Cliche'

Dear Christian friends, please allow me to encourage you to choose your words wisely. More often than not our gospel cliches and platitudes are simply a little tune to entertain our own ego. I will be the first to admit guilt. It seems that Christians spend so little time with non-Christians that when faced with circumstances to encourage or inspire or console we just start firing Jesus jargon in large quantities. I assure you it is not received well. We can do better. A couple alternatives. 1. Be Quiet. It is not necessary to comment on every situation. 2. Share Scripture. The scripture is alive and powerful. When the opportunity arises simply share some truth from the Bible. (Allow Jesus to help you with timing also) I PROMISE YOU that a grieving family member standing beside a casket of a loved one does not want to hear Revelation 21 or Jeremiah 29:11, or 2 Corinthians 5:8. There will be a time to share these great truths but allow the Spirit of God to orchestrate the delivery time. Whoever guards his/her mouth keeps his/her soul from troubles." Proverbs 21:23

Positional Christianity & The Cheese Touch

There is a scene in the movie Diary of a Wimpy Kid where a dropped piece of cheese becomes the source of what all the children called the "cheese touch." Basically if you touched the cheese you would be eternally infected with the dreaded cheese touch. Cheese in the fridge is a treasure. Melted cheese on bread is a treat. Cheese on the asphalt of the playground is a tragedy. The simple location of the cheesy delight determines its classification. It is either desirable or deplorable. My observation of Christians over the past 40+ years bares a strikingly similarity to the poor cheese. The Christian in the pew is precious and protected. He is holding down his or her spot. Perhaps singing a bit or at least a person that can be counted in the congregation. The Christian can also be a teacher. Someone with a weekly duty to instruct others about whatever is in the book he was assigned. More could be listed but the place they are most treasured is “in the building.” In the building makes everything good. However should you try and classify yourself a Christian and be outside the good graces of “the building” you could be headed to a life of dread and doom. Just like in the “cheese touch” scenario one will be pointed out for their mistake. They will never quite measure up to the ideal person that is in the pew. They are discolored and damaged and if you touch them or talk to them you will be equally as disgusting. I wish this were not the case. It would be nice if the church (small c) operated like the hospital Jesus intended. Even more interesting is when the Christian is out in the wild. Out of “position.” When he is mingling with other sinners. How well they blend in. In the work place it is very rare to observe the salt and light outside the safety of the worship center. More often we see the lamp stand hiding under the proverbial bushel. There is however power in numbers. Perhaps if there are a few parishioners standing around they will clutter together and increase their illumination but only in the corner they are standing in. It is again very rare for the huddle to band together in force and rescue one that is hurt or broken. I’ve seen them discuss the outcast disregard the wounded, and despise the former member of the pew. This topic positional christianity occurred to me at a meeting in the spring of 2022. I am writing this with some authority because I have been on both sides of this topic. I have been inside the huddle and on the outside of it. During the meeting I observed “church folk” piled up in a wad while hurting, needy people were wandering all around them. I watched careful. I knew if these same people were “inside the building” on any given Sunday the huddle would be surrounding them. They would be inquiring their name their contact information and finding out a bit more about them. The plea for their soul would go out and tears would be shed on their behalf. Hard to believe we were not much more than a mile from the church building, but the attitudes and concerns of the churched were infinitely different. What is your position? How will you serve? Jesus said, “love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus sets a very high standard. I’m not throwing off on Him or His Church. There are a few great pastors, there are many faithful saints and I care for them deeply. These people serve the poor and powerless 24/7 My concern however is for you and me. If we are positional Christians we should hang our head in shame. LOVE PEOPLE! CARE FOR PEOPLE! I’m so thankful that when I was a disgusting “piece of cheese” that Jesus reached down and rescued me. The disgusting embarrassing human I am and the King of Everything touched me and made me whole. Think on that….

What is the Church to me?

What is the church to me? 1. Used to be a magical place that empowered my every movement. 2. Used to be a place I spent time massive volumes of time. 3. Used to be the hub of my very existence 4. Used to be where I loved to go 5. Used to be where I bowed my knees in prayer and raised my hands in worship. What is the church to me now? With tears I admit the church is nothing to me now. The church now is a place were less than 10 people I currently know who are the real deal try and transform culture on the backs of unrepentant unholy church “members” I now recognize the church as a place where I put my faith. I trusted the church more than I trusted Jesus. Not the church’s fault per say. I think they are just doing what they “feel.” Pastors are standing teaching/preaching the Word, but we the people are not accepting and implementing the training. What is the church to me? It is a place that produced deep scars and continues to re open wounds that most likely will never heal. What is the church to me? A meeting place for people that have shared vulgar secrets that are entrusted with me till death yet enjoy the anonymity during worship because their secrets are hidden from their peers. The same folks abuse, shun and betray those with exposed secrets abandoning them and exiling them to shame and defeat. What is the church to me? It is now a place I drive by and remember the good times and good friends I used to have before I became an outcast. What is the church to me? It is where my friends sometimes have funerals. When or if I attend to show my respects, I’m met with whispers and shunned by those I was once loved by. With sadness and regret and shame and anger I admit that the “church” the building and the meeting mean nothing to me. The Church that Jesus died for and sacrificed everything for helps me keep perspective. My anger and sadness toward the church is really not even worth mentioning when I think that Jesus really died and suffered shame and took my sin on his body. And the little feelings that I expressed before are really not even worth mentioning. We did it to Jesus first. So who am I. I do think we could do better at loving one another and being real and putting down our cloak of fake holiness one day a week and admit that we have struggles and we fail.

Daylight and Dark

I love photography. I’m an absolute amateur, but I love it. I have memories of my cousin having a Polaroid Instant camera. My family had a Polaroid 110 and sometimes we purchased a flash cube for those extra special occasions. Following the 7-10 day wait and the poor image quality I remember picking up our freshly developed pictures at the local drug store and racing home to pass the pictures around to our family and friends. Forty years later I sit on the banks of the Tennessee river waiting for the perfect moment to snap a pic of the sunset. Then a few months later in my backyard I was able to capture a picture of the super moon. The moments captured and the pictures instantly uploaded to my phone for my inspection AMAZING! The difference in the past and the present is as different as Daylight and Dark. Life is filled with changes. We are all trying to navigate and be happy. I started this blog in 2006 halfway through a career in full time ministry. Today I’m three months into a new career as funeral staff. I’m still the same Brent. I have some new friends and some new opinions. My perspective has been altered quite a bit, but I still believe in truth and right and wrong. I would love to go back to the “good old days” but that is impossible. I live in a fast paced cruel and crazy world. I’m excited to use this blog as a medium to share my opinions and perspectives. Enjoy, and take lots of pictures.