Things my biographer should write

Only a short time into the book of Numbers, there are two statements I've read numerous times, which have not escaped my mind. "So Moses did as the Lord commanded him."

AND

"Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground."

Both Moses and Aaron are leading large groups of incredibly obstinate and stubborn people, and during all the whining, struggles, and frustrations, these are two very common responses from Moses and Aaron.  On countless occasions you see the Lord give Moses a command for his next move as the leader (often decisions and commands which will inevitably anger and frustrate the people), and the next statement in the text is, "So Moses did as the Lord commanded him."  It is written so simply in our Bibles, but that statement represents a very significant action.  Moses was incredibly obedient to God when commanded anything of him.

Those commands were never simple, but the simple presentation of his obedience in scripture shows the great devotion and dedication of Moses.  That is phenomenal, and I really need to take a great challenge from that.  How obedient of God's commands on my life have I been?  Would someone be able to write my biography and write, with confidence, "So PC did as the Lord commanded him"?

Well I am not so sure this person would be able to write of me that I frequently heard from God enough to actually do as He tells me, which brings up the second statement.

Each and every time anything came before Moses and Aaron, there was this second statement quickly following: "Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground."  Generally, once they were berated by their own people for having done what the Lord asked them to do, this statement followed.  Often when circumstances came their way and HUGE decisions needed to be made, this statement quickly followed.  Nearly every time, that statement would be followed with, "The glorious presence of the Lord appeared to them..."

As a leader, a husband, a man...I wonder if my biographer would be able to write of me that I was quick to "fall face down on the ground" once presented with difficult circumstances and decisions.  Actually, no, I don't wonder at all!  My biographer would NOT be able to write that statement of me; at least not frequently enough to indicate a pattern.

This makes me wonder if I could change the course of my hypothetical biography from this point forward...

Thanks Steve

Here are all the apple products I have ever owned: 

Get off my lawn

These kids today and their:- skinny jeans - epic fails - lacking knowledge of Tommy Boy or Chris Farley - video games - social media (okay, I like that one) - Jersey Shore -  waning respect for printed books -  flat billed hats - sushi - high "connection" without face-to-face relationships - iPads (jealous) - Justin Beiber, Kardashians, Lady Gaga, and other "celebrities" - energy drinks - autotune - boat shoes (and other styles I am too old to 'pull-off' now, but would if I could) - hooking-up - _________________

Current Music Obsession: Ben Sollee

Generally speaking, there is always an artist or band I am obsessed with. I.just.can't.stop listening to this artist all the time. The last obsession I would say was Listener, and before that was Mumford&Sons. Right now, I am working on a strong obsession with Ben Sollee. I saw him on NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts a few weeks ago, and I was stricken. He is a cellist and vocalist, and he is both with an outrageous amount of soul. Enjoy with me!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5fd9Z7zJVg&w=420&h=345]

Unreasonable [poem]

Love sat down with hateand wondered aloud "why do you hate me?"

Hate answered love with another question "why do you love me"

Both answered aloud at the same time "Don't know! Just do."

Your Opinion Needed: new column

I have been asked to create and maintain a column in a soon to be created quarterly produced by the church I pastor at. My column is to address faith and culture, and more particularly, faith IN culture. What does it look like to live out our faith in our culture? What does faith look like in our culture? A column title is required of me soon, and I have been brainstorming by myself (not really a brainSTORM I suppose). I have narrowed down to 3 possibilities. Please help me with some feedback about these options. (No! I will not even consider calling it "Fulture".)

Which do you like most? Why?

Less Than 3 City (<3C) The most connected culture we have ever had realizes what "Less Than 3" means; it is what you would type to form a heart in text. I love the idea of Christians developing a love for their city. The first step to reaching any group is developing a love for that group. You cannot serve or reach anyone you do not first love.

Lost in Translation: speaking the languages of culture and faith The first thing any good missionary knows you have to do before reaching a foreign culture is to learn the language. As far as most American Christians go, the culture around them is increasingly foreign. Further, most Christians simply do not speak the language of their city, their culture. That needs to change if we are going to reach our cities.

Urban Missionary This seems almost self-explanatory; at least to those of you who read this blog. But without assumptions like that: Though my official title is "pastor", my real ministry identity is that of missionary. I am trying to apply all the same understandings of what missionary would be and do for a "foreign" culture for this urban culture that is increasingly foreign to most Christians. I am still trying to be a light in a culture that most Christians would rather attack for being too dark.

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Alright! What are your thoughts? You may also share completely different ideas if you have them.

Spiritual Suicide

The spiritual life is made up of a series of reality checks we would like to avoid. In saying that, there is no LIFE in our spirituality if we avoid these realities. When we walk away from those realities, we commit, what Brennan Manning calls, "spiritual suicide". Spiritually, we would rather give up all-together than to actually engage the realities that require us to give up living life on our own terms.

We are hell-bent on selfishness and avoiding the Christ-centered life, and we refuse real spiritual life when we keep focusing on ourselves.

The New English Bible translation of the beatitude says:

"How blessed are those who know that they are poor, the kingdom of Heaven is theirs."

The moment I come to terms with how poor  I actually am is the moment I enter the verge of something great. The moment I quit avoiding the reality that I am not the center of my universe I can begin to have spiritual growth.

The moment I come to accept that I am relentlessly selfish, broken, and tore up is the moment I reach a threshold of real spiritual LIFE.

I am, in those moments, really settling into the reality of the poor in spirit. I coming to accept the fact it is okay not to be okay all the time because I simply am not okay all the time.

This is a reality check I need frequently and constantly if I want true spiritual life and to never commit spiritual suicide.

New Poet: Hillary Kobernick

I have been trying to listen to more from Hillary Kobernick, though it is difficult to come across more of her material. I have only found two videos online to share. This is my favorite of the two, but my favorite piece I have heard from her is called "An Open Letter to Pat Robertson" (audio of which you can find at her site above) It is both incredibly well-informed and equally cutting. Enjoy! [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVs1KQACTgI&w=560&h=345]

Fire

Image #1: Cold winter night; possibly snow on the ground and frost on the windows.  Everyone huddles near the fireplace within which the logs are being consumed by the flames while creating a warmth and comfort. Image #2: Hot summer day; a few kids playing with fireworks out near the lake-house.  One rogue bottle rocket explodes in a patch of dry grass, and an inferno soon consumes the garage and damages part of the lakehouse.

Image #3: "for our God is a consuming fire." (Hebrews 12:29)

Fire is equally useful and destructive; comforting and painful.  Either way it consumes what it comes in contact with.

There are moments when I struggle to figure out how God connects and relates to me, and then there are moments when certain images of God consume me with a  great strength.

Today I am processing and wrapping myself up in the image of God as a consuming fire.  There are times when he has been my source of warmth and comfort when I need it most amidst a cold and discouraging time.

I cannot recall too many times in which GOd has been a source of destruction and pain in my life.  But I cannot allow that to make me cease to understand his great power to be a consuming fire.

Hebrews only quotes Deuteronomy when it mentions God as a consuming fire.  The context in Deuteronomy is a reference to how JEALOUS God is.

God is a consuming fire, and there are moments he has likely been jealous and thus angry when I have pursued lovers far less wild than he is.

There is an anger and almost violent sense of God as a jealous lover.  My whoredom for other lovers of my soul must enrage him, and I see this consuming fire image begin to take shape and form in my soul's gallery of images.

Because of his great mercy, though, I place that image just next to a consuming fire, which produces a great warmth and comfort when I have needed it most.

My God is a consuming fire!

Why: @ragamuffinpc: what is a ragamuffin

Perhaps you wonder why the address for this site is ragamuffinpc. Perhaps your RSS Reader still calls this site "Ragamuffin Ramblings". Perhaps you wonder what ragamuffin actually is or means. Perhaps you have images of a classic doll with red yarn hair. Perhaps you are thinking of a strange pastry. You have come to the right place today. I will explain, today, the meaning behind my site's title.

I first heard the word used and defined by my hero Brennan Manning in his book The Ragamuffin Gospel. God used Brennan and this book to ravish my aching heart with his outrageous love. I came to understand God's grace and furious love in a way I had never taken hold of in my life.

The ragamuffin is one with a singular prayer: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." Brennan explains further in his new book All is Grace: "any additional flourishes to make that cry more palatable are pharisaical leaven."

The ragamuffin is one who understand that he, along with every other person, is a beggar at the door of God's mercy. She is the one who is bedraggled and beat up in life and faith, but have learned to take the hand out of grace without holding back or allowing the shame to hold them back.

This is why you will find ragamuffinpc to be more than an URL for my website, but it is an identity of which I am learning daily to take hold.

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How would you explain the name of your blog?

Why we celebrated Osama's death

When Saddam Hussein and Osama BinLaden were killed, there was celebration. At a glance it seemed to me a bit like a world of savages celebrating the death of a human being. I understood it though the celebration of death seemed savage to me; regardless of whose death we were celebrating. It felt like a denial of mercy and life, but that is not what I am writing about right now.

Today I read Proverbs 11, and verse 10 struck this chord in me.

"when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy."

There is no question of the wickedness of Osama and Saddam. I am not too certain you have to be a follower of Jesus to question that. How it felt to celebrate their death, again, is not the point, but the realization that this is going to happen when wicked people are gone.

The question for me (and you) today hits at the reality that how you live your life is how you will be remembered when you are gone.

Can you imagine people celebrating that you were finally dead and gone?

What if we broke this detail down a little further?

What do people think and say of you after you leave? After you graduate? After you retire from the company? After you move out of your neighborhood? After you leave your church? After you move to your next job?

After you walk away from a conversation?

How we interact with people and live our lives impacts how we will be remembered.

I do not want people to celebrate the moment I finally leave them, but that factor is determined by how I interact with people now.