The talk I hear is this: Christians are claiming that God is winning football games for them and Tebow’s success if proof there’s a God. The other side counters that God must be pretty shallow if he lets Christians suffer in other parts of the world while he wins football games in America.

Both arguments are completely idiotic.

Here’s my take. I don’t think God gives a crap about football. What I think God really cares about is bringing his creation, people, into a relationship with him. God wants us to know him and he wants to love us and us to love him. And if God is doing anything through Tim Tebow right now, he’s making his presence known. Not by winning football games, but through the words and actions of one of his creations.

I think when you look at it that way, then it becomes clear that God is also working every bit as hard in places where Christians are having a tough time. When I went to Ethiopia a few years back I saw this first hand. People in absolute poverty having their spirits lifted and hope instilled in them because they were learning about Jesus.

So my fellow Christians, if you’re gloating over won football games, knock it off. You’re totally missing the point and screwing up the message. Take this opportunity not to say “believe in God and you’ll win the playoffs”… but take the time to share what the gift of Jesus really means. It means a relationship with our Creator. It means forgiveness, personal fulfillment, peace, compassion and love, in all circumstances.

I think the biggest reason not to buy into any of these ministries that focus on the end times is because, in my opinion, that’s not what Christianity is about. It’s not about wanting to get the hell off this miserable rock and go somewhere “better”. It’s not about gloating over your impending rapture on billboards that simultaneously damn  your un-believing neighbors (Although the guy who keeps letting his dog crap in my yard is almost certainly going to hell and I’d love catch him so I could tell him the error of his ways).

So what is Christianity about? I believe Christianity is basically about Love. God’s love for us, our love for God, and our love for each other. That’s really what every story in the bible demonstrates in some way.

I mean, look at Jesus. Jesus is an amazing guy, really. He comes onto the scene seemingly out of nowhere. He doesn’t run for office. He doesn’t raise an army. He doesn’t start any businesses. He spends all his time teaching, healing, and showing compassion and love towards people nobody else will. (Oh yeah, and he rose from the dead. That was pretty awesome too.) But when asked what are the most important of the Ten Commandments, he boils it all down and says to love God and love each other. Do that and you’ve got life pretty much covered. Such a simple message, yet so big that it completely changes the entire course of history. As the great prophet St. Huey Louis said: That’s the power of love.

So didn’t Jesus say a bunch of stuff about the end times? Yeah, there’s a few paragraphs on it, but I find it interesting how he does it. He purposely does not give a date. Actually he can’t give a date because he said even he doesn’t know it! Only God does. Instead he simply tells us to always be prepared for his return, meaning we should not sit and try to figure out when Dad is coming home so we can screw off until 10 minutes before then. That would be our normal tendency wouldn’t it? No, he says we should live moral lives, 100% of the time. That’s the lesson here and it’s a lesson taught out of love and concern for us. The end of time is not a threat, it’s just a fact, and so Jesus merely tells us to do what’s right, every day.

So if Christianity is all about love, why are so many Christians such jerks? Well, I can’t explain the actions or words of people. I think people are motivated by many different things. But I do know the actions and words of Christ, because they are written down for us. And below I’ve included some links for those who are so inclined to read for themselves what Christianity is really about. I guarantee there are no threatening billboards involved.

The Book of Matthew
The Book of Mark
The Book of Luke
The Book of John

The book is a daily devotional that pairs bible verses with some life lessons learned by Head during his days with Korn and now as a clean and sober Christian. I just went through the first day and it’s pretty cool stuff.

To me it’s Amazing to hear stories of God’s redemptive power and forgiveness. Here’s a guy like Head who’s “living the dream” yet is fully chained by his addictions. He’s freed by the power of God in his life and completely forgiven of some pretty heinous behavior. That’s the power of our God. This book provides a daily reminder of just how powerful and good God is.

Check it out.

Michelle and I had a great weekend ourselves. We went to Las Vegas for the weekend.

OK, so are you totally judging us right now? Oh yes you are. Deep down, you’re thinking how wrong it is to go to such a sinful place as Las Vegas on the holiest day of the year. Several people have looked at me screwy when I told them of our plans. And honestly, when I first booked the trip I felt the same thing….. and then I got over it.

It’s funny how quickly we can let ourselves get strapped by legalism. The Pharisees were really good at following rules. Many churches have built entire empires based on following certain rule sets. Legalism is how we estimate our closeness to God. It’s how we decide if we’re “OK” and it’s how we know who the “bad” people are. Yet Jesus saved his most scathing rebukes for those who were most strapped by legalism.

And here’s the deal; Until I was 30 the ONLY time I ever went to church was on Easter (and Christmas). So I asked myself; Was I a “better” Christian then? And then I began thinking; Does God keep a scorebook on church attendance? And if he does, is one Easter worth more than 51 regular church services? And if so, how long will it take me to catch up now that I’ve blown off a really important church score day? Do you see how ridiculous this line of thinking becomes?

I think it’s important to remember exactly what God wants from us, and that is a relationship. Jesus didn’t die on the cross so I would remember to go to church once a year on Easter. He died so that our relationship with God could be repaired, and so we should be actively pursuing and enjoying that relationship every single day, not just on popular holidays.

We need to cut that crap out.

The fact is, we have no idea who’s going to heaven and who’s not. We really don’t. Unless somebody kyped a copy of the book of life and posted it on the internet, we really don’t know. We do know that Jesus said; “But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven” and so we should take that to heart in our own lives. But when it comes down to it, it’s not our place to make judgement calls about others, it’s God’s. He is the only one truly capable of administering justice.

I was listening to Genesis on my iPhone this morning and I noticed a few amazing things about God’s justice and about his grace. In the story of Adam and Eve, he gives them a paradise and tells them to stay away from the a particular tree or they will die. Eve promptly eats from it anyway and so does Adam. So what does God do? Does he kill them? No. “But he said”…. , no, he doesn’t kill them. He administers justice by kicking them out of the garden and making life difficult on them. But he doesn’t kill them. One thing I find fascinating is that as God is kicking them out of the garden, He makes them clothes. What’s that about? They are SINNERS, let them make their own damn clothes! Yet God makes them clothes to protect them. Even in their disobedience, He still cares about them and he still is with them.

So then they have a few kids named Cain and Abel. Cain is kind of a jerk and gets jealous one day and kills his brother Abel. So what does God do? He kills Cain right? Eye for an eye, right? No, he administers justice by banishing Cain and making him a wanderer, but he doesn’t kill him. And here’s the kicker. Cain is afraid somebody out in the wilderness will kill him for what he’s done, so what does God do? He puts a mark on Cain so everyone will know they had better leave him alone or God will punish them 7 times as hard. WHAT???? Seriously? This dude is a murderer! Let him get his due! Nope. Don’t touch him, because God still loves him; Still cares about him; Still protects him.

Wow.

I think our capacity to really understand God’s love and grace and justice is just so limited. It’s so narrow. It’s so black and white. Yet God is big and he sees things on such a large, broad, complex level. He is the sovereign judge because He’s the only one capable of fairly administering justice. This is why Jesus said we have no right to judge. “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”.

So before we go taking it upon ourselves to condemn Ghandi to hell, let’s remember who ultimately has that say, and who doesn’t.

In my discussions and in some articles I’ve read from his detractors, what I can surmise is that Rob Bell isn’t “properly” preaching the gospel. Specifically he doesn’t talk about Jesus and our need for a savior “enough”. He doesn’t warn enough of the fiery dangers of Hell that us sinners rightly deserve.

And so he’s a false teacher.

Now, I fully believe that we are all sinners. I fully believe that Christ died as a sacrifice for our sins in order to reconcile us with the Father. But interestingly enough, for the first 30 years of my life, that story never got me to go to church. It never got me to seek out God. It never got me to serve others. Why?

I don’t think that ever sunk in because I was a pretty good guy really. I worked hard, I took care of my family, I taught my kid right from wrong. I simply did not feel like some awful, horrible person in need of a savior to be perfectly frank. And I think that’s a common mindset.

I think there’s also a portion of the population who has simply been beaten down by life. They’ve been convinced that they are failures and they are no good. They’ve been abused and taken advantage of and they are hurting. And we’re going to tell them that not only has life screwed them, now God is going to kill them unless they first admit how awful they are?

Think about how that sounds to the uninitiated.

What finally “turned” me, was a Pastor named Steve at Clovis Hills who presented me with a new image of God I had never really seen before. A God that loves us and wants the best for us, RIGHT NOW, here on this Earth. A God that created us for a bigger purpose than just working jobs and buying stuff. A God that wants us to reach out and help others. A God that wants us to be content, and fulfilled, and loved. A God who’s burden is light. That’s the message that made me begin to trust God with my life. That God I could buy into.

Now, did I then begin to understand my own sinful nature and the importance of Jesus in my life? Yes I absolutely did. I fully believe that is a crucial component of our faith. But it was the initial message of hope, and promise of contentment and security in God’s love that lit the fire in me to begin with.

I share this to make a simple point. That maybe guys like Bell and other pastors who are routinely accused of “misleading” the flock are not misleading at all. Maybe they are guys who are simply reaching people on the level of life they are at. Maybe we’re all different, with different life experiences and different temperaments. Maybe to reach each of us, God presents the many facets of himself to us in different ways, in order to reach us where we live.

What I’m proposing is; What if God is so much bigger than the “five step plan to salvation” we’ve come up with? And what if, with our arguments over “how” the Good News should be shared, we’re actually getting in his way?

Bell just released a new book called Love Wins. The book caused a major rift in the Christian community because in it Bell questions a lot of the current mainstream thinking on subjects like heaven and hell and what happens when we die. You see, in many Christian circles, you’re not really supposed to ask any hard questions, or if you do, you’re not supposed to question the given answer. Many issues have been decided already and you’re kind of just supposed to accept it. When you ask too many questions, people who are supposed to love you, attack you and call you a heretic or call you weak. I suppose their God is not big enough to stand up to a little questioning.

And that’s why I love Rob Bell. Rob Bell is a thinker, a questioner. He’s a conversationalist. He doesn’t come across as some guy who claims to have this god thing all figured out. His style is to propose a thought, back that thought up with biblical evidence, and then ask what you think.

And so I ask, what’s wrong with that? Isn’t God big enough to stand up to a little questioning? Isn’t His truth strong enough to shine through some thoughtful debate? The problem we have today is the same one Jesus had 2000 years ago with the Pharisees. There’s an establishment of guys that have worked very hard to formulate what they believe and build their ministries. A guy like Rob Bell comes along with some questions and they get all uptight. As if everything they’ve worked for is going to come undone. Honestly, I’d question how much God is with you if what you’ve built is that fragile.

At any rate, I liked his book. It’s thought provoking and encouraged me to look at God as someone much bigger than the nice little marketing presentation I get from the mainstream church. I won’t go into a bunch of detail about it here because I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything that Bell is thinking. But that’s what makes the book good. It’s causing me to think deeply about what I believe and why I believe it. It’s causing me to dig into the Bible for myself and either validate or reformulate my thinking. That’s a good thing.

So I say check it out. It’s only $9 on Kindle so if you completely disagree with everything Bell says, it’s not a huge loss.

We estimate several thousand people came to hear the word of God in English and Spanish. Over a dozen people expressed their belief in Christ and got baptized right then and there. One of my kids from tutoring class, a sweet little girl named Luz also got baptized. It was an amazing thing to see people being changed forever.

At the block party we put on a huge rummage sale, raising over $1000 that will go to the teachers of the school for school supplies. There were free hot dogs, drinks & popcorn. There were free carnival games with prizes, bounce houses, a cake walk, face painting and free balloons.

The day before, we had several hundred volunteers putting in new plants and cleaning up the school grounds. We installed a new parking lot for teachers. We cleaned and organized thousands of library books.

I share this not to brag. I share it because I feel that this is what the church is about. This is what we’re called to do. We’re called to love each other and serve each other. And it’s simply amazing what can happen when you get a lot of like minded people listening to God’s calling and each giving just a few hours of time and sharing their resources. Big things happen. People come to Christ. The community is improved and strengthened. God moves in a big way.

I can’t wait to see what He does next in that neighborhood.

At any rate, we did the exercise and while I can’t and won’t talk about individual stories I found that the group is broken up roughly into two groups. Group 1 are the partiers. Guys who grew up resenting religion, doing drugs, having sex, and basically living life 100% for themselves. Group 2 are guys who grew up in Christian homes and never rebelled, never did anything wrong and generally had a pretty enjoyable upbringing.

Now what I found interesting as I listened to the stories was that I immediately wanted to look down on the guys who had a good upbringing and never screwed up. I mean, I could be a good Christian too if I was raised under perfect circumstances, who wouldn’t? That’s a ridiculous attitude of course, and after I got past my own jealousy and self pity and really started listening, I learned something very profound; Upbringing has little to do with personal faith in Jesus.

What I heard from every one of group 2 was that at some point in their lives there came a time when they had to make a choice. That choice was to either forget everything that their parents had taught them and go their own way, or to embrace the teaching and turn it into something REAL in their own lives. See, the point is that you can be raised “in the church”, but really all that is is schooling. It’s freaking academics. At some point you have to decide that your faith is something more than book smarts and that it’s a real thing, and you’re going to make it part of you.

And so I realized that we really are all the same. Though some of us had strong upbringing and some of us were left to run wild; Some made the choice early in their lives and some waited 30 years to do it, that choice is still the same; Are we going to put our faith in Jesus? Are we going to make him an integral part of our lives? Are we going to believe? And it really doesn’t matter how we arrive at that point in our lives where we have to decide to embrace Christ or not. The point is, we will face that decision.

How will you decide?

At any rate, like I said, it was an awesome weekend. I am blessed to be a musician first of all, but more blessed to be able to use that talent to serve God. I played clubs and bars for over 20 years before giving that up completely to play for my church and I just gotta say what an amazing ride this has been. Friday I played an acoustic set with four of the most talented people I know for about 300 people. Saturday and Sunday I got to play for several thousand people, again with some insanely talented people including Patrick Contreras, who’s a well known musician in these parts.

So from Friday to Sunday I played the cajon and the drum set. I played ballads, R & B, Blues, and straight up rock. From a musician’s standpoint, it’s heaven. I’m getting opportunities I’ve never had before and I attribute it all to just deciding to give my playing to God. Pastor Steve talked a lot about that today. About giving up doing things for yourself, and finding God’s greater purpose for your life. My playing has taken on a larger purpose and I’m reaping the benefits of that. I am blessed.

But that’s not what really made this a great weekend. What made it a great weekend was watching people come to Jesus. We did something Clovis Hills has never done before, we did a public call for baptisms. Anyone who wanted to come forward and get baptized could do so. Right there in the service. Honestly, I didn’t expect many people to come forward. Our church is a church geared toward people who have never gone to church, or simply have been turned off by other churches. It’s a church for people who don’t like church. But Steve gave the call, we kicked into a song, and people came. And they kept coming. 45 people in all, being baptized in their street clothes and driving home soaking wet. It was just so moving to see people making a decision to live for a higher purpose. These are lives that are changing for the better, right before our eyes.

I got home to find a Twitter post from somebody saying “Neat magic trick Jesus. But the world is still full of ignorance and hate. Your move.”. And to that I would say that Jesus has already made his move. He made it when he died on the cross, rose from the grave and wiped away our sins 2000 years ago. So it’s not His move, it’s YOURS. What are you going to do with it?

I hope everyone has had a fantastic Easter. God bless.