Motivations...

My last post was somewhat heavy, and a lot of people had opinions on what I had to say.  I feel like a little background to the post may be warranted.

My dad and I are going to the Kingdom Man Conference this weekend.  I'm really looking forward to it.  But not for the usual reasons.  Dr. Tony Evans, I'm sure, is a great speaker.  And Shane and Shane leading worship is a guarantee that it will be a night to remember.  But that's not what I'm most excited about.

The topic of the whole conference is Biblical manhood--how to be a man of God and how to measure our "manliness" according to His standards.  It's a topic that has been in the forefront of my mind for months now.

Why?  Because of Brayson.  As he grows older, it's going to be my responsibility to teach him what it means to be a man.  What he thinks a man is, how he views manhood, for good or bad, is going to be directly affected by how he sees me live my life.  And I want to give him his best chance.

I pray every night that one day Brayson will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  And when that day comes, he's going to need community.  He's going to need to walk with others as he grows in his relationship with Christ.  "There is no such thing as a Lone Ranger Christian," my former pastor used to say.  He needs community to help him grow.

What I don't want for him is for his relationship with Christ to become a sanitized, habitual, obligatory duty to be performed once a week and then forgotten until the next Sunday.  I don't want him to measure his relationship with Christ based on a checklist that even the lost could keep up with.  I want him to desire a righteousness that "surpasses the Pharisees" (Matthew 5:20).  I want him to "throw off everything that hinders" him (Hebrews 12:1).  I want his relationship with Christ to be something so central that it permeates to every part of his life, from the clothes he wears to the classes he takes to the food he eats to the games he plays.  But, lately, it seems that those in a body of believers who truly desire a radical, life-altering relationship with Christ are overshadowed and ostracized by those who desire homeostasis, control, and prestige.  And the only response people have when that is brought to their attention is "yeah, well, no church is perfect."  No desire for change, no yearning to be better than what we are.  Just a simple, defeated attitude that this is as good as its ever going to get.  It scares me to think of sending my son out into that.  Because that's what happened to those two families I mentioned, and they are suffering for it.

I realize that no church is perfect, that there are always going to be problems no matter where I go.  But I can't just sit here and hope that Brayson can make the best out of what's out there.  I want to give him his best chance, and that means I can't just sit on the sidelines and accept things as they are.  In the words of Ross King, "smaller victories will never be all right with me, 'cause I've got my intentions set on bigger things than that."

We'll be moving to Shreveport soon, and once we get there, it's going to be a while before Mandy and I decide to be part of any church.  I'm less concerned about having my name on a roll than I am about being part of a community that is actually going to follow Christ, even if it means stepping away from comfort and control.  Because I want to give Brayson his best chance.  And that is more important to me than a lifetime of Sundays spent sitting in a pew.

Love me, hate me, burn me at the stake---that's where I am right now.

My Perspective on the next four years...

During this whole election process, I've had some very strong opinions about the fighting and bickering that's gone on between Democrats and Republicans.  I've constantly tried to remind everyone that regardless of who is president, Christ is King.  And I've deliberately kept my political opinions to myself, because I didn't want to contribute to the fighting going on.  I didn't think it represented Christ well, and I wanted no part of it.

Now the election is over, and there are several people unhappy with the outcome.  I have a very specific perspective on what needs to happen in the next four years, a perspective that I think (and prayerfully hope) will help others in their planning for the next several years.  Unfortunately, I cannot share that perspective without also sharing my political opinions.  So, before you read any further, I would like to point out that at no point in this election did I ever say anything derogatory towards either candidate.  At no point did I disrespect any member of any political party.  I showed no malice or hatred during the election, and even made every attempt to end the fighting and bickering where I could.  I respectfully ask that you show that same respect to me.  Please do not use my blog (or Facebook) as a forum for you to spew venom at those who have opposing views.  I welcome friendly debate and healthy discussions, but I will not tolerate belittling or degrading remarks.  If you cannot show that respect to me, you will be blocked from my Facebook and blog and your comments deleted.  Please, for the sake of peace, keep things cordial.

Now that we've got that out of the way...

I voted for Mitt Romney.  He wasn't my favorite choice, but given the alternative, I thought he was the best choice.  In my humble opinion, President Obama's record is not satisfactory, and more important than that, he is pushing legislation that will essentially force me to support things that I, because of my faith, do not support.  I do not think it is right for my tax dollars to help fund abortions if I believe abortions are morally wrong.  I do not think it is right for me to face hate crime charges if I speak openly about my views on homosexuality.  And I do not think it is right that a monument or spoken prayer that has stood for decades be removed because it offends people who go to these places and ceremonies of their own free choice. Say what you will about foreign policy, the economy, and the environment, but these are the issues that decided my vote.

So, obviously, I was disappointed in last night's results.  And I am very concerned about the future of this country and where we are heading.  But, in the end, I am an American citizen, and Barack Obama is my president.  Even if I don't agree with the man, I must respect his office.  Because he is president, I will pray for him everyday, that God will guide his decisions, and that he will be the leader that this country needs.  I believe that the power of prayer is stronger than any threat we can face.  I place this country in God's hands and trust that He will do whatever is necessary to glorify His name.

Now, about all those other things.  Since I believe that abortion is wrong, that it is the murder of innocent children, and since my tax dollars are going to support it and there is apparently nothing I can do about it, I am going to try and be the change I want to see.  Rather than waiting for Capitol Hill to pass legislation that I agree with, I am going to go out and find those single women, those pregnant teenagers, those women who honestly think that abortion is better than adoption or raising a child.  I'm going to find them, and I'm going to help them.  I'm going to help them find classes on how to care for their unborn children.  I'm going to find loving families who are willing to take the child she can't afford to have.  I'm going to talk with her about her fears and doubts and worries, and I am going to do everything I can to help calm those fears and ease those doubts and put to rest those worries. I am going to do everything I can to make sure these poor women who are scared and unsure feel like they have another choice they can make.

Since I believe that marriage should be defined between a man and a woman, I'm going to take the time to get to know the LGBT community.  I'm going to befriend them and get to know them as people.  I'm going to let them get to know me and know what my heart is and where I'm coming from.  I'm going to get to a place where my care for them has nothing to do with their sexual orientation, where my friendship with them is iron clad and not easily shaken.  They're going to get to know me, and they're going to realize I don't hate them, that I don't think they're sub-human or some new kind of evil.  They're going to realize that I love them just as much as I would love anyone else.  And once we're at that place, I'll be able to share my views, and they will listen.  They may not agree, but they will listen, because now the words are coming from a friend, and not an enemy with an agenda.

Since I believe that my faith in Christ is under attack because of the consistent removal of monuments and prayers from public places, I'm going to show everyone just what exactly my faith in Christ is all about.  I'm going to give myself away to helping the poor and needy, to showing the love of Christ to everyone I come in contact with.  I am going to truly love my neighbors as much as I love myself, and see that their needs are met just as much if not more than mine.  I am going to be such a loving, kind, gentle person that when people think of Jesus, they don't think of an oppressive religion that has been in power too long.  They're going to think of a loving Savior who came to Earth to save us from sin.  And then, Jesus won't be an offensive topic, because no one will be able to say that their lives are worsened by Him or His followers.

To put it simply, I'm going to stop waiting for Capitol Hill to force what I should have been encouraging all along.  There's no need for abortions if women feel supported and taken care of when they get pregnant.  There's no need for civil rights legislation if everyone is treated with kindness and respect from the start.  There's no need for legal battles about Jesus Christ's place in public if everyone sees Christianity as a positive influence.  There's no need for regulation on welfare if everyone is trying to meet everyone else's needs.  I fully realize that, by myself, I'm not going to change the tide.  But, for those few people I can actually come in contact with, the difference will be worth it.

So don't pack your bags and move to Canada.  Don't start stockpiling on ammunition and nonperishable foods.  Stop complaining that your favorite candidate isn't sitting in the White House now.  Join me.  Let's stop waiting for Capitol Hill to do our job.  Let's get out there and do what we should have been doing in the beginning: Love God with everything, and love people as much as we love ourselves.

And if your candidate is sitting in the White House, join me anyway.  Don't let the fact that legislation is going your way allow you to become complacent about the hurting and suffering around you.  Don't wait for Capitol Hill to fix the problems you see around you.  Become the solution yourself.  Because, trust me, no matter who is president, Capitol Hill will take too long.

That's how I'm going to handle these next four years.  And not a single bit of that has anything to do with who is President.  It has everything to do with what I am going to do.  I am going to take responsibility for what I have the power to change, and I am going to change it.

One more reminder: if you respond to this, keep it respectful and keep it cordial, or don't respond at all.

Keep Soaring,

B

Say it like you mean it...

Remember when we were kids, and when we did something bad and our parents made us apologize?  Almost everyone would say "I'm sorry," but with little to no conviction.  Then came the sentence we know all too well. "Say it like you mean it."

Lately I've been very convicted about doing works for the right reasons.  When I look at situations like the widow and her mite, Ananias and Sapphira, or the Ephesian Church in Revelations, I start to see a pattern.  God cares about what you do, but it seems He cares even more about WHY you do what you do.

It isn't enough to go to church.  Why do you go to church?  It isn't enough to just read your Bible and pray.  Why do you read your Bible and pray?  The things you do for God----what is the motivation behind them?

In my experience, people can see through motivations.  They can tell whether we're talking with them because we care about them or because they're another number to add to our list, another notch on our belt.  When we invite them to church, they can tell whether its because we really enjoy seeing them or because we just want another warm body in the pew.  They can tell whether we're sharing the love of Christ with them because we care about them or because we feel obligated somehow.  They can tell, and for a lot of them that is the only representation of Christ they ever see.  Do we want them to think that Jesus loves them because He's forced to?

For those of us who are employed by a church, this is twice as dangerous.  It's too easy to go to church on Sunday morning to meet our responsibilities rather than to spend time with the Family of God.  May God forgive me for ever walking through those doors because I feel I HAVE to, and not because I WANT to.

So I would encourage you to join me is asking God for a change of heart.  Let us pray that God would change our hearts so that we don't grit our teeth and bare the spiritual disciplines.  Rather, we run towards them, joyfully embracing the chance to grow closer to our Lord and Savior.

There's my rant for the day.

Keep Soaring,

B