Peace Out

The little big church down the street from me, Broadway Baptist, has been given the big "heev-ho." The big "wave goodbye." The big "syanara." The big "boot in the butt." Yes, they have been officially kicked out of the Southern Baptist Convention! *round of applause and cheers* This liberal bastion of over educated idiots were found to not be in "friendly fellowship" with the SBC. What did they do that wasn't friendly? They failed to add a check box to their membership card in order to weed out the gays.

For most churches, when you want to join, you fill out a card. A few questions such as:

Have you ever accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior? Yes or No

Have you ever experienced baptism by immersion?

Are you moving your letter from a sister Baptist church?

Would you like a minister to contact you?

Well that my friends was just not good enough. The SBC wanted something like this added:

Are you gay? Yes or No

If yes, you're living a life of sin and need to change.

I would suggest a followup question would be in order:

How gay are you?

a) I like Dane Cook

b) I have a small dog that's less than five pounds

c) I watch baseball to look at the cute butts

d) I talk with a lisp even though I don't have a speech impediment

And since Broadway didn't feel this was appropriate, well the SBC considers them to be too gay friendly and too SBC unfriendly and decided to kick their ass out of the convention. If you aren't able to be kicked out of the SBC these days, well friend, I'm just not sure you're doing anything of worth. Jesus would be kicked out of the SBC.

I sat down to chat with the interim pastor after he got back from a little meeting in Nashville with the Executive Committee. He had flown there with the head of that bastion of Baptist enlightenment Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, to discuss with these kind folks what it means to be in friendly fellowship. He seemed in high spirits about the meeting and reflects a bit on it in his blog.

The whole gist of it came down to this, chastity is not a requirement of membership at Broadway Baptist. Or any church that I've come across. So whether you're getting it on with a partner of the same sex or the opposite, churches just don't ask these questions. It's not because churches don't care. But most have enough sense to know that it's a slippery slope with no end in sight. So Broadway welcomed everyone and entered into a relationship with them where the Holy Spirit, scripture, and the Holy Spirit would transform lives. I suppose they could have done an exorcism like this. But you know... those tend to make headlines.

I have only visited Broadway once and spoken with their pastor once. But I tell you. They're good people. I'm all for the SBC kicking out whomever they wish. And I'm all for Broadway welcoming whomever they want. But it doesn't mean the SBC is any better for it. It just shows how completely lost in the woods the SBC and their followers really are.

The Insufficiency of Christ

Jesus is not sufficient. It’s true. Jesus is not all I need. I’ve heard people talk about the “sufficiency of Christ" and about how God is all we should need or want. The truth is, it just isn’t so. So, you over there raising your hands and singing, “You’re all I want. You’re all I’ve ever needed…” Shut up. You’re lying. And to the girl who has given up dating because she wants to prove that Jesus is all she needs… stop. You are robbing people of yourself. If Jesus was really all we needed, no one would ever get married. To the American who consumes with little thought of conservation and reuse because God will provide for the poor… stop. You are the resource many are waiting on. Jesus isn't going to magically provide for their needs as you ignore them. To the missionary from Michigan that once came to my old church and spoke about how hungry children need the word of God more than food… shut up. Needs must be met with real food and not just spiritual thought.

Jesus told Satan, “Man does not live on bread alone.” Conversely, it is also true that man does not live on God alone. Jesus demonstrates this when he breaks his 40 days in the wilderness fast. He could not just hang out with God forever and neglect everything else. It’s just part of humanity. We need things other than God. We need food, love, shelter, clothing… you know… the stuff Maslow talks about. And this isn’t a bad thing. This doesn’t somehow diminish God’s glory. God created us that way and that’s the way we function.

I can see the objections coming, “What about the garden of eden?” “But God can provide for all our needs.” Blah, blah, blah. Yeah... first, let's not base our ideas of reality upon a utopian idea like Eden. Secondly, it’s quite convenient to talk about God meeting our needs here in America while just south of the border we have children dying from malnutrition and lack of clean drinking water in Mexico. How’s God doing at meeting their needs? (ouch.)

No, God created us to be dependent creatures. Yes, we are dependent. ( It’s quite humorous when we act like we’re these autonomous and independent things that need nothing and no one. The reality is that these people who are so called "independent" place their trust in the power of work and the dollar bill more than God.) Part of worship is recognizing who we are in relation to God. So we must recognize our dependency in order to live lives that are pleasing to God.

This dependency works two ways. We give and we take. We are in need of love from others. We need their words, touch, and protection. And so we receive from them as if receiving from God. But we must also give. We must not overuse or abuse our neighbors across the border or even across the street. We have to question whether living with our wants may rob someone else of their needs. It even works the same way with the earth itself. We take from it, but the question is what are we putting back? Are we simply depleting? We are dependent upon others and other things and they are dependent upon us. And that’s the way God made it.

It is irresponsible of us to act like we need nothing in this world but Jesus. It is even more immoral to act like we don't have a responsibility to helping our brothers and sisters out. We can't use the excuse that "God will meet their needs." Yes, God has created a means to supply our needs. But that means is quite oftentimes me and you. We cannot simply be sponges that suck everything up. We must give back and pour out.

So rejoice in your dependency. Squeeze your friends tight when you hug them. Savor that sip of ice water. Slurp the cereal loud. Sleep an extra half hour. You’re in need and it’s all right.

wolfmen

Totally true and honest conversation:

You know the Geico guys. Is that make up and hair or are they wolfmen?

Wolfmen.

I was wondering. I bet the wolfman community doesn't like that.

Yeah, it's kind of like when midgets do stuff for showbiz. The community rejects that sort of thing.

I bet they're like wolfmen outcasts.

Probably...

I think started cracking up a couple minutes later.

"Wolfman community!" Hahaha

I'm kind of enjoying watching the old school and neo school calvinistas debate the merits of "vulgar" language from the pulpit.  Even Ed Young has chimed in with a video blog.  (Ed Young annoys the hell out of me.  Ooops.  Sorry about the "hell.")

I would suggest this is a generation thing.  I'd suggest that the younger generation is in a more correct place in viewing all words as inherently neutral and not stuck on one side or another of some Platonic divide.  There are way we use words for lifting up and tearing down.  There are words that are appropriate and controversial in certain situations.  But to say some words are "dirty"?  Well it's just plain empty.  Perhaps they can give me a list of the dirty words and upon whose authority they've been deemed bad.  I'd like to give them a list of my own words I find offensive and would like them to refrain from using.  In the end, we'd both be protecting our own world views of social mores and acceptable behavior instead of fully engaging the other.  We all get to control what we allow to be offensive.  It's sad when we're offended by such petty things while horrors happen all around us.

I feel like this harkens back to the days of colonialism.  Missionaries would go to other cultures and teach them how to become "civilized" (aka: put on clothes and look american) in order to be a better Christian.  Isn't this the exact same thing?  But instead of clothes, we're dressing ourselves up with arbitrary words and phrases?  It's all for not I'd suggest.