Yes. I am about to talk about a Katy Perry song on a church blog.

Turns out, the blue-haired, candy cane dress-wearin’, “popsicle”-melting pop artist has a spiritual life. And oddly enough (though I know we’ve lived very different lifestyles), I think we can relate to each other’s spirituality, and her newest single “Wide Awake” has really caught my attention. Be sure to check out the video to this song on her homepage. (www.katyperry.com/home)

From what I know about her, she grew up in a Christian home, was mentored by Jennifer Knapp, and played many a coffee house, just her and her guitar and her juvenile churchy lingo. (I think you can actually find a Youtube vid of her playing a coffeehouse at 16 if you look hard enough) It’s funny really, seeing her now living it up in the Pop world, and knowing the roots she came from. It doesn’t seem to make sense at first… but the more I think about this young woman and reflect on my own life as a young woman, the more I realize that she makes complete sense to me.

In college I was a student of ministry and theology and have been fortunate enough to continue my education informally with a small group of adults at church. For the past 2 years we’ve been studying religious history, the formation of scripture, and the history of the church. I absolutely love this learning process and discussing these matters, but it’s not always pretty. At times, I found out truths about the history of my faith that shake up everything I’ve ever known and force me to re-evaluate what I believe about Christian culture, the Bible, and even Jesus. Yes, even the person of Christ is up for discussion. And as a Christian, when you are in the process of re-learning who Christ is, it can change your whole life.

It can be chaotic. I have this visual image of opening a door, stepping accross the threshold into a vast white space full of chattering, wandering people. I can’t go back and shut the door behind me. I must move forward. And I’m looking for Jesus… kind of like a life altering game of “Where’s Waldo.” And Jesus is Waldo. But there’s no guarantee I’ll find him or that I’ll recognize him when I do find him. (I don’t think Jesus’ robe had easliy visable  red and white stripes )

But I’m not scared. I may feel a little helpless at times, but I’m at peace. I feel wide awake. I think we all go through shifts like this in our spiritual lives, where a door is opened, we step through, and there’s no turning back. It seems as if Katy has gone through a similar experience, and you can see in the video how she connects with a younger version of herself and they face the present confusion together. I do the same… I look back on who I used to be… a bright blonde, no worries church kid who was on a mission to save the world for Christ at 16. Was I wrong? No. Would I be wrong to return to that version of my self after all I know now? Yes. It’s important to know where we came from and let that be a part of the definition of who we are now, but just like at the end of the video, we have to say goodbye to our old selves to move forward.

Now, the more I look over the lyrics to this song, I think the results of Katy and I’s “awakenings” are different, but our feelings are similar: A spiritual revelation can be a beautiful thing, even if the truths we unveil are not pretty.

It feels like my teenage self, my college self, and even Katie Eckeberger 2011 are a dream… like they weren’t really real, but now I am out of that lucid world and truly understand reality. But the truth is, in time I’ll settle into who I am now, and in some years I’ll have another shift and look back on Katie Eckeberger 2012 and have to laugh a little at all that I didn’t know now.

Have you ever felt this way?

Do you currently feel wide awake, or in the dark?

How many “shifts” have you experienced in your life?

Have you ever been leaving the grocery store with a hefty sackful of goodies, praying it stays together just long enough for you to get to the car? But maybe it’s damp outside and your paper bag rips just enough so that your tender veggies and un-crunched bag of chips can no longer be saved. Or maybe the bag-boy with the un-finished high school education (God bless him) filled that thin, plastic sack to capacity and it just wouldn’t hold. I’ve been there! And of course, the groceries don’t spill out inconspicuously. It’s usually in the middle of the parking lot, where drivers must stop to wait on you, and it’s raining, and the milk jug bursts open, and I’m in my best Sunday dress or something like that! (Maybe it’s not actually that bad, but it certainly feels like that much distress and humiliation.)

As you scramble to save what’s left and get out of the way, while trying to avoid further embarrassment, a stranger comes along to save the day! And it’s usually one of two people:

1. “The Inconvenienced Helper” – You know this guy… probably well-dressed with a sense of entitlement. He stands above you for a moment, hands on his hips, shaking his head at you, sighs and thinks to himself, “I guess I better help this poor person.” And he probably says something condescending and not very helpful like, “You know if you don’t pack the bags so full this won’t happen.” But before you come back with an equally smart alec remark, you remember he IS helping you after all. So you politely say “Thank you” and go on with the rest of your stressful day.
2. “The Hands & Knees Helper” – He’s probably nowhere near you, but just within earshot and he hears the bag burst and the eggs hit the ground. Maybe he’s under the entryway – almost inside where it’s nice and dry. But he turns and jogs eagerly back into the rain to assist you. He doesn’t waste any time. He gets down on his hands and knees – no agenda or advice – grabbing and saving whatever he can. He may even help you to your car if he’s an outstanding citizen. He smiles at you with rain drops falling down his face and goes on with the rest of his day.

I was recently visiting a few churches that taught the idea of an angry Jesus – that not only does he hate our sin, but he looks at the “saved” in disappointment  when they fall away from him YET AGAIN. As if Jesus has his hands on his hips, sighing and shaking his head thinking, “Guess I better get them out of this mess again.”

But my personal understanding of Jesus is so different! It was hard for me to sit back and let these congregations be fed an idea of an angry, un-loving Jesus! Yes, Jesus had his more abrasive moments, but overall do we really think he lived and died for us out of only duty and obligation??? Or was love his driving force?

I believe our God is a god on his hands and knees… desperately wanting the best for us and meeting us in the dirtiest, most humiliating places to give us his best. I certainly don’t believe he removes sin from our lives and trades it for shame on our shoulders. I don’t believe he heals a wound only to create another. He removes it all. And he WANTS to do it. And that sure  does help me to love and forgive myself and others a whole lot more. I think that’s what He’d want.

I believe in a hands and knees kind of Jesus.

I like to get up on Sunday morning’s and watch the political television shows.  All cards on the table, I prefer “Meet The Press” to “This Week.” This past Sunday on “This Week” they wrapped the show with a  Twitter q&a to the host.  They asked him if he were to be offered the White House Press Secretary job vs. his current job, which would he prefer? His answer was that he would prefer his current job because a reporter’s job is to un-cover truths as opposed to the press secretary whose job it is to set truths in motion.

This statement has stuck with me.  When applied to a personal faith I feel like we should ask ourselves the question – “Is it our job to uncover truths or to set truths into motion?”

As a lay person who sits in the pew (or padded chair as the case may be) I am wondering if it is our responsibility to expect a pulpit dweller (see Pastor, Evangelist, Preacher) to tell us what the truth is.

This past week I lost a car.  It’s certainly not as sad as losing a pet but when you invest $2000 into repairs only to be told by your mechanic that he needs $6000 more to really fix your car – you have a lot of distrust because you got taken.  I ended us trading the car in but that’s not the point.  In the relationship I have with this mechanic, he holds all the cards because I don’t know anything about cars.

I could do a lot of work to learn about cars but I don’t feel it is worth the cost.  However when it comes to my faith or anyone’s faith, I think the end goal is the work.  It is worth it!

I believe it is our responsibility as pew dwellers to uncover truths and not just trust a pulpit dweller.  I like the idea of pastoral involvement but the job of all Christians as declared in scripture is to go be and to make disciples.  All Christian’s are called to be reporters and not press secretaries.  We are called to uncover truths and report to the world at large our findings.  If our faith is to be impactful, we have to do the work of personally uncovering truths and helping people do that in their lives as well.

Random Fact learned during the writing of this post:

Squirrel’s eat Peeps

Items that informed this post:

Book: “The Heart Of Christianity”  by Marcus Borg

Music: “Lantern” by Josh Ritter

Music: “Oh My God” by Jars Of Clay

Today is Ash Wednesday.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3L3c23MfC0?rel=0]

More than 70 Episcopal parishes in 18 states will bring Ash Wednesday to the streets, kicking off the Lenten season with a twist.They’ll offer the Christian sign of repentance — a smudged cross of ashes on the forehead — to anyone who seeks it in train stations, coffee shops and other public spots.Dubbed Ashes to Go, it’s a contemporary spin on the Ash Wednesday practice followed chiefly in Episcopal, Anglican, Catholic and Lutheran denominations.

STORY: http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2012-02-21/lent-ash-wednesday-ashes-to-go/53195664/1

GracePointe is honoring the nearly 2000 year old tradition of Ash Wednesday tonight with a very special service officiated by guest Celebrant, Ian Cron. As a multidenominal church, Gracepointe is in the unique position of being able to sift through the liturgy, celebrations, and observances of the High Church and the reformers. This picking and choosing allows us to offer the Body open pathways to the Throne of Grace without getting in the way of worship. But why are there so many choices?

Four or five hundred years ago, self described reformers, who objected to the doctrines, rituals, and structure of the Roman Catholic Church split from 1400 years of single ecclesiastical rule. What the reformers saw as a separation of the people from God, the Roman Catholic church saw as vocation.

The Protestant Reformation began on 31 October 1517, in Wittenberg, Saxony, where Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences to the door of the Castle Church, in Wittenberg. The theses debated and criticized the Church and the Pope, but concentrated upon the selling of indulgences and doctrinal policies about purgatory, particular judgment, Catholic devotion to Mary, Jesus’s Mother, the intercession of and devotion to the saints, most of the sacraments, the mandatory clerical celibacy, including monasticism, and the authority of the Pope. In the event, other religious reformers, such as Ulrich Zwingli, soon followed Martin Luther’s example.

The reformers soon disagreed among themselves and divided their movement according to doctrinal differences—first between Luther and Zwingli, later between Luther and John Calvin—consequently resulting in the establishment of different and rival Protestant Churches (denominations), such as the Lutheran, the Reformed, the Puritans, and the Presbyterian. Elsewhere, the religious reformation causes, processes, and effects were different; Anglicanism arose in England with the English Reformation, and most Protestant denominations derive from the Germanic denominations. The reformers also accelerated the development of the Counter-Reformation by the Catholic Church.

Since that time, the proliferation of denominational churches spread across the world as Europeans fled religious tyranny and persecution. Even in the last century, denominations have sprouted as a result of difference in doctrine or disputes over opinions.

If ever there was a time to circle the wagons and regroup, it is now. Churches like GracePointe are seeking common ground, looking for the elements of truth in the ways and means of the past. Not all decisions and doctrines of the high churches are counter-productive to the worship and commitment of God’s church. Likewise not all reformation is unhealthy or counter-productive. Being in the position to write the script as we play out the part provides us with a wonderful view of the past with an eye for the future. We can assimilate those parts of the Liturgy that open larger spaces within us for God. We can incorporate Common Prayer that draws us closer to God.

Is there a danger in ala carte church? Of course; without centralized governance any body risks exploitation by the few. Lord Acton said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Most of us know the quotation but few of us know its origin or context.

In 1870, the First Vatican Council announced the doctrine of papal infallibility leading to a severe crisis of faith for many Catholics. Lord Acton, in complete sympathy on the subject with Johann Joseph Ignaz von Döllinger traveled to Rome in an effort to throw his considerable influence against the doctrine.

[Döllinger (February 28, 1799 – January 14, 1890 was a German theologian, Catholic priest, and church historian who rejected the dogma of papal infallibility.]

Acton’s actions did not dissuade the Council and the schism that followed caused the separation and establishment of the Old Catholic movement. Acton did not join the separatists and church authorities wisely refrained from forcing his hand. It is in this context that Lord Acton, in a letter to scholar and ecclesiastic Mandell Creighton, dated April 1887 wrote the now ubiquitous pronouncement:

“But if we might discuss this point until we found that we nearly agreed, and if we do agree thoroughly about the impropriety of Carlylese denunciations and Pharisaism in history, I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men, with a favourable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption it is the other way, against the holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority, still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority. There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it. That is the point at which the negation of Catholicism and the negation of Liberalism meet and keep high festival, and the end learns to justify the means. You would hang a man of no position like Ravaillac; but if what one hears is true, then Elizabeth asked the gaoler to murder Mary, and William III ordered his Scots minister to extirpate a clan. Here are the greatest names coupled with the greatest crimes; you would spare those criminals, for some mysterious reason. I would hang them higher than Haman, for reasons of quite obvious justice, still more, still higher for the sake of historical science.”

 So the study and, in some instances the incorporation, of practices dating back as far as the first church brings a call for careful and prayerful consideration. In a church like GracePointe with congregants from divergent fields of religious dogma and discipline, caution and deep reflection must be standard when looking to introduce elements of worship like Ash Wednesday services.

 In an age when Reformer Churches are passing the Ash on street corners in drive by fashion because people are too busy or stressed to celebrate the commencement of Lent by reflectively attending a sacred service dedicated to the pronouncement that Christ is King and we willingly open our lives and hearts to Him leads me to think we may have lost track of the meaning and intent.

I am foursquare with the introduction of Ash Wednesday service to our curriculum and welcome the Season of Lent in preparing for the celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord. I am also squarely in the corner of including anyone with a Heart for God into the service. I just wish I could be there. I did get ashed this morning in an amazing Catholic Ash Wednesday Mass.

Love you, Ian Cron.  http://www.iancron.com/ If you haven’t checked out his site, run, don’t walk.

Photo By Luca Rossato

“The early church leaders described the Trinity … [as] an eternal dance of Father, Son, and Spirit sharing mutual love, honor, happiness, joy, and respect.” Brian D. McLaren – A Generous Orthodoxy

Most prison chapels have center aisles. This one did. Sometimes the inmates sit around the sides and back. This time they packed the front first, which was encouraging.  Last to come in was an elderly man bent over in a wheel chair.  He positioned himself in the large center aisle right in front of me. The wheelchair didn’t bother me but the permanently etched scowl on his face did.  He was just plain mean looking.  “It seems that some people have to share their misery,” I thought to myself as I surveyed the rest of the audience.

This workshop involved a lot of moving around, standing from time to time and waving our hands forming different hand-signs to identify different events in the Old Testament.  It’s a fun workshop.  For the next two hours, until lunch, we all flailed about.  Mr. Wheelchair didn’t participate – other than glare and scowl. I did my best to ignore him.

When the inmates filed back into the chapel after lunch, I was a bit surprised to see the elderly Mr. Wheelchair take up his position right up front. He evidently didn’t like his lunch because if anything, his squinty-eyed scowl was a little more intense.

I decided to start off the afternoon session by singing a few songs.  My hopes were that by having the inmates stand and sing, I’d counter any post-lunch lethargy. The first song was a praise and worship song, “Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord.”  They sang it as if they had written it.  They were a good bunch of guys except for…you guessed it.

The next song was “I’ll Fly Away.”  We always have fun with this old but not worn out classic.  I usually sing the first part and have the inmates chime in on the “…I’ll fly away” part. When the chorus came around the first time, Mr. Wheelchair began to sing with the rest of us.  “I’ll fly away O glory, I’ll fly away….”  He wasn’t smiling but he wasn’t scowling either.

Photo by DTCCHC

The room was full of joy as the second chorus approached. I was too, but I wasn’t prepared for what happened next.  Mr. Wheelchair, full of energy now, reached down with both hands and pulled his right foot up, folded the foot-rest out of the way, then placed the foot on the floor. He repeated the process with his left foot. Still somewhat bent over, he lifted his slumped head and looked straight at me.  Then simultaneously as a smile broke on his weathered face, he began to struggle to stand.

The scene could have been out of a movie.  You know the one–the evangelist tells a wheelchair bound man to rise and walk.  He struggles as the people watch, pray, and hope.  But this wasn’t a movie…this was reality.  The music had simply gotten a hold of him and he wanted to stand.  Perhaps the song had transported him to another time, maybe a time before prison when he had sung the song full of life on two strong legs.

As he slowly struggled to stand, two inmates, one from each side of the aisle, appeared at his side.  One under each arm, they held the aged inmate up and walked him forward kicking the wheelchair back out of the way.  Time had stood still for me as I watched this scene unfold in front of me.  Everyone was singing.  I had stepped into the finale of an imaginary movie.

The elderly man was supported on one side by a young, smiling, singing, black inmate and on the other by a young, smiling, singing, white inmate.  The three of them swayed and sang to the music. This must have been a movie about all God’s children coming together.  It felt like the finale.  I fully expected credits to start rolling in thin air.  It was magical.  No…it was Sacred.  It was Holy.

Several more verses and the song ended.  The two inmates gently helped the elderly inmate back into his wheel chair.  Each lifted a foot, folded the footrest down and gently aligned ‘their’ respective foot on the rest, straightening the pant leg before patting the man on the back and returning to their seats.  Most importantly, the scene had the air of a spontaneous act of kindness rather than routine.

I knew I had witnessed a wonderful moment which expressed God’s love in a visible and memorable way. I stood silent for a beat or two longer than usual.  I wanted to absorb the moment.

The second half of the seminar had a new participant.  He didn’t stand with the rest of us, but he did all the motions and hand-signs…with a smile. I don’t know what happened to this elderly wheelchair bound curmudgeon of a man.  Was it the song itself or was it the spontaneous act of two other inmates that infused him with such vibrant life?  The picture in my mind of the three of them swaying and singing “I’ll Fly Away” is such a wonderful picture of God’s love in action that I never want to forget it.  I don’t want it to fade.  I want to replay it over and over.  For two brief choruses of an old song, three men momentarily sang their way to freedom.  It was just like the … eternal dance of Father, Son, and Spirit sharing mutual love, honor, happiness, joy, and respect.

Wednesday is the start of the Lenten Season. The tough part of Lent for some is the “giving something up” part. Today at GracePointe we heard that this season, we may see and hear some minimalist messages and worship. The intent is to turn our hearts and reflections toward the God of the Universe. So I am thinking that this Lent, instead of sacrificing or giving something up to make room for God, I’ll expand my capacity for Him  in worship. Consider this article I wrote last summer after the Night of Worship in August.

God inhabits the praises of His people. He moves through us when we choose to praise Him. When we look to Him — above all we are, all we know, all we think, and all we covet or ever hope to achieve in this world — then He will restore our very souls.

If you are anything like me, you find difficulty in forgiving yourself. But God who is perfect sees past our sin, our imperfections, and our folly and chooses not just to forgive us… He loves us with a wild abandon. His is an unconditional love that will last forever. Doesn’t that just beat all?

The fact that many of us cannot forgive ourselves is a major constraint to our worship. You see, only when we can accept that we are a mess can we be released and worship as we live, as we love, and as we give. If we can let it all loose at a concert or football game why can’t we do the same for God in worship? Who says God requires silence and sanctimony? If we give it over to God, we free up our souls to stand in the light of His love and cry out with voices raised high WE ADORE THEE, OH GOD!

Worship is an act of giving just as giving is an act of worship. Worship is our response to a loving God in passionate, reckless, abandoned ways. The songs, the music, the raining of the spirit all around us – this is worship! The music of our lives – who we are, how we live, how we love — is what we have to offer the King of kings and Lord of lords. In return, God offers us His ear to hear and receive our offerings.

When King David entered the city with the Ark of the Covenant he was so overcome with joy and triumph that he stripped away his royal robes and danced in the streets before the processional. When the king was facedown in his sin before God he again shed his royal robes, this time in humility. We too, like David, must strip ourselves of the rags that make us kings, rulers of all we survey. These are the things that keep us from truly being free in worship. Nakedness has nothing to do with clothing; nakedness is the truth of who we are before the One who made us as we humbly offer up ourselves in adoring praise. Are we willing to dance in our underpants? David did.

David was unashamed in his love of God. He was the man after God’s own heart. How is it that David was the one? When Samuel came to the home of Jesse to anoint the next King of Israel, David was away with the sheep. Samuel asked Jesse if there was not another after he had inspected each of the brothers of David. But David was in fields building a lasting passionate relationship with the Creator of the World. In the dark and cold solitude, David cried out to God and the Good Shepherd answered his plea for authentic love. Read the Psalms if you doubt David’s passion for God.

I once met someone who put all this in perspective for me. A pastor at Eastside Foursquare Church in Bothell, Washington asked me if I knew why David was a man after God’s own heart. I fired off some snappy response that missed the point all together.

“David,” he said, “was an outcast, sent to the fields while his brothers prepared for war, but with God on his side.”

You see, God is drawn to those whom others have tossed aside. Jesus sought disciples in the back streets and alleys. He dined, not with the elite at the finest restaurants; rather He supped with tax thugs and hookers.

David had learned compassion out among the flocks; that’s what triggered God’s attention in a ragamuffin like David. The King of kings chose David to be king over His peoplebecause of his compassion and that came from life on the outside.

My mentor continued, “Becoming someone after the heart of God is a lot like making wine. The grapes must be crushed in order to extract the sweetness inside and then the grape juice is allowed to rest until it becomes wine and the longer it rests the better it gets. So too we must submit to the winepress of God’s love if we are to move in love and compassion. So too must we wait, often for long periods, in order to produce the best vintage.

For David the lessons were learned early. For me it’s taken much longer. There is a love that cannot be earned, a love that lasts, and a love that is real, for ragamuffins like me once we allow ourselves to feel and in feeling, believe.

David believed. And David lived and worshiped like he believed – passionately, frighteningly, and radically. He lived and he loved with all his heart, mind, and soul. He let go of what he could see and gripped tightly to what he had come to know –

GOD

Yes, David’s passion led to sin. So has mine. But in David, there was honesty and his honesty was the key. In the end, David stood naked before the Lord and owned his sin. The king who danced naked before the King could, by grace, stand in that unashamed nakedness and be forgiven. The atoning blood of Christ offers you the same opportunity.

Idle worship becomes vital worship when we dance without pretense, pride or masks before the one true God. So, are you ready to make your life a praise to the Lord? Are you ready to live and love freely and in doing so see the power restored as people are rescued?

If you’re thinking just about now, “this boy be crazy.” Let me say that dancing naked before the Lord is a beautiful metaphor for what God seeks in us. He pursues us with a vibrant passion, the least we can do is dance, sing, make a joyful noise to Him. Dancing naked before Him is saying, “See, here I am, fat, thin, old, young, white, black, attractive, or repulsive. It won’t matter to those who join you in your nakedness and to the others… Have faith, they’ll see the joy and soon shuck off the garments that bind and choke them and dance with you.

If we will stop running from God and move into a place of freedom where His life-changing power can enter our domain – reveal all to Him and others, we will begin to reside where the supernatural can change us, our circumstances, our pain. The joy of the Lord is our strength. Rejoice and be glad in this the day the Lord has made. 

Although you may think its crazy, Jesus said, “If you don’t do it the rocks will praise me.”

Waiting to tee off.

It was beautiful, the ever-changing vistas, the cool breeze, the very unexpected sunshine. It was a place that was instantly recognized as sacred. A holy place, made all the more transcendent because of whom I experienced it with. It was Ireland, and we were on a four-course, five-day golf marathon. It was exhilaratingly brutal.

I won’t forget when my brother stepped up to the tee-box and crushed the ball with a near-perfect slice that was caught by the wind, exacerbating the ball’s problematic trajectory. It was lost. A curse rang out. The phrase wasn’t lost in the breeze that took the ball. It was clear. My father looked at me and jokingly said, “Clint, you’re a pastor, talk to him.” I paused. Talk about what? The problem was the slice, and I’m no expert. I’m barely a novice.

As a society, we have taken great offense at certain words, and in some cases, with good cause. Some, but not all. The more conscientious society that was intended by the tempered dialog simply has not occurred. We’ve gone from removing racial slurs from our dialog to no longer being able to say words like “target”. (In the interest of full disclosure, I shop at TARGET, and often target their clearance section.) In fact, it’s gotten so bad that simply accusing someone of speaking “incorrectly” has become a way to slander under the guise of piety. We no longer look through the lens of the speaker to better understand their framework; we only consider the sensitivities of the audience, allowing that to determine motives and intent.

Common sense seems to say this is absurd, though I’ve never tried to discern why until recently. Why is it actually counter-productive? Why are these words so offensive? Are we doing more harm than good? How would Jesus respond, if at all?

The inference is that dialog is shut down when we use controversial language. I don’t think so. I think conversation is hindered far more when we stop listening. We’re so caught up in accusing, that we’ve stopped trying to understand why someone would say what he or she says. We’re not willing to go deeper and explore what the offense really means and where it comes from. We scream back. Listening doesn’t release the reactive aggression caused by a perceived pain, hurt or offense.

This is particularly true when it comes to new, possibly controversial ideas.

Over the last few years I’ve been working very hard at finding the value ascribed us all as Children of God. This means listening, and not shutting down the conversation simply because it posits new ideas that could offend. I find certain ideas far more offensive than any word or phrase. But those ideas originate with very real people, with very real families, with a very real identity.

Seeking Truth - Photo by H. Koppdelaney

Changing the tenor of our dialog doesn’t begin with restricting certain phrases or not engaging with new ideas. That simply oppresses the individual. It doesn’t change anything. Real, lasting change begins by improving the consciousness of our society. It’s hard work. It has to happen internally.  We can lead by example. And listen. And entertain. And not be offended.

We read in scripture, in those bright red letters, “You’ve heard it said, but I say to you…” some of the most unorthodox, blasphemous phrases ever breathed. Jesus spoke, and the spirit of humanity trembled. Are we paying attention? Are we still listening to the continual guiding of The Spirit? Or have we stopped listening to the obscenities that could be transformative if we’d only pay attention?

If I said to you, “follow me”, wouldn’t you think we were going somewhere, maybe the two of us journeying together? And if someone said ‘follow me”, wouldn’t we assume one person is a kind of guide, and maybe that person already knows the way and wants you and me to join them? At least this is how I hear that term “follow”.

So, when I overlay that thought onto the geography of my journey and my faith, it totally reshapes the perceptions I had as a younger person. I’d heard the term “following Jesus” all of my life. The elders would say “son, if you’ll just follow Jesus, everything will be alright”. I’m thinking they were right, but I’m also thinking their “follow” wasn’t the same as my “follow”. Speaking for me alone, I just don’t think of the Creator as being stagnate, no matter the form.

Does this thought ring true for any of you? I may just be talking crazy and maybe I’m just the last one to get this thought or perspective on the word “follow”. It is a verb, it is movement, and it resonates in my heart to see the Creator as a guide rather than a ruler. I would think God is as fascinated by our journey’s as we are, and is traveling along beside deep in the experience, but in whatever form that great spirit is.

What do you think? I have been in many conversations of late on the static or movement nature of our journey. Many people I talk to are just fine with the view of God they had a 10 or 15 years old, and many who see that in terms of their own experiences as being impossible. They are relishing in the mystery and not having answers to all of the questions, and actually finding comfort in that. Everyone has their own path to walk and it’s important to honor everyone’s walk.

I would love to hear reflections on this, even if you don’t think it’s worth talking about !!!! I hope I have chosen my words with honesty and the spirit of being open to learning and gaining a wider perspective.

Dear Frank,

In a conversation with a well-read friend of mine, he mentioned that I should read some of your books.  I had a B&N gift card and was browsing the religion section looking for the sort of books that I typically read when I stumbled across your memoirs.  Having grown up in a hyper-evangelical environment, I thought it would be interesting to read the story of a guy that lived it first-hand.  I have to admit, the sub-heading of the book really caught me – “How I grew up as one of the elect, Helped found the religious right, and lived to take it all (or almost all) of it back.”  On that afternoon browsing for books with money to burn, I thought that I had likely stumbled onto a story that I would identify with.

I didn’t know that much about your dad but I was aware of the name Francis Schaffer, and I knew the title of his book, “How Should We Then Live?”  I really enjoyed learning about the mission work in Europe that your parents founded and how they had a direct effect on the world that I grew up in.  What I really appreciated about the work they were trying to accomplish was that it was thoughtful and unafraid of engaging real culture.  The theological discussions on art and culture and the willingness to have academic conversations about scripture, faith and life with so many people all while embracing people with backgrounds that would have made it easy to close the mission doors to, makes me really admire your parents.  I didn’t have a pastor/missionary as a father but know as an adult having worked on the business side of ministries, and with a wife in a pastoral role at a church I know first-hand how “ministry” takes a toll on your life while at the same time leaves beautiful scars that you are thankful for.  I found the conversation about what happened behind the scenes and the insight of who you saw your parents as being when no one was looking was really great.  I felt you really treated them with great respect even in retrospective writing.

Being a student of Christianity and a lover of history and politics your book was an amazing read.  I believe that you wrote bravely about your evangelical peers in the sections on the founding of the Christian right.  I grew up in the faith world as dictated by Dobson, Falwell, and Robertson, and appreciated your conversation on your interactions with that world in its earliest form.  I really enjoyed overall how you took me from a childhood in Europe, to becoming an adult in the ministry, movie and author world.  Your chapters near the end when you would comment on your current faith were beautiful, especially this passage:

Honesty is the only thing that is satisfying about writing.  And honesty is always filled with inconsistency.  Since our opinions change, to be “sure” about anything – as if that opinion is fixed and will last forever – is to lie.  Anything we say is only a snapshot of a passing moment.  Honesty is what was missing from my evangelical writing and my evangelical and secular movies.  How could I make an honest documentary when… I was a different person to different groups?  By playing along and keeping my mouth shut, I was selling out to be able to find integrity later, something like going to whores to find a faithful wife.  But whores just led to more whores.

After John [Frank’s middle son] joined the Marine’s, I found that I gradually began to understand my life in a new way.  I wanted to try to come clean. I wanted to admit my mistakes.  I wanted to try to be the same person to everyone I met.  I wanted to try to write with the same level of honesty that the Marine Corps drill instructors demand for new recruits and live for themselves.

From my reading perspective, you have been honest and I applaud you for that.  To live honestly is to live as Jesus lived and I hope we can all aspire to that.

Thank you for your words.

Aaron

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