I have been trying to get a blog up for a couple of days now…and for some reason it just ain’t flowing, friends.
but flowing or not, i am determined to crank one out today…its been a little while.
i actually have some things i want to talk about (esp. the ‘why is so many Christians have too much time on their hands?’ part of the blog) but first i think i will catch you up a little in case you want to be caught up…if not skip on down- i will not be offended *grin*
my belly is growing. so much so that my belly button is almost entirely popped out!
i have energy again and have been exercising a lot…which feels really good after months of not being able to do anything without feeling depleted.
shawn has been recording since 2/26 in nashville and he comes home sunday…he’s had super creative, fun time in the studio with chris and neal and i have enjoyed the time to myself, but now i am oh-so-ready for my hubby to come home to me.
found out earlier this week that jetti is not pregnant (one of our dogs) and that was a great relief. i think one pregnant mammal per house is plenty!
life has gotten back into a pretty normal ebb and flow again…i get up, take all four dogs on a good long morning walk (i am sure we are sight to behold!), feed them, take some time to read, and spend the remainder of the day doing very normal things..paying bills, emailing, running errands, talking to my mom, catching up with friends, writing, doing dishes and laundry, mopping floors, and acting a disciplinarian and referee to our four adolescent dogs.
in the middle of all of that regular, ho-hum, normalcy a few moments of inspiration and anticipation and blood-boiling anger stick out as highlights.
tuesday evenings are usually spent with a handful of the most amazing women i know…we share our lives, pray together, and read the Word. this particular tuesday, however, rob bell (of mars hill church in michigan- not connected to the one here in seattle) was speaking of the university of washington and so we decided to go there as a group. now, i don’t know if you’ve ever heard rob bell’s name before or not…? he wrote a book some time back called ‘velvet elvis’ that i personally loved and found very enlightening and inspiring. his new book ‘sex God’ is making waves in mainstream culture as well…even good morning america is talking about this pastor who would dare to teach on sex! bell is the pastor of a large, somewhat unusual and unorthodox church in grand rapids, michigan. as an outgrowth of his church, there is a company called nooma (i have no idea if there is significance attached to that name) that makes these really amazing short films. the films are about spiritual issues, are done artistically and professionally, and last about 20 minutes long. i loved the few nooma videos i have seen and was anxious to hear rob bell in person. (see them http://www.nooma.com)
the evening did not disappoint. do you ever hear someone speak and think to yourself, ‘quit reading my thoughts!’ or ‘get out of my head!’…??? i have that experience from time to time and tuesday was one of those times. i loved how authentic and honest and gut-level real bell was…he got asked what i think is the ultimate hard question about the Bible: “how can the God of the old testament who seems war like and barbaric be reconciled with the compassionate Jesus of the new testatment?” bell outlined the basic theological ideas on the subject, but wasn’t afaid to state that its hard for him to reconcile…that it doesn’t necessarily make sense to him…that even the best theological ideas fall short of making his heart understand. you have got to love that kind of painful honesty from a person who is standing in front of a packed auditorium as the question answerer.
his candor and sense of humor made him immediately likable without the impression that he was trying to win anyone over…i just liked the guy. what can i say? i think the impression a person makes in the flesh is pretty vital no matter how good their writing is… that and he reminded me so much of my beloved youth pastor, jason holdridge, that i kept having to do a double take just to make sure they hadn’t morphed into the same person somehow.
my favorite part of the night happened to also be the most personally ironic part of the night for me. before the event began, i was sitting next to my dear friend annie and she and i were talking about an article i had read a few hours before that had literally caused my blood to boil…i was telling her about the article and how frustrated i was with one particular person involved and even more frustrated with the pervasive thought process and ideal that person represents in our Christian culture. exasperated, i ended in saying, “how is it that Christians have THAT much time on their hands? you think with all that is happening in the world, Christians would have something better to do than publically criticize one another!” soon after i blurted out that comment, rob bell appeared on stage wearing all black and looking younger and somewhat less ‘cool’ than i had expected. i stepped down from my soapbox as the crowd fell silent.
not long into the night, someone raised their hand and asked bell how he deals with criticism from his peers…the person went on to describe some of the criticisms she must have heard about bell and his church and their philosphy…”you know, how do you deal with people saying that you put too much emphasis on the love and compassion of God? (quelle horror!) and people who say you are too liberal, etc?” rob in complete transparency relayed how much it hurts to have his family and ministry and motivations called into question, said that he rarely reads blogs or reviews and tries instead to gage what he does by his time with God and people who actually know him (or who have at least met him!), and then he went on quoted how many people a day are dying in africa, talked about the great emotional suffering in our own country, how desperately his neighbors and community need him to be egaged and faithful, and said something to the effect of “i just don’t have time to call into question the character of people who may think differently than me…and i am not sure why they have enough time on their own hands, with all the great need around them, to be so critical”
that was the point when i was like ‘get out of my head, rob bell!’ i saw annie snicker in my peripheral vision.
he also went on to say something i haven’t thought about in a long time…and he said it better than i have ever been able to get the thoughts in my own mind to line up… he basically said “i am learning that throughout history and even in our own time, there are people who really believe it is their job to defend God, Jesus, the authority of Scripture, and all absolute truths..and those people will stop at nothing to do just that…not even venomous religiousity”
well said, mr. bell.
i started to blog about this tuesday night, but honestly i had to simmer down before i could actually post anything. i almost posted something tuesday before going to UW and now i am so glad i didn’t. you could say i was slightly angry. that wouldn’t have done my emotions justice, but it would be nicer than saying my face was red, my fists and jaw clenched, and my blood boiling! *grin*
i received a forward from a friend who often sends out forwards to keep his cohorts up on music, movies and issues of cultural significance. sometimes i read them, other times i don’t. the short message my friend had typed just above the link said “this is a debate i would pay to see”- that caught my attention. who doesn’t love a good debate? (okay, maybe its just my fiery little spirit..still…it caught my attention.)
i clicked on the link that took me to an article written by a man who is a leader in the association of evangelicals. he referenced a letter that was written about him by one james dobson and then went on to invite dobson to a discussion at the university of his choosing about the issue in question. now i was hooked. i make no bones about the fact that i do not care for james dobson. i don’t think he is bad person, i dont doubt the man loves God, and i know a lot of people who have benefited from his books and such (to each his own), but personally i really don’t care for his perspective and disagree with him on more than a few fronts. that said, i was very curious what dobson had written. i went right away to the link to his letter.
its kind of detailed so i will give you the long and short of it… apparently this man from the association of evangelics had come out and said something to the affect of “why isn’t taking care of the earth more of a moral issue for Christians? why would we hear about global warming and think its an evil plot by those horrible democrats and just dismiss it? whether or not we believe global warming is happening, it is true that we have mistreated the world God created for mankind with our consumerism and wasteful ways…perhaps not what God meant when He told adam to have dominion over creation.” of course, i am paraphrasing, but that is the basic point this man was raising…encouraging believers to think about stewardship of creation…
for reasons that i cannot understand or explain, although i read dobson’s letter, this made dobson so irrirated that he and the “undersigned” (he had about 12 conservative Christian ‘leaders’ sign his letter too) felt the need to write a letter to the association of evangelicals (to which they don’t belong, mind you) voicing their disdain. now i tried to follow dobson’s logic on why the man’s words were so offensive and it really didn’t add up to me…but basically he was saying that the association of evangelicals needed to reign this man in because with his statements he was steering Christians away from the “real” moral issues of our time.
the man, in his blog, said yes he was broadening the base of moral issues for Christians to include something other than homosexuality and abortion and that he could see no reason the moral platform shouldn’t be broadened. he then invited dobson to a discussion to find out what Christians of our time think are moral issues.
i am sure that will happen-
when hell freezes over.
after i finished linking and reading, i was in such a state of agitation that i thought i might implode.
seriously friends, DO we have that much time on our hands? your life and mine has an expiration date…we have only a few short years to be on the earth in the time and space that God placed us in…we have limited time to learn to love God and our neighbors as ourselves…we have limited time to reach out to the people we know… what a shame if we waste our time bickering with one another!!!!!
what a waste of our lives.
the foremost missionary in the new testament once wrote in a letter “beware of fighting over words…be careful you don’t devour one another!”
why do we want to eat each other up? tear each other down? criticize and critique each other until all of our time to do good and be Jesus to our hurting world is lost in stupid, semantic-focused, debates?
it makes me sick.
i just want to say that there ARE more moral issues for believers than whether or not gay people should be allowed basic rights like medical insurance and tax deductions…that although abortion is a horrible stain on our country’s fabric, its not the only horrible stain. was that man wrong to ask Christians to consider being better stewards of the world God lovingly created? come on… i guess because james dobson has decided he and the undersigned are the gate keepers of absolute truth and what matters to God, than that gives him the right to determine what issue is worth drawing attention to. never mind that this man, who also has a relationship with God, felt convicted about how we treat the envrionment (not to mention there is nothing about it that in any way contradicts the Bible!) They hadn’t approved for discussion. End of discussion.
church, let’s wake up and be the church.
i just got back from a life altering trip in africa and after spending my days with people who have no food, no money,no clean water, no freedom, rampant disease, and little hope for any of that to change….trust me, the moral platform should be broadened. darfur should be a moral issue for believers! AIDS should be a moral issue worthy of discussion in our Christian subculture… its funny isn’t that JESUS felt the need to talk about the poor and somehow forgot to mention homosexuality as the major assault on faith, huh? and yet at this point in history, how much do you hear about the Church speaking up for the plight of the poor?!?!?
i guess we have the option to follow people who have proclaimed themselves to be the ‘leaders’ of Christianity and only care about what is important as they see it… OR we could actually read the Bible for ourselves..and be concerned MOST with the things that Jesus told us directly…to what is said to be pure religion “to care for the ophans and widows in their distress”… hmm, makes you think, doesn’t it? maybe ‘protecting’ the faith by carrying signs that read ‘God made adam and eve not adam and steve’ while picketing government buidings isn’t really the test of what it means to love God… and perhaps before we go promoting an agenda, it would be wise to humble ourselves, seek God, and ask Him how we can be salt and light where we are…
if it weren’t for being pregnant, i would have more typing left in these fingers, but as it stands, my back is sore from sitting for so long…so alas i will step down from my soapbox…*grin*
love you all…you may not agree with me and that’s cool. i just hope you think…dont’ just accept everything you are told because the person doing the talking has been hailed a spiritual pillar…TEST EVERYTHING.
if you want to read any about the pregnancy visit baby mac’s site…(check the blog before this one for the link) i was going to talk about how reading the birth book has me stoked about natural delivery…but i am tired. you can read about it there.
later, friends!
you should write a book. that inspired me a lot. i like reading things that make people “uncomfortable”, and question themselves. I’m kinda just a kid (17), but i agree wholeheartedly w/ what you’re saying, and i hope that i can make a difference, and try to get people to understand and accept a different way of thinking…and move toward a positive change.
Amen! I’ve been reading your blog for quite some time, but this post has hit me the hardest. I agree with your words. And I really like Rob Bell, too. I’m reading Velvet Elvis at the moment and loving it. However, I can’t read just one book at a time, so I’m splitting time between Velvet Elvis and Desiring God… doesn’t get much better than that!
Girl, you rock. Love your blog and especially this post. Hey, did you get my email a few days ago? Joel and I have a little something for babymac and need your address. Could you email me with it? We need to catch up soon anyways ๐
Kate,
Do you have a link to the article about James Dobson and that guy? I would love to read more. Also, you HAVE to give our friends who just moved to Seattle a call. they were our best friends living down here and they just moved up there. I will have Cara email you their contact info. Hope all is well and we are praying for you and your family. One last thing, I agee with the comments above that you should write a book.
All I can say is “You go girl!” Too many Christians waste all their time looking around for opportunities to tear others down. My pastor says that Christians should be the happiest people on earth(which I totally agree) yet how often is that the case? Ha! Anyway, I always enjoy your posts but this one was especially good. ๐
You’re so eloquent; I agree with you on all counts. Although I’m a writer, I’m not sure if I could have put those thoughts in better words.
I wish there was a better image of Christians. I don’t even like labeling myself as such, because in today’s society I feel we seek desperately to label everything, make everything so compact, completely simple and understandable to everyone. I prefer to say I believe in Jesus and His teachings, and to me, that is both simple and challenging. I think that is what life is: simple and challenging at the same time, incomprehensible yet comprehensible, difficult but beautiful.
The image of Christians today is so warped, so many DO have too much time on their hands, as you said, constantly criticizing each other and not better spending their time talking about issues that may better serve the world and take away from the negative image often portrayed. I follow Jesus in his unbiased love for everyone; I believe homosexual people are just that, PEOPLE, and so deserve the basic human rights that other PEOPLE have. And since when did sexual orientation define a person? Also, albeit abortion being a difficult issue, it is multi-faceted. I, myself, guarantee I would never commit an abortion, but the reprecussions of outlawing abortion could be monumental; other countries, developing countries, where abortion is illegal have thousands of women die due to botched abortions done with hangers and other horrific means. Like I said, it is an issue that deserves attention, but people must know about the issue and realize and note the fact that not all people are Christian, not all people have the same beliefs. When you push people to believe something, when you make something into law, it does not guarantee that everyone in the world will follow. Look how many underage people drink, the number has increased in great amounts, not to mention the number of resulting drunk driving accidents (I can even see it in the very high school I attend– I am eighteen).
Though I may receive criticism for what I have just said, I think more attention should be placed on poverty, education and nature. Why is it that most people convicted of crimes come from a poor background? It is two things, typically– the fault of a decent lawyer because of the person’s impoverished state and/or the typical lack of any decent, positive influences because of the hardness that most people in poverty must take on to simply survive. The criminal justice system IS corrupted; there is proof– how often do you hear of a wealthy person being sentenced to the death penalty? Whatever way you look at it, our society has become incredibly classist, with the mentality that “If it doesn’t have to do directly with me, then I don’t care.” Jesus spoke of the UNITY of life, yet so many people want only to separate from from issues that are hurting millions of people, so they don’t have to think or do anything about it. Developing countries need our help. But the U.S. could care less, it seems. Africa is in near shambles in most areas, and same goes for India. Immoral atrocities are occuring all over the world, and all we can think of is what is happening in our immediate world. The real question we should ask ourselves that may better serve our quest to live a life of love, in the way of Jesus: When did we become so selfish?
Can you fathom the amount that schools have suffered budget cuts? And for what? To fight a war? A war for what, exactly? I did not agree with the war from the beginning, and not Bush either. Since when has violence served morally better than peace and love? Good education should be provided to all, if anything should receive budget cuts, it should be something of lesser value. I won’t go into reasons why I don’t support the war, but for one, the weapons were never found, the situation in Iraq is clearly RELIGIOUS and POLITICAL. American soldiers are standing now as practice targets for the Sunnis and Shia. Why we went over there, as many wars in the past have been about, is for the improvement of the U.S. economy, in this particular case– oil.
And God’s creation, the world around us, the nature, it deserves ongoing attention. Why? Because global warming is happening, it is, and to disregard that fact, you discount and devalue the gift of life that God gave us.
Hmmm, this is too long, so I will just leave it at that. Thank you for writing so poignantly, Kate, you are an inspiration, truly.