It was a cold winter day in Minnesota
And I had a nasty cold mind
you, that I walked into a Target thinking I would grab some food at the
Pizza Hut at this Target. So I walked up to the person at the counter
and was going to buy the food I wanted so she asked “what kind of Pizza
do you have?” and I told here, than she asked “Is that all?” and I said
“I want a drink, just give me whatever size is normally in the value
meal”. At this point she looked at me, clearly not understanding what I
was asking for and started telling me what size of drinks they had, which seems odd sense normally all value meals have the same, normal, sized drink.
Now
I often think that there are very few things in life more annoying
Than
talking to an employee at a store or restaurant that doesn’t really
know what the store they are working at has and so they end up, simply,
making getting what you want harder because they don’t know what they
are doing and they can’t help you because they don’t know where stuff is
in the store. So you end up walking around aimlessly hoping you will
either find what you want or find someone who knows what they are
talking about or worse, I think anyways, standing around for 15-20 minutes while they call a Manager.
I have now got to a place in my life where I
avoid workers in stores
Even when I don’t know where something is,
because I so fear finding that employee who has no idea what is going on
and has clearly spent to much time on break and not enough time finding
out where stuff is in the store. Target is by far the worst too
because the employees, or should I say Team Members, are told to go up
to people and ask “Can I help you find something?” (or something like
that) making it very likely that if you are to find me in a Target you
will find me walking fast down one of the back aisles trying to avoid
the people wearing red shirts and Khaki pants. And this is what makes
fast food so painful for me, other that the fatting food, is that fact
that you can't get away. Its like when you go to a fast food
place at some point you have to order food from someone and there is a
chance they will not have any idea what you are talking about, I can’t
stand that (to bad this hasn't made me stop eating fast-food).
It was another day in Minnesota, most likely cold,
when I realized another one of my greatest fears.
A fear that still
hunts me and I still avoid just like those workers at Target. The fear
is a simple one. It is a fear that I believe many of us have a problem
with but are to afraid to do anything about it. What this fear is is
the fear that I will be one of those people that don’t know what they
are talking about, that I will be more of a hindrance than a help and I
will force people to avoid me. But the thing here that I am so afraid
of not knowing anything about is not the layout of a Target store, or
the menu at Wendy’s but the fear that I will be faced with a question
about my relationship with Jesus Christ that I can not give an answer
too.
I must be honest now and say that when I started writing
this post I was planning on going into a long talk about how today’s
Christians are uneducated about the Bible and unwilling to change and
are often as annoying as those employees that don’t know where stuff is,
but as I started writing I came to see that I, Adam
Nash, am just as guilty of being uneducated, unwise, and annoying as
any other Christian person today. And it is in this time that I have
come to understand, or be reminded of, is that God doesn’t ask for us to
know everything. He doesn’t ask us to never be lost, or confused, or
doubt, or never say “I just don’t know”, he simply asks us to keep
growing and learning and he will be there to help us out when we get
lost and confused and don’t know what to say. And I think this is
something God is working on me right now and I can only say at this
moment that I feel like he is growing me both in my knowledge of him and
my dependence on him. Some day I will be with my Lord Jesus Christ in
Heaven and I will be able to learn about God for eternity, but for now I
will simply allow God to grow me and learn how to depend on him when
the fear of not knowing shows its ugly face and trust that God will have
prepared me for this moment even though I feel unprepared.
(Originally posted on 1/19/11 on my old blog. Thought it was cool enough to move here. Even if it is 80 and sunny out today in Minnesota, not cold and snowy.)
Friday, June 22, 2012
Lets talk about Entitlement
This may turn into a rant
Because really of all the things that bug me these days about Americans, and more importantly Christians in America is the sense of entitlement. I mean just look around. You'll see so many people talking in the form of entitlement. "I graduated from college I should have a better paying job." "I work hard, why do I only get paid x.xx an hour?" "I've been at this Church since I was a kid, worship service should be the way I want it." and on and on it goes. We sit there and talk like anything we get, or want, we are entitled to. Down to even feeling that we are entitled to having a job.
How would any of us ever stay alive
In the days when we had to work the land to stay alive. When you were entitled to nothing. When weather could change your whole year, decade, or even life. But today we sit around and act like air conditioning, a TV, a car, and a job are all things that we should have. We act like the great economy in America is something everyone has, always, had.
Something seems wrong
When Christian people are leading the way when it comes to this view of entitlement. We talk how things "should be" or how "they were" like that is the way it should be. The thing to me that's so baffling is the fact the we as Christian people live are lives as Christians under something called grace which is so far from entitlement that I don't understand how we all have ended up being so entitled.
So here we have grace and entitlement
Two differing ideas. On the one side we have entitlement which says I deserve this because I am American, a person, a College grad, etc. Grace on the other hand is something given to us from God that we don't deserve and can't earn. Grace is something the we aren't entitled to. So maybe Christians who live in America we should spent less time talking about what we deserve and spend more time talking about what we don't deserve.... Grace.
(Once again let me know what you think. I have more to say about this but am out of time tonight. Thanks guys!)
Because really of all the things that bug me these days about Americans, and more importantly Christians in America is the sense of entitlement. I mean just look around. You'll see so many people talking in the form of entitlement. "I graduated from college I should have a better paying job." "I work hard, why do I only get paid x.xx an hour?" "I've been at this Church since I was a kid, worship service should be the way I want it." and on and on it goes. We sit there and talk like anything we get, or want, we are entitled to. Down to even feeling that we are entitled to having a job.
How would any of us ever stay alive
In the days when we had to work the land to stay alive. When you were entitled to nothing. When weather could change your whole year, decade, or even life. But today we sit around and act like air conditioning, a TV, a car, and a job are all things that we should have. We act like the great economy in America is something everyone has, always, had.
Something seems wrong
When Christian people are leading the way when it comes to this view of entitlement. We talk how things "should be" or how "they were" like that is the way it should be. The thing to me that's so baffling is the fact the we as Christian people live are lives as Christians under something called grace which is so far from entitlement that I don't understand how we all have ended up being so entitled.
So here we have grace and entitlement
Two differing ideas. On the one side we have entitlement which says I deserve this because I am American, a person, a College grad, etc. Grace on the other hand is something given to us from God that we don't deserve and can't earn. Grace is something the we aren't entitled to. So maybe Christians who live in America we should spent less time talking about what we deserve and spend more time talking about what we don't deserve.... Grace.
(Once again let me know what you think. I have more to say about this but am out of time tonight. Thanks guys!)
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Waterfalls....
Today one of the hot button words
In the Christian world is “Relevant”. I myself am guilty of using, and over using, the word. Almost making the word pointless. It seems to me at times that the word relevant has become one of the less relevant things that the Christian Church does, or talks about, today. I mean sure I understand that all we are trying to do is find a way to impact the world around us, and yes if we are impacting the world than we are, by default, “relevant” to the world because they are being impacted by us, and when one is affected by something it must become relevant to him and as such we as the church, in my opinion, by even seeking relevance have fallen into a grave problem[a]. The problem lies in the fact that we, as God’s people, are seeking to make God relevant and I would hate to say it but GOD DOESN’T NEED OUR HELP TO BE RELEVANT.
God in fact is relevant
Because he is transcendent….. Before I finish that thought lets look at two definitions.
Relevant: having significant and demonstrable bearing on the matter at hand.
Transcendent: universally applicable or significant……
God is Transcendent and is therefore applicable in any situations and because of this he is above relevant. So by us even talking about relevance we are saying that, in a non overt way, God has lost some of his relevance.
Now here is where we must “toe the line”. Because on one side. Yes we as the church want to be with, or a head, of the times. We should be on the cutting edge of every trend that happens here in America, and the outside America. Not because we seek to be relevant but because we are just as capable of doing great things as is the non-christian world, maybe even more capable. We should be the best at everything we do. we should have the best Musicians, the best Artists, the best Writers. Christian people should be involved and leading the way in so many more fields than we are now. The reason I believe this to be true is that fact that we are all humans created in God’s image but we as Christians have Jesus to be our inspiration, and this alone should lead us to making top quality stuff.
However on the other side of things we must not “jump over the line” because doing our best to be on the cutting edge does not mean that we should do whatever it takes to get there. Christian people should be able to find a way to make as good of products as non-Christian people and make it so they don’t have to step on people on there way to the top. This I believe is something that would make our example of Christ even stronger because than people would take notice of us living up right lives and still being the best at what we do.
Now Back to Relevance.
I think the thing about God that is so powerful is the fact that he is always relevant and therefore us acting like we need to work to become relevant is a very painful miss step on the part of the church, and myself.
Just a few days ago I was walking around at a park by the Mississippi River, and this park is right by a waterfall, that is also a power plant. And I got to thinking “How is God like a waterfall” (weird thought right?) And I think that is kind of the thought that I am writing about here. Because God is like a waterfall, I think, in a lot of ways.
1. He never stops. (I mean have you ever thought about the fact that waterfalls are always going, its pretty crazy I think.)
2. He is not something to mess with. (Think about getting a boat to close to a waterfall…. it ends badly!)
3. He affects everyone that crosses his path, which in God’s case is everyone. (Think about the fact that even if you can get passed a waterfall on a river it slows you down because you have to use the Dam.)
Now I know
This seems like a bit of a stretch to talk about God as a waterfall but the point that I’m trying to get at is that just being in the area of a waterfall effects you, there is no way to avoid the power of the waterfall. And I guess I think God is like that. There really is no way to avoid him and as such he is Relevant because he is Transcendent. I guess my idea is just that we need to spend less time being relevant and more time pointing to the Transcendent. Does this seem like splitting hairs? Because if it does then I guess, I think, we have a lot of hair to start splitting!
So how does pointing toward Transcendent
Look different than trying to be relevant? Well for starters Transcendent doesn't look toward programs to show people Christs. Instead a person, or Church, who points toward the Transcendent lives a life that says 'My life is made better because I know the The Way, The Truth, and The Light'. Now think about how that view point differs from the VBS which spends more time hyping people up than it does talking about the Bible, the B in VBS. Or think about modern worship songs which are a roll-coaster of emotion trying their best to create a newer, bigger, "high". [b]
Next Transcendent Focused lives love
Unconditionally. Whereas a Relevant focused life (or of course Church) on what a person can do to make you more Relevant. A Relevant seeking Church is happy to have people who aren't hip come to Church on Sunday but being involved in the worship band or youth leadership or pastoral-ship is just not gonna happen. Relevant places value on what a person can do for you, or the Church, Transcendent places value on you as a person because you being you is enough.
Finally God is Transcendent
Why would we want to focus on anything else? Why would we try so hard to be Relevant when we have a connection to the Transcendent? The waterfall will always be Relevant because it is always Transcendent.
[a][I have in the past talked about relevance and fallen into this same problem of seeking to make the church relevant and in doing so admit it, falsely, that God is not relevant no matter what time or place or situation. I think looking back that relevant was the wrong word. I believe now that what I was think about was more than relevance and was in fact being “up to date” or “with the times”. Because the church has in fact fallen behind the culture of today in many areas and I believe that is a problem, but Relevance has never been the problem.]
[b][I am not saying the today's VBS' or worship music is wrong or sinful. I am simply trying to make the point that if we are looking toward the Transcendent we will spend less time focused on emotional driven programs and more time focused on living a life of love.]
In the Christian world is “Relevant”. I myself am guilty of using, and over using, the word. Almost making the word pointless. It seems to me at times that the word relevant has become one of the less relevant things that the Christian Church does, or talks about, today. I mean sure I understand that all we are trying to do is find a way to impact the world around us, and yes if we are impacting the world than we are, by default, “relevant” to the world because they are being impacted by us, and when one is affected by something it must become relevant to him and as such we as the church, in my opinion, by even seeking relevance have fallen into a grave problem[a]. The problem lies in the fact that we, as God’s people, are seeking to make God relevant and I would hate to say it but GOD DOESN’T NEED OUR HELP TO BE RELEVANT.
God in fact is relevant
Because he is transcendent….. Before I finish that thought lets look at two definitions.
Relevant: having significant and demonstrable bearing on the matter at hand.
Transcendent: universally applicable or significant……
God is Transcendent and is therefore applicable in any situations and because of this he is above relevant. So by us even talking about relevance we are saying that, in a non overt way, God has lost some of his relevance.
Now here is where we must “toe the line”. Because on one side. Yes we as the church want to be with, or a head, of the times. We should be on the cutting edge of every trend that happens here in America, and the outside America. Not because we seek to be relevant but because we are just as capable of doing great things as is the non-christian world, maybe even more capable. We should be the best at everything we do. we should have the best Musicians, the best Artists, the best Writers. Christian people should be involved and leading the way in so many more fields than we are now. The reason I believe this to be true is that fact that we are all humans created in God’s image but we as Christians have Jesus to be our inspiration, and this alone should lead us to making top quality stuff.
However on the other side of things we must not “jump over the line” because doing our best to be on the cutting edge does not mean that we should do whatever it takes to get there. Christian people should be able to find a way to make as good of products as non-Christian people and make it so they don’t have to step on people on there way to the top. This I believe is something that would make our example of Christ even stronger because than people would take notice of us living up right lives and still being the best at what we do.
Now Back to Relevance.
I think the thing about God that is so powerful is the fact that he is always relevant and therefore us acting like we need to work to become relevant is a very painful miss step on the part of the church, and myself.
Just a few days ago I was walking around at a park by the Mississippi River, and this park is right by a waterfall, that is also a power plant. And I got to thinking “How is God like a waterfall” (weird thought right?) And I think that is kind of the thought that I am writing about here. Because God is like a waterfall, I think, in a lot of ways.
1. He never stops. (I mean have you ever thought about the fact that waterfalls are always going, its pretty crazy I think.)
2. He is not something to mess with. (Think about getting a boat to close to a waterfall…. it ends badly!)
3. He affects everyone that crosses his path, which in God’s case is everyone. (Think about the fact that even if you can get passed a waterfall on a river it slows you down because you have to use the Dam.)
Now I know
This seems like a bit of a stretch to talk about God as a waterfall but the point that I’m trying to get at is that just being in the area of a waterfall effects you, there is no way to avoid the power of the waterfall. And I guess I think God is like that. There really is no way to avoid him and as such he is Relevant because he is Transcendent. I guess my idea is just that we need to spend less time being relevant and more time pointing to the Transcendent. Does this seem like splitting hairs? Because if it does then I guess, I think, we have a lot of hair to start splitting!
So how does pointing toward Transcendent
Look different than trying to be relevant? Well for starters Transcendent doesn't look toward programs to show people Christs. Instead a person, or Church, who points toward the Transcendent lives a life that says 'My life is made better because I know the The Way, The Truth, and The Light'. Now think about how that view point differs from the VBS which spends more time hyping people up than it does talking about the Bible, the B in VBS. Or think about modern worship songs which are a roll-coaster of emotion trying their best to create a newer, bigger, "high". [b]
Next Transcendent Focused lives love
Unconditionally. Whereas a Relevant focused life (or of course Church) on what a person can do to make you more Relevant. A Relevant seeking Church is happy to have people who aren't hip come to Church on Sunday but being involved in the worship band or youth leadership or pastoral-ship is just not gonna happen. Relevant places value on what a person can do for you, or the Church, Transcendent places value on you as a person because you being you is enough.
Finally God is Transcendent
Why would we want to focus on anything else? Why would we try so hard to be Relevant when we have a connection to the Transcendent? The waterfall will always be Relevant because it is always Transcendent.
[a][I have in the past talked about relevance and fallen into this same problem of seeking to make the church relevant and in doing so admit it, falsely, that God is not relevant no matter what time or place or situation. I think looking back that relevant was the wrong word. I believe now that what I was think about was more than relevance and was in fact being “up to date” or “with the times”. Because the church has in fact fallen behind the culture of today in many areas and I believe that is a problem, but Relevance has never been the problem.]
[b][I am not saying the today's VBS' or worship music is wrong or sinful. I am simply trying to make the point that if we are looking toward the Transcendent we will spend less time focused on emotional driven programs and more time focused on living a life of love.]
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
The Big Bang Theory.... and what it tells me about love
The Big Bang Theory, no not the scientific hypothesis but rather, the TV show is the most popular comedy in America, I'm sure you've watched it. A comedy is not normally the kind of show that tells you anything about love. But follow me out on this......
So the three main characters in this show are the ever annoying, overly smart, completely lacking people skills Sheldon Copper. The leader of the lost boys like, social want a be, lover want to be Leonard Hofstadter. And the beautiful, social-light Penny. So what do these three Characters tell me about love? really its more of a reminder than it is a new thought.
See the greatest thing about the main characters in The Big Bang Theory is the way that the always love each other, and more importantly the always love Sheldon. Even though Sheldon clear makes everyone mad, Penny most of all, they keep on hang out with him, loving him, and hoping he'll learn how to be less of a jerk and more loving. So to me The Big Bang Theory reminds me that Love is unconditional. Love loves even when we are mad. Love is loving even when the people around as aren't the same as us. Finally love is love all the time and it never gives up.
So the three main characters in this show are the ever annoying, overly smart, completely lacking people skills Sheldon Copper. The leader of the lost boys like, social want a be, lover want to be Leonard Hofstadter. And the beautiful, social-light Penny. So what do these three Characters tell me about love? really its more of a reminder than it is a new thought.
See the greatest thing about the main characters in The Big Bang Theory is the way that the always love each other, and more importantly the always love Sheldon. Even though Sheldon clear makes everyone mad, Penny most of all, they keep on hang out with him, loving him, and hoping he'll learn how to be less of a jerk and more loving. So to me The Big Bang Theory reminds me that Love is unconditional. Love loves even when we are mad. Love is loving even when the people around as aren't the same as us. Finally love is love all the time and it never gives up.
Stockholm Syndrome
Stockholm Syndrome, I'm sure you've heard of it(?), is a phenomenon that happens to some people when they are held in captivity and results in the captured party feeling empathy, and even affection, toward the person who held them. Now very little is known about Stockholm Syndrome, the name isn't even agreed on, but the idea seems true and seems so prevalent in day to day life. I think the idea of Stockholm Syndrome looks, and acts, much like an addiction. Think about the way that an addiction (at least to something destructive) is something that you know is bad for you but yet you keep going back to it. You keep being pulled back by whatever it is that is hurting you (drugs, alcohol, smoking, pornography, etc).
I believe that Stockholm Syndrome can be used as a metaphor for the Christian church and America. Now I know what you're thinking (or I think I know what you're thinking). You're sitting there saying "What America is great to me? They give me freedom of Religion and freedom to do what I want!" And she from when we stand this seems true. But we in America have fallen in love with a place that holds us captive. I mean sure you're allowed to be a Christian but don't even think about praying or talking about God at school. Sure you can talk about God but don't you dare tell me that what you're talking about is the only way. Are sure as hell don't tell me that there is only one way to heaven or that my life is sinful. Hmmm seems like freedom is missing something. Seems like we are held captive by the idea of freedom?
(Hey guys please tell me what you think and let me know if you think I should keep going with this idea or not.... thanks guys)
I believe that Stockholm Syndrome can be used as a metaphor for the Christian church and America. Now I know what you're thinking (or I think I know what you're thinking). You're sitting there saying "What America is great to me? They give me freedom of Religion and freedom to do what I want!" And she from when we stand this seems true. But we in America have fallen in love with a place that holds us captive. I mean sure you're allowed to be a Christian but don't even think about praying or talking about God at school. Sure you can talk about God but don't you dare tell me that what you're talking about is the only way. Are sure as hell don't tell me that there is only one way to heaven or that my life is sinful. Hmmm seems like freedom is missing something. Seems like we are held captive by the idea of freedom?
(Hey guys please tell me what you think and let me know if you think I should keep going with this idea or not.... thanks guys)
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