Secret Symbols (Taking it Underground)

Ok. This post is legit. I'm so recycling this post. Like, our 118th post on this blog, when we have millions of readers nationwide and a book deal (hint, hint), will be a recycled version of this post. It's THAT legit.

So I work at the airport. I see a lot of people there. The other day I saw a guy with a Summit Ministries t-shirt on. Here are the thoughts that went through my head:
1. Whoa. This guy's from Summit Ministries. They're legit. This guy's a legit Christian. He's probably gonna evangelize to me right now.
2. Why isn't he evangelizing to me?
3. Why am I not evangelizing to him?
4. Did I just Jesus Juke myself?
5. I wish there was some secret hand sign or some secret symbol so I could let him know I'm a Christian too. To let him know I'm a "brother-frum-another-mother", if you will. Or if he will. What?

So yeah. That's how it went. I think I said something like, "nice shirt" and he mumbled something like, "What? oh, uh, thanks." No prayer, no revival, no baptisms or mass evangelism, or even speaking in tongues. But, hey, he was a brother. And I knew it. And he knew it. Cool.

So what are some symbols we Christians can use so we can stand out to each other in the crowd? Why aren't we so filled with the Holy Spirit that we stand out in the crowd anyway? (oops. That's another post) So here some symbols we can have:

1. The "I Love You" sign language sign.
This one's pretty simple. You hold you hand out and curl your middle and ring fingers, leaving your thumb, pointer finger, and pinky extended. I think it's a hybrid of the sign language letters I, L, and U (go figure). I don't know why this particulare sign is "Christian", but it is. Maybe I just hang out with too many people from Deaf Missions and not enough deaf people. This sign is deceptively like the "rock on" or worse, "Go Texas Longhorns." (I just lost 5% of my readers with that crack) The key is the thumb. That way, if you flash it to non-christians they'll just think, "Huh? Oh, uh, rock on. Go Longhorns." But if you flash it to a Christian you can just call each other siblings of God and greet one another with a holy kiss then and there.

2. The Chi Rho.
This is a wierd one. Sorta. The Chi Rho (Key-Roe) are the greek letters for "Christ". It's basically and X and a P on top of each other. I think you could be creative with this one, but this would be a symbol you'd wear. Maybe like a pin, or a necklace. Or earrings. Or all of them. Non-christians will call it "blingy-bling." But we'll know better. It's so much more. Plus you'll get bonus points during the holiday season when you can explain what the X in X-mas REALLY means (Oh, devil, you can TRY to secularize Christmas with your demonic little elves, but we will FIND away around it).

But when I think of this idea of secret symbols and how I wish we had them, I'm struck by three thoughts:

1. Are non-christians going to copy these? Like, will they notice all the "cool" people are wearing these symbols and will copy them in an attempt to be "cool" too? Am I starting a trend with this? Ooh. Will this be "the Mark" for Christians like in Revelations? Am I single-handedly kick-starting the end times? How square feet in my heavenly mansion did I just lose for thinking that last sentance?

2. Christians used to have a secret symbol. In ancient Rome, when Christians were persecuted, they would use the Ichthys, or fish symbol, to mark themselves as Christians without being obvious. (This is how you do it in emoticon speak: ><>. Can you see it???) They wore their religion on their sleeve. They had gall. But they weren't stupid. What hasn't changed that I want that kind of symbol again? Christians love each other. We want to find each other. We want to hang out (or fellowship). Of course we want a public way to declare to each other who we are. But we're also persecuted. People think we're wierd. (Awww... we're so persecuted... We get weird looks at the grocery store... so intimidating... how can we be public about our christianity in the face of THAT?? I mean, I know in other countries Christians are bold about their faith in the face of getting thrown in pits and their heads crushed by large stones, but still... I mean, I HATE it when people think I'm wierd... but THAT'S another post too). So we need to go underground in our fellowship. We need to be subtle.

3. What changed that we don't have that kind of symbol anymore? I'll tell you what changed: the church. In ancient Rome if you were a Christian, that was it. There was only one church. They didn't worry about whether the other Christians were Babtists, or Methodists, or Catholics, or Lutherans. They just knew that if the other people would say "Jesus is Lord" and that was good enough with them. It was party time then and there on the spot. But if we had a Christian symbol now, how would you define a "Christian"? Who would be allowed to wear it? Would we invite the Catholics? Or the Lutherans? I mean, THEY can go either way, right? We only want "legit" Christians to wear this, right?

I don't know. I don't have all the answers. Or very many, in fact. I think anyone, Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Evangelical, immersed, or sprinkled, anyone who has the boldness to wear their religion, their Savior, on their sleeve is "legit" enough for me. I'd want to meet that person. If they want to wear the "new" Christian symbol, let em'.

So what about you? What would be a good "secret" Christian symbol?

Wandering Off (Pretty)

I don’t mean to wander off, really.  I’m safer when I’m near my Father, and happier.  He protects me and loves me; I know this, and more than just knowing it, I feel it.  These times when I stray away aren’t a purposeful movement--at least, not as a whole.  They start with one little step.  Not even a step off the path.  Maybe they don’t even start with a step.  Maybe the start when I let go of His hand, and try to walk on my own.  I’m next to Him still and can still hear His voice and He can reach down and catch me any time.  It’s just that my hand is hot and I’m a big girl now.  I don’t see a dark and nasty sin and go running after it.  It’s the little things that lead me off.  The “pretties”.

You should know what a pretty is.  All little girls do, I’m sure.  Girls are obsessed with pretty things almost from the moment their born.  It’s one of the first words they learn to say, and once it enters the vocabulary, it is in common usage.  Mommy’s new dress is “pretty” and when she does the little girl’s hair in braids, the little girl is “pretty” too.  And then there’s that pretty tea set that’s up in the china cupboard covered in dainty roses.  And one day, a cup and saucer sit on the table, right where the little girl’s dazzled eyes can see them, and her eager hands can reach them.  In a few seconds and with a good, loud smash, the “pretty” is in many pieces on the floor.  The little girl sits and cries over the “pretty” because it is gone.

It’s like being a little girl in a garden.  All the flowers are pretty, and a well tended garden has beautiful flowers right near the path in easy sight.  All I want to do is pick every single flower and put them in my hair so I can be pretty too, but of course that is against the rules, and my Father is watching me.  And then something--maybe a butterfly, or a distant flower, or a bird--catches my eye.  Whatever it is, it’s a pretty and my girlish heart wants to have it.  I walk after it slowly, carefully judging.  But it’s always just a little beyond me.  Pretty soon I have forgotten everything except the pretty thing I am chasing excitedly.  I don’t realize anything might be wrong.

Until I look up.  The world is not so pretty any more.  The flower garden is gone, the pretty thing I have been chasing is gone, and worst of all, Father is not right beside me any more.  I didn’t think I’d wandered that long or gone that far.  And surely He would have called me back if I had gone off--or maybe He did.  I wasn’t really listening.  In fact, I had kind of forgotten all about Him.  At those moments nothing looks beautiful any more.  The only thing that is pretty at that moment is home and my Daddy’s protective arms.  Of course, I didn’t think about that when I wandered off.  It’s only now, when I am lost and scared, that I realize the only beautiful thing in the world--the thing that makes every other thing “pretty”--is my Father.

Purity In Rules (Dodgeball is Lame)

I don’t know about you, but dodge-ball is as close to hell as it can get during youth group. Nothing says “I love Jesus” than getting smoked in the face with a big, rubber ball or having to get skin grafts for all the rug burns. Maybe I’m just bitter. That happens when you lose too many times at that game. You know the worst part? The chaos. There’s one rule: Bean the other kids. Especially if they have glasses. Now, of course, the youth pastor always adds weird rules to make things more “fun”. These rules generally go like this: “Ok, it’s like normal dodgeball, but when I shout ‘jamboree hulla-balloo’ you can cross over to the other side and hit people with balls and touch the people who are already out so they can get back in and we’ll release wild badger to maul random people and, oh yeah, you can punch people. But only with the love of Jesus. So don’t anger the badger. The winning side gets a +4 handicap when we play our death match of Red Rover AFTER this…”

I guess I’m a board game guy. I like rules. Less chaos. They make things fun. Especially when playing games.

Love’s a game right?

So even though I’m totally not qualified to be righting this, I’m gonna point it out: Christians have a lot more rules when it comes to romantic relationships. Maybe as the outsider in the whole relationship things, I only see the weird rules but there seem to be so many! And I’m not talking about the obvious save-sex-for-marriage rules. There are some weird ones out there.

1. The guy must ask at least 5 people if he can marry the girl.
Ok, we all know he has to ask her dad if he can ask for her hand in marriage, but there’s a LOT of other people he’s gotta ask too. His best friend. Her best friend. His accountability partner(s). His pastor. His counselor. Their couples’ counselor. Oh yeah, and the girl (but really, by that time she has very little say). By that time, the secret’s about as well kept as the super bowl results. The worst part is they all ask the same question: “Are you sure???” Think about that.

2. They MUST do a bible study together.
This one can vary on whether the couple does a private, one-on-one bible study or whether they go to a group bible study “at the same time” (You do not go to a bible study as “couple” unless it is a “couple’s bible study”. Couple’s bible studies are strictly reserved for the married. In all other bible studies, all romantic relationships are temporarily cut off because God hates it when people try to love each other AND Him. They might get distracted.). But, hey, if they’re not showing some semblance of focusing on God in their relationships, that surely means they’re, you know, super worldly and physical and might be as far in as... well... kissing or something! Horrors!

3. They must “leave room for the Holy Spirit.”
Ah, the young and restless! Everyone knows that if two people of the opposite sex under the age of 40 touch each other in ways other than a “prayer hand-hold” or a “Christian back rub”, no matter how accidental, they’re instantly going to jump into bed with each other. They must stay at LEAST one bible-length away from each other. And not one of those little Gideon pocket Bibles or a thinline. No, we're talking the big, coffee-table sized family Bible with all the births and deaths and marriages since your great-great-great-grandfather, Leif Olafson, immigrated from Norswedemarklandia to Minnesota. Nobody ever can agree which country he came from.

4. The terms “dating” and “girlfriend/boyfriend” are taboo.
Hi Steve, who’s this sister in Christ you brought with you? What’s that? She’s more than a sister to you? Oh. Well, how long have you two been courting? I certainly hope you haven’t been ALONE with her, because that might mean you’re DATING. And she’s your GIRLFRIEND. Such worldly language! I mean, you might as well call her your “mistress” that you’ve been “fornicating” with. I mean, THAT’S the fast track to hell… So you’re courting, right? I’ll be happy to be your accountability partner when you struggle with lust in this romantic relationship.

I’m pretty sure Joshua Harris, Author of I Kissed Dating Good-bye, single-handedly created that last one. But you know what? As much as they’re goofy and fun to mock, these rules started SOMEWHERE. They are not arbitrary. There are good reasons to follow them, and it’s a slippery slope not to.

See, the key to these rules can be wrapped up in one word: purity. THAT’S worth following the rules for. Rules make things goofy. Rules make things fun. Rules make things pure.

So cheers. Here’s to Christian relationships and all the goofy, wild, stupid, crazy, amazing times that go with them.

What are some crazy things you’ve done for your Christian relationship?

God's Favorite Instrument

Pipe organs drive me crazy.  Not the sound or anything.  That’s actually pretty cool.  But the fact that they look symmetrical if you aren’t paying attenting, but if you actually compare them, they AREN’T.  The longest pipe on one side is much longer than the corresponding longest pipe on the other.  It has this weird effect that makes me feel lopsided while I am in the same room as one. Plus, if you've ever heard a pipe organ play "Standing on the Promises", all you need to do is add a mad monkey playing crash cymbals and it can make you feel like you're riding a demon-possessed merry-go-round from Mary Poppins. It's bad enough that that movie is of the devil, it's even worse that this effect makes you want to go to the bathroom (so ease up on the communion grape juice).

But this is all beside the point - except for its being to defend my belief that (and I may be martyred for this but I stand by what I believe to be true) organ is not God’s favorite instrument.  It may have been Bach’s favorite instrument and Bach may have been God’s favorite composer (I know neither of these for a certainty) but it doesn’t follow that God would not have been equally, or more, pleased had Bach used his fugue-writing talents to compose fugal quartets for bagpipes.  It seems according to current trends, however, that if Bach were still composing today and wanted to be God’s favorite, his fugues would be written for guitar.  I don’t think God prefers electric or acoustic, but He asks that you have a soul patch (or really any facial hair), or a hat that looks like a prop from a movie set in the 1930s, or wear some sort of plaid while you play acoustic. And, of course, some "on-purpose bed head" and enough hair gel to immobilize a giraffe.  And Bach probably would have stuck with acoustic because the limitations of writing fugues for power chords so all aspiring but lazy electric guitarists could play them would have been too painful.  I do feel, though, that Bach’s look could have been dramatically improved by the addition of “the Crowder” (if you don’t know what that is, shame on you, you dirty heathen), a good plaid hat, and some flannel. Bach, too, would have to be addicted to coffee and would probably whip up a Venti Mocha Frappaccino multiple times while on stage.

The question of music in church is a matter of great contention and anger among Christians.  Hymns versus praise music, instruments versus a cappella, guitars, pianos, organs, tambourines, drums, electric, acoustic, loud, soft, simple, complex, choirs, pan flutes... Okay maybe that last one isn’t every debated.  But it’s a crying shame.  So here are some of the most underappreciated instruments in the world that I think need to be given more attention and maybe become God’s new favorite instrument:

Pan flute

This lovely, soft, airy instrument has a lovely, meditative sound, perfect for prayer times, communion and punctuating the sermon.  It’s such a gentle sound that it could even make a lovely, Hobbit-like soundtrack to illustrate things a little.  How great would a sermon on Psalm 23 be? (The Lord is my shepherd... *enter pan flute sweetly*)  The major downside is anything over 5 minutes would have the audience snoring peacefully and then nobody could hear the panflutes over the freight-train rumble of 85-year-old Bob Finkerton in the back row. Talk about making a Joyful Noise.

Rainsticks

This is potentially the most illustrative instrument in the world.  Right?  Right?  I mean, c’mon, all the song "Mercy is falling, is falling, is falling" (which, by the way, has about the same theological meaning as a turkey) is missing is a good rainstorm.  

Didgeridoo 

Those poor people down under don’t get enough love.  This instrument can scare the living daylights out of people if used in the right (or wrong, depending on the people) place. But that would wake up Mr. Finkerton who fell asleep during the pan flute solo (see above).  It lends such a nice tribal, ethnic sound to things. Plus, it's just a fun word to say, like "garbanzo bean". An Awesome God definitely needs an awesome didgeridoo.  

  

Bagpipes

This, for me, is the clear winner.  Who doesn’t feel like crying patriotically when they hear bagpipes?  We’re all Scottish at heart, right?  Michael W. Smith’s instrumental album Freedomfeatures the bagpipes strongly in the song Hibernia.  This man has done so much to promote this instrument as God’s new favorite and who are we to say nay to Michael W. Smith himself?  He’s the godfather of praise music! The problem is finding bagpipes players. Have you ever met a novice bagpipes player? Or met a bad bagpipes player? Or someone just learning the bagpipes? I think these people pop out of their mothers' wombs just KNOWING how to play. Or they spend long periods of time out alone. Learning the bagpipes. Where no one can hear them. But that's ok  because, what's that? Bagpipes are DEAFENING indoors you say?  Did you?  I CAN’T HEAR YOU!!!! THE BAGPIPES ARE DROWNING YOU OUT!!!!  LALALALA!!! IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL!!!

But seriously, folks, you want my real, down-to-earth opinion about what is the most underused instrument in worship these days?  

The people.

Everything about them.  Their voices, their hearts, their attitudes, their thoughts.  We spend so much time arguing about how the band (or lack thereof) should play, that we lose sight of the true  purpose of worship.  It drives me crazy when people say some form of music is unbiblical or unworshipful. It’s true, God doesn’t mention any guitars in the Bible.  Guitars weren’t invented yet.  But lots of other, modern (at the time), crazy instruments are mentioned.  The only thing God wants of us is us.  “O come let us sing for joy to the Lord, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.  Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.” (Psalm 95:1-2)  “Sing to the Lord a new song; song to the Lord, all the earth.” (Psalm 96:1)  “Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre.  Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.” (Psalm 150:3-4).  

Your heart, praising Him, whether your voice is on key, whether you are a virtuosic pianist or a young guitarist leading a few friends, whether you are on stage, in the congregation, in your car, in your room, at work, at school, is His favorite instrument.

So other than you, what do you think is the most under-appreciated instrument in worship music today?  

Living History (Keeping the Old Testement)

So yesterday, I hauled out my Old Testement. No particular reason. I always kinda avoided it because it seemed like a bunch of morality tales with a couple books devoted to Israel's doom mixed in. Which is supposed to be brought about by the Giant Lizard People. Or something. It never seemed to have had much to do with Jesus, so it never seemed to have much to do with what I believed.

So that's when I dusted off the book of Haggai. That's right: Haggai. Yes, it's in the bible. Look it up in your table of contents. That is, if you need to. Haggai, Amos, and Nahum I always dismissed as the obscure minor prophets. I always skipped them cause I figured they were about how Israel had better shape up or there was gonna be a God-sized beat down. Which I've secretly wanted to see all my life.

Back to Haggai. It was here, I realized, that Haggai is misplaced. It should be back 20 or so books with Nehamiah. Haggai is a story, more or less. It's about Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and his efforts to rebuild the temple. Sounds like Shealtiel sneezed when his son was born, but that's the Old Testement for you. Maybe that's why I've always avoided it.

Anyway, so at this time, the people of God are in a state of flux. They're going from Hebrews to Jews. A nation to a religion. Exile is over. They're going home. To Jerusalem. Yet even with the blessing of King Cyrus, it's no rose garden. Resources are low at best. It's hard enough to build the wall in Jerusalem and a snail could build the temple faster. It's taking years to build just the foundation. Worse yet, there's no way this new temple will measure up to the old one. Soloman's temple was too glorious, too expensive to replicate. Needless to say, Zerubabel is discouraged. He wants to give up.

So the word of the Lord comes to him through Haggai. Soloman's temple was just that: Soloman's Temple. Soloman built it, but even at that time, the people of Israel were turning their hearts and minds to other gods.Soloman built it. Israel didn't. Soloman's Temple was defiled before it was even completed.

But this new temple will be a pure temple. A temple built by the Jews, united in the name of Lord. And because of that, even though the temple will be physically humble, it'll be more glorious than anything Soloman ever built.

So Zerubbabel presses on and sees the temple's construction through. Party.

Because of Zerubbabel's faith and courage and wonderfulness, in Haggai 2:20- 23, we read: "The word of the Lord came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month: 'Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I will shake the heavens and the earth. I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and rider will fall, each by the sword of his brother. On that day,' declares the Lord Almighty, 'I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,' Declares the Lord, "and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you.' declares the Lord Almighty."

So God basically says that, through Zerubbabel, He will do great things. Through Zerubbabel, God's plan will go into motion. And so I turn a couple pages over to Matthew 1. And there, in a place of honor, is the name Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel. Jeepers. I thought the only important names in that list were David and Abraham. And Boaz.

It gives me shivers to think of that. That through all 39 books of the Old Testement, God was leading up to Jesus. Nothing is unimportant. Nothing is overlooked.

Suddenly, the Bible begins to make sense. It's a story. Not a series of stories. Not some good advice. It's a story of epic proportions. The story of Man. The story of God. It has its exciting times. It has its boring times.

It has its backround. Its complication. Its rising action. A happy time with David. Then everything goes to pot. Israel messes up.

Then God does it. He turns his back on Israel. The experiment is a failure. And, yet, in this dispair, there's this is foreshadowing. Whispers of hope. God is about to move.

And then an intermission.

But then, right before the climax, we have a recap in Matthew 1. A hall of fame. A list of men who have given their lives for this moment.

Here, in Matthew, we have the climax.

This is what we've been waiting for.

Little Things

God doesn't call us to be faithful in the big things without calling us to be faithful in little things first.

Sometimes I think it is easier for me to trust God with huge things than it is to trust Him with mundane, everyday things. It would be much simpler for me to believe that He wants me to go pick up my life and relocate to another part of the world. It is a lot more difficult for me to believe He wants me to go to a meaningless recital at 7:30 on a Sunday night that I had no intention and even less desire of attending.

I don't know why this is. Is it because we believe God should only be concerned with big things? Is it because we think He only notices the larger things? Why do we put God "outside a box", so to speak? Maybe (and this convicts me a little) it's because big things don't happen often and little things happen every day. Maybe it's because we would like it if God only told us things once every few months or so. Maybe the little things are easier to trivialize to the point where we have given ourselves every reason to hold onto them as our own instead of surrendering them to Christ.

I would rather go to Haiti for a month than send a text to somebody I would rather not talk to. It is easier to feel called to a church plant than to walking down the hall to talk to that one person you don't get along with so well.

In both Matthew 25:14-28 and Luke 19:11-26, Jesus tells two parables that are very similar about three servants who are given charges of various sizes. The two servants who are responsible and even proactive with their talents or minas are praised and then given big responsibilities. "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'" (Matthew 25:21) God doesn't expect us to move mountains; that's His job. He might expect us to go to the mountain. And He might expect us to do the talking. But before we go about telling mountains to move, we should probably start telling ourselves to move. Faith for the little things leads to the bigger things for a reason, no matter how much more convenient it may seem to just do the big things for Him and handle the small things ourselves.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a concert to attend. :)

Lifeboat Theory (learning to be a snob)

This post was written by Ben Michaels

So my day goes like this: I wake up. I get coffee. My ADD brain kicks into gear. Thoughts tumble over each other like a landslide all day. I go to bed. I wait for the landslide to settle down and my thoughts to order themselves before I go to sleep around 2 AM. Repeat. Generally the last rocks/thoughts to settle down in my brain or the big, heavy philisophical thoughts. And the thoughts about girls, but that's normal and I've learned to ignore them.

So you mix these philisophical thoughts with the thoughts I was having from reading my Psychology text book (homeschool moment) and you get someone who is thinking about how humanity works and what makes people tick. I learned that some people think humanity is just trying to survive. I learned other people think people are always look for patterns, or wholes, in the universe. I learned what Freud thinks. Nuf' said. Sicko. We won't go there.

But I was thinking about Freud and people and Eden and Jesus and humanity and rocks and girls and ethics and labels and politics (and Donald Miller, who weighed heavily on my mind and inspired many of these ideas) when my brain exploded. Or something like that. You could call it a blinding flash of insight but that would make sound like I'm special or something. Which I am, but not like that. I like to leave that open for interpretation.

I remember in my 4th grade sunday school the teacher asking the class a lifeboat ethics question. The teach asked, "You, the President, a female pop star, a married lawyer, and a garbage man are in shark infested waters in a sinking lifeboat. Who do you throw overboard in order to save everyone else?" I can't remember exactly, but I think we threw over the pop star. Adios, Miley.

Looking back, with my landslide-like mind, I think that questions kinda profound. Not neccessarily in our answers to it, but more in the scenario of it all. It's a metaphore.

With that, I came up with a new theory for how humanity works. Freud was wrong.

See, a long time ago in a garden called Eden, we poked a hole in our lifeboat. Now we spend our lives running around deciding who we should throw overboard. That's key. Think about that before moving to the next thought.

Now with culture and technology and over-population we've developed more civilized ways of throwing masses of people overboard. Nowadays, instead of just whacking each other over the head, we spend our lives slapping people with labels. You call them demographics, parties, or demominations, I call them labels. Then, we decide which labels deserve to be thrown overboard and whcih labels don't. It's called politics. Republicans are yelling for Democrats to be thrown overboard and Democrats are yelling for Republicans to be thrown over board. Conservatives and yelling for Liberals to be thrown overboard and vice-versa. Pro lifers are yelling for Pro-Choicers to be thrown overboard and vice-versa. There's no love. If you want to hear what a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal sounds like, turn on Glenn Beck.

It gets worse. Thanks to Satan, even religion has become nothing more than a label. Christians are yelling for Muslims to be thrown overboard and vice-versa. Protestants are yelling at Catholics to get thrown overboard and vice-versa. Baptists are yelling for Methodists to get thrown overboard and vice-versa. It makes someone want to be an atheist. Where's the love? Even something as simple as Morality has been twisted around to be a label. It feels like if you're Moral you stay. If you're immoral, you get thrown overboard.

It goes on and on. I see it everywhere and it's affects. It explains all the war metaphore in churches nowadays. We're in a "culture war." A "battle against the world." I hate that. In war you kill your enemy to win. That's not how it's supposed to work. Nobody should have been killed in the first place, much less in order to further the "cause of christ."

I want no part in that. I hate the "Join a team and fight" mentality. I refuse to be a liberal or a democrat or an evangelical or a conservative or a republican. I hate the Culture War. I hate the lifeboat.

See, no matter how many people we throw overboard, the lifeboat won't stop sinking. Think about that.

So, as people who know Jesus, we shouldn't save the world by throwing all the people who don't know Jesus out of the lifeboat. We should save the world by teaching all the people who don't know Jesus how to swim.

--Ben