Minister of Word and Sacrament, he is also a Commissioned Officer in the United States Army.

Tim is a chaplain. A chaplain who is being deployed overseas in the coming month.

Shalom, brother...peace be with you.

And to all your family, your friends, and your comrades, may God keep and protect you safe.

Is Loyalty a Bad Word?

Loyalty is an interesting word. When I hear the word “loyalty,” images of nationalism and blind faith immediately come to my mind. But if I stop for a moment, I realize that loyalty is all around us even when we don’t think or notice it.

My thoughts on loyalty started a few weeks ago when I attended an installation service for a new pastor at a church. At the end of the service, the congregation stood and made a vow to be loyal to the pastor. I will admit I was troubled for some time over this idea of being loyal to a pastor and I even vented about it and offered some critical thoughts on the subject. Then I pulled out my dictionary (yes, the real kind with pages and all) and looked up the definition of “loyalty.” Webster defines it as “faithfulness or a devotion to a person, country, group, or cause.” Faithfulness? Devotion? Well, that brings a whole new light to the idea of loyalty.

What am I faithful to? My wife? My family? My country? My church? My God? My sports teams? I am faithful to each and every one of these people or groups but can I say that I am loyal? Would I want to say that I am loyal?

I am loyal/faithful to my wife. We have had our share of good times and bad times in our marriage but we stick together and continue to grow as a couple. I never thought of it as being loyal to her (and vice versa) but it really is. I am not sure that I would stick with anyone else through rough times the way that I stick with my wife. Is loyalty a deeper aspect of faithfulness? Are they one in the same?

The more I ponder these questions, the more I realize one thing – loyalty often involves an oath or a promise. It happens during a marriage ceremony when the couple makes a vow of faithfulness (loyalty) to one another:

I take thee to be my wedded wife/husband, and I do promise and covenant, before God and these witnesses, to be thy loving and faithful wife/husband; in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live.

It happens when you join a church when you make a public profession of faith and pledge to be faithful (loyal) to the congregation and its mission. It happens when you are baptized (or confirmed for those of us who experienced infant baptism) when you make a vow to be loyal to God and the teachings of Jesus Christ:

If you have firmly resolved to live in accordance with the holy doctrine of Christ, ever to remain faithful to His Church, to avoid sin, to love God with your whole heart, and your neighbor as yourself, declare now this your will, and make a vow in the presence of the All-seeing God, before your parents, teachers, and the whole congregation.

It happened when I made a vow to be loyal to United States when I took my oath of office to join the Army:

I having been appointed in the U.S. Army under the conditions indicated in this document, do accept such appointment and do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter, so help me God.

Is it a stretch then for a congregation to pledge loyalty to a pastor? It is a stretch, admittedly, but one that can be accepted. When we make a pledge, a promise, a vow of loyalty, I believe we are promising to be faithful (or loyal) to the other as God has been to us. We are make a promise that we will uphold this covenant like God has upheld God’s covenant with us. The difference? We are going to fail at some point but God never fails.

When a congregation makes a vow to the pastor to be loyal and faithful, there is another side to the vow. The pastor has to behave and give cause to the congregation to continue to be loyal and faithful. If the pastor were to go crazy and start make sacrifices or something bizarre and telling the congregation to do the same for salvation, I believe the vow of loyalty would end. I do not believe the loyalty vow is to the pastor as a person but rather to the pastor as a symbol. The pastor is the spiritual leader of the church and if you are going to be part of the church, you need to be faithful to the leader as well unless the leader goes crazy as mentioned above.

So does loyalty have a place in the church? I think so. Of course, we are loyal (faithful) to God but I believe we need to be loyal to the mission/ministry of the church as well. If we are not, then are we really part of the church?

Tim's blog can be found here, along with links to some other sites of his.

BE BLESSED, BROTHER...write us regular, stay in touch, keep the faith, we love you.

Of Jobs, God, & Dogs

2011-09-01T20:44:00.000-04:00

While the change

Of the relationship

Of Steve Jobs

To Apple

Did grab my immediate attention

When first seen

On Twitter the other day...

My job I need to get

Remains elusive

Both in town and in my head.

Raised from the dead

Is a worthwhile way

To describe my arrival

In St. Pete

Though

The crap you track

Into the house

Is the crap

You brought with you

On the bottom of your own damn shoes.

So be it

Far from me to say

The truth

That

GOD

stills seems so infonitely

info-nitely

infinitively

infinitely

far away

an I am missing the mark

again

Yet,

As close as my next breath

Or the thought

BEFORE

that.

This is not the dog

And this is not the church

But the sentiment

Remains the same

For families

And for a special family

For children

And for three in particular

For all the dogs everywhere

And a very special dog I know

Please pray

Please

For

Jobs, God, & Dogs.

Precious Lord, Take My Hand...

2011-08-23T00:00:00.000-04:00

Sang this in church Sunday morning...I love this hymn...take a listen...or two...or even three times...

"Who Do You Say That I Am?"

2011-08-20T23:37:00.001-04:00

When I mentioned the above question on Twitter tonight, several tweeps said it was, is, and will remain the most important question of all time.

That being said...I would like to mention a few ways one might be able to ascertain how one has answered this question in the past.

And perhaps demonstrate what may be a worthwhile answer for the future.

Because, you know...saying you are a believer in Jesus Christ simply because you go to church is like saying you are a cheeseburger because you go to McDonalds.

So here are a few signs that you may need to consider this question more closely:

Fear of the past. Fear of the present. Fear of the future.

Fear of change. Fear that things might stay the same.

Fear of lack of money, of change in church leadership, of losing control.
Fear of nations, of others...

PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT ALL FEAR.

Who do you say that I am?

Can you speak to God's doings in your life? I mean, can you actually sit down and have a healthy conversation with some one and discuss Jesus Christ?

I'm not talking about blaring Jesus at them from a loudspeaker or from a tract, I'm talking about sharing the Good News in your life with some one else. I'm talking about dialogue, giving and receiving, hearing their story and graciously sharing yours.

What's that you say? You're not sure where to start? You wouldn't know what to say?

Witnessing Lesson 101...assenting to creeds and all that means nothing. You've got to have a story.

Who do you say that I am?

ARE YOU A "PRACTICAL ATHEIST"?

Do you pay lip service to God, but "deny the power thereof"?

So often (especially in the "Western World") we speak of God, go to church, say our prayers...and then live our lives as though we don't believe any of it.

Is "In God we trust" something you honestly believe...or is it just something printed on the idol we refer to as "money"?

Churches, people...please pay attention: YOU CANNOT SERVE GOD AND MAMMON!

Who do you say that I am?

I know these are hard questions. They are as hard me for me as they are for you. But at the bottom of them all is this one simple question:

Who are you?

There are two kinds of people in this world...

Those who know they are children of God and those who don't know they are children of God...

YET.

Who do you say that I am?

May God enfold you in pure love...may Jesus be your priest, your guide, your companion...may the Holy Spirit empower you with wisdom, grace, and peace...AMEN.

"The Drum Major Instinct"

2011-08-20T00:56:00.001-04:00

I spent the last two days back in and around my hometown of Ocala, FL, taking care of a little business, visiting my father, picking up some meds and what not.

I want to share some of the details of the trip, most especially some time I spent riding around town in a tow truck, which I hope to title "First Church of the Junkyard Koinonia".

But I just got home and am a bit tired, so I just want to write a brief blog tonight about some quiet time I spent at the Ocala Public Library this morning, reading from a collection of the sermons of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Truth be told, I don't think that anything I could write in this space would do my time with the words of Dr. King any justice, so I'm just going to share a little of Dr. King with you.

Be blessed and may his words melt into your heart with the mighty flow of God's Agape and the Beloved Community...

Crackheads For Jesus!

2011-08-17T03:24:00.000-04:00

I know a guy who used to smoke crack.

He smoked pretty steady.

It was his thing,

More than weed, powder, pills, or beer.

Crack and women.

He came to Jesus.

Now, for all you

Calvinists out there

Who think come to Jesus

Is bad theology,

Well, smoking crack is way worse for you

Than any form of bad theology

And if you don't believe me,

Go smoke some.

Anyways, like I said,

He came to Jesus.

But it took him awhile to get off the crack.

In the meantime,

He made sandwiches in his hotel room

Smoking dimes and perhaps the occasional twenty

In between slices of peanut butter and jelly

Spread evenly with a dinner knife.

He fed the lambs.

Now the point of all this is:

If a new Christian crackhead

Just come to Jesus

Can feed the poor

Help to clothe the naked

And try to bring a little light and peace

Into this torn up world...

Why can't we?

I Am An Outlaw Preacher...

2011-08-16T02:48:00.000-04:00

I was asked recently what it means for me to call myself an outlaw preacher. The person who asked me this is a very special tweep and I feel the question deserves a very special, well thought out answer. So here goes...

I am not trying to define the the term as though I am speaking for all those who ride under the hashtag of #outlawpreachers. It is not fair for me to do that and I couldn't successfully accomplish that task, even if I tried. Suffice it to say that I consider myself to be in Christ-kinship with all those who see that "group" as a valid part of the Body of Christ and I hope to be at the upcoming Outlaw Preachers (Re)Union in September, though it is quite possible that will not happen, due to lack of funds to travel on.

I can only speak for myself and I pray, for the Lord I serve.

My Lord is not of this world, although my Lord created it. My Lord is not the denomination I am a part of and am properly ordained in, although I see it prayerfully attempting to serve my Lord with energy, enthusiasm, and joy. My Lord is no one and no-thing. My Lord is invisible, save for the Lord's Spirit in my heart, the Lord's footsteps upon the hills of Galilee 2,000 years ago, and the Lord's Word, spoken for all to hear.

My Lord is The Word.

For me, the image of myself as an outlaw preacher is the ronin. A ronin was a samurai without a feudal master, without an earthly lord to command him, without a fallible human being bent on aquisition of power and land to command him.

Ronin were the most dangerous people in feudal Japan, because they chose to disregard the system.

I choose to disregard the system of religion as practiced by those who are self-serving bondsmen who strive to conform people to their own wishes and their selfish versions of what the Church and/or Kingdom of God should be. I choose to pledge utter fealty to God alone, as practiced through worship, community, and mission, with the weapons of faith, hope, and love, as I am called to oppose the powers and principalities that seek to overwhelm humanity and creation. I choose the way of the sword, the two-edged Word of God, The Lord of Lords, the Gentle Lamb, the Good Shepherd, the Prince of Peace, the Annointed One.

I pray grace to save me, heal my wounds, correct my mistakes, guide my hand, and keep my faltering feet upon the solid path.

I do not reject the system, for to reject the system is to recognize the system and give it power it does not truly possess and certainly does not deserve.

The system exists and so be it. Because I serve my Lord, I am free to come and go, pass through it, claim it and disdain it as the need shall arise and as my Lord wills.

Religion is a box.

There is no box.

I am an outlaw preacher.

There is one more thing you should know about samurai.

Samurai means "to serve".

Therefore, I am merely a servant.

That is all.

A servant of my Lord.

A Few Quick Thoughts on the Syro-Phoenician Woman...

2011-08-14T00:55:00.002-04:00

This morning, I'll be preaching about Jesus' encounter with the Syro-Phoenician woman in the Gospel of Matthew.

Here's a few thoughts that might help you see the direction in which I feel the Holy Spirit has directed me with regards to this encounter with the congregation I am sharing this story with.

Quite often, it seems that Jesus appears to many folks to be diffident and irascible towards this woman of faith, simply because she is not of Jewish descent. It seems that Jesus is in a bad mood or perhaps is showing a form of racism towards this woman. I mean, is Jesus a bigot?

I don't think so.

One of the major problems in reading a Biblical story is that we don't hear the tone of voice or facial characterizations of the folks in the story.

I think Jesus may have had a bit of a twinkle in his eye as he questioned this woman, knowing she would "come back" on him with a good, strong comment.

And she did.

Oftentimes, it is quite helpful to examine what comes immediately before and/or after a passage of Scripture, especially in the Gospels. Context is everything. Consider the story of Nicodemus in John 3 and the story of the Samaritan Woman in John 4. Honestly, I think these two "separate" encounters actually constitute one story. I won't bore you with exegetical details on this matter, look them up yourself and think about it a bit. If you can't come up with at least 7-8 juxtapositions between the two encounters, you aren't trying hard enough.

What comes before the story of the Syro-Phoenician woman in Matthew?

Immediately prior to her story is Jesus' reprimand against the religious folks who worry more about what goes into the body than what comes out of it.

The Pharisees were all about dietary restrictions, among other things.

It is highly unlikely the Syro-Phoenician woman was into Kashrut.

Note how Jesus' comments about bread and dogs involves diet. Bread is something some one eats.

The "wrong" things go into the Syro-Phoenician Woman, but yet the "right" thing comes out of her. a strong and undenying commitment to faith in Jesus Christ to deliver her daughter from her affliction.

So here we are today. The Church, the Body of Christ is a living being.

Do we worry more about what goes into her or what comes out of her?

Do we worry about:

The money coming in...
Those people we'd rather not welcome...
The clothes we wear when we attend...
If all the weeds around the building are pulled...
If all the traditions are well-kept...

Or do we consider what comes out of us:

A humble, yet generous worship of the Living God...
A sense of organic, living community that pervades our every activity...
An outreach that exudes the wonderful aroma of God's love to everyone we encounter...

If we truly live as we are called to live, our faith, hope, and love, our fruit of the Spirit wil precede us and we need never worry or become legalistic about what goes in.

It's what comes out that matters...

Do we exude the aroma of Christ or the excrement of the world, with it's bigotry, it's exterior judgment, and it's sense of narcissistic self-directedness?

What comes out of us?

Share Your Soap...

2011-08-12T23:14:00.005-04:00

I'd like to send out a hearty "Thank You!" to the fine folks who helped The Missio Dei collect hundreds of courtesy soaps and shampoos for distribution to our homeless friends and neighbors in St. Petersburg.

We were able to do this through the good thinking of G.W. Rolle and Doug McMahon, two of the co-pastors of The Missio Dei.

We also were able to do this due to the caring and benevolent spirits of both the Uncontained / Engage Conferences held this week in St. Petersburg Beach (both created by the Presbyterian Church USA and the Presbytery of Tampa Bay) and the amazing management and staff of the Tradewinds Island Grand, where the conferences were held.

And of course, we are indebted to all the conference participants who actually did the donating. It was a blessing to me to see a great big basket of shampoo and soap next to the bread and juice on the Communion Table last night at the closing service.

Helping others through the creation of living, loving community is a big part of what Communion is all about.

The items we were able to collect will be distributed primarily through a food pantry at Serenity United Methodist Church, a Saturday morning breakfast prepared at Trinity Lutheran Church, and through our own Love the Poor ministry here at Missio.

Wouldn't it be great if every church conference and their attendees were to request to the hotels they hold their meetings at that all hospitality items (such as shampoo, soap, etc.) could be donated to the poor and the homeless folks of the community where the event is being held?

I've never been a really big fan of churches holding conferences at posh establishments. I admit they often have the types of meeting facilities necessary for such an undertaking. I even will confess that I am a total hypocrite, as I enjoy the amenities as much (or perhaps more) than anyone else who might attend.

But some how, some way...let the poor, the homeless, and those without...be blessed.

Remember people...we're in the redemption "business".

Share your soap.

A Testimony to Theology & Experience...

2011-08-10T23:07:00.000-04:00

Anna Madsen is an incredible person with an incredible story to share. I met her this week at the Uncontained - National New Church Development Conference I am attending with Kathleen Lambert.

Anna is the founder and director of OMG Center For Theological Conversation, an organization dedicated to "Relevance, Reverence, and Renewal". I could describe her organization in more detail, but I'll leave that up to her in her podcast with Kathleen.

Suffice it to say that she described herself to me as a "freelance theologian", a term which immediately caught my ear and my attention.

Anna not only understands the Theologia Crucis from a theologically intellectual perspective, but also from a definitely experiential one, after suffering an incredibly tragic event in her life at one of its most liminal moments.

In other words, Anna has something to offer all of us about the nature of God, humanity, suffering, and new life in Christ.

Please give this podcast a listen, especially if you are going through a critical time in your life.

It will be a blessing.

I promise.

http://web.me.com/onthelamb11/kathleenlambertblog/Podcast/Entries/2011/8/10_OMG_Center_for_Theological_Conversation.html

Last Church

2011-08-09T05:47:00.003-04:00

Seems like so many

Want to be

THE FIRST CHURCH

The big church

On the big block

The main church

The important church

Where the important people go

Where the saints go marching in

And suits are the order of the day

And the music is perfect

And the people are too...

But lately,

I've been dreaming of

THE LAST CHURCH

And what it might look like

With muddy boots

Of wanderers along the way

With dirty worshipful hands

Of those who pick up

And don't put down

Others.

The Last Church

Where the first are last

And the last are first

Where it's truly OK

To be broken

So that one might be healed

Together with others

Feeling faith

Realizing hope

Expressing love.

And we've got a long way to go

To get there...

Together.

Roots and Fruits...

2011-08-05T00:10:00.000-04:00

IN ORDER TO SHOW THE FRUITS...

YOU GOTTA HAVE SOME ROOTS...

GET THE HINT?

MORE TO FOLLOW...

A Reflection on Turning 48...

2011-08-04T03:45:00.002-04:00

Last Tuesday, July 26th, I turned 48 years old.

It was a hard birthday for me. Perhaps I turned 50 two years early, I'm not sure.

I want to share with you a few things I've stuck in my mind over the years:

Since my house burned down

I have a much better view

Of the rising moon.

---Basho---

You teach best what you most need to learn.

---Richard Bach---

Resist much, obey little.

Once unquestioning obedience,

Once fully enslaved,

No nation, state, or city
Of this earth

Ever again fully regains it's liberty.

---Walt Whitman---

Jesus wept.

---Gospel of John---

Pray without ceasing.

---I Thessalonians---

Anything worth adding?

A Jewel in God's Crown

2011-08-02T22:52:00.001-04:00

I have a distinct love for Gospel music...

I don't mean the clap on the 2 & 4 beat, four-part harmony Southern Baptist Convention kinda stuff, I mean folks like Shirley Caesar, Aretha Franklin, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, James Cleveland, Mississippi Mass Choir, Soweto Gospel Choir, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and the inimitable "Queen Mother of All-Time Gospel" (at least in my opinion)...Mahalia Jackson.

Holdin' down on the 1 & the 3, if you know what I mean.

Here's a picture of Mahalia lightin' it up onstage:

But as much as I love listening to and worshiping with the folks named above, this blogpost is about some one the world lost today, who escaped these earthly bonds to receive a greater gig in God's heavenly choir.

Many of y'all may never have heard of The Barrett Sisters, an incredible singing group led by Delois Barrett Campbell.

But today you have, because Delois went to be with her Lord, after 85 years upon this land.

She will be missed.

But I just know she's singin' a heavenly tune right now...

God bless you, sister...be at peace.

OK, that was so good, you just gotta hear one more song.

Here are The Barrett Sisters singing a song that became

very special to me immediately after 9/11, while I was

living in Manhattan...

We lose those whom we love and cherish...

But God remains good

All the time

And

All the time

God remains good...

Hallelujah, she's a jewel in God's crown!

Midnight Bayou Bike Ride

2011-08-02T02:12:00.000-04:00

Bicycle body

Riding with midnight sea breeze

Chasing spirit breath...

Something like swimming

Tibetan sophia bells

Chanting soul within...

Turning towards home

A light sweat covering flesh

Shower, silence, bed.

click here

A Prayer for Sabbath's Eve...

2011-07-23T22:05:00.003-04:00

For those caught up in violence

For those caught up in blame

For those who blamed

And those who who were lost

And he who pulled the trigger...

We pray.

For those with nowhere left to turn

For the young girl at the soup kitchen

With AIDS

Who was turned out at twelve years old

And the girls who were mutilated by circumcision

All this morning

As the sun rose...

We pray.

For those who possess too little

Save for a bit of a mouthful to ward off untimely death

And for those who possess too much

And choke on the vomit and fat of their own gluttony

For those who need a coat

And for those who do not understand nor care about such a need

For those who are lonely and put out

Whether rich in things or bereft of all...

We pray.

For nature in all her glory

For the cosmos and holy order

Destroyed by global actions of careless consumption

For debt ceilings and debtor nations

For politics as usual

And politics in a new and glorious way...

We pray.

For this and for so much more

For wisdom strength determination

For all colors races ethnicities

Classes

Nations

People

For those who suffer the illusion of an unjust peace

And those who demand the need for more war

For those who need the faith to do

And those who need the temperance to stop

For all of us in this creation

Grace...

Mercy...

Peace...

Shalom...

Salaam...

Shantih...

Healing...

We pray.

Hell in the Psychotropics...

2011-07-20T00:33:00.001-04:00

I want to thank each and every one of you who have had me in your thoughts and prayers recently concerning my last blogpost. I was having a bit of a manic and depressive week or so (at the same time!) and wasn't quite "right in the head". It gives me great joy to know there are prayer warriors on my behalf in this world.

You are loved and so very appreciated.

I discovered this evening that there are a few individuals (and you know who you are!) who have been trolling my blog and using some of it against me and more importantly, against a close friend or two of mine.

You also are loved, but are certainly NOT appreciated (at least by me).

In short, get a life, and for God's sake, get in touch with God.

You may attend church, but you are far from God.

Sorry to tell you that...but sometimes the truth hurts.

So do yourself a favor and...

That being said, let me tell you about the title of this post.

A good friend of mine, G.W. Rolle, has a blog titled the National Abolitionist, which is dedicated to informing people about homelessness issues both nationally and in the St. Petersburg, FL area.

On his blog, you will find a page titled Hell in the Tropics. Well, I decided to play off of that phrase and title this post "Hell in the Psychotropics", due to the effect my new psychotropic medicine was playing on my head.

I've been prescribed 1,000mg of Depakote per day for the last couple of months by my doctor at the free clinic. It was making me lethargic, unproductive, and quite frankly, was not doing anything for me but "putting a cap" on my Bipolar Disorder. Unlike the Lamictal I had been taking previously, it did not seem to "treat" my symptoms, it merely seemed to envelop me in a syrup-like haze.

I felt like I was drowning in a great psychotropic sea.

So I lessened my dosage. I DO NOT recommend this to people, but I will say that by only taking one pill (500mg) each morning (along with my 20mg of Prozac and a standard multivitamin), I seem to be feeling much more balanced, have more practical/positive energy, and am definitely not feeling like I was over the last week or so.

It's gonna get better.

Be blessed.

Standin' in the Need of Prayer...

2011-07-15T13:30:00.000-04:00

It's time for a confession...

The above picture pretty much describes how my head has been feeling lately.

A couple of months ago, my "doctor" at the mental health clinic changed my diagnosis and my medicinal prescription.

I place "doctor" in quotation marks because I hardly consider him to be a doctor at all, instead, merely a buffoon with a poor attitude toward healing, who works for the government and is well adept at finding the cheapest way to medicate drones.

He isn't interested in therapy and could care less how I feel.

I used to be in favor of socialized medicine. Not any more.

So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm seriously standing in the need of prayer. I know the signs of my demise:

1. This Depakote stuff just makes me sleep a lot and constantly battle my weight. I do not feel that it in any way treats the symptoms of my condition, it merely covers them in a syrup of stony nonchalance, that is less and less effective as they take hold of my mind.

2. I am increasingly moody, negative, and strongly desire to demonstrate that the emperor wears no clothes, whether anyone cares to hear about it or not.

3. I have begun chewing on the inside of my lips, a nervous tick I developed in seminary that went away when I began my initial treatment for Bipolar Disorder by taking Lamictal. Sadly, it has returned in force.

4. My need to "break the code" of the number "3" in my life has returned in force. Lamictal seriously lessened this tendency. Go up to the top of this post and look at the blackboard with all the equations on it. That's what my head feels like these days. Sucks.

5. I am getting a very strong desire to shut up, be a good little line cook, an obedient prole, and utterly subvert the system from the underside. I am beginning to recognize hypocrisy at all levels, including in myself, and realizing that there is no escape from any of it. Easier to simply move to the beach, cook, and ultimately one day jump off a high bridge into the sea.

DEATH BY WATER

Phlebas the Phoenician, a fortnight dead,
Forgot the cry of gulls, and the deep sea swell
And the profit and loss.
A current under sea
Picked his bones in whispers. As he rose and fell
He passes the stages of his age and youth
Entering the whirlpool.
Gentile or Jew
O you who turn the wheel and look windward,
Consider Phlebas, who was once handsome and tall as you.

--- T.S. Eliot (from The Wasteland)

Shantih, Shantih, Shantih...

Peace, Peace, Peace...

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus...

Church Relationships...

2011-07-13T22:36:00.000-04:00

I Peter 2:4,5 (NIV)

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Last night, I wrote a post titled Church Politics... which spoke to the pain of the petty, tedious, and often acrimonious "politics" that happens in churches that prevents them from being what they are truly called to be in Jesus Christ.

After posting it, a friend of mine, Adam Lambert, suggested that I replace the word "politics" with "relationships" every time I am tempted to use the word in relation to "church".

Thus, "Church Politics" becomes "Church Relationships".

I like this idea, not only for the reasons that Adam described to me for my own benefit, but also because of the change in connotation for church communities as a whole.

Let's face it, "Church Relationships" sure sounds a lot more in line with the above-quoted passage from I Peter.

So, let's keep building!

PS: Last night, I posted a Peter, Paul, and Mary song, so tonight I'm going to post another one, just for the heck of it...enjoy!

Church Politics...

2011-07-12T23:18:00.000-04:00

I've really got to do better in how I handle church politics.

Personally, the idea that these two words should even be linked together pretty much pisses me off, since the term "politics" has tended to gain such negative connotation over the years.

Sometimes I wonder why I'm in a denomination, and a Presbyterian denomination at that. Presbyterians are famous for politics, committees, bureaucracy, and a host of related terms.

Perhaps God wants to teach me patience.

It's just a sad day when the power of politics holds sway over the power of prayer, when the words of a church constitution holds sway over the Word of God, and decisions are made over accountant's spreadsheets instead of over hands lovingly laid upon the sick, the poor, the bereft, and the unloved.

Anyways, as I said, I've really got to get a better handle on how I do church politics.

Any hints or advice for me?

The Both/And of Mainline/Emergent...

2011-07-11T13:45:00.001-04:00

Recently, I posted a blog entry titled Both/And Points of Departure..., in which I posed three issues in my theological/spiritual journey that seem to be "either/or" issues, but if transformed into "both/and" situations could be beneficial to myself and perhaps the life of the Church as a whole.

The first issue, the divide between Charismatic and Mainline churches was discussed here.

Today, I want to consider the second issue...that of "Emergent/Mainline".

It seems to me that the Mainline churches are experiencing a precipitous decline that will probably only worsen as time goes by.

Note the last four words in the above sentence...As TIme Goes By. A wonderful song from the Movie Casablanca, sung by a number of musical artists over many years, a great song from a famous and classic black & white movie. A movie I love.

But the world as we know it isn't black and white, nor has it ever been.

We live in a world of change, 3D, 4D, even 11D according to current models of the universe(s).

The only constant remains change.

So where does this leave the Mainline church, seemingly mired in a past that actually never truly existed?

Permit me to row you across a large lake and we shall discuss this matter...

So let us depart and begin to row...

There are three things about rowing a boat that are pertinent to our discussion.

Vision, Bearings, and Motion...

And in these three words lies all the meaning and difference (and perhaps, "both/and") between traditional Mainline and Emergent churches.

Because really, in many cases "Mainline/Emergent" is actually "Dying/Living".

In a dying church, three things are evident.

Memories trump future vision.
Traditionalism instead of tradition.
No forward motion.

In a living church, three things are evident.

Vision trumps memories, but memories give life to vision.
Tradition is a guidepost, not an idol.
Motion, not stagnation, is the defining process.

So what does all this have to do with rowing a boat?

It requires a vision to decide to row a boat across a lake, to decide to get from "here" to "there".

When you row a boat, you are sitting backwards, lining up guideposts from the shore you left to guide you gracefully to the spot on the other side of the lake you want to get to. Sure, you may occasionally glance over your shoulder as you row, but for the most part, you focus on the shore you left, lining up a couple of tall trees or something like that to keep your bearing. Hence...tradition, lining up your past to keep your bearing into the future.

And most importantly, if you want to get across the lake, you need motion...you need to row. Otherwise, you are simply sitting in the middle of a lake, staring back at the original shore, going nowhere...

Merely drifting and ultimately losing our bearings.

Let's keep the boat in shape and not let it stagnate like the one in the picture above.

We are called to travel and experience the sights as we go, becoming a part of the experience, not simply sitting around collecting "spiritual picture postcards".

And therein lies all the difference.

Or to quote another movie...

"Get busy living, or get busy dying."

Andy Dufresne, Shawshank Redemption

Last Church: The Sower and the Seed...

2011-07-09T23:31:00.007-04:00

A long time ago, perhaps 25 years or so ago, I spent a summer or two working cotton in Arizona.

And a sower went out to sow.

He knew the four parts to the cotton field, the fine crushed, hard-packed road that ran adjacent to the rows of cultivated plants, the pushed aside, less pulverized rocks and such that lined the road, the margin of uncultivated, tomato weed-like plants that lined the field (more so when a farmer wished to save on pesticides and labor)...and the fine cultivated rows of cotton, set into rows, sometimes up to half a mile or more in length.

And the sower sent forth the seed.

God's Word, the Holy Spirit released into the wild world, the untamed Spirit of a loving God is the seed released to the winds...

Y'all most likely know the story, how some landed on the hard road, how some landed on the rocks, how some were choked by weeds, and how some met with fertile soil and yielded an excellent return.

If you don't, check it out in Matthew 13:1-23.

But here's the catch...

Where was the hard packed road and where was the fertile soil?

If the Sower is walking the hard packed road, is not the fertile soil farthest away, farthest away from the Sower and most reliant on the wind of God's Spirit to carry it aloft and home to the good ground?

Perhaps there is a Great Reversal at work here.

"So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

Matthew 20:16 (NIV)

Do you not see that the good soil perhaps is that soil which is seemingly furthest away from the Good Master's hand? We who tread the path have been crushed down in our pride, our prejudices, our reverence of tradition, and our blindness to God's Spirit that even though we seem closest to God, truly we are farthest away.

But the addict, the abused, the trampled upon, the poor, the wretched, the SINNER...truly those seemingly the furthest from God's reach are most open to God's Holy Spirit, as their souls are wrenched and torn asunder, left open to the air, the sunlight, and water...

Torn open by the very forces that threaten to rip them apart.

An end or a beginning?

As I said before...a Sower went out to sow...

Where do you stand?

Let's Light This Candle

2011-07-08T21:47:00.003-04:00

This morning, Space Shuttle Atlantis made it's final voyage into space and with it, the entire shuttle program has essentially ended.

A few thoughts and observations on the matter:

It's a really sad thing to see the United States space program cut off at its knees by bean counters in Washington. I grew up on the space program. My first heroes were astronauts. I really believe The United States of America is becoming second rate in it's ability to dream and envision "new frontiers" of discovery.

That being said, it should be noted that while the USA was shooting men into space in my early childhood, other men were shooting people in cold blood in the South over Civil Rights. Poverty in the inner cities and in Appalachia was rampant.

Things have improved, but so much more needs to be done.

Perhaps simple human dignity and human rights, both in the USA and abroad could become our New Frontier.

It's about time.

As we break the bonds of earth's gravity, sending satellites and interplanetary missions across the vast reaches of space, can we likewise break the bonds of gravity of our own selfish desires to reach across the vastness of human loneliness to grasp our brother and sister in a bond of love?

Can we loose the bonds of injustice and create bonds of affection?

Can we simply be truly civil?

Just for once?

Way back in April of 1981, I walked down a path like this one at New Symrna Beach, Florida and watched the first Space Shuttle launch ever. I was 17 years old and had just dropped out of high school a few months earlier.

A long time has passed, 30 years and 3 months to be exact.

Now, I am 47 years old, with a Master's Degree from seminary and an ordination card from the Presbyterian Church (USA) in my wallet.

Where I once had thick, dark brown hair, I now have thick gray hair.

Where I once had a tight belly, I now have some paunch.

But the mission remains the same...whether it is going into new areas of discovery or new levels of constructive human relationship.

Let's light this candle.

The Funniest, Most Bizarre TED Talk I Have Ever Seen...

2011-07-07T22:36:00.001-04:00

I had something else planned for my blog tonight, but after watching this video, I changed my mind.

This is absolutely the funniest, most bizarre, and one of the most meaningful TED Talks I have ever seen...

Enjoy!!!

Just a Thought From Dr. King...

2011-07-06T12:12:00.007-04:00

Thank you Reverend Vince Anderson for posting this short excerpt of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the Revolution Church NYC website. After watching it, I really wanted to share it with my readers...

Folks, as you hear these words from so many years ago, consider the direction USAmerica is headed today and tell me if these words of Dr. King do not ring forth like prophecy.

Yet, there is still time..."for God's hand is stretched out still." (Isaiah 9:21)

The Both/And of the Mainline-Pentecostal Divide

2011-07-02T11:45:00.002-04:00

Is there a way for Mainline and Charismatic/Pentecostal churches to work together, to worship together, to be one?

My experience has not been very positive in this area. This is saddening to me, as I have spent significant time in both the International Pentecostal Holiness Church and in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

It's very interesting that one of these denominations has "International" in it's name and the other merely says "USA", because here is what is happening around the world:

In AFRICA!!!

In ASIA!!!

In LATIN AMERICA!!!

Now, this is NOT to say that the PC(USA) and other Reformed Churches throughout North America are not doing wonderful things in other parts of the world. I am simply pointing out the astounding growth of Pentecostalism and the Charismatic Movement among Christianity today, most notably in the Southern Hemisphere.

So how can these two seemingly disparate expressions of The Faith be reconciled into a both/and whole?

Existentially speaking, how can I create praxis of these two experiences in my life and ministry?

Any ideas?

I'd love to hear them.

Here is a video that discusses the rise of Pentecostalism in the world.

Socialnomics Is Here To Stay, What You Gonna Do About It?

2011-06-30T12:51:00.002-04:00

Thank you, Christine Sine, for telling me about this video.
It really tells it like it is.
Be blessed.

Just to remind you...it's not a fad.

2011-06-29T11:11:00.000-04:00

Churches Could Take a Few Lessons From Gay Pride Festivals & Drum Circles!

2011-06-27T14:28:00.004-04:00

This weekend I had hoped to do my blog series based on my post earlier last week.

Instead, I enjoyed the diversity and joy of the St. Pete Pride Festival and went to my first beach drum circle at Treasure Island.

Here's a few pics from Saturday at the Pride Festival:

I did a lot of drumming at the festival and met a whole lot of really great people. Male, female, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, straight, single, married, white, black, Asian, Latino, Latina, you name it, they were there.

And we were having a really great time.

It was easily the most diverse event I have been to in a very long time.

Sunday evening, I made my way out to Treasure Island, on the gulf coast, and went to the local evening sunset drum circle.

Here's a few pics from that, including a number of the people I drummed with:

Here's a pic that will give you a really good idea of the size of the crowd that gathers, drumming, dancing, and celebrating the sunset:

The diversity at both events was incredible. So many people gathered together for a common higher purpose.

Sadly, isn't it strange that churches gather to celebrate the greatest Common Purpose of all...the glory of God...and yet are not diverse? I mean, whether it's age, ethnicity, income level, or whatever, churches could really take some lessons from Gay Pride Festivals and organic drum circles.

What say you?

Both/And Points of Departure...

2011-06-23T23:11:00.000-04:00

It seems that lately I have been in a strange frame of mind, especially regarding my spiritual practice with regard to community worship. In other words, I seem to be having issues about how "church" is done. This probably has shown up strongest on my blog in last night's post.

It is interesting to me that this is happening when I am beginning to regularly lead worship again for the first time in over a year.

Today, on my daily bike ride along the bay, it occurred to me that there are three "either/or" oxymoronic settings in my spiritual journey that most likely can and ought to be transformed into "both/and" points of constructive departure for further journeying. Over the next three nights, I am going to blog about each of them in turn. Tonight, I would like to very briefly introduce you to them.

Here they are:

CHARISMATIC / MAINLINE

I became a Christian during my teen years in the Pentecostal Holiness Church and was heavily influenced by people like Keith Green. I experienced Baptism in the Holy Spirit and have spoken in tongues and fallen out in the Spirit. To this day, I tend to proof text in my sermons and teaching more than many ministers I collaborate with.

Currently, I am a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA), about as far away from my Pentecostal roots as anyone could get. I am including the PC(USA) in the Mainline category of denominations, even though "Mainline" is perhaps a misnomer these days. Perhaps "Sideline" is a better term nowadays, with the decreasing numbers and influence of the Mainline denominations.

Can these two "space/time" locations blend into a unified point of departure in my life, theology, and ministry?

EMERGENT / MAINLINE

My second crossroad with potential for "both/and" resolution is my situation of straddling the Emergent/Mainline fault line. I consider myself to be very much into emergence while still serving in many situations that can best be described as classic, traditional, mainline denominational settings.

I am constantly trying to figure out how to serve traditional church settings while studying emergent texts and learning from other emergent Christians online. Sadly, this often leads to frustration.

Frustration that, for the most part, sits silently within my heart and mind, giving me strange dreams and "Guerrilla Christian" thoughts.

Rock, Paper, Scissors...Prayer Beats Preaching Every Time!!!

2011-06-23T00:47:00.000-04:00

Rock, paper, scissors...y'all know the game.

Rock beats scissors.
Scissors beat paper.
Paper beats rock.

This game has settled a number of issues in my life and the life of certain of my friends and former room mates.

Here's a game you may or may not be familiar with:

Prayer, preaching, and

And Prayer beats Preaching every single time.

Why is it that we ministers (and so many church members) think good preaching is vitally important to a healthy worship service? Sure, it's important to rightly proclaim the Word in worship, but is that the most important thing?

I think not.

A couple of weeks ago, I was speaking with a fellow minister and newfound friend, Bobby Musengwa. Here is a picture of us taken after services last Sunday at Maximo Presbyterian Church, where he pastors and where I had been invited to preach:

A couple of weeks ago, Bobby and I were discussing the importance of prayer in the life of a church and in its worship. Bobby grew up in South Africa. My formative teenage years were spent in a Pentecostal Holiness church. In both our experiences, the prayer life of the churches we grew up in far outweighed the sermons we remembered being preached.

At the church I spent my teen years in, I can only only recall a few sermons that really stick in my mind. It's not that the sermons were so bad, it's that the prayer life of the church in worship remains so vivid in my heart and soul.

Bobby told me of a church his uncle (I think it's his uncle, I really can't recall at this moment) pastors back in South Africa. It's growing in leaps and bounds, and according to Bobby, not due to great preaching but due to great prayer.

Let's quit worrying about prayer in public schools and instead, bring prayer back to it's essential place in worship.

Real prayer, gut wrenching, sweat-wringing prayer, peaceful prayer after the rainstorm passes kind of prayer, not the perfunctory bold face, tame, responsive crap that passes as prayer in so many churches today. Why is it that pastors have to actually WRITE out prayers for elders and laypeople who lead worship, while home churches and micro-churches, who don't even stress professional clergy and laity, need do no such thing? And of course, I am not talking about beginning some kind of obnoxious "Father God Prayer", with all it's flourish and showiness during the service. What the heck is going on these days regarding prayer in worship? I mean, can't we just pray, can't we simply talk with Abba? If we can't, then why even gather? I, for one, would rather stay home than go to church to hear some one recite a prayer some one else wrote, repeat some pithy phrases in boldface, and hear a sermon that may or may not be worth hearing.

OK, I admit it, that last paragraph stepped over the limits and bounds of polite decency and theological acumen. I admit it. I'm sorry. I repent. Those are my words, not Bobby's.

But maybe, just maybe, we preachers need a sign on our desk that reads:

It's about prayer, stupid...

Because prayer beats preaching every time!

The Gospel According to Deadliest Catch...

2011-06-21T22:42:00.000-04:00

Have you ever considered that in our economies of scale, Jesus began things with a group of people who primarily were like the guys from Deadliest Catch?

Peter and Andrew are Sven and Edgar, James and John are the Hillstrand brothers.

The most dangerous job you can think of, the craziest conditions, the longest hours, the incredible risk.

Risk is inherent in everything.

There is no greatness, no accomplishment, no victory without great risk.

Christ calls us to take great risks, to go into the deep, cold water "out there"...
Away from home, away from the safety of harbor...

Wild Spirit wind whipping waves up and up
Overcome by the sound of heartbeat human breath,
"And Spirit hovered over the waters...
And the night and the day...
And God said it was good."

The Church is called to be missional.
The church is called to worship with dirty hands.
Any church that is not missional is not a church.

The Church must be a risk taker, safe in the knowledge and experience of a Living God who calls the storm,
Peace be still...and the wind and seas
Obey.

God calls us to go to sea, to seek the deep water, to cast our nets windward.

It's fishing season.

Let's go.

I Don't Give a Damn...

2011-06-20T21:43:00.001-04:00

I know I haven't been blogging lately. I've had a number of folks ask me why and/or encourage me back into writing regular posts. I want to thank each of you who have done this.

I think it's the drugs I'm on.

Depakote seems to be Latin/Greek/Whatever for...

And I'm taking 1000 mg a day, not 5 mg...

Perhaps one Prozac, one Lamictal, and one Depakote might do the trick.

I am able to preach well enough, I've preached 4 of the last 5 weeks. I'm also back into a program of bike riding and regular exercise. I'm still off of cigarettes.

But, even though I daily get ideas to blog about...nothing seems to come of it.

So here's the deal...this is going to be my first post in a new series of blogposts. I don't know what they will contain, I don't know if they will be worth reading, I don't know if they will be any good at all.

But I do know this...

I Don't Give a Damn What Drugs

They Have Me On...

I'm Gonna Keep on Writing...

"Let's go from here..." Three Stories of Homelessness in America

2011-06-13T23:23:00.000-04:00

My friend and co-conspirator of the Spirit, G.W. Rolle, was on C-SPAN last Tuesday. He was part of a panel speaking about homelessness issues in the United States of America.

I believe you really ought to give this video segment off of C-SPAN a good careful listen, as you may truly begin to grasp and understand...even feel the plight of homeless and marginalized people in our communities and nation.

Here's the panel discussion, moderated by Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America.

While all the speakers offer so much, G.W.'s portion is from 18:10 to 32:20.

G.W speaks about a man who died on a sidewalk in downtown St. Petersburg a little over a week ago, a man who was arrested for buying beer and the seller who wasn't arrested, and a homeless woman who was told her son had died in Afghanistan.

Please...take a listen.

And "let's go from here..."

Jesus Radicals Interview Dr. James Cone...

2011-06-10T09:22:00.001-04:00

Dr. James Cone is known as the father of Black Liberation Theology. But I know him as some one far more personally important than that. I know him as the single most influential person in my seminary experience and pastoral formation.

Dr. Cone was one of my professors and advisors during my time at Union Theological Seminary in New York. I am intensely indebted to him for so many reasons and I know he is a person God put in my life so that I might live up to the standard God set for me and has called me to.

I have a long way to go to live up to that calling.

Jesus Radicals interviewed Dr. Cone for their Iconocast podcast series recently.

You can listen to Dr. Cone here.

Thank you, Jesus Radicals for conducting the interview and thank you Rodney Thomas, for tweeting the link.

I highly recommend you check it out, especially if you want to get a better understanding of Dr. Cone's theological outlook.

As for me, along with listening to his teaching, I enjoyed listening to his voice, a voice I haven't heard in person since 2005, when we spent some time together in Louisville, Kentucky.

I really miss Dr. Cone.

Perhaps posting this podcast is part of my saying "thank you" for all I've learned and experienced from him in my life.

Thank you, Dr. Cone...be blessed, for you have been and continue to be a a wonderful blessing to me.

But so much work remains to be done...

Authentic Worship?

2011-06-06T10:09:00.003-04:00

Here is a meaningful passage from an excellent book I am currently reading, The Art of Curating Worship, by Mark Pierson:

If any worship---emerging, alternative, charismatic, evangelical, reformed, or any other genre---is more about what and how it is done than why it is done and if high quality---whether of video loops, music, or singing---becomes more important than transformative encounters with God that allow people to follow Jesus more closely in their world and subculture, then this worship isn't worthy of being called worship. (67)

This passage really caught my attention when I read it last night, so I wanted to share it with you...

Comments, questions...what say you?

We Are Called to Discuss...

2011-05-29T08:46:00.000-04:00

1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)
¹⁵ But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect...

There certainly is a lot to unpack in this verse. It may not look like it at first glance, but upon further reflection, so many of the reasons the church seems to find itself increasingly irrelevant in today's society can be found in these words.

Let's unpack it a bit and see what we find.

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you...

As I read this verse I can not help but think of Paul's dialogue with the philosophers of his day in Athens in Acts 17. Here he is, on the Areopagus, the place where "the minds" of his day met. He is there to listen, but also to speak, to give his take on how things work, his view of philosophy, his sense of reality.

How could he do this, save for the fact that he was familiar with the culture of his day? How could he do this, except that he was a part of it?

These people would never have listened to him if he did not speak their language, understand their viewpoints, and have a certain respect for their perspective on things.

He even quotes some of their own "pagan" writers, which is rather interesting, when you consider that those very same quotes found their way into the Bible as "Holy Writ".

Imagine today's USAmerican society...could you express God's Word through the lyrics of Rage Against the Machine or some other music group? Can you communicate the Gospel utilizing the tools of Twitter and other forms of social media? Are you well-versed in the liquid society we know as Postmodernism?

Paul would have been able to. In fact, Paul did.

Paul's day was a time of change, much as ours.

And Paul knew how to cope with it, how to communicate within it, how to function in it, and how to triumph in it.

To give the reason for the hope you have...

While Paul could reasonably discuss his views with others with whom he disagreed (although, truth be told, he did have some "bad" days!), he always knew where he stood. He had reason for his hope. His hope was not some ethereal, watered-down "wish". His hope was found in his faith in a living, loving Savior who IS "God with us", who loves, ministers, and even holds us up before the Creator forever, making us sons and daughters with him.

Paul knew who his Daddy was, Paul knew his Abba!

Yet, even as Paul was part and parcel of his surrounding culture, he also stood firm in his conviction and faith in God.

His feet stood on solid ground beneath the shifting sand.

His was a resurrection faith.

He was fully alive, fully aware, fully redeemed, and fully able to defend and demonstrate his faith amongst others, through both word and deed.

We are called to do no less.

But do this with gentleness and respect...

Let's pretend for a moment that Peter and Paul were somehow a little "more human" than us...oh, forget that...let's face it, they had their bad days, too...

But the point is this...

Gentleness and respect.

Gentleness and respect.

Gentleness and respect.

We must be aware of the cultural context we exist in, so that we may be able to communicate with others, both in listening and speaking, in dialogue, in discussion.

We must be able to communicate our faith, express our feelings, our reasoning, our "being-ness" as Children of God.

And we have to do this in a way that other can receive it.

And so that we might receive from others.

Don't you prefer gentleness and respect towards you in a discussion?

I sure do.

But how?

The Holy Spirit, the Advocate, the One who leads us into all Truth, that's how.

Jesus promises us empowerment through the Holy Spirit, an Advocate, literally "one who stands beside", who will lead us, like a Good Shepherd to fields of Truth.

That doesn't mean that every word out of your mouth (or my mouth) is Truth. In fact, it is highly unlikely that anything a human being speaks is Truth, much less Truth Absolute.

Because we are not God, merely imperfect humans.

But hear the Good News of God...that's where Grace comes in!!!

Today, we, the Church must be more like Paul in Athens or Peter in the places he traveled...aware of the culture, the surroundings, the environment that we are a part of, able to actively communicate the Good News of a wonderful Resurrection Faith in both word and action, and able to do so with the gentleness and respect of God's own Dove, the Holy Spirit, that lives in us, stands by us, and empowers us to make our every word say...

AMEN!!!

Let's speak forth, march out, clap, and sing praises in the light of God!!!

Guerrilla Christianity

2011-05-27T11:53:00.001-04:00

Kudos to the Presbytery of Tampa Bay and Grace Presbyterian Church in Spring Hill, Florida, for helping to brighten the day of some homeless folks I know in Saint Petersburg.

Yesterday, at the the quarterly Presbytery Meeting, I was able to get all the leftover food from lunch and deliver it to a number of homeless people in Williams Park in downtown St. Pete. Ham and Turkey sandwiches, potato salad, cole slaw, apples, bananas, doughnuts and other pastries, eggs, fresh fruit, and more were all donated by the Presbytery (on the spur of the moment), boxed up and stored by the church kitchen staff, and sent forth with the blessing of The Reverend Chet Okopski.

This is an example of something I refer to as "Guerrilla Christianity". I could describe what that term means to me, but Daniel F. Flores did an incredible job of defining it in this article, in the current issue of the Cyberjournal for Pentecostal-Charismatic Research.

Suffice it to say, Guerrilla Christianity is not this:

Or this:

or even this...

But it is possible that one might learn something of it from all of them (well, except for the incredibly ridiculous picture of the gorillas fighting!).

A good guerrilla fighter learns from and utilizes everything at his or her disposal.

A good soldier is never in need.

The folks I knew needed a meal. I was at a location with excess food. I was able to obtain that food and get it to the necessary location. In the process, I was able to include a large number of people into the blessing, both those who received and those who gave.

Guerrilla Christianity is a group process.

But at the same time, we are each a "Little Christ".

Each individual Christian ought to be able to function as necessary on his or her own in given situations. Likewise, small groups or cell groups of ad hoc "on the spot" collectives ought to be able to carry out the calling of Christ. Communities of Believers should be able to carry out complex tasks, requiring more integral degrees of organization.

If you seem a bit confused as to what I'm suggesting, here it is for you, spelled out in boldface:

WELCOME TO THE RESISTANCE...

ANY QUESTIONS?

Supply-Side Jesus Meets The Terminator & a little bit of Delta Blues

2011-05-26T00:05:00.000-04:00

I just feel like putting something lighthearted and non-sensical on the blog tonight. I've got a lot on my mind right now and sometimes, rather than brooding and carrying on about it all, you just gotta watch something funny. I came across this video on YouTube last week and have been wanting to share it with you ever since I watched it the first time. Thank you, MadTV...

Likewise, here is a humorous take on the Gospel with a more serious lesson to teach, "Supply-Side Jesus". Thank you, Senator Al Franken. I'd also like to thank Crystal Lewis and John Harrison, who turned me on to this video several months ago...I love you both.

You know, come to think of it, I think I'll finish this post with a little music...so here's "Preachin' Blues" by the legendary Robert Johnson...

Hope you liked it!

Homebound Heroes...

2011-05-24T18:19:00.003-04:00

Last night, I was in my hometown of Ocala, Florida and spent some time with a ministry to the homeless, Homebound Heroes. Homebound Heroes is led by Lenny Sofsky and involves a number of folks from Meadowbrook Church, one of the larger churches in the Ocala community.

I was in Ocala yesterday to spend some quality time with my dad, get some blood work done related to my new medications, and to pick up my bicycle. While I was there, I spent some time with my ex-wife, Yvette.

Yvette first got involved with this group a week ago and thought I might like to go out with them last night.

So out we went.

Lenny wasn't with the group last night, so a young man named T.J. led the ministry team. He's an enterprising young man, who has a strong love for the Lord in his life. I liked him immediately when he chose to hook up via Twitter rather than cell phone. My kind of guy.

We met at a local coffee shop and T.J. spoke a little before we departed for a parking lot adjacent to the local Salvation Army. T.J. spoke about a number of things, edifying the group at hand. I was a little put off by his use of the the term "drug people" and the tone of voice he used with it. There seems to be a little bit of an "us/them" dichotomy in this group, but I pray grace over them as that is a big part of the ethos of Ocala. I grew up in that town and I know that FOX News, Glenn Beck, and social conservatism holds a lot of sway in the town and region as compared to issues of social justice.

He and I spoke a little about what's happening with homeless folks in Ocala, Orlando, St. Petersburg and other areas. I also spoke with another young man, named Angel. In both instances, as soon as anything that smacked of "social justice issues" came up, they sort of backed off and said they "weren't into politics".

I could relate to that. When I was a young man in Ocala, I felt pretty much the same way. Well, except for one major difference...

They were involved in ministry to the homeless folks of the community. I was at a church that had nothing to do with "them".

God bless "Homebound Heroes"...

We headed over to the parking lot adjacent to the Salvation Army and set up a buffet of watermelon, pizza, and beverages. I loved it. Last summer, I was on the other side of the serving line at this a few times and I got to catch up with a few friends who had not heard from me in awhile. I caught up with Ernie, one of my best buddies in Ocala, who had just finished a short stretch in County for an open container violation. He looked really good and was glad to hear about my moving to St. Pete and the things I was doing down here.

As folks went through the line, small groups of people started gathering. I saw a lot of "witnessing", one young man brought out a guitar and played Revelation Song, and then a short message was preached. Yvette and I left about that time, as I had to start my long drive home.

So, even though I did not spend time on the streets of St. Petersburg with folks from The Missio Dei and Eckerd College, I did spend time on the streets of Ocala with folks from Meadowbrook Church and a number of young people from their ministry.

God bless "Homebound Heroes"...

But I must confess...there was one thing that happened that made me feel rather uncomfortable.

Two of the adults present seemed to be acting as the "Theology Police" of the event.

Yvette made a brief comment before we left the coffeeshop, encouraging us not to think in terms of "us/them" but rather, in terms of "we". I noted the two adults both seemed to have concerned looks on their faces, one specifically having a look of disdain as Yvette's ankle bracelet, attached carefully below the hem of her long "hippie dress" tinkled joyfully in the evening air.

Their looks of concern continued when I chimed in. "We are all bag ladies at heart, just most of us push more expensive shopping carts."

I used to get rather upset at things like this, but now I simply shrug it off, pray that the spirit of fear dominating those who feel they must police all theological thought in their presence would simply evaporate and be replaced by a spirit of shalom, and go on with the business at hand.

Whew! That was a really long sentence that expresses a really simple thought with incredible ramifications..

GOD IS LOVE!!!

1 John 4:7 (The Message)

^7-10My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can't know him if you don't love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God.

God bless Homebound Heroes...

And God bless the homeless citizens of Ocala, St. Petersburg, USAmerica, and the whole wide world.

Amen.

Deadly Rocks or Building Blocks?

2011-05-23T00:18:00.007-04:00

Acts 7:55-60 (NIV)

⁵⁵ But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶ “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
⁵⁷ At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, ⁵⁸ dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
⁵⁹ While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Imagine you are Stephen, feeling the weight and roughness of the stones crashing against your skin, ripping your flesh, crushing your frail human skull.

Imagine after countless stones are hurled upon you, that one final, big rock comes flying at you, smashes into you, and then nothing but...blackness.

One big rock can do a lot of damage. One huge stone, thrown well enough, with accuracy at its target, can wreak much havoc, damage, and pain.

Just think about 9/11.

But rather than one big hurtful rock, what can small stones do?

It would seem that compared to a big rock, hurled in anger, small stones cannot do much.

5 smooth stones in a shepherd's pouch or perhaps 12 stones constructed into a memorial or a makeshift altar.

1 Peter 2:4-5 (NIV)

⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house^[a] to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

We, the Body of Christ, are "living stones", like the "Living Stone" that is Jesus Christ, modeled upon him, resembling him each day more and more in the Holy Spirit, from glory unto glory.

At least that is how it is supposed to be.

Like Legos, together as living stones, we can build up community, communitas, and koinonia. Human beings together, together with purpose, together doing wonderful things for and with each other.

We can be "Living Legos" blessed with imagination, creativity, and the amazing intuitive gift of the Holy Spirit.

And also, like Legos, we are "living stones, living building blocks" of differing sizes, shapes, and colors, who together can be the living blessing of God to ourselves and others.

There is a diversity to God's wide, wonderful world.

But to build something firm and certain, whether it be with Legos, living stones, or even people...first we need a firm foundation to build upon and a quality cornerstone to build from.

1 Peter 2:6-9 (NIV)
⁶ For in Scripture it says:
   “See, I lay a stone in Zion,
   a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
   will never be put to shame.”

Christ beneath us, Christ before us...Christ, our sure foundation.

Christ above us, Christ behind us, Christ beside us...Christ within us.

We are the Body of Christ...

WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST!!!

And so we return to the stoning of Stephen, to his pain, his agony, his witness, his martyrdom...

One final, huge rock crushing his bleeding skull.

But is there not one infinitely bigger rock present?

There is and Stephen both saw him and knew him.

For that Rock was Christ, seated at the right hand of the Creator of all.

Christ my Rock, my Strong Tower, my Redeemer, my Savior, my Lord!

Jesus is a Rock in a weary land, a weary land, a weary land, Jesus is a Rock in a weary land...a Shelter in the time of storm.

Do you know Him?

Are you a deadly rock or one of God's building blocks?

Choppin' Cotton, Ditch Diggin', & the Rapture...

2011-05-21T22:09:00.002-04:00

Much like this van and the message on it, it appears that Judgement Day, 2011 has come and gone.

I'm not surprised.

The "End of Times" (as it's sometimes known as down here in the Bible Belt) is kinda like choppin' cotton or diggin' a ditch...

I spent the better part of the summer of 1987 choppin' cotton. That is to say, I worked a line with a bunch of guys (and a few women), weeding row after row of cotton plants. You start at the butt crack of dawn and go until round about 2-3 in the afternoon, with a short break at the end of each row (if it's long rows) or less often (if the rows is short). You also get a little time for lunch, but you don't want to eat too much, since you're likely to throw it all up once you get to workin' again.

My line boss was a really cool wino named Gene Meza. Gene was a real smart guy, but he drank way too much. He used to wear a light fabric fatigue jacket in the rows and could stash a 6-pack of Coors in his pockets. He'd drink all the beers before lunch and call it a day for us when his buzz wore off in the early midafternoon (so he could go to the store and load up again).

I was a hippie back then so I just smoked dope.

We made quite a pair, that is until he passed out on some railroad tracks one night and got run over by a train.

Gene Meza taught me a few real important lessons about life.

One thing he taught me was to never pass out drunk on train tracks.

The other two things he taught me have a lot to do with the "End of Times", if you think about it hard enough.

1. Stay with the line.

The "line" is the guys you're workin' with. Sure, some rows are easier or harder n' others. Sometimes you're gonna git a little ahead or behind the line. But, as a rule, stay with the line, stay with your fellow workers. If you git a little behind, some one can step over n' give you a hand. If you get too far ahead, you lose track of what's goin' on and make the others guys look bad.

Chill, dude. Keep in touch with your line. Encourage each other. Don't be an ass.

2. Don't look to the end of the row.

Keep your eyes on a spot about no more than 8-10 feet in front of you. Go from one plant to the next, keeping your focus on the weeds as they appear. Relax into it and let your hoe do the work, remembering that a sharp blade is the best blade.

If you go looking all the way down to the end of the row, instead of paying attention to what is directly in front of you, you'll miss weeds, get discouraged, and eventually pass out from exhaustion and despair.

Just cruise the row, working evenly with your hoe, and the row will take care of itself.

And drink lots of water.

Deal.

Again, I tell you, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man digging a ditch. If the man only worries all day and frets and says too himself, "When will my workday end and how much shall I be paid?", would you expect him to dig a good ditch?

No, for his eye is not on the task set before him, his heart is not set upon his calling.

And so I tell you, dig your ditch as you are called to do. Make it square and straight, do not fret over when the workday will end and how much you will be rewarded, for your Heavenly Creator knows all these things and will take care of you.

Here's the point:

Stay with the line.
Focus on the task set before you, hoe your row and the weeds will take care of themselves.
Don't worry about when the workday will end.
Don't spend all your time trying to calculate your pay.

NO ONE EVER GOT INTO HEAVEN BY TELLING ST. PETER THEY FIGURED OUT A PROPHECY...

GET THE MESSAGE?

Rapture Blues

2011-05-20T23:50:00.002-04:00

Some of you might laugh at this picture. It's supposed to be a painting of the moment of the Rapture, the calling of Christ's children home before the Great Tribulation, spoken of in the Book of Revelation. Or so it was taught to me at the church I attended as a teenager.

I remember this painting being on a wall at my church.

I kid you not.

According to Harold Camping, the Rapture is going to occur on Saturday, May 21, 2011. It's all over the news, all over the social media networks, all over the jokes and commentary of many radio networks, and in the conversations of many people I have met in the past few days, some who are into "church things", others who are not.

And the whole thing has me deeply disturbed.

In November of 2001, I was "bounced" out of a church in Harlem, NYC, where Harold Camping was speaking. I guess he didn't like a couple of the questions I asked him during the Q&A session after he spoke. It's kind of a funny story that eventually involved the Lenox Lounge, an Episcopalian priest, and some good scotch...but that is another story for another time.

Back in the late 1970s to early 1980s, my experience at an end-times conference would have been quite different. It certainly would not have ended at a jazz club in Harlem, much less a bar anywhere.

I was in high school and attended a conservative Pentecostal Holiness church. I listened to "conservative Christian radio". I accentuated the teaching I received at church with sermons by people like R. W. Shambach, Lester Sumrall, and J. Vernon McGee.

I still occasionally listen to Dr. J. Vernon McGee's Through the Bible Radio from time to time.

I believed in the Rapture.

And I seriously thought it ought to have occurred by now.

Back then, the big sign of the coming Rapture of the Church was the creation of Israel as a modern nation in 1948. According to my knowledge of the Bible at the time, God would not let the generation that saw this event perish before he would return for his bride. Since a Biblical generation was 40 years and the Rapture was supposed to occur prior to the Great Tribulation, the Rapture had to occur by 1981 and definitely no later than 1988. After that date came and went, the possible target year became 2000-2007, based off 40 years since Western Jerusalem and the Wailing Wall were captured in the 1967 Six Day War.

Don't laugh, it's what I believed.

Dead serious.

Of course, I did not believe this stuff "dead seriously" for too many years. By the time I had been in the Army for a couple years, I had a much stronger belief in drinking, smoking weed, dropping acid and getting laid. The Wall became a much more theologically formative movie for me than A Thief in the Night.

But sometimes I still wondered.

And here's a confession for you to ponder...

What if it's TRUE?

What if the Rapture were to occur, regardless of the verbiage and pontifications of so many "wise" theologians? What if God actually "chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise" (I Cor. 1:27)?

I confess that even though I know it is ridiculous, even though only God knows the time, even though I am "properly" seminary-trained, even though I am exposing myself as the laughingstock of the PC(USA), Emergent Village, trans4m, and the Outlaw Preachers...I still wonder.

And, perhaps much more importantly, I wonder about something else. Assuming (and overall, I do think it is quite safe to assume) the Rapture does not occur tomorrow, where will that leave those believers and followers of Christ who are disappointed by this turn of events?

Judging by the jokes and such that I have heard from others and read on Twitter and Facebook (including sadly, a number of my own comments), those who are disappointed by that turn of events will not have very many people or places to turn to.

And once again, the Body of Christ has egg on it's face, whether it's egg from false predictions or egg from false overtones of pastoral care and believers comforting believers.

Thank you, Jeff Selan, for pointing out this hypocrisy in my life with your tweet last night:

So many jokes. So few shout outs for prayer for those that will likely be so confused and alone on 5/22/11 #rapture #OutlawPreachers

So most likely, the above pictured prophecy isn't true. Just like every other prediction from this evening back 2,000 years, whether it's the teachings of John Nelson Darby or the prognostications of William Miller, each time some one or some group has posited the time of Christ's reappearing in the clouds...they have been mistaken.

Shall we, as fellow believers, be even more wrong than they are, by comforting ourselves in a form of petty, false smugness and "informed condescension"? Shall we play a game of "holier than thou I told you so"? Shall we laugh and mock derisively?

Laugh and mock? Isn't that what people did to Jesus when he hung on the cross?

For God's sake and the sake of this world, I hope not.

Let's continue to be sisters and brothers in Christ, comforting and encouraging one another, serving one another, showing preference one to another, esteeming others as better than ourselves. And let us keep awake...

"For you know neither the day nor the hour..." (Matthew 25:13)

Living in the Spirit of Jesus...when clear-cut "Rules" don't fit or apply...

2011-05-19T22:55:00.001-04:00

Sometimes Christianity can get really confusing. Rules, rules, rules. Rules of behavior, rules of ordination, rules of ministerial ethics and duties.

And the rules go on and on and on...

Don't think you are free of all these rules, either. Don't think for a minute that only "legalists" or "conservatives" or "fundamentalists" have cornered the market on rules. Let's be honest, "liberals", "progressives", and "emergents" have done a pretty good job in that department, too.

Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference anymore. Look at the above symbol. Some of you really hip readers out there recognize it as a symbol extolling "Christian Anarchy" and you would be correct. But what if I told you that the organization promoting the symbol is a far "right-wing" organization? Check 'em out: Patriot Action Network.

It all just boggles my mind sometimes.

I want to thank a couple of tweeps for giving me the inspiration to create and shape this blogpost this evening. Without these two people, this entry would not exist. It's something that has been hard on my mind the last week or two, but hadn't quite percolated in my mind enough to make a decent cup of brew...yet.

Now it has.

Thank you, Jeff Nelson, for the couple of tweets you sent my way this afternoon, telling me about your sermon plans. The title of this post came from those tweets.

Thank you, Rachel McAdams, for writing your magnificent blogpost this evening, entitled Why Most Christians Don’t Agree With Me (and why I’m ok with that). As I read your post, it really resonated with me.

Both of you deserve many thanks for my ability to write this post.

Earlier this month, I came face-to-face with a situation where "clear cut rules don't fit or apply".

Those of you who regularly read my blog know about my helping a homeless women find a safe space to live and to deliver her baby boy.

If you don't know about that...here is a link. Here's another one. Finally, here's one more, detailing a little of what happened in court a few days after the delivery.

She didn't get custody of her child. But she didn't lose custody either. She is trying to get her life together so that she can raise her child.

It's a long story, but the point of it for the purpose of this blog entry is this...

There were few if any "clear-cut" rules. WWJD didn't quite cut the mustard.

I knew going into this situation that it would be next to impossible not to piss somebody off. As it turned out, a couple people got pissed off, myself included. A DCF supervisor pissed me off when she asked "Mary" who the "strange man" was who was in the delivery room with her.

Why should I be pissed? I ought to be happy at that question. After all, aren't we called to be a "peculiar people" when we follow Jesus?

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light...

This passage from I Peter really tells it like it is. When I was a teenager in a "conservative" church, I was taught that this passage meant that "good" Christians should be peculiar and that "good" Christian teens didn't mind being picked on because we didn't listen to Led Zeppelin or smoke weed or fornicate or whatever the sin of the month was.

But now I see it as describing so much more than that...if "that" was what it was ever really about.

I think it's strange that a DCF supervisor who most likely has been around her share of ministers thinks it strange that a minister would choose to serve a woman by being present as her birth coach when she had none. I think it's strange that ministers and Christians as a whole are not more peculiar, rather than less.

I'm going to be writing some more about this is in coming days. But for now, I leave you with two thoughts:

The Kingdom of God needs more monks who wrestle...

Be prepared to take a black eye or two!

Preparing For Worship...

2011-05-18T23:21:00.004-04:00

This coming Sunday (and the two Sundays following), I will be doing pulpit supply at Gulfport Presbyterian Church, here in St. Petersburg, Florida.

I've been preparing the worship service today.

Or perhaps it is better to say, preparing the worship bulletin, for all I am doing is writing things down, filling in the blanks for a sheet of paper, as though I were creating the box for God Almighty to dwell in this Sunday morning.

But it's not all that simple, is it?

I'm using all the correct resources...hymnal (to pick the right hymns), Book of Confessions (to choose a worthwhile confession of faith), Book of Common Worship (to get a "feel" for the prayers), lectionary resources (to get a grasp of the assigned text)...and even the Bible.

Sorry if I sound a little cynical. I'm not trying to be, in fact, I'm really excited about leading worship for the first time in over a year.

It's just that I am very "aware" of what it is I am being asked to do, the activity I am being asked to facilitate, and the hope that lies either scared or dormant at the root of so many church walls these days.

Or perhaps it is the dormancy of worship within myself that makes me so very aware of my preparation this week.

May God bless the people of Gulfport Presbyterian Church in these coming weeks. May God bless me as I serve them and may my ears be open to hear God's Word from them, as much as they might hear it from me when I preach.

May the Holy Spirit find willing hearts to nest in.

May there be peace, but not at the cost of conviction.

May we all feast on God's glorious Word.

While typing this blogpost tonight, I'm listening to Elijah Streams. The music is not exactly type of music the folks at Gulfport PC are probably accustomed to hearing in worship, but much of it is music I enjoy and come before God with. I used to listen to it on Sunday morning in my office before service at the church I pastored in Mississippi.

That church was one of the most "traditional" churches I have ever been a part of.

I don't know what to expect at Gulfport, but I do know this:

God will be at Gulfport because God is everywhere, all the time.

I know what it is to feel as though God has forsaken me, I know what it is to feel far away from God, and I know there are many, many others who have felt and feel the same way.

Maybe you are one of them.

Let's worship God together.

Seek and we will find...

Above the Clouds

2011-05-17T22:39:00.003-04:00

So, like I'm sitting here tonight watching the hockey game, interspersed with Deadliest Catch and some documentary about landing on the moon and all the while I'm trying to think of something to blog about when suddenly it occurs to me that this new pill I'm on makes me feel like the picture above, a black and white yin-yang man spun about by the hands of time.

Now, before you analyze the above-written run on sentence, consider the fact that I'm yawning as I write this and that I got up from a 3 hour nap a few hours ago.

Depakote is like weed without the smoke, cough syrup for the soul...

Don't really know, don't necessarily care anymore...

And I think I like it.

Assume a new rhythm.

Blending of formerly disparate images, guesswork brooding long gone into light spring fog of fresh beginning...

Suddenly, what and whomever seemed so important may not be the same after all...

Last week's homeless lady lost her baby temporarily to the system, like so many other women, but now...

I'm more into concentrating on myself, all the while learning to chill, no, not learning, but simply chillin'...

Considering the simplicity of drumming, working, drumming, sleeping, drumming, being.

I'm not sure about everyone else, whether you are truly happy or not, anyone else, whether whatever I say or try to do will make a difference in the big picture in the long run...

But this I know (I think)...

I want to be happy and restful.

With or without the drugs, with or without the love of a good woman, with or without success as society defines it.

Birthday Girl...A Tribute to my Daughter

2011-05-16T23:30:00.002-04:00

This is a picture of my daughter, Sara, with one of her good friends at her high school graduation ceremony a couple years ago. She graduated with honors and was the Student Body President at North Marion High School that year.

She's a champ, first rate.

She turned 20 years old today. And she got her Associate's Degree in Education, too.

And ohhh...is her daddy so very proud of her!

I wish I could tell you about everything I did during her childhood to prepare her to be the success she is today. I wish I could take on the mantle of "Superdad". I wish I could I tell you what a great guy I am.

But I can't.

But what I can tell you is this:

I never forgot her, I never stopped thinking of her, I never stopped wondering where she was and what she was doing each and every day. Even though I all but ignored or perhaps even stopped believing in God, I prayed for her regularly. I cried myself to sleep many times with her on my mind and heart.

And I love and care for her still.

I will be getting her a gift sometime in the next week. She sent me her mailing address tonight, something I hadn't had for some time. You see, after reuniting a couple Christmas's ago, my journey into depression and suicidal tension very nearly destroyed our getting to know each other again.

But now, I can show her my love for her with a gift.

And I have no idea what to buy.

But know this:

Whatever I get her will have a whole lot of thought, a whole lot of time, and a whole lot of love in it.

It couldn't be any other way.

God bless you Sara, your marriage with Brian, your career, your life, and everyone you love, teach, or touch with wisdom, care, and concern in this world.

I love you, Sara...Happy Birthday.

20 years young...peace be with you.

You have been and always will be "my favorite little girl", even though you're all grown up now.

God bless you.

When I drum, I feel God's presence...

2011-05-15T22:20:00.003-04:00

Enter the worship circle that is The Missio Dei this morning.

Organic instrumentation plus simple souls

Strengthened into song

Singing peace circle

Of shared

Wisdom...

Together,

As one

Room full

Of individuals

Gathered as

God's children.

Three ones

Drumming

One soul on guitar

A plaintive banjo

Just behind my ear

I hear

Jesus breathing

God's heartbeat...

Nyabingai.

And the drum knows what to play.

The trick to the drum

Is never knowing what to play

Is never knowing what your

Left hand

And your

Right hand

Are gonna do

At least be certain

Not to let your head

In on the deal

With the

Holy Spirit

Keeping light time

Upon your shoulder

Paying no attention

To the ego

Struggling from the backside

Of your mind

Paying attention to nothing

Yet taking in the all...

Only breathe.

Depakote --- Day 2

2011-05-14T23:50:00.000-04:00

It's day #2 on Depakote and I'm beginning to get a feel for what is happening in my head.

I'm not sure if I like it or not.

On one hand, I feel somewhat placid...even more so if I don't try to fight the feeling.

On the other hand, I'm disturbed by the feeling I'm getting...I don't want to write, I don't want to think, I don't want to care...about others.

I don't want to write...I'd rather veg out on the History Channel and the show I'm watching about mega-earthquakes and the end of the world.

I don't want to think...I seem to have difficulty finding the desire to create complex thoughts in my mind. Bad timing...I have sermons to preach in the next three weeks.

I don't want to care about others...I care about my personal relationships with friends, but in the big picture, I'm not all that concerned about other people...

"So your homeless and pregnant? Wow, too bad. That sucks...sucks to be you...well, I'll keep you in my prayers and see what I can do. But in the meantime, I've got to get a job, so I'll see you later..."

I'm not sure how all this is going to work out, but I'll do my best to keep you informed.

Peace out.

Stoned...Courtesy of the Government

2011-05-13T23:06:00.000-04:00

Depakote.

I've had a change in my Bipolar Disorder meds in the last couple days. Instead of taking Lamictal, I'm taking Depakote.

At my last clinic appointment I promised my shrink that I would be a good patient and aquiesce with his changing my diagnosis from Type II Bipolar Disorder to Type I Bipolar Disorder.

So, he told me to stop taking my Lamictal and start taking Depakote.

With little or no interface between them.

I AM STONED...

I have a feeling that "they" are going shut my brain down a little. I'm feeling a little bit like HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Daisy...Daisy...

So, this is what free clinics do...they give poor people with problems drugs on the cheap, provide little or no real therapy, and then let them loose in society...good little tools, quiet little cogs, "normal"/"non-thinking"/"nice" people who don't question, don't reason, and won't cause any major hassles in the well-oiled monstrosity we all know as "decent American society".

Shut the hell up, take the meds, be happy with your paycheck, and....shut the hell up.

Two Women, Two Mothers, One Courthouse

2011-05-11T22:21:00.000-04:00

Many of you have heard about Casey Anthony and her trial for the murder of her young child.

I was at the Pinellas County Courthouse this morning. The place was nearly electric with energy as the jurors for her trial are going to be selected here rather than in Orange County where the murder took place.

This is so that Casey can receive a fair trial.

Good luck.

Every major media outlet was set up to broadcast live from the courthouse today...ABC, NBC, CBS, Court TV, CNN...you name it, they were there...a veritable army of reporters, camera men, technical support, and lookers on, creating the circus that is modern American media frenzy.

But with all that media coverage and hyped-out intensity, not one of them was aware of why I was at the courthouse today.

They were there to cover the story of a woman who has been accused of murdering her baby.

I was there on behalf of a woman who is trying to keep hers.

Casey has coverage not only because her trial involves a mother accused of murdering her child, but also because of her image...the "MTV girl", as a friend of mine described her this morning.

The woman I was there with (along with my friend and fellow pastor, G.W. Rolle) was not a girl you'd see on MTV. She'll never be on Jersey Shore. She is the kind of person who does not draw notice, not from media papparazzi who claim to be journalists or from the typical passerby on the street.

Except when she is put down for her history of homelessness.

Thus far, Casey Anthony is finding herself deeper and deeper in hot water and if she is found guilty, may receive the death penalty.

The woman I was there with today is possibly coming alive for the first time in her life.

And her baby is coming home in a few days.

You can read about her story here, here, here, and here.

She is living at ASAP, a homelessness recovery home in St. Petersburg, managed by Karen Bolden, the strong, wise, and beautiful woman in the brown blouse at the middle of the back row in this photograph...

The woman I was with in court today has a long way to go to get it all together, but with God's help and some seriously dedicated mentoring, she can raise her child.

Let the press cover that.

Because that is...

PS: If you feel led to help this woman keep and raise her child, please contact me via Twitter and/or Facebook. Together, with God's help, we can help both her and her baby.

Please keep them both in prayer.

And also Casey Anthony.

In Jesus' name...Amen.