What About The People In India?

Once again a podcast I’m listening to during a run has been quite timely.

Fresh off of reading the first chapter of Love Wins, and the subsequent discussion over on Shane’s blog, I just so happen to have Erwin McManus’s 2006 lesson titled Is Jesus the Only Way qued up for my seven mile run on Wednesday. Purely “coincidental” to be honest. I simply started listening through a series of his for my Wednesday runs, and this was the one scheduled for yesterday. I love it when that happens.

So in this podcast Erwin takes this question straight on. Where Rob Bell is currently more interested in getting people to question their blind belief systems and embrace the grayness that surrounds our spiritual lives (an exercise I highly encourage myself), Erwin is drawing a line in the sand and making a compelling case that, yes, Jesus is the only way.

Is Jesus the Only Way? by Erwin McManus

Download Mp3

Here are a few of my favorite lines:

• Do people care more about humanity than God?

• Freedom is required for love.

• The driving principle of the Kingdom of God is Love.

• You ask, “How can Jesus be the only way?” You should be happy there is a way. That somebody actually loves us enough to sacrifice on your behalf, and mine.

• You are not taking Jesus to the world. Jesus has been there a long time. He’s been waiting for you to show up.

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. —Romans 1:20

• Creation is evidence of the existence of God.

• All around you is evidence of God.

• So what about the people in India? I didn’t know you were so concerned about the people in India. When are you going to India?

• You are questioning the character of God. You basically asked, “Does God love people more than me?”

• God placed us where we are for a reason. It’s not because he loves the person in Georgia more than he loves the person in Georgia.

• I know it’s hard for us to believe that a person might have a better chance of finding God as a Muslim or Hindu than as a Presbyterian or a Baptist. But I’ve met enough Presbyterian and Baptist to know that there are people who are Buddhist and Hindu who are closer on their journey to finding God than the others.

• All of creation is designed by God to pursue you with his love.

This entire line of thinking reminded me of the spiritual awakening I had a few years back while reading David Crowder’s book Praise Habit: Finding God in Sunsets and Sushi (incidentally? the song that came on after the podcast was a Crowder tune from his Sunsets and Sushi remix album).

Also, during the podcast I was reminded of this great video that relates perfectly to the question “What about the people in India?”

A Thousand Questions from ProlifikFilms on Vimeo

I really do think we miss the point (self included) when we question whether or not God cares about those people in other countries, or even in our backyards. I think the answer has been with us the whole time.

The answer is us.

Filed under: Jesus

Comment Please

Your thoughts? (ht)

Filed under: Jesus, Music, Religion, YouTube

Movie Reviews

Herbie Fully Loaded – 4/5 Really Liked It
Watched this because Tonia and Tanner were watching it for the 17th time one evening. It was surprisingly fun to watch. It had that mac guy in it (who was great) and Lindsay Lohan showed what could have been had she not taken the paths she took later in life.

The Constant Gardner – 4/5 Really Liked It
Slowly paced but in the end you’ll be happy you saw this one. It’s a great love story, as well as a great testament to taking action against injustice. To my surprise there was very little gardening going on.

What Would Jesus Buy? – 3/5 Liked It
Could have been so much better. I agreed with the premise, and I even laughed a few times, but it was lacking that punch that could have made this a real winner. It did reinvigorate my quest to kill santa however.

Walk Hard – 3/5 Liked It
I laughed out loud a lot during this movie, especially during the first 30 minutes as they parodied Walk The Line. But then they started showing male appendages and I did a few dry heaves. It also seemed to drag on there at the end, which is weird for a 90 minute movie.

Kite Runner – 5/5 Loved It
It took a good 10 minutes to get used to the sub-titles, but this was a great movie. I may end up reading the book even though I know how it turns out. It’s just a well done movie of a really great story.

Punch-Drunk Love – 3/5 Liked It
Quirky movie, but after it gets rolling the second half is pretty good and you find yourself enjoying the characters. Adam Sandler did a really good job in this one.

Stealth – 2/5 Didn’t Like It
A Tonia special—she loves the action flicks. Too bad this movie sucked. It’s hard to imagine given the stellar cast, but man… so bad. Possibly the worst ending line in a movie ever. I did have fun laughing at it with Tonia though.

The Insider – 4/5 Really Liked It
How can you go wrong with Russell Crowe and Al Pacino? I’m not sure how I missed this movie nine years ago, but it didn’t disappoint. It’s kinda scary how powerful the tobacco companies are. Major props to guys like Jeffrey Wigand who are willing to put their lives on the line for what’s right.

Filed under: Adam Sandler, Al Pacino, Apple, Culture, Jesus, Johnny Cash, Lindsay Lohan, Love, Movies, Reviews, Russell Crowe, Santa Clause, Tobacco

Hope, In Perspective

By: Becky Garrison

Here in Manhattan, the city streets hum with hope following the announcement of the first African American to be nominated for president by a major political party. According to news reports, similar scenarios are taking place across the world. As we celebrate this historical moment in electoral politics, Sara Cunningham, author of Dear Church: Letters from a Disillusioned Generation, offers this cautionary tale to her fellow Christians:

When we market ourselves as the hope of the world, or when we believe that other humans hold the hope of the world for us, without proper acknowledgement of Christ as our source, we foster disillusionment.

So how do we keep this hope alive should one’s preferred candidate not win the coveted presidential prize? My prayer is that regardless of who resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, we can keep singing a hopeful tune. As I’ve reported elsewhere on the blog, I keep seeing glimpses of the kingdom here on earth that are led not by polticos but by ordinary radicals who are transformed by the words of Jesus Christ. My buddy Shane Claiborne reminds us all, “No matter who is elected on Nov. 4, what matters is how we live our lives as faithful Christians on Nov. 3 and 5.”

Sara Cunningham concurs with Shane’s assessment:

We Christians were never the hope. Yes, we were and are carriers of the hope. But we ourselves are only reflections—often dim reflections—of the hope we internalize: Jesus Christ.

In his latest book, Surprised by Hope, N.T. Wright explores how we as Christians can implement this hope here on earth. He reminds us:

The kingdom will come as the church, energized by the Spirit, goes out into the world, vulnerable, suffering, praising, praying, misunderstood, misjudged, vindicated, celebrating: always—as Paul puts it in one of his letters—bearing the body of the dying of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be displayed.

So, as we see hopeful signs all around us, let us remember that as Christians our declaration of hope lies ultimately with the Risen Christ.

(Copied in full from Becky Garrison’s post on the God’s Politics blog.)

Filed under: Barack Obama, Becky Garrison, God, Hope, Jesus, N.T. Wright, Perspective, Politics, Religion, Sara Cunningham, Shane Claiborne

Joy Apparel

I just ordered a shirt from my new friend Jeff from Joy Apparel.

Joy apparel is a socially conscious t-shirt company created to promote peace and equality on a global scale. Here’s how it works.

1. Visit JoyTshirt.com

2. Pick a face (and passion)

3. Pick a color and size

4. Wait for your shirt to arrive

5. Wear your shirt and think about the person on your heart

6. Submit a photo of yourself for rest of the world to wear

When I was picking mine out I wanted a good passion to go with the face. It was great fun looking through all of the different passions each person stated. After a tough decsion I landed on Tim Mann from Toronto. His passion was simple and pretty close to one I would state — Music. Jesus. Loving People.

What’s your passion?

Filed under: Community, Friends, Jesus, Joy Apparel, Life, Love, Music, Passion, Peace

Bono on God

The following is a ten part series of Bono talking with Bill Hybels at the 2006 Willow Creek Leadership Summitt about his faith, about God, Jesus, the change in his life, and about love. Each part is around 5 minutes long.

Here is Part 1

Watch Part 2
“We believe that the poor deserve an honorable place at the table. They deserve the head of the table is how God would see things.”

Watch Part 3
“Duality is the mark of a lot of great art. It’s one of the things missing, for instance, in Christian art, because there’s no tension.”

Watch Part 4
“I am so fascinated by the idea of the Child being born in straw poverty. To me there is a poetic power to that. It is a remarkable story, the Christmas story, and it never fails to amaze me.”

Watch Part 5
“What else are you going to do with this thing called celebrity. I mean it’s ridiculous. It positively upends Gods order of things. Why would a filmstar or a rockstar or a sports star be more important than a nurse, or a fireman or a mother? It’s actually ridiculous. But hey it’s currency, and I decided I was going to spend mine.”

Watch Part 6
“The church has historically always been behind the curve. It’s amazing to me. In civil rights, in fighting against the rascism in the 60′s and the 50′s in South the United States, and Apartheid in Africa.”

Watch Part 7
(Part 7 seems to be identical to Part 6)

Watch Part 8
“Love thy neighbor is not advice. It’s a command. And who is our neighbor in the global village? Can an accident of longitude and latitude really decide whether you live or whether you die? In the global community, in a globalized world, can you say because that’s happening over there it’s not really my concern? Well you can’t if you’re a Christian. You cannot.”

Watch Part 9
“Stop asking God to bless what you’re doing. Find out what God is doing because it’s already blessed.”

“A lot of people are happy with pie in the sky when they die. But I don’t think that is our purpose. Our purpose is to bring Heaven to earth in the micro, as well as the macro. In every detail of our lives we should be trying to bring Heaven to earth.”

Watch Part 10

I like love Bono.

Filed under: Bill Hybels, Bono, Faith, God, Grace, Jesus, Life, Love, MLK, Music, ONE Campaign, Politics, Poverty, Religion, Social Justice, U2, Willow Creek

Come All You Weary

Come All You Weary — Thrice

Come all you weary with your heavy loads
Lay down your burdens find rest for your souls
Cause my yoke is easy and my burden is kind
I’ll take yours upon me and you can take mine

Come all you weary, move through the earth,
You’ve been spurned at fine restaurants & kicked out of church;
I’ve got a couple of loaves, so sit down at my feet,
lend me your ears and we’ll break bread and eat

Come all you weary
Come gather round near me
Find rest for your souls

Come all you weary, crippled you lay
I’ll help you along you can lay down your canes
We’ve got a long way to go but we’ll travel as friends
The lights growing bright further up, further in

Come all you weary
Come gather round near me
Find rest for your souls

Rest for your souls

Come all you weary
Come gather round near me
Come all you weary
Come gather round near me
Find rest for your souls
Rest for your souls
Rest for your souls

Rest for your souls

Filed under: Hope, Jesus, Life, Lyrics, Music, Thrice

Jesus The Entertainer

Rowan Atkinson is great.

Filed under: Humor, Jesus, KJV, Miracles, Rowan Atkinson, YouTube

Love Wins

Love Wins — Rob Bell

Filed under: Hope, Jesus, Love, Martin Luther King Jr., MLK, Rob Bell, U2

PFP Reviewed: Chapter Four

Peppermint-Filled Piñatas
Chapter Four: A Fellowship of Freaks
Finding a Common Cause to Create Community

To move out of our rut and routine, we should look to connect with others through a cause, hobby, or area of passion. Because cause creates community.

When I read this chapter all I could think about was my dad (and Paul), and all the different hats he puts on with the sole purpose of connecting with someone on a deeper level. He’s well known for working on peoples cars just to create a more inviting environment for others to be real. And just recently he told of a story how he was trying to develop a relationship with a bee keeper, so he dove in head first and learned everything he could about keeping bees. He even dawned the appropriate gear and had his own bee colonies.

For many of us, our cause remains too small. Survival binds some of our churches together, yet in order to thrive we must change our priorities. When our cause focuses inward, we develop unhealthy relationships.

This cuts pretty deep for most churches. We need to be constantly looking for opportunities to connect with others that aren’t a part of the body of Christ. Jesus spent most of his time with people like that. Why do we act just the opposite?

What are your causes that foster relationship development?

Related:
PFP Reviewed: Introduction
PFP Reviewed: Chapter One
PFP Reviewed: Chapter Two
PFP Reviewed: Chapter Three

Filed under: Books, Eric Bryant, Jesus, Love, Peppermint-Filled Piñatas, Religion, Reviews