Of The Christian Right & Tea Party Fear
My friend Paul Webster wrote the following as a guest post. Thank you Paul!
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Politico has a fascinating article about the Christian Right’s (C.R.) concerns about the tea party movement. In it, Ben Smith describes un-ease among some Republican stalwarts who speak for the C.R. because the tea partiers are stiff-arming traditional conservative social issues, namely the sanctity of life and the defense of marriage.
I liken it to the kid who wants to make all the rules of the game because it’s his ball only to have another kid produce a newer ball and, who by the way, doesn’t have to play right in front of the house where mom can check on everything. So the first kid keeps his ball and pouts as he watches all the other kids he used to boss around running off to the big field with the second kid.
Heart Song
Soaring
Everything was kind of muffled. Nasty head cold turned into both ears becoming infected. The anti-biotics are helping but all of the pollen in the air is making the process seem longer and a little bit confusing. Am I still sick? Or is it now just about having bad allergies?
Who really cares… it all feels bad.
Last Friday night I thought about going up to Starbucks and drawing for a little while but my ears … blech. I needed to go to the store instead. So I popped some DayQuil, pulled on a sweatshirt over my t-shirt, baseball cap, wore flip-flops and jeans … jumped in the car for .6 miles and headed in to the store.
I felt like a total middle aged bachelor on a Friday night. All I cared about was getting some kettle corn popcorn, diet 7-up and … whatever else was on my mental grocery list. Buying groceries and renting the movie Precious … those were my big Friday night plans.
I walked in the door and went to get a buggy and I noticed someone had left a two gallon jug of milk in one of them stacked several deep. Not only did someone forget that jug of milk, someone else had shoved more carts in line without even noticing. I dug the jug out and took it up to customer service.
8.8 Magnitude Quake in Chile
Photo Credit: AP/via The Guardian
8.8 Magnitude quake in Chile? Lord have mercy on the survivors and if anyone is trapped may they be preserved, released and rescued. I’m also praying that if there is still a tsunami traveling across the Pacific that it would be quashed by the Lord and not affect anyone else.
Don’t forget, Japan had a 7.3 earthquake this week. It was off the coast of Okinawa and didn’t cause a lot of damage. But still… 7.3 … and all this after Haiti.
What is going on? Anyone can answer that except, with all due respect, Pat Robertson.
On Philosophers and Creators – Holland Davis Responds
I sent my post on The Rise of the Modern Day Levite to some of my friends and I wanted to include a response from Holland Davis:
There are philosophers and creators…. philosophers talk about what they want to do… creators just do it…
There are alot of philosphers in the church that just talk about what they want to do and how they wish that they would be allowed to do it… the creators just do it and let the chips fall where they may…
We just planted a church called Worship Life… we’re just going to create and see what happens. I encourage all the other creators to do the same… and if it means they have to create outside the walls of the church… then let’s see if they really take the gospel with them or if they are just looking for their own personal self expression.
That’s how I’ve always lived out my art.
Very good points. It does seem that the purely creative person doesn’t wait for someone to open the door for them, or just sit around talking about creating … they create.
Let’s join them.
Mature Everyday Obedience
Mercy
I think the Lord is telling me to do two things. Not big life altering kind of things (this time around.) And yet my initial reaction is to spiritually cross my arms and say, “no, I don’t think so. That couldn’t have been God.”
I would love to say that after a “dark night of the soul” I wrestled with God and awoke with an amazing epiphany that parted the Red Sea of my mind. Would love to say that as I brushed my teeth I noticed I was glowing like Moses because God’s glory was made manifest through my having heard His voice guiding me through the desert of my own selfish fear. And because I was glowing like Moses people at church donated a bunch of stuff to make up for what the Lord was asking me to sacrifice.
But that’s just me and my grandiose, epic, legalistic tendencies … not selfless obedience empowered by grace.
I didn’t wrestle with God. Last night I said, ” but I don’t wanna’” and slept soundly. Didn’t even think about it at church today.
And then, later this afternoon, I think I hear Him say, “OK… you don’t have to do those two things … even though I want you too.”
I love Him and trust that He knows what is best. I want to be obedient because I know He loves me and I love Him. His love for me wouldn’t change. My life wouldn’t be altered in a huge way (in this situation) after giving up one thing and giving away another. Yet after 17 years of watching Him prove Himself True, Good and Faithful, I know what I really need to do.
Now it’s time to say goodbye to those two things 
.
Faithful obedience in the small things is no small thing to the Lord.
The Rise of the Modern Day Levite – Bringing The Arts Home To The Church
A facebook friend sent me the following message a few days ago:
Hi Randy,
I’ve been pondering for a while the place of the creative arts in the Body of Christ. I feel that the arts are a way to communicate the heart of God to those who don’t know Him and to those who are yet to know Him. My hearts to desire to see the arts returned to a place of honor as a way that God shares His message. I’d love to see a community where the artist connect and a place where the churches/organizations can connect with an artist. Anyway, just a bit of what’s inside. It would be great to hear your thoughts on the matter.
Blessings, J
This reminded me of my conversation with Dennis Jernigan back in 1995:
The first time I hung out with Dennis was at IHOP (the all night pancake place … not the all night prayer place) after we had both appeared on James Robison’s Life Today program in 1995. It was that conversation that turned my heart toward the arts and praying for the “modern day Levites” (artisans, worship leaders etc.) to return to prominence in the Body of Christ. Dennis is the one that coined that designation. I started praying that they would not continue to be shunned as “extra,” … or weird … but embraced as a necessary manifestation of worship, communication and communion. And, I think the Lord is answering those and millions of other prayers along the same lines.
Seeing the Musical Wicked – Again! A Brief Review
Some friends and I went to Tampa Friday night to see Wicked being performed at the Tampa Performing Arts Center (TPAC). It was fantastic … of course. I saw it in London last May and was thoroughly impressed with it there. However, the Apollo Victoria Theater (London) is a much smaller venue than the TPAC and I have to say, while the quality of the plays were phenomenal on both sides of The Pond, sitting in the 2nd balcony among 10 (15?) times the people clearly distinguished both experiences. In London, I went on a Tuesday night when all of the college students decided to go. I dressed up (a little more than business casual) for the play but the kids around me were literally in jeans and one girl had flowers all in her hair.
Connecting The Past With The Present
Today I sent a couple more facebook friend requests to High School acquaintances that I hadn’t seen or heard of in almost 24 years. To date I have reconnected with about 40+ of them. I have also reconnected with a lot of Christian friends that I haven’t seen in 8 or more years (since moving to Florida from Texas.)
I have to say that the whole experience is a little surreal. Surreal in that many of these folks have very specific memories attached to them at the age I remember them from. To see them today, their interests, their families, their beliefs, humor, joys, worries, funny pictures … random status updates … I have to say, it has been an incredible blessing to witness their lives now beyond but still informed by the context of “back then.”
Paige and her awesome career and kid, Ken is a solid Christian and very encouraging, Ed still loves gadgets as much (or more) than I do, Patrick is still making a living as an Actor and Jonathan is an excellent musician/singer. Dean and David (twins) keep me laughing. Oh and Kristi, the girl I was so mad at for beating me out as the Youth In Government President our Sr. Year is now one of my favorite Farmville friends!
Then there is Pati cracking me up talking about the time we drove from San Diego to Dallas with Blake in one straight 24 hour shot while she snored the WHOLE time in my little Ford Focus.
Wow.
Amira is crazy (in a good way) as ever and just sent me a song list for my iPod I have dubbed “The AmiraMix.” She’s a soul sister and when she says she loves me and I am her favorite Jesus freak … I know she means it in the truest sense of unconditional love and that love is mutual.
As I reflected on this tonight, sitting here at my keyboard, there is a sense of being deeply blessed. Blessed with a knowledge of many different kinds of relationships that leads to a desire to seek God’s face on how this all can point to relational wisdom. A wisdom that He has ordained to only come through the passage of time. The past brought into the context of today … it’s awesome to watch and meditate on.
I am so glad God made us to be like Him … with the desire to know and be known by others.
… very grateful.
SuperBowl 44 Saints vs Colts Second Half
We started a comment thread on my facebook page and Facebook started getting wonky about the number of posts so I am moving the “live commenting” here.
In Effort to prove NYC Folk are Nice, Man Gets Carried Across Manhattan
I love this video. It is about a man wanting to prove that New Yorkers are actually nice and will carry him from one end of Manhattan Island to the other. Hilarious. Laughed out loud several times. I think my favorite part are the little kids attempting to help out.
