So... this is weird. Jodi and I went and got a drink tonight at a pub in our neighborhood. Our awesome friend Rachelle listened for crying babies so we could go. Some interesting things.1. It was Open Mic Night. The girl that was on when we got there was great. She had a beautiful voice but could have used a bit more guitar practice. She sang some Dylan as well as other stuff. Very nice.
2. The next guy played harmonica with her and harmonized with her. It was also very nice. he sang some Dylan, Dead, Merl Haggard, and I think some of his own stuff. He sang a song called, "Jesus, Just in Case". I couldn't hear the vocals very well, but knew what he was getting at.
I'm now going to rant about American Evangelicalism. What this guy knew about Jesus was that he could be helpful if there was a chance that God sent people to hell. If this is how others view Christianity, the Church is in jeopardy. If this is how others view our Christ, then we have done a piss poor job of portraying him. I hope someday the singer writes a song called, "Jesus... because his followers don't know what the hell they're doing". That would be more accurate I think.
3. A man showed up after that with a Big Lebowski T-shirt on. I bought him a White Russian as is customary in our tradition and waited for him to come over to talk. Nobody can argue with the fact that the BL is the best movie of all time. We talked about the Achievers and about the music on the sound track and about how smart we are for recognizing what a great movie it is. He was from Boston and traveling across the country. Nice man. His name was "Mando". If you haven't seen the movie, you may not read my blog again until you have seen it.
"Nobody F@&ks with Da Jesus" -- That's ironic. The first guy sang about Jesus and Mando loved the movie with this quote. Coincidence? I think not. The Lord is Moving in mysterious ways.
8 comments:
i'm afraid that is how Christianity has been both taught and perceived. It's all about the fire insurance. Oh, and would you like to insure your DVD for an extra 25 cents? Could save you twenty dollars.
We're an "insurance" society. But i always say "no" to the 25 cent dvd insurance based on principle. i figure they're getting me for home insurance, car insurance, life insurance, now rental insurance...i just want to rent a movie without having to pay insurance. That's how a lot of people are feeling about Christianity too, and i can't say i blame them.
Very interesting way to pull together american evangelicalism and the BL! Anytime you can quote the BL, it's a GOOD THING.
Keith- What should I do when I feel like not only rejecting the dvd insurance, but smashing the dvd just because.
Jodi- I love you and had a great time at that bar. Want to go again sometime?
A Christian who views Jesus as simply being helpful if there's a chance God sends people to hell would probably say that they believe God sends everyone to hell who doesn't say a prayer accepting Jesus, right? Word it differently and they probably wouldn't argue with you at all that if you boil it all down, that's what Jesus is all about.
Maybe that's just the thing... you can't sift through the gospel to find a simple phrase describing what it's all about.
"and that's what it's all about...
you do the hokey pokey!"
"one way, one way..."
I love Nick Zylstra!
I just said, "I love nick," then read what CB just wrote. Are you in for the urban ministry setting?
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