Here I Am to Worship

It's been far too long since I've posted. I apologize. I'm making a new (school) year's resolution to get on this more.

Anyway, I was talking with my homeboy Richdawg the other day. He and I were talking about worship at our Nav Nites and what it's gonna look like. I won't go into too much detail about what we talked about because if I told you, I'd have to kill you (and you don't wanna get killed, do you?), but we did talk about some songs that we like and some songs that we don't. Actually, moreso the latter than the former. We wanted to make a list of worship songs that we weren't going to be doing this year, whether we dislike the simplicity of the song, the incoherency, the cheesiness, or the theological implications. For example...

Come, Now is the Time to Worship
This is my all time least favorite worship song ever. I've heard someone remark that it sounds Universalist ("One day every tongue will confess You are God, one day every knee will bow"). That's definitely true if you're not familiar with Philippians 2, but I'm willing to overlook that since it's based on Scripture. My beef is the implications of what I'm singing. Essentially, I'm saying, "Yes, Jesus, every person living and dead will one day acknowledge your deity, but for those who recognize it this side of the grave are gonna have partay while those who wait too long are gonna suffer in hell. Sucks to be y'all!" At least that's how I feel when I sing it. I feel like "Still the greatest treasure remains for those who gladly choose You now" is the lyrical equivalent of spitting in the face of the lost.

Mighty to Save
I don't really dislike this song all that much, but there are a few things that are nigh unforgivable about it. For one, the verses don't rhyme. That's not the biggest deal, I know, but I feel like writing something that doesn't rhyme is kinda lazy. And it wouldn't bother me nearly as much if the song was coherent. You would think that "Mighty to Save" is about how God saves us throughout the song. But you don't really get that. The first part of the first verse talks about our need for compassion, love, and mercy. The second part does talk about our need for forgiveness, but "the hope of nations" doesn't really fit in right there. The second verse isn't much better. It talks about Him taking us as we are and then how we will surrender everything to follow Him. Even looking at the chorus, I feel like we're talking about how God is mighty, not mighty to save. Don't get me wrong. I like all the stuff that the song talks about. But it's not one coherent thought. It's all over the place. And if you're gonna be all over the place, at least rhyme.

Revelation Song
Richdawg and I actually agree that this is a really good song. We both like it a lot, except one line: "Clothed in rainbows of living color." What? Someone in a forum wrote that they imagine a unicorn prancing across the stage when we sing that line. There's a chance that we'll do this one at Nav Nite, but that line will be modified, like with what Crowder did with the "sloppy wet kiss" part of an otherwise good song.

Do you have a song I should add to the list? Or do you maybe have a reason for why one of these songs shouldn't be on the list? Let's discuss. What are your thoughts?

Who Am I?

One of my favorite stupid comedies of all time is Zoolander. In it, Derek Zoolander is dismayed when he loses the status of #1 male model to Hansel ("he's so hot right now"). After the ceremony that puts Hansel above Derek, he's seen walking the streets, not knowing what to do with his life. He looks at a reflection of himself and asks, "Who am I?" His reflection answers, "I don't know."

I think, although this is a wildly stupid Ben Stiller movie, that this scene speaks volumes about human thinking. Derek was so distraught that he'd been dethroned as the top male model that he questioned who he was. He was lost. He'd been at that spot for the past four years, and when that was taken away, so was his identity. He looked to his own reflection and wondered what, if not the top male model, was he.

God made us all different. He gave us all different gifts, different abilities, different interests. These are good things that the good Lord has blessed us with, and some of them can even help describe who we are. But when those good things of the Lord stop describing us and start defining us, we've misused those gifts. When our identity is wrapped in the temporal blessing rather than the infinite God who blesses, we're doomed to fail.

There are so many adjectives we use to describe ourselves that we can easily take on as our name. Black, white, fat, thin, tall, short, athletic, musically-inclined, gay, straight, student, minister, doctor, poet, author, blogger, hippie, Republican, Democrat, reader, gamer, sinner, saint, ugly, pretty, misshapen, whatever else you can think of to put here. Good or bad, we run into trouble when we let these define us, when these things consume us and we let them become all that we are.

In biblical times, names meant more than what they mean now. In Genesis 35, we see God change Jacob's name essentially from Deceiver to One Who Struggles with God. Later on in that same chapter, we see Jacob change his own son's name from Ben-Oni ("Son of my sorrows," given to him by his mother's dying breath) to Benjamin ("Son of my right hand"). I think these instances of renaming are beautiful pictures of what God does. We can take up as our names our struggles, or what we dislike about ourselves, or even what we like about ourselves. But God comes in and says, "No, I have something better for you. You are Mine. You are My beloved child, whom I love. I bought you with the blood of My one and only Son whom I love dearly. The cost was great, but I don't regret it. Shake off that old self; that's not who you are. I'll tell you who you are. You are a beloved child of the Most High."

I know I struggle with labeling myself by my talents or my failures or whatever thing I choose to listen to about myself. But, as Tyler Durden says in Fight Club, "You are not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet." Where Tyler fails to give a "You are" amidst all the "You are not," Jesus steps in and says, "You are My beloved."

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. -Romans 8:15-17

Is there such a thing as too much grace?

I haven't blasted a public Christian figure since Pat Robertson's stupid comments on Haiti. I think it's time to remedy that.

I recently heard on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media that Ted Haggard was starting a church in Colorado Springs. He's a pastor that came into the limelight in 2006 when a male prostitute made it public that Haggard had been paying him for sex and drugs for three years. Haggard (wisely) stepped down from leadership in his megachurch and kinda disappeared for a while.

Well, he's back. What started off as prayer meetings in his house turned into St. James Church (even though he assured us in April that he would not be starting a church). At St. James, "Everyone is welcome: Democrat, Republican, gay, straight, bi, addicts, tall, short."

I read a blog by someone who actually knows Haggard. Mike, from People of the Second Chance, stated that "at the end of the day I believe in radical grace. And I will forever be a champion of second chances, seemingly lost causes, and the prodigals that no one believes in."

When you put it like that, it seems unchristian to disagree. We are all broken people that God chooses to use despite of, not because of, ourselves. Why should I deny Haggard the grace that I so often need and get?

The simple answer is I shouldn't. And I don't. I definitely don't think that Haggard should be denied grace. That would be playing God, something which I don't want to do and frankly am not good at. I just have to ask, how far do we carry this grace? Jason Boyett, a blogger and author who I read though I more often than not disagree with him, had deep trouble with Haggard's dishonesty with the whole thing. He also asked if 3 years was enough time to recover. I agree, and want to go a step further. I think a role in church leadership should be completely out of the question. Extending grace does not mean making just anyone clergy. God set up some rules for who should be considered an overseer of the local church. I don't see Haggard in that. Maybe he's learned self-control since leaving New Life Church. Maybe he's quit drugs and is sober-minded. Maybe he's learned how to handle his household (although I read that instead of trying to find a job he was asking for donations so he could support his family and take classes online). Verse 7, however is the real kicker, which says that the overseer should have good standing with those outside the church. I don't see that one happening. His sin was too public and hypocritical to be ignored. Furthermore, I would like to see what would happen if he joined another church and tried to join their pastoral staff. If this were to happen, and he got accepted instead of laughed at (if I were on that pastoral hiring committee, there would be much laughter), I would eat my right shoe.

I think we as Christians and recipients of such amazing grace should show grace to others who need it. But not so much grace that we are ignoring God's laws and ultimately causing harm to others. I think then we are showing a bit too much grace.

No More LOST...

So, last week, one of the greatest TV shows in the history of television ended, leaving some happy, some angry, and some utterly confused. I am sad, feeling like I've lost a friend; a friend who I only saw on a weekly basis, and only online, but a friend nonetheless.

I know that it's done and we won't see any crappy spinoffs, but I feel like it left the possibility open. So I'm going to present to you the spinoff series and movies that will never be, but could be. (None of this will make sense if you haven't seen the show, so if you haven't, stop reading now and watch it. All of it. Right now.)

Ben & Hugo
Starring: Jorge Garcia and Michael Emerson
This sitcom starts right after Jack dies and Lapidus and the crew fly off. It's the tale of the obese yet lovable Hugo "Hurley" Reyes taking over the island as the new Jacob, living with his often insufferable #2, Benjamin Linus. There will be guest appearances by Rose and Bernard (L. Scott Caldwell and Sam Anderson) and a couple "Very Special Episodes" where Hugo and Ben deal with loss. It will be touching. You will cry.

Ji Yeon
Starring: Henry Ian Cusick, Sonya Walger, and some little Korean girl
This made for TV movie will tell the tale of Ji Yeon Kwon, Sun and Jin's daughter who has to grow up not knowing who her parents are because they died in the submarine. Desmond and Penny Hume will raise her, sheltering her from her parents' troubled past, but she will have dreams, remembering the short time that she had with her mother before Sun returned to the island. Yunjin Kim will reprise her role as Sun for a dream sequence. If it does well, they'll try to get Daniel Dae Kim for the sequel, but let's not count those chickens before they hatch.

You All Everybody
This rockumentary will tell of the rise and fall of Drive Shaft, delving into the bandmates' drug and sex habits and trying to regroup after the death of their bassist, Charlie Pace, on Oceanic 815 (or so they thought...).

My Two Moms
Alternate Title: Raised by Another
Starring: Evangeline Lilly and Emily de Ravin
After they arrive back in the States, Kate has a hard time letting go of Aaron, though she went back to the island with the express purpose of bringing Claire back. The solution is that they raise him together. This show, dealing with the hardships of two women raising a son together and fighting over the title of "favorite mom" will eventually be syndicated on Lifetime.

The Extra Miles
Starring: Ken Leung and Josh Holloway
I know they were only cops in the flash sideways/purgatory thing, but there's gotta be a cop show somewhere in there, where Miles solves murders by talking to the dead, only letting his partner, Officer James Ford, know of his ability. Michelle Rodriguez will be a series regular as Ana Lucia until special guest star Harold Perrineau shoots and kills her, due to negative audience response.

I Love You, Too
Starring: Naveen Andrews, Maggie Grace, and Andrea Gabriel
There's trouble in the afterlife when Nadia, Sayid's former lover, dies and finds him snogging Shannon. This movie will show how Sayid deals with having a girlfriend on-island and one off-island, and what happens when they meet.


Alas, none of these will ever take place, but you know it will be awesome if it did. You would watch all of them. Don't lie. You know you would.

Prayer for the Supreme Court

Today, I ask you to be in prayer for a Supreme Court decision. I received this from a higher up in the Nav office, so I'll just let them explain what's happening rather than summarize:

On April 19th, [that's today!] the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments to decide whether groups like The Navigators, InterVarsity, Campus Crusade and others can be removed from college campuses because they require their officers and voting members to share their core religious commitments. According to some universities these core religious beliefs violate their affirmative action policy.

Seventeen organizations and 13 state attorney generals are working together on this case. Pray for the justices to rule on the side of religious freedom. For more information on how to pray, go to http://www.intervarsity.org/news/campus-faith-freedom-alert. This case has far reaching implications for religious freedom in all areas.

Behind Closed Doors

I work at a movie theater, so it's amazing how often sex comes up. We're a "family establishment," so we don't carry anything above an R rating (although I've heard that Zach and Miri Make a Porno and Brüno were pretty close to NC-17). Still, both my co-workers and customers talk sex far more often than I previously thought was acceptable.

For example, on New Year's Day, a customer asked if I'd had a good night. I said yes. He asked, "Did you get any?" I said no. He said that it was not a good night. I didn't really care too much that he gauged my enjoyability of the night based on whether or not I'd had sex, but that he came into my place of employment and inquired of a perfect stranger about his sexual activity (or lack thereof). Why is that OK?

In another instance, a young co-worker of mine got asked his age. He answered that he was 18. The middle-aged women (*COUGH* cougars *COUGH*)that he was helping said, "Oh, you're legal." Later that night, this same co-worker told me about his first time and gave more detail than I cared to know. A completely different co-worker told me about his first time. And a different co-worker told all who were listening that he and his girlfriend had sex recently for the first time since she had his kid. This whole paragraph all happened in one night.

I guess this is why I get kind of uncomfortable when reading the Song of Solomon. I have no problem with what Solomon and his wife did, I just don't think that what happens in someone's bedroom should leave their bedroom. I thought that this was the norm, but I'm starting to think that not many people share this thought. I guess I should be surprised, since pretty much any rap song (and a bunch of R&B and rock as well) are littered with explicit sexual lyrics that would make Solomon cry. It's also all over a good deal of TV shows (I challenge you to watch an episode of Friends where someone doesn't sleep with someone else. Go ahead, do it).

I guess I'm turning into one of those crotchety old men who thinks that a couple who are sleeping together don't need to share it with others. I guess I'm just way old fashioned and think that what happens behind closed doors happens behind closed doors for a reason. Or I guess I need to grow up and realize that sex happens, and I should just embrace it because complaining's not going to do anything about it anyway.

Pardon my rant. It just frustrate's me that we have become a society so obsessed with sex that I can't escape it, on TV, in the movies, and apparently at work. I don't think that sex is inherently a bad thing, but we humans have taken something that God created to be good and have bastardized it so it doesn't mean anything. There's very little commitment involved anymore, if any. It's devolved from something that was meant to be enjoyed by two people joined together in holy matrimony to "just sex." Pretty soon, people will post videos on the internet of themselves having sex (my sarcasm hand is raised). I pray this is a trend that will soon be reversed, but I don't see that happening.

God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jesus

Genesis 22 has always been an uncomfortable chapter in the Bible for me to read. The gist of the story is that God tests Abraham and tells him to sacrifice Isaac, his son, as a burnt sacrifice to the Lord. This was slightly problematic because God had prophecied that He would use Isaac, Abraham's only son, to bring about a great nation, and that was gonna be hard to do if Isaac was dead. Nonetheless, Abraham took Isaac up to the mountain and was about to bring the knife down when God stopped him and provided a ram for the sacrifice. God was satisfied with Abraham's obedience and later fulfilled His promise to muliply Abraham's descendants.

I always find it uncomfortable around verses 7-10. In 7, Isaac asks his father where the lamb was for the burnt offering.
In 8, Abraham tells his son that God will provide it.
In 9, Abraham lays Isaac on the wood.
In 10, he raises the knife.

This is where I would fail. Even knowing the end of the story, I still wince whenever I think of Abraham raising the knife to slaughter his son, his only son, whom he loved (v. 2). I don't even have kids, but I can't imagine doing that. Even knowing now, on this side of the sacrifice, that God would provide the ram in place of the son, or even knowing that God could raise the son from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19), I don't think I could have lifted my arm to offer my son as a sacrifice.

I was thinking about this this morning, and thinking about the many parallels there are between Abraham's offer of his son to the Lord and God's offer of His Son to us. The son carried the wood that he would be placed upon. The son had been prophecied to be a blessing to many nations. He was the one and only son, who the father loved. God provided the lamb for the sacrifice.

There is one main difference between these two. God stopped Abraham from going all the way. When He provided the lamb, Abraham got to take Isaac back down the mountain. On the cross, however, Jesus suffered and died. There was no other sacrifice to take His place.

I was thinking about how I'm always uncomfortable thinking about Genesis 22, but it doesn't phase me much when I think about how Jesus died. It's become almost old to me. I can say Jesus died, and not bat an eyelash. I offer up a "Thanks, God!" like I would thank someone for giving me $20. This is much bigger than $20. He gave His Son, causing Them to be in disunity for the first time in all eternity. That's big.

I pray that on this Good Friday that we will not belittle the Cross of Christ, but remember exactly what that meant to Him, not only the physical suffering and death, but that He took our sins and their punishment upon Himself. And praise God that it didn't all end there, because if Good Friday had happened without Easter, it would not have been good at all, and we are to be pitied the most of all people.

And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" ...And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"
-Mark 15:33-34, 37-39