Cutting

I am a boy, so how do I know? Thats the problem, isn’t it? This weekend, I came face to face with a lovely young girl. She has great Christian parents; parents who try hard to find a solution to her pain. Parents have tried everything to alleviate the pain.

I came face to face with the ‘pain’ I saw the pain (manifested in scars on her arms), I sensed the pain, read it in her eyes, and yet I struggled to understand the pain. If I could only understand the pain, perhaps I could ‘reason’ it away?  Thing is, this is what we all think. If I could understand the pain...well, bottom line is thats not true. You can never understand the pain, and even if you did, the pain cannot be reasoned away. What is the solution? I want to say :”Love, acceptance and more love”. I fear those words have been used both as weapons and cover ups for so long, that most girls are beyond mere words. I suspect what these gils need is some real action.

Problem is, I am probably the least equipped male on the planet to deal with this issue. I do not know what the solution is, but I am keenly aware that this is a growing problem amongst our youth. Maybe we need more real youth ministers? Honestly, I don’t know if thats the solution either. Why are so many christian girls happy, well rounded and others in a mess? Sometimes the same girls co-exist in one church. You have the cutters, and the content girls in the same youth program. Figure that one out!

For me, this indicates that the real problem is way bigger than a youth ministry program. It suggests that the problem is multi faceted. Homeschoolers have the problem as do girls in normal schools. S, our education system is not to blame. Fair enough, home schoolers are generally more confident, more socially adept, more mature, but still home schoolers are not immune to this phenomenon. It could be generational curses, but then we blame generational curses on everything we can’t get a handle on.

I really do not know the cause (besides the obvious fact that it is pain based, but why cut yourself? In my youth, we did drugs, vandalism, partied and got smashed.) There is something angry in our youth. Our youth are angrier than any previous generation that I have encountered. Their expression is more apt to violence even if it is self inflicted violence. I just know that some body somewhere will blame this on the violent video games...but thats too easy. No, cutting is serious. There is no quick fix (that I am aware of). We do need to discover the root of this illness and treat it before we loose a generation of young girls.

Is Change possible?

A good friend of mine asked this question. The simple answer is ‘yes’ change is possible. The correct question is :”Can I afford to be a pioneer for change?” The correct question will solicit the correct response.

A little background is in order. I love youth, I really have a heart for the youth. In all honesty, I am somewhat of a youth whisperer. I have worked with youth in many different capacities, and have always seen change. So, why don’t I work with youth full time? The answer is complicated.

Youth ministry by its very nature requires maverick thinking. Senior pastors are generally staid, conservative and cannot afford to rock the boat too much. If you rock the boat, your biggest financial supporters leave, and then you struggle to keep things afloat. I personally work 3 jobs, but thats because I rock the boat. If I played nice with the religious people, I would have a very large church...but because I like to rock the boat, I have to work several jobs just to keep food on the table, and clothe my family.

Now, great youth pastors live to start a revolution. Parents generally don’t want their kids involved in a revolution. They want nice conformed kids. Unfortunately, kids of every generation and social economic bracket want to be a revolutionary...even if it just in their thinking! There is plenty of time to grow up, conform, get a mortgage and live in suburbia. Most kids I know want to change the world, climb a mountain, fall in love and be loved. Personally, I will settle for changing the world, or maybe just my neighborhood?

So whats the deal? Simple really, I too am a revolutionary at heart. The cost of keeping the mortgage in date, feeding the family, and keeping son in private school is 3 jobs. I could compromise my theology and play the exhortation game, build a large church, but how do I look my son in the eye and tell him to be true to his beliefs even as I am compromising theology to ‘play nice with the adults’ who pick and chose what verse they believe?

My integrity is not for sale. So, I do not place nice, instead I work 3 jobs to support my honesty and belief system. That and I am a revolutionary who wants to climb a mountain one day. 

Back to youth ministry - thing is there is no money in youth ministry. You cannot afford to feed your family by being a full time youth pastor WITHOUT the financial support of partners, churches, and or people who believe in your ministry. Most smaller churches have pastors working full time outside the ministry just to pay their own church bills. In other words, there is simply no extra money to support a revolutionary youth ministry.

Secondly, if I am going to support a youth ministry, you better believe that my youth are the first to benefit by having a full time Youth Pastor on staff. Thing is, the very best youth pastors are snapped up by the larger churches who can afford the big salaries. What about the smaller churches?Well, they face the inevitable problem of senior pastor is actually a youth pastor walking the line of fulfilling two positions. Alternatively, the senior pastor hires a part time youth pastor who is just hanging around for his big break and then he is off to the bigger church.

Is change possible? Yes it is, the correct question is :”Can I find enough people who really want to see change?” The answer is - I doubt that. You see, most pastors are struggling just to pay their own staff, never mind support the work of a revolution...as much as I would love to. Perhaps if I took a 4^th job?

Fixing healthcare?

I am bold enough to suggest that I may have a workable solution for the healthcare mess. First of all, I do not advocate for a bigger government. I prefer the freedom to choose whether I want a healthcare insurance or not. That is really not up to the government or anybody but the individual.

That said, I do have the following suggestions:

1. Reduce the cost of education by slashing the profit margins. Colleges simple charge what ever they like (result of greed, capitalism let run amok). I am all for a College making a profit, but there profit margins are way too high.
2. Make state run hospitals and clinics available. This will introduce some healthy competition and make healthcare more affordable. 
3. I would also suggest that the Government legislates how much profit the hospitals can make. Same should happen with pharmaceutical companies. I understand that research is expensive, but by now a box of aspirin should not be costing around $4.00 either.
4. I would also go so far as to say that every doctor should volunteer a measly 40 hours per month at a local clinic. This will put excellent healthcare n the reach of the lower economic bracket. 
5. Finally, I would get schools and churches on board. Schools should spend more time educating kids on nutrition and basic sanitation. Take candy vending machines out of the schools, and replace that with fruit and vegetables.
6. If we were to train up some of our unemployed (for free) as nurse practitioners we would expand our healthcare, reduce unemployment and improve our economy.
7. Finally, we could import more medical professionals through an immigration program. Medical professionals who want to immigrate to the USA, can get a Medical Visa, provided they work for 5 years at a local hospital or clinic sans the exorbitant salaries.

I know this is a pretty far out idea. I also doubt it will get any positive attention. The one freedom I love about our country, is that even a nut like me is free to express yet another crazy idea.

It is written

The enemy came to test Christ in the wilderness. Jesus replied with :”It is written…” Even Jesus was tempted, but His response speaks volumes to modern day believers. He had not only been taught what the Scriptures say, but He ha memorized enough of scripture to deftly wield the sword of the word of God. 

Strange thought really. The Word of God had to memorize scripture just like the rest of us. Unlike the rest of us, He did not respond with an opinion, or context, or this is what God means. Instead He replied :”It is written…” There was neither room for argument nor discussion. While it is important to understand context, and culture, Christ saw more value in hitting the thief between the eyes with the :”It is written…”

Modern day theologians spend an a great deal of time studying context, culture and meaning behind the words. Jesus on the other hand was more of a Thus saith the Word. People are often heard saying things like :”I do not follow a man.” My response is invariable, really, so who do you follow? A demon? Jesus is a MAN. He is seated at the right hand of the Father in His human form.

So, the Living Christ, who is a man of flesh and blood in heaven, used the written word to defeat temptation of the flesh. What more do we need?

Joy is a mindset, not a condition

Emotions are so fickle, subject to change. There is a saying in kentucky, if you don’t like the weather, stick around, it will change, normally within the hour. Emotions are similar, subject to change, just like the weather. Despite the fickle nature of our emotions, so many people live their lives out as an extension of their feelings. Feelings are not what we should be making decisions upon, yet so many do just that. We open our mouths and say exactly what we feel, and thats okay. In fact, we encourage people to express their emotions, and we all get on board and justify that person for sharing their emotions.

Thing is, emotions are not abstract objective gauge of reality. Emotions are filtered through your preconceived ideas, your own physical condition, your hormones, your thoughts and your reality.

Lets be real for a minute. Your reality is totally different from my version of reality. We may share the same space, work at the same building, but we both experience life in a different manner. You may be happy when you get a paycheck, or that promotion, but after a while the effects of that paycheck wear off, and you are faced with lack. Lack, whether perceived or simply implied by the fact that somebody has a new car, and your is last years model, affects your disposition. Your emotions can very well be tied to the status of your car, your title at work, your bank balance, your son’s report card, or your wife’s new book. As a result, you are not really happy within yourself. Your happiness can be snatched away as simply as a thief comes in and steals your car, your boss sells out his company, and you get fired, your wife’s latest book tanks and your son fails spanish. What has happened to your happiness? In one week, your happiness fell apart, like your wife’s book sales, or your son’s spanish. 

Joy on the other hand is a state of mind, based upon a rational decision that you made when you encountered the supernatural Christ for the first time. When you meet the Christ for the first time, really meet Him, have an intimate conversation, you realize that true JOY is an inner condition, a peace if you like. I prefer to describe it as the Promised land that was so elusive for the Israelites, and modern Christians alike. The promised land is known colloquially by a different term - JOY. Unspeakable Joy. Joy that transcends human understanding, goes beyond your bank balance, is not tied to your emotions, job title, model of car you drive or your wife’s book sales. You see, Joy can never be taken away from you. Its a real place that you go to when your emotions indicate that the winds of change are blowing, your car is now 2 years old and you still owe on it, where as your neighbor has the latest model, you still owe on a 2 year old model. Joy is that promised land, that place where I reside in.In the promised land, the cares of this world cannot touch me, sickness is far from my dwelling, and stress is not allowed to exist. Love abounds, and I live off the fruit of the Spirit.

I have plenty of space in the promised land, as so few Christians ever cross the Jordan river and take their place in Joy. So what is the Jordan river?

The Jordan river is where Joshua led the people to take on Jericho. A walled city stood between them and their promised land. A walled city, with walls so high that the people could not see over, the land looked undefeatable. Interestingly enough what brought the walls down was the praises of the believers. God said He inhabits the praises of His people.

To defeat your enemies, most of which fight on the battlefield of your mind, you need to bring in the Big Guns...loud Praise. God inhabits the Praises of His people. Its the loud praise that defeats the enemies of God. Believers that engage in Loud Praise destroy the enemy of their God. Take the Promised land today - Shout to the Lord all you people’s.

Our Church - Dispensation Theology

Organic Church - Free will defined