Bar Bands

While at Cornerstone Festival, I twice heard about people forming bar bands. The purpose is not to show up and preach, but to just be there and see what Jesus does with it. What a great move!

Having many musician friends who are not believers, I know you can't show up and preach at them and tell them they are going to hell. You need to be willing to have a beer with them and be there no matter what is going on in their lives, even when it conflicts greatly with your values. This is what Jesus will use and He will use it in His time, not mine. And He has.

It will be a cold day in hell before these people show up in church for help on anything. But sometimes they will meet Jesus in the bar.

In my mind, I bounce back and forth between feeling a little guilty for being involved in something looked down on by many Christians and the feeling that God can use me here.

I think I the church needs more bar bands.

Francis Schaeffer Revisited

Back in the 80s and into the 90s I read most of Francis Schaeffer's works. I also read some of his son's, Franky Schaeffer V, as well. His work was foundational for me and what I gained from it has served me well over the years. It has also gotten me into trouble a few times as some in the church had a hard time dealing with it.

It was here I was introduced to the idea that the personal piety movement had actually led the church down the wrong road! Now, I will admit it can be hard to wrap your head around the idea that paying too much attention to your own spiritual condition can actually lead you in the wrong direction. How can this be?

Well, its not a huge leap. Where is it said that we were put here to pay attention to ourselves? Or to separate ourselves from "the world"? Rather, we are here to play a significant role in every aspect of life, not just the "spiritual" parts. Politics, arts, education, social issues, whatever. God has called us to be involved in it all. If Jesus is Lord of all, then is he not Lord of all areas of life and culture? And if He is Lord of all these things, why would He not want us involved in all of it?

Last week while perusing my bookshelf I came across Schaeffer's "A Christian Manifesto", which was basically a response to "A Human Manifesto" editions I and II. If you had told me Schaeffer has written it yesterday I would have believed you. (Yes, I know he died in 1986). To have a work whose truth spans generations speaks to his credit. This is no pop religious work designed to sell books. It strikes to the heart of what being a follower of Jesus means.

I have been too long uninvolved. My prayer is God releases me soon.

Emerging, Emergent, PostModern... Huh?

For some time now the terms Emerging Church, Emergent Village, Postmodern Church, etc. have been showing up on my radar. Sounded interesting, so I decided to check it out. After a fair amount of research I still can't figure out what this really is. It seems to have no real definition other than most of those involved don't like wherever it was they came from.

Now that is nothing new, and in some ways is refreshing. I came in through the Jesus People movement in the early 70s. One of our badges of honor was NOT being the traditional church. We saw it different. We did it different. While the mainline churches scoffed, ridiculed, and preached against us, we reached into a culture that rejected many of the mainstream "values". We also made huge mistakes. What remained constant and unchangeable was the centering in Jesus, salvation through the cross, and the authority of scripture.


I like the emphasis on social justice and action. All evidence I can find in scripture says Jesus is right there with you. But there is a reason for it and improving the general life experience is not in an of itself the goal. Restoration to the Father is.


I like the "conversation" part of this. I think everyone has something to contribute to the collective church consciousness. It is also a great tool for discovering truth. I am a big believer in the concept that those who seek Truth will find it. For creating truth? Not so much. Not everything I think or add to the conversation is right, even if it is popular.

The cross still stands as the entry way to relationship with Christ. Without it you really don't have anything. Adoption of the right life philosophies mean nothing without it. Social action is empty if in the end the beneficiaries are in hell. Spiritual conversation is just blathering unless it helps point me to Jesus as the author of faith. Everything we do and everything we are about should serve to point others to Him.

I thought I would feel good about this movement. I still want to. I am hoping it is this generation's incarnation of what we did. And maybe it is. But after reading and researching, I can't figure out where this movement stands on any of the important absolutes. Can't they just say plainly where they stand? I am left wondering if obfuscation is the point?


And that troubles me.

Political Jesus?

Its not really very hard to have a political position. Not for me, anyway. The dilemna comes in when trying to figure out Jesus on this one. He didn't pay it much attention. He had other matters He came here to deal with, except for a couple of times when He seriously disappointed His followers telling them He wouldn't be setting up that earthly kingdom they were manuevering for.

Most Republicans I talk to believe "God is on their side". Most Democrats just look at me funny.

So just where is He on this one?

Inquiring minds want to know...

Cornerstone Festival

I think I had my world rocked. Not a lot, but enough to get my attention. I wasn't quite prepared for what I encountered there. Now, I have always been kind of an "outside the lines" kind of guy. Conforming to the accepted status quo of the church or the culture never clicked with me. So I was prepared to deal with Christians who fit more into the subculture elements. What I didn't expect was to encounter it to the degree that was there. A certain amount of it has always been fine with me, but there was always a fuzzy line that the other side of seemed to be more seeking after the pleasing the flesh than expressing a commitment to Jesus.

I still think there is a degree of self-seeking that goes on here, but I think it is not significantly different from other expressions of the same thing. I have seen this across the spectrum of society. I also think a certain amount of it is normal with the youth as they seek to find who God created them to be and where they fit.

What rocked me was seeing these same people on their face before God. The opportunity to talk with some musicians in the screamo and metal groups that were genuinely seeking to minister to people they would never otherwise reach. To see that these people genuinely loved Jesus and wanted to serve Him is what rocked me. It left me with no choice but to accept them and their choices, even if I don't make those same choices for myself.

Still, I think there are bounds outside of which we are no longer seeking to serve Jesus and represent Him to the world. These bounds can't be defined in a legalistic sense. Its defined in the heart attitude. Its not necessarily what you are doing or what you look like. Its who you are doing it for and why.

Note to self: It's not WHAT. It's WHO and WHY.

Jesus in America? What's up with that?

Who is Jesus? What does it mean to be a follower of Him in America? Are we fulfilling God's will? How are we affecting the culture? How is it affecting us? Should we even care about the culture and its obvious decline? How do we minister in it?

I have some ideas and questions and opinions on this, but very few answers. Feel free to contribute. What you have will fit somewhere, even if I don't see it your way.