Turn Off Your Gaydar

Lest any Christians get their panties in a bunch about the recent news coming out of California involving gay marriage, I really hope they weren’t laughing last night when Dwight swept Angela off into an office and got hot and sweaty the very night she got engaged to Andy.

Or every time Michael says, “That’s what she said.”

Or laughed when Kevin said, “I am totally gonna bang Holly.”

Or look the other way that Jim and Pam are living together.

I mean that just wouldn’t be very consistent, would it?

Eric Bryant had a great post yesterday called Why Homophobia Is So Gay.

Filed under: Adultery, Christianity, Eric Bryant, Ethics, Homosexuality, Love, Religion, Sex, The Office, Tolerance

PFP Reviewed: Chapter Six

Peppermint-Filled Piñatas
Chapter Six: White Men Can Jump (Just Not as High)
Seeing Past Stereotypes

Stereotypes exist because we do not form friendships with others who differ from us.

This is really what this whole book is about. Moving past tolerance, and political correctness, and into true relationships with those who don’t look or think like we do. I’ve been extremely guilty of this for most of my life. No, I’ve never been one you would call a racist, but I’ve stereotyped people in my mind and with my actions.

Nowadays I love exploring new cultures, and learning more about people that aren’t like me. Where I live that isn’t the easiest thing to do because this may very well be the whitest county in the world. But we need to take every opportunity to dive head first into relationships with those around us that don’t remind us of ourselves. Not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because you’ll be amazed by what you’ve been missing!

As a global community, we need to break through tolerance and embrace love. We need to move from meetings that just talk about racial reconciliation and actually create communities that show the world we are reconciled.

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

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

PFP Reviewed: Chapter One

Peppermint-Filled Piñatas
Chapter One: Curry Favor
Winning People and Influencing Friends

It’s all about love…

The most effective apologetic is love.

Early christians were respected because they emanated love. They became the embodiment of the phrase ‘God is love.‘ Love requires us to be vulnerable. It requires sacrifice. It requires action. And it shouldn’t ever be confined just to those that can give you something in return.

..and relationships.

Rather than simply looking for ways to develop new strategies and programs, we must hone the skill of developing relationships. We need to go back to the beginning and capture the essence of interaction with the world around us. Our future depends on recapturing our ancient past.

Eric dives deep into the idea of building authentic relationships with those around you. Becoming all things to all people while loving them unconditionally. Too often we build up walls with the outside world because they aren’t like us. He encourages us to develop relationships without hidden agendas. To simply love.

Would people say you embody love?

Related:
PFP Reviewed: Introduction

Filed under: Books, Eric Bryant, Friendship, God, Love, Peppermint-Filled Piñatas, Relationships, Reviews, Tolerance

PFP Reviewed: Introduction

Peppermint-Filled Piñatas
Introduction: The Art of Woo
Overcoming the Christian Stereotype

A negative Christian stereotype is prevalent and spreading, and we’ve helped cause this by being judgmental, irrelevant, mean, and hypocritical. Too often we just prove to the world that we have nothing more to offer than they are already experiencing. As a result, more and more people see Christianity as part of their past rather than as a guiding force for their future.

Eric wonders what we are currently doing or not doing that will cause us to feel ashamed in the future, and calls us to be part of the solution in our divided world rather than part of the problem. To live a life that embraces the people that Christians generally love to hate. To be agents of change.

This is something I have been trying to do myself for a few years now. I have re-examined my entire world view and have started building it again from the ground up. When people think of a Christian, something always pops into their head, and it’s usually not genuine love for others. My goal is to paint a new picture for our culture about what it really means to be a Christ follower.

What are some ways you’re trying to change our image?

Filed under: Books, Change Agents, Diversity, Eric Bryant, Friendship, Love, Mosaic, Peppermint-Filled Piñatas, Reviews, Sterotypes, Tolerance