Amazing Grace (finally!!) July 11, 2008
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.
I know I posted more than a month ago a homework assignment for everyone—I requested that you all watch the movie Amazing Grace so that we could discuss it on here. I didn’t forget, but admittedly I put that task on the back burner. I was very encouraged by everyone’s willingness to watch it though…thanks for taking it to your youth groups and families and sharing what I think is a very excellent movie dealing with some very difficult topics.
The other reason I feel compelled to now discuss what I said we would discuss a long time ago, is that I’ve been thinking about church hymns a lot here recently. I’ve started noticing how powerful an influence church music has in our lives as a church body. Aside from the living Body of Christ in our fellow believers, I very truly feel that these songs we sing are one of the most powerful ways God has used over the years to teach His people about Him and to help remind His people of where they need to be walking in life. I’ve hear that we only retain about 20% of a lecture (ie sermon), but the songs that we sing end up stuck in my head and become a big part of my walk day to day as result. They serve as constant reminders of the joy I have in my heart. So I’d like to begin a series of blogs dedicated to some of my favorite church hymns (don’t worry Justin..Faith of Our Fathers is not making my list 
) and why I love them so much. But that is something for the near future. Back to the topic of this blog.
I’d like to start the series of songs with Amazing Grace. Now, I’m not a huge fan of the song…I admit that. I don’t know exactly why, but I’m just not. So instead of journaling about the song, I’m going to provide for us some questions to answer about the movie. I’ll not answer my own questions here, but rather in my comments section so as to not sound biased. But I’d love for all of you to take a moment and answer some of these questions, and provide us all with some of your own if you have them. If I think of more I will blog about this again and add them all. So here goes:
1) The slave trade was obviously the hot topic of the movie, and while watching the movie I couldn’t help think “of course abolishing the slave trade is the right way to go.” But that was a blind spot to many Christians back in that time (and perhaps to some even still today). What are some particular social issues that may need to be addressed and stood up for by the Body today, but are still in our blind eye?
2) “Most live within sound of church of chapel bell. I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.” Gary Spear provides me with that quote on his facebook profile. I don’t know how accurate a portrayal of William Wilberforce’s life the movie actually was, but in Amazing Grace he came across as being rather contemplative in his spiritual life. He seemed conflicted between two desires of his—political activism and the contemplative, meditative sort of walk through life. I have to say, I’ve never felt more tied to a charater’s conflict in a movie more. I struggle with that. There was a time in my life where I really wanted to end up in DC. (Or at least in Indy at the Statehouse.). But recently I’ve been pulled more toward the “grassroots” form of social/political activism. I feel I’m more effective dealing day by day with individuals and ministering to those needs rather than standing up in front of people and persuading that a more “Christian” sort of legislation ought to be the way we go. So this question is two fold I guess…one, what is the merit in living life “within church and chapel bell (I’m thinking more of the academia, monastery, philosopher sitting in his arm chair sort of life) verses the merit of living a life socially active and “go and do” focused? (PS…I believe there is merit in both, but I’d like to hear specific reasons why.) (Also I’m not implying that these two things are mutually exclusive.) And the next question is, what is a Christians role in the world of politics? When do we need to “push agendas” in the political arena, and when are issues best left up to grassroots movements? What are the dangers of mixing Christianity and state politics?
3) Can you think of any examples where standing up against social injustice has had a major impact on your community and the lives therein? What are practical ways we can provide comfort and healing to the socially oppressed of our day?
I think that’s all I have for now. Let me know what you think and provide me with some discussion, please!
Battles lost and battles won. July 8, 2008
I was raised in a church where there were two kinds of battles talked about. First, there was the very openly talked about battle between God and Satan. We were God’s followers and we were assisting in this battle by fighting temptation and evangelizing to the lost.
The other battle was a not-so-blatantly talked about battle. It wasn’t openly named as a battle, but it was taught to me as a child in ways that I thought harmless and it was painted as a just and important cause. That battle is the battle between the church of Christ and “denominationalism.” Or, as was explained to me, the task of converting “what the world considers Christian” people. All those poor, lost souls out there that would have to “answer” for all of their piano playing and hand clapping someday.
Now please, don’t get me wrong…I’ve said before that I take a pretty compassionate stance toward those that still very firmly believe that there is no room for instrumental worship in the corporate worship setting; I don’t necessarily agree, but I do not desire to stoop to name calling or putting down. That being said…
Because of this battle I spent many hours debating and arguing things like instrumental music (and I can name plenty more hot CoC topics, but I won’t) in hopes of winning my debates and thus winning one more over for team Jesus. I remember once attending Sunday morning service at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville with my best friend at the time, Katie Amos, and thinking on the way home, “I hope we don’t get in a car wreck and die on the way home, because if I did I think I’d go to hell.”
How sad for me. That statement reveals so much of my theological persuasion at that point in time. How sad for me that I didn’t believe I was following a merciful God, for one. How sad for me that I was so caught up in my motions that I allowed a legalistic heart to supercede a heart of genuine worship. And this list of “how sad for me” can go on and on.
But what’s really sad is how much time and energy I wasted in debating worship styles when I could have been giving good friendship and support to those around me that were hurting and suffering. Instead of trying to “fix” the way my Christian friends read their Bibles and interpreted them, I could have been listening to the girl next to me whose parents were going through a divorce and comforting her, or encouraging the student in the back of the class who was dealing with a drug addiction to give up his habit. Those are the types of things that could have potentially drawn someone to Christ; but instead I was continuing to draw lines in the sand between denominations…all the while I thought I was helping tear down those lines. What I didn’t realize that I was simply attempting to pull someone across the line onto my side; not eradicate the line altogether.
I think we should all be praying for unity in the Body of Christ. I know I forget to do that sometimes…possibly because it seems like such a far away idea. Unity. Professor Sherman at Lipscomb used the phrase “pie in the sky by and by” a lot in my Incarnational Medical Missions class to describe some of the more “unrealistic” goals of the church. I think unity, by earthly standards, probably seems a little too idealistic at times to actually be striving for it. But I don’t think that’s how Jesus expects us to feel about it; I’m thinking Jesus was a big dreamer…I’m thinking Jesus saw a lot of potential in humanity. Otherwise I think he’d have let us rot in the Hell we deserve, separate and alone from the Father. I think if we started to see others as worthy of being in our presence and in our communities, we might start giving the Body the chance at being in communion with one another as Christ gave us the chance at being in communion with Him.
Just a thought…
Life’s Simple Pleasures… July 2, 2008
I moved last night and I would just like to take a moment to share some of life’s simple pleasures I’ve noticed over the past 12 hours…
Sleeping in a bed that I’m not afraid has spiders living in the sheets.
Walking barefoot through my house and in the bathtub.
How quickly a drain actually can drain water mixed with toothpaste.
Microwaves.
Dishwashers.
Having a ledge to put my foot on as I shave.
Being able to lift both arms in the shower without hitting a wall.
Not hearing the pitter patter of little feet above me.
Looking up at my ceiling and instead of seeing water leaks seeing nice clean white non-tile drywall.
Bathroom vents that don’t blow dirt along with the air.
Not holding the toilet flush thing until the toilet has finished flushing.
Driving on pavement and not gravel/mud.
Being able to maintain a clean car because I’m not driving on gravel/mud.
Not walking through the gravel/mud every morning on my way to work and getting my shoes and pants muddy.
Not sleeping on a sofa bed.
And in particular, having awesome friends (and a future mother-in-law) that show up to help you move.
