Becoming love…
I believe you. Perhaps the most powerful words for a victim of any kind to hear. My experience of reporting the truth about sexual harassment and power abuse by Bill Hybels as well as the systemic power abuse of the organization trying to cover it up was met with unbelief, blaming, shaming, and more deceptive cover-up. I’m still processing my own trauma and grief of the last nine months, and hope that writing about what I have learned can help others as they navigate their own deconstruction. I know for sure God’s word invites us to bind up the brokenhearted, defend the oppressed, advocate for the marginalized against the powerful and to partner with Jesus in healing their wounds. I long hoped this would be the church’s response. As Christ’s followers we are called to partner with God in the redemption and restoration of all things, including the hearts of…
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What the Duck is going on in the world today?!?!?!
The Christian Dynasty is losing there mind today… All I am hearing is a LOT of Quacking in my facebook and twitter feed today. FULL of opinions about miss lead facts, complaints, threats and demands (to A&E or family)
We just got done with our “30 days of thankfulness” and now we are in the Christmas giving season… giving because a gift has been given to us… so are we focused on our water problem in this world? The number of children in our foster care system? The homeless effected by this cold weather?
NO… hahaha…. We are upset that Phil Robertson is being PERSECUTED!!! The man behind Americas # 1 reality show is being held hostage by A & E (Those Bible haters) For freedom of speech? Wait what? But I thought that is what this was all about…
Suspended… WHAT? Indefinitely?… like forever… for- ever -ever…. NOOOOOO
No one is denying him his right to free speech. He had every right to say what he said, and he said it. Now, he is a public figure and was made so by A&E, the organization who pays his salary. If his personal views don’t represent the values A&E wishes to promote, do they not have every right to terminate his employment? That’s how it’s supposed to work right?
Maybe?
What Phil said has been described as “hateful,” “anti-gay,” and “racist” I wonder how stressed Phil is about this.
So what did he say?
“Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men. Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers—they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”
“I never, with my eyes, saw the mistreatment of any black person. Not once. Where we lived was all farmers. The blacks worked for the farmers. I hoed cotton with them. I’m with the blacks, because we’re white trash. We’re going across the field…. They’re singing and happy. I never heard one of them, one black person, say, ‘I tell you what: These doggone white people’—not a word!… Pre-entitlement, pre-welfare, you say: Were they happy? They were godly; they were happy; no one was singing the blues.”
And the most heated topic…. Why vagina is better than anuses…
“It seems like, to me, a vagina—as a man—would be more desirable than a man’s anus. That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical.”
So the out cry… I saw this today… “Quick question. Aren’t christians supposed to embody tolerance?”
It seems to me that some people who talk the most about tolerance are the most intolerant toward anyone who dares to disagree with their views.
As Christians, we are not wanting to force our views on anyone. The fact is, we are, as a whole, tolerant of other people’s choices, even if we don’t agree with them. But what is being asked of us is not tolerance, but acceptance and endorsement of sin.
We cannot do that.
Our job is not to change people but to love them… in the same way I do not have to accept your decisions…
Christ cares about those who are offended by Phil’s speech. It doesn’t matter that he was not trying to hurt others by his comments… what matters is they where hurt, and you cant tell someone it did not offend them when it did…
What you can do is Calm down… you can have a conversation in love about both sides… and speak truth in love!
So PLEASE stop the threats and freedom of speech talk… we all get it… but those who don’t get it… don’t miss an opportunity because you feel “wronged”
I would say that many times Christians are stupid not ignorant… if you don’t know the difference… look it up (worth understanding)
Jesus made it pretty clear in John 13:34-35 as to how the world would know we are His disciples…notice He did NOT say, “They will know you are my disciples…
By the way you forward really stupid, ridiculous emails to one another…and if you refuse to forward them to everyone you have in your contact list then you don’t love me.
By your Facebook status or what you like and share…
By the way you yell at people who don’t know me for living as if they don’t know me.
By your T-shirts and bumper stickers and Tats
By the music you listen to!
By the political party you support or don’t support
By the denomination you belong to…
By the products and companies you boycott. (mmmmmmm)
By the way you look down on those whom you perceive aren’t as good as you.
By the way you take from one another!
So you tell me… what does it say?!?!?!
Do you think that most of your “problems” come from all your BLESSINGS?
Work, do you have some?
Kids, they are a gift…(unless they are not yours lol)
HOUSE, to live in… to clean.
Clothes, to wear means laundry to do.
Food, to eat means meals to fix.
Car, to drive needs gas.
Church, full of selfish people…including the pastors.
Spouse, communication.
just appreciating a new perspective….
Anything to add?
Loving your neighbor as you would love yourself could be the worst (dumbest) thing you could do…
The Great Commandment…
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a]38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
The problem is now a days that is a bail out… how do you really love yourself? Do you?
You might say Love you Neighbor as you would want to be Loved…. Problem with that is 1. We all don’t like to be loved the same way… 2. It’s still not good enough…
You need to Love your Neighbor as Jesus would love them… just sit there and think about what that would look like.
Openly, honestly, selfless, caring, non-judgmental, unconditional, beautifully, greatly, contentiously, Joyfully, peacefully, genteelly, quietly, ETERNALLY… and many more…
Are you? What would you say if I said you really should LOVE homosexuals?
We’ve yelled at them, ignored them and in some cases damned them to hell without EVER sitting down and actually having a conversation with someone who is gay.
“But Larry,” you say, “the Bible says that homosexuality is a sin.” Let me put my cards on the table and say that I agree; however, for too long the church has seemed to be obsessed with the sins that we do not struggle with; after all, if I am pointing out the sins of others I don’t have to deal with my own.
People have taken me to I Corinthians 6:9-11 before and said, “look, the Bible says that homosexuals will NOT inherit the kingdom of God.” I always try my best to point out that also included in that list are…
- The sexually immoral (anyone been watching porn?)
- Idolaters (anyone love anyone or anything more than Jesus?)
- Adulterers (see Matthew 5:27-28)
- Thieves
- The greedy (uh oh!)
- Drunkards (tailgating season is quickly approaching)
- Slanderers (uh oh, a lot of bloggers and women’s Bible studies are in trouble!)
- After looking at this list I would say we are all pretty much screwed unless Jesus intervenes.
And…while I am at it why don’t I just go ahead and throw out that gluttony is way more of a problem in the church today than homosexuality!!! (MYSELF INCLUDED!!!)
Love your Neighbor as Jesus LOVES YOU, and how he would LOVE them too.
When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, no one is likely to die for a good person, though someone might be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s judgment. For since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God–all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God. (Romans 5:6-11)
I happened to glance over at the bible that was laying on my desk because the wind from my window was blowing the pages. I’m eyes immediately went to the “red” letters
“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” (Luke 11:28)
I heard a profound statement from a pastor during my travels in Uganda, Africa this past summer… he said
“Hearing and not doing is not hearing at all…”
That my friends is how you change the way people view (the) church!
PEACE
As I was working out today…(started my training for my marathon)
God laid it on my heart that someone needed to hear this today…
There is a lot of us that get really caught up in things… and doing things with excellence… like me… I made a comment to my friend last night “I care to much and about too much… I can not do everything to the perfection I want to…”
So this is what God gave me this morning…. at 5:50am (too early)
Perfection is not a requirement for usefulness. God does not require much, just willingness.
PEACE
Signed up for my first FULL Marathon… 26.2 Miles I am scared, never done anything like this before. The race (or time for me to run) is March 3rd 2013
I am going to ask you all for support and motivation as I am dedicating this race and training to raise money for a well (borehole) for clean water in Africa! Hope to dedicate it when I go back next year!
This will be through Hope 4 Kids International or Hope 4 Water… I am going to build a site or a way to update you all with information and a way to give as I go on this journey!!! More info to come!!
I can see through it
When have you been tested… a moment in your life out of YOUR control? I have been connecting with many people lately that are in the mist of those moments. Whether it be waiting to see if there child will be accepted into a new school, the loss of a job of 18 years and the weight of being the soul provider for your family, the test result for that “spot”, the notification your family member has cancer, the husband of your 3 young kids and your best friend just passed away. There are many more…
I am seeing a pattern… We often think we are living a life of faith, but we are actually living a life of belief.
Far too many of us have mistaken belief for faith… Believing, friends will not be enough, will not sustain you, will not get you through, will not carry you on.
Belief is the manifesto of human contentment. To understand, be comfortable and in control. You don’t need clarity, you need courage!
Its quality not a quantity of understanding.
I can see through the surface… can you?
Galatians 3:3
Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?
I started my day today by reading this comment…
“Every year, 2.7 million church members fall into inactivity. This translates into the realization that people are leaving the chu
rch. From our research, we have found that they are leaving as hurting and wounded victims-of some kind of abuse, disillusionment, or just plain neglect!”
http://www.intothyword.org/articles_view.asp?articleid=36557
It was then followed by this statement:
“If you don’t come to church for 4-8 weeks and and elder or pastor doesn’t call and ask why, they are the reason why!”
This was written by a mentor of mine and fellow pastor… this really is what every pastor should hear.
Does this stir you up, maybe because it should… it did me! If this kind of stat an comment does not stir you up in some-kind of why then YOU DON’T CARE… well you do…just not about the “right” things.
My first response to Dennis was this-
“They become the reason or were the reason in the first place? Funny how this just goes to the “what can you do for me to make me happy” “YOU don’t do enough for me” me myself and I’m number one junk…”
His response has very RAW and real truth to it…
“I agree Larry, there are a lot of people who give excuses or who are selfish, but as a church leader, you should know that going on… working with sinful selfish people is what you will be doing until you die – it’s what you signed up for.
That’s the job you took as a leader, and the challenge of modeling a better way. What scares me these days is the amount of entitlement by church staff. As if the title suddenly elevates them to deserve a congregation of unselfish people who will give them gifts and bestow upon them the mantle of an easy life, a white-collar paycheck, 5 weeks vacation, full benefits without having to pay a portion of them, no accountability and I don’t have to have a real relationship with you, “just sit your ass in the seat Sunday morning, write a check and don’t challenge my authority” attitude. I understood the ministry as the “good shepherd laying down his life”, but I haven’t seen this in a long time. Look at most leadership boards. They are made up of “yes” men, usually businessmen who never challenge or push the minister or themselves to really disciple/mentor people. The congregation is seen as a pain and a bunch of whiners. If a person challenges or asks questions they are alienated, marginalized and finally ignored. It’s a sorry state of affairs!”
“working with sinful selfish people is what you will be doing until you die – it’s what you signed up for.”
nakedpastor 