An Ordinary Guy

Lately it seems that the more truth I seek, the more mystery I find. The more I read and study the Bible the more the denominational and doctrinal “truths” I had learned and adhered to get blurred, and in some instances erased, and it tends to be frustrating to part of me… But then another part of me embraces the idea of mystery!

I think that is what a lot of people are experiencing, I think that is why the emergent church has grown, I think that is why home churches are becoming the norm in today’s Christianity, I think that we as humans were made to embrace mystery.

Kind of like in the Matrix (I don’t remember which one), the machines made life for the humans into a utopia, but our human minds couldn’t handle everything being so perfect. So the machines started putting a little bit of conflict into the “program”.

Western Christianity, with its black and white, objectified, McDonaldized efficient, this is this and that is that, type of religion has gotten some people, ( I think it is those who are still curious about God) upset, they sit in the pews and get fed “truth” and they don’t want to be fed, they want to out there searching and seeking and learning and discovering and chasing the mystery!

Belief vs. Faith

Maybe that is why we see belief and faith as the same thing. We have pushed mystery (the mystery of God) away in favor of nice, clean, sanitary, easy to adhere to sets of belief, rules (read laws) and demand (for our salvation) that we adhere to these sets of rules, doctrines and creeds, (this is this and that is that) and so we believe, based on the rules and doctrine. All the dots are connected, the T’s are crossed and the I’s are dotted, packed, labeled and sold like a product.

Faith however is not belief, when you have faith, there are dots that do not connect, yet you still follow, there are T’s left uncrossed and I’s left un-dotted and you still have faith, there is evidence of things unseen and things hoped for, but we still see the glass darkly, we know in part yet we still have faith that God is who He says he is…We have faith…and that is part of the mystery.

So embrace the mystery! After all Paul does call us “stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor 4:1)

The past couple of months we have been studying 1 Corinthians. It has been really good to see it from a fresh point of view and so re-learn some things and see some of issues Paul was facing…
Looking at the letter I see Paul fighting to maintain unity and trying to change the things that the church was doing to cause the dis-unity!
In the military chapel environment, teamwork and unity are second nature, however, getting the followers of Christ to be integrated into the body fully is difficult due to the transient nature of the military family and the work schedules of some units and specific jobs that may work shifts.
Folks see them selves as part of the Church, just not as part of the local church sometimes, meaning that out of love or duty, the attend week after week but don’t tend to socialize with others in church or be part of the local community other than attendance to the services. It is typical and natural I assume but I wonder the things that could be accomplished if everyone was part body like In 1 Corinthians 12. What if we really lived “suffering when others suffered and being glad when other parts are honored”?

When I got here a year ago I noticed some folks passing out tracks to the soldiers coming out of the gates. I watched for awhile as they nearly forced the tracks into the hands of the folks coming out to do some shopping, get a meal or whatever.

As I was watching the people passing out the tracks, some of the bar girls that “work” in the local bars near the base, were walking down the street on their way to work. The folks passing out the tracks literally turned their heads and refused to even say hi to the girls.

That is what started the desperation in my heart to show these girls that they are loved by God!

After months (well a year) of praying, planning, pleading, convincing, dropping hints, enlisting confederates… we finally got the resources and the plan to give Christmas treats to the girls.

The assembly line.

The cups are filled with candy, candy canes, cookies and such and the Joy to the World thing is a Christmas Tree Ornament that tied to the bow.

On Christmas Eve. after the church service we took hot coffee and hot chocolate out along with 7 or 8 ladies to pass out the gifts. The coffee was for anyone… and the gifts we took to the bars.

You should have seen the joy on the faces of the girls, some could not believe that a stranger would give them something for free!

I think the greatest impact, the greatest change was in the lives of the ladies who delivered the treats their interaction with the girls and bringing joy to their lives ultimately brought joy to their own.

NOTE: We DID NOT include any advertisement of our church! (Our advertisement was the love of God)

How did faith (Christian) ever come to be defined as accepting Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior?

How is faith defined biblically vs faith defined culturally?

Are you a Christian by Faith/Religion or a Christian by culture?

For Americans the line between the two is thin and probably indistinguishable.