Autographs after the show?

The other day on Facebook, I was slightly amused to see that GOD had set up a fan page. He has no recent activity outside of his joining, no wall posts, and no information concerning how to contact him, or what his official webpage is outside of FB. Out of 300 million Facebook users, he only has 415,000 fans, or just barely more than 1/10th of 1%. By comparison, Jesus only has 322,000 groupies. God's picture is a cross on a hill with a sunset as a backdrop, while Jesus chose the traditional Italian kung fu master look with an exploding heart in the middle of his shirt. As if the page itself wasn't bad enough, people have posted their heartfelt messages to God as well, and then get in arguments with people who make derisive comments. I think that if I wanted to get people to see who God was, I would tell them through Facebook that they obviously have no concept of who he is. That way, they would see the error of their ways, repent, and be a REAL fan of GOD. On Facebook.

Are you kidding me?

Does anybody really wonder why the world is increasingly skeptical of Christianity?

I'm not going to pass this all off on the rest of the world, I'll just say that I find it very difficult to identify myself as a Christian when the culture that surrounds Christianity seems to continually obscure and make a parody of itself.

I am willing to guess [and would not be surprised] that whoever set up the page is probably an athiest who is getting a really good laugh right now. GOD has 14,396 followers on Twitter, while Jesus has a cool 4,080. Comments to God on Facebook include thanks, claims of superior fanship [Dear God, I am one of your BIGGEST FANS!], and cute cliches that I could stick on my refrigerator or on a bumper sticker.

What are people trying to prove? I'm really curious about other peoples' thoughts on this, so if you've been so kind as to stop by and read this, take the time to comment back and tell me what YOU think. Does a fan club accomplish anything? Does it point to anything?

What do you think?

Kind of iffy...

No excuses, I just didn't touch this blog for 5 months, and it's [my life] been a veritable whirlwind of possibilities, opportunities, potential, and what-ifs... some days I think my life is one big "what if", and half of the time I am just so ethered up on the idea of what could be or what might be or it could all come together IF...


"IF" is an interesting idea. It is a contingency, a construct of our most fundamental ideas of logic (i.e. if/then lines of argument), and a key basis of possibility. Something that may happen depending on another thing. One intriguing aspect of "IF" to me is how many people wait around for life to happen to them, as if "life" is going to reach out and slap them right in the face IF [such-and-such] occurs, and THEN their whole life is going to start. Think about it like this:

Joe Smith (John Doe was unavailable for this illustration, sorry) hates his job, and really, mostly his life. He feels stuck, but he just knows that IF the perfect opportunity comes around, he will be able to jump on it, and capitalize, and love his life, and make his wildest (and inarticulated) dreams come true and all the while, life really is happening, and just happens to be passing him by while he sits and stews and whines and complains about everyone and everything that is not happening for him and/or going his way. And while it is so cliche to say "Don't let life pass you by," how many people sit and daydream about their perfect IF that will change their circumstance?

I think the problem is less circumstantial, and more attitudinal in nature.
I think people would be better served to quit complaining about their circumstances, and DO something constructive about it (or in some cases DO NOTHING).

I will be the first to admit, I can be a world-class complainer, the kind of person who can rally a whole group of sympathizers and reasons and bulletproof logic around me and take my issue(s) to the streets and tell the world and make everybody hear it and at the end of the day, I have accomplished exactly NOTHING. Sure, I might have the sympathy of a few friends, but I have also probably wreaked havoc on their attitudes with my complaining and whining and bitching and moaning. And while it is great to have friends to vent to from time to time—we all need that once in a while—nobody needs that kind of negative energy polluting their life, especially not from a dedicated whiner, and especially not when they have problems and tough circumstances of their own. The word 'drip' comes to mind. So does 'needy', and neither one of those are really labels I want associated with my name.

But back to the point at hand. Just as soon as I can be Captain Complainer, I also have the same propensity to be very proactive, very action-oriented, and I can make a change in my life instead of waiting for something to happen to me. I can lead, I can take steps in the right direction, and I can march diligently towards my goals and ambitions and calling with the support of friends and family and of course GOD. And if I truly trust the LORD has a plan to prosper me (Jer 29:11, everyones' favorite refrigerator verse), and being confident of that, the LORD will carry HIS plan out in my life to completion (Phil 1:6), then I do not have to worry, or complain, or whine, or gripe. AND! (this is a big AND) even if I am unsure of what to do, or I feel stuck, or life feels directionless, I can still trust the LORD has my back, that He will make His plan known in time, and sometimes I just need to sit and wait it out (and I am not very good at this one yet, writing this out can be telling me just as much as anyone else!) and just BE where I am 100%, making the most of my days, even if that means [for me] folding shirts or bartending at a restaurant I am not always happy to be at.

The last thing is I do not think that "if" is necessarily negative; on the contrary, it gives us a framework to hope and dream. IF can serve as the ultimate motivator, the sliver of hope we need in a dark situation, the exciting possibility that keeps us moving. The difference here is simply in perspective—rather than using IF as an excuse or a reason to become stagnant or discouraged, I can look at it as a chance to redouble my efforts, or pray harder, or whatever. I never want to incorporate a sense of entitlement with IF, because sometimes, even IF I work hard enough, and do a better job, and pay all of my dues, pray harder, etc, circumstances might not work out the way I had imagined.

I love the power of possibility, and even "what-if", I just never want it to hinder me in my life from being involved or proactive.

Thoughts? What do you think about "IF"—if anything ;)

-patrick

The beginning

Let's face it, I'm kind of a blogging whore, that is to say that I have blogs everywhere on the internet, some public, some private, some for business, and some that never even really took off. I decided, however, that I want a spot that is intentional (if THAT isn't a Christian buzzword, I don't know what is), a spot to discuss what is continually becoming more and more the focus of my life— the discussion of Jesus Christ and the community of screw-ups, hypocrites, liars, cheaters, Pharisees, good people, bad people, people people, judgmental jerks, friendly people, smart people, fake people, and everybody else people that we call the church. I want discussion because I think the conversation has either been very lacking or severely one-sided for a long time, and there is a shift happening, a transition in which people are becoming more open to talking about things that are not always (or ever) comfortable, but that have been swept under the rug for a long time. I know that in writing a blog, I run the risk of pontificating or sounding like I have a know-it-all God-complex, and that is really not the tone I want to assume. I just wanted to make that clear, and that's really why I want to have a discussion, because obviously I don't know it all. I have a lot of ideas about the church, and about how Christ should be the central focus of the church, and how He should be our reference point for treating one another and people who don't agree with us, or who even dislike us, but sometimes there are confusing or controversial issues, and I want to rant or talk or ask questions and get insight from other people who might have the same questions or beef that I do, or who might disagree entirely with me, and that's good. I am looking for conversation, and since I spend a lot of time at coffee shops, the blog name is fairly straightforward. I suppose from time to time I'll just ramble here, but like I said, I have 30 other blogs for that... or at least 3, and one that only a few of you know about. In any case, I don't where this is going to go, or if it is even going to go for long, but I'll/we'll see.

So my first question/topic is simple: what does 'church' mean to you? What does it feel like? Where is church? What do you like/dislike about church?

I'll try to respond at least once a day to any responses left by people, so I hope a few people who read this will dive in and leave some input!

Be well, be present-
patrick