iChristian

Over the last few years we have seen the influence of the internet come into it's true global potential.  Our entire planet is now literally connected together in millions of miles of wires and wifi-airwaves... an incredible achievement we mostly take for granted as write our blogs, check our facebooks, delete our myspaces, post to our twitter accounts, and leave  comments on yelp.com reviewing "Bad-Ass Coffee of Glendale" as truly Bad-Ass... even though I heard they had to change their name.  As the internet becomes more and more a real part of our lives, rather than some odd nerd-hobby or a jungle for sexual predators, it is becoming a part of us.  Each person is now more than a soul and a body, but a digital character as well.  For better or worse, we are more than ourselves, we now take responsibility for our virtual likenesses.

The way we think about ourselves is dramatically changing without our acceptance being necessary.  Within a world of interconnection and communication at our fingertips at every moment, we are literally redefining what it means to be oneself.  Where does a person end and begin is a question previously unfathomable, but now formidable.  I can now say with some certainty that I will live forever, or at least the non-fiction character of Geoff Spencer will.  Way after my death all my comments and picture postings and "tweets" will live on forever... captured to the countless backups and archives thanks to Google and the like.

The whole concept sets us up for an interesting situation.  If you've ever had facebook suggest that you "reconnect" with a deceased friend, you already know exactly what I mean (awkward).  Our digital lives have seeped into everything we do.  If you live under a rock in rural Middle Earth, let me share with you some stories: potential employers check your facebook profile to learn about who you are before they even call you in for an interview.  A young teenage girl committed suicide because of disparaging comments made to her on myspace by a neighboring woman and her daughter posing as a boy.  A friend realized her husband had cheated on her when she saw pictures on facebook of him in Vegas... when he was on a business trip to Cincinnati.  An irritatingly adorable Brittish toddler is videotaped letting his baby brother bite his finger and instantly becomes one of the most recognizable faces on the planet  (youtube search: Charlie Bit Me).  The stories go on... the internet is now a crucial part of the human experience.

So... thesis time:  Who are you?

With your digital life comes your digital testimony.  Who you are, what you believe, and what you stand for are all easily accessible within a few seconds by anyone in the world.  With that kind of power, Christians must face a new reality: our real digital lives speak as much about our faith and our God as do our natural carbon-based lives.

----

As a young man growing up in the Church, I was given all the reminders I needed that a spiritually hungry world in search of answers was watching us Christians with a more scrutinizing eye than the one for my atheist neighbor.  After all, If we claim to hold the keys to a life overflowing with love, wisdom, and joy... it is only common sense that our lives would be vivid testaments to the transforming grace of God.  Therefore every word I speak and every action I take is evidence immediately admissible in the World's Court of Christ's Legitimacy... and it is not just me that is on trial, but my Jesus as well.  This court isn't here to decide my fate, but to judge the validity of Christianity by how I represent it.

This case of the people vs. the testimony of the Church is probably a good thing, but I'd like you all to know something: there is a big heaping lot of evidence... but it is not in our favor.  In every conversation I have with "non-Christian" people about why it is so hard to imagine an all-loving God, their first answer is inevitably that God's people are not all-loving.  If there is no difference between them and anyone else, then why would they want God?  If that does not cause you to stop and think, take a moment to wrap your mind around that.

The world's disbelief in God has everything to do with many Christians not engaging the world with love.  The phrase "be in the world but not of it" has been taken too far to the extreme.  We like to pretend as if quoting that and wearing your "Not of This World" t-shirt automatically registers you on some special list.  Time to get real, people.

----

You might have never traveled more than 30 miles from where you live, but your digital self has probably traveled across every corner of the globe by this point.  You might have met a million people you'll never see face to face, but they'll instantly know who you are... all it takes is a twenty second glance at your facebook profile to get an idea about who you are and what you stand for.

If twenty seconds is all you ever get with that person, what would you want them to think about you?  What would you want them to think about Jesus?

----

The other day I left my facebook open on my computer at work and went about my business at the office.  An hour later I came back to my desk to find that a friend's posting of colorfully perverse words about homosexuals had been on my home screen the whole time.  Unacceptable to begin with, it probably wouldn't have been so bad if all my coworkers were not gay, and if they hadn't all walked by my computer screen.  To make matters worse, this friend is a Christian.

I work in Hollywood, where people already think Christians are crazy.  I work so hard every day to change this towns' view of us.  I work hard so people know that my God is one who is compassionate and loving... but in one moment that can all be undone by a facebook post this person never thought twice about.

This got me thinking: A lot of Christians work hard to always show love, and just as many could care less.  Unfortunately, it is the voices of those who care the least about showing God's love that gain the world's attention... making harder for the love soldiers like me and my friends who work hard to change this world.

----

When I graduated and walked down the stage, I shook President Wallace's hand and he told me "Go change the world."

There's nothing more that I want than to see Christians who care about wisdom, justice, freedom, and love.  If everyone was Christ-like, the world would be a much different place.

----

I met a woman at a baptist church in Georgia, and she told the congregation that she "doesn't wish hell on anybody, not even [her] worst enemy."  She's so right.  But I know that if I don't make a decision every day to show Christ's love at all times, it's not my enemies that suffer, it's my strangers.  The people who don't know me and never get a taste of God's love who I am unknowingly wishing hell upon.

----

There's no shortage of cliche things to say about productive Christian ministry.  One of my favorites goes "Share the gospel at all times, and when necessary: use words."  I don't know a single person who has been converted by a hot-headed preacher with a bullhorn at the corner professing hell for sinners.  Every Christian I know has come to the faith through the virtue of love and transformation.  They came to know the Lord because they saw something different and inexplicable in someone else... a Christian.

Today, the words you write and the way you act will be the deciding influence that causes people to follow, abandon, or completely reject Christ.  I beg you, for the rest of us trying so hard to turn the world's view of us: think thrice about what you do.  In a day like ours, you will never know how far your actions go.

If you are a Christian, and you're not ready to get with the program and live like as a Christ follower... at least make our job of saving Christianity easier and change your facebook religion status to "Mother Eywa and polka-dots" or something.  We could use the break!


(This is a work in progress, and I'll surely be updating it in the future... therefore your thoughts and criticisms are appreciated.)

JUST A TINY CREATION

Nothing haunts me more than a blank page.  Ultimately any ivory canvas will soon enough become soiled by the painter, but unlike a painter I do not see the finished work even before casting my first stroke.  Call it naïvety, immaturity, or lack of skill... but that is just not me.  Right now, I have no plan of what to do or what to say--I'm more Pollack than Picasso,  but when I sit down to write I always find the hours drift by as I simply stare into nothing: this ungodly mess waiting to happen.  All these thoughts inside fight so hard to get out and breath for the first time the fresh air of this intoxicating world, yet only the lucky few ever make it past the gate.  I realized tonight, while hating the empty page, that writing for me is not something I do out of duty to this idea that more writing will make me the great artist I wish I was, I'm simply awake to the spirit of creativity inside me that became incarnate the moment God breathed flesh into Adam.  We are created in his image--in the Creator's image, the inclination to make and do is simply nature.  Not so deep inside every man and woman exists the God-intended instinct to create beauty and community, just as he did--just as he does.  I imagine God takes great delight in watching his children creating even the tiniest of things.  When considering the inconsiderable greatness of his creation, our puny little paintings, songs, books, statues, sex, and talking-pictures are so significantly insignificant.  Like the four year old son of the master architect who builds his first popsicle stick house and claims engineering success, Daddy must take great pleasure in watching his little one explore the curiosity he inherited from his loving Father.

I write a lot about beauty and community; mostly because they are the same, but also because I believe God created us to experience both in profound and life-changing ways.  Psychologists are refining Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to add in a step committed to the aesthetic experience, and I wonder how many times along the way Christians could have picked up the ball and taught the world this truth, first.  Knowing and seeing beauty in this world is an integral part in having the joy of Christ in your life.  That joy of course comes from the strong community between the Holy Spirit and our hearts--formed in the birth of that moment we stepped over the line that forever separated us from Death's sting, and ushered us into everlasting life.  And it doesn't stop there!  The community we experience with each other is literally a demonstration of our community with God, imago dei in its purest form.  The power of friendships, of love, is an expression of the quintessence of who we are in Christ.  Whereas community with the Holy Spirit and each other brings us joy, our experience of joy gives us an appreciation of the importance of beauty; and when there is not enough beauty around, God gave us a spirit to create some to share.

So share beauty with each other.  Enjoy community.  Laugh, dance, sing, and paint.  EXPLORE, DREAM, DISCOVER.  Let that Holy Spirit work in your life, and you will see great and powerful things, and trust me, you'll never be the same.

A WORK IN PROGRESS

I am not impressed by the powers of this world,
For in my heart I know the penetrating truth,
Accident. Chance. Random: I am not.
As birth and death govern all that is seen
Except to him who intended all things in love
I am unbound to the consequence of an empty heart
And the good tree bears good fruit.

LOVE WINS

We walk in step but not in light

Our dreams are entirely ours

We preach in words but not action

Our lips never surrender

We sing songs but hardly worship

Our lives are for show

We damn in his name but love in others

Our love is fickle and honorable rarely

We esteem the strong, mighty and bold

Our blessings save none for the meek.

We are right but seldom true

Our heads are strong but our hearts weak

We are righteous, you probably are

Our devotion simmers in this world

We go through motions but move not

We walk narrow paths but live narrow lives

We hate sin and therefore sinners

We are God's people but you'd never guess

Our lives betray our testimony.

I am in a moment right now where I can't help but wonder why people have such a bad view of us Christians.  Can people be as crazy as I see, or could it just be that we are failing as a body of believers to be the movers and shakers of God's plan.  Are our actions, beliefs, churches, and lives model the proper way to take the Good News out into the world and make disciples of all nations?  We want to few the church pews but we are too afraid to outreach in our communities... our bubble is a safe turtle shell.  Shouldn't the children of God's love show Love?  If we were doing our job, shouldn't the world look different?  I refuse to buy the excuse that we are "in the end days" or that Satan's work in this world is too strong... have you forgotten who our God is?  My friends; Love wins.  I have seen it win, and I see a lot of people who are great and loving examples of what it really means to be Christ-like and Christ-minded.  These people are numbered--a percentage barely registered.

How do we change the hearts and minds of a world that sees us not as Salt but as acid.  I've always been taught that you catch bees with honey, but when I go downtown I read signs that tell me to repent or burn.  When I see a sign that says Jesus loves me, I wonder why someone has to hold a sign for me to know that.  We speak in thousands of words that never mean a thing--I can't help but wonder in the simplicity of the Good News.  Our rhetoric needs to change as much as our lives.  If we surrender our lives, we better mean it... because the world sees and judges us for claiming to be saved.  When our lives betray our Savior, all words surely fall on deaf ears.

Is there anything greater than wisdom?  Is there anything nobler than justice?  Is there any words as sweet to the lips as freedom?  Is there anything that conquers more than love?  My dear, dear friends: the Good News is simple.  Love wins... because God wins.

THE WILD MAN'S HEART

As I think about what it means to have the heart of a wild man, I am immediately impressed with the vision that has guided my life for the past two years.  That vision, that ultimate theme that my life lays its foundation to rest upon, is of course the sweetest words to my lips: freedom.  I can find no word so satisfactory to whisper nor as wonderful to the heart as freedom.  The beauty of the freedom I have found in Christ takes a transforming role in my understanding about what it means to be a man.  Experiencing the power and gravitas of that freedom which was paid for by Christ's blood has the single greatest consequence on my maturing consciousness -- that I am not a citizen bound to the spiritual powers of this world, but rather I am free... I am a wild man, with a wild-man's-sized heart to fall in love with the adventures in store.

In the process of growing and maturing, I find myself at a definitive crossroad where I see two possible outcomes, the destinations on which these forks in the road arrive.  On one side I see the man that the world expects me to become... proud, self-seeking, rich, and arrogant.  The men of this world reap their harvest of money, fame, and grandeur.  They are rewarded with the attention of women, esteem by their peers, and history's grace.  Yet on the other side I see the man that God has laid out for me to be.  His rewards are not so immediate nor shine so bright to the eyes in this world, but the gifts of wisdom, character, community, freedom, and love... are rewards far greater to the soul than the meaningless trophies of this world that will be wiped away in the coming storm.  From the all the powers of this world that seek decay, rust and destroy, I find freedom.  I find freedom from the man the world expect me to be, and I find the strength to have the courage to be the man that God destined for me to become.  I have a wild man's heart, and that heart cannot be swayed by the dark and meaningless, nor the second best.

At the same time, I look ahead and find that there is a great distance between that man God wants me to be and who I am today.  The deeper into my heart I look, the more inconsistencies I am finding.  If a godly man is one blessed with the virtues of wisdom, mercy, grace, humility, courage, unbridled love, and a passionate heart for justice, I can only see the many ways I fall short.  Yet what I do have is freedom.  I have freedom from the guilt that would have me ignore that God is well pleased with who I am, loves me as I am, and is excited for my journey.  Wisdom is a gift, but it is one planted in small seeds that take root in our experiences, and flourish through moments enchanted by divine whispers -- in this way I do see the path to becoming a godly man as an epic journey... a wonderful adventure in freedom sans the weight of shame.

"You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world.  So why do you keep  on following the rules of this world, such as "Don't handle! Don't taste! Don't touch!"?  Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them.  These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self denial, and severe bodily discipline.  But they provide no help in conquering a person's evil desires (emphasis added).  Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand.  Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.  For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God."  Colossians 2:20 - 3:3

I have the heart of a wild man, and I am not impressed by the powers of this world.  The world would like nothing more than for me to live in shackles, but I am wild and I am free.  Let the adventure begin.

PREPARE FOR GLORY

I am sitting here staring at a poster on my wall.  This particular poster is from one of my favorite films, 300.  It amuses me to find the title for this entry on a film poster, but who am I to judge?  Like I can really choose when inspiration strikes?  The slogan smeared, literally,  across the poster reads "Prepare For Glory," and I would be foolish to not make the connection.

A wise girl named Sally mentioned to me that we are not citizens of this world, we are merely visitors waiting for the arrival of the glory in which we are all purposefully and wonderfully made.

What do our lives amount to, if not for this purpose?  We are here to prepare for the coming and imminent glory--to prepare ourselves and to prepare others for the glory that is advancing quickly.

*

The very first step of wisdom is to seek more wisdom.  For us Christians, we cannot ever be satisfied with what we little we know.  God is full of wisdom, and gives it freely.  All we need is to ask.  Living a life prepared for glory is more than just reminding ourselves of what is to come, but of seriously taking actions in our lives to prepare our hearts, and to beg God to let us take part in bringing his kingdom to this place.  God has no need of us, but by his love this glory is immanent.  So keep your eye's fixed towards the heaven and remind yourself that every breath is another breath permitted by God, and worthy of celebration and reverence.

The wise one prepares with passionate humility to the sovereignty of God and our freedom from the poison of man... the foolish wisdom of beings who elevate themselves on ignorance.  Sharpen your minds.  Seek Christ, and in him you will find wisdom and knowledge.  Seek justice for the poor, the meek, the widowed, the orphaned, the sick, and the imprisoned.  Explore the world.  Dream, Seek, Discover.  Advocate.  Stand up.  Love others boldly and without fear.  Find courage in future joys.  Dwell not in the past of things, but in the things that are surely coming soon.  Be mighty and triumphant, yet gentle and loving.

Let every man search his own heart, and if inside he finds that insatiable desire to follow the creator, let him boldly approach the throne.  Come! and find the true glory that is near, just barely over the horizon.  The entire world aches in growing pains, and the time is almost here.  There is everlasting, and it will be glorious.

*Read Col.2 and 3.  I read these chapters before writing and found myself very inspired.

IN THE SECRET PLACE

In my secret place, I take refuge from all that this world holds so dear with their foolish hands.  I take time to rest my weary mind and these tired eyes, and just bathe my soul in the quiet waters of God's presence.  My secret place isn't so secret, and while I'd like to keep it all to myself, the truth is that all who are weary can go there, and go there anytime they'd like.

It summertime.  This season always seems to capture my heart and my imagination unlike any other quarter of the year.  It is a time of celebration, a time of being outside in God's creation, and a time of late night revelations.  When the summer comes I know that there are great things in store, and with an ample grin I find every inch of me jump with the excitement of the impending joys.  Here comes dreams, here comes hopes, and here comes all that we've all been waiting for.  Summer to me is a theme, an anthem.  A reminder that there is birth and there is death, but throughout the process there is beauty in front and behind every corner.

We humans need beauty.  Beauty is the reflection of God's power taking place.  God created this world to showcase his beauty, and all around us we see the intricacy and craftsmanship of the being who finds the greatest delight in his children's wonder and awe.  When we see beauty--there is wonder; there is awe.  In my secret place, I find the beauty of hallelujah.

Too many days have passed without action, too many minutes have been wasted idly, and too many seconds haven't seen their proper adventure.  For me, the summertime is always a fresh breath of life, a new chapter and a new time to remind myself of who and what I live for.  There is so much in this world worth saving, and so little time to do it.

My Lord:  Bless me with wisdom.  Make me a lover of justice.  Show me true freedom.  Give me a love like yours.  Make me a man after your heart who serves and blesses.  Bless me with words--a tool to build your kingdom.  Give me peace, and bless me deeply.  Show me who you are, that I might follow you closely.  In my secret place, and in the world, let my words be a bright light to guide the lost and the weary.