Lyrics and Lifestyle….

I love The Message version of the Bible. :o)

This topic reminds me of Bethany Dillon’s “You Are on Our Side.” Wow, that song wrecks me. The first time I heard it played, just guitar and voice, I couldn’t have held back the tears in that dark gymnasium if I’d wanted to. What a beautiful song that so clearly portrays Christ and His love for all of us. And shouldn’t we all be like that? Shouldn’t all types of people who meet us understand that we are on *their* side? I think some Christians get confused (or act confused) about who our enemy is. (It’s not other people!) Anyway, I ended up buying up a number of prerelease copies of that album to give to friends and family. Good music should be shared! :o)

In our world of laptops, MP3 players, family, friends, cars, jobs, mortgages, politics, terror, bird flu… we have everything from the sinister to the sublime to distract us. It can be very easy to become so preoccupied with our own lives, so tied up in our own struggles and pursuits that we overlook anything that doesn’t directly involve us. On the other side of the fence, it would be equally easy to take a good hard look at all of the suffering and injustice in the world and be overwhelmed to the point of paralyzation. We could become so engrossed in the terror and the evils in the world that we are able to do little else. Jesus doesn’t leave much room for any of this on the part of those who follow his teachings, and inaction by any motivation is the wrong response. Sometimes it’s just hard to know how best to help sometimes, but Jesus makes it clear that we must help others (especially those who are helpless, weak, sick, needy, …) if we are to follow Him.

This evening, I stopped in for the first time at a little vegan grocery store around the corner. The lady behind the counter struck up a conversation and told me about how she had become vegan twenty years ago and hasn’t looked back since. We talked for a while about the reasons for the vegan lifestyle. Once I got back to my apartment, I found that I’d gotten two bags of groceries at the vegan store to my roommates six, and we’d spent the same amount of money… ouch! What should the perspective of a Christian be on the suffering of animals, conservation of the environment, and other similar issues? How does it look to our concerned non-Christian friends if we turn a blind eye toward these issues? Certainly, the lives and sufferings of people should take precedence, but does that let us off the hook on these other issues? What about buying clothes and other items that come from places that allow inhumane working conditions? Sure, you could say that you’re saving money so that you can give it to a good cause, but isn’t that missing the point a little? As the lady at the store pointed out, there is evil in some form almost everywhere you look, and you have to draw a line somewhere in order not to be consumed in your pursuit of justice. It’s just difficult to find a good place for that line sometimes. However, with the Holy Spirit as our guide, I believe we can find the proper balance.

Jesus taught that we should not try to feed people spiritually while ignoring their physical well-being. How can we apply this to those who have most of their immediate physical needs met but have other concerns? What should our response be to them? What if all the people in the world were clothed and fed and had adequate medical care; would our only remaining responsibility to others be that of spreading the Gospel? What would that look like? If people don’t see clearly that we care about them, they are unlikely to pay much attention to our message, to give much credence to our words, to believe what we have to say. Beyond physical resources and the message of the gospel, we need to invest *ourselves* in the lives of others. We need to befriend those who are unlike us. In this, we not only gain new perspective, but we help open doors that would otherwise be closed. Why should we be afraid of being influenced by the world? Isn’t He who is in us greater than he who is in the world? Why not take some risks on the front lines instead of hiding in the bunkers behind closed church doors?

It comes down to the fact that we must have action to match our claims of love. It seems like this action and love should extend to some degree both to the people around the world and to the person next door.

In worship, we express our love and devotion to God. However, God calls us liars if we profess to love Him while hating our brother. It’s a little like how sometimes it’s easier to love the guy halfway around the world than the man next door – who irritates us. However, God says if we say we love what we have not seen and do not love those we have seen, we do not know His love (I John 4:20).

Hello? Hello?

I’m glad that Mandy joined me in here, but it’s feeling a little lonely! :o) Hopefully you’re all just having a busy weekend! I ended up having a little more time on my hands than I get some weekends. I was on call and ended up working a little, but only from home – online and over the phone. I got to hang with friends both Friday night and Saturday night, and both evenings were great! I also got a few things done around the apartment during the day on Saturday – which was nice. I even roped my roommate Scott [ http://rivene.wordpress.com ] into doing Dance Praise with me – the first time he’d ever tried it. For those who haven’t played, I guess it’s a lot like Dance Dance Revolution except with lots of great Christian songs. It’s a lot of fun and also a good way to get regular exercise indoors during the months of crummy winter weather.

I certainly hope I didn’t put my fellow community members off with my late-night delirium yesterday. I didn’t intend to squelch the great conversation we had going…

I think that the next time I feel the urge to release a self-published novel in the form of a comment here, I’ll at least try to hold off a bit until a few others have had their say! :o) It’s just that it takes so much longer to write something short…

Mandy – Amos was totally the other verse I was going to quote if I hadnt used the Isaiah one, so we are totally on the same wavelength about what the bible says on this topic!

Jonathan – DANCE PRAISE?! That is awesome!! I love that game.. i did a DP contest between me and bethany dillon at a festival a year or two ago..pretty humilating but also hilarious!

Liz – the conference sounds amazing!

I’m at the studio today working on a new song…got here at 9am which for me is EARLY so i’m feeling proud of my exploits!!!

Sounds like a weekend for conferences. I would have posted sooner but Jonathan’s first reply was so long I had to take a lunch break in the middle of reading it. : )

I just rolled back in from leading worship at a youth conference in the Seattle area. We were at a retreat center that has had over 15 feet of snow this year! Even in its compacted state it was taller than my truck. Amazingly beautiful. Something about snowy mountains just puts me in a state of awe.

In response to Vicky’s post, it’s always amazing to me how God sends the same message out to everyone that is listening. I sat around tables late into the night lamenting the inward focus of the church with several youth pastors. The great thing was that that lament did not turn into a bashing of the church as it often does, but that it transitioned into an outpouring of visions and strategies these pastors had for creating churches that impact our communities. Even beyond that, a desire for unifying the churches in each community to be proactive in living out the Christian faith together. It was amazing to sit and share with these youth pastors who just weren’t happy with where we were, but were yearning for something more. And not just yearning, but doing! (imagine that.)

I’m not a preacher by any means, but while doing my undergraduate work I took a contemporary preaching class. A sermon I wrote in the class still has stuck with me through the years and has been a real measuring stick for me. I preached on the great commission, Matthew 28:19 specifically. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” The assertion was that we often get so caught up in the “make disciples” section of the scripture that we miss the biggest point… “GO!”. Christ says, “Look… I’ve lived this life, died and rose again so y’all can be free. So… go tell folks about it. GO!” I think the sermon was probably substandard, but the concept has stuck.

Now typing this I realize why Jonathan went so long. It’s exciting, challenging and convicting to think about what it means to live worship out. There is a line in one of my songs that always rattles in my brain, “Amazing grace how sweet the sound, for by His love I am alive. Freed by the blood that stained the ground to live a life that glorifies”. It’s just a constant reminder that we were not freed simply so that we could sit on our pews and be happy with our eternal security. A life that glorifies God is a life lived in service (Matthew 25)

God has been calling out his people and crying for revival to come. But I believe that this revival will not be done in tents where the sinners flock to us. I believe it is time for the body of Christ to wake up and realize that their God is moving and it’s time for us to go with Him.

Thanks Jonathan! As long as it’s glorifying God than we’re doing good. I’ve got family in Seattle and live just down the road in Vancouver, WA so I’m very familiar with the city. I always love being up there.

I have a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Youth Ministry from a little school in Portland, Warner Pacific College.

Funny you should say that. There have been times when I was jealous of those who went to state school, because I felt disconnected from the people I want to be reaching while I was at Christian school. (of course, there are non Christians at the school, they just know how to act to appear like Christians…)

God needs us in all places it seems. : )

Nathan, I attended a couple christian schools, and suprizingly, it was hard to find christians. but I dont think the aim of a christian school should be to make christian kids smarter. it should be a place to take in kids who’ve had a hard life. kids from broken homes, kids without a home, and so on, bringing them truth, education, and a solace.

Thanks, Vicky! I’m glad you don’t mind the rabbit trails… :o) Oh… and while we’re on the topic of rabbit trails, is there a good way to submit questions to you someplace without hijacking your blog? Perhaps on some topic that might be interesting to talk about on the blog, or some question we’d like to hear your opinion on sometime? And, by the way, I’m excited that you’ve been in the studio lately… can’t wait for the new album!

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I agree, Nathan. We can (and should) work to be an encouragement to others no matter where we happen to be. We just have to ask for opportunities and keep our eyes open. I guess this school thing is a classic instance of the grass seeming greener on the other side… :o)

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Linz, I had the same experience during some of my school years prior to high school. Many of my classmates were rough kids who had been kicked out of the public schools and so their parents sent them to the Christian school in order to let the teachers straighten them up.

vicky has a street team, which also has a forum. this is a great way to stay connected with other listeners as well as support vicky’s ministry.
http://themovement.fan2band.com/home.php?artist=111
http://themovement.

Linz

Thanks a bunch, Linz; I’ll check that out for sure!

Nathan, I’ll be praying for you! I’m not going to post my email address here, but I’ll send you a friend request on MySpace so you can let me know if there’s anything else I can do.

This is so good. And so true. I am guilty also. My church is planning a trip to Haiti in September and from the moment Pastor announced it, something in me screamed “you have to go!” My schedule will be tricky to get around because I’m in school 3 nights a week, but I am placing all trust in the Lord to work it out! I wanna be used by Him. To further His kingdom. To bring Light to the Darkness. I want to worship in spirit and in truth. In all I do.