Thursday, July 17, 2008

One more reason I should be a cheesy minister.

One more reason I should be a cheesy minister.

The other day someone asked me about making fun of the church. I told them I didn't think I was making fun of the church. I feel like my mission is to clear away the debris that sometimes presents us from seeing the beauty of faith. Whether that means silly products, old thought patterns or a million other things, I think there is great power when we can collectively identify and discuss the things that sometimes stand between us and the core of our relationships with Christ. We might not agree, but we can at least open up some discussion.

Another reason I don't feel like I am punching the church is that the target of most of my finger pointing is me. Things I have struggled with, things that tangle me and trip me, stupid things I do. That is hopefully what is on parade more than anything else. And I want to do that today.

What I am going to tell you is the kind of thing I would usually tease. It's just kind of cheesy but for so long I've been a Christian snob, throwing little rocks at ideas that don't fit my definition of "cool," whatever that is.

So here's my idea. Last night while mowing the lawn, I was mentally writing a post in my head. I kept asking God, "why." Why am I writing this post? Why am I sharing personal stuff? Why am I doing it? As a former Journalism major, it's part of the 5 Ws (Who, What, When, Where and Why.) I think those are good questions to ask, but sometimes I obsess on them, demanding a clear answer from God like I'm a petulant child.

I felt like in between lines in the lawn He responded with, "Let me worry about the 5 Ws. You focus on the one M." I said, "What M? What one M are you talking about?" And He replied, "Me."

There are times when I get details and times when I don't. I didn't get an answer to my "why" last night, but I did get a reminder, although perhaps cheesy, about what matters more.

God is where my focus needs to be. The one M.

6 comments:

Perky Gramma Teaches said...

and that is the only reason we as Christians should blog...I know you are called...it shows over and over...

Anonymous said...

cut the grass more often, Jon.......

Anonymous said...

Didn't the Hebrew language leave out the vowels? Like Yahweh was written as Yhwh? So it would make sense that "I Am" is M.

The Amiable Atheist said...

hi. thanks for the message thanking me for my message ;)

i like your style of writing and often find your posts on the "stuff christians like" highly amusing since i was an active christian for 18 years.

while we may disagree i can appreciate that you mean the best and that you are a thoughtful and interesting guy.

hope i didn't come off as rude in my comment, it just drives me crazy when people refuse to judge. i think people try to avoid being judgemental to seem tolerant, but sometimes it is our ability to judge that saves us from many mistakes.

have a good one.

Campman62 said...

I'm a true "Why Guy" myself and often the Devil is in the details...

*Focusing more on the "M"
and the "X" today...

~10k Thanks, Jon !!!

campman62.wordpress.com

- Sarah :-) said...

I've noticed there seems to be a pattern with you... cutting the grass = deep awesome blogs.

And I can't help but wonder how aweseom your lawn looks.


But I think it's cool you have your "place" where things come clear to you. Everyone should have a place like this, though I'm still trying to find mine. My dad used to always say that his "place" was in the bathtub... but that makes me a little uncomfortable. So I hope that's now where my place ends up!