The Clothers...

Is Christianity Mind Control?

I've been thinking a lot about engaging and encouraging intelligent thought, especially in context with Christianity.

Some would claim Christianity is mind control, a system of beliefs and behaviors that are repeatedly pressed into us on Sunday mornings and reinforced through peer pressure. And in many cases they would be right. If we allow it to be.

I read a quote this morning that went something like this: "Most Christians treat the Bible like a software license. They never read it, they simply scroll to the bottom and click "I agree.""

Others might tend to treat the Bible as a cookbook, following each chapter and verse carefully to produce the "right" result, without pulling back and pressing into the context and intent of the assembly of these inspired writings.

Where I see God truly transforming Christ followers is where minds are open and engaged in who God is and His ways, and we have our own God experiences every day, not simply at church on Sunday.

I think when we live with open minds, curious and free as Christ Followers to explore our Creator, His creation and our part in it, we can experience the abundant life John 10:10 talks about. When we trust that God's Truth will overpower errant beliefs through the power of the Holy Spirit in our life and the lives of our fellow Christ Followers, we can have an open dialogue about our growth, development, and positive impact on the world around us.

I think that's what God was up to when his Son came to free us from sin and the law and call us to transformed minds in Romans 12:

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Is Christianity mind control? Only if you let it be, just like anything else in life when we allow others to think for us.

The Word of God is alive and active (Heb. 4:12), we just need to be alive and active in it and in Him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What shoes are you wearing right now?

"I wear a lot of different hats..." We hear that expression from time to time as people shift between priorities in their life.

I was talking with our friend Krispin Mayfield the other day, and he suggested that maybe instead of hats we could talk about wearing a lot of different shoes.

He and his wife have chosen a life of simplicity and live among the poor in the midwest as ministry. They walk in the shoes of the poor in and amongst their other activities and other shoes they wear...

Shoes are typically where we and our physical journey meet with the full force of our body, our stride, and our activity. Hats, for the most part, just sit there on our head without a lot of wear and tear other than from being taken off and on. 

When I visited pulp mills as an engineer, I garnered respect in part because my steel toed boots were all beat up. The guys working out in the mill knew I had done more than just taken a tour, I had worked beside them on the floor.

I had a neighbor who retired at 42 after a very successful sales career. One of his secrets to success was he wore shoes that matched those of the clients he was meeting with so they would relate to him.

And today, I suppose I wear a lot of different shoes in my journey with those around me as an ambassador for Christ.

Sometimes I have my good neighbor shoes on as we run into folks passing by and are all dirty from working on our house and yard.  Sometimes I have my community shoes on as I walk the streets and alleys of our city and show up at downtown events.

Sometimes I have my pastor shoes on as I stop in our park to talk with someone sleeping on the sidewalk. Sometimes I have my boss shoes on as I tackle issues that are holding our team back from success.

Sometimes I have my husband shoes on as I seek to love my wife the way Christ loves the Church.

And then there are some times I don't want to wear a particular pair of shoes that I know I'm called to wear because of the difficult road I know I must travel in them.

Shoes are where the rubber meets the road. Shoes are where ideas turn into reality. Shoes are where responsibility turns into action.

What shoes has God called you to wear?

 

 

Love your neighbor whether you see them or not

Life on the streets is hard. Some are there by circumstances or poor choices, others like their indepedence or are hiding from the law. Some want help, others do not.

This last week we discovered the bed roll and belongings of someone who was sleeping on the flat roof of our administrative offices. It's actually a pretty smart place to hide away for the night. Amongst their belongings was drug paraphernalia.

Our admin offices are a mile from our rescue mission and two blocks from my house. The park nearby often has a few homeless folks hanging out, cooking at the BBQ's, or napping on the lawn.

I walk past the park everyday on my way to and from the office, greeting those along my path; Some are neighbors on their porches, others are families on the lawn in the park, and others yet are hardened folks who've been "camping" on the streets for a while, gathered at one of the picnic tables with backpacks, and bikes if they have them.

Back at the office, the question came up as to what to do with the things we found on the roof. We don't want people climbing up there, let along setting up camp. If the party were to grow, who knows what would happen and who would get hurt. So leaving things alone didn't make sense.

We could... throw it in the dumpster. After all its stuff left on our property with who knows what in it... Or we could place it nearby in the park to allow the unknown person to reclaim it with the risk of others pilphering through it... Or we could ask around in the park to see if anyone knows who owns it... Or we could store it and leave a note with instructions for how to reclaim it (drugs and all, I suppose).

What would you do? Through this process, I realized the decision probably had more weight to me than others, because I walk by the park each day and the person sleeping on our roof may full well be watching me each time I pass. But should that matter?

Jesus tells us to love our neighbor. And I wonder, do we express love to those we see each day more easily than those we have a chance meeting with, or may never actually see at all?

How do we treat the guy who cuts us off on the freeway, the waitress that's rude, the person who takes our parking space or our place in line? The homeless person pushing their cart down the sidewalk? What do our actions communicate to those who are watching but we may never see at all?

Something to think about.

As for how we handled the person on the roof. That story is still unfolding.