INSERT INTO `wp_posts` VALUES (6751,183,'2012-05-21 13:05:18','2012-05-21 20:05:18','[caption id=\"attachment_6746\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Image from my friend, David Hayward (@nakedpastor; http://nakedpastor.com)\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Provoketive2.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-6746\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Provoketive2-300x232.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"232\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Christian Church has been converting people since the Council of Nicea.  But, how does a church grow its membership and get people to buy into its vision when it doesn\'t use the fear of Hell to coerce others into action?\r\nWhat does the Church have to do to survive?\r\n\r\nWhere does the Church go from here?\r\n\r\nWhat will we do when we can no longer pay the mortgage on the building?\r\n\r\nThese are questions we might ask ourselves when we look at the Church as buildings.  It\'s no secret that churches all over the country are being foreclosed on.  So, what\'s the answer?\r\n\r\nThe answer is.... The Church is not a building. Do you want to the Church to survive?  Then, we have to convince the Church of this fact.  We have to lose our love affair with addresses and fall in love with zip codes again.  When Paul wrote to churches, he didn\'t write to \"The Church on Jones Street\".  He wrote to \"The Church at Phillipi (Thessalonica, Colossae, etc...)\".  These first churches were not individual buildings but more like Presbyteries or Diocese.  They served huge areas.  Their focus was not a building.  Their focus was people.\r\n\r\nSo, here I am.  I am talking to your Church.  I am talking to the people you worship with every Sunday.  SAVE YOUR CITY. Make your city whole.  When the prison guard in Acts 16 was saved, \"everyone who lived in his house was saved\" according to Paul and Silas.\r\n\r\nI tell you, Church, it\'s time to claim salvation over your city.  I\'m not talking about \"saving from sins\".  I\'m talking about the \"preservation from destruction or failure\" or \"deliverance from danger and difficulty\" according to <a href=\"http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/salvation\">Meriam-Webster</a>.\r\n\r\nIt\'s time for us, as the Church to get off our high horse and help the man in the ditch who is dying as the religious walk on by.  It\'s time that we lose our religious piety and pick up the Cross of Jesus (His life and His death) and we start feeding the poor, clothing the naked and freeing the prisoners.\r\n\r\nGod is calling us, those who are called by the name of Christ, to continue the work of Christ.\r\n\r\nWe do that through relationship.  We can only have relationship with those in need when we forsake our buildings, because our homeless and poor friends and neighbors don\'t want the Jesus we\'re giving away.  Our Jesus doesn\'t look like Jesus in Luke 4 (Isaiah 61). There, Jesus says that God has anointed him to preach good news for the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, bring liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison for those who are bound.  I have no problem saying that if the message you hear on Sunday mornings does not sound like Luke 4, it is not the message of the Gospel. And when Jesus says, \"When I am lifted up, I will draw all men unto me...\", I think he\'s saying  when good news for the poor is preached, when the brokenhearted are binded up, when the captives have liberty and the prisons are empty, that there is no way He will not be glorified.\r\n\r\nChristians, this is our call.  If you ever wonder what it means to be a Christian, look at these verses.  Jesus says to go out and make disciples of all nations.  This is not a call to go out and get the nations to walk down an aisle and pray a sinner\'s prayer.  Another word for disciple is apprentice.  I grew up hearing disciple defined as a \"learned do-er\".  We do what Christ did.  Christ never had an altar call.\r\n\r\nYou want to know why the institutional church is failing?  It is trying to complete a job it was never given.\r\n\r\nSodom was not a town that many modern day Conservative Christians would want to live.  The main religion was Moon Worship.  Men often had sex with men and women with women.  But, through the Prophet Ezekiel, God said that the sin of Sodom was its greed.  The sin of Sodom was its inhospitality to strangers.  The greatest sin in Sodom?  It had too much money and refused to share with the poor.\r\n\r\nCould the same not be said about modern day Churchianity?  We try so hard to make the next mega-church.  Why don\'t you just try to love your neighbor as yourself?  Serving our neighbor is a call so close to the heart of God that for a church to ignore it is blasphemy.  It\'s really the main thing Jesus spoke about.\r\n\r\nSo, why aren\'t we doing it?\r\n\r\nYou want to save your church?  Then, save your city.  Fall out of love with your address and fall back in love with your zip code.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','What Should The Church Be Doing?','','inherit','open','open','','6745-revision-4','','','2012-05-21 13:05:18','2012-05-21 20:05:18','',6745,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/21/6745-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6781,0,'2012-05-24 13:49:37','2012-05-24 20:49:37','Hi, David:  I enjoyed your article!  You might like my story of fighting spiritual abuse after getting a divorce after 31 years of abuse.  I fought for 18 months to try and stop the pastor (of disaster) from counseling any more women, because 2 of them were suicidal (because of his \"skillls.\"    My name was put up on a big screen followed by the words; \"Conduct Unbecoming a Child of God.\"  3 times...called to a meeting of deacons (not allowed to have  a woman with me and asked: \"Are you still having sex with your x.\"?  No boundaries.  E-mail me if you wish!  www.soulpoetry.org is my site for my book, Sanctuary of the Soul.  Kindest Regards, Alice (because of what I wrote about overcoming in my life, I won a scholarship and am a freshman at age 65!!  I still feel 18!\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Alice\nAUTHOR EMAIL: carleton@oakland.edu\nAUTHOR URL: http://churchabusepoetrytherapy.com\nSUBJECT: [Provoketive Magazine] Parable of the Talents: A Slave Narrative of Injustice and Oppression\nIP: 141.210.134.62\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Alice\n    [Email] =&gt; carleton@oakland.edu\n    [Website] =&gt; churchabusepoetrytherapy.com\n    [Message] =&gt; Hi, David:  I enjoyed your article!  You might like my story of fighting spiritual abuse after getting a divorce after 31 years of abuse.  I fought for 18 months to try and stop the pastor (of disaster) from counseling any more women, because 2 of them were suicidal (because of his \"skillls.\"    My name was put up on a big screen followed by the words; \"Conduct Unbecoming a Child of God.\"  3 times...called to a meeting of deacons (not allowed to have  a woman with me and asked: \"Are you still having sex with your x.\"?  No boundaries.  E-mail me if you wish!  www.soulpoetry.org is my site for my book, Sanctuary of the Soul.  Kindest Regards, Alice (because of what I wrote about overcoming in my life, I won a scholarship and am a freshman at age 65!!  I still feel 18!\n)\n','Alice - 2012-05-24 13:49:37','','publish','open','open','','efe5b4c8dfb91e70221bf570a873b94f','','','2012-05-24 13:49:37','2012-05-24 20:49:37','',2207,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=6781',0,'feedback','',0),(6832,127,'2012-06-04 08:00:54','2012-06-04 15:00:54','Once, somewhere in the Northern Highlands, among the hills of rock, two masons set out to build their homes. In the thin light of a new Spring morning, they each gathered stones together for their task.\r\n\r\nThe first mason selected stones suited for the work. He carted them to his site and quickly joined them together into a house both sturdy and safe. Because he finished his work quickly he built another house. And another. And still another until the landscape was filled with houses of stone, all sturdy and safe, but each one cold and empty.\r\n\r\nThe second mason made a curious choice of building materials, for among the Highlands was a quivering mountain of living stones. These stones were no bigger than those used by the first mason. They were no stronger or better shaped, nor any more lovely than the others. But they were alive: they spoke, they sang, they even argued, and somehow they could move of their own accord, even after being selected by the second mason.\r\n\r\nAs the mason piled the living stones into his wagon they asked where he was taking them. When they saw the plans for his house some cheered and sang while others complained and wandered away. They wanted no part of his house. Still the mason joined the stones together, building the walls and arches and hearth of a home fit for his purpose.\r\n\r\nBut because he had chosen living stones, the house was never completed. Some stones jumped from the cart before they arrived at the building. The work was forever unfinished as the mason returned to the mountain quarry again and again for more supply. Other stones allowed the mason to place them in the wall but failed to connect with the wall-mates on their left and right: they argued, they cried, and when they could stand it no more, they left.\r\n\r\nStill he continued to build. Always the house was incomplete. Some mornings the Mason would return to work only to discover that the stones had re-arranged themselves in the night. The Mason made curious choice to leave holes in the walls where the stones had fled, because (he said) “I selected that stone and crafted a place for it alone. Another cannot take it’s place.”\r\n\r\nFrom time to time a missing stone would wander back to the house and the Mason lovingly fitted it back in the wall again. Some stones stayed in place forevermore, but some left (and returned) time and again. Still he continued to build. Room upon room he added, not one of them finished until there grew an unwieldy mansion both large and incomplete. In this mansion he chose to live, year after year in fellowship with the living stones that breathed in every wall.\r\n\r\nPassers-by would stop and stare in amazement. Many laughed at the sprawling mess of a mansion that had grown on the landscape. It seemed without design and devoid of all reason.\r\n\r\n“Why don’t you use the stones all the other masons use?” they laughed. “You could finish your house in days and be done with the work.”\r\n\r\n“This building is my work,” he replied. “And as for the living stones it is true--they are a bother: but I could never build with dead ones, for this is my home, and I’ve come that they might have life.”','The House of the Second Mason','','publish','open','open','','the-house-of-the-second-mason','','','2012-06-02 08:48:57','2012-06-02 15:48:57','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=6832',0,'post','',0),(6756,43,'2012-05-29 08:00:00','2012-05-29 15:00:00','There is a part of me that has never fully become a grown-up.  I still love the magic of children’s stories.  This is possibly because they are so uncomplicated by the problems of the adult world.  Sometimes, we need to read what’s in the pages of our favorite books and see it in a new way.\r\n\r\nLast year, I introduced my kids to C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.  The third book (in the original published order), <em>The Voyage of the Dawn Treader</em>, quickly became my son’s favorite.  I have to admit, he has a point.  It’s full of fun, humor, and rollicking adventures on the high seas.  It also contains some of the most beautifully captured moral principles, cleverly hidden in the fairy tale setting.\r\n\r\nMy apologies if you haven’t read the book (the movie does <em>not</em> count), because I am about to give spoilers.  There is a scene at the end of the book in which three travelers have fallen asleep at a table laden with good food.  They had been arguing, and one of them picked up a sacred knife and made a move to injure or kill the others.  They were thrown into an enchanted slumber, to be awakened only at the completion of a task undertaken by the people on board the <em>Dawn Treader</em>.\r\n\r\nAre we not often so much like these travelers?  Over the last month, I have seen too many people approaching the holy table of faith with little or no grace.\r\n\r\nI think we can all agree that a pastor who suggests <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y364C42sg0Y\">rounding LGBT people up like cattle and surrounding them with an electric fence</a> doesn’t represent God’s love.  But even people with a “softer” approach are unwilling to dine with those they perceive to be “sinners and tax collectors.”  There’s no room to listen to each others stories.\r\n\r\nSome of the real things I’ve heard people say about others in recent weeks, both online and in real life:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Atheists can’t be moral people, only Christians understand real morality.</li>\r\n	<li>Gay people can’t be Christians, they are failing to uphold God’s Word on one of the most important issues.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t believe in a literal six day creation, you might as well throw out the rest of the Bible, too.</li>\r\n	<li>Women are not equal to men; the Bible says so.</li>\r\n	<li>You are sinning by questioning the authority of the church.</li>\r\n	<li>I’m a Christian, but the Church is a colossal failure when it comes to loving others.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t support gay rights, you’re not a real Christian, just a jerk in a Jesus suit.</li>\r\n	<li>Only people too stupid to study real science reject evolution.</li>\r\n	<li>Married couples who choose to take on “traditional” roles are supporting misogyny.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t question everything, you’ll just blindly follow the first charismatic preacher you hear.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nMost of it is based on misinformation and fear.  Quite a lot of it is based on refusing to see through someone else\'s eyes.\r\n\r\nSee, we’re never going to have consensus—not even within individual churches.  And “agree to disagree” (read: you shut up and I’ll shut up) is a recipe for building resentment.  Instead, we are badly in need of a new way to talk.  It’s all well and good to have safe space online to process things through, where we can write and respond.  But we need to do this in real time, face-to-face.  It’s time to stop hiding from the issues that plague the Church.\r\n\r\nWe must approach the table without knife in hand.  We must be ready to feel uncomfortable, to have our questions unanswered, to hear things we would rather not hear.  We need to leave our own agendas at the door and trust that everyone else has done the same.  If we take our Christian faith seriously, then we understand that Jesus has already undertaken the quest to awaken us.  It’s up to us what we do with that.\r\n\r\nAre we ready to live this out offline?','Breaking Bread without Breaking Each Other','','publish','open','open','','breaking-bread-without-breaking-each-other','','','2012-05-22 21:33:49','2012-05-23 04:33:49','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=6756',0,'post','',2),(6757,43,'2012-05-22 17:01:54','2012-05-23 00:01:54','','Bread Heart','','inherit','open','open','','olympus-digital-camera-3','','','2012-05-22 17:01:54','2012-05-23 00:01:54','',6756,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/bread-smaller.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6758,43,'2012-05-22 16:57:22','2012-05-22 23:57:22','There is a part of me that has never fully become a grown-up.  I still love the magic of children’s stories.  This is possibly because they are so uncomplicated by the problems of the adult world.  Sometimes, we need to read what’s in the pages of our favorite books and see it in a new way.\n\nLast year, I introduced my kids to C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.  The third book (in the original published order), <em>The Voyage of the </em>Dawn Treader, quickly became my son’s favorite.  I have to admit, he has a point.  It’s full of fun, humor, and rollicking adventures on the high seas.  It also contains some of the most beautifully captured moral principles, cleverly hidden in the fairy tale setting.\n\nMy apologies if you haven’t read the book (the movie does <em>not</em> count), I am about to give spoilers.  There is a scene at the end of the book in which three travelers have fallen asleep at a table laden with good food.  They had been arguing, and one of them picked up a sacred knife and made to injure or kill the others.  They were thrown into an enchanted slumber, to be awakened only at the completion of a task undertaken by the people on board the <em>Dawn Treader</em>.\n\nAre we not often so much like these travelers?  Over the last month, I have seen too many people approaching the holy table of faith with little or no grace.\n\nI think we can all agree that a pastor who suggests rounding LGBT people up like cattle and surrounding them with an electric fence doesn’t represent God’s love.  But even people with a “softer” approach are unwilling to dine with those they perceive to be “sinners and tax collectors.”  There’s no room to listen to each other’s stories.\n\nSome of the real things I’ve heard people say about others in recent weeks, both online and in real life:\n<ul>\n	<li>Atheists can’t be moral people, only Christians understand real morality.</li>\n	<li>Gay people can’t be Christians, they are failing to uphold God’s Word on one of the most important issues.</li>\n	<li>If you don’t believe in a literal six day creation, you might as well throw out the rest of the Bible, too.</li>\n	<li>Women are not equal to men; the Bible says so.</li>\n	<li>You are sinning by questioning the authority of the church.</li>\n	<li>I’m a Christian, but the Church is a colossal failure when it comes to loving others.</li>\n	<li>If you don’t support gay rights, you’re not a real Christian, just a jerk in a Jesus suit.</li>\n	<li>Only people too stupid to study real science reject evolution.</li>\n	<li>Married couples who choose to take on “traditional” roles are supporting misogyny.</li>\n	<li>If you don’t question everything, you’ll just blindly follow the first charismatic preacher you hear.</li>\n</ul>\nMost of it is based on misinformation and fear.  Quite a lot of it is based on refusing to see through someone else’s eyes.\n\nSee, we’re never going to have consensus—not even within individual churches.  And “agree to disagree” (read: you shut up and I’ll shut up) is a recipe for building resentment.  Instead, we are badly in need of a new way to talk.  It’s all well and good to have safe space online to process things through, where we can write and respond.  But we need to do this in real time, face-to-face.  It’s time to stop hiding from the issues that plague the Church.\n\nWe must approach the table without knife in hand.  We must be ready to feel uncomfortable, to have our questions unanswered, to hear things we would rather not hear.  We need to leave our own agendas at the door and trust that everyone else has done the same.  If we take our Christian faith seriously, then we understand that Jesus has already undertaken the quest to awaken us.  It’s up to us what we do with that.\n\nAre we ready to live this out offline?','Breaking Bread without Breaking Each Other','','inherit','open','open','','6756-revision','','','2012-05-22 16:57:22','2012-05-22 23:57:22','',6756,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/22/6756-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6759,43,'2012-05-22 17:02:29','2012-05-23 00:02:29','There is a part of me that has never fully become a grown-up.  I still love the magic of children’s stories.  This is possibly because they are so uncomplicated by the problems of the adult world.  Sometimes, we need to read what’s in the pages of our favorite books and see it in a new way.\r\n\r\nLast year, I introduced my kids to C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.  The third book (in the original published order), <em>The Voyage of the </em>Dawn Treader, quickly became my son’s favorite.  I have to admit, he has a point.  It’s full of fun, humor, and rollicking adventures on the high seas.  It also contains some of the most beautifully captured moral principles, cleverly hidden in the fairy tale setting.\r\n\r\nMy apologies if you haven’t read the book (the movie does <em>not</em> count), I am about to give spoilers.  There is a scene at the end of the book in which three travelers have fallen asleep at a table laden with good food.  They had been arguing, and one of them picked up a sacred knife and made to injure or kill the others.  They were thrown into an enchanted slumber, to be awakened only at the completion of a task undertaken by the people on board the <em>Dawn Treader</em>.\r\n\r\nAre we not often so much like these travelers?  Over the last month, I have seen too many people approaching the holy table of faith with little or no grace.\r\n\r\nI think we can all agree that a pastor who suggests rounding LGBT people up like cattle and surrounding them with an electric fence doesn’t represent God’s love.  But even people with a “softer” approach are unwilling to dine with those they perceive to be “sinners and tax collectors.”  There’s no room to listen to each other’s stories.\r\n\r\nSome of the real things I’ve heard people say about others in recent weeks, both online and in real life:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Atheists can’t be moral people, only Christians understand real morality.</li>\r\n	<li>Gay people can’t be Christians, they are failing to uphold God’s Word on one of the most important issues.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t believe in a literal six day creation, you might as well throw out the rest of the Bible, too.</li>\r\n	<li>Women are not equal to men; the Bible says so.</li>\r\n	<li>You are sinning by questioning the authority of the church.</li>\r\n	<li>I’m a Christian, but the Church is a colossal failure when it comes to loving others.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t support gay rights, you’re not a real Christian, just a jerk in a Jesus suit.</li>\r\n	<li>Only people too stupid to study real science reject evolution.</li>\r\n	<li>Married couples who choose to take on “traditional” roles are supporting misogyny.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t question everything, you’ll just blindly follow the first charismatic preacher you hear.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nMost of it is based on misinformation and fear.  Quite a lot of it is based on refusing to see through someone else’s eyes.\r\n\r\nSee, we’re never going to have consensus—not even within individual churches.  And “agree to disagree” (read: you shut up and I’ll shut up) is a recipe for building resentment.  Instead, we are badly in need of a new way to talk.  It’s all well and good to have safe space online to process things through, where we can write and respond.  But we need to do this in real time, face-to-face.  It’s time to stop hiding from the issues that plague the Church.\r\n\r\nWe must approach the table without knife in hand.  We must be ready to feel uncomfortable, to have our questions unanswered, to hear things we would rather not hear.  We need to leave our own agendas at the door and trust that everyone else has done the same.  If we take our Christian faith seriously, then we understand that Jesus has already undertaken the quest to awaken us.  It’s up to us what we do with that.\r\n\r\nAre we ready to live this out offline?','Breaking Bread without Breaking Each Other','','inherit','open','open','','6756-revision-2','','','2012-05-22 17:02:29','2012-05-23 00:02:29','',6756,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/22/6756-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6760,43,'2012-05-22 17:04:37','2012-05-23 00:04:37','There is a part of me that has never fully become a grown-up.  I still love the magic of children’s stories.  This is possibly because they are so uncomplicated by the problems of the adult world.  Sometimes, we need to read what’s in the pages of our favorite books and see it in a new way.\r\n\r\nLast year, I introduced my kids to C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.  The third book (in the original published order), <em>The Voyage of the </em>Dawn Treader, quickly became my son’s favorite.  I have to admit, he has a point.  It’s full of fun, humor, and rollicking adventures on the high seas.  It also contains some of the most beautifully captured moral principles, cleverly hidden in the fairy tale setting.\r\n\r\nMy apologies if you haven’t read the book (the movie does <em>not</em> count), I am about to give spoilers.  There is a scene at the end of the book in which three travelers have fallen asleep at a table laden with good food.  They had been arguing, and one of them picked up a sacred knife and made to injure or kill the others.  They were thrown into an enchanted slumber, to be awakened only at the completion of a task undertaken by the people on board the <em>Dawn Treader</em>.\r\n\r\nAre we not often so much like these travelers?  Over the last month, I have seen too many people approaching the holy table of faith with little or no grace.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nI think we can all agree that a pastor who suggests rounding LGBT people up like cattle and surrounding them with an electric fence doesn’t represent God’s love.  But even people with a “softer” approach are unwilling to dine with those they perceive to be “sinners and tax collectors.”  There’s no room to listen to each other’s stories.\r\n\r\nSome of the real things I’ve heard people say about others in recent weeks, both online and in real life:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Atheists can’t be moral people, only Christians understand real morality.</li>\r\n	<li>Gay people can’t be Christians, they are failing to uphold God’s Word on one of the most important issues.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t believe in a literal six day creation, you might as well throw out the rest of the Bible, too.</li>\r\n	<li>Women are not equal to men; the Bible says so.</li>\r\n	<li>You are sinning by questioning the authority of the church.</li>\r\n	<li>I’m a Christian, but the Church is a colossal failure when it comes to loving others.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t support gay rights, you’re not a real Christian, just a jerk in a Jesus suit.</li>\r\n	<li>Only people too stupid to study real science reject evolution.</li>\r\n	<li>Married couples who choose to take on “traditional” roles are supporting misogyny.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t question everything, you’ll just blindly follow the first charismatic preacher you hear.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nMost of it is based on misinformation and fear.  Quite a lot of it is based on refusing to see through someone else’s eyes.\r\n\r\nSee, we’re never going to have consensus—not even within individual churches.  And “agree to disagree” (read: you shut up and I’ll shut up) is a recipe for building resentment.  Instead, we are badly in need of a new way to talk.  It’s all well and good to have safe space online to process things through, where we can write and respond.  But we need to do this in real time, face-to-face.  It’s time to stop hiding from the issues that plague the Church.\r\n\r\nWe must approach the table without knife in hand.  We must be ready to feel uncomfortable, to have our questions unanswered, to hear things we would rather not hear.  We need to leave our own agendas at the door and trust that everyone else has done the same.  If we take our Christian faith seriously, then we understand that Jesus has already undertaken the quest to awaken us.  It’s up to us what we do with that.\r\n\r\nAre we ready to live this out offline?','Breaking Bread without Breaking Each Other','','inherit','open','open','','6756-revision-3','','','2012-05-22 17:04:37','2012-05-23 00:04:37','',6756,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/22/6756-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(7344,189,'2012-07-31 09:37:43','2012-07-31 16:37:43','Explain the two words spoken by Jesus—“Follow me”—in 1000 words or less? Hmmm. Maybe I should just stop right there and let you think this through on your own.\r\n\r\nMy understanding of what it means to follow Him has changed over the years. I think our understanding of “following” is <em>supposed</em> to change over time as our maturity in the Lord grows in response to the leading of the Holy Spirit and the ways we experience Him with others. Because I can’t claim to know <em>everything</em> about following Jesus, the best I can offer is to share <em>some</em> of the things I’ve learned about following Jesus—beginning with what “following Jesus” is <strong><em>not</em><em>.</em></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Following Jesus is not the same thing as: </strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Following the teachings of Jesus is not the same thing as following Jesus or following doctrines or creeds or denominational statements of faith.</li>\r\n	<li>Following a Bible Reading Plan, memorizing scripture, or claiming a “life verse”.</li>\r\n	<li>Following “religious convictions”, or acting upon those convictions, alone or as a group, purely for the sake of acting upon convictions.</li>\r\n	<li>Attending a weekly worship service, and maybe a midweek prayer meeting or Bible study, or meeting with a small group or accountability partner.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThere isn’t anything wrong with doing these things. In fact, I  follow  Jesus today because others encouraged me to do these things over the course of my spiritual journey. If, I’ve learned anything, I’ve learned that “Christian practices” are not the same thing as following Jesus. <em></em>I know a lot <em>about</em> <em>Jesus</em> by studying, talking about or meditating on these things—but knowing a lot <em>about Jesus</em> isn’t the same as <em>knowing Jesus</em>. It helps to know Who you’re following.<strong><em></em></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong><em>“Follow me.”</em></strong>  Two words caused Simon and Andrew to drop their fishing nets.  James and John “left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and went off after Him.” (Mark 1:20 Amplified). Levi, son of Alphaeus, left his tax booth: “he arose and joined Him and His disciples and sided with His party and accompanied Him.” (Mark 2:14 Amplified). Philip ran to find his friend Nathanael and they too followed Him. Twelve men, in all, apparently left their life’s work to follow Jesus.\r\n\r\nI find it interesting that the Amplified Version conveys that the words “follow me” carry the connotation, “side with my party”. Against the backdrop of  Hebrew culture—oppressed by the conquering Romans, looking for Messiah to deliver the Children of Israel and fulfill all the promises of the Old Testament—we read Nathanael’s confession, “Teacher, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49) and the reason the twelve “followed” begins to come into focus.  Over the course of the next three and a half years, these men—and later Saul of Tarsus, among others—would come to understand that following Jesus isn’t about following teachings, doctrines, scriptures, convictions or attending religious meetings.  Men and women down through centuries found, in the Gospels and other writings of the New Testament, not <em>something</em> to believe in and follow, but rather <strong><em>Someone</em></strong> to believe in and follow.\r\n\r\nTo follow Jesus is to follow a living <strong><em>Person!</em></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong><em> </em></strong>John proclaimed in his Gospel, “And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.” Paul explained more simply:\r\n“For it has <strong>pleased</strong> [the Father] that all the divine fullness (the sum total of the divine perfection, powers, and attributes) should <strong>dwell</strong> in Him permanently.” <strong>Colossians 1:19</strong>\r\n\r\nFollowing a living Person, who is the Christ, comes with a cost, which He explained Himself to His disciples: “And He said to all, If any person wills to come after Me, let him deny himself [disown himself, <sup> </sup>forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up himself] and take up his cross daily and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also].” (Luke 9:23)\r\n\r\nWhat do we have to gain by following this all-wonderful, all-glorious, all-divine Person? What is the outcome we look forward to? For starters, eternal life! Make that eternal, <strong><em>abundant</em> </strong>life, sustained by Christ who <strong><em>is</em></strong> our life! Many more “rewards” are promised to faithful followers who overcome the trials and temptations of this world—check out the letters to the seven churches in John’s last book!\r\n\r\nThere’s another important thing I’ve learned about following Jesus: it’s something we do <strong><em>together</em></strong>.\r\n\r\n<sup> “</sup>The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,<sup> </sup>and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. <sup> </sup>For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. <sup> </sup>For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. <sup> </sup>For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope <sup> </sup>that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. <sup> </sup>For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. <sup> </sup>And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.__Romans 8:16-23 (ESV)\r\n\r\nFollowing Jesus is following a living <strong><em>Person</em></strong>…<strong><em>together!</em></strong>\r\n\r\n“When Christ, Who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in [the splendor of His] glory.<strong> </strong><strong>__Colossians 3:4 (Amplified)</strong>','','','inherit','open','open','','7337-revision-6','','','2012-07-31 09:37:43','2012-07-31 16:37:43','',7337,'http://provoketive.com/2012/07/31/7337-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(6761,43,'2012-05-22 17:06:31','2012-05-23 00:06:31','There is a part of me that has never fully become a grown-up.  I still love the magic of children’s stories.  This is possibly because they are so uncomplicated by the problems of the adult world.  Sometimes, we need to read what’s in the pages of our favorite books and see it in a new way.\r\n\r\nLast year, I introduced my kids to C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.  The third book (in the original published order), <em>The Voyage of the </em>Dawn Treader, quickly became my son’s favorite.  I have to admit, he has a point.  It’s full of fun, humor, and rollicking adventures on the high seas.  It also contains some of the most beautifully captured moral principles, cleverly hidden in the fairy tale setting.\r\n\r\nMy apologies if you haven’t read the book (the movie does <em>not</em> count), I am about to give spoilers.  There is a scene at the end of the book in which three travelers have fallen asleep at a table laden with good food.  They had been arguing, and one of them picked up a sacred knife and made to injure or kill the others.  They were thrown into an enchanted slumber, to be awakened only at the completion of a task undertaken by the people on board the <em>Dawn Treader</em>.\r\n\r\nAre we not often so much like these travelers?  Over the last month, I have seen too many people approaching the holy table of faith with little or no grace.\r\n\r\n[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y364C42sg0Y[/youtube]\r\n\r\nI think we can all agree that a pastor who suggests rounding LGBT people up like cattle and surrounding them with an electric fence doesn’t represent God’s love.  But even people with a “softer” approach are unwilling to dine with those they perceive to be “sinners and tax collectors.”  There’s no room to listen to each other’s stories.\r\n\r\nSome of the real things I’ve heard people say about others in recent weeks, both online and in real life:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Atheists can’t be moral people, only Christians understand real morality.</li>\r\n	<li>Gay people can’t be Christians, they are failing to uphold God’s Word on one of the most important issues.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t believe in a literal six day creation, you might as well throw out the rest of the Bible, too.</li>\r\n	<li>Women are not equal to men; the Bible says so.</li>\r\n	<li>You are sinning by questioning the authority of the church.</li>\r\n	<li>I’m a Christian, but the Church is a colossal failure when it comes to loving others.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t support gay rights, you’re not a real Christian, just a jerk in a Jesus suit.</li>\r\n	<li>Only people too stupid to study real science reject evolution.</li>\r\n	<li>Married couples who choose to take on “traditional” roles are supporting misogyny.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t question everything, you’ll just blindly follow the first charismatic preacher you hear.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nMost of it is based on misinformation and fear.  Quite a lot of it is based on refusing to see through someone else’s eyes.\r\n\r\nSee, we’re never going to have consensus—not even within individual churches.  And “agree to disagree” (read: you shut up and I’ll shut up) is a recipe for building resentment.  Instead, we are badly in need of a new way to talk.  It’s all well and good to have safe space online to process things through, where we can write and respond.  But we need to do this in real time, face-to-face.  It’s time to stop hiding from the issues that plague the Church.\r\n\r\nWe must approach the table without knife in hand.  We must be ready to feel uncomfortable, to have our questions unanswered, to hear things we would rather not hear.  We need to leave our own agendas at the door and trust that everyone else has done the same.  If we take our Christian faith seriously, then we understand that Jesus has already undertaken the quest to awaken us.  It’s up to us what we do with that.\r\n\r\nAre we ready to live this out offline?','Breaking Bread without Breaking Each Other','','inherit','open','open','','6756-revision-4','','','2012-05-22 17:06:31','2012-05-23 00:06:31','',6756,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/22/6756-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6762,43,'2012-05-22 17:08:42','2012-05-23 00:08:42','There is a part of me that has never fully become a grown-up.  I still love the magic of children’s stories.  This is possibly because they are so uncomplicated by the problems of the adult world.  Sometimes, we need to read what’s in the pages of our favorite books and see it in a new way.\r\n\r\nLast year, I introduced my kids to C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.  The third book (in the original published order), <em>The Voyage of the </em>Dawn Treader, quickly became my son’s favorite.  I have to admit, he has a point.  It’s full of fun, humor, and rollicking adventures on the high seas.  It also contains some of the most beautifully captured moral principles, cleverly hidden in the fairy tale setting.\r\n\r\nMy apologies if you haven’t read the book (the movie does <em>not</em> count), I am about to give spoilers.  There is a scene at the end of the book in which three travelers have fallen asleep at a table laden with good food.  They had been arguing, and one of them picked up a sacred knife and made to injure or kill the others.  They were thrown into an enchanted slumber, to be awakened only at the completion of a task undertaken by the people on board the <em>Dawn Treader</em>.\r\n\r\nAre we not often so much like these travelers?  Over the last month, I have seen too many people approaching the holy table of faith with little or no grace.\r\n\r\nI think we can all agree that a pastor who suggests <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y364C42sg0Y\">rounding LGBT people up like cattle and surrounding them with an electric fence</a> doesn’t represent God’s love.  But even people with a “softer” approach are unwilling to dine with those they perceive to be “sinners and tax collectors.”  There’s no room to listen to each other’s stories.\r\n\r\nSome of the real things I’ve heard people say about others in recent weeks, both online and in real life:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Atheists can’t be moral people, only Christians understand real morality.</li>\r\n	<li>Gay people can’t be Christians, they are failing to uphold God’s Word on one of the most important issues.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t believe in a literal six day creation, you might as well throw out the rest of the Bible, too.</li>\r\n	<li>Women are not equal to men; the Bible says so.</li>\r\n	<li>You are sinning by questioning the authority of the church.</li>\r\n	<li>I’m a Christian, but the Church is a colossal failure when it comes to loving others.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t support gay rights, you’re not a real Christian, just a jerk in a Jesus suit.</li>\r\n	<li>Only people too stupid to study real science reject evolution.</li>\r\n	<li>Married couples who choose to take on “traditional” roles are supporting misogyny.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t question everything, you’ll just blindly follow the first charismatic preacher you hear.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nMost of it is based on misinformation and fear.  Quite a lot of it is based on refusing to see through someone else’s eyes.\r\n\r\nSee, we’re never going to have consensus—not even within individual churches.  And “agree to disagree” (read: you shut up and I’ll shut up) is a recipe for building resentment.  Instead, we are badly in need of a new way to talk.  It’s all well and good to have safe space online to process things through, where we can write and respond.  But we need to do this in real time, face-to-face.  It’s time to stop hiding from the issues that plague the Church.\r\n\r\nWe must approach the table without knife in hand.  We must be ready to feel uncomfortable, to have our questions unanswered, to hear things we would rather not hear.  We need to leave our own agendas at the door and trust that everyone else has done the same.  If we take our Christian faith seriously, then we understand that Jesus has already undertaken the quest to awaken us.  It’s up to us what we do with that.\r\n\r\nAre we ready to live this out offline?','Breaking Bread without Breaking Each Other','','inherit','open','open','','6756-revision-5','','','2012-05-22 17:08:42','2012-05-23 00:08:42','',6756,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/22/6756-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6763,43,'2012-05-22 17:08:54','2012-05-23 00:08:54','There is a part of me that has never fully become a grown-up.  I still love the magic of children’s stories.  This is possibly because they are so uncomplicated by the problems of the adult world.  Sometimes, we need to read what’s in the pages of our favorite books and see it in a new way.\r\n\r\nLast year, I introduced my kids to C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.  The third book (in the original published order), <em>The Voyage of the </em>Dawn Treader, quickly became my son’s favorite.  I have to admit, he has a point.  It’s full of fun, humor, and rollicking adventures on the high seas.  It also contains some of the most beautifully captured moral principles, cleverly hidden in the fairy tale setting.\r\n\r\nMy apologies if you haven’t read the book (the movie does <em>not</em> count), I am about to give spoilers.  There is a scene at the end of the book in which three travelers have fallen asleep at a table laden with good food.  They had been arguing, and one of them picked up a sacred knife and made to injure or kill the others.  They were thrown into an enchanted slumber, to be awakened only at the completion of a task undertaken by the people on board the <em>Dawn Treader</em>.\r\n\r\nAre we not often so much like these travelers?  Over the last month, I have seen too many people approaching the holy table of faith with little or no grace.\r\n\r\nI think we can all agree that a pastor who suggests <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y364C42sg0Y\">rounding LGBT people up like cattle and surrounding them with an electric fence</a> doesn’t represent God’s love.  But even people with a “softer” approach are unwilling to dine with those they perceive to be “sinners and tax collectors.”  There’s no room to listen to each other’s stories.\r\n\r\nSome of the real things I’ve heard people say about others in recent weeks, both online and in real life:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Atheists can’t be moral people, only Christians understand real morality.</li>\r\n	<li>Gay people can’t be Christians, they are failing to uphold God’s Word on one of the most important issues.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t believe in a literal six day creation, you might as well throw out the rest of the Bible, too.</li>\r\n	<li>Women are not equal to men; the Bible says so.</li>\r\n	<li>You are sinning by questioning the authority of the church.</li>\r\n	<li>I’m a Christian, but the Church is a colossal failure when it comes to loving others.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t support gay rights, you’re not a real Christian, just a jerk in a Jesus suit.</li>\r\n	<li>Only people too stupid to study real science reject evolution.</li>\r\n	<li>Married couples who choose to take on “traditional” roles are supporting misogyny.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t question everything, you’ll just blindly follow the first charismatic preacher you hear.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nMost of it is based on misinformation and fear.  Quite a lot of it is based on refusing to see through someone else’s eyes.\r\n\r\nSee, we’re never going to have consensus—not even within individual churches.  And “agree to disagree” (read: you shut up and I’ll shut up) is a recipe for building resentment.  Instead, we are badly in need of a new way to talk.  It’s all well and good to have safe space online to process things through, where we can write and respond.  But we need to do this in real time, face-to-face.  It’s time to stop hiding from the issues that plague the Church.\r\n\r\nWe must approach the table without knife in hand.  We must be ready to feel uncomfortable, to have our questions unanswered, to hear things we would rather not hear.  We need to leave our own agendas at the door and trust that everyone else has done the same.  If we take our Christian faith seriously, then we understand that Jesus has already undertaken the quest to awaken us.  It’s up to us what we do with that.\r\n\r\nAre we ready to live this out offline?','Breaking Bread without Breaking Each Other','','inherit','open','open','','6756-revision-6','','','2012-05-22 17:08:54','2012-05-23 00:08:54','',6756,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/22/6756-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(6765,179,'2012-05-22 21:13:13','2012-05-23 04:13:13','','denim','','inherit','open','open','','denim','','','2012-05-22 21:13:13','2012-05-23 04:13:13','',6713,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/denim.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6766,179,'2012-05-20 10:34:01','2012-05-20 17:34:01','I grew up in a very conservative Christian home. During my teenage years, my family fell into what my parents now refer to as \"the denim skirt cult.\" You know. The one where all the girls where long sleeves, denim skirts, and (if they are extra chaste) head coverings.\r\n\r\nGrowing up, I was taught that as a woman, modesty was my priority. Not only in how I dressed, but also in how I acted. It was important to show as little skin as possible. It was vital to keep men at an arms length (no dating!) It was wrong to wear tight clothes, or anything that even showed the form of my body--hence the skirts. It was inappropriate to be alone in the same room with a boy (not to mention the time I rode in the car with one and was grounded for two weeks).\r\n\r\nWhy all of this? Because if I didn\'t take exorbitant precautions, I might cause a man to stumble. Sexual thoughts might enter his mind and it would be all my fault. Because sex, even in thought, was wrong (outside the bounds of marriage, of course). And because men are visual and can\'t help themselves, it falls to the woman to prevent this sin from occurring.\r\n\r\nI haven\'t worn a denim skirt for over 5 years. It has taken me almost as long to recover and recalibrate my mindset from that of the \"denim skirt cult\".\r\n\r\nThat stage of my life did me far more damage than it did good. I am not against teaching modesty to young women. I\'m not even against dressing very conservatively if that is what a person is comfortable with. What I am against is the <em>way</em> modesty is taught most of the time.  I feel that when teaching modesty to young women it is incredibly important to do it for the right reasons.\r\n\r\n<em>\"To keep men from stumbling\" is not a right reason. But why? Why is this thought process wrong and how could it possibly be damaging?</em>\r\n\r\n<strong>1) Men are sexual, visual beings.</strong> They always have been, they always will be. They are attracted based on appearances. Nothing you do or don\'t do will stop them from having that natural, innate urge within them. Men are going to be attracted to women no matter what they are wearing. If a man wants to imagine what a woman looks like naked, he is going to do that whether she is wearing a bikini or burkha.\r\n\r\nThere is nothing wrong with men being attracted to women or women being attracted to men. Outside of marriage, within marriage, single people, divorced people-- there will be attraction. To say that the attraction is based solely on how a woman dresses is not only ridiculous, it is harmful and places an extraordinary burden on them.\r\n\r\n<strong>2) A woman is not responsible for what a man thinks</strong> <strong>about her or how he acts towards her. At all.</strong> Men are capable of controlling themselves.  I honestly used to think that all men were completely incapable of this. I thought that for some prehistoric reason, when they saw a pretty girl, they had no choice but to beat their chest and try to mate with her.  It was all my fault if I looked even remotely attractive and I was causing them to \"sin\" in their thoughts. Because after all, they can\'t help themselves.\r\n\r\nMen are just as capable of controlling themselves, even in their thoughts, as women are. Men are capable of taking responsibility for what they think and feel --as they should. They have God-given sexual urges and they have God-given self-control. It is up to them if they want to use the latter.\r\n\r\n<strong>3) The self-esteem of women, especially teenage girls, is already delicate.</strong> As women, we are constantly bombarded by images of flawless complexions, skinny bodies, long legs and big breasts. Society tells us that if we don\'t match up to their impossibly high standard, we aren\'t beautiful. To further exacerbate this low sense of self-worth already thrust upon is, the \"denim skirt cult\" mindset causes girls to feel guilty and sinful if they dress attractively. And I\'m not even talking about super low-cut tops and butt-cheek shorts. I\'m just talking about well-fitting, attractive clothing. For the longest time I felt an unremitting sense of guilt if I wore jeans and a t-shirt that fit well. Multiply that guilt if I put on enough make-up to make me feel like a superstar. Until two weeks ago, I hadn\'t worn a pair of regular shorts for years and years. Every time I put them on I felt gross, exposed and guilty.\r\n\r\nInstilling a sense of shame on a teenage girl for looking and feeling attractive is not healthy in any way. Making a girl shlub around in denim skirts and baggy shirts because her body is something to hide and be ashamed of is ridiculous. Telling her that SHE is to take responsibility for the thoughts and actions of the men around her is harmful and, quite honestly, has the potential to set her up for emotionally and spiritually--if not physically--abusive relationships.\r\n\r\nGirls, it is okay to dress attractively. It is okay to wear clothes that make you feel comfortable in your own skin. It\'s okay to get dressed up and feel beautiful and sexy. There\'s nothing wrong with expressing yourself through what you wear. <strong>Because it doesn\'t matter what you wear or how you act-- what a man thinks, feels or does is his own responsibility. Not yours.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPhoto by <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/michellecarl/\">Michelle Carl</a>','The Denim Skirt Cult','','inherit','open','open','','6713-revision-7','','','2012-05-20 10:34:01','2012-05-20 17:34:01','',6713,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/20/6713-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(6767,179,'2012-05-22 21:20:05','2012-05-23 04:20:05','','buick','','inherit','open','open','','buick','','','2012-05-22 21:20:05','2012-05-23 04:20:05','',6727,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/buick.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6768,179,'2012-05-20 18:53:19','2012-05-21 01:53:19','I remember the touching story of the \"Good\" Samaritan growing up in Sunday School. Jesus told it in response to a question asked him - <em>\"Who is my neighbor?\"</em> Dude gets beat up while traveling home. He\'s left for dead by the side of the road. A priest and a Levite both pass him by and ignore the heck out of him.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/flannel.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-6731\" style=\"margin-left: 6px;margin-right: 6px\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/flannel.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"270\" height=\"202\" /></a>The third man who passes by is a Samaritan. As a child, we learned that we should all be like that Samaritan and help people in need as the teacher pasted the little flannel picture of the Good Samaritan on the board.\r\n\r\nThen I went to Seminary. I remember the class well. It was hermenutics taught by Dr. Robert Stein. His first statement was, <em>\"Where does the Savior ever call the Samaritan \'good\'?\"</em>\r\n\r\nOh, snap. Never noticed that. He then informed us of how the Jewish audience hearing the parable would have been aghast hearing that a Samaritan would have been the one who had stopped to help in the first place. In those days, the Samaritans were viewed as <em>\"half-breeds.\"</em> They were ascended from the Assyrians and had married Jewish people. Many Jews hated them.\r\n\r\nTherefore, for Jesus to put a Samaritan as the hero of the story was a stunner. It offended his largely Jewish audience. Especially when he asked the man who had posed the original question, <em>\"Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”</em> (Luke 10:36 ESV) The man couldn\'t even bring himself to say the word <em>\"Samaritan.\"</em> Instead, he said, <em>\"The one who showed him mercy.\"</em>\r\n\r\nOver the past two years, I\'ve been trying to find my place in the world after I fell from ministry. There were days I didn\'t want to go into Wal-Mart or Kroger for fear of seeing someone I might know. I thought being in public was a disgrace to myself. Over time, this feeling went away as I grasped the full forgiveness of God.\r\n\r\nI did struggle with how to help other people. I wanted to minister. I always kept the <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Fallen-Pastor-Finding-Restoration-Broken/dp/0615567096/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1334197768&amp;sr=8-1\">words of Hershael York from my book in the back of my mind</a>, <em>\"Your repentance has to be more notorious than your sin.\"</em> So, for the past two years, I\'ve been an ear for fallen pastors, tried to keep my head above water and tried (sometimes on target) to do the right thing.\r\n\r\nTwo things happened recently that might sound like a humble brag, but they\'re not. They struck a chord in me.\r\n\r\nTwo weeks ago, I was driving down a long stretch of interstate and saw a car broken down. Now, my mother, God rest her soul, always told me to never stop in such a situation. I can hear her now, <em>\"It\'s a trap!\"</em> Or maybe that was Admiral Ackbar. Anyway, something within me told me to stop for this 1987 Buick Century.\r\n\r\nI got out and five people got out. They looked worse for wear. One was on a cell phone. I asked them if a tow was coming. No, apparently, they couldn\'t get a tow. The car was overheated. I\'ll be honest, they didn\'t smell to great. Amazingly, enough, I had a brand new container of coolant in my car and I went to get it. The car still didn\'t start. The guy who was there said, <em>\"We need some tape to tape up this pipe.\"</em> Amazingly, again, I had trainer\'s tape (for my job) and got some.\r\n\r\nWhile he was taping, I began talking to a young woman. She said, <em>\"Thank you for stopping. We\'ve been here for an hour. <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/broked.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-6732\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/broked.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"259\" height=\"194\" /></a>No one has stopped. Five people have honked. Even a state trooper. I just got out of the hospital after having a miscarriage.\"</em>\r\n\r\nThe guy said, <em>\"I\'m done, let\'s start it up!\"</em> It started. Every one in the car hugged me. And I hugged back, choking back tears.\r\n\r\nA few days later, I was in the IGA parking lot and I swear it was the same 1987 Buick Century. It was a young couple and they pulled up next to me. The young woman was in the drivers seat and her husband was leaned back in the passenger seat, seemingly embarrassed. She said, <em>\"I wouldn\'t normally asked, but we\'re on empty. We have no money. If you just have a dollar, please.\"</em>\r\n\r\nI said, <em>\"I\'m sorry,\"</em> as I opened my wallet. <em>\"I don\'t carry cash.\"</em> I went into the store and couldn\'t stop thinking about them. I could almost hear God say, <em>\"Get them money.\"</em> I got to the checkout and said out loud to the cashier (who must have thought I was nuts) <em>\"I can get money off my debit card!</em>\" She said, <em>\"Yes, you can sir.\"</em>\r\n\r\nI ran back out to the parking lot but didn\'t see them. But I turned to my right and they were sitting there talking to another woman who was trying to get away from them. I ran over to them and gave them the cash. She said, <em>\"Are you serious?\"</em> I said, \"<em>Yes ma\'am! God be with you.\"</em> She yelled out the loudest, <strong><em>\"Hallelujah!\"</em></strong>\r\n\r\nI looked over and her husband was smiling and crying.\r\n\r\nThat\'s when it hit me. I was the Samaritan. I was the half-breed. Rejected by many, but still very useful to God. Surrounded by neighbors in need.','Hey, Wait! I\'m The Samaritan!','','inherit','open','open','','6727-revision-3','','','2012-05-20 18:53:19','2012-05-21 01:53:19','',6727,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/20/6727-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6772,179,'2012-05-22 21:32:03','2012-05-23 04:32:03','There is a part of me that has never fully become a grown-up.  I still love the magic of children’s stories.  This is possibly because they are so uncomplicated by the problems of the adult world.  Sometimes, we need to read what’s in the pages of our favorite books and see it in a new way.\n\nLast year, I introduced my kids to C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.  The third book (in the original published order), <em>The Voyage of the Dawn Treader</em>, quickly became my son’s favorite.  I have to admit, he has a point.  It’s full of fun, humor, and rollicking adventures on the high seas.  It also contains some of the most beautifully captured moral principles, cleverly hidden in the fairy tale setting.\n\nMy apologies if you haven’t read the book (the movie does <em>not</em> count), because I am about to give spoilers.  There is a scene at the end of the book in which three travelers have fallen asleep at a table laden with good food.  They had been arguing, and one of them picked up a sacred knife and made a move to injure or kill the others.  They were thrown into an enchanted slumber, to be awakened only at the completion of a task undertaken by the people on board the <em>Dawn Treader</em>.\n\nAre we not often so much like these travelers?  Over the last month, I have seen too many people approaching the holy table of faith with little or no grace.\n\nI think we can all agree that a pastor who suggests <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y364C42sg0Y\">rounding LGBT people up like cattle and surrounding them with an electric fence</a> doesn’t represent God’s love.  But even people with a “softer” approach are unwilling to dine with those they perceive to be “sinners and tax collectors.”  There’s no room to listen to each others stories.\n\nSome of the real things I’ve heard people say about others in recent weeks, both online and in real life:\n<ul>\n	<li>Atheists can’t be moral people, only Christians understand real morality.</li>\n	<li>Gay people can’t be Christians, they are failing to uphold God’s Word on one of the most important issues.</li>\n	<li>If you don’t believe in a literal six day creation, you might as well throw out the rest of the Bible, too.</li>\n	<li>Women are not equal to men; the Bible says so.</li>\n	<li>You are sinning by questioning the authority of the church.</li>\n	<li>I’m a Christian, but the Church is a colossal failure when it comes to loving others.</li>\n	<li>If you don’t support gay rights, you’re not a real Christian, just a jerk in a Jesus suit.</li>\n	<li>Only people too stupid to study real science reject evolution.</li>\n	<li>Married couples who choose to take on “traditional” roles are supporting misogyny.</li>\n	<li>If you don’t question everything, you’ll just blindly follow the first charismatic preacher you hear.</li>\n</ul>\nMost of it is based on misinformation and fear.  Quite a lot of it is based on refusing to see through someone else\'s eyes.\n\nSee, we’re never going to have consensus—not even within individual churches.  And “agree to disagree” (read: you shut up and I’ll shut up) is a recipe for building resentment.  Instead, we are badly in need of a new way to talk.  It’s all well and good to have safe space online to process things through, where we can write and respond.  But we need to do this in real time, face-to-face.  It’s time to stop hiding from the issues that plague the Church.\n\nWe must approach the table without knife in hand.  We must be ready to feel uncomfortable, to have our questions unanswered, to hear things we would rather not hear.  We need to leave our own agendas at the door and trust that everyone else has done the same.  If we take our Christian faith seriously, then we understand that Jesus has already undertaken the quest to awaken us.  It’s up to us what we do with that.\n\nAre we ready to live this out offline?','Breaking Bread without Breaking Each Other','','inherit','open','open','','6756-autosave','','','2012-05-22 21:32:03','2012-05-23 04:32:03','',6756,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/22/6756-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6769,179,'2012-05-21 13:26:29','2012-05-21 20:26:29','[caption id=\"attachment_6746\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Image from my friend, David Hayward (@nakedpastor; http://nakedpastor.com)\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Provoketive2.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-6746\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Provoketive2-300x232.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"232\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Christian Church has been converting people since the Council of Nicea.  But, how does a church grow its membership and get people to buy into its vision when it doesn\'t use the fear of Hell to coerce others into action?\r\nWhat does the Church have to do to survive?\r\n\r\nWhere does the Church go from here?\r\n\r\nWhat will we do when we can no longer pay the mortgage on the building?\r\n\r\nThese are questions we might ask ourselves when we look at the Church as buildings.  It\'s no secret that churches all over the country are being foreclosed on.  So, what\'s the answer?\r\n\r\nThe answer is.... The Church is not a building. Do you want to the Church to survive?  Then, we have to convince the Church of this fact.  We have to lose our love affair with addresses and fall in love with zip codes again.  When Paul wrote to churches, he didn\'t write to \"The Church on Jones Street\".  He wrote to \"The Church at Phillipi (Thessalonica, Colossae, etc...)\".  These first churches were not individual buildings but more like Presbyteries or Diocese.  They served huge areas.  Their focus was not a building.  Their focus was people.\r\n\r\nSo, here I am.  I am talking to your Church.  I am talking to the people you worship with every Sunday.  SAVE YOUR CITY. Make your city whole.  When the prison guard in Acts 16 was saved, \"everyone who lived in his house was saved\" according to Paul and Silas.\r\n\r\nI tell you, Church, it\'s time to claim salvation over your city.  I\'m not talking about \"saving from sins\".  I\'m talking about the \"preservation from destruction or failure\" or \"deliverance from danger and difficulty\" according to <a href=\"http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/salvation\">Meriam-Webster</a>.\r\n\r\nIt\'s time for us, as the Church to get off our high horse and help the man in the ditch who is dying as the religious walk on by.  It\'s time that we lose our religious piety and pick up the Cross of Jesus (His life and His death) and we start feeding the poor, clothing the naked and freeing the prisoners.\r\n\r\nGod is calling us, those who are called by the name of Christ, to continue the work of Christ.\r\n\r\nWe do that through relationship.  We can only have relationship with those in need when we forsake our buildings, because our homeless and poor friends and neighbors don\'t want the Jesus we\'re giving away.  Our Jesus doesn\'t look like Jesus in Luke 4 (Isaiah 61). There, Jesus says that God has anointed him to preach good news for the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, bring liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison for those who are bound.  I have no problem saying that if the message you hear on Sunday mornings does not sound like Luke 4, it is not the message of the Gospel. And when Jesus says, \"When I am lifted up, I will draw all men unto me...\", I think he\'s saying  when good news for the poor is preached, when the brokenhearted are binded up, when the captives have liberty and the prisons are empty, that there is no way He will not be glorified.\r\n\r\nChristians, this is our call.  If you ever wonder what it means to be a Christian, look at these verses.  Jesus says to go out and make disciples of all nations.  This is not a call to go out and get the nations to walk down an aisle and pray a sinner\'s prayer.  Another word for disciple is apprentice.  I grew up hearing disciple defined as a \"learned do-er\".  We do what Christ did.  Christ never had an altar call.\r\n\r\nYou want to know why the institutional church is failing?  It is trying to complete a job it was never given.\r\n\r\nSodom was not a town that many modern day Conservative Christians would want to live.  The main religion was Moon Worship.  Men often had sex with men and women with women.  But, through the Prophet Ezekiel, God said that the sin of Sodom was its greed.  The sin of Sodom was its inhospitality to strangers.  The greatest sin in Sodom?  It had too much money and refused to share with the poor.\r\n\r\nCould the same not be said about modern day Churchianity?  We try so hard to make the next mega-church.  Why don\'t you just try to love your neighbor as yourself?  Serving our neighbor is a call so close to the heart of God that for a church to ignore it is blasphemy.  It\'s really the main thing Jesus spoke about.\r\n\r\nSo, why aren\'t we doing it?\r\n\r\nYou want to save your church?  Then, save your city.  Fall out of love with your address and fall back in love with your zip code.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','What Should The Church Be Doing?','','inherit','open','open','','6745-revision-5','','','2012-05-21 13:26:29','2012-05-21 20:26:29','',6745,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/21/6745-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6770,179,'2012-05-22 21:27:07','2012-05-23 04:27:07','','churchdoing','','inherit','open','open','','churchdoing','','','2012-05-22 21:27:07','2012-05-23 04:27:07','',6745,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/churchdoing.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6771,179,'2012-05-22 21:26:05','2012-05-23 04:26:05','[caption id=\"attachment_6746\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Image from my friend, David Hayward (@nakedpastor; http://nakedpastor.com)\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Provoketive2.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-6746\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Provoketive2-300x232.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"232\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Christian Church has been converting people since the Council of Nicea.  But, how does a church grow its membership and get people to buy into its vision when it doesn\'t use the fear of Hell to coerce others into action?\r\n\r\nWhat does the Church have to do to survive?\r\n\r\nWhere does the Church go from here?\r\n\r\nWhat will we do when we can no longer pay the mortgage on the building?\r\n\r\nThese are questions we might ask ourselves when we look at the Church as buildings.  It\'s no secret that churches all over the country are being foreclosed on.  So, what\'s the answer?\r\n\r\nThe answer is.... The Church is not a building. Do you want to the Church to survive?  Then, we have to convince the Church of this fact.  We have to lose our love affair with addresses and fall in love with zip codes again.  When Paul wrote to churches, he didn\'t write to \"The Church on Jones Street\".  He wrote to \"The Church at Phillipi (Thessalonica, Colossae, etc...)\".  These first churches were not individual buildings but more like Presbyteries or Diocese.  They served huge areas.  Their focus was not a building.  Their focus was people.\r\n\r\nSo, here I am.  I am talking to your Church.  I am talking to the people you worship with every Sunday.  SAVE YOUR CITY! Make your city whole.  When the prison guard in Acts 16 was saved, \"everyone who lived in his house was saved\" according to Paul and Silas.\r\n\r\nI tell you, Church, it\'s time to claim salvation over your city.  I\'m not talking about \"saving from sins\".  I\'m talking about the \"preservation from destruction or failure\" or \"deliverance from danger and difficulty\", according to <a href=\"http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/salvation\">Meriam-Webster</a>.\r\n\r\nIt\'s time for us, as the Church to get off our high horse and help the man in the ditch who is dying as the religious walk on by him.  It\'s time that we lose our religious piety and pick up the Cross of Jesus (His life and His death) and we start feeding the poor, clothing the naked and freeing the prisoners.\r\n\r\nGod is calling us, those who are called by the name of Christ, to continue the work of Christ.\r\n\r\nWe do that through relationship.  We can only have relationship with those in need when we forsake our buildings, because our homeless and poor friends and neighbors don\'t want the Jesus we\'re giving away.  Our Jesus doesn\'t look like Jesus in Luke 4 (Isaiah 61). There, Jesus says that God has anointed him to preach good news for the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, bring liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison for those who are bound.  I have no problem saying that if the message you hear on Sunday mornings does not sound like Luke 4, it is not the message of the Gospel. And when Jesus says, \"When I am lifted up, I will draw all men unto me...\", I think he\'s saying  when good news for the poor is preached, when the brokenhearted are bound up, when the captives have liberty, and the prisons are empty, then there is no way He will not be glorified.\r\n\r\nChristians, this is our call.  If you ever wonder what it means to be a Christian, look at these verses.  Jesus says to go out and make disciples of all nations.  This is not a call to go out and get the nations to walk down an aisle and pray a sinner\'s prayer.  Another word for disciple is apprentice.  I grew up hearing disciple defined as a \"learned do-er\".  We do what Christ did.  Christ never had an altar call.\r\n\r\nYou want to know why the institutional church is failing?  It is trying to complete a job it was never given.\r\n\r\nSodom was not a town where many modern day Conservative Christians would want to live.  The main religion was Moon Worship.  Men often had sex with men and women with women.  But, through the Prophet Ezekiel, God said that the sin of Sodom was its greed.  The sin of Sodom was its inhospitality to strangers.  The greatest sin in Sodom?  It had too much money and refused to share with the poor.\r\n\r\nCould the same not be said about modern day Churchianity?  We try so hard to make the next mega-church.  Why don\'t you just try to love your neighbor as yourself?  Serving our neighbor is a call so close to the heart of God that for a church to ignore it is blasphemy.  It\'s really the main thing Jesus spoke about.\r\n\r\nSo, why aren\'t we doing it?\r\n\r\nYou want to save your church?  Then, save your city.  Fall out of love with your address and fall back in love with your zip code.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','What Should The Church Be Doing?','','inherit','open','open','','6745-revision-6','','','2012-05-22 21:26:05','2012-05-23 04:26:05','',6745,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/22/6745-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(6773,179,'2012-05-22 21:33:00','2012-05-23 04:33:00','','BREAD','','inherit','open','open','','bread','','','2012-05-22 21:33:00','2012-05-23 04:33:00','',6756,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/BREAD.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6774,179,'2012-05-22 17:10:46','2012-05-23 00:10:46','There is a part of me that has never fully become a grown-up.  I still love the magic of children’s stories.  This is possibly because they are so uncomplicated by the problems of the adult world.  Sometimes, we need to read what’s in the pages of our favorite books and see it in a new way.\r\n\r\nLast year, I introduced my kids to C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.  The third book (in the original published order), <em>The Voyage of the </em>Dawn Treader, quickly became my son’s favorite.  I have to admit, he has a point.  It’s full of fun, humor, and rollicking adventures on the high seas.  It also contains some of the most beautifully captured moral principles, cleverly hidden in the fairy tale setting.\r\n\r\nMy apologies if you haven’t read the book (the movie does <em>not</em> count), I am about to give spoilers.  There is a scene at the end of the book in which three travelers have fallen asleep at a table laden with good food.  They had been arguing, and one of them picked up a sacred knife and made to injure or kill the others.  They were thrown into an enchanted slumber, to be awakened only at the completion of a task undertaken by the people on board the <em>Dawn Treader</em>.\r\n\r\nAre we not often so much like these travelers?  Over the last month, I have seen too many people approaching the holy table of faith with little or no grace.\r\n\r\nI think we can all agree that a pastor who suggests <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y364C42sg0Y\">rounding LGBT people up like cattle and surrounding them with an electric fence</a> doesn’t represent God’s love.  But even people with a “softer” approach are unwilling to dine with those they perceive to be “sinners and tax collectors.”  There’s no room to listen to each other’s stories.\r\n\r\nSome of the real things I’ve heard people say about others in recent weeks, both online and in real life:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Atheists can’t be moral people, only Christians understand real morality.</li>\r\n	<li>Gay people can’t be Christians, they are failing to uphold God’s Word on one of the most important issues.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t believe in a literal six day creation, you might as well throw out the rest of the Bible, too.</li>\r\n	<li>Women are not equal to men; the Bible says so.</li>\r\n	<li>You are sinning by questioning the authority of the church.</li>\r\n	<li>I’m a Christian, but the Church is a colossal failure when it comes to loving others.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t support gay rights, you’re not a real Christian, just a jerk in a Jesus suit.</li>\r\n	<li>Only people too stupid to study real science reject evolution.</li>\r\n	<li>Married couples who choose to take on “traditional” roles are supporting misogyny.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t question everything, you’ll just blindly follow the first charismatic preacher you hear.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nMost of it is based on misinformation and fear.  Quite a lot of it is based on refusing to see through someone else’s eyes.\r\n\r\nSee, we’re never going to have consensus—not even within individual churches.  And “agree to disagree” (read: you shut up and I’ll shut up) is a recipe for building resentment.  Instead, we are badly in need of a new way to talk.  It’s all well and good to have safe space online to process things through, where we can write and respond.  But we need to do this in real time, face-to-face.  It’s time to stop hiding from the issues that plague the Church.\r\n\r\nWe must approach the table without knife in hand.  We must be ready to feel uncomfortable, to have our questions unanswered, to hear things we would rather not hear.  We need to leave our own agendas at the door and trust that everyone else has done the same.  If we take our Christian faith seriously, then we understand that Jesus has already undertaken the quest to awaken us.  It’s up to us what we do with that.\r\n\r\nAre we ready to live this out offline?','Breaking Bread without Breaking Each Other','','inherit','open','open','','6756-revision-7','','','2012-05-22 17:10:46','2012-05-23 00:10:46','',6756,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/22/6756-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(6775,179,'2012-05-22 21:27:30','2012-05-23 04:27:30','The Christian Church has been converting people since the Council of Nicea.  But, how does a church grow its membership and get people to buy into its vision when it doesn\'t use the fear of Hell to coerce others into action?\r\n\r\nWhat does the Church have to do to survive?\r\n\r\nWhere does the Church go from here?\r\n\r\nWhat will we do when we can no longer pay the mortgage on the building?\r\n\r\nThese are questions we might ask ourselves when we look at the Church as buildings.  It\'s no secret that churches all over the country are being foreclosed on.  So, what\'s the answer?\r\n\r\nThe answer is.... The Church is not a building. Do you want to the Church to survive?  Then, we have to convince the Church of this fact.  We have to lose our love affair with addresses and fall in love with zip codes again.  When Paul wrote to churches, he didn\'t write to \"The Church on Jones Street\".  He wrote to \"The Church at Phillipi (Thessalonica, Colossae, etc...)\".  These first churches were not individual buildings but more like Presbyteries or Diocese.  They served huge areas.  Their focus was not a building.  Their focus was people.\r\n\r\nSo, here I am.  I am talking to your Church.  I am talking to the people you worship with every Sunday.  SAVE YOUR CITY! Make your city whole.  When the prison guard in Acts 16 was saved, \"everyone who lived in his house was saved\" according to Paul and Silas.\r\n\r\nI tell you, Church, it\'s time to claim salvation over your city.  I\'m not talking about \"saving from sins\".  I\'m talking about the \"preservation from destruction or failure\" or \"deliverance from danger and difficulty\", according to <a href=\"http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/salvation\">Meriam-Webster</a>.\r\n\r\nIt\'s time for us, as the Church to get off our high horse and help the man in the ditch who is dying as the religious walk on by him.  It\'s time that we lose our religious piety and pick up the Cross of Jesus (His life and His death) and we start feeding the poor, clothing the naked and freeing the prisoners.\r\n\r\nGod is calling us, those who are called by the name of Christ, to continue the work of Christ.\r\n\r\nWe do that through relationship.  We can only have relationship with those in need when we forsake our buildings, because our homeless and poor friends and neighbors don\'t want the Jesus we\'re giving away.  Our Jesus doesn\'t look like Jesus in Luke 4 (Isaiah 61). There, Jesus says that God has anointed him to preach good news for the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, bring liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison for those who are bound.  I have no problem saying that if the message you hear on Sunday mornings does not sound like Luke 4, it is not the message of the Gospel. And when Jesus says, \"When I am lifted up, I will draw all men unto me...\", I think he\'s saying  when good news for the poor is preached, when the brokenhearted are bound up, when the captives have liberty, and the prisons are empty, then there is no way He will not be glorified.\r\n\r\nChristians, this is our call.  If you ever wonder what it means to be a Christian, look at these verses.  Jesus says to go out and make disciples of all nations.  This is not a call to go out and get the nations to walk down an aisle and pray a sinner\'s prayer.  Another word for disciple is apprentice.  I grew up hearing disciple defined as a \"learned do-er\".  We do what Christ did.  Christ never had an altar call.\r\n\r\nYou want to know why the institutional church is failing?  It is trying to complete a job it was never given.\r\n\r\nSodom was not a town where many modern day Conservative Christians would want to live.  The main religion was Moon Worship.  Men often had sex with men and women with women.  But, through the Prophet Ezekiel, God said that the sin of Sodom was its greed.  The sin of Sodom was its inhospitality to strangers.  The greatest sin in Sodom?  It had too much money and refused to share with the poor.\r\n\r\nCould the same not be said about modern day Churchianity?  We try so hard to make the next mega-church.  Why don\'t you just try to love your neighbor as yourself?  Serving our neighbor is a call so close to the heart of God that for a church to ignore it is blasphemy.  It\'s really the main thing Jesus spoke about.\r\n\r\nSo, why aren\'t we doing it?\r\n\r\nYou want to save your church?  Then, save your city.  Fall out of love with your address and fall back in love with your zip code.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','What Should The Church Be Doing?','','inherit','open','open','','6745-revision-7','','','2012-05-22 21:27:30','2012-05-23 04:27:30','',6745,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/22/6745-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(6776,179,'2012-05-22 21:13:46','2012-05-23 04:13:46','I grew up in a very conservative Christian home. During my teenage years, my family fell into what my parents now refer to as \"the denim skirt cult.\" You know. The one where all the girls where long sleeves, denim skirts, and (if they are extra chaste) head coverings.\r\n\r\nGrowing up, I was taught that as a woman, modesty was my priority. Not only in how I dressed, but also in how I acted. It was important to show as little skin as possible. It was vital to keep men at an arms length (no dating!) It was wrong to wear tight clothes, or anything that even showed the form of my body--hence the skirts. It was inappropriate to be alone in the same room with a boy (not to mention the time I rode in the car with one and was grounded for two weeks).\r\n\r\nWhy all of this? Because if I didn\'t take exorbitant precautions, I might cause a man to stumble. Sexual thoughts might enter his mind and it would be all my fault. Because sex, even in thought, was wrong (outside the bounds of marriage, of course). And because men are visual and can\'t help themselves, it falls to the woman to prevent this sin from occurring.\r\n\r\nI haven\'t worn a denim skirt for over 5 years. It has taken me almost as long to recover and recalibrate my mindset from that of the \"denim skirt cult\".\r\n\r\nThat stage of my life did me far more damage than it did good. I am not against teaching modesty to young women. I\'m not even against dressing very conservatively if that is what a person is comfortable with. What I am against is the <em>way</em> modesty is taught most of the time.  I feel that when teaching modesty to young women it is incredibly important to do it for the right reasons.\r\n\r\n<em>\"To keep men from stumbling\" is not a right reason. But why? Why is this thought process wrong and how could it possibly be damaging?</em>\r\n\r\n<strong>1) Men are sexual, visual beings.</strong> They always have been, they always will be. They are attracted based on appearances. Nothing you do or don\'t do will stop them from having that natural, innate urge within them. Men are going to be attracted to women no matter what they are wearing. If a man wants to imagine what a woman looks like naked, he is going to do that whether she is wearing a bikini or burkha.\r\n\r\nThere is nothing wrong with men being attracted to women or women being attracted to men. Outside of marriage, within marriage, single people, divorced people-- there will be attraction. To say that the attraction is based solely on how a woman dresses is not only ridiculous, it is harmful and places an extraordinary burden on them.\r\n\r\n<strong>2) A woman is not responsible for what a man thinks</strong> <strong>about her or how he acts towards her. At all.</strong> Men are capable of controlling themselves.  I honestly used to think that all men were completely incapable of this. I thought that for some prehistoric reason, when they saw a pretty girl, they had no choice but to beat their chest and try to mate with her.  It was all my fault if I looked even remotely attractive and I was causing them to \"sin\" in their thoughts. Because after all, they can\'t help themselves.\r\n\r\nMen are just as capable of controlling themselves, even in their thoughts, as women are. Men are capable of taking responsibility for what they think and feel --as they should. They have God-given sexual urges and they have God-given self-control. It is up to them if they want to use the latter.\r\n\r\n<strong>3) The self-esteem of women, especially teenage girls, is already delicate.</strong> As women, we are constantly bombarded by images of flawless complexions, skinny bodies, long legs and big breasts. Society tells us that if we don\'t match up to their impossibly high standard, we aren\'t beautiful. To further exacerbate this low sense of self-worth already thrust upon is, the \"denim skirt cult\" mindset causes girls to feel guilty and sinful if they dress attractively. And I\'m not even talking about super low-cut tops and butt-cheek shorts. I\'m just talking about well-fitting, attractive clothing. For the longest time I felt an unremitting sense of guilt if I wore jeans and a t-shirt that fit well. Multiply that guilt if I put on enough make-up to make me feel like a superstar. Until two weeks ago, I hadn\'t worn a pair of regular shorts for years and years. Every time I put them on I felt gross, exposed and guilty.\r\n\r\nInstilling a sense of shame on a teenage girl for looking and feeling attractive is not healthy in any way. Making a girl shlub around in denim skirts and baggy shirts because her body is something to hide and be ashamed of is ridiculous. Telling her that SHE is to take responsibility for the thoughts and actions of the men around her is harmful and, quite honestly, has the potential to set her up for emotionally and spiritually--if not physically--abusive relationships.\r\n\r\nGirls, it is okay to dress attractively. It is okay to wear clothes that make you feel comfortable in your own skin. It\'s okay to get dressed up and feel beautiful and sexy. There\'s nothing wrong with expressing yourself through what you wear. <strong>Because it doesn\'t matter what you wear or how you act-- what a man thinks, feels, or does is his own responsibility. Not yours.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPhoto by <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/michellecarl/\">Michelle Carl</a>','The Denim Skirt Cult','','inherit','open','open','','6713-revision-8','','','2012-05-22 21:13:46','2012-05-23 04:13:46','',6713,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/22/6713-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(6777,179,'2012-05-22 21:33:26','2012-05-23 04:33:26','There is a part of me that has never fully become a grown-up.  I still love the magic of children’s stories.  This is possibly because they are so uncomplicated by the problems of the adult world.  Sometimes, we need to read what’s in the pages of our favorite books and see it in a new way.\r\n\r\nLast year, I introduced my kids to C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.  The third book (in the original published order), <em>The Voyage of the Dawn Treader</em>, quickly became my son’s favorite.  I have to admit, he has a point.  It’s full of fun, humor, and rollicking adventures on the high seas.  It also contains some of the most beautifully captured moral principles, cleverly hidden in the fairy tale setting.\r\n\r\nMy apologies if you haven’t read the book (the movie does <em>not</em> count), because I am about to give spoilers.  There is a scene at the end of the book in which three travelers have fallen asleep at a table laden with good food.  They had been arguing, and one of them picked up a sacred knife and made a move to injure or kill the others.  They were thrown into an enchanted slumber, to be awakened only at the completion of a task undertaken by the people on board the <em>Dawn Treader</em>.\r\n\r\nAre we not often so much like these travelers?  Over the last month, I have seen too many people approaching the holy table of faith with little or no grace.\r\n\r\nI think we can all agree that a pastor who suggests <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y364C42sg0Y\">rounding LGBT people up like cattle and surrounding them with an electric fence</a> doesn’t represent God’s love.  But even people with a “softer” approach are unwilling to dine with those they perceive to be “sinners and tax collectors.”  There’s no room to listen to each others stories.\r\n\r\nSome of the real things I’ve heard people say about others in recent weeks, both online and in real life:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Atheists can’t be moral people, only Christians understand real morality.</li>\r\n	<li>Gay people can’t be Christians, they are failing to uphold God’s Word on one of the most important issues.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t believe in a literal six day creation, you might as well throw out the rest of the Bible, too.</li>\r\n	<li>Women are not equal to men; the Bible says so.</li>\r\n	<li>You are sinning by questioning the authority of the church.</li>\r\n	<li>I’m a Christian, but the Church is a colossal failure when it comes to loving others.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t support gay rights, you’re not a real Christian, just a jerk in a Jesus suit.</li>\r\n	<li>Only people too stupid to study real science reject evolution.</li>\r\n	<li>Married couples who choose to take on “traditional” roles are supporting misogyny.</li>\r\n	<li>If you don’t question everything, you’ll just blindly follow the first charismatic preacher you hear.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nMost of it is based on misinformation and fear.  Quite a lot of it is based on refusing to see through someone else\'s eyes.\r\n\r\nSee, we’re never going to have consensus—not even within individual churches.  And “agree to disagree” (read: you shut up and I’ll shut up) is a recipe for building resentment.  Instead, we are badly in need of a new way to talk.  It’s all well and good to have safe space online to process things through, where we can write and respond.  But we need to do this in real time, face-to-face.  It’s time to stop hiding from the issues that plague the Church.\r\n\r\nWe must approach the table without knife in hand.  We must be ready to feel uncomfortable, to have our questions unanswered, to hear things we would rather not hear.  We need to leave our own agendas at the door and trust that everyone else has done the same.  If we take our Christian faith seriously, then we understand that Jesus has already undertaken the quest to awaken us.  It’s up to us what we do with that.\r\n\r\nAre we ready to live this out offline?','Breaking Bread without Breaking Each Other','','inherit','open','open','','6756-revision-8','','','2012-05-22 21:33:26','2012-05-23 04:33:26','',6756,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/22/6756-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(6782,0,'2012-05-25 14:02:55','2012-05-25 21:02:55','Faith, marriage, family\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Rhonda de la Moriniere\nAUTHOR EMAIL: rhondadela@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: \nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 98.195.118.35\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Rhonda de la Moriniere\n    [Email] =&gt; rhondadela@gmail.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; \n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Faith, marriage, family\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; rhondadela\n)\n','Rhonda de la Moriniere - 2012-05-25 14:02:55','','publish','open','open','','240a7985f24c1067a5cc190e3f3c158c','','','2012-05-25 14:02:55','2012-05-25 21:02:55','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=6782',0,'feedback','',0),(6784,1,'2012-05-25 14:43:05','2012-05-25 21:43:05','','nick hanauer','','inherit','open','open','','nick-hanauer','','','2012-05-25 14:43:05','2012-05-25 21:43:05','',6783,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/nick-hanauer.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6785,1,'2012-05-22 21:20:38','2012-05-23 04:20:38','I remember the touching story of the \"Good\" Samaritan growing up in Sunday School. Jesus told it in response to a question asked him - <em>\"Who is my neighbor?\"</em> Dude gets beat up while traveling home. He\'s left for dead by the side of the road. A priest and a Levite both pass him by and ignore the heck out of him.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/flannel.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-6731\" style=\"margin-left: 6px; margin-right: 6px;\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/flannel.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"270\" height=\"202\" /></a>The third man who passes by is a Samaritan. As a child, we learned that we should all be like that Samaritan and help people in need as the teacher pasted the little flannel picture of the Good Samaritan on the board.\r\n\r\nThen I went to Seminary. I remember the class well. It was hermenutics taught by Dr. Robert Stein. His first statement was, <em>\"Where does the Savior ever call the Samaritan \'good\'?\"</em>\r\n\r\nOh, snap. Never noticed that. He then informed us of how the Jewish audience hearing the parable would have been aghast hearing that a Samaritan would have been the one who had stopped to help in the first place. In those days, the Samaritans were viewed as <em>\"half-breeds.\"</em> They were ascended from the Assyrians and had married Jewish people. Many Jews hated them.\r\n\r\nTherefore, for Jesus to put a Samaritan as the hero of the story was a stunner. It offended his largely Jewish audience. Especially when he asked the man who had posed the original question, <em>\"Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”</em> (Luke 10:36 ESV) The man couldn\'t even bring himself to say the word <em>\"Samaritan.\"</em> Instead, he said, <em>\"The one who showed him mercy.\"</em>\r\n\r\nOver the past two years, I\'ve been trying to find my place in the world after I fell from ministry. There were days I didn\'t want to go into Wal-Mart or Kroger for fear of seeing someone I might know. I thought being in public was a disgrace to myself. Over time, this feeling went away as I grasped the full forgiveness of God.\r\n\r\nI did struggle with how to help other people. I wanted to minister. I always kept the <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Fallen-Pastor-Finding-Restoration-Broken/dp/0615567096/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1334197768&amp;sr=8-1\">words of Hershael York from my book in the back of my mind</a>, <em>\"Your repentance has to be more notorious than your sin.\"</em> So, for the past two years, I\'ve been an ear for fallen pastors, tried to keep my head above water, and tried (sometimes on target) to do the right thing.\r\n\r\nTwo things happened recently that might sound like a humble brag, but they\'re not. They struck a chord in me.\r\n\r\nTwo weeks ago, I was driving down a long stretch of interstate and saw a car broken down. Now, my mother, God rest her soul, always told me to never stop in such a situation. I can hear her now, <em>\"It\'s a trap!\"</em> Or maybe that was Admiral Ackbar. Anyway, something within me told me to stop for this 1987 Buick Century.\r\n\r\nI got out and five people got out. They looked worse for wear. One was on a cell phone. I asked them if a tow was coming. No, apparently, they couldn\'t get a tow. The car was overheated. I\'ll be honest, they didn\'t smell too great. Amazingly, enough, I had a brand new container of coolant in my car and I went to get it. The car still didn\'t start. The guy who was there said, <em>\"We need some tape to tape up this pipe.\"</em> Amazingly, again, I had trainer\'s tape (for my job) and got some.\r\n\r\nWhile he was taping, I began talking to a young woman. She said, <em>\"Thank you for stopping. We\'ve been here for an hour. <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/broked.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-6732\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/broked.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"259\" height=\"194\" /></a>No one has stopped. Five people have honked. Even a state trooper. I just got out of the hospital after having a miscarriage.\"</em>\r\n\r\nThe guy said, <em>\"I\'m done, let\'s start it up!\"</em> It started. Every one in the car hugged me. And I hugged back, choking back tears.\r\n\r\nA few days later, I was in the IGA parking lot and I swear it was the same 1987 Buick Century. It was a young couple and they pulled up next to me. The young woman was in the drivers seat and her husband was leaned back in the passenger seat, seemingly embarrassed. She said, <em>\"I wouldn\'t normally asked, but we\'re on empty. We have no money. If you just have a dollar, please.\"</em>\r\n\r\nI said, <em>\"I\'m sorry,\"</em> as I opened my wallet. <em>\"I don\'t carry cash.\"</em> I went into the store and couldn\'t stop thinking about them. I could almost hear God say, <em>\"Get them money.\"</em> I got to the checkout and said out loud to the cashier (who must have thought I was nuts) <em>\"I can get money off my debit card!</em>\" She said, <em>\"Yes, you can, sir.\"</em>\r\n\r\nI ran back out to the parking lot but didn\'t see them. But I turned to my right and they were sitting there talking to another woman who was trying to get away from them. I ran over to them and gave them the cash. She said, <em>\"Are you serious?\"</em> I said, \"<em>Yes ma\'am! God be with you.\"</em> She yelled out the loudest, <strong><em>\"Hallelujah!\"</em></strong>\r\n\r\nI looked over and her husband was smiling and crying.\r\n\r\nThat\'s when it hit me. I was the Samaritan. I was the half-breed. Rejected by many, but still very useful to God. Surrounded by neighbors in need.','Hey, Wait! I\'m The Samaritan!','','inherit','open','open','','6727-revision-4','','','2012-05-22 21:20:38','2012-05-23 04:20:38','',6727,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/22/6727-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6786,1,'2012-05-25 14:44:12','2012-05-25 21:44:12','[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKCvf8E7V1g[/youtube]\n\nThis is probably the most powerful video I\'ve seen this year so far.\n\nVia Business Insider: \"As the war over income inequality wages on, super-rich Seattle entrepreneur Nick Hanauer has been raising the hackles of his fellow 1-percenters, espousing the contrarian argument that rich people don\'t actually create jobs. The position is controversial — so much so that TED is refusing to post a talk that Hanauer gave on the subject. National Journal reports today that TED officials decided not to put Hanauer\'s March 1 speech up online after deeming his remarks \"too politically controversial\" for the site...\".','The Rich Don\'t Create Jobs','','inherit','open','open','','6783-revision','','','2012-05-25 14:44:12','2012-05-25 21:44:12','',6783,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/25/6783-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6787,1,'2012-05-25 14:45:51','2012-05-25 21:45:51','[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKCvf8E7V1g[/youtube]\n\nThis is probably the most powerful video I\'ve seen this year so far.\n\nVia Business Insider: \"As the war over income inequality wages on, super-rich Seattle entrepreneur Nick Hanauer has been raising the hackles of his fellow 1-percenters, espousing the contrarian argument that rich people don\'t actually create jobs. The position is controversial — so much so that TED is refusing to post a talk that Hanauer gave on the subject. National Journal reports today that TED officials decided not to put Hanauer\'s March 1 speech up online after deeming his remarks \"too politically controversial\" for the site...\".','The Rich Don\'t Create Jobs','','inherit','open','open','','6783-autosave','','','2012-05-25 14:45:51','2012-05-25 21:45:51','',6783,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/25/6783-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6820,185,'2012-05-29 05:13:25','2012-05-29 12:13:25','Reviewing via film a “documentary poem” about creativity and faith is a little daunting for people, like me, because I am by nature a very straightforward, no-nonsense, and practical kind of person.  Not that I didn’t expect to learn a few new things or find something that would be useful to friends whom I consider “creative”—but I did not anticipate the extent to which “Made as Makers” would expand my own understanding of faith. I thought that a film about creativity would be about bringing artistic elements into our worship, not about using creativity to approach our faith and our understanding of God. Since the latter is true (though not to the exclusion of the former), I found that I really did have a bit to say about this film. As Callid Keefe-Perry says, “I think that every single person has something to add to the conversation where God is concerned because I think that God is concerned with every single person.”\r\n<div>\r\n\r\nIn “Made as Makers,” the filmmaker interviews women, men, artists, church leaders, theologians and everyday people and records his own conversations with them about God, faith, and hope for the church.  I was delighted to find that from the moment the film started, I was invited—no, pulled into—this conversation. There is no room to sit back as a detached observer, the so-called third wheel in a two-person dialogue. The opening sequences of the film begin with Callid Keefe-Perry talking to you, to me, directly.  While he talks there with us there is an empty chair behind him -- is it for another member of this conversation, for God, for both? By artfully leaving “space” Callid Keefe-Perry invites God and us to explore these questions with him.\r\n\r\nSince this is a conversation that we join, not one that we observe from a distance, I’m going to deviate from standard reviewing practice and not go over the main points of the film. You can, and should, watch it and do that yourself. Instead, I am going to review the places where I found myself joining the conversation, where I resonated, and where light shone in my spirit. On second thought, if you watch this film and try to outline the “main points” then you’ve probably missed the main point because the main point really is whatever you have to add to the conversation about God, faith, and hope for the church.\r\n\r\nThe themes that really jumped out at me were <em>space</em> and <em>practice</em>. The empty chair behind Callid Keefe-Perry in the opening sequences of the film captivated me. I thought, “We are leaving space for God. God is going to meet us here. He is going to fill that chair.” Later, we hear a woman talking about how faith, and the necessity of having to have faith, really sucks because those around her appear to have a meaningful faith life with little effort while she struggles to “get it right.” I have frequented that place of struggle and comparison quite regularly myself, so it was comforting to hear another woman speak about her journey to find a community that created the space necessary for her to practice faith from her gut. In this sense, then, “Made as Makers” highlighted that creativity in faith includes the importance of matching people to practice, the experimentation required to discover what fits, and the necessary balance between what fits and pushing boundaries of comfort. For example, I naturally find more spiritual and creative space in structured, repetitive environments; too much free form leads me into spiritual desert. I know many people for whom this is the exact opposite.\r\n\r\nOnce you’re in this conversation about creative faith, it is really kind of hard to leave. I found myself thinking about these themes of space and practice long after watching the film. I was in the car and listening to an interview with Tracy K. Smith about her struggle to write six lines of poetry, and it got me wondering about the parallels between creative struggle and spiritual struggle, between writer’s block and the dark night of the soul. And then in church we sang a hymn with the line “classrooms and labs, loud boiling test tubes, sing to the Lord a new song!” I was a little bit giddy because my upstairs neighbor is a chemist, who spends her days with petri dishes and pipettes, and I began to think about creative chemists and what that looks like and how somewhere in something that confuses me she finds the space to praise God.\r\n\r\nI did have the opportunity to eavesdrop on how “Made as Makers” resonated with a few other people. One viewer highlighted the emphasis on the creative possibilities in a relationship with God where “we don’t have to do it all.” Another was moved by the tension between the experience of faith in which we live and our inability to communicate our experience in such a way that another fully grasps the impact of our experience.  He thought that perhaps creativity and poetry might offer the space to experience faith with one another.  Some were overwhelmed by a desire to go out and do something creative and artistic.\r\n\r\nI believe that this opportunity to process “Made as Makers” with others is essential. This isn’t a conversation to be had between me and a film but within members of the broader Christian community. The hope is that a number of us will watch this and get talking, find an open space, and see what new thing God creates with us. May you watch and add your voice to the conversation as well.\r\n\r\nwww.madeasmakers.org\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n</div>','A Review Callid Keefe-Perry’s documentary “Made as Makers” ','','inherit','open','open','','6812-revision-6','','','2012-05-29 05:13:25','2012-05-29 12:13:25','',6812,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/29/6812-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(6821,179,'2012-06-02 08:18:14','2012-06-02 15:18:14','Reviewing via film a “documentary poem” about creativity and faith is a little daunting for people, like me, because I am by nature a very straightforward, no-nonsense, and practical kind of person.  Not that I didn’t expect to learn a few new things or find something that would be useful to friends whom I consider “creative”—but I did not anticipate the extent to which “Made as Makers” would expand my own understanding of faith. I thought that a film about creativity would be about bringing artistic elements into our worship, not about using creativity to approach our faith and our understanding of God. Since the latter is true (though not to the exclusion of the former), I found that I really did have a bit to say about this film. As Callid Keefe-Perry says, “I think that every single person has something to add to the conversation where God is concerned because I think that God is concerned with every single person.”\r\n<div>\r\n\r\nIn “Made as Makers,” the filmmaker interviews women, men, artists, church leaders, theologians and everyday people and records his own conversations with them about God, faith, and hope for the church.  I was delighted to find that from the moment the film started, I was invited—no, pulled into—this conversation. There is no room to sit back as a detached observer, the so-called third wheel in a two-person dialogue. The opening sequences of the film begin with Callid Keefe-Perry talking to you, to me, directly.  While he talks there with us there is an empty chair behind him -- is it for another member of this conversation, for God, for both? By artfully leaving “space” Callid Keefe-Perry invites God and us to explore these questions with him.\r\n\r\nSince this is a conversation that we join, not one that we observe from a distance, I’m going to deviate from standard reviewing practice and not go over the main points of the film. You can, and should, watch it and do that yourself. Instead, I am going to review the places where I found myself joining the conversation, where I resonated, and where light shone in my spirit. On second thought, if you watch this film and try to outline the “main points” then you’ve probably missed the main point because the main point really is whatever you have to add to the conversation about God, faith, and hope for the church.\r\n\r\nThe themes that really jumped out at me were <em>space</em> and <em>practice</em>. The empty chair behind Callid Keefe-Perry in the opening sequences of the film captivated me. I thought, “We are leaving space for God. God is going to meet us here. He is going to fill that chair.” Later, we hear a woman talking about how faith, and the necessity of having to have faith, really sucks because those around her appear to have a meaningful faith life with little effort while she struggles to “get it right.” I have frequented that place of struggle and comparison quite regularly myself, so it was comforting to hear another woman speak about her journey to find a community that created the space necessary for her to practice faith from her gut. In this sense, then, “Made as Makers” highlighted that creativity in faith includes the importance of matching people to practice, the experimentation required to discover what fits, and the necessary balance between what fits and pushing boundaries of comfort. For example, I naturally find more spiritual and creative space in structured, repetitive environments; too much free form leads me into spiritual desert. I know many people for whom this is the exact opposite.\r\n\r\nOnce you’re in this conversation about creative faith, it is really kind of hard to leave. I found myself thinking about these themes of space and practice long after watching the film. I was in the car and listening to an interview with Tracy K. Smith about her struggle to write six lines of poetry, and it got me wondering about the parallels between creative struggle and spiritual struggle, between writer’s block and the dark night of the soul. And then in church we sang a hymn with the line “classrooms and labs, loud boiling test tubes, sing to the Lord a new song!” I was a little bit giddy because my upstairs neighbor is a chemist, who spends her days with petri dishes and pipettes, and I began to think about creative chemists and what that looks like and how somewhere in something that confuses me she finds the space to praise God.\r\n\r\nI did have the opportunity to eavesdrop on how “Made as Makers” resonated with a few other people. One viewer highlighted the emphasis on the creative possibilities in a relationship with God where “we don’t have to do it all.” Another was moved by the tension between the experience of faith in which we live and our inability to communicate our experience in such a way that another fully grasps the impact of our experience.  He thought that perhaps creativity and poetry might offer the space to experience faith with one another.  Some were overwhelmed by a desire to go out and do something creative and artistic.\r\n\r\nI believe that this opportunity to process “Made as Makers” with others is essential. This isn’t a conversation to be had between me and a film but within members of the broader Christian community. The hope is that a number of us will watch this and get talking, find an open space, and see what new thing God creates with us. May you watch and add your voice to the conversation as well.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://madeasmakers.org\" target=\"_blank\">www.madeasmakers.org</a>\r\n\r\n</div>','A Review Callid Keefe-Perry’s documentary “Made as Makers” ','','inherit','open','open','','6812-autosave','','','2012-06-02 08:18:14','2012-06-02 15:18:14','',6812,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/29/6812-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6824,184,'2012-06-01 08:00:02','2012-06-01 15:00:02','We were poor when I was a kid, and I don’t mean the kind of poor where you don’t get all that you want for Christmas, but the kind that our pastor would refer to as “po”…we couldn’t even afford the “or.”\r\n\r\nBack then, soda came in bottles and, you were able to turn in the glass bottles at the grocery store for a refund.  My brothers and I would take our little red wagon and comb the streets looking for old bottles that we would turn in to the Weingarten’s.  If we were lucky, we had enough to purchase a little candy or treat and maybe even something extra for our mom.\r\n\r\nI remember the first time we made the long trek to turn in our green, amber, and clear glass treasures.  I had searched so hard all day to make sure that I found only those bottles that were not broken.  After hours of carefully pouring through trash cans looking for the treasure of a bottle that had not met it’s demise, emptying out the sticky, stale liquid, and carefully pulling the wagon as not to allow one of the bottles to break, I was heartbroken when the man at the recycle booth carelessly tossed each bottle in to the basket in such a way that I could hear the clanking of the breaking glass, almost mocking me and all of the care and concern I had taken to protect them.\r\n\r\n“Why are you breaking them?” I cried out, “ I thought you were buying them so that you could use them again.”\r\n\r\n“We use the glass little lady, not the bottles,” came a gruff reply.\r\n\r\nI remember the disappointment I felt as I realized the implications of what my misunderstanding had meant.   I had spent all day sifting through broken glass that was just as valuable to my cause as the unbroken bottles had been.  I had missed my opportunity to truly cash in.\r\n\r\nThe memory of that experience resurfaced when I recently came across a bottle that my daughter bought at a thrift store a while back.  She had bought this fancy bottle made of blue-green glass with a cork stopper at the top.  She said that she wanted it so that we could leave love notes to each other in it; messages in a bottle.\r\nAs I look at the blue-green glass bottle now and contemplate how to begin writing this article about aborting God, I must admit…I am tempted to change the name to \"Blue Like Glass\", which sounds a little more interesting than the topic I am writing about.  It also bears a close resemblance to the title of one of my favorite books, a book that sold a lot of copies.\r\n\r\nAs I look at the bottle now, it’s smooth, blue-green, rounded curves, escalating into smaller circle patterns until they reach the top where the cork meets the glass.  Anyone would be happy to receive a message in this bottle.  The presentation of the bottle itself speaking volumes about the treasure of the message that waits inside.\r\n\r\nSometimes I wonder if people are like these bottles, all with messages inside.  Clear, blue-green glass; fragile enough to easily break, yet transparent enough to see that there is something of great value inside.\r\nThe beautiful, unbroken ones stand out among us, their glass smooth and beautiful, leaving us with the nagging realization that such perfection does exist.  We place those unbroken ones on the pedestals of Life and tend to measure our worth by how closely we can conform our outer nature to theirs.\r\n\r\nWe forget that one-day every glass bottle will be broken, leaving only be the “love notes” left inside to remain.\r\n\r\nWhat does God see when He looks at us?  Is He impressed with those of us who can make it out of this world without being broken?  Or, at least with some semblance of our original form left intact?\r\n\r\nPsalm 51:17 reads,“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Could it be that our whole purpose in being here on earth is not to maintain our form, but to lose it, and in so doing, allow the Love note of who Christ is to be read by everyone we meet?  Sometimes I wonder if we even know why we came to Christ in the first place.  We followed some people in because we saw that their glass was not broken, and thought that, if we can only go where they go, and do what they do, maybe we can preserve our glass too.\r\n\r\nWhy is it then that so often, while I am in church, I feel like I must act like a beautiful, blue green glass bottle with no chips, or cracks, to be accepted?  How can I so easily confuse man’s acceptance of me with God’s?\r\nHow come I so easily forget that it is not the bottle that Christ wants, it’s the glass.\r\n\r\nIt is not my perception of who I am that He wants, it is the truth of who I am that He came for.  When approached by the religious elite in Matthew 9:12-13 and confronted with questions about why he spent time with sinners, Christ replied, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go learn what it means, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”\r\n\r\nWhen I was first beginning to know Christ, I had a picture in my mind of what I thought He would do with my life.  Ironically, I pictured myself like a vase that had been broken into many pieces and scattered all over in so many directions that I could not even begin to know where all of the pieces were anymore.\r\n\r\nAs I began to experience Him and to allow Him to heal me, it felt like He was walking with me to each piece, acknowledging the pain behind each experience that led to my brokenness, and then putting me back together again.  In a sense, I had an expectation of where my destination with Him was headed.  One day, I would walk with Him to that last piece, and He and I would celebrate as He finally put the finishing touches on the masterpiece of who He created me to be.  Then I would be whole and I could go in to church and stand right there next to the most beautiful glass vase and not feel ashamed.  Then I could pour life into my husband and children without leaking all over the place and I could know that my kids were safe now from all of my old pieces of broken glass that use to cut me so deeply.\r\n\r\nIn a sense, I felt as if God would re-make me into my image of who I thought He wanted me to be.  Now, as I seek to truly acknowledge Christ and who He came to be in my Life, I am beginning to see that my perceptions have no place in Him.  Like the dove that was sent out of Noah’s ark and could find no place to land, so it returned back to the ark, so do my perceptions of who God is and who I am in Him return back to me.  There is no place for them to land in the reality of Him.  No flesh may glory in His presence.  He will not dwell in temples made with human hands.\r\n\r\nNo pieces of who I am can remain, and in trying to hold on…I abort God through aborting the exchange of His Life for mine.\r\n\r\nTwo of the more underestimated definitions of abortion are: the arrest of development of an organ, and a failure to develop to completion or maturity.\r\n\r\nWhat if in trying to maintain some semblance to our old form or our own perceptions of who we are and how our lives should be, we are actually aborting God?  What if we are actually valuing what we create over the very One who is meant to create us?\r\n\r\nCould we be guilty of handing God a paint by number canvas for our lives instead of handing Him a blank canvas?\r\n\r\nTo render Him less God in one aspect of Life renders Him not God at all.  I don’t know why it has taken me so long to see this.  Can you imagine the implications of what this means?\r\n\r\n“God, you can have my childhood scars, my failed marriage, and my parenting frustrations, but not my education, my career or my dreams and aspirations…and especially not my television programs!”\r\n\r\nThe Greek word for truth is ALETHES and it means; unconcealed, manifest, conforming to reality.  The negative of this word is: to forget, to escape notice.  The picture in my mind that I get when I think about what it means to truly allow God to be manifest in our lives closely resembles what it must have looked like for Lazarus to come out of the grave.  We leave a place of death and darkness with our whole body and we walk into a place of Light and Life.  It involves a literal moving out of the tomb with no intentions of returning.  It involves coming out of everything about you and walking towards Christ (even while still being wrapped up in the grave-clothes).\r\n\r\nWe fool ourselves when we believe that we can come to Christ and yet, at the same time reject what He offers us in allowing us to become a “whole NEW creation.” Remember that one rendering of the definition for truth is “unconcealed.”  We can’t walk out of the grave while still concealing parts of who we are.  God is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).  To believe this is even possible is to believe a lie.\r\n\r\nJust as a woman cannot separate the private choices she makes regarding the value of life itself when she chooses to abort the life within her, from the way we all view life.  So we, as a church, cannot separate our own views of Who God is when we choose to abort the Life He offers us, from the way we all view Who He is.  What we do in the dark affects what the whole world does in the light.   When you choose to abort God in your life, we all feel it.\r\n\r\nMy prayer is that these words may hit you like the words that I heard so long ago when I realized the implications of the opportunity I had missed out on in seeking what I had thought was valuable over what actually was valuable.   One day we will all fall broken at the feet of Christ, and how I hope with all my heart that on that day, the love note that Christ has written inside of you and me has been read by many.','Aborting God','','publish','open','open','','aborting-god','','','2012-05-30 18:19:45','2012-05-31 01:19:45','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=6824',0,'post','',4),(6825,184,'2012-05-29 12:24:12','2012-05-29 19:24:12','','b19glass019','','inherit','open','open','','b19glass019','','','2012-05-29 12:24:12','2012-05-29 19:24:12','',6824,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/b19glass019.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6848,179,'2012-05-30 18:09:31','2012-05-31 01:09:31','I was not born contemplative.\r\n\r\nI was taught from an early age to believe that it is more valuable to know things than it is to learn things. Learning, after all, is a step on the path toward knowing; knowing is the result of learning. Whether at home, in school, or at church, it is far better to know the right answer than to be in the process of learning. Learning means that you have not yet arrived at knowing.\r\n\r\nKnowing is also much more fun than learning. Learning requires patience, practice, and being open to new insights. Learning means that you try new things and make mistakes, which just reinforces that you do not know the right answer.\r\n\r\nYou do not do well in school by learning, you do well by knowing the right answers.\r\n\r\nThe great thing about knowing the answer is that you have successfully completed learning. You do not need to be open to new insights if you already know the answers.\r\n\r\nFor a long time, my understanding of my faith was based in the same approach. I had the right answers, and my mental energies went into sharing and defending those answers rather than being open to gaining new understanding. I was committed to the accuracy of my perspective and, at the same time, beginning to feel stuck because the need to be right is so demanding.\r\n\r\nThe spiritual practices I followed were essentially my homework for church. They were the things I needed to do so I could give the right answers and get a good grade.\r\n\r\nThe first time someone suggested that I read Benedict’s Rule, I was not very interested. I was both intrigued by and anxious about contemplative spirituality, and quite confident that I already had more than enough rules in my life.\r\n\r\nSlowly and surely, the monastic tradition drew me.\r\n\r\nI realized that my answers were not always right.\r\n\r\nI found a church that values solitude and silence. I gained an appreciation for the ways that liturgy provides a supportive framework for inner work and reflection. I began learning practices and disciplines that helped me recognize that God was always with me, loving me and drawing me closer. I began talking with a spiritual director.\r\n\r\nI came to appreciate asking good questions more than having the right answers.\r\n\r\nA friend suggested that I might be interested in Benedictine spirituality. After much reading and several retreats at different monasteries, I was received as a lay oblate at a Benedictine monastery and hermitage in Big Sur, California.\r\n\r\nAn oblate is a person who commits to following a rule of life and is in relationship to a particular monastery and monastic order. The rule I follow includes a variety of spiritual practices such as regular prayer, Bible study, and silence and solitude. At least once each year I spend some time at the monastery.\r\n\r\nMy faith continues to deepen and mature. I continue to be drawn more deeply into contemplative life, and reflect on ways to be a contemplative in today’s world. Contemplation gives me opportunities to find peace and to recognize the presence of the divine each day. Life is not about sitting and reflecting, but about connecting to the peace and gratefulness that can spread through the people around me.\r\n\r\nThere are many possible distractions. I wondered, for example, whether social media would keep me from being contemplative. I continue to learn about the history of monasticism, and to overcome my own preconceived notions of what monastic people are like. I am exploring the balance that encompasses both contemplation and activism.\r\n\r\nContemplation has turned my understanding of my own faith upside down. My connection to the holy is no longer about getting a good grade, no longer about being right. My spirituality has nothing to do with getting the teacher to like me or earning divine good favor.\r\n\r\nEach day is different, yet each is framed in practices which, step by step, redeem my perspective.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Contemplative in the City','','inherit','open','open','','6801-revision-9','','','2012-05-30 18:09:31','2012-05-31 01:09:31','',6801,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/30/6801-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(6826,184,'2012-05-29 12:28:00','2012-05-29 19:28:00','We were poor when I was a kid, and I don’t mean the kind of poor where you don’t get all that you want for Christmas, but the kind that our pastor would refer to as “po”…we couldn’t even afford the “or.”\n\nBack then, soda came in bottles and, you were able to turn in the glass bottles at the grocery store for a refund.  My brothers and I would take our little, red wagon and comb the streets looking for old bottles that we would turn in to the Weingarten’s.  If we were lucky, we had enough to purchase a little candy or treat and maybe even something extra for our mom.\n\nI remember the first time we made the long trek to turn in our green, amber, and clear glass treasures.  I had searched so hard all day to make sure that I found only those bottles that were not broken.  After hours of carefully pouring through trash cans looking for the treasure of a bottle that had not met it’s demise, emptying out the sticky, stale liquid, and carefully pulling the wagon as not to allow one of the bottles to break, I was heartbroken when the man at the recycle booth carelessly tossed each bottle in to the basket in such a way that I could hear the clanking of the breaking glass, almost mocking me and all of the care and concern I had taken to protect them.\n\n“Why are you breaking them?” I cried out, “ I thought you were buying them so that you could use them again.”  “We use the glass little lady, not the bottles,” came a gruff reply.\n\nI remember the disappointment I felt as I realized the implications of what my misunderstanding had meant.   I had spent all day sifting through broken glass that was just as valuable to my cause as the unbroken bottles had been.  I had missed my opportunity to truly cash in.\n\nThe memory of that experience resurfaced when I recently came across a bottle that my daughter bought at a thrift store a while back.  She had bought this fancy bottle made of blue-green glass with a cork stopper at the top.  She said that she wanted it so that we could leave love notes to each other in it; messages in a bottle.\n\nAs I look at the blue-green glass bottle now and contemplate how to begin writing this article about aborting God, I must admit…I am tempted to change the name to <em>Blue Like Glass, </em>which sounds a little more interesting than the topic I am writing about.  It also bears a close resemblance to the title of one of my favorite books, <em>a</em> book that sold <em>a lot</em> of copies.\n\nAs I look at the bottle now, it’s smooth, blue-green, rounded curves, escalating into smaller circle patterns until they reach the top where the cork meets the glass.  Anyone would be happy to receive a message in this bottle.  The presentation of the bottle itself speaking volumes about the treasure of the message that waits inside.\n\nSometimes I wonder if people are like these bottles, all with messages inside.  Clear, blue-green glass; fragile enough to easily break, yet transparent enough to see that there is something to great value inside.\n\nThe beautiful, unbroken ones stand out among us, their glass smooth and beautiful, leaving us with the nagging realization that such perfection does exist.  We place those unbroken ones on the pedestals of Life and tend to measure our worth by how closely we can conform our outer nature to theirs.\n\nWe forget that one-day every glass bottle will be broken, leaving only be the “love notes” left inside to remain.\n\nWhat does God see when He looks at us?  Is He impressed with those of us who can make it out of this world without being broken?  Or, at least with some semblance of our original form left intact?\n\nPsalm 51:17 reads, <em>“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” </em>  Could it be that our whole purpose in being here on earth is not to maintain our form, but to lose it, and in so doing, allow the Love note of who Christ is to be read by everyone we meet?  Sometimes I wonder if we even know why we came to Christ in the first place.  We followed some people in because we saw that their glass was not broken, and thought that, if we can only go where they go, and do what they do, maybe we can preserve our glass too.\n\nWhy is it then that I so often, while I am in church, I feel like I must act like a beautiful, blue green glass bottle with no chips, or cracks to be accepted?  How can I so easily confuse man’s acceptance of me with God’s?\n\nHow come I so easily forget that, it is not the bottle that Christ wants, it’s the glass.\n\nIt is not my perception of who I am that He wants, it is the truth of who I am that He came for.  When approached by the religious elite in Matthew 9:12-13 and confronted with questions about why he spent time with sinners Christ’s replied,  “<em>Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go learn what it means, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”  </em>\n\nWhen I was first beginning to know Christ, I had a picture in my mind of what I thought He would do with my life.  Ironically, I pictured myself like a vase that had been broken into many pieces and scattered all over in so many directions that I could not even begin to know where all of the pieces were anymore.\n\nAs I began to experience Him and to allow Him to heal me, it felt like He was walking with me to each piece, acknowledging the pain behind each experience that led to my brokenness, and then putting me back together again.  In a sense, I had an expectation of where my destination with Him was headed.  One day, I would walk with Him to that last piece, and He and I would celebrate as He finally put the finishing touches on the masterpiece of who He created me to be.  Then I would be whole and I could go in to church and stand right there next to the most beautiful glass vase and not feel ashamed.  Then I could pour life into my husband and children without leaking all over the place and I could know that my kids were safe now from all of my old pieces of broken glass that use to cut me so deeply.\n\nIn a sense, I felt as if God would re-make me into my image of who I thought He wanted me to be.  Now, as I seek to truly acknowledge Christ and who He came to be in my Life, I am beginning to see that <em>my </em>perceptions have no place in Him.  Like the dove that was sent out of Noah’s ark and could find no place to land, so it returned back to the ark, so do my perceptions of who God is and who I am in Him return back to me.  There is no place for them to land in the reality of Him.  No flesh may glory in His presence.  He will not dwell in temples made with human hands.\n\nNo pieces of who I am can remain, and in trying to hold on…I abort God through aborting the exchange of His Life for mine.\n\nTwo of the more underestimated definitions of abortion are, the arrest of development of an organ, and a failure to develop to completion or maturity.\n\nWhat if in trying to maintain some semblance to our old form or our own perceptions of who we are and how our lives should be, we are actually aborting God?  What if we are actually valuing what we create over the very One who is meant to create us?\n\nCould we be guilty of handing God a paint by number canvas for our lives instead of handing Him a blank canvas?\n\nTo render Him less God in one aspect of Life renders Him not God at all.  I don’t know why it has taken me so long to see this.  Can you imagine the implications of what this means?  “God, you can have my childhood scars, my failed marriage, and my parenting frustrations, but not my education, my career or my dreams and aspirations…and especially not my television programs!”\n\nThe Greek word for truth is ALETHES and it means; unconcealed, manifest, conforming to reality.  The negative of this word is: to forget, to escape notice.  The picture in my mind that I get when I think about what it means to truly allow God to be <em>manifest </em>in our lives closely resembles what it must have looked like for Lazarus to come out of the grave.  We leave a place of death and darkness with our whole body and we walk into a place of Light and Life.  It involves a literal moving out of the tomb with no intentions of returning.  It involves coming out of everything about you and walking towards Christ (even while still being wrapped up in the grave-clothes).\n\nWe fool ourselves when we believe that we can come to Christ and yet, at the same time reject what He offers us in allowing us to become a “<em>whole NEW creation.”  </em>Remember that one rendering of the definition for truth is “unconcealed.”  We can’t walk out of the grave while still concealing parts of who we are.  God is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).  To believe this is even possible is to believe a lie.\n\nJust as a woman cannot separate the private choices she makes regarding the value of life itself when she chooses to abort the life within her, from the way we all view life.  So we, as a church, cannot separate our own views of Who God is when we choose to abort the Life He offers us, from the way we all view Who He is.  What we do in the dark affects what the whole world does in the light.   When you choose to abort God in your life, we all feel it.\n\nMy prayer is that these words may hit you like the words that I heard so long ago when I realized the implications of the opportunity I had missed out on in seeking what I had <em>thought</em> was valuable over what actually was valuable.   One day we will all fall broken at the feet of Christ, and how I hope with all my heart that on that day, the love note that Christ has written inside of you and me has been read by many. <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/b19glass019.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6825\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/b19glass019-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Green Glass Bottle\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>','Aborting God','','inherit','open','open','','6824-revision','','','2012-05-29 12:28:00','2012-05-29 19:28:00','',6824,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/29/6824-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6828,184,'2012-05-29 12:44:17','2012-05-29 19:44:17','We were poor when I was a kid, and I don’t mean the kind of poor where you don’t get all that you want for Christmas, but the kind that our pastor would refer to as “po”…we couldn’t even afford the “or.” \r\nBack then, soda came in bottles and, you were able to turn in the glass bottles at the grocery store for a refund.  My brothers and I would take our little, red wagon and comb the streets looking for old bottles that we would turn in to the Weingarten’s.  If we were lucky, we had enough to purchase a little candy or treat and maybe even something extra for our mom.\r\nI remember the first time we made the long trek to turn in our green, amber, and clear glass treasures.  I had searched so hard all day to make sure that I found only those bottles that were not broken.  After hours of carefully pouring through trash cans looking for the treasure of a bottle that had not met it’s demise, emptying out the sticky, stale liquid, and carefully pulling the wagon as not to allow one of the bottles to break, I was heartbroken when the man at the recycle booth carelessly tossed each bottle in to the basket in such a way that I could hear the clanking of the breaking glass, almost mocking me and all of the care and concern I had taken to protect them.\r\n“Why are you breaking them?” I cried out, “ I thought you were buying them so that you could use them again.”  “We use the glass little lady, not the bottles,” came a gruff reply.\r\nI remember the disappointment I felt as I realized the implications of what my misunderstanding had meant.   I had spent all day sifting through broken glass that was just as valuable to my cause as the unbroken bottles had been.  I had missed my opportunity to truly cash in.\r\nThe memory of that experience resurfaced when I recently came across a bottle that my daughter bought at a thrift store a while back.  She had bought this fancy bottle made of blue-green glass with a cork stopper at the top.  She said that she wanted it so that we could leave love notes to each other in it; messages in a bottle.\r\nAs I look at the blue-green glass bottle now and contemplate how to begin writing this article about aborting God, I must admit…I am tempted to change the name to Blue Like Glass,which sounds a little more interesting than the topic I am writing about.  It also bears a close resemblance to the title of one of my favorite books,a book that sold a lot of copies.\r\nAs I look at the bottle now, it’s smooth, blue-green, rounded curves, escalating into smaller circle patterns until they reach the top where the cork meets the glass.  Anyone would be happy to receive a message in this bottle.  The presentation of the bottle itself speaking volumes about the treasure of the message that waits inside.\r\nSometimes I wonder if people are like these bottles, all with messages inside.  Clear, blue-green glass; fragile enough to easily break, yet transparent enough to see that there is something to great value inside.\r\nThe beautiful, unbroken ones stand out among us, their glass smooth and beautiful, leaving us with the nagging realization that such perfection does exist.  We place those unbroken ones on the pedestals of Life and tend to measure our worth by how closely we can conform our outer nature to theirs.\r\nWe forget that one-day every glass bottle will be broken, leaving only be the “love notes” left inside to remain.\r\nWhat does God see when He looks at us?  Is He impressed with those of us who can make it out of this world without being broken?  Or, at least with some semblance of our original form left intact?\r\nPsalm 51:17 reads,“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Could it be that our whole purpose in being here on earth is not to maintain our form, but to lose it, and in so doing, allow the Love note of who Christ is to be read by everyone we meet?  Sometimes I wonder if we even know why we came to Christ in the first place.  We followed some people in because we saw that their glass was not broken, and thought that, if we can only go where they go, and do what they do, maybe we can preserve our glass too.\r\nWhy is it then that I so often, while I am in church, I feel like I must act like a beautiful, blue green glass bottle with no chips, or cracks to be accepted?  How can I so easily confuse man’s acceptance of me with God’s?\r\nHow come I so easily forget that, it is not the bottle that Christ wants, it’s the glass.\r\nIt is not my perception of who I am that He wants, it is the truth of who I am that He came for.  When approached by the religious elite in Matthew 9:12-13 and confronted with questions about why he spent time with sinners Christ’s replied,  “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go learn what it means, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”\r\nWhen I was first beginning to know Christ, I had a picture in my mind of what I thought He would do with my life.  Ironically, I pictured myself like a vase that had been broken into many pieces and scattered all over in so many directions that I could not even begin to know where all of the pieces were anymore.\r\nAs I began to experience Him and to allow Him to heal me, it felt like He was walking with me to each piece, acknowledging the pain behind each experience that led to my brokenness, and then putting me back together again.  In a sense, I had an expectation of where my destination with Him was headed.  One day, I would walk with Him to that last piece, and He and I would celebrate as He finally put the finishing touches on the masterpiece of who He created me to be.  Then I would be whole and I could go in to church and stand right there next to the most beautiful glass vase and not feel ashamed.  Then I could pour life into my husband and children without leaking all over the place and I could know that my kids were safe now from all of my old pieces of broken glass that use to cut me so deeply.\r\nIn a sense, I felt as if God would re-make me into my image of who I thought He wanted me to be.  Now, as I seek to truly acknowledge Christ and who He came to be in my Life, I am beginning to see that my perceptions have no place in Him.  Like the dove that was sent out of Noah’s ark and could find no place to land, so it returned back to the ark, so do my perceptions of who God is and who I am in Him return back to me.  There is no place for them to land in the reality of Him.  No flesh may glory in His presence.  He will not dwell in temples made with human hands.\r\nNo pieces of who I am can remain, and in trying to hold on…I abort God through aborting the exchange of His Life for mine.\r\nTwo of the more underestimated definitions of abortion are, the arrest of development of an organ, and a failure to develop to completion or maturity.\r\nWhat if in trying to maintain some semblance to our old form or our own perceptions of who we are and how our lives should be, we are actually aborting God?  What if we are actually valuing what we create over the very One who is meant to create us?\r\nCould we be guilty of handing God a paint by number canvas for our lives instead of handing Him a blank canvas?\r\nTo render Him less God in one aspect of Life renders Him not God at all.  I don’t know why it has taken me so long to see this.  Can you imagine the implications of what this means?  “God, you can have my childhood scars, my failed marriage, and my parenting frustrations, but not my education, my career or my dreams and aspirations…and especially not my television programs!”\r\nThe Greek word for truth is ALETHES and it means; unconcealed, manifest, conforming to reality.  The negative of this word is: to forget, to escape notice.  The picture in my mind that I get when I think about what it means to truly allow God to be manifest in our lives closely resembles what it must have looked like for Lazarus to come out of the grave.  We leave a place of death and darkness with our whole body and we walk into a place of Light and Life.  It involves a literal moving out of the tomb with no intentions of returning.  It involves coming out of everything about you and walking towards Christ (even while still being wrapped up in the grave-clothes).\r\nWe fool ourselves when we believe that we can come to Christ and yet, at the same time reject what He offers us in allowing us to become a “whole NEW creation.” Remember that one rendering of the definition for truth is “unconcealed.”  We can’t walk out of the grave while still concealing parts of who we are.  God is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).  To believe this is even possible is to believe a lie.\r\nJust as a woman cannot separate the private choices she makes regarding the value of life itself when she chooses to abort the life within her, from the way we all view life.  So we, as a church, cannot separate our own views of Who God is when we choose to abort the Life He offers us, from the way we all view Who He is.  What we do in the dark affects what the whole world does in the light.   When you choose to abort God in your life, we all feel it.\r\nMy prayer is that these words may hit you like the words that I heard so long ago when I realized the implications of the opportunity I had missed out on in seeking what I had thought was valuable over what actually was valuable.   One day we will all fall broken at the feet of Christ, and how I hope with all my heart that on that day, the love note that Christ has written inside of you and me has been read by many. <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/b19glass019.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6825\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/b19glass019-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Green Glass Bottle\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>','Aborting God','','inherit','open','open','','6824-revision-3','','','2012-05-29 12:44:17','2012-05-29 19:44:17','',6824,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/29/6824-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6827,184,'2012-05-29 12:30:11','2012-05-29 19:30:11','We were poor when I was a kid, and I don’t mean the kind of poor where you don’t get all that you want for Christmas, but the kind that our pastor would refer to as “po”…we couldn’t even afford the “or.”\r\n\r\nBack then, soda came in bottles and, you were able to turn in the glass bottles at the grocery store for a refund.  My brothers and I would take our little, red wagon and comb the streets looking for old bottles that we would turn in to the Weingarten’s.  If we were lucky, we had enough to purchase a little candy or treat and maybe even something extra for our mom.\r\n\r\nI remember the first time we made the long trek to turn in our green, amber, and clear glass treasures.  I had searched so hard all day to make sure that I found only those bottles that were not broken.  After hours of carefully pouring through trash cans looking for the treasure of a bottle that had not met it’s demise, emptying out the sticky, stale liquid, and carefully pulling the wagon as not to allow one of the bottles to break, I was heartbroken when the man at the recycle booth carelessly tossed each bottle in to the basket in such a way that I could hear the clanking of the breaking glass, almost mocking me and all of the care and concern I had taken to protect them.\r\n\r\n“Why are you breaking them?” I cried out, “ I thought you were buying them so that you could use them again.”  “We use the glass little lady, not the bottles,” came a gruff reply.\r\n\r\nI remember the disappointment I felt as I realized the implications of what my misunderstanding had meant.   I had spent all day sifting through broken glass that was just as valuable to my cause as the unbroken bottles had been.  I had missed my opportunity to truly cash in.\r\n\r\nThe memory of that experience resurfaced when I recently came across a bottle that my daughter bought at a thrift store a while back.  She had bought this fancy bottle made of blue-green glass with a cork stopper at the top.  She said that she wanted it so that we could leave love notes to each other in it; messages in a bottle.\r\n\r\nAs I look at the blue-green glass bottle now and contemplate how to begin writing this article about aborting God, I must admit…I am tempted to change the name to <em>Blue Like Glass, </em>which sounds a little more interesting than the topic I am writing about.  It also bears a close resemblance to the title of one of my favorite books, <em>a</em> book that sold <em>a lot</em> of copies.\r\n\r\nAs I look at the bottle now, it’s smooth, blue-green, rounded curves, escalating into smaller circle patterns until they reach the top where the cork meets the glass.  Anyone would be happy to receive a message in this bottle.  The presentation of the bottle itself speaking volumes about the treasure of the message that waits inside.\r\n\r\nSometimes I wonder if people are like these bottles, all with messages inside.  Clear, blue-green glass; fragile enough to easily break, yet transparent enough to see that there is something to great value inside.\r\n\r\nThe beautiful, unbroken ones stand out among us, their glass smooth and beautiful, leaving us with the nagging realization that such perfection does exist.  We place those unbroken ones on the pedestals of Life and tend to measure our worth by how closely we can conform our outer nature to theirs.\r\n\r\nWe forget that one-day every glass bottle will be broken, leaving only be the “love notes” left inside to remain.\r\n\r\nWhat does God see when He looks at us?  Is He impressed with those of us who can make it out of this world without being broken?  Or, at least with some semblance of our original form left intact?\r\n\r\nPsalm 51:17 reads, <em>“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” </em>  Could it be that our whole purpose in being here on earth is not to maintain our form, but to lose it, and in so doing, allow the Love note of who Christ is to be read by everyone we meet?  Sometimes I wonder if we even know why we came to Christ in the first place.  We followed some people in because we saw that their glass was not broken, and thought that, if we can only go where they go, and do what they do, maybe we can preserve our glass too.\r\n\r\nWhy is it then that I so often, while I am in church, I feel like I must act like a beautiful, blue green glass bottle with no chips, or cracks to be accepted?  How can I so easily confuse man’s acceptance of me with God’s?\r\n\r\nHow come I so easily forget that, it is not the bottle that Christ wants, it’s the glass.\r\n\r\nIt is not my perception of who I am that He wants, it is the truth of who I am that He came for.  When approached by the religious elite in Matthew 9:12-13 and confronted with questions about why he spent time with sinners Christ’s replied,  “<em>Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go learn what it means, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”  </em>\r\n\r\nWhen I was first beginning to know Christ, I had a picture in my mind of what I thought He would do with my life.  Ironically, I pictured myself like a vase that had been broken into many pieces and scattered all over in so many directions that I could not even begin to know where all of the pieces were anymore.\r\n\r\nAs I began to experience Him and to allow Him to heal me, it felt like He was walking with me to each piece, acknowledging the pain behind each experience that led to my brokenness, and then putting me back together again.  In a sense, I had an expectation of where my destination with Him was headed.  One day, I would walk with Him to that last piece, and He and I would celebrate as He finally put the finishing touches on the masterpiece of who He created me to be.  Then I would be whole and I could go in to church and stand right there next to the most beautiful glass vase and not feel ashamed.  Then I could pour life into my husband and children without leaking all over the place and I could know that my kids were safe now from all of my old pieces of broken glass that use to cut me so deeply.\r\n\r\nIn a sense, I felt as if God would re-make me into my image of who I thought He wanted me to be.  Now, as I seek to truly acknowledge Christ and who He came to be in my Life, I am beginning to see that <em>my </em>perceptions have no place in Him.  Like the dove that was sent out of Noah’s ark and could find no place to land, so it returned back to the ark, so do my perceptions of who God is and who I am in Him return back to me.  There is no place for them to land in the reality of Him.  No flesh may glory in His presence.  He will not dwell in temples made with human hands.\r\n\r\nNo pieces of who I am can remain, and in trying to hold on…I abort God through aborting the exchange of His Life for mine.\r\n\r\nTwo of the more underestimated definitions of abortion are, the arrest of development of an organ, and a failure to develop to completion or maturity.\r\n\r\nWhat if in trying to maintain some semblance to our old form or our own perceptions of who we are and how our lives should be, we are actually aborting God?  What if we are actually valuing what we create over the very One who is meant to create us?\r\n\r\nCould we be guilty of handing God a paint by number canvas for our lives instead of handing Him a blank canvas?\r\n\r\nTo render Him less God in one aspect of Life renders Him not God at all.  I don’t know why it has taken me so long to see this.  Can you imagine the implications of what this means?  “God, you can have my childhood scars, my failed marriage, and my parenting frustrations, but not my education, my career or my dreams and aspirations…and especially not my television programs!”\r\n\r\nThe Greek word for truth is ALETHES and it means; unconcealed, manifest, conforming to reality.  The negative of this word is: to forget, to escape notice.  The picture in my mind that I get when I think about what it means to truly allow God to be <em>manifest </em>in our lives closely resembles what it must have looked like for Lazarus to come out of the grave.  We leave a place of death and darkness with our whole body and we walk into a place of Light and Life.  It involves a literal moving out of the tomb with no intentions of returning.  It involves coming out of everything about you and walking towards Christ (even while still being wrapped up in the grave-clothes).\r\n\r\nWe fool ourselves when we believe that we can come to Christ and yet, at the same time reject what He offers us in allowing us to become a “<em>whole NEW creation.”  </em>Remember that one rendering of the definition for truth is “unconcealed.”  We can’t walk out of the grave while still concealing parts of who we are.  God is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).  To believe this is even possible is to believe a lie.\r\n\r\nJust as a woman cannot separate the private choices she makes regarding the value of life itself when she chooses to abort the life within her, from the way we all view life.  So we, as a church, cannot separate our own views of Who God is when we choose to abort the Life He offers us, from the way we all view Who He is.  What we do in the dark affects what the whole world does in the light.   When you choose to abort God in your life, we all feel it.\r\n\r\nMy prayer is that these words may hit you like the words that I heard so long ago when I realized the implications of the opportunity I had missed out on in seeking what I had <em>thought</em> was valuable over what actually was valuable.   One day we will all fall broken at the feet of Christ, and how I hope with all my heart that on that day, the love note that Christ has written inside of you and me has been read by many. <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/b19glass019.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6825\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/b19glass019-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Green Glass Bottle\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>','Aborting God','','inherit','open','open','','6824-revision-2','','','2012-05-29 12:30:11','2012-05-29 19:30:11','',6824,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/29/6824-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6829,184,'2012-05-29 12:44:32','2012-05-29 19:44:32','We were poor when I was a kid, and I don’t mean the kind of poor where you don’t get all that you want for Christmas, but the kind that our pastor would refer to as “po”…we couldn’t even afford the “or.”\r\nBack then, soda came in bottles and, you were able to turn in the glass bottles at the grocery store for a refund.  My brothers and I would take our little, red wagon and comb the streets looking for old bottles that we would turn in to the Weingarten’s.  If we were lucky, we had enough to purchase a little candy or treat and maybe even something extra for our mom.\r\nI remember the first time we made the long trek to turn in our green, amber, and clear glass treasures.  I had searched so hard all day to make sure that I found only those bottles that were not broken.  After hours of carefully pouring through trash cans looking for the treasure of a bottle that had not met it’s demise, emptying out the sticky, stale liquid, and carefully pulling the wagon as not to allow one of the bottles to break, I was heartbroken when the man at the recycle booth carelessly tossed each bottle in to the basket in such a way that I could hear the clanking of the breaking glass, almost mocking me and all of the care and concern I had taken to protect them.\r\n“Why are you breaking them?” I cried out, “ I thought you were buying them so that you could use them again.”  “We use the glass little lady, not the bottles,” came a gruff reply.\r\nI remember the disappointment I felt as I realized the implications of what my misunderstanding had meant.   I had spent all day sifting through broken glass that was just as valuable to my cause as the unbroken bottles had been.  I had missed my opportunity to truly cash in.\r\nThe memory of that experience resurfaced when I recently came across a bottle that my daughter bought at a thrift store a while back.  She had bought this fancy bottle made of blue-green glass with a cork stopper at the top.  She said that she wanted it so that we could leave love notes to each other in it; messages in a bottle.\r\nAs I look at the blue-green glass bottle now and contemplate how to begin writing this article about aborting God, I must admit…I am tempted to change the name to Blue Like Glass,which sounds a little more interesting than the topic I am writing about.  It also bears a close resemblance to the title of one of my favorite books,a book that sold a lot of copies.\r\nAs I look at the bottle now, it’s smooth, blue-green, rounded curves, escalating into smaller circle patterns until they reach the top where the cork meets the glass.  Anyone would be happy to receive a message in this bottle.  The presentation of the bottle itself speaking volumes about the treasure of the message that waits inside.\r\nSometimes I wonder if people are like these bottles, all with messages inside.  Clear, blue-green glass; fragile enough to easily break, yet transparent enough to see that there is something to great value inside.\r\nThe beautiful, unbroken ones stand out among us, their glass smooth and beautiful, leaving us with the nagging realization that such perfection does exist.  We place those unbroken ones on the pedestals of Life and tend to measure our worth by how closely we can conform our outer nature to theirs.\r\nWe forget that one-day every glass bottle will be broken, leaving only be the “love notes” left inside to remain.\r\nWhat does God see when He looks at us?  Is He impressed with those of us who can make it out of this world without being broken?  Or, at least with some semblance of our original form left intact?\r\nPsalm 51:17 reads,“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Could it be that our whole purpose in being here on earth is not to maintain our form, but to lose it, and in so doing, allow the Love note of who Christ is to be read by everyone we meet?  Sometimes I wonder if we even know why we came to Christ in the first place.  We followed some people in because we saw that their glass was not broken, and thought that, if we can only go where they go, and do what they do, maybe we can preserve our glass too.\r\nWhy is it then that I so often, while I am in church, I feel like I must act like a beautiful, blue green glass bottle with no chips, or cracks to be accepted?  How can I so easily confuse man’s acceptance of me with God’s?\r\nHow come I so easily forget that, it is not the bottle that Christ wants, it’s the glass.\r\nIt is not my perception of who I am that He wants, it is the truth of who I am that He came for.  When approached by the religious elite in Matthew 9:12-13 and confronted with questions about why he spent time with sinners Christ’s replied,  “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go learn what it means, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”\r\nWhen I was first beginning to know Christ, I had a picture in my mind of what I thought He would do with my life.  Ironically, I pictured myself like a vase that had been broken into many pieces and scattered all over in so many directions that I could not even begin to know where all of the pieces were anymore.\r\nAs I began to experience Him and to allow Him to heal me, it felt like He was walking with me to each piece, acknowledging the pain behind each experience that led to my brokenness, and then putting me back together again.  In a sense, I had an expectation of where my destination with Him was headed.  One day, I would walk with Him to that last piece, and He and I would celebrate as He finally put the finishing touches on the masterpiece of who He created me to be.  Then I would be whole and I could go in to church and stand right there next to the most beautiful glass vase and not feel ashamed.  Then I could pour life into my husband and children without leaking all over the place and I could know that my kids were safe now from all of my old pieces of broken glass that use to cut me so deeply.\r\nIn a sense, I felt as if God would re-make me into my image of who I thought He wanted me to be.  Now, as I seek to truly acknowledge Christ and who He came to be in my Life, I am beginning to see that my perceptions have no place in Him.  Like the dove that was sent out of Noah’s ark and could find no place to land, so it returned back to the ark, so do my perceptions of who God is and who I am in Him return back to me.  There is no place for them to land in the reality of Him.  No flesh may glory in His presence.  He will not dwell in temples made with human hands.\r\nNo pieces of who I am can remain, and in trying to hold on…I abort God through aborting the exchange of His Life for mine.\r\nTwo of the more underestimated definitions of abortion are, the arrest of development of an organ, and a failure to develop to completion or maturity.\r\nWhat if in trying to maintain some semblance to our old form or our own perceptions of who we are and how our lives should be, we are actually aborting God?  What if we are actually valuing what we create over the very One who is meant to create us?\r\nCould we be guilty of handing God a paint by number canvas for our lives instead of handing Him a blank canvas?\r\nTo render Him less God in one aspect of Life renders Him not God at all.  I don’t know why it has taken me so long to see this.  Can you imagine the implications of what this means?  “God, you can have my childhood scars, my failed marriage, and my parenting frustrations, but not my education, my career or my dreams and aspirations…and especially not my television programs!”\r\nThe Greek word for truth is ALETHES and it means; unconcealed, manifest, conforming to reality.  The negative of this word is: to forget, to escape notice.  The picture in my mind that I get when I think about what it means to truly allow God to be manifest in our lives closely resembles what it must have looked like for Lazarus to come out of the grave.  We leave a place of death and darkness with our whole body and we walk into a place of Light and Life.  It involves a literal moving out of the tomb with no intentions of returning.  It involves coming out of everything about you and walking towards Christ (even while still being wrapped up in the grave-clothes).\r\nWe fool ourselves when we believe that we can come to Christ and yet, at the same time reject what He offers us in allowing us to become a “whole NEW creation.” Remember that one rendering of the definition for truth is “unconcealed.”  We can’t walk out of the grave while still concealing parts of who we are.  God is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).  To believe this is even possible is to believe a lie.\r\nJust as a woman cannot separate the private choices she makes regarding the value of life itself when she chooses to abort the life within her, from the way we all view life.  So we, as a church, cannot separate our own views of Who God is when we choose to abort the Life He offers us, from the way we all view Who He is.  What we do in the dark affects what the whole world does in the light.   When you choose to abort God in your life, we all feel it.\r\nMy prayer is that these words may hit you like the words that I heard so long ago when I realized the implications of the opportunity I had missed out on in seeking what I had thought was valuable over what actually was valuable.   One day we will all fall broken at the feet of Christ, and how I hope with all my heart that on that day, the love note that Christ has written inside of you and me has been read by many. <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/b19glass019.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6825\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/b19glass019-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Green Glass Bottle\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>','Aborting God','','inherit','open','open','','6824-revision-4','','','2012-05-29 12:44:32','2012-05-29 19:44:32','',6824,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/29/6824-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6830,184,'2012-05-29 12:44:46','2012-05-29 19:44:46','We were poor when I was a kid, and I don’t mean the kind of poor where you don’t get all that you want for Christmas, but the kind that our pastor would refer to as “po”…we couldn’t even afford the “or.”\r\nBack then, soda came in bottles and, you were able to turn in the glass bottles at the grocery store for a refund.  My brothers and I would take our little, red wagon and comb the streets looking for old bottles that we would turn in to the Weingarten’s.  If we were lucky, we had enough to purchase a little candy or treat and maybe even something extra for our mom.\r\nI remember the first time we made the long trek to turn in our green, amber, and clear glass treasures.  I had searched so hard all day to make sure that I found only those bottles that were not broken.  After hours of carefully pouring through trash cans looking for the treasure of a bottle that had not met it’s demise, emptying out the sticky, stale liquid, and carefully pulling the wagon as not to allow one of the bottles to break, I was heartbroken when the man at the recycle booth carelessly tossed each bottle in to the basket in such a way that I could hear the clanking of the breaking glass, almost mocking me and all of the care and concern I had taken to protect them.\r\n“Why are you breaking them?” I cried out, “ I thought you were buying them so that you could use them again.”  “We use the glass little lady, not the bottles,” came a gruff reply.\r\nI remember the disappointment I felt as I realized the implications of what my misunderstanding had meant.   I had spent all day sifting through broken glass that was just as valuable to my cause as the unbroken bottles had been.  I had missed my opportunity to truly cash in.\r\nThe memory of that experience resurfaced when I recently came across a bottle that my daughter bought at a thrift store a while back.  She had bought this fancy bottle made of blue-green glass with a cork stopper at the top.  She said that she wanted it so that we could leave love notes to each other in it; messages in a bottle.\r\nAs I look at the blue-green glass bottle now and contemplate how to begin writing this article about aborting God, I must admit…I am tempted to change the name to Blue Like Glass,which sounds a little more interesting than the topic I am writing about.  It also bears a close resemblance to the title of one of my favorite books,a book that sold a lot of copies.\r\nAs I look at the bottle now, it’s smooth, blue-green, rounded curves, escalating into smaller circle patterns until they reach the top where the cork meets the glass.  Anyone would be happy to receive a message in this bottle.  The presentation of the bottle itself speaking volumes about the treasure of the message that waits inside.\r\nSometimes I wonder if people are like these bottles, all with messages inside.  Clear, blue-green glass; fragile enough to easily break, yet transparent enough to see that there is something to great value inside.\r\nThe beautiful, unbroken ones stand out among us, their glass smooth and beautiful, leaving us with the nagging realization that such perfection does exist.  We place those unbroken ones on the pedestals of Life and tend to measure our worth by how closely we can conform our outer nature to theirs.\r\nWe forget that one-day every glass bottle will be broken, leaving only be the “love notes” left inside to remain.\r\nWhat does God see when He looks at us?  Is He impressed with those of us who can make it out of this world without being broken?  Or, at least with some semblance of our original form left intact?\r\nPsalm 51:17 reads,“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Could it be that our whole purpose in being here on earth is not to maintain our form, but to lose it, and in so doing, allow the Love note of who Christ is to be read by everyone we meet?  Sometimes I wonder if we even know why we came to Christ in the first place.  We followed some people in because we saw that their glass was not broken, and thought that, if we can only go where they go, and do what they do, maybe we can preserve our glass too.\r\nWhy is it then that I so often, while I am in church, I feel like I must act like a beautiful, blue green glass bottle with no chips, or cracks to be accepted?  How can I so easily confuse man’s acceptance of me with God’s?\r\nHow come I so easily forget that, it is not the bottle that Christ wants, it’s the glass.\r\nIt is not my perception of who I am that He wants, it is the truth of who I am that He came for.  When approached by the religious elite in Matthew 9:12-13 and confronted with questions about why he spent time with sinners Christ’s replied,  “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go learn what it means, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”\r\nWhen I was first beginning to know Christ, I had a picture in my mind of what I thought He would do with my life.  Ironically, I pictured myself like a vase that had been broken into many pieces and scattered all over in so many directions that I could not even begin to know where all of the pieces were anymore.\r\nAs I began to experience Him and to allow Him to heal me, it felt like He was walking with me to each piece, acknowledging the pain behind each experience that led to my brokenness, and then putting me back together again.  In a sense, I had an expectation of where my destination with Him was headed.  One day, I would walk with Him to that last piece, and He and I would celebrate as He finally put the finishing touches on the masterpiece of who He created me to be.  Then I would be whole and I could go in to church and stand right there next to the most beautiful glass vase and not feel ashamed.  Then I could pour life into my husband and children without leaking all over the place and I could know that my kids were safe now from all of my old pieces of broken glass that use to cut me so deeply.\r\nIn a sense, I felt as if God would re-make me into my image of who I thought He wanted me to be.  Now, as I seek to truly acknowledge Christ and who He came to be in my Life, I am beginning to see that my perceptions have no place in Him.  Like the dove that was sent out of Noah’s ark and could find no place to land, so it returned back to the ark, so do my perceptions of who God is and who I am in Him return back to me.  There is no place for them to land in the reality of Him.  No flesh may glory in His presence.  He will not dwell in temples made with human hands.\r\nNo pieces of who I am can remain, and in trying to hold on…I abort God through aborting the exchange of His Life for mine.\r\nTwo of the more underestimated definitions of abortion are, the arrest of development of an organ, and a failure to develop to completion or maturity.\r\nWhat if in trying to maintain some semblance to our old form or our own perceptions of who we are and how our lives should be, we are actually aborting God?  What if we are actually valuing what we create over the very One who is meant to create us?\r\nCould we be guilty of handing God a paint by number canvas for our lives instead of handing Him a blank canvas?\r\nTo render Him less God in one aspect of Life renders Him not God at all.  I don’t know why it has taken me so long to see this.  Can you imagine the implications of what this means?  “God, you can have my childhood scars, my failed marriage, and my parenting frustrations, but not my education, my career or my dreams and aspirations…and especially not my television programs!”\r\nThe Greek word for truth is ALETHES and it means; unconcealed, manifest, conforming to reality.  The negative of this word is: to forget, to escape notice.  The picture in my mind that I get when I think about what it means to truly allow God to be manifest in our lives closely resembles what it must have looked like for Lazarus to come out of the grave.  We leave a place of death and darkness with our whole body and we walk into a place of Light and Life.  It involves a literal moving out of the tomb with no intentions of returning.  It involves coming out of everything about you and walking towards Christ (even while still being wrapped up in the grave-clothes).\r\nWe fool ourselves when we believe that we can come to Christ and yet, at the same time reject what He offers us in allowing us to become a “whole NEW creation.” Remember that one rendering of the definition for truth is “unconcealed.”  We can’t walk out of the grave while still concealing parts of who we are.  God is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).  To believe this is even possible is to believe a lie.\r\nJust as a woman cannot separate the private choices she makes regarding the value of life itself when she chooses to abort the life within her, from the way we all view life.  So we, as a church, cannot separate our own views of Who God is when we choose to abort the Life He offers us, from the way we all view Who He is.  What we do in the dark affects what the whole world does in the light.   When you choose to abort God in your life, we all feel it.\r\nMy prayer is that these words may hit you like the words that I heard so long ago when I realized the implications of the opportunity I had missed out on in seeking what I had thought was valuable over what actually was valuable.   One day we will all fall broken at the feet of Christ, and how I hope with all my heart that on that day, the love note that Christ has written inside of you and me has been read by many. <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/b19glass019.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6825\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/b19glass019-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Green Glass Bottle\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>','Aborting God','','inherit','open','open','','6824-revision-5','','','2012-05-29 12:44:46','2012-05-29 19:44:46','',6824,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/29/6824-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6831,0,'2012-05-29 16:02:54','2012-05-29 23:02:54','Culture/fiction books/music/television/film etc.\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Shane Crash\nAUTHOR EMAIL: shanenomads@yahoo.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://www.shanecrash.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 24.21.164.24\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Shane Crash\n    [Email] =&gt; shanenomads@yahoo.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; http://www.shanecrash.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Culture/fiction books/music/television/film etc.\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; shanecrash\n)\n','Shane Crash - 2012-05-29 16:02:54','','publish','open','open','','f0f8e8232469c7e799cfed2ad5e8ee47','','','2012-05-29 16:02:54','2012-05-29 23:02:54','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=6831',0,'feedback','',0),(6833,127,'2012-05-30 04:38:10','2012-05-30 11:38:10','','Auto Draft','','inherit','open','open','','6832-revision','','','2012-05-30 04:38:10','2012-05-30 11:38:10','',6832,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/30/6832-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6924,179,'2012-06-06 19:36:10','2012-06-07 02:36:10','','faithbook','','inherit','open','open','','faithbook','','','2012-06-06 19:36:10','2012-06-07 02:36:10','',6909,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/faithbook.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6929,38,'2012-06-07 08:37:23','2012-06-07 15:37:23','I first met Dr. Robert, or Bob, as most people call him, through the <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/05/18/faith-interview-series-christian/\" target=\"_blank\">Faith Interview Series</a> I just wrote for Provoketive. He grew up as an Episcopalian, and then left because of “a deep need for me to be more connected with a community that really took my faith seriously.” He spent some time in the Pentecostal movement and after craving a more intellectually challenging environment, eventually settled into the Disciples of Christ denomination.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6112\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Dr. Bob Cornwall\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Bob-headshot-92010.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6112\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Bob-headshot-92010-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nHe is the pastor of Central Woodward Christian Church in Troy, Michigan, and is a founder and active member of the Troy Interfaith Group. His fervent passion for interfaith efforts brings him to a unique place where his faith is no longer behind closed doors. He is out in the open interacting with people of other faiths and finding new meaning in working with his neighbors and community.\r\n\r\nHe is no longer just practicing his faith in the safety of his church, but is living with his faith and community as a whole. Because of this, he is meeting people in smaller religious groups and communities that he would have traditionally not come into contact with. Also, the Troy Interfaith Group is a bit of a public forum, so this leaves Bob in an interesting intersection between religion and the public sphere.\r\n\r\nOne thing Bob said to me about his interfaith group is that some people think it’s all about the “inter” and not about the “faith”. “We don’t sit around and talk about how everyone is more or less right. This is not mushy faith.”\r\n\r\nBut the big question that lingers in a lot of people’s minds is if it’s not mushy, how exactly do you do that? How do you meet and spend time with people who have such drastically different beliefs and practices than you?\r\n\r\nWhen you crack it open, this conundrum opens up into a much larger question for society at large: with a world that is growing in population, diversity, and closeness, how do you remain faithful to your convictions and beliefs, while doing the best thing for everyone?\r\n\r\nAs Bob puts it in the opening of the book, “How shall we live together, peacefully and productively, as one people in the midst of all this diversity?”\r\n\r\nThis is exactly the question that Bob addresses in his new book, <em>Faith in the Public Square: Living Faithfully in 21<sup>st</sup> Century America</em>.  This is an important subject whose answer is being begged for more urgently every day by this 21<sup>st</sup> century country.\r\n\r\nIf I were to retitle the book, I would call it “How to Cohabitate on this Planet with Other Humans and Not Be a Jerk”. There are a lot of things I loved about this book but my favorite things are:\r\n\r\n<strong>Bob is very knowledgeable about the subjects he talks about.</strong> I hate it when books seem off-the-cuff and like the author didn’t do any research outside of their own cranium. Bob includes a lot of historical and political context to conversations that often get cut down to “us vs. them”. He expands and re-frames the conversation to give you far more insight than the three minute bits the talking heads tend to give us.\r\n\r\n<strong>The tone of this book is like sitting at a barbeque with your awesome, really smart friends.</strong> It’s a relaxed atmosphere, and yet well-informed. Books can sometimes be intrusive and try to strong-arm you into accepting whatever it’s proposing, but that was not the case with <em>Faith in the Public Square</em>. Bob has a very open, personable tone that opens your heart. And yet, he is not afraid of putting his thoughts—some of which are unconventional—on the table, which leads into my next point.\r\n\r\n<strong>Bob talks about an incredibly wide variety of issues that we deal with every day as American citizens.</strong> This is not simply a “let’s be nice to each other, shall we?” or “Let’s just read our Bibles and pray and everything will be fine” book. <em>Faith in the Public Square</em> covers all aspects of life where civil concerns and religion intersect, such as the following:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>We should appreciate (at least in part) paying taxes</li>\r\n	<li>Why your employer asking  you to say “Happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” is not a conspiracy against Christians</li>\r\n	<li>The true meaning of “pro-life” and how the abortion conversation limits itself</li>\r\n	<li>How to approach voting, politicians, and your political values</li>\r\n	<li>The mistakes in the mainstream perception of Islam</li>\r\n	<li>Racism and the position of the presidency</li>\r\n	<li>The increasing danger of “good religion” being in bed with patriotism</li>\r\n	<li>How “the Bible says” is not a good reason to create legislation</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThese are not easy topics. If Bob wanted to write an easy book he wouldn’t have touched half of these topics with a ten-foot pole. Instead, Bob steps up to the plate to talk about the kind of issues that our pressing in culture that most pastors would never talk about. And this is only scratching the surface of the topics that are covered!\r\n\r\n<strong>I loved the presentation of the book.</strong>  One of the greatest things about this book is that it was originally written as a newspaper column, so all of the essays are presented in easy to read, digestible chunks.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/faith-in-the-public-square.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright  wp-image-6911\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/faith-in-the-public-square-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"240\" /></a>With <em>Faith in the Public Square</em> there will be no getting lost in a 500-pager by a stuffy professor with no foreseeable way out. The chapters are 1-3 pages long a piece. Thus, this is a book you can carry with you that you can jump back into easily when you have a few minutes to read, but it is <em>not</em> a watery book at all.\r\n\r\nAnd what if you’re not a church goer? Will this book have anything for you? Absolutely! While it contains topics dealing with religion, it was written for a very wide audience, so even if you have no religion affiliation at all this book is still a good read.\r\n\r\nAll in all, I would highly recommend <em>Faith in the Public Square</em>. This book had a refreshing, and hard-hitting look at religion and the life of a citizen. I appreciate Bob’s courage in approaching the topics he talked about, and I also appreciate the warm tone he wrote with. If you want some good theological brain food, a fresh take on civilian life, and some good conversations to build your religious principles on, this is definitely the book for you.\r\n\r\nI look forward to reading more of Dr. Robert Cornwall’s work and I hope you will pick this one up to read for yourself.\r\n\r\nTo buy “Faith in the Public Square” Amazon, <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Public-Square-Robert-Cornwall/dp/189372946X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1338864366&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">click here</a>.\r\n\r\nTo buy “Faith in the Public Square” directly from the publisher, <a href=\"http://energionpubs.com/books/189372946X/\">click here</a>.\r\n\r\nFor more of Bob’s writing, check out his blog, “<a href=\"http://www.bobcornwall.com/\">Ponderings on a Faith Journey</a>”.\r\n\r\nFind Dr. Robert Cornwall on Facebook <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/drbobcornwall\">here</a>.\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: image of book and Dr. Robert Cornwall used with permission, Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/redvers/2261603630/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">R/DV/RS</a> (grass and sky photo)</em>','“Faith in the Public Square”: A Review','','inherit','open','open','','6909-revision-9','','','2012-06-07 08:37:23','2012-06-07 15:37:23','',6909,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/07/6909-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(6836,185,'2012-05-30 09:52:45','2012-05-30 16:52:45','','MaM-Banner2','','inherit','open','open','','mam-banner2','','','2012-05-30 09:52:45','2012-05-30 16:52:45','',6812,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/MaM-Banner2.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(7341,189,'2012-07-31 09:34:04','2012-07-31 16:34:04','','Jesus Meets Two Followers on the Road to Emmaus','Jesus Meets Two Followers on the Road to Emmaus (printed 1920)\r\nhttp://www.storiesnow.com/hole3','inherit','open','open','','road-to-emmaus','','','2012-07-31 09:34:04','2012-07-31 16:34:04','',7337,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/road-to-emmaus.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(7342,189,'2012-07-31 09:32:51','2012-07-31 16:32:51','Explain the two words spoken by Jesus—“Follow me”—in 1000 words or less? Hmmm. Maybe I should just stop right there and let you think this through on your own.\n\nMy understanding of what it means to follow Him has changed over the years. I think our understanding of “following” is <em>supposed</em> to change over time as our maturity in the Lord grows in response to the leading of the Holy Spirit and the ways we experience Him with others. Because I can’t claim to know <em>everything</em> about following Jesus, the best I can offer is to share <em>some</em> of the things I’ve learned about following Jesus—beginning with what “following Jesus” is <strong><em>not</em><em>.</em></strong>\n\n<strong>Following Jesus is not the same thing as: </strong>\n<ul>\n	<li>Following the teachings of Jesus is not the same thing as following Jesus or following doctrines or creeds or denominational statements of faith.</li>\n	<li>Following a Bible Reading Plan, memorizing scripture, or claiming a “life verse”.</li>\n	<li>Following “religious convictions”, or acting upon those convictions, alone or as a group, purely for the sake of acting upon convictions.</li>\n	<li>Attending a weekly worship service, and maybe a midweek prayer meeting or Bible study, or meeting with a small group or accountability partner.</li>\n</ul>\nThere isn’t anything wrong with doing these things. In fact, I  follow  Jesus today because others encouraged me to do these things over the course of my spiritual journey. If, I’ve learned anything, I’ve learned that “Christian practices” are not the same thing as following Jesus. <em></em>I know a lot <em>about</em> <em>Jesus</em> by studying, talking about or meditating on these things—but knowing a lot <em>about Jesus</em> isn’t the same as <em>knowing Jesus</em>. It helps to know Who you’re following.<strong><em></em></strong>\n\n<strong><em>“Follow me.”</em></strong>  Two words caused Simon and Andrew to drop their fishing nets.  James and John “left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and went off after Him.” (Mark 1:20 Amplified). Levi, son of Alphaeus, left his tax booth: “he arose and joined Him and His disciples and sided with His party and accompanied Him.” (Mark 2:14 Amplified). Philip ran to find his friend Nathanael and they too followed Him. Twelve men, in all, apparently left their life’s work to follow Jesus.\n\nI find it interesting that the Amplified Version conveys that the words “follow me” carry the connotation, “side with my party”. Against the backdrop of  Hebrew culture—oppressed by the conquering Romans, looking for Messiah to deliver the Children of Israel and fulfill all the promises of the Old Testament—we read Nathanael’s confession, “Teacher, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49) and the reason the twelve “followed” begins to come into focus.  Over the course of the next three and a half years, these men—and later Saul of Tarsus, among others—would come to understand that following Jesus isn’t about following teachings, doctrines, scriptures, convictions or attending religious meetings.  Men and women down through centuries found, in the Gospels and other writings of the New Testament, not <em>something</em> to believe in and follow, but rather <strong><em>Someone</em></strong> to believe in and follow.\n\nTo follow Jesus is to follow a living <strong><em>Person!</em></strong>\n\n<strong><em> </em></strong>John proclaimed in his Gospel, “And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.” Paul explained more simply:\n“For it has <strong>pleased</strong> [the Father] that all the divine fullness (the sum total of the divine perfection, powers, and attributes) should <strong>dwell</strong> in Him permanently.” <strong>Colossians 1:19</strong>\n\nFollowing a living Person, who is the Christ, comes with a cost, which He explained Himself to His disciples: “And He said to all, If any person wills to come after Me, let him deny himself [disown himself, <sup> </sup>forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up himself] and take up his cross daily and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also].” (Luke 9:23)\n\nWhat do we have to gain by following this all-wonderful, all-glorious, all-divine Person? What is the outcome we look forward to? For starters, eternal life! Make that eternal, <strong><em>abundant</em> </strong>life, sustained by Christ who <strong><em>is</em></strong> our life! Many more “rewards” are promised to faithful followers who overcome the trials and temptations of this world—check out the letters to the seven churches in John’s last book!\n\nThere’s another important thing I’ve learned about following Jesus: it’s something we do <strong><em>together</em></strong>.\n\n<sup> “</sup>The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,<sup> </sup>and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. <sup> </sup>For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. <sup> </sup>For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. <sup> </sup>For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope <sup> </sup>that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. <sup> </sup>For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. <sup> </sup>And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.__Romans 8:16-23 (ESV)\n\nFollowing Jesus is following a living <strong><em>Person</em></strong>…<strong><em>together!</em></strong>\n\n“When Christ, Who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in [the splendor of His] glory.<strong> </strong><strong>__Colossians 3:4 (Amplified)</strong>','','','inherit','open','open','','7337-revision-4','','','2012-07-31 09:32:51','2012-07-31 16:32:51','',7337,'http://provoketive.com/2012/07/31/7337-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(7078,160,'2012-06-30 08:37:45','2012-06-30 15:37:45','','healingblindman','','inherit','open','open','','healingblindman','','','2012-06-30 08:37:45','2012-06-30 15:37:45','',7077,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/healingblindman.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6838,186,'2012-06-03 08:00:58','2012-06-03 15:00:58','I can remember very clearly the first time I heard my favorite artist blaring through the van speakers. I sat sipping on a red bull, beside my friend Jordan in a fifteen passenger van. Disillusioned with life, I roamed aimlessly across the country side with <a title=\"La Dispute\" href=\"http://www.ladisputemusic.com\">my friends</a> on a nationwide tour. We listened to the entirety of the new Mountain Goats album, <em>The Life of the World to Come</em>, as we trekked through Texas. It was like falling in love. I felt vulnerable and human.\r\n\r\nI go out of my way to avoid the cringe that often accompanies my exposure to Christian culture. However, I\'m always keen to hear a nonreligious exploration of religious themes, and that\'s exactly what this album is: an exploration of the biblical retellings of universal struggles. Every track is inspired by and titled after a single verse in the Christian bible and each track is about a hard lesson that singer John Darnielle has learned from the verse. Overall, the album is quiet and contemplative. Perhaps, that\'s why I found myself so helplessly drawn into the stories. Thinking introverts are helpless against the whims of ruminative acoustic guitars and strings sections. We\'re drawn to imperfect characters. We cheer for the junkies and terminal cancer patients who find God in vandalism, destruction and death.\r\n\r\nI suspect that the majority of people who cheer for the characters in narratives like these, are hopeful that such imperfect characters are able to find value and redemption among the ruins of their lives. For me, the narratives in this album mirror the very things that I live with on a daily basis. There is doubt and death and suffering and remorse, but there is love and light shining up through the failed plans and ruined hope.   <em> </em>\r\n\r\n[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFpQQM1pfUc[/youtube]','The Life of the World to Come','','publish','open','open','','the-life-of-the-world-to-come','','','2012-06-02 08:48:42','2012-06-02 15:48:42','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=6838',0,'post','',0),(6839,186,'2012-05-30 17:08:34','2012-05-31 00:08:34','I can remember very clearly the first time I heard my favorite artist blaring through the van speakers. I sat sipping on a red bull beside my friend Jordan in a fifteen passenger van. I was disillusioned and roaming aimlessly across the country side with my friends on a nationwide tour. (<a title=\"La Dispute\" href=\"http://www.ladisputemusic.com\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.ladisputemusic.com</a>) We listened to the entirety of the new Mountain Goats album, \'The Life of the World to Come\' as we trekked for days through Texas.\n\nI go out of my way to avoid the cringe that often accompanies my exposure to Christian culture. However, I\'m always keen to hear a nonreligious exploration of religious themes, and that\'s exactly what this album is: an exploration of the biblical retellings of universal struggles. Each track is inspired by and titled after a single verse in the Christian bible and each track is about a hard lesson that singer John Darnielle has learned from the verse.','The Life of the World to Come','','inherit','open','open','','6838-revision','','','2012-05-30 17:08:34','2012-05-31 00:08:34','',6838,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/30/6838-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6840,186,'2012-05-30 17:12:50','2012-05-31 00:12:50','I can remember very clearly the first time I heard my favorite artist blaring through the van speakers. I sat sipping on a red bull beside my friend Jordan in a fifteen passenger van. I was disillusioned and roaming aimlessly across the country side with my friends on a nationwide tour. (<a title=\"La Dispute\" href=\"http://www.ladisputemusic.com\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.ladisputemusic.com</a>) We listened to the entirety of the new Mountain Goats album, \'The Life of the World to Come\' as we trekked for days through Texas.\n\nI go out of my way to avoid the cringe that often accompanies my exposure to Christian culture. However, I\'m always keen to hear a nonreligious exploration of religious themes, and that\'s exactly what this album is: an exploration of the biblical retellings of universal struggles. Each track is inspired by and titled after a single verse in the Christian bible and each track is about a hard lesson that singer John Darnielle has learned from the verse.\n\nOverall, the album is quiet and contemplative. Perhaps, that\'s why I found myself so helplessly drawn into the stories. Thinking introverts are helpless against the whims of ruminative acoustic guitars and strings sections. We\'re drawn to imperfect characters, junkies and','The Life of the World to Come','','inherit','open','open','','6838-revision-2','','','2012-05-30 17:12:50','2012-05-31 00:12:50','',6838,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/30/6838-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6841,186,'2012-05-30 17:47:47','2012-05-31 00:47:47','I can remember very clearly the first time I heard my favorite artist blaring through the van speakers. I sat sipping on a red bull beside my friend Jordan in a fifteen passenger van. Disillusioned with life, I roamed aimlessly across the country side with my friends on a nationwide tour. (<a title=\"La Dispute\" href=\"http://www.ladisputemusic.com\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.ladisputemusic.com</a>) We listened to the entirety of the new Mountain Goats album, \'The Life of the World to Come\' as we trekked for days through Texas.\n\nI go out of my way to avoid the cringe that often accompanies my exposure to Christian culture. However, I\'m always keen to hear a nonreligious exploration of religious themes, and that\'s exactly what this album is: an exploration of the biblical retellings of universal struggles. Every track is inspired by and titled after a single verse in the Christian bible and each track is about a hard lesson that singer John Darnielle has learned from the verse.\n\nOverall, the album is quiet and contemplative. Perhaps, that\'s why I found myself so helplessly drawn into the stories. Thinking introverts are helpless against the whims of ruminative acoustic guitars and strings sections. We\'re drawn to imperfect characters. We cheer for the junkies and terminal cancer patients who find God in vandalism, destruction and death. I suspect that the majority of people who cheer for the characters in narratives like these, are hopeful that such imperfect characters are able to find value and redemption among the ruins of their lives.\n\nFor me the narratives in this album mirror the very things that I live with on a daily basis: darkness. There is doubt and death and suffering and remorse, but there is love and light shining up through the failed plans and ruined hope.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<em> </em>','The Life of the World to Come','','inherit','open','open','','6838-revision-3','','','2012-05-30 17:47:47','2012-05-31 00:47:47','',6838,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/30/6838-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6842,179,'2012-05-30 18:06:19','2012-05-31 01:06:19','I was not born contemplative.\n\nI was taught from an early age to believe that it is more valuable to know things than it is to learn things. Learning, after all, is a step on the path toward knowing; knowing is the result of learning. Whether at home, in school, or at church, it is far better to know the right answer than to be in the process of learning. Learning means that you have not yet arrived at knowing.\n\nKnowing is also much more fun than learning. Learning requires patience, practice, and being open to new insights. Learning means that you try new things and make mistakes, which just reinforces that you do not know the right answer.\n\nYou do not do well in school by learning, you do well by knowing the right answers.\n\nThe great thing about knowing the answer is that you have successfully completed learning. You do not need to be open to new insights if you already know the answers.\n\nFor a long time, my understanding of my faith was based in the same approach. I had the right answers, and my mental energies went into sharing and defending those answers rather than being open to gaining new understanding. I was committed to the accuracy of my perspective and, at the same time, beginning to feel stuck because the need to be right is so demanding.\n\nThe spiritual practices I followed were essentially my homework for church. They were the things I needed to do so I could give the right answers and get a good grade.\n\nThe first time someone suggested that I read Benedict’s Rule, I was not very interested. I was both intrigued by and anxious about contemplative spirituality, and quite confident that I already had more than enough rules in my life.\n\nSlowly and surely, the monastic tradition drew me.\n\nI realized that my answers were not always right.\n\nI found a church that values solitude and silence. I gained an appreciation for the ways that liturgy provides a supportive framework for inner work and reflection. I began learning practices and disciplines that helped me recognize that God was always with me, loving me and drawing me closer. I began talking with a spiritual director.\n\nI came to appreciate asking good questions more than having the right answers.\n\nA friend suggested that I might be interested in Benedictine spirituality. After much reading and several retreats at different monasteries, I was received as a lay oblate at a Benedictine monastery and hermitage in Big Sur, California.\n\nAn oblate is a person who commits to following a rule of life and is in relationship to a particular monastery and monastic order. The rule I follow includes a variety of spiritual practices such as regular prayer, Bible study, and silence and solitude. At least once each year I spend some time at the monastery.\n\nMy faith continues to deepen and mature. I continue to be drawn more deeply into contemplative life, and reflect on ways to be a contemplative in today’s world. Contemplation gives me opportunities to find peace and to recognize the presence of the divine each day. Life is not about sitting and reflecting, but about connecting to the peace and gratefulness that can spread through the people around me.\n\nThere are many possible distractions. I wondered, for example, whether social media would keep me from being contemplative. I continue to learn about the history of monasticism, and to overcome my own preconceived notions of what monastic people are like. I am exploring the balance that encompasses both contemplation and activism.\n\nContemplation has turned my understanding of my own faith upside down. My connection to the holy is no longer about getting a good grade, no longer about being right. My spirituality has nothing to do with getting the teacher to like me or earning divine good favor.\n\nEach day is different, yet each is framed in practices which, step by step, redeem my perspective.\n\n&nbsp;','Contemplative in the City','','inherit','open','open','','6801-autosave','','','2012-05-30 18:06:19','2012-05-31 01:06:19','',6801,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/30/6801-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6843,179,'2012-05-30 18:09:10','2012-05-31 01:09:10','','monks','','inherit','open','open','','monks','','','2012-05-30 18:09:10','2012-05-31 01:09:10','',6801,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/monks.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6844,179,'2012-05-28 16:26:53','2012-05-28 23:26:53','I was not born contemplative.\r\n\r\nI was taught from an early age to believe that it is more valuable to know things than it is to learn things. Learning, after all, is a step on the path toward knowing; knowing is the result of learning. Whether at home, in school, or at church, it is far better to know the right answer than to be in the process of learning. Learning means that you have not yet arrived at knowing.\r\n\r\nKnowing is also much more fun than learning. Learning requires patience, practice, and being open to new insights. Learning means that you try new things and make mistakes, which just reinforces that you do not know the right answer.\r\n\r\nYou do not do well in school by learning, you do well by knowing the right answers.\r\n\r\nThe great thing about knowing the answer is that you have successfully completed learning. You do not not need to be open to new insights if you already know the answers.\r\n\r\nFor a long time, my understanding of my faith was based in the same approach. I had the right answers, and my mental energies went into sharing and defending those answers rather than being open to gaining new understanding. I was committed to the accuracy of my perspective and, at the same time, beginning to feel stuck because the need to be right is so demanding.\r\n\r\nThe spiritual practices I followed were essentially my homework for church. They were the things I needed to do so I could give the right answers and get a good grade.\r\n\r\nThe first time someone suggested that I read Benedict’s Rule, I was not very interested. I was both intrigued by and anxious about contemplative spirituality, and quite confident that I already had more than enough rules in my life.\r\n\r\nSlowly and surely, the monastic tradition drew me.\r\n\r\nI realized that my answers were not always right.\r\n\r\nI found a church that values solitude and silence. I gained an appreciation for the ways that liturgy provides a supportive framework for inner work and reflection. I began learning practices and disciplines that helped me recognize that God was always with me, loving me and drawing me closer. I began talking with a spiritual director.\r\n\r\nI came to appreciate asking good questions more than having the right answers.\r\n\r\nA friend suggested that I might be interested in Benedictine spirituality. After much reading and several retreats at different monasteries, I was received as a lay oblate at a Benedictine monastery and hermitage in Big Sur, California.\r\n\r\nAn oblate is a person who commits to following a rule of life and is in relationship to a particular monastery and monastic order. The rule I follow includes a variety of spiritual practices such as regular prayer, Bible study, and silence and solitude. At least once each year I spend some time at the monastery.\r\n\r\nMy faith continues to deepen and mature. I continue to be drawn more deeply into contemplative life, and reflect on ways to be a contemplative in today’s world. Contemplation gives me opportunities to find peace and to recognize the presence of the divine each day. Life is not about sitting and reflecting, but about connecting to the peace and gratefulness that can spread through the people around me.\r\n\r\nThere are many possible distractions. I wondered, for example, whether social media would keep me from being contemplative. I continue to learn about the history of monasticism, and to overcome my own preconceived notions of what monastic people are like. I am exploring the balance that encompasses both contemplation and activism.\r\n\r\nContemplation has turned my understanding of my own faith upside down. My connection to the holy is no longer about getting a good grade, no longer about being right. My spirituality has nothing to do with getting the teacher to like me or earning divine good favor.\r\n\r\nEach day is different, yet each is framed in practices which, step by step, redeem my perspective.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Contemplative in the City','','inherit','open','open','','6801-revision-8','','','2012-05-28 16:26:53','2012-05-28 23:26:53','',6801,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/28/6801-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(6845,184,'2012-06-22 11:43:50','2012-06-22 18:43:50','We were poor when I was a kid, and I don’t mean the kind of poor where you don’t get all that you want for Christmas, but the kind that our pastor would refer to as “po”…we couldn’t even afford the “or.”\n\nBack then, soda came in bottles and, you were able to turn in the glass bottles at the grocery store for a refund.  My brothers and I would take our little red wagon and comb the streets looking for old bottles that we would turn in to the Weingarten’s.  If we were lucky, we had enough to purchase a little candy or treat and maybe even something extra for our mom.\n\nI remember the first time we made the long trek to turn in our green, amber, and clear glass treasures.  I had searched so hard all day to make sure that I found only those bottles that were not broken.  After hours of carefully pouring through trash cans looking for the treasure of a bottle that had not met it’s demise, emptying out the sticky, stale liquid, and carefully pulling the wagon as not to allow one of the bottles to break, I was heartbroken when the man at the recycle booth carelessly tossed each bottle in to the basket in such a way that I could hear the clanking of the breaking glass, almost mocking me and all of the care and concern I had taken to protect them.\n\n“Why are you breaking them?” I cried out, “ I thought you were buying them so that you could use them again.”\n\n“We use the glass little lady, not the bottles,” came a gruff reply.\n\nI remember the disappointment I felt as I realized the implications of what my misunderstanding had meant.   I had spent all day sifting through broken glass that was just as valuable to my cause as the unbroken bottles had been.  I had missed my opportunity to truly cash in.\n\nThe memory of that experience resurfaced when I recently came across a bottle that my daughter bought at a thrift store a while back.  She had bought this fancy bottle made of blue-green glass with a cork stopper at the top.  She said that she wanted it so that we could leave love notes to each other in it; messages in a bottle.\nAs I look at the blue-green glass bottle now and contemplate how to begin writing this article about aborting God, I must admit…I am tempted to change the name to \"Blue Like Glass\", which sounds a little more interesting than the topic I am writing about.  It also bears a close resemblance to the title of one of my favorite books, a book that sold a lot of copies.\n\nAs I look at the bottle now, it’s smooth, blue-green, rounded curves, escalating into smaller circle patterns until they reach the top where the cork meets the glass.  Anyone would be happy to receive a message in this bottle.  The presentation of the bottle itself speaking volumes about the treasure of the message that waits inside.\n\nSometimes I wonder if people are like these bottles, all with messages inside.  Clear, blue-green glass; fragile enough to easily break, yet transparent enough to see that there is something of great value inside.\nThe beautiful, unbroken ones stand out among us, their glass smooth and beautiful, leaving us with the nagging realization that such perfection does exist.  We place those unbroken ones on the pedestals of Life and tend to measure our worth by how closely we can conform our outer nature to theirs.\n\nWe forget that one-day every glass bottle will be broken, leaving only be the “love notes” left inside to remain.\n\nWhat does God see when He looks at us?  Is He impressed with those of us who can make it out of this world without being broken?  Or, at least with some semblance of our original form left intact?\n\nPsalm 51:17 reads,“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Could it be that our whole purpose in being here on earth is not to maintain our form, but to lose it, and in so doing, allow the Love note of who Christ is to be read by everyone we meet?  Sometimes I wonder if we even know why we came to Christ in the first place.  We followed some people in because we saw that their glass was not broken, and thought that, if we can only go where they go, and do what they do, maybe we can preserve our glass too.\n\nWhy is it then that so often, while I am in church, I feel like I must act like a beautiful, blue green glass bottle with no chips, or cracks, to be accepted?  How can I so easily confuse man’s acceptance of me with God’s?\nHow come I so easily forget that it is not the bottle that Christ wants, it’s the glass.\n\nIt is not my perception of who I am that He wants, it is the truth of who I am that He came for.  When approached by the religious elite in Matthew 9:12-13 and confronted with questions about why he spent time with sinners, Christ replied, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go learn what it means, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”\n\nWhen I was first beginning to know Christ, I had a picture in my mind of what I thought He would do with my life.  Ironically, I pictured myself like a vase that had been broken into many pieces and scattered all over in so many directions that I could not even begin to know where all of the pieces were anymore.\n\nAs I began to experience Him and to allow Him to heal me, it felt like He was walking with me to each piece, acknowledging the pain behind each experience that led to my brokenness, and then putting me back together again.  In a sense, I had an expectation of where my destination with Him was headed.  One day, I would walk with Him to that last piece, and He and I would celebrate as He finally put the finishing touches on the masterpiece of who He created me to be.  Then I would be whole and I could go in to church and stand right there next to the most beautiful glass vase and not feel ashamed.  Then I could pour life into my husband and children without leaking all over the place and I could know that my kids were safe now from all of my old pieces of broken glass that use to cut me so deeply.\n\nIn a sense, I felt as if God would re-make me into my image of who I thought He wanted me to be.  Now, as I seek to truly acknowledge Christ and who He came to be in my Life, I am beginning to see that my perceptions have no place in Him.  Like the dove that was sent out of Noah’s ark and could find no place to land, so it returned back to the ark, so do my perceptions of who God is and who I am in Him return back to me.  There is no place for them to land in the reality of Him.  No flesh may glory in His presence.  He will not dwell in temples made with human hands.\n\nNo pieces of who I am can remain, and in trying to hold on…I abort God through aborting the exchange of His Life for mine.\n\nTwo of the more underestimated definitions of abortion are: the arrest of development of an organ, and a failure to develop to completion or maturity.\n\nWhat if in trying to maintain some semblance to our old form or our own perceptions of who we are and how our lives should be, we are actually aborting God?  What if we are actually valuing what we create over the very One who is meant to create us?\n\nCould we be guilty of handing God a paint by number canvas for our lives instead of handing Him a blank canvas?\n\nTo render Him less God in one aspect of Life renders Him not God at all.  I don’t know why it has taken me so long to see this.  Can you imagine the implications of what this means?\n\n“God, you can have my childhood scars, my failed marriage, and my parenting frustrations, but not my education, my career or my dreams and aspirations…and especially not my television programs!”\n\nThe Greek word for truth is ALETHES and it means; unconcealed, manifest, conforming to reality.  The negative of this word is: to forget, to escape notice.  The picture in my mind that I get when I think about what it means to truly allow God to be manifest in our lives closely resembles what it must have looked like for Lazarus to come out of the grave.  We leave a place of death and darkness with our whole body and we walk into a place of Light and Life.  It involves a literal moving out of the tomb with no intentions of returning.  It involves coming out of everything about you and walking towards Christ (even while still being wrapped up in the grave-clothes).\n\nWe fool ourselves when we believe that we can come to Christ and yet, at the same time reject what He offers us in allowing us to become a “whole NEW creation.” Remember that one rendering of the definition for truth is “unconcealed.”  We can’t walk out of the grave while still concealing parts of who we are.  God is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).  To believe this is even possible is to believe a lie.\n\nJust as a woman cannot separate the private choices she makes regarding the value of life itself when she chooses to abort the life within her, from the way we all view life.  So we, as a church, cannot separate our own views of Who God is when we choose to abort the Life He offers us, from the way we all view Who He is.  What we do in the dark affects what the whole world does in the light.   When you choose to abort God in your life, we all feel it.\n\nMy prayer is that these words may hit you like the words that I heard so long ago when I realized the implications of the opportunity I had missed out on in seeking what I had thought was valuable over what actually was valuable.   One day we will all fall broken at the feet of Christ, and how I hope with all my heart that on that day, the love note that Christ has written inside of you and me has been read by many.','Aborting God','','inherit','open','open','','6824-autosave','','','2012-06-22 11:43:50','2012-06-22 18:43:50','',6824,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/30/6824-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6846,179,'2012-05-30 18:19:11','2012-05-31 01:19:11','','abort','','inherit','open','open','','abort','','','2012-05-30 18:19:11','2012-05-31 01:19:11','',6824,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/abort.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6847,179,'2012-05-29 12:45:47','2012-05-29 19:45:47','We were poor when I was a kid, and I don’t mean the kind of poor where you don’t get all that you want for Christmas, but the kind that our pastor would refer to as “po”…we couldn’t even afford the “or.”\r\nBack then, soda came in bottles and, you were able to turn in the glass bottles at the grocery store for a refund.  My brothers and I would take our little, red wagon and comb the streets looking for old bottles that we would turn in to the Weingarten’s.  If we were lucky, we had enough to purchase a little candy or treat and maybe even something extra for our mom.\r\nI remember the first time we made the long trek to turn in our green, amber, and clear glass treasures.  I had searched so hard all day to make sure that I found only those bottles that were not broken.  After hours of carefully pouring through trash cans looking for the treasure of a bottle that had not met it’s demise, emptying out the sticky, stale liquid, and carefully pulling the wagon as not to allow one of the bottles to break, I was heartbroken when the man at the recycle booth carelessly tossed each bottle in to the basket in such a way that I could hear the clanking of the breaking glass, almost mocking me and all of the care and concern I had taken to protect them.\r\n“Why are you breaking them?” I cried out, “ I thought you were buying them so that you could use them again.”  “We use the glass little lady, not the bottles,” came a gruff reply.\r\nI remember the disappointment I felt as I realized the implications of what my misunderstanding had meant.   I had spent all day sifting through broken glass that was just as valuable to my cause as the unbroken bottles had been.  I had missed my opportunity to truly cash in.\r\nThe memory of that experience resurfaced when I recently came across a bottle that my daughter bought at a thrift store a while back.  She had bought this fancy bottle made of blue-green glass with a cork stopper at the top.  She said that she wanted it so that we could leave love notes to each other in it; messages in a bottle.\r\nAs I look at the blue-green glass bottle now and contemplate how to begin writing this article about aborting God, I must admit…I am tempted to change the name to Blue Like Glass,which sounds a little more interesting than the topic I am writing about.  It also bears a close resemblance to the title of one of my favorite books,a book that sold a lot of copies.\r\nAs I look at the bottle now, it’s smooth, blue-green, rounded curves, escalating into smaller circle patterns until they reach the top where the cork meets the glass.  Anyone would be happy to receive a message in this bottle.  The presentation of the bottle itself speaking volumes about the treasure of the message that waits inside.\r\nSometimes I wonder if people are like these bottles, all with messages inside.  Clear, blue-green glass; fragile enough to easily break, yet transparent enough to see that there is something to great value inside.\r\nThe beautiful, unbroken ones stand out among us, their glass smooth and beautiful, leaving us with the nagging realization that such perfection does exist.  We place those unbroken ones on the pedestals of Life and tend to measure our worth by how closely we can conform our outer nature to theirs.\r\nWe forget that one-day every glass bottle will be broken, leaving only be the “love notes” left inside to remain.\r\nWhat does God see when He looks at us?  Is He impressed with those of us who can make it out of this world without being broken?  Or, at least with some semblance of our original form left intact?\r\nPsalm 51:17 reads,“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Could it be that our whole purpose in being here on earth is not to maintain our form, but to lose it, and in so doing, allow the Love note of who Christ is to be read by everyone we meet?  Sometimes I wonder if we even know why we came to Christ in the first place.  We followed some people in because we saw that their glass was not broken, and thought that, if we can only go where they go, and do what they do, maybe we can preserve our glass too.\r\nWhy is it then that I so often, while I am in church, I feel like I must act like a beautiful, blue green glass bottle with no chips, or cracks to be accepted?  How can I so easily confuse man’s acceptance of me with God’s?\r\nHow come I so easily forget that, it is not the bottle that Christ wants, it’s the glass.\r\nIt is not my perception of who I am that He wants, it is the truth of who I am that He came for.  When approached by the religious elite in Matthew 9:12-13 and confronted with questions about why he spent time with sinners Christ’s replied,  “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go learn what it means, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”\r\nWhen I was first beginning to know Christ, I had a picture in my mind of what I thought He would do with my life.  Ironically, I pictured myself like a vase that had been broken into many pieces and scattered all over in so many directions that I could not even begin to know where all of the pieces were anymore.\r\nAs I began to experience Him and to allow Him to heal me, it felt like He was walking with me to each piece, acknowledging the pain behind each experience that led to my brokenness, and then putting me back together again.  In a sense, I had an expectation of where my destination with Him was headed.  One day, I would walk with Him to that last piece, and He and I would celebrate as He finally put the finishing touches on the masterpiece of who He created me to be.  Then I would be whole and I could go in to church and stand right there next to the most beautiful glass vase and not feel ashamed.  Then I could pour life into my husband and children without leaking all over the place and I could know that my kids were safe now from all of my old pieces of broken glass that use to cut me so deeply.\r\nIn a sense, I felt as if God would re-make me into my image of who I thought He wanted me to be.  Now, as I seek to truly acknowledge Christ and who He came to be in my Life, I am beginning to see that my perceptions have no place in Him.  Like the dove that was sent out of Noah’s ark and could find no place to land, so it returned back to the ark, so do my perceptions of who God is and who I am in Him return back to me.  There is no place for them to land in the reality of Him.  No flesh may glory in His presence.  He will not dwell in temples made with human hands.\r\nNo pieces of who I am can remain, and in trying to hold on…I abort God through aborting the exchange of His Life for mine.\r\nTwo of the more underestimated definitions of abortion are, the arrest of development of an organ, and a failure to develop to completion or maturity.\r\nWhat if in trying to maintain some semblance to our old form or our own perceptions of who we are and how our lives should be, we are actually aborting God?  What if we are actually valuing what we create over the very One who is meant to create us?\r\nCould we be guilty of handing God a paint by number canvas for our lives instead of handing Him a blank canvas?\r\nTo render Him less God in one aspect of Life renders Him not God at all.  I don’t know why it has taken me so long to see this.  Can you imagine the implications of what this means?  “God, you can have my childhood scars, my failed marriage, and my parenting frustrations, but not my education, my career or my dreams and aspirations…and especially not my television programs!”\r\nThe Greek word for truth is ALETHES and it means; unconcealed, manifest, conforming to reality.  The negative of this word is: to forget, to escape notice.  The picture in my mind that I get when I think about what it means to truly allow God to be manifest in our lives closely resembles what it must have looked like for Lazarus to come out of the grave.  We leave a place of death and darkness with our whole body and we walk into a place of Light and Life.  It involves a literal moving out of the tomb with no intentions of returning.  It involves coming out of everything about you and walking towards Christ (even while still being wrapped up in the grave-clothes).\r\nWe fool ourselves when we believe that we can come to Christ and yet, at the same time reject what He offers us in allowing us to become a “whole NEW creation.” Remember that one rendering of the definition for truth is “unconcealed.”  We can’t walk out of the grave while still concealing parts of who we are.  God is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).  To believe this is even possible is to believe a lie.\r\nJust as a woman cannot separate the private choices she makes regarding the value of life itself when she chooses to abort the life within her, from the way we all view life.  So we, as a church, cannot separate our own views of Who God is when we choose to abort the Life He offers us, from the way we all view Who He is.  What we do in the dark affects what the whole world does in the light.   When you choose to abort God in your life, we all feel it.\r\nMy prayer is that these words may hit you like the words that I heard so long ago when I realized the implications of the opportunity I had missed out on in seeking what I had thought was valuable over what actually was valuable.   One day we will all fall broken at the feet of Christ, and how I hope with all my heart that on that day, the love note that Christ has written inside of you and me has been read by many. <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/b19glass019.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6825\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/b19glass019-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Green Glass Bottle\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>','Aborting God','','inherit','open','open','','6824-revision-6','','','2012-05-29 12:45:47','2012-05-29 19:45:47','',6824,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/29/6824-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(6978,161,'2012-06-15 08:00:41','2012-06-15 15:00:41','<blockquote><em>Conservative: holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation, typically in relation to politics</em></blockquote>\r\nAs the Church of England <a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jun/12/gay-marriage-anglican-church-editorial?INTCMP=SRCH\">continues its journey</a> to oblivion as a result of its war over marriage, I find myself asking a question: where have all the conservatives gone? Let me explain by taking a step back in time.\r\n\r\nIt is the thirteenth century and England had just emerged from the six year strike by England\'s priests. Jack, a peasant farmer, wishes to marry Florence a young girl from the neighborhood. Jack asks his Parish Priest what he must do to be wed. The priest explains to Jack that the Westminster church council at the turn of the century did set out some preferences such as marrying in church and the ban being issued, but that this was not necessary for a marriage to be recognized in canon law.\r\n\r\nFor a marriage to be valid in church law, the priest explained, Jack must exchange marriage vows with Florence and not be \'within the prohibited degrees\' (e.g., closely related). And that was it! And so the canon law remained the law of England right up until 1753 and the passing of the Marriage Act (it continued thereafter across the border in Gretna Green).\r\n\r\nIn other words, for centuries, the English church was satisfied that valid marriages could be contracted without recourse to the State. How sad that the Church in the thirteenth century (at a time, remember, when slavery, trial by ordeal, and capital punishment were seen as unremarkable, the English church was still more progressive on marriage than it is today.)\r\n\r\nCertainly the church was not blessing same sex marriages, but neither was it coercing all persons everywhere to bow to its will. God, that we would have some conservatives rise up in the CofE prepared to defend tradition! If the Church of England determines that a marriage is not valid according to its law then fine (well, not fine but legitimate) but the overwhelming majority of the UK disagree.\r\n\r\nIt is time for the troublemakers who are trying to bully the English people to return to their parishes and, whilst their parishioners can stomach their irreligion, care for those same souls. As for the rest of us, thank you for your interest but we don\'t want you.','Where have all the Conservatives gone in the Church of England?','','publish','open','open','','where-have-all-the-conservatives-gone-in-the-church-of-england','','','2012-06-14 10:06:40','2012-06-14 17:06:40','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=6978',0,'post','',0),(6883,179,'2012-07-19 09:03:44','2012-07-19 16:03:44','Once, somewhere in the Northern Highlands, among the hills of rock, two masons set out to build their homes. In the thin light of a new Spring morning, they each gathered stones together for their task.\n\nThe first mason selected stones suited for the work. He carted them to his site and quickly joined them together into a house both sturdy and safe. Because he finished his work quickly he built another house. And another. And still another until the landscape was filled with houses of stone, all sturdy and safe, but each one cold and empty.\n\nThe second mason made a curious choice of building materials, for among the Highlands was a quivering mountain of living stones. These stones were no bigger than those used by the first mason. They were no stronger or better shaped, nor any more lovely than the others. But they were alive: they spoke, they sang, they even argued, and somehow they could move of their own accord, even after being selected by the second mason.\n\nAs the mason piled the living stones into his wagon they asked where he was taking them. When they saw the plans for his house some cheered and sang while others complained and wandered away. They wanted no part of his house. Still the mason joined the stones together, building the walls and arches and hearth of a home fit for his purpose.\n\nBut because he had chosen living stones, the house was never completed. Some stones jumped from the cart before they arrived at the building. The work was forever unfinished as the mason returned to the mountain quarry again and again for more supply. Other stones allowed the mason to place them in the wall but failed to connect with the wall-mates on their left and right: they argued, they cried, and when they could stand it no more, they left.\n\nStill he continued to build. Always the house was incomplete. Some mornings the Mason would return to work only to discover that the stones had re-arranged themselves in the night. The Mason made curious choice to leave holes in the walls where the stones had fled, because (he said) “I selected that stone and crafted a place for it alone. Another cannot take it’s place.”\n\nFrom time to time a missing stone would wander back to the house and the Mason lovingly fitted it back in the wall again. Some stones stayed in place forevermore, but some left (and returned) time and again. Still he continued to build. Room upon room he added, not one of them finished until there grew an unwieldy mansion both large and incomplete. In this mansion he chose to live, year after year in fellowship with the living stones that breathed in every wall.\n\nPassers-by would stop and stare in amazement. Many laughed at the sprawling mess of a mansion that had grown on the landscape. It seemed without design and devoid of all reason.\n\n“Why don’t you use the stones all the other masons use?” they laughed. “You could finish your house in days and be done with the work.”\n\n“This building is my work,” he replied. “And as for the living stones it is true--they are a bother: but I could never build with dead ones, for this is my home, and I’ve come that they might have life.”','The House of the Second Mason','','inherit','open','open','','6832-autosave','','','2012-07-19 09:03:44','2012-07-19 16:03:44','',6832,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/02/6832-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6861,1,'2012-06-01 09:21:26','2012-06-01 16:21:26','','made as makers','','inherit','open','open','','made-as-makers','','','2012-06-01 09:21:26','2012-06-01 16:21:26','',6812,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/made-as-makers.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6998,182,'2012-06-20 08:00:06','2012-06-20 15:00:06','I grew up with a fairly vague idea of what it meant to be a pilgrim.\r\n\r\nThe only times I heard about pilgrims was each year at Thanksgiving.\r\n\r\nAll I knew was that pilgrims wore funny hats and ate turkey dinners. Later on, I heard about the book \"Pilgrim\'s Progress\" and concluded that being a pilgrim must have something to do with English history. I did not see that pilgrims and pilgrimages had anything to do with me or my everyday life.\r\n\r\nMy life has become a journey, a pilgrimage. I am moving from a focus on attaining tangible results to exploring spiritual depth. In beginning to recognize and appreciate my journey, I am gaining an understanding of what pilgrimage means. My pilgrimage is teaching me the meaning of being a pilgrim.\r\n\r\nPeople who take pilgrimages erase the boundary between what we see as sacred and what we see as everyday life. While they set out on a path to reach a specific destination, the lessons and development the pilgrimage has for them come from the journey. They receive their benefits along the way. Wise pilgrims find spiritual depth each day, each step, of the pilgrimage.\r\n\r\nI am a spiritual director. I help people find ways to discover and explore their own spiritual depth. I listen to their stories, ask them questions, and help them gain fresh insights in new ways. Together, we find what is sacred in the everyday. We explore ways to practice living in God\'s loving presence.\r\n\r\nEach person with whom I work is a pilgrim on their own pilgrimage. I help them find the lessons of each day, each step.\r\n\r\nOften we sit and talk. There is something about sitting with someone at a table that builds community. It is like taking a break at the end of a day, resting and reflecting in preparation for continuing the journey. Some people prefer to sit and talk; others need a rocking chair to help them find their rhythm. For others, it is more helpful to take a walk.\r\n\r\nWalking can be more helpful than talking. I meet with some people who, as I guide their steps down the sidewalk, are more able to engage with their own stories. Walking helps them remember the narrative of their experiences, and to put the pieces together in new ways. Walking gets their blood flowing, and they become more aware of where their story has taken them. Walking helps them talk about the connections between the sacred and the everyday.\r\n\r\nI work with a few people who take the opportunity to walk and explore silence.\r\n\r\nWe begin with some talking and listening, and them we take to the sidewalk. We agree where we will go, and we do not talk to each other until we reach where we are going. Our intention is to be open to the life around us, and our pilgrimage has a great deal to teach us. We interact with other pedestrians, and with drivers, without talking to them. We are more aware of the sights and sounds all around us. We smell the aromas of the coffee houses and the florist shops that we pass. We feel the warmth of the sun, or the humidity in the air, more clearly each time. The mountains in the distance bring to mind passages from the Psalms. The people we encounter remind us of the depth and diversity of God\'s love for us.\r\n\r\nEach of our senses is a way for God to remind us how close God is to us.\r\n\r\nOn our pilgrimage, there is nothing we can do or say that will bring God closer, and nothing that will move us away from God. Our pilgrimage is not about reaching a destination, either a location or a level of achievement. Our pilgrimage is about what we learn and gain along the way.\r\n\r\nEach day, each step, suggests new ways for us to explore God\'s loving presence.\r\n\r\n[Image by <strong><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/nnova/\" target=\"_blank\">nicolasnova</a></strong>]','Pilgrimage on the Pavement','','publish','open','open','','pilgrimage-on-the-pavement','','','2012-06-19 08:47:42','2012-06-19 15:47:42','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=6998',0,'post','',2),(6854,186,'2012-05-31 19:27:12','2012-06-01 02:27:12','','mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art','','inherit','open','open','','mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art','','','2012-05-31 19:27:12','2012-06-01 02:27:12','',6838,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6855,186,'2012-05-31 19:26:46','2012-06-01 02:26:46','I can remember very clearly the first time I heard my favorite artist blaring through the van speakers. I sat sipping on a red bull beside my friend Jordan in a fifteen passenger van. Disillusioned with life, I roamed aimlessly across the country side with my friends on a nationwide tour. (<a title=\"La Dispute\" href=\"http://www.ladisputemusic.com\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.ladisputemusic.com</a>) We listened to the entirety of the new Mountain Goats album, \'The Life of the World to Come\' as we trekked for days through Texas.\n\nI go out of my way to avoid the cringe that often accompanies my exposure to Christian culture. However, I\'m always keen to hear a nonreligious exploration of religious themes, and that\'s exactly what this album is: an exploration of the biblical retellings of universal struggles. Every track is inspired by and titled after a single verse in the Christian bible and each track is about a hard lesson that singer John Darnielle has learned from the verse. Overall, the album is quiet and contemplative. Perhaps, that\'s why I found myself so helplessly drawn into the stories. Thinking introverts are helpless against the whims of ruminative acoustic guitars and strings sections. We\'re drawn to imperfect characters. We cheer for the junkies and terminal cancer patients who find God in vandalism, destruction and death.\n\nI suspect that the majority of people who cheer for the characters in narratives like these, are hopeful that such imperfect characters are able to find value and redemption among the ruins of their lives. For me the narratives in this album mirror the very things that I live with on a daily basis. There is doubt and death and suffering and remorse, but there is love and light shining up through the failed plans and ruined hope.   <em> </em>\n\n&nbsp;','The Life of the World to Come','','inherit','open','open','','6838-revision-4','','','2012-05-31 19:26:46','2012-06-01 02:26:46','',6838,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/31/6838-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6864,186,'2012-06-01 09:43:17','2012-06-01 16:43:17','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-6854\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art-300x268.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"268\" /></a> I can remember very clearly the first time I heard my favorite artist blaring through the van speakers. I sat sipping on a red bull beside my friend Jordan in a fifteen passenger van. Disillusioned with life, I roamed aimlessly across the country side with <a title=\"La Dispute\" href=\"http://www.ladisputemusic.com\">my friends</a> on a nationwide tour. ( We listened to the entirety of the new Mountain Goats album, \'The Life of the World to Come\' as we trekked for days through Texas.\n\nI go out of my way to avoid the cringe that often accompanies my exposure to Christian culture. However, I\'m always keen to hear a nonreligious exploration of religious themes, and that\'s exactly what this album is: an exploration of the biblical retellings of universal struggles. Every track is inspired by and titled after a single verse in the Christian bible and each track is about a hard lesson that singer John Darnielle has learned from the verse. Overall, the album is quiet and contemplative. Perhaps, that\'s why I found myself so helplessly drawn into the stories. Thinking introverts are helpless against the whims of ruminative acoustic guitars and strings sections. We\'re drawn to imperfect characters. We cheer for the junkies and terminal cancer patients who find God in vandalism, destruction and death.\n\nI suspect that the majority of people who cheer for the characters in narratives like these, are hopeful that such imperfect characters are able to find value and redemption among the ruins of their lives. For me the narratives in this album mirror the very things that I live with on a daily basis. There is doubt and death and suffering and remorse, but there is love and light shining up through the failed plans and ruined hope.   <em> </em>','The Life of the World to Come','','inherit','open','open','','6838-revision-6','','','2012-06-01 09:43:17','2012-06-01 16:43:17','',6838,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/01/6838-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(6856,186,'2012-05-31 19:27:45','2012-06-01 02:27:45','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-6854\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art-300x268.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"268\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI can remember very clearly the first time I heard my favorite artist blaring through the van speakers. I sat sipping on a red bull beside my friend Jordan in a fifteen passenger van. Disillusioned with life, I roamed aimlessly across the country side with my friends on a nationwide tour. (<a title=\"La Dispute\" href=\"http://www.ladisputemusic.com\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.ladisputemusic.com</a>) We listened to the entirety of the new Mountain Goats album, \'The Life of the World to Come\' as we trekked for days through Texas.\r\n\r\nI go out of my way to avoid the cringe that often accompanies my exposure to Christian culture. However, I\'m always keen to hear a nonreligious exploration of religious themes, and that\'s exactly what this album is: an exploration of the biblical retellings of universal struggles. Every track is inspired by and titled after a single verse in the Christian bible and each track is about a hard lesson that singer John Darnielle has learned from the verse. Overall, the album is quiet and contemplative. Perhaps, that\'s why I found myself so helplessly drawn into the stories. Thinking introverts are helpless against the whims of ruminative acoustic guitars and strings sections. We\'re drawn to imperfect characters. We cheer for the junkies and terminal cancer patients who find God in vandalism, destruction and death.\r\n\r\nI suspect that the majority of people who cheer for the characters in narratives like these, are hopeful that such imperfect characters are able to find value and redemption among the ruins of their lives. For me the narratives in this album mirror the very things that I live with on a daily basis. There is doubt and death and suffering and remorse, but there is love and light shining up through the failed plans and ruined hope.   <em> </em>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The Life of the World to Come','','inherit','open','open','','6838-revision-5','','','2012-05-31 19:27:45','2012-06-01 02:27:45','',6838,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/31/6838-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6858,38,'2012-05-26 11:04:21','2012-05-26 18:04:21','Deanna Ogle conducts a series of interviews with different religious groups around metro Detroit to give you insight into the faiths of your neighbors, and so you can hear their stories for yourself.\r\n\r\nThis world is full of religious diversity. How do we learn to live peaceably with the people around us when our faith might differ from theirs? Deanna Ogle says that one way, is through learning about the faith communities of the world.  If you learn about them, you will have more context for your neighbor\'s beliefs. Then we can stop fearing each other, clear up misconceptions, and bring truth and redemption back into the conversation in the public and private square.\r\n<h3><strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/05/07/faith-interview-series-introduction\">INTRODUCTION</a></strong></h3>\r\nSo why should you be interested in interfaith dialog? Find out why it\'s important for the world today and how it can bring freedom to the conversation.\r\n<h3><strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/05/09/faith-interview-series-the-bahai-faith/\" target=\"_blank\">THE BAHÁ’Í FAITH</a></strong></h3>\r\nThe Bahá’í faith began with a man in 19th century Persia who explained that he was the promised one of all religions. Carl Marshall, a gentleman living in Detroit, Michigan explains how he first came to this faith, what it means to him, and what the followers of Bahá’í are all about.\r\n<h3><strong><strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/05/11/faith-interview-series-sikhism/\" target=\"_blank\">SIKH</a></strong></strong></h3>\r\nEver heard of gurus or wondered why Sikh men wear turbans? Mandheer Singh of Rochester Hills, Michigan brings us into his house of worship, talks about his community and their beliefs, and talks about his journey from only knowing of a few Sikhs while growing up in Ohio to living as a devout Sikh in Michigan with his family.\r\n<h3><strong><strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/05/14/faith-interview-series-jew/\" target=\"_blank\">JEW</a></strong></strong></h3>\r\nThe Huffington Post has named Rabbi Jason Miller, a Jew living in Detroit, one of the most influential Jews in social media. Find out more the Jewish faith, how social media is changing the face of Judaism today, and about what it\'s like being a business man and Rabbi living in Detroit.\r\n<h3><strong><strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/05/16/faith-interview-series-neopagan-druid/\" target=\"_blank\">NEOPAGAN DRUID</a></strong></strong></h3>\r\nDruids are a part of the pagan community that is alive and well today. I speak with Rev. Rob Henderson, the leader of a Neopagan Druid community in western Michigan. He talks about how he first found out about paganism, his congregation, and about what the Druids of Shining Lakes Grove, ADF believe.\r\n<h3><strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/05/18/faith-interview-series-christian/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>CHRISTIAN</strong></a><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/05/16/faith-interview-series-neopagan-druid/\" target=\"_blank\">\r\n</a></strong></h3>\r\nTwo men, one faith: Dr. Bob Cornwall, an author and pastor of Troy, Michigan and Curt Motsinger, an elder and school teacher in Waterford, Michigan speak about their journeys through the Christian faith, about their beliefs, and about how its affected their lives.\r\n<h3><strong><strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/05/21/faith-interview-series-muslim/\" target=\"_blank\">MUSLIM</a></strong></strong></h3>\r\nDo Muslim women feel oppressed because of their headscarves? What is the Sharia really about? And what about terrorism? Find out more about the true beliefs of Muslims living in the United States today from Saeed Khan, a professor at Wayne State University, and Tuba Rizvi, a student from Dearborn, Michigan.\r\n<h3><strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/05/23/faith-interview-series-hinduism/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>HINDU</strong></a><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/05/21/faith-interview-series-muslim/\" target=\"_blank\">\r\n</a></strong></h3>\r\nPadma Kuppa\'s faith was sent to front street when she attempted to help organize a National Day of Prayer event in Troy, Michigan but barred from participating because she was not of the \"correct\" faith. Hear about what Hindus believe, her passion for interfaith efforts, and about the kind of misinformation being spread in this country about the Hindu faith.\r\n<h3><strong><strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/05/25/faith-interview-series-zen-buddhist/\" target=\"_blank\">ZEN BUDDHIST</a></strong></strong></h3>\r\nZen Buddhism is more than sitting and humming on a cushion on the floor. So what is it really about? Find out from Gwen, Jaye, and Nancy, three Zen Buddhists of Thich Nhat Hahn\'s tradition from Ferndale, Michigan, what Buddhist mean to them, what they believe, and how it has transformed them as people.\r\n<h3><strong>[CONCLUSION POST COMING 5/28/2012]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/05/25/faith-interview-series-zen-buddhist/\" target=\"_blank\">\r\n</a></strong></h3>\r\nSo now that you\'ve read these articles and learned more about your neighbors, what are you supposed to do with this knowledge? Don\'t let it waste away. Find out practical ways you can take action and can help this world be a brighter place with what you\'ve learned.','Faith Interview Series: An Interfaith Dialog','','inherit','open','open','','6495-revision-12','','','2012-05-26 11:04:21','2012-05-26 18:04:21','',6495,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/26/6495-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(6859,179,'2012-06-02 08:15:42','2012-06-02 15:15:42','I once was a tough guy. I was the loud guy who never got his feelings hurt. I would never cry. At one time, I questioned whether I even could cry.\n\nIn the 10 months from April 2000 to March 2001, I lost my grandmother, my elder brother and my grandfather. During that time I \"stayed strong\", because I thought that\'s what I needed to do. I didn\'t cry. I didn\'t show emotion. I was in 7th grade. For the rest of my middle school and high school years, I remained so calloused. I called myself a Christian but my life was not an example of the Gospel. I hurt many people and I still grieve those relationships I lost in those years. I never let myself grieve the losses that happened in my life because that\'s not what \"guys\" did. This internal hardening and refusal to mourn these losses of dear parts of my family was a sin, and I realize that now. My heart was hardened and it made me a very abrasive person. I exploded at home toward the people closest to me (my sister and parents). I spent a good bit of my time angry. I was not a nice person to be around.\n\nFast forward to 2012. I am a man who is close in touch with his emotions and has no problem crying in front of people. As a matter of fact, a few weeks ago, I was sitting and enjoying a meal with some friends. We were at a popular restaurant in Atlanta and I had ordered a beef turnover (fancy nomenclature for a meat pie). I took one bite of this meat pie and I lose my cool. I start crying. I am around 11 other people.\n\n\"Are you okay? Is everything okay?\"\n\nMy grandfather was known for his meat pies in the small town where I grew up. This meal of a meat pie and potatoes affected me so greatly because it reminded me of some of the best memories I had with my grandfather. I have not reached the mountain-top of \"self-actualization\" at this point, but I think one of the greatest (and hardest) steps toward self actualization is learning that it\'s okay to grieve losses. It is up to the person to decide how long they should grieve. Everyone processes their grief differently, but let me tell you friends, do not hold that grief in. It will turn you into a bitter person.\n\nThis post is directed at my Christian brothers. We were told to \"dry that shit up\" by our fathers. We were told stories of Samson, Gideon and David, the giant slayer. We were told that Christian men are leaders and not affected by emotion. We are told not to hold on to earthly possessions. We are told to rejoice at funerals because our loved ones are \"in a better place\".\n\nI have no problem telling you not to dry that shit up. I am telling you to read the Lamentations of Jeremiah and the story of Jesus crying at Lazarus\' tomb (even though he knew Lazarus would be resurrected). I am telling you to cry. I am telling you to be emotional, because it\'s healthy. I am telling you that to hold in the pain you feel will hurt your relationship with your friends, your co-workers and your partner. I am telling you this because I know it, unfortunately.\n\nChristian man, I am telling you to quit being tough. I am telling you that when someone dies that you\'re close to, grief is normal. I am telling you that when a story touches your heart, it\'s okay to shed a tear. I am telling you to grieve with those who grieve. Grief is a part of the natural human condition and to ignore it is to ignore an integral part of your being.\n\nWhen you lose your job, when your marriage falls apart, when your house burns down and when the church you pastor tears at the seams, the natural reaction is grief and I promise you that if you refuse to grieve in your own way, you will break down. Either break down your own walls, or the world you live in will break them down for you. Grieve and grieve loudly. Let people know you\'re sad. Talk to others about your grief. Find people who love you and share your passions and your failed attempts at pursuing those passions.\n\nMake yourself a broken man or the world will break you.\n\n<em>What do you think? Is grief a vital part of the human condition? Is it necessary? How do you handle grief? Do you have a method for managing your grief or does your grief manage you?</em>','Cry Loudly','','inherit','open','open','','6789-autosave','','','2012-06-02 08:15:42','2012-06-02 15:15:42','',6789,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/01/6789-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6882,179,'2012-06-01 09:00:16','2012-06-01 16:00:16','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Grieving-man.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6851\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Grieving-man.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"227\" /></a>\n\nI once was a tough guy.  I was the loud guy who never got his feelings hurt.  I would never cry. At one time, I questioned whether I even could cry.\n\nIn the 10 months from April 2000 to March 2001, I lost my grandmother, my elder brother and my grandfather.  During that time I \"stayed strong\", because I thought that\'s what I needed to do.  I didn\'t cry.  I didn\'t show emotion.  I was in 7th grade.  For the rest of my middle school and high school years, I remained so calloused.  I called myself a Christian but my life was not an example of the Gospel.  I hurt many people and I still grieve those relationships I lost in those years.  I never let myself grieve the losses that happened in my life because that\'s not what \"guys\" did.  This internal hardening and refusal to mourn these losses of dear parts of my family was a sin, and I realize that now.  My heart was hardened and it made me a very abrasive person.  I exploded at home toward the people closest to me (my sister and parents). I spent a good bit of my time angry.  I was not a nice person to be around.\n\nFast forward to 2012.  I am a man who is close in touch with his emotions and has no problem crying in front of people.  As a matter of fact, a few weeks ago, I was sitting and enjoying a meal with some friends.  We were at a popular restaurant in Atlanta and I had ordered a beef turnover (fancy nomenclature for a meat pie).  I took one bite of this meat pie and I lose my cool.  I start crying.  I am around 11 other people.\n\n\"Are you okay?  Is everything okay?\"\n\nMy grandfather was known for his meat pies in the small town where I grew up.  This meal of a meat pie and potatoes affected me so greatly because it reminded me of some of the best memories I had with my grandfather.  I have not reached the mountain-top of \"self-actualization\" at this point, but I think one of the greatest (and hardest) steps toward self actualization is learning that it\'s okay to grieve losses.  It is up to the person to decide how long they should grieve.  Everyone processes their grief differently, but let me tell you friends, do not hold that grief in.  It will turn you into a bitter person.\n\nThis post is directed at my Christian brothers.  We were told to \"dry that shit up\" by our fathers.  We were told stories of Samson, Gideon and David, the giant slayer.  We were told that Christian men are leaders and not affected by emotion.  We are told not to hold on to earthly possessions.  We are told to rejoice at funerals because our loved ones are \"in a better place\".\n\nI have no problem telling you not to dry that shit up.  I am telling you to read the Lamentations of Jeremiah and the story of Jesus crying at Lazarus\' tomb (even though he knew Lazarus would be resurrected).  I am telling you to cry.  I am telling you to be emotional, because it\'s healthy.  I am telling you that to hold in the pain you feel will hurt your relationship with your friends, your co-workers and your partner.  I am telling you this because I know it, unfortunately.\n\nChristian man, I am telling you to quit being tough.  I am telling you that when someone dies that you\'re close to, grief is normal.  I am telling you that when a story touches your heart, it\'s okay to shed a tear.  I am telling you to grieve with those who grieve.  Grief is a part of the natural human condition and to ignore it is to ignore an integral part of your being.\n\nWhen you lose your job, when your marriage falls apart, when your house burns down and when the church you pastor tears at the seams, the natural reaction is grief and I promise you that if you refuse  to grieve in your own way, you will break down.  Either break down your own walls, or the world you live in will break them down for you.  Grieve and grieve loudly.  Let people know you\'re sad.  Talk to others about your grief.  Find people who love you and share your passions and your failed attempts at pursuing those passions.\n\nMake yourself a broken man or the world will break you.\n\n\n<em>What do you think?  Is grief a vital part of the human condition?  Is it necessary?  How do you handle grief? Do you have a method for managing your grief or does your grief manage you?</em>','Cry Loudly','','inherit','open','open','','6789-revision-4','','','2012-06-01 09:00:16','2012-06-01 16:00:16','',6789,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/01/6789-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6860,179,'2012-05-31 08:56:50','2012-05-31 15:56:50','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Grieving-man.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6851\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Grieving-man.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"227\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI once was a tough guy.  I was the loud guy who never got his feelings hurt.  I would never cry. At one time, I questioned whether I even could cry.\r\n\r\nIn the 10 months from April 2000 to March 2001, I lost my grandmother, my elder brother and my grandfather.  During that time I \"stayed strong\" because I thought that\'s what I needed to do.  I didn\'t cry.  I didn\'t show emotion.  I was in 7th grade.  For the rest of my middle school and high school years I was so calloused.  I called myself a Christian but my life was not an example of the Gospel.  I hurt many people and I still grieve those relationships I lost in those years.  I never let myself grieve the losses that happened in my life because that\'s not what \"guys\" did.  This internal hardening and refusal to mourn these losses of dear parts of my family was a sin, I realize now.  My heart was hardened and it made me a very abrasive person.  I exploded at home at the people closest to me (my sister and parents). I spent a good bit of my time angry.  I was not a nice person to be around.\r\n\r\nFast forward to 2012.  I am a man who is close in touch with his emotions and has no problem crying in front of people.  As a matter of fact, a few weeks ago, I was sitting and enjoying a meal with some friends who are.  We were at a popular restaurant in Atlanta and I had ordered a beef turnover (fancy nomenclature for a meat pie).  I took one bite of this meat pie and I lose my cool.  I start crying.  I am around 11 other people.\r\n\r\n\"Are you okay?  Is everything okay?\"\r\n\r\nMy grandfather was known for his meat pies in the small town where I grew up.  This meal of a meat pie and potatoes affected me so greatly because it reminded me of some of the best memories I had with my grandfather.  I have not reached the mountain-top of \"self-actualization\" at this point, but I think one of the greatest (and hardest) steps toward self actualization is learning that it\'s okay to grieve losses.  It is up to the person to decide how long they should grieve.  Everyone processes their grief differently, but let me tell you friends, do not hold that grief in.  It will turn you into a bitter person.\r\n\r\nThis post is directed at my Christian brothers.  We were told to \"dry that shit up\" by our fathers.  We were told stories of Samson, Gideon and David, the giant slayer.  We were told that Christian men are leaders and not affected by emotion.  We are told not to hold on to earthly possessions.  We are told to rejoice at funerals because our loved ones are \"in a better place\".\r\n\r\nI have no problem telling you not to dry that shit up.  I am telling you to read the Lamentations of Jeremiah and the story of Jesus crying at Lazarus\' tomb (even though he knew Lazarus would be resurrected).  I am telling you to cry.  I am telling you to be emotional, because it\'s healthy.  I am telling you that to hold in the pain you feel will hurt your relationship with your friends, your co-workers and your partner.  I am telling you this because I know it, unfortunately.\r\n\r\nChristian man, I am telling you to quit being tough.  I am telling you that when someone dies that you\'re close to, grief is normal.  I am telling you that when a story touches your heart, it\'s okay to shed a tear.  I am telling you to grieve with those who grieve.  Grief is a part of the natural human condition and to ignore it is to ignore an integral part of your being.\r\n\r\nWhen you lose your job, when your marriage falls apart, when your house burns down and when the church you pastor tears at the seams, the natural reaction is grief and I promise you that if you refuse  to grieve in your own way, you will break down.  Either, break down your own walls or the world you live in will break them down for you.  Grieve and grieve loudly.  Let people know you\'re sad.  Talk to others about your grief.  Find people who love you and share your passions and your failed attempts at pursuing those passions.\r\n\r\nMake yourself a broken man or the world will break you.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you think?  Is grief a vital part of the human condition?  Is it necessary?  How do you handle grief? Do you have a method for managing your grief or does your grief manage you?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Cry Loudly','','inherit','open','open','','6789-revision-3','','','2012-05-31 08:56:50','2012-05-31 15:56:50','',6789,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/31/6789-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6862,1,'2012-05-29 05:15:42','2012-05-29 12:15:42','Reviewing via film a “documentary poem” about creativity and faith is a little daunting for people, like me, because I am by nature a very straightforward, no-nonsense, and practical kind of person.  Not that I didn’t expect to learn a few new things or find something that would be useful to friends whom I consider “creative”—but I did not anticipate the extent to which “Made as Makers” would expand my own understanding of faith. I thought that a film about creativity would be about bringing artistic elements into our worship, not about using creativity to approach our faith and our understanding of God. Since the latter is true (though not to the exclusion of the former), I found that I really did have a bit to say about this film. As Callid Keefe-Perry says, “I think that every single person has something to add to the conversation where God is concerned because I think that God is concerned with every single person.”\r\n<div>\r\n\r\nIn “Made as Makers,” the filmmaker interviews women, men, artists, church leaders, theologians and everyday people and records his own conversations with them about God, faith, and hope for the church.  I was delighted to find that from the moment the film started, I was invited—no, pulled into—this conversation. There is no room to sit back as a detached observer, the so-called third wheel in a two-person dialogue. The opening sequences of the film begin with Callid Keefe-Perry talking to you, to me, directly.  While he talks there with us there is an empty chair behind him -- is it for another member of this conversation, for God, for both? By artfully leaving “space” Callid Keefe-Perry invites God and us to explore these questions with him.\r\n\r\nSince this is a conversation that we join, not one that we observe from a distance, I’m going to deviate from standard reviewing practice and not go over the main points of the film. You can, and should, watch it and do that yourself. Instead, I am going to review the places where I found myself joining the conversation, where I resonated, and where light shone in my spirit. On second thought, if you watch this film and try to outline the “main points” then you’ve probably missed the main point because the main point really is whatever you have to add to the conversation about God, faith, and hope for the church.\r\n\r\nThe themes that really jumped out at me were <em>space</em> and <em>practice</em>. The empty chair behind Callid Keefe-Perry in the opening sequences of the film captivated me. I thought, “We are leaving space for God. God is going to meet us here. He is going to fill that chair.” Later, we hear a woman talking about how faith, and the necessity of having to have faith, really sucks because those around her appear to have a meaningful faith life with little effort while she struggles to “get it right.” I have frequented that place of struggle and comparison quite regularly myself, so it was comforting to hear another woman speak about her journey to find a community that created the space necessary for her to practice faith from her gut. In this sense, then, “Made as Makers” highlighted that creativity in faith includes the importance of matching people to practice, the experimentation required to discover what fits, and the necessary balance between what fits and pushing boundaries of comfort. For example, I naturally find more spiritual and creative space in structured, repetitive environments; too much free form leads me into spiritual desert. I know many people for whom this is the exact opposite.\r\n\r\nOnce you’re in this conversation about creative faith, it is really kind of hard to leave. I found myself thinking about these themes of space and practice long after watching the film. I was in the car and listening to an interview with Tracy K. Smith about her struggle to write six lines of poetry, and it got me wondering about the parallels between creative struggle and spiritual struggle, between writer’s block and the dark night of the soul. And then in church we sang a hymn with the line “classrooms and labs, loud boiling test tubes, sing to the Lord a new song!” I was a little bit giddy because my upstairs neighbor is a chemist, who spends her days with petri dishes and pipettes, and I began to think about creative chemists and what that looks like and how somewhere in something that confuses me she finds the space to praise God.\r\n\r\nI did have the opportunity to eavesdrop on how “Made as Makers” resonated with a few other people. One viewer highlighted the emphasis on the creative possibilities in a relationship with God where “we don’t have to do it all.” Another was moved by the tension between the experience of faith in which we live and our inability to communicate our experience in such a way that another fully grasps the impact of our experience.  He thought that perhaps creativity and poetry might offer the space to experience faith with one another.  Some were overwhelmed by a desire to go out and do something creative and artistic.\r\n\r\nI believe that this opportunity to process “Made as Makers” with others is essential. This isn’t a conversation to be had between me and a film but within members of the broader Christian community. The hope is that a number of us will watch this and get talking, find an open space, and see what new thing God creates with us. May you watch and add your voice to the conversation as well.\r\n\r\nwww.madeasmakers.org\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n</div>','A Review Callid Keefe-Perry’s documentary “Made as Makers” ','','inherit','open','open','','6812-revision-7','','','2012-05-29 05:15:42','2012-05-29 12:15:42','',6812,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/29/6812-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(6863,1,'2012-06-01 09:22:47','2012-06-01 16:22:47','Reviewing via film a “documentary poem” about creativity and faith is a little daunting for people, like me, because I am by nature a very straightforward, no-nonsense, and practical kind of person.  Not that I didn’t expect to learn a few new things or find something that would be useful to friends whom I consider “creative”—but I did not anticipate the extent to which “Made as Makers” would expand my own understanding of faith. I thought that a film about creativity would be about bringing artistic elements into our worship, not about using creativity to approach our faith and our understanding of God. Since the latter is true (though not to the exclusion of the former), I found that I really did have a bit to say about this film. As Callid Keefe-Perry says, “I think that every single person has something to add to the conversation where God is concerned because I think that God is concerned with every single person.”\r\n<div>\r\n\r\nIn “Made as Makers,” the filmmaker interviews women, men, artists, church leaders, theologians and everyday people and records his own conversations with them about God, faith, and hope for the church.  I was delighted to find that from the moment the film started, I was invited—no, pulled into—this conversation. There is no room to sit back as a detached observer, the so-called third wheel in a two-person dialogue. The opening sequences of the film begin with Callid Keefe-Perry talking to you, to me, directly.  While he talks there with us there is an empty chair behind him -- is it for another member of this conversation, for God, for both? By artfully leaving “space” Callid Keefe-Perry invites God and us to explore these questions with him.\r\n\r\nSince this is a conversation that we join, not one that we observe from a distance, I’m going to deviate from standard reviewing practice and not go over the main points of the film. You can, and should, watch it and do that yourself. Instead, I am going to review the places where I found myself joining the conversation, where I resonated, and where light shone in my spirit. On second thought, if you watch this film and try to outline the “main points” then you’ve probably missed the main point because the main point really is whatever you have to add to the conversation about God, faith, and hope for the church.\r\n\r\nThe themes that really jumped out at me were <em>space</em> and <em>practice</em>. The empty chair behind Callid Keefe-Perry in the opening sequences of the film captivated me. I thought, “We are leaving space for God. God is going to meet us here. He is going to fill that chair.” Later, we hear a woman talking about how faith, and the necessity of having to have faith, really sucks because those around her appear to have a meaningful faith life with little effort while she struggles to “get it right.” I have frequented that place of struggle and comparison quite regularly myself, so it was comforting to hear another woman speak about her journey to find a community that created the space necessary for her to practice faith from her gut. In this sense, then, “Made as Makers” highlighted that creativity in faith includes the importance of matching people to practice, the experimentation required to discover what fits, and the necessary balance between what fits and pushing boundaries of comfort. For example, I naturally find more spiritual and creative space in structured, repetitive environments; too much free form leads me into spiritual desert. I know many people for whom this is the exact opposite.\r\n\r\nOnce you’re in this conversation about creative faith, it is really kind of hard to leave. I found myself thinking about these themes of space and practice long after watching the film. I was in the car and listening to an interview with Tracy K. Smith about her struggle to write six lines of poetry, and it got me wondering about the parallels between creative struggle and spiritual struggle, between writer’s block and the dark night of the soul. And then in church we sang a hymn with the line “classrooms and labs, loud boiling test tubes, sing to the Lord a new song!” I was a little bit giddy because my upstairs neighbor is a chemist, who spends her days with petri dishes and pipettes, and I began to think about creative chemists and what that looks like and how somewhere in something that confuses me she finds the space to praise God.\r\n\r\nI did have the opportunity to eavesdrop on how “Made as Makers” resonated with a few other people. One viewer highlighted the emphasis on the creative possibilities in a relationship with God where “we don’t have to do it all.” Another was moved by the tension between the experience of faith in which we live and our inability to communicate our experience in such a way that another fully grasps the impact of our experience.  He thought that perhaps creativity and poetry might offer the space to experience faith with one another.  Some were overwhelmed by a desire to go out and do something creative and artistic.\r\n\r\nI believe that this opportunity to process “Made as Makers” with others is essential. This isn’t a conversation to be had between me and a film but within members of the broader Christian community. The hope is that a number of us will watch this and get talking, find an open space, and see what new thing God creates with us. May you watch and add your voice to the conversation as well.\r\n\r\nwww.madeasmakers.org\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n</div>','A Review Callid Keefe-Perry’s documentary “Made as Makers” ','','inherit','open','open','','6812-revision-8','','','2012-06-01 09:22:47','2012-06-01 16:22:47','',6812,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/01/6812-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(6865,186,'2012-06-01 09:44:47','2012-06-01 16:44:47','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-6854\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art-300x268.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"268\" /></a> I can remember very clearly the first time I heard my favorite artist blaring through the van speakers. I sat sipping on a red bull beside my friend Jordan in a fifteen passenger van. Disillusioned with life, I roamed aimlessly across the country side with <a title=\"La Dispute\" href=\"http://www.ladisputemusic.com\">my friends</a> on a nationwide tour. We listened to the entirety of the new Mountain Goats album, \'The Life of the World to Come\' as we trekked through Texas.\n\nI go out of my way to avoid the cringe that often accompanies my exposure to Christian culture. However, I\'m always keen to hear a nonreligious exploration of religious themes, and that\'s exactly what this album is: an exploration of the biblical retellings of universal struggles. Every track is inspired by and titled after a single verse in the Christian bible and each track is about a hard lesson that singer John Darnielle has learned from the verse. Overall, the album is quiet and contemplative. Perhaps, that\'s why I found myself so helplessly drawn into the stories. Thinking introverts are helpless against the whims of ruminative acoustic guitars and strings sections. We\'re drawn to imperfect characters. We cheer for the junkies and terminal cancer patients who find God in vandalism, destruction and death.\n\nI suspect that the majority of people who cheer for the characters in narratives like these, are hopeful that such imperfect characters are able to find value and redemption among the ruins of their lives. For me the narratives in this album mirror the very things that I live with on a daily basis. There is doubt and death and suffering and remorse, but there is love and light shining up through the failed plans and ruined hope.   <em> </em>\n\n&nbsp;','The Life of the World to Come','','inherit','open','open','','6838-revision-7','','','2012-06-01 09:44:47','2012-06-01 16:44:47','',6838,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/01/6838-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(6866,186,'2012-06-01 09:44:57','2012-06-01 16:44:57','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-6854\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art-300x268.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"268\" /></a> I can remember very clearly the first time I heard my favorite artist blaring through the van speakers. I sat sipping on a red bull beside my friend Jordan in a fifteen passenger van. Disillusioned with life, I roamed aimlessly across the country side with <a title=\"La Dispute\" href=\"http://www.ladisputemusic.com\">my friends</a> on a nationwide tour. We listened to the entirety of the new Mountain Goats album, \'The Life of the World to Come\' as we trekked through Texas.\r\n\r\nI go out of my way to avoid the cringe that often accompanies my exposure to Christian culture. However, I\'m always keen to hear a nonreligious exploration of religious themes, and that\'s exactly what this album is: an exploration of the biblical retellings of universal struggles. Every track is inspired by and titled after a single verse in the Christian bible and each track is about a hard lesson that singer John Darnielle has learned from the verse. Overall, the album is quiet and contemplative. Perhaps, that\'s why I found myself so helplessly drawn into the stories. Thinking introverts are helpless against the whims of ruminative acoustic guitars and strings sections. We\'re drawn to imperfect characters. We cheer for the junkies and terminal cancer patients who find God in vandalism, destruction and death.\r\n\r\nI suspect that the majority of people who cheer for the characters in narratives like these, are hopeful that such imperfect characters are able to find value and redemption among the ruins of their lives. For me the narratives in this album mirror the very things that I live with on a daily basis. There is doubt and death and suffering and remorse, but there is love and light shining up through the failed plans and ruined hope.   <em> </em>\r\n\r\n[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFpQQM1pfUc[/youtube]','The Life of the World to Come','','inherit','open','open','','6838-revision-8','','','2012-06-01 09:44:57','2012-06-01 16:44:57','',6838,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/01/6838-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(6867,186,'2012-06-01 09:45:23','2012-06-01 16:45:23','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-6854\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art-300x268.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"268\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI can remember very clearly the first time I heard my favorite artist blaring through the van speakers. I sat sipping on a red bull beside my friend Jordan in a fifteen passenger van. Disillusioned with life, I roamed aimlessly across the country side with <a title=\"La Dispute\" href=\"http://www.ladisputemusic.com\">my friends</a> on a nationwide tour. We listened to the entirety of the new Mountain Goats album, \'The Life of the World to Come\' as we trekked through Texas.\r\n\r\nI go out of my way to avoid the cringe that often accompanies my exposure to Christian culture. However, I\'m always keen to hear a nonreligious exploration of religious themes, and that\'s exactly what this album is: an exploration of the biblical retellings of universal struggles. Every track is inspired by and titled after a single verse in the Christian bible and each track is about a hard lesson that singer John Darnielle has learned from the verse. Overall, the album is quiet and contemplative. Perhaps, that\'s why I found myself so helplessly drawn into the stories. Thinking introverts are helpless against the whims of ruminative acoustic guitars and strings sections. We\'re drawn to imperfect characters. We cheer for the junkies and terminal cancer patients who find God in vandalism, destruction and death.\r\n\r\nI suspect that the majority of people who cheer for the characters in narratives like these, are hopeful that such imperfect characters are able to find value and redemption among the ruins of their lives. For me the narratives in this album mirror the very things that I live with on a daily basis. There is doubt and death and suffering and remorse, but there is love and light shining up through the failed plans and ruined hope.   <em> </em>\r\n\r\n[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFpQQM1pfUc[/youtube]','The Life of the World to Come','','inherit','open','open','','6838-revision-9','','','2012-06-01 09:45:23','2012-06-01 16:45:23','',6838,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/01/6838-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(6868,186,'2012-06-01 09:45:29','2012-06-01 16:45:29','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-6854\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art-300x268.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"268\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI can remember very clearly the first time I heard my favorite artist blaring through the van speakers. I sat sipping on a red bull beside my friend Jordan in a fifteen passenger van. Disillusioned with life, I roamed aimlessly across the country side with <a title=\"La Dispute\" href=\"http://www.ladisputemusic.com\">my friends</a> on a nationwide tour. We listened to the entirety of the new Mountain Goats album, \'The Life of the World to Come\' as we trekked through Texas.\r\n\r\nI go out of my way to avoid the cringe that often accompanies my exposure to Christian culture. However, I\'m always keen to hear a nonreligious exploration of religious themes, and that\'s exactly what this album is: an exploration of the biblical retellings of universal struggles. Every track is inspired by and titled after a single verse in the Christian bible and each track is about a hard lesson that singer John Darnielle has learned from the verse. Overall, the album is quiet and contemplative. Perhaps, that\'s why I found myself so helplessly drawn into the stories. Thinking introverts are helpless against the whims of ruminative acoustic guitars and strings sections. We\'re drawn to imperfect characters. We cheer for the junkies and terminal cancer patients who find God in vandalism, destruction and death.\r\n\r\nI suspect that the majority of people who cheer for the characters in narratives like these, are hopeful that such imperfect characters are able to find value and redemption among the ruins of their lives. For me the narratives in this album mirror the very things that I live with on a daily basis. There is doubt and death and suffering and remorse, but there is love and light shining up through the failed plans and ruined hope.   <em> </em>\r\n\r\n[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFpQQM1pfUc[/youtube]','The Life of the World to Come','','inherit','open','open','','6838-revision-10','','','2012-06-01 09:45:29','2012-06-01 16:45:29','',6838,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/01/6838-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(6869,186,'2012-06-01 09:51:06','2012-06-01 16:51:06','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-6854\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art-300x268.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"268\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI can remember very clearly the first time I heard my favorite artist blaring through the van speakers. I sat sipping on a red bull, beside my friend Jordan in a fifteen passenger van. Disillusioned with life, I roamed aimlessly across the country side with <a title=\"La Dispute\" href=\"http://www.ladisputemusic.com\">my friends</a> on a nationwide tour. We listened to the entirety of the new Mountain Goats album, \'The Life of the World to Come\' as we trekked through Texas. It was like falling in love. I felt vulnerable and human.\r\n\r\nI go out of my way to avoid the cringe that often accompanies my exposure to Christian culture. However, I\'m always keen to hear a nonreligious exploration of religious themes, and that\'s exactly what this album is: an exploration of the biblical retellings of universal struggles. Every track is inspired by and titled after a single verse in the Christian bible and each track is about a hard lesson that singer John Darnielle has learned from the verse. Overall, the album is quiet and contemplative. Perhaps, that\'s why I found myself so helplessly drawn into the stories. Thinking introverts are helpless against the whims of ruminative acoustic guitars and strings sections. We\'re drawn to imperfect characters. We cheer for the junkies and terminal cancer patients who find God in vandalism, destruction and death.\r\n\r\nI suspect that the majority of people who cheer for the characters in narratives like these, are hopeful that such imperfect characters are able to find value and redemption among the ruins of their lives. For me, the narratives in this album mirror the very things that I live with on a daily basis. There is doubt and death and suffering and remorse, but there is love and light shining up through the failed plans and ruined hope.   <em> </em>\r\n\r\n[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFpQQM1pfUc[/youtube]','The Life of the World to Come','','inherit','open','open','','6838-revision-11','','','2012-06-01 09:51:06','2012-06-01 16:51:06','',6838,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/01/6838-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(6870,186,'2012-06-01 09:51:15','2012-06-01 16:51:15','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-6854\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art-300x268.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"268\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI can remember very clearly the first time I heard my favorite artist blaring through the van speakers. I sat sipping on a red bull, beside my friend Jordan in a fifteen passenger van. Disillusioned with life, I roamed aimlessly across the country side with <a title=\"La Dispute\" href=\"http://www.ladisputemusic.com\">my friends</a> on a nationwide tour. We listened to the entirety of the new Mountain Goats album, \'The Life of the World to Come\' as we trekked through Texas. It was like falling in love. I felt vulnerable and human.\r\n\r\nI go out of my way to avoid the cringe that often accompanies my exposure to Christian culture. However, I\'m always keen to hear a nonreligious exploration of religious themes, and that\'s exactly what this album is: an exploration of the biblical retellings of universal struggles. Every track is inspired by and titled after a single verse in the Christian bible and each track is about a hard lesson that singer John Darnielle has learned from the verse. Overall, the album is quiet and contemplative. Perhaps, that\'s why I found myself so helplessly drawn into the stories. Thinking introverts are helpless against the whims of ruminative acoustic guitars and strings sections. We\'re drawn to imperfect characters. We cheer for the junkies and terminal cancer patients who find God in vandalism, destruction and death.\r\n\r\nI suspect that the majority of people who cheer for the characters in narratives like these, are hopeful that such imperfect characters are able to find value and redemption among the ruins of their lives. For me, the narratives in this album mirror the very things that I live with on a daily basis. There is doubt and death and suffering and remorse, but there is love and light shining up through the failed plans and ruined hope.   <em> </em>\r\n\r\n[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFpQQM1pfUc[/youtube]','The Life of the World to Come','','inherit','open','open','','6838-revision-12','','','2012-06-01 09:51:15','2012-06-01 16:51:15','',6838,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/01/6838-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(6888,179,'2012-06-02 08:45:41','2012-06-02 15:45:41','Once, somewhere in the Northern Highlands, among the hills of rock, two masons set out to build their homes. In the thin light of a new Spring morning, they each gathered stones together for their task.\r\n\r\nThe first mason selected stones suited for the work. He carted them to his site and quickly joined them together into a house both sturdy and safe. Because he finished his work quickly he built another house. And another. And still another until the landscape was filled with houses of stone, all sturdy and safe, but each one cold and empty.\r\n\r\nThe second mason made a curious choice of building materials, for among the Highlands was a quivering mountain of living stones. These stones were no bigger than those used by the first mason. They were no stronger or better shaped, nor any more lovely than the others. But they were alive: they spoke, they sang, they even argued, and somehow they could move of their own accord, even after being selected by the second mason.\r\n\r\nAs the mason piled the living stones into his wagon they asked where he was taking them. When they saw the plans for his house some cheered and sang while others complained and wandered away. They wanted no part of his house. Still the mason joined the stones together, building the walls and arches and hearth of a home fit for his purpose.\r\n\r\nBut because he had chosen living stones, the house was never completed. Some stones jumped from the cart before they arrived at the building. The work was forever unfinished as the mason returned to the mountain quarry again and again for more supply. Other stones allowed the mason to place them in the wall but failed to connect with the wall-mates on their left and right: they argued, they cried, and when they could stand it no more, they left.\r\n\r\nStill he continued to build. Always the house was incomplete. Some mornings the Mason would return to work only to discover that the stones had re-arranged themselves in the night. The Mason made curious choice to leave holes in the walls where the stones had fled, because (he said) “I selected that stone and crafted a place for it alone. Another cannot take it’s place.”\r\n\r\nFrom time to time a missing stone would wander back to the house and the Mason lovingly fitted it back in the wall again. Some stones stayed in place forevermore, but some left (and returned) time and again. Still he continued to build. Room upon room he added, not one of them finished until there grew an unwieldy mansion both large and incomplete. In this mansion he chose to live, year after year in fellowship with the living stones that breathed in every wall.\r\n\r\nPassers-by would stop and stare in amazement. Many laughed at the sprawling mess of a mansion that had grown on the landscape. It seemed without design and devoid of all reason.\r\n\r\n“Why don’t you use the stones all the other masons use?” they laughed. “You could finish your house in days and be done with the work.”\r\n\r\n“This building is my work,” he replied. “And as for the living stones it is true--they are a bother: but I could never build with dead ones, for this is my home, and I’ve come that they might have life.”','The House of the Second Mason','','inherit','open','open','','6832-revision-3','','','2012-06-02 08:45:41','2012-06-02 15:45:41','',6832,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/02/6832-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6871,186,'2012-06-01 09:51:17','2012-06-01 16:51:17','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-6854\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art-300x268.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"268\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI can remember very clearly the first time I heard my favorite artist blaring through the van speakers. I sat sipping on a red bull, beside my friend Jordan in a fifteen passenger van. Disillusioned with life, I roamed aimlessly across the country side with <a title=\"La Dispute\" href=\"http://www.ladisputemusic.com\">my friends</a> on a nationwide tour. We listened to the entirety of the new Mountain Goats album, \'The Life of the World to Come\' as we trekked through Texas. It was like falling in love. I felt vulnerable and human.\r\n\r\nI go out of my way to avoid the cringe that often accompanies my exposure to Christian culture. However, I\'m always keen to hear a nonreligious exploration of religious themes, and that\'s exactly what this album is: an exploration of the biblical retellings of universal struggles. Every track is inspired by and titled after a single verse in the Christian bible and each track is about a hard lesson that singer John Darnielle has learned from the verse. Overall, the album is quiet and contemplative. Perhaps, that\'s why I found myself so helplessly drawn into the stories. Thinking introverts are helpless against the whims of ruminative acoustic guitars and strings sections. We\'re drawn to imperfect characters. We cheer for the junkies and terminal cancer patients who find God in vandalism, destruction and death.\r\n\r\nI suspect that the majority of people who cheer for the characters in narratives like these, are hopeful that such imperfect characters are able to find value and redemption among the ruins of their lives. For me, the narratives in this album mirror the very things that I live with on a daily basis. There is doubt and death and suffering and remorse, but there is love and light shining up through the failed plans and ruined hope.   <em> </em>\r\n\r\n[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFpQQM1pfUc[/youtube]','The Life of the World to Come','','inherit','open','open','','6838-revision-13','','','2012-06-01 09:51:17','2012-06-01 16:51:17','',6838,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/01/6838-revision-13/',0,'revision','',0),(6872,186,'2012-06-01 09:52:09','2012-06-01 16:52:09','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-6854\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art-300x268.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"268\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI can remember very clearly the first time I heard my favorite artist blaring through the van speakers. I sat sipping on a red bull, beside my friend Jordan in a fifteen passenger van. Disillusioned with life, I roamed aimlessly across the country side with <a title=\"La Dispute\" href=\"http://www.ladisputemusic.com\">my friends</a> on a nationwide tour. We listened to the entirety of the new Mountain Goats album, \'The Life of the World to Come\' as we trekked through Texas. It was like falling in love. I felt vulnerable and human.\r\n\r\nI go out of my way to avoid the cringe that often accompanies my exposure to Christian culture. However, I\'m always keen to hear a nonreligious exploration of religious themes, and that\'s exactly what this album is: an exploration of the biblical retellings of universal struggles. Every track is inspired by and titled after a single verse in the Christian bible and each track is about a hard lesson that singer John Darnielle has learned from the verse. Overall, the album is quiet and contemplative. Perhaps, that\'s why I found myself so helplessly drawn into the stories. Thinking introverts are helpless against the whims of ruminative acoustic guitars and strings sections. We\'re drawn to imperfect characters. We cheer for the junkies and terminal cancer patients who find God in vandalism, destruction and death.\r\n\r\nI suspect that the majority of people who cheer for the characters in narratives like these, are hopeful that such imperfect characters are able to find value and redemption among the ruins of their lives. For me, the narratives in this album mirror the very things that I live with on a daily basis. There is doubt and death and suffering and remorse, but there is love and light shining up through the failed plans and ruined hope.   <em> </em>\r\n\r\n[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFpQQM1pfUc[/youtube]','The Life of the World to Come','','inherit','open','open','','6838-revision-14','','','2012-06-01 09:52:09','2012-06-01 16:52:09','',6838,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/01/6838-revision-14/',0,'revision','',0),(6873,179,'2012-07-19 09:05:32','2012-07-19 16:05:32','I can remember very clearly the first time I heard my favorite artist blaring through the van speakers. I sat sipping on a red bull, beside my friend Jordan in a fifteen passenger van. Disillusioned with life, I roamed aimlessly across the country side with <a title=\"La Dispute\" href=\"http://www.ladisputemusic.com\">my friends</a> on a nationwide tour. We listened to the entirety of the new Mountain Goats album, <em>The Life of the World to Come</em>, as we trekked through Texas. It was like falling in love. I felt vulnerable and human.\n\nI go out of my way to avoid the cringe that often accompanies my exposure to Christian culture. However, I\'m always keen to hear a nonreligious exploration of religious themes, and that\'s exactly what this album is: an exploration of the biblical retellings of universal struggles. Every track is inspired by and titled after a single verse in the Christian bible and each track is about a hard lesson that singer John Darnielle has learned from the verse. Overall, the album is quiet and contemplative. Perhaps, that\'s why I found myself so helplessly drawn into the stories. Thinking introverts are helpless against the whims of ruminative acoustic guitars and strings sections. We\'re drawn to imperfect characters. We cheer for the junkies and terminal cancer patients who find God in vandalism, destruction and death.\n\nI suspect that the majority of people who cheer for the characters in narratives like these, are hopeful that such imperfect characters are able to find value and redemption among the ruins of their lives. For me, the narratives in this album mirror the very things that I live with on a daily basis. There is doubt and death and suffering and remorse, but there is love and light shining up through the failed plans and ruined hope.   <em> </em>\n\n[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFpQQM1pfUc[/youtube]','The Life of the World to Come','','inherit','open','open','','6838-autosave','','','2012-07-19 09:05:32','2012-07-19 16:05:32','',6838,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/01/6838-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(7239,1,'2012-07-19 13:13:58','2012-07-19 20:13:58','In August Provoketive will be partnering with Synchroblog<strong>. </strong> We will be hosting the Synchroblog for the month of August as we consider the concept of Following Jesus.\r\n\r\nIn order to for an article to be considered for this endeavor the author should sign up to be a writer for Provoketive first.  <em>If have already done this, you do not need to repeat the process.</em>  It is very easy, and all of the instructions are below.\r\n\r\nThe topic:  <strong>Follow.</strong>  In August we are going to consider the idea of following.  Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me,” and that has powerful implications in the way we live.  How does that affect you?   We believe the power of voice has tremendous capacity to inspire and encourage people. Provoketive is a space to explore our humanity, who we follow, and who is following us.\r\n\r\nHere are the instructions for August only:\r\n\r\n1. Sign up to be a writer on Provoketive.  Click here &lt;<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/writing-for-provoketive/\">http://provoketive.com/writing-for-provoketive/</a></span></span>&gt;  and fill out the form.  We’ll send you all the instructions to add your post. This step is unnecessary if you have already registered.\r\n\r\n2. Write and submit a 500-1,000 word post on the subject of following.  Some things to consider writing about include: what are the rules for following Jesus?  Are we going somewhere when we follow Jesus? Has your journey changed over time? Is there more than one way to follow Jesus?  What are the markers of a person following Jesus?\r\n\r\nYou may post the article on your own blog if you wish, but wait for the schedule to be posted after August 1st.\r\n\r\n3. All posts must be submitted to Provoketive by <strong>August 1.\r\n</strong>\r\n4.<strong> </strong>The articles will be posted on Provoketive each day throughout the month of August.\r\n\r\n5.  A schedule will be provided in early August so that authors know when they will be featured on Provoketive\'s website.','New Synchroblog Coming - Follow','','publish','open','open','','new-synchroblog-coming-follow','','','2012-07-19 13:14:22','2012-07-19 20:14:22','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=7239',0,'post','',1),(6874,38,'2012-05-06 23:09:49','2012-05-07 06:09:49','The last thing I wanted to talk about before closing the books on this series is interfaith. So, I interviewed Robert Bruttell, the chairman of the Interfaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit. He attended Catholic Seminary as a young man. He said, “I’ve maintained an interest as to how people come to their community values all my life. One of my constant concerns has been race and the racialization of our community. Much of that has to do with community values.” The ILCMD focuses on creating bridges.\r\n<blockquote>There are a lot of ways to deal with the barriers between people, and talking about race is one of them, along with ethnicity. Another is through talking to people about their values and how to take very different points of view about why you should do things and see if you can get them to work together on some similar or mutually agreeable purpose. And the interfaith conversation is a great place for that.</blockquote>\r\n<h2>About Robert</h2>\r\nRobert received a graduate degree in Religious Studies. He is now a professor at a nearby Catholic university teaching History of Religion in America, Religion and Science in the West, World Religion and the occasional Intro to Social Justice course. When I told him about my being told not to go to a secular university as a  child, he said:\r\n<blockquote>Many religious groups say that other people are not religious, or that they are “secular.” Well, it turns out that in a country that 70% of the people profess to have a religious belief, what you are saying when you say those people are secular is that other religious people make you unhappy and you will call them “secular.” But when you actually have to sit down with them and talk to them and discover that they actually have very strong religious beliefs—much of it coming from what they believe god means to them—they want that to be exercised in very powerful ways in society, and you have to lose that whole sense that there are these people out there with nonreligious beliefs that are vaguely evil and that you are vaguely truthful and good.</blockquote>\r\n<h2>Why Interfaith Matters</h2>\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/girl-smile_flickr_whologwhy.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6283 alignleft\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/girl-smile_flickr_whologwhy-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>The Interfaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit brings people of all faiths together to work on projects and causes that they can agree on are important. One cause in particular that they are working on right now is literacy. He said that their group realized that while they have holy books that say very different things, they all need people to be able to read them! This is one way people can come together and work on things that matter and help make the world a better place while operating out of a place of respect.\r\n\r\nRobert said something very important to me: “And you can see that people have to start thinking about it in terms of people who believe having different points of view rather than people without religious beliefs, or ‘vaguely evil’ who have no religious point of view. And that ‘vaguely evil’ thing is a dangerous for society; it’s another barrier that keeps people from working with each other.”\r\n<h2>What Now?</h2>\r\nSo, now that you’ve read all of these articles, what are you supposed to do now?\r\n\r\nDon’t worry, there won’t be a quiz later, so you don’t need to remember all the specific terms for everything! But what you can do now is take what you’ve read here and do your own investigation.\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/hugs_flickr_carbonNYC.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright  wp-image-6284\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/hugs_flickr_carbonNYC-300x237.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"240\" height=\"190\" /></a>If a particular concept struck you as interesting... </strong>Look it up on Wikipedia and read more about it.\r\n\r\n<strong>If you’re still feeling in the dark about a religion not mentioned here… </strong>Go to the library or Netflix and find a documentary. Dig into <a href=\"http://www.patheos.com/\">Patheos</a> and find a portal related to that group and explore a little bit.\r\n\r\n<strong>If you want to practice a kinder way of being toward other people…</strong> Go read the <a href=\"http://charterforcompassion.org/the-charter/#charter-for-compassion\" target=\"_blank\">Charter for Compassion</a>. Sign it for yourself or just simply contemplate the implications of the words in your life.\r\n\r\n<strong>If you’re a voracious learner…  </strong>Go Amazon or your local bookstore and find some books or DVDs. Maybe do your own set of interviews and see what you learn!  If you’re the history buff type, pick up a book and learn more about how these religions came to be.\r\n\r\n<strong>If you like talking to people… </strong>Maybe strike up a conversation next time you meet someone with different beliefs. Or better yet, work up the courage to ask some basic questions to someone you already know. Be sensitive and as kind, open, and warm as possible. Religion is still a sticky topic, so if they decline to talk, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">be respectful</span> of that. But more than likely, if you bring a kind approach, they will probably be willing to explain concepts and discuss things a bit more. I know I had to talk to a few Buddhists before understanding the unattachment concept. Ask them a question that you’d like to know more about!\r\n\r\n<strong>If you’re ready to put this stuff to the test… </strong>Go find an interfaith group in your area and just show up once or twice. Maybe contact one of the leaders of the group and have a cup of coffee beforehand if you want more information or if you’re hesitant. Padma Kuppa said to me, “Religion has been used to divide us. I want to use interfaith to unite us.”\r\n\r\n<strong>If you’re not ready to do any of this…  </strong>That’s okay too! You’re doing good by a lot of people just by bothering to read this article. Maybe just work on thinking twice before slandering against one of these groups. Maybe keep your eyes out for some of them and try to look across the room at them with a new kindness. Instead of glaring, try smiling!\r\n\r\nI appreciate you bothering to read this more than you know. If nothing else, thank you for your time and willingness to listen to what I and these wonderful people have to say.\r\n<h2>The Point</h2>\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/girl-ocean_flickr_rhys-asplundh.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-6286\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/girl-ocean_flickr_rhys-asplundh-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>The beautiful (and tough) thing about sharing space with people different than what you’re used to is it takes time. Some people adjust to this concept really quickly, and others it will take a long time, and maybe you’ll never be convinced. It’s okay. It’s a great thing that you made it this far.\r\n\r\nThe point is to view others with kindness. Have compassion because they are just like you but in a different body, raised by slightly different people in a slightly different place. The point is to treat others as you would want them to if your roles were reversed.\r\n\r\nWe are all a part of this beautiful thing called creation. We were all created in the image of God. Even if you aren’t a person of faith, we are all a <em>global family</em>. The more we know about each other and the more stories we share, the better.\r\n\r\nIf nothing else, as Saeed said, \"when the music stops without a chair\", try to find one good thing in whoever you meet. Try to love whoever you meet just a little bit more than you did yesterday.\r\n\r\n<strong>Thank you to Jonathan Brink and Provoketive for taking interest in this project. Thank you to all of my interviewees for welcoming me with open arms and for sharing with me. Thank you to my husband who has be patient while I spend hours hunched over my laptop pouring my soul into this. And most of all... Thanks to you, the reader, for opening your heart for a few minutes to listen. </strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/6049973495/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">NASA Goddard Photo and Video</a> (Earth), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/hulagway/5116382090/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">whologwhy</a> (girl, smiling), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/carbonnyc/3268320322/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">CarbonNYC</a> (HUGS!), <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/rhysasplundh/5770177448/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">Rhys Asplundh</a> (girl standing on the shore)</em>','Faith Interview Series: Conclusion','','inherit','open','open','','6279-revision-14','','','2012-05-06 23:09:49','2012-05-07 06:09:49','',6279,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/06/6279-revision-14/',0,'revision','',0),(6875,186,'2012-06-01 09:52:31','2012-06-01 16:52:31','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-6854\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art-300x268.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"268\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI can remember very clearly the first time I heard my favorite artist blaring through the van speakers. I sat sipping on a red bull, beside my friend Jordan in a fifteen passenger van. Disillusioned with life, I roamed aimlessly across the country side with <a title=\"La Dispute\" href=\"http://www.ladisputemusic.com\">my friends</a> on a nationwide tour. We listened to the entirety of the new Mountain Goats album, \'The Life of the World to Come\' as we trekked through Texas. It was like falling in love. I felt vulnerable and human.\r\n\r\nI go out of my way to avoid the cringe that often accompanies my exposure to Christian culture. However, I\'m always keen to hear a nonreligious exploration of religious themes, and that\'s exactly what this album is: an exploration of the biblical retellings of universal struggles. Every track is inspired by and titled after a single verse in the Christian bible and each track is about a hard lesson that singer John Darnielle has learned from the verse. Overall, the album is quiet and contemplative. Perhaps, that\'s why I found myself so helplessly drawn into the stories. Thinking introverts are helpless against the whims of ruminative acoustic guitars and strings sections. We\'re drawn to imperfect characters. We cheer for the junkies and terminal cancer patients who find God in vandalism, destruction and death.\r\n\r\nI suspect that the majority of people who cheer for the characters in narratives like these, are hopeful that such imperfect characters are able to find value and redemption among the ruins of their lives. For me, the narratives in this album mirror the very things that I live with on a daily basis. There is doubt and death and suffering and remorse, but there is love and light shining up through the failed plans and ruined hope.   <em> </em>\r\n\r\n[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFpQQM1pfUc[/youtube]','The Life of the World to Come','','inherit','open','open','','6838-revision-15','','','2012-06-01 09:52:31','2012-06-01 16:52:31','',6838,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/01/6838-revision-15/',0,'revision','',0),(6876,180,'2012-06-01 18:06:45','0000-00-00 00:00:00','','Testing Everything','','draft','open','open','','','','','2012-06-01 18:06:45','2012-06-02 01:06:45','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=6876',0,'post','',0),(7340,189,'2012-07-31 09:30:53','2012-07-31 16:30:53','Explain the two words spoken by Jesus—“Follow me”—in 1000 words or less? Hmmm. Maybe I should just stop right there and let you think this through on your own.\n\nMy understanding of what it means to follow Him has changed over the years. I think our understanding of “following” is <em>supposed</em> to change over time as our maturity in the Lord grows in response to the leading of the Holy Spirit and the ways we experience Him with others. Because I can’t claim to know <em>everything</em> about following Jesus, the best I can offer is to share <em>some</em> of the things I’ve learned about following Jesus—beginning with what “following Jesus” is <strong><em>not</em><em>.</em></strong>\n\n<strong>Following Jesus is not the same thing as: </strong>\n<ul>\n	<li>Following the teachings of Jesus is not the same thing as following Jesus or following doctrines or creeds or denominational statements of faith.</li>\n	<li>Following a Bible Reading Plan, memorizing scripture, or claiming a “life verse”.</li>\n	<li>Following “religious convictions”, or acting upon those convictions, alone or as a group, purely for the sake of acting upon convictions.</li>\n	<li>Attending a weekly worship service, and maybe a midweek prayer meeting or Bible study, or meeting with a small group or accountability partner.</li>\n</ul>\nThere isn’t anything wrong with doing these things. In fact, I  follow  Jesus today because others encouraged me to do these things over the course of my spiritual journey. If, I’ve learned anything, I’ve learned that “Christian practices” are not the same thing as following Jesus. <em></em>I know a lot <em>about</em> <em>Jesus</em> by studying, talking about or meditating on these things—but knowing a lot <em>about Jesus</em> isn’t the same as <em>knowing Jesus</em>. It helps to know Who you’re following.<strong><em></em></strong>\n\n<strong><em>“Follow me.”</em></strong>  Two words caused Simon and Andrew to drop their fishing nets.  James and John “left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and went off after Him.” (Mark 1:20 Amplified). Levi, son of Alphaeus, left his tax booth: “he arose and joined Him and His disciples and sided with His party and accompanied Him.” (Mark 2:14 Amplified). Philip ran to find his friend Nathanael and they too followed Him. Twelve men, in all, apparently left their life’s work to follow Jesus.\n\nI find it interesting that the Amplified Version conveys that the words “follow me” carry the connotation, “side with my party”. Against the backdrop of  Hebrew culture—oppressed by the conquering Romans, looking for Messiah to deliver the Children of Israel and fulfill all the promises of the Old Testament—we read Nathanael’s confession, “Teacher, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49) and the reason the twelve “followed” begins to come into focus.  Over the course of the next three and a half years, these men—and later Saul of Tarsus, among others—would come to understand that following Jesus isn’t about following teachings, doctrines, scriptures, convictions or attending religious meetings.  Men and women down through centuries found, in the Gospels and other writings of the New Testament, not <em>something</em> to believe in and follow, but rather <strong><em>Someone</em></strong> to believe in and follow.\n\nTo follow Jesus is to follow a living <strong><em>Person!</em></strong>\n\n<strong><em> </em></strong>John proclaimed in his Gospel, “And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.” Paul explained more simply:\n“For it has <strong>pleased</strong> [the Father] that all the divine fullness (the sum total of the divine perfection, powers, and attributes) should <strong>dwell</strong> in Him permanently.” <strong>Colossians 1:19</strong>\n\nFollowing a living Person, who is the Christ, comes with a cost, which He explained Himself to His disciples: “And He said to all, If any person wills to come after Me, let him deny himself [disown himself, <sup> </sup>forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up himself] and take up his cross daily and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also].” (Luke 9:23)\n\nWhat do we have to gain by following this all-wonderful, all-glorious, all-divine Person? What is the outcome we look forward to? For starters, eternal life! Make that eternal, <strong><em>abundant</em> </strong>life, sustained by Christ who <strong><em>is</em></strong> our life! Many more “rewards” are promised to faithful followers who overcome the trials and temptations of this world—check out the letters to the seven churches in John’s last book!\n\nThere’s another important thing I’ve learned about following Jesus: it’s something we do <strong><em>together</em></strong>.\n\n<sup> “</sup>The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,<sup> </sup>and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. <sup> </sup>For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. <sup> </sup>For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. <sup> </sup>For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope <sup> </sup>that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. <sup> </sup>For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. <sup> </sup>And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.__Romans 8:16-23 (ESV)\n\nFollowing Jesus is following a living <strong><em>Person</em></strong>…<strong><em>together!</em></strong>\n\n“When Christ, Who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in [the splendor of His] glory.<strong> </strong><strong>__Colossians 3:4 (Amplified)</strong>','','','inherit','open','open','','7337-revision-3','','','2012-07-31 09:30:53','2012-07-31 16:30:53','',7337,'http://provoketive.com/2012/07/31/7337-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6881,179,'2012-06-02 08:15:28','2012-06-02 15:15:28','','emotion','','inherit','open','open','','emotion','','','2012-06-02 08:15:28','2012-06-02 15:15:28','',6789,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/emotion.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6877,180,'2012-06-01 16:52:57','2012-06-01 23:52:57','<p align=\"right\">Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil.</p>\n<p align=\"right\">I Thess 5:19-22 (NLT)</p>\n&nbsp;\n\nTraditions.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI was raised in Bible churches. We liked to claim that we didn\'t have religiosity, only the Bible. That there was no tie in to the traditions of men, but only the pure, unrefracted, open, plain Word of God. Which of course wasn\'t true. Each interpretation of the Bible is built on several layers of traditions, each made by men (and often and only by men); each church practice is based on some mixture of social, cultural, historical, familial customs. Sometimes the passing of these practices and belief systems are well thought out. Often not.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhen my church refused to practice Lent, when it refused to tackle the Lord\'s Supper with any seriousness (except to scare off guilty congregants), I seriously considered going full papal. If I weren\'t newly married to an ex-Catholic, I probably would have too. I liked their respect for thousands-year old traditions, for a link to their past. I appreciated their appreciation of the forbearers, \"the cloud of witnesses cheering us on.\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd there are many things to love about Catholicism and many to love about the Orthodox Church. But much about the traditions that they had kept didn\'t hold true for me. I also felt that Jesus or the first disciples wouldn\'t approve of the male-centric dominance and (especially in the Catholic Church) a hierarchical church rule that squashes questioning and, thus, discussion and necessary change. This wariness of innovation leads to a church resistant to having female leads, leaving functionally half of the church from the body itself, leaving the church proper into more and more of a cold, dead institution - a lifeless corpse.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhen Christians and Churches (whether new megachurches or storefronts or ) prioritize institutions over community, we forget those we were sent out for in the first place - the marginalized, the outcast, the oppressed. In order to maintain an institution, with property and monies and prestige, we must maintain the favor of the well-to-do. In order to do so, we must not upset their comfort by questioning male superiority, or hetero normalcy. Or White or Middle Class Supremacy.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIn so doing, it made me realize that there is a silver cloud in our mistreatment of women (and other marginalized): we\'ve sent out the marginalized to reach the marginalized with the voice of their own marginalization.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nProtestant churches, of course, are known for protesting the conventions of the Catholic Church. Many decided to radically protest any vestiges and remains of Catholic thought - but that\'s silly.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd, maybe a bit dangerous. Because if you don\'t have a line of traditions to interpret your bible with, what do you do with some of the parts that aren\'t quite understandable? You could build up a whole other rubric and system of theology to handle thorny issues of theology. Or you could pretty much pull whatever you want out of your ass to defend your own fear and hatred.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe world’s got an earful of that ass noise recently, though. A pastor suggests that the US should air drop homosexuals (and queers, I guess?) into an electrified gate in order to exterminate gayness from our country. Because when the gays die out with all their gayness, then they can\'t teach the kids to be gay no more, right?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThey say it’s in the Bible. And I believe they’re right. There’s a lot of stuff in the Bible. There’s a story of God-ordained genocide from the book of I Samuel, in addition to the many other acts of genocide ordained earlier in Joshua and then the utter carnage in Judges.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMost civilized Christians don’t like to talk about this. But I learned about it early on. In much the same way it’s &lt;a href=<a href=\"https://apps.facebook.com/theguardian/commentisfree/2012/may/30/christian-fundamentalists-plan-teach-genocide\">https://apps.facebook.com/theguardian/commentisfree/2012/may/30/christian-fundamentalists-plan-teach-genocide</a>&gt;being taught to grade school kids in public schools through a Bible club&lt;/a&gt; (endorsed by the Supreme Court, thank you very much). And when it’s a part of the whole, unvarnished Word of God, well, that’s a tradition you need to upkeep, right?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nGenocide, homophobia. Those are God’s tradition’s! And so they become Christian traditions, handed down from father to son who listen to these stories and preachings and are thus sanctioned to hurt and marginalize those who are different, weak, other.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSure, it is congruent with stories of a certain god, revealed through the passages of scripture, claiming the same name as the Christian and Jewish God. But maybe not the same legacy. No the same tradition. It is counter to another tradition of the Christian God, of course. One of inclusion and participation and acceptance and redemption. A God who’s tradition is particularly of love.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTest everything.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHold on to what’s good.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe rubric is love. If it is not of love, it is not of God. Not, unlike what the Apostolic Truth Tabernacle would have us believe, if it is of “God” it is of love. Test the spirits. Test everything. Hold on to what’s good.','Testing Everything','','inherit','open','open','','6876-revision','','','2012-06-01 16:52:57','2012-06-01 23:52:57','',6876,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/01/6876-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6886,179,'2012-06-02 08:48:19','2012-06-02 15:48:19','','mountaingoats','','inherit','open','open','','mountaingoats','','','2012-06-02 08:48:19','2012-06-02 15:48:19','',6838,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/mountaingoats.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6878,0,'2012-06-01 18:33:03','2012-06-02 01:33:03','Rebecca is an outstanding writer who is also very good at thinking outside the box.  She knows how to ignite and engage people and get them to respond in her writing.  I feel that she would be a wonderful addition to Provoketive.\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: rhondadela\nAUTHOR EMAIL: rhondadela@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://rebeccaslaughlin@facebook.com\nSUBJECT: Nominating A Writer For Provoketive\nIP: 98.195.118.35\nArray\n(\n    [Your Name] =&gt; rhondadela\n    [Your Email] =&gt; rhondadela@gmail.com\n    [The Writer\'s Name] =&gt; Rebeecca Laughlin\n    [The Writer\'s Website or Post] =&gt; rebeccaslaughlin@facebook.com\n    [The Writer\'s Email] =&gt; punchin33@yahoo.com\n    [Why You Think They Should Write For Provoketive?] =&gt; Rebecca is an outstanding writer who is also very good at thinking outside the box.  She knows how to ignite and engage people and get them to respond in her writing.  I feel that she would be a wonderful addition to Provoketive.\n)\n','rhondadela - 2012-06-01 18:33:03','','publish','open','open','','05dde4b41c4bbcd4348ae94037105e99','','','2012-06-01 18:33:03','2012-06-02 01:33:03','',1537,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=6878',0,'feedback','',0),(6884,179,'2012-06-02 08:45:16','2012-06-02 15:45:16','','house','','inherit','open','open','','house','','','2012-06-02 08:45:16','2012-06-02 15:45:16','',6832,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/house.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6885,179,'2012-05-30 04:40:06','2012-05-30 11:40:06','Once, somewhere in the Northern Highlands, among the hills of rock, two masons set out to build their homes. In the thin light of a new Spring morning, they each gathered stones together for their task.\r\n\r\nThe first mason selected stones suited for the work. He carted them to his site and quickly joined them together into a house both sturdy and safe. Because he finished his work quickly he built another house. And another. And still another until the landscape was filled with houses of stone, all sturdy and safe, but each one cold and empty.\r\n\r\nThe second mason made a curious choice of building materials, for among the Highlands was a quivering mountain of living stones. These stones were no bigger than those used by the first mason. They were no stronger or better shaped, nor any more lovely than the others. But they were alive: they spoke, they sang, they even argued, and somehow they could move of their own accord, even after being selected by the second mason.\r\n\r\nAs the mason piled the living stones into his wagon they asked where he was taking them. When they saw the plans for his house some cheered and sang while others complained and wandered away. They wanted no part of his house. Still the mason joined the stones together, building the walls and arches and hearth of a home fit for his purpose.\r\n\r\nBut because he had chosen living stones, the house was never completed. Some stones jumped from the cart before they arrived at the building. The work was forever unfinished as the mason returned to the mountain quarry again and again for more supply. Other stones allowed the mason to place them in the wall but failed to connect with the wall-mates on their left and right: they argued, they cried, and when they had could stand it no more, they left.\r\n\r\nStill he continued to build. Always the house was incomplete. Some mornings the Mason would return to work only to discover that the stones had re-arranged themselves in the night. The Mason made curious choice to leave holes in the walls where the stones had fled, because (he said) “I selected that stone and crafted a place for it alone. Another cannot take it’s place.”\r\n\r\nFrom time to time a missing stone would wander back to the house and the Mason lovingly fitted it back in the wall again. Some stones stayed in place forevermore, but some left (and returned) time and again. Still he continued to build. Room upon room he added, not one of them finished until there grew an unwieldy mansion both large and incomplete. In this mansion he chose to live, year after year in fellowship with the living stones that breathed in every wall.\r\n\r\nPassers-by would stop and stare in amazement. Many laughed at the sprawling mess of a mansion that had grown on the landscape. It seemed without design and devoid of all reason.\r\n\r\n“Why don’t you use the stones all the other masons use?” they laughed. “You could finish your house in days and be done with the work.”\r\n\r\n“This building is my work,” he replied. “And as for the living stones it is true--they are a bother: but I could never build with dead ones, for this is my home, and I’ve come that they might have life.”','The House of the Second Mason','','inherit','open','open','','6832-revision-2','','','2012-05-30 04:40:06','2012-05-30 11:40:06','',6832,'http://provoketive.com/2012/05/30/6832-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6887,179,'2012-06-01 11:06:12','2012-06-01 18:06:12','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-6854\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/mountain-goats-llife-world-to-come-album-art-300x268.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"268\" /></a>\r\n\r\nI can remember very clearly the first time I heard my favorite artist blaring through the van speakers. I sat sipping on a red bull, beside my friend Jordan in a fifteen passenger van. Disillusioned with life, I roamed aimlessly across the country side with <a title=\"La Dispute\" href=\"http://www.ladisputemusic.com\">my friends</a> on a nationwide tour. We listened to the entirety of the new Mountain Goats album, <em>The Life of the World to Come</em>, as we trekked through Texas. It was like falling in love. I felt vulnerable and human.\r\n\r\nI go out of my way to avoid the cringe that often accompanies my exposure to Christian culture. However, I\'m always keen to hear a nonreligious exploration of religious themes, and that\'s exactly what this album is: an exploration of the biblical retellings of universal struggles. Every track is inspired by and titled after a single verse in the Christian bible and each track is about a hard lesson that singer John Darnielle has learned from the verse. Overall, the album is quiet and contemplative. Perhaps, that\'s why I found myself so helplessly drawn into the stories. Thinking introverts are helpless against the whims of ruminative acoustic guitars and strings sections. We\'re drawn to imperfect characters. We cheer for the junkies and terminal cancer patients who find God in vandalism, destruction and death.\r\n\r\nI suspect that the majority of people who cheer for the characters in narratives like these, are hopeful that such imperfect characters are able to find value and redemption among the ruins of their lives. For me, the narratives in this album mirror the very things that I live with on a daily basis. There is doubt and death and suffering and remorse, but there is love and light shining up through the failed plans and ruined hope.   <em> </em>\r\n\r\n[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFpQQM1pfUc[/youtube]','The Life of the World to Come','','inherit','open','open','','6838-revision-16','','','2012-06-01 11:06:12','2012-06-01 18:06:12','',6838,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/01/6838-revision-16/',0,'revision','',0),(6889,0,'2012-06-02 10:28:17','2012-06-02 17:28:17','Theology, philosophy, social justice, ethics, Christianity\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Justin Sparks\nAUTHOR EMAIL: jsparks2@ashland.edu\nAUTHOR URL: http://facebook.com/jursparks\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 66.87.7.143\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Justin Sparks\n    [Email] =&gt; jsparks2@ashland.edu\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; facebook.com/jursparks\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Theology, philosophy, social justice, ethics, Christianity \n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; Nitsuj Skraps\n)\n','Justin Sparks - 2012-06-02 10:28:17','','publish','open','open','','1be99306a6ce0265934e37157721596e','','','2012-06-02 10:28:17','2012-06-02 17:28:17','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=6889',0,'feedback','',0),(6892,134,'2012-06-04 05:47:36','2012-06-04 12:47:36','Last night I watched the movie <a title=\"Repeaters (2010)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1580426/\" target=\"_blank\">Repeaters</a> (2010). In this movie, three recovering drug addicts are given the chance to relive the same day over and over.\n\nWhat\'d you do if given the chance to <a title=\"Predestination paradox\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predestination_paradox\" target=\"_blank\">relive the same day and over</a> (<a title=\"Time loop\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_loop\" target=\"_blank\">time loop</a>)? In the movie, one of the main characters drowned and a another is fatally shot. The next morning, they were alive and ready to relive the same day.\n\nThis concept\'s been used in several other stories like\n<ul>\n	<li>The X-Files – <a title=\"&quot;The X-Files&quot; Monday (TV episode 1999)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751163/\" target=\"_blank\">Monday</a> (1999),</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series 1987&amp;ndash;1994)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092455/\" target=\"_blank\">Star Trek: The Next Generation</a> – <a title=\"&quot;Star Trek: The Next Generation&quot; Cause and Effect (TV episode 1992)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162905/\" target=\"_blank\">Cause and Effect</a> (1992) and <a title=\"&quot;Star Trek: The Next Generation&quot; Time Squared (TV episode 1989)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708827/\" target=\"_blank\">Time Squared</a> (1989),</li>\n	<li>and <a title=\"Groundhog Day (1993)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/\" target=\"_blank\">Groundhog Day</a> (1993).</li>\n</ul>\nThe idea in all these stories is to correct an error or group of. What would you if you were given the chance to relive one day to correct a very bad mistake you\'ve done?','','','inherit','open','open','','6891-revision','','','2012-06-04 05:47:36','2012-06-04 12:47:36','',6891,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/04/6891-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6893,134,'2012-06-04 05:54:36','2012-06-04 12:54:36','Last night, I watched the movie <a title=\"Repeaters (2010)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1580426/\" target=\"_blank\">Repeaters</a> (2010). In this movie, three recovering drug addicts are given the chance to relive the same day over and over. I won\'t get into details (no spoilers). Just check out the movie.\n\nWhat\'d you do if given the chance to <a title=\"Predestination paradox\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predestination_paradox\" target=\"_blank\">relive the same day and over</a> (<a title=\"Time loop\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_loop\" target=\"_blank\">time loop</a>)? In the movie, one of the main characters drowned and a another is fatally shot. The next morning, they were alive and ready to relive the same day.\n\nThis concept\'s been used in several other stories like\n<ul>\n	<li><a title=\"The X-Files (TV Series 1993&amp;ndash;2002)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106179/\" target=\"_blank\">The X-Files</a> – <a title=\"&quot;The X-Files&quot; Monday (TV episode 1999)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751163/\" target=\"_blank\">Monday</a> (1999),</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series 1987&amp;ndash;1994)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092455/\" target=\"_blank\">Star Trek: The Next Generation</a> – <a title=\"&quot;Star Trek: The Next Generation&quot; Cause and Effect (TV episode 1992)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162905/\" target=\"_blank\">Cause and Effect</a> (1992) and <a title=\"&quot;Star Trek: The Next Generation&quot; Time Squared (TV episode 1989)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708827/\" target=\"_blank\">Time Squared</a> (1989),</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Red Dwarf\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094535/\" target=\"_blank\">Red Dwarf</a> – <a title=\"&quot;Red Dwarf&quot; White Hole (TV episode 1991)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0684187/\" target=\"_blank\">White Hole</a> (1991),</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Groundhog Day (1993)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/\" target=\"_blank\">Groundhog Day</a> (1993)</li>\n	<li>and numerous others.</li>\n</ul>\nThe idea in all these stories is to correct an error or group of. What would you if you were given the chance to relive one day to correct a very bad mistake you\'ve done?','Time Loops','','inherit','open','open','','6891-revision-2','','','2012-06-04 05:54:36','2012-06-04 12:54:36','',6891,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/04/6891-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6894,134,'2012-06-04 05:56:01','2012-06-04 12:56:01','Last night, I watched the movie <a title=\"Repeaters (2010)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1580426/\" target=\"_blank\">Repeaters</a> (2010). In this movie, three recovering drug addicts are given the chance to relive the same day over and over. I won\'t get into details (no spoilers). Just check out the movie.\n\nWhat\'d you do if given the chance to <a title=\"Predestination paradox\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predestination_paradox\" target=\"_blank\">relive the same day and over</a> (<a title=\"Time loop\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_loop\" target=\"_blank\">time loop</a>)? In the movie, one of the main characters drowned and a another is fatally shot. The next morning, they were alive and ready to relive the same day.\n\nThis concept\'s been used in several other stories like\n<ul>\n	<li><a title=\"The X-Files (TV Series 1993&amp;ndash;2002)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106179/\" target=\"_blank\">The X-Files</a> – <a title=\"&quot;The X-Files&quot; Monday (TV episode 1999)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751163/\" target=\"_blank\">Monday</a> (1999),</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series 1987&amp;ndash;1994)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092455/\" target=\"_blank\">Star Trek: The Next Generation</a> – <a title=\"&quot;Star Trek: The Next Generation&quot; Cause and Effect (TV episode 1992)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162905/\" target=\"_blank\">Cause and Effect</a> (1992) and <a title=\"&quot;Star Trek: The Next Generation&quot; Time Squared (TV episode 1989)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708827/\" target=\"_blank\">Time Squared</a> (1989),</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Red Dwarf\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094535/\" target=\"_blank\">Red Dwarf</a> – <a title=\"&quot;Red Dwarf&quot; White Hole (TV episode 1991)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0684187/\" target=\"_blank\">White Hole</a> (1991),</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Groundhog Day (1993)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/\" target=\"_blank\">Groundhog Day</a> (1993)</li>\n	<li>and numerous others.</li>\n</ul>\nThe idea in all these stories is to correct an error or group of. What would you if you were given the chance to relive one day to correct a very bad mistake you\'ve done?','Correcting a Wrong','','inherit','open','open','','6891-revision-3','','','2012-06-04 05:56:01','2012-06-04 12:56:01','',6891,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/04/6891-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6895,134,'2012-06-04 06:00:26','2012-06-04 13:00:26','','Beyond_time','','inherit','open','open','','beyond_time','','','2012-06-04 06:00:26','2012-06-04 13:00:26','',6891,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Beyond_time.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6896,134,'2012-06-04 05:58:50','2012-06-04 12:58:50','Last night, I watched the movie <a title=\"Repeaters (2010)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1580426/\" target=\"_blank\">Repeaters</a> (2010). In this movie, three recovering drug addicts are given the chance to relive the same day over and over. I won\'t get into details (no spoilers). Just check out the movie.\n\nWhat\'d you do if given the chance to <a title=\"Predestination paradox\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predestination_paradox\" target=\"_blank\">relive the same day and over</a> (<a title=\"Time loop\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_loop\" target=\"_blank\">time loop</a>)? In the movie, one of the main characters drowned and a another is fatally shot. The next morning, they were alive and ready to relive the same day.\n\nThis concept\'s been used in several other stories like\n<ul>\n	<li><a title=\"The X-Files (TV Series 1993&amp;ndash;2002)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106179/\" target=\"_blank\">The X-Files</a> – <a title=\"&quot;The X-Files&quot; Monday (TV episode 1999)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751163/\" target=\"_blank\">Monday</a> (1999),</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series 1987&amp;ndash;1994)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092455/\" target=\"_blank\">Star Trek: The Next Generation</a> – <a title=\"&quot;Star Trek: The Next Generation&quot; Cause and Effect (TV episode 1992)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162905/\" target=\"_blank\">Cause and Effect</a> (1992) and <a title=\"&quot;Star Trek: The Next Generation&quot; Time Squared (TV episode 1989)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708827/\" target=\"_blank\">Time Squared</a> (1989),</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Red Dwarf\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094535/\" target=\"_blank\">Red Dwarf</a> – <a title=\"&quot;Red Dwarf&quot; White Hole (TV episode 1991)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0684187/\" target=\"_blank\">White Hole</a> (1991),</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Groundhog Day (1993)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/\" target=\"_blank\">Groundhog Day</a> (1993)</li>\n	<li>as well as numerous others TV episodes and movies.</li>\n</ul>\nThe idea in all these stories is to correct an error or group of. What would you if you were given the chance to relive one day to correct a very bad mistake you\'ve done?','Correcting a Wrong','','inherit','open','open','','6891-revision-4','','','2012-06-04 05:58:50','2012-06-04 12:58:50','',6891,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/04/6891-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6897,134,'2012-06-04 06:04:01','2012-06-04 13:04:01','Last night, I watched the movie <a title=\"Repeaters (2010)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1580426/\" target=\"_blank\">Repeaters</a> (2010). In this movie, three recovering drug addicts are given the chance to relive the same day over and over. I won\'t get into details (no spoilers). Just check out the movie.\r\n\r\nWhat\'d you do if given the chance to <a title=\"Predestination paradox\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predestination_paradox\" target=\"_blank\">relive the same day and over</a> (<a title=\"Time loop\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_loop\" target=\"_blank\">time loop</a>)? In the movie, one of the main characters drowned and a another is fatally shot. The next morning, they were alive and ready to relive the same day.\r\n\r\nThis concept\'s been used in several other stories like\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a title=\"The X-Files (TV Series 1993&amp;ndash;2002)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106179/\" target=\"_blank\">The X-Files</a> – <a title=\"&quot;The X-Files&quot; Monday (TV episode 1999)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751163/\" target=\"_blank\">Monday</a> (1999),</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series 1987&amp;ndash;1994)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092455/\" target=\"_blank\">Star Trek: The Next Generation</a> – <a title=\"&quot;Star Trek: The Next Generation&quot; Cause and Effect (TV episode 1992)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162905/\" target=\"_blank\">Cause and Effect</a> (1992) and <a title=\"&quot;Star Trek: The Next Generation&quot; Time Squared (TV episode 1989)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708827/\" target=\"_blank\">Time Squared</a> (1989),</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Red Dwarf\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094535/\" target=\"_blank\">Red Dwarf</a> – <a title=\"&quot;Red Dwarf&quot; White Hole (TV episode 1991)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0684187/\" target=\"_blank\">White Hole</a> (1991),</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Groundhog Day (1993)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/\" target=\"_blank\">Groundhog Day</a> (1993)</li>\r\n	<li>as well as numerous others TV episodes and movies.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThe idea in all these stories is to correct an error or group of. What would you if you were given the chance to relive one day to correct a very bad mistake you\'ve done?','Correcting a Wrong','','inherit','open','open','','6891-revision-5','','','2012-06-04 06:04:01','2012-06-04 13:04:01','',6891,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/04/6891-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6898,179,'2012-06-04 18:59:48','2012-06-05 01:59:48','Last night, I watched the movie <a title=\"Repeaters (2010)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1580426/\" target=\"_blank\">Repeaters</a> (2010). In this movie, three recovering drug addicts are given the chance to relive the same day over and over. I won\'t get into details (no spoilers). Just check out the movie.\n\nWhat wouldd you do if given the chance to <a title=\"Predestination paradox\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predestination_paradox\" target=\"_blank\">relive the same day and over</a> (<a title=\"Time loop\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_loop\" target=\"_blank\">time loop</a>)? In the movie, one of the main characters drowned and a another is fatally shot. The next morning, they were alive and ready to relive the same day.\n\nThis concept\'s been used in several other stories like\n<ul>\n	<li><a title=\"The X-Files (TV Series 1993&amp;ndash;2002)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106179/\" target=\"_blank\">The X-Files</a> – <a title=\"&quot;The X-Files&quot; Monday (TV episode 1999)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751163/\" target=\"_blank\">Monday</a> (1999),</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series 1987&amp;ndash;1994)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092455/\" target=\"_blank\">Star Trek: The Next Generation</a> – <a title=\"&quot;Star Trek: The Next Generation&quot; Cause and Effect (TV episode 1992)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162905/\" target=\"_blank\">Cause and Effect</a> (1992) and <a title=\"&quot;Star Trek: The Next Generation&quot; Time Squared (TV episode 1989)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708827/\" target=\"_blank\">Time Squared</a> (1989),</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Red Dwarf\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094535/\" target=\"_blank\">Red Dwarf</a> – <a title=\"&quot;Red Dwarf&quot; White Hole (TV episode 1991)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0684187/\" target=\"_blank\">White Hole</a> (1991),</li>\n	<li><a title=\"Groundhog Day (1993)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/\" target=\"_blank\">Groundhog Day</a> (1993)</li>\n	<li>as well as numerous others TV episodes and movies.</li>\n</ul>\nThe idea in all these stories is to correct an error or group of. What would you if you were given the chance to relive one day to correct a very bad mistake you\'ve done?','Correcting a Wrong','','inherit','open','open','','6891-autosave','','','2012-06-04 18:59:48','2012-06-05 01:59:48','',6891,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/04/6891-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6899,134,'2012-06-04 06:05:30','2012-06-04 13:05:30','Last night, I watched the movie <a title=\"Repeaters (2010)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1580426/\" target=\"_blank\">Repeaters</a> (2010). In this movie, three recovering drug addicts are given the chance to relive the same day over and over. I won\'t get into details (no spoilers). Just check out the movie.\r\n\r\nWhat\'d you do if given the chance to <a title=\"Predestination paradox\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predestination_paradox\" target=\"_blank\">relive the same day and over</a> (<a title=\"Time loop\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_loop\" target=\"_blank\">time loop</a>)? In the movie, one of the main characters drowned and a another is fatally shot. The next morning, they were alive and ready to relive the same day.\r\n\r\nThis concept\'s been used in several other stories like\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a title=\"The X-Files (TV Series 1993&amp;ndash;2002)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106179/\" target=\"_blank\">The X-Files</a> – <a title=\"&quot;The X-Files&quot; Monday (TV episode 1999)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751163/\" target=\"_blank\">Monday</a> (1999),</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series 1987&amp;ndash;1994)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092455/\" target=\"_blank\">Star Trek: The Next Generation</a> – <a title=\"&quot;Star Trek: The Next Generation&quot; Cause and Effect (TV episode 1992)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162905/\" target=\"_blank\">Cause and Effect</a> (1992) and <a title=\"&quot;Star Trek: The Next Generation&quot; Time Squared (TV episode 1989)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708827/\" target=\"_blank\">Time Squared</a> (1989),</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Red Dwarf\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094535/\" target=\"_blank\">Red Dwarf</a> – <a title=\"&quot;Red Dwarf&quot; White Hole (TV episode 1991)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0684187/\" target=\"_blank\">White Hole</a> (1991),</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Groundhog Day (1993)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/\" target=\"_blank\">Groundhog Day</a> (1993)</li>\r\n	<li>as well as numerous others TV episodes and movies.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThe idea in all these stories is to correct an error or group of. What would you if you were given the chance to relive one day to correct a very bad mistake you\'ve done?','Correcting a Wrong','','inherit','open','open','','6891-revision-6','','','2012-06-04 06:05:30','2012-06-04 13:05:30','',6891,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/04/6891-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(6958,41,'2012-06-14 08:00:06','2012-06-14 15:00:06','It\'s a valid question that says a lot about who we think God is. What does it mean about God that people are created in the divine image? Does God have a corporeal (physical) body or is God only some form of spirit. When God walked in the garden, did he (as that scene portrays God) take real steps or is the text metaphor?\r\n\r\nIf God does have a body, is it a body like ours? Does God have a belly button, or is that a scar of humanity? Does God have reproductive organs? If so, which ones? A penis? A vagina? Both? Neither?\r\n\r\nWestern Christians often talk about God as a sex-less, genderless spirit being. We claim the male references to God in the Bible are figurative anthropomorphism and ignore the female references. We neuter God and take away her body. It is the easiest solution, but not holistic. Scripture, tradition, reason, and psychology all point to a God outside the typical western (lack of) imagination.\r\n\r\nOver time, we will look into each of these arguments and work together to develop a whole picture of God. But first, we should think about why this is important.\r\n\r\nOur world - and our church - is currently fighting over issues of gender, gender-roles, and sexuality. The old \"one-man-one-woman, man rules over the woman\" paradigm is finished in our world. We fight (with both words and stones) in the city streets, but the writing is on the wall. The world has shifted. Sexuality outside of male/female monogamy is accepted by western society. Children born other than \"boy\" or \"girl\" are left alone not just to choose one gender or the other, but to accept the alternative gender of their birth. Male and female has become a spectrum instead of a polarity.\r\n\r\nOur understanding of God will affect our understanding of and posture toward these cultural shifts. It will help us understand why we agree with some changes and stand against others and will give us the tools needed to effectively communicate our positions with others. This is the difference between chucking a rock at the nearest target and skillfully standing against injustice.\r\n\r\nI am not an expert in this field. I am a learner. As a learner, I am asking questions and trying ideas on. As we work through these questions, do not be surprised if I change my mind or heart through the process. Please ask tough questions and respectfully engage with the material. Welcome to my journey.','Does God Have a Penis?','','publish','open','open','','does-god-have-a-penis','','','2012-06-13 12:07:37','2012-06-13 19:07:37','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=6958',0,'post','',16),(6901,64,'2012-06-08 08:00:37','2012-06-08 15:00:37','<em>This review originally appeared on The Englewood Review of Books <a title=\"ERB\" href=\"http://erb.kingdomnow.org/\" target=\"_blank\">website</a>.</em>\r\n\r\n<strong>A Feature Review of</strong>\r\n<h3><em>Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening</em>\r\nDiana Butler Bass.</h3>\r\n<strong>Hardback: HarperOne, 2012</strong><strong>\r\n</strong><strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-Christianity-After-Religion-200x300.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6903\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-Christianity-After-Religion-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" /></a></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>Reviewed By Jess O. Hale, Jr.</strong>\r\n\r\nAs the age of “spiritual but not religious” just now hits its stride in American society, commentators and pundits fill the airwaves, the Internet and a host of books in order to tell us what it all means – most with a great deal more diffuse heat than helpful illumination.  Atheists and secularists trumpet religion’s demise as the less strident among them call for toleration of quaint tribal superstitions and the outright banishment of more troublesome expressions of religious practice.  Fundamentalists lament the rise of godless humanism, the pagan-like new age spiritualities and militant Islam as they themselves struggle to impose a gauzy “godly” bygone morality from the early 1950s.  Mainline denominations retrench themselves.  Church growth and mega-church devotees trot out new marketing schemes.  Many observant and not so observant Christian parents feel perplexed as their children leave the faith and never seem to come back to it.  Emergent Christians call for a new less sectarian, more world-engaging form of Christian practice.   Our time is one of change that seems to many to be one of fundamental transformation.  That change disorients many and we look for guides to this new age.  In Diana Butler Bass’ <em>Christianity After Religion</em> many readers will find an accessible, learned and hopeful guide to where our “brave new world” is taking us.\r\n\r\nBass opens this learned, engagingly written book with a selection from one of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s “religionless Christianity” passages from his posthumous <em>Letters and Papers from Prison</em>.  As the martyred German pastor detected a time when people “simply cannot be religious anymore” (9), one may wonder after reading Bass’ analysis of the end of religion whether Bonhoeffer’s analysis of life in the West was just a few decades early.  Was Bonhoeffer right?  Yet as the reader progresses through Bass’ argument, a more hopeful assessment presents itself.  With a substantial debt to Harvey Cox’s often prescient global analysis in <em>The Future of Faith</em>, Bass sees our age as an in between time of transformation when something old (traditional dogmatic religion) is dying and something new is being midwifed into existence in a new awakening.  In intuiting this nascent awakening, Bass relies heavily on parallels drawn from historian William McLoughlin’s classic <em>Revivals, Awakenings and Reform</em>.\r\n\r\nIs this shades of Cane Ridge and Jonathan Edwards in a new agey, hip setting?  While Bonhoeffer addressed the West and Cox’s view was more global, in essence Bass contends for a more practical and American application of Cox’s “age of the Spirit” based on a foundation of periodic good old fashioned revivalism from McLoughlin, now called an “awakening”.\r\n\r\nUsing social science survey data as well as historical and theological analysis and anecdotes drawn from her own life and work, Bass describes the end of traditional religion as we are witnessing it before sharing her hopeful assessment (or intuition) of the awakening that we are on the cusp of seeing.  Focusing on a distinction between positive experiential spirituality (as viewed even by many of traditionally religious Christians) and a deadening institutional belief-oriented religion, Bass examines the decline of traditional religion in terms of practice and belief–particularly noting a precipitous decline after September 11, 2001.  Protestant conflicts over homosexuality, a politicized strident religious right, the Catholic Church sex scandal, terrorism and more have exacerbated trends that were present before the advent of that “horrible decade”.  While spiritual practice and prayer are still with us, they look different from the church-going and prayers practices of our parents’ time.  Yoga, meditation and a bewildering variety of other faith and interfaith experiences now present themselves in American culture.   Indeed, “Toto” is not in Kansas anymore as the world of faith is transforming.\r\n\r\nAfter her adept analysis of the failure of religion, at least in American society,  Bass sketches a new approach to spiritual questions that moves from a focus on religion as an institution instantiated through a process of belief (doctrine), behaving (ethics and practices),  and belonging (community) to a focus on ” <em>religio</em> as a spiritually vital faith” (204) incarnated by “the great reversal” through a process that begins with belonging as it moves on through to behaving before returning to belief.  While her idea of stages may be a little too cute as a heuristic device, it still helpfully highlights three critical aspects of faith that are in the midst of transformation.  She sees this reversal as leading Christians into a new awakening where vital faith is performed or actually practiced.  Like Cox, she contends that we are returning to a focus faith as an enacted trust rather than as disembodied belief.  “Relational community, intentional practice, and experiential belief are forming a new vision of what it means to Christian in the twenty-first century” for Bass (214). To many eyes, this vital faith may look like a more inclusive, less white male version of emergent Christianity.\r\n\r\nBass not only articulates a hopeful vision for the future of Christian faith, that makes room for other faiths too, she also provides often captivating snapshots of where the faithful have been and where we can go.  Bass takes us from her own story of being caught with a Bible at Saguaro High School to a community college graduation in Florida.  As this winsome, once evangelical, now Episcopalian scholar and participant compellingly summarized:\r\n\r\nPeople often ask me to describe this awakening.  In response, I tell stories, parables of spiritual renewal, of a world transformed by God’s love.  I tell stories about surprising congregations and relate conversations I have had on airplanes, at coffeehouses, and with bank tellers.  I share insights from my friends and family.  I show people polls, surveys and trends.  I preach from scripture.  I read poetry.  I teach about the people of the past.  I confess my own struggles and regrets.  … I have described the end of an old religious world, and invited you to see the contours of the new one that is being born all around us.  You may wish to mourn the loss of what was, but there is no need to fear what will be, for the future is here only in part, and there is much work to be done.” (268)\r\n\r\nWas Bonhoeffer right about the end of religion in the West?  Perhaps he was, but Diana Butler Bass tells us that we need not fear for God is doing a new thing–a beginning– if we will but just join in performing in an awakening of Spirit for our time.  Is she right?  I do not know, but I hope so—and I do know that I too want to see the horizon of faith that she sees.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The End or the Beginning?','','publish','open','open','','the-end-or-the-beginning','','','2012-06-06 19:43:36','2012-06-07 02:43:36','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=6901',0,'post','',1),(6903,64,'2012-06-04 12:57:34','2012-06-04 19:57:34','','1-Christianity-After-Religion-200x300','','inherit','open','open','','1-christianity-after-religion-200x300','','','2012-06-04 12:57:34','2012-06-04 19:57:34','',6901,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-Christianity-After-Religion-200x300.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6904,64,'2012-06-04 12:58:30','2012-06-04 19:58:30','<em>This review originally appeared on The Englewood Review of Books <a title=\"ERB\" href=\"http://erb.kingdomnow.org/\" target=\"_blank\">website</a>.</em>\n\n<strong>A Feature Review of</strong>\n<h3><em>Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening</em>\nDiana Butler Bass.</h3>\n<strong>Hardback: HarperOne, 2012</strong><strong>\n</strong><strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-Christianity-After-Religion-200x300.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6903\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-Christianity-After-Religion-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" /></a></strong>\n\n<strong>Reviewed By Jess O. Hale, Jr.</strong>\n\nAs the age of “spiritual but not religious” just now hits its stride in American society, commentators and pundits fill the airwaves, the Internet and a host of books in order tells what it all means – most with a great deal more diffuse heat than helpful illumination.  Atheists and secularists trumpet religion’s demise as the less strident among them call for toleration of quaint tribal superstitions and the outright banishment of more troublesome expressions of religious practice.  Fundamentalists lament the rise of godless humanism, the pagan-like new age spiritualities and militant Islam as they themselves struggle to impose a gauzy “godly” bygone morality from the early 1950s.  Mainline denominations retrench themselves.  Church growth and mega-church devotees trot out new marketing schemes.  Many observant and not so observant Christian parents feel perplexed as their children leave the faith and never seem to come back to it.  Emergent Christians call for a new less sectarian, more world-engaging form of Christian practice.   Our time is one of change that seems to many to be one of fundamental transformation.  That change disorients many and we look for guides to this new age.  In Diana Butler Bass’ <em>Christianity After Religion</em> many readers will find an accessible, learned and hopeful guide to where our “brave new world” is taking us.\n\nBass opens this learned, engagingly written book with a selection from one of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s “religionless Christianity” passages from his posthumous <em>Letters and Papers from Prison</em>.  As the martyred German pastor detected a time when people “simply cannot be religious anymore” (9), one may wonder after reading Bass’ analysis of the end of religion” whether Bonhoeffer’s analysis of life in West was just a few decades early.  Was Bonhoeffer right?  Yet as the reader progresses through Bass’ argument, a more hopeful assessment presents itself.  With a substantial debt to Harvey Cox’s often prescient global analysis in <em>The Future of Faith</em>, Bass sees our age as an in between time of transformation when something old (traditional dogmatic religion) is dying and something new is being midwifed into existence in a new awakening.  In intuiting this nascent awakening, Bass relies heavily on parallels drawn from historian William McLoughlin’s classic <em>Revivals, Awakenings and Reform</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIs this shades of Cane Ridge and Jonathan Edwards in a new agey, hip setting?  While Bonhoeffer addressed the West and Cox’s view was more global, in essence Bass contends for a more practical and American application of Cox’s “age of the Spirit” based on a foundation of periodic good old fashioned revivalism from McLoughlin, now called an “awakening”.\n\nUsing social science survey data as well as historical and theological analysis and anecdotes drawn from her own life and work, Bass describes the end of traditional religion as we are witnessing it before sharing her hopeful assessment (or intuition) of the awakening that we are on the cusp of seeing.  Focusing on a distinction between positive experiential spirituality (as viewed even by many of traditionally religious Christians) and a deadening institutional belief-oriented religion, Bass examines the decline of traditional religion in terms of practice and belief–particularly noting a precipitous decline after September 11, 2001.  Protestant conflicts over homosexuality, a politicized strident religious right, the Catholic Church sex scandal, terrorism and more have exacerbated trends that were present before the advent of that “horrible decade”.  While spiritual practice and prayer are still with us, they look different from the church-going and prayers practices of our parents’ time.  Yoga, meditation and a bewildering variety of other faith and interfaith experiences now present themselves in American culture.   Indeed, “Toto” is not in Kansas anymore as the world of faith is transforming.\n\nAfter her adept analysis of the failure of religion, at least in American society,  Bass sketches a new approach to spiritual questions that moves from a focus on religion as an institution instantiated through a process of belief (doctrine), behaving ( ethics and practices),  and belonging (community) to a focus on ” <em>religio</em> as a spiritually vital faith” (204) incarnated by “the great reversal” through a process that begins with belonging as it moves on through to behaving before returning to belief.  While her idea of stages may be a little too cute as a heuristic device, it still helpfully highlights three critical aspects of faith that are in the midst of transformation.  She sees this reversal as leading Christians into a new awakening where vital faith is performed or actually practiced.  Like Cox, she contends that we are returning to a focus faith as an enacted trust rather than as disembodied belief.  “Relational community, intentional practice, and experiential belief are forming a new vision of what it means to Christian in the twenty-first century” for Bass (214). To many eyes this vital faith may look like a more inclusive, less white male version of emergent Christianity.\n\nBass not only articulates a hopeful vision for the future of Christian faith, that makes room for other faiths too, she also provides often captivating snapshots of where the faithful have been and where we can go.  Bass takes us from her own story of being caught with a Bible at Saguaro High School to a community college graduation in Florida.  As this winsome, once evangelical, now Episcopalian scholar and participant compellingly summarized:\n\nPeople often ask me to describe this awakening.  In response, I tell stories, parables of spiritual renewal, of a world transformed by God’s love.  I tell stories about surprising congregations and relate conversations I have had on airplanes, at coffeehouses, and with bank tellers.  I share insights from my friends and family.  I show people polls, surveys and trends.  I preach from scripture.  I read poetry.  I teach about the people of the past.  I confess my own struggles and regrets.  … I have described the end of an old religious world, and invited you to see the contours of the new one that is being born all around us.  You may wish to mourn the loss of what was, but there is no need to fear what will be, for the future is here only in part, and there is much work to be done.” (268)\n\nWas Bonhoeffer right about the end of religion in the West?  Perhaps he was, but Diana Butler Bass tells us that we need not fear for God is doing a new thing–a beginning– if we will but just join in performing in an awakening of Spirit for our time.  Is she right?  I do not know, but I hope so—and I do know that I too want to see the horizon of faith that she sees.\n\n&nbsp;','The End or the Beginning?','','inherit','open','open','','6901-revision','','','2012-06-04 12:58:30','2012-06-04 19:58:30','',6901,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/04/6901-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6905,179,'2012-06-04 19:00:47','2012-06-05 02:00:47','','time','','inherit','open','open','','time','','','2012-06-04 19:00:47','2012-06-05 02:00:47','',6891,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/time.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6906,179,'2012-06-04 06:06:41','2012-06-04 13:06:41','Last night, I watched the movie <a title=\"Repeaters (2010)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1580426/\" target=\"_blank\">Repeaters</a> (2010). In this movie, three recovering drug addicts are given the chance to relive the same day over and over. I won\'t get into details (no spoilers). Just check out the movie.\r\n\r\nWhat\'d you do if given the chance to <a title=\"Predestination paradox\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predestination_paradox\" target=\"_blank\">relive the same day and over</a> (<a title=\"Time loop\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_loop\" target=\"_blank\">time loop</a>)? In the movie, one of the main characters drowned and a another is fatally shot. The next morning, they were alive and ready to relive the same day.\r\n\r\nThis concept\'s been used in several other stories like\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li><a title=\"The X-Files (TV Series 1993&amp;ndash;2002)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106179/\" target=\"_blank\">The X-Files</a> – <a title=\"&quot;The X-Files&quot; Monday (TV episode 1999)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751163/\" target=\"_blank\">Monday</a> (1999),</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series 1987&amp;ndash;1994)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092455/\" target=\"_blank\">Star Trek: The Next Generation</a> – <a title=\"&quot;Star Trek: The Next Generation&quot; Cause and Effect (TV episode 1992)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162905/\" target=\"_blank\">Cause and Effect</a> (1992) and <a title=\"&quot;Star Trek: The Next Generation&quot; Time Squared (TV episode 1989)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708827/\" target=\"_blank\">Time Squared</a> (1989),</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Red Dwarf\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094535/\" target=\"_blank\">Red Dwarf</a> – <a title=\"&quot;Red Dwarf&quot; White Hole (TV episode 1991)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0684187/\" target=\"_blank\">White Hole</a> (1991),</li>\r\n	<li><a title=\"Groundhog Day (1993)\" href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/\" target=\"_blank\">Groundhog Day</a> (1993)</li>\r\n	<li>as well as numerous others TV episodes and movies.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThe idea in all these stories is to correct an error or group of. What would you if you were given the chance to relive one day to correct a very bad mistake you\'ve done?','Correcting a Wrong','','inherit','open','open','','6891-revision-7','','','2012-06-04 06:06:41','2012-06-04 13:06:41','',6891,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/04/6891-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(6907,179,'2012-06-04 19:02:58','2012-06-05 02:02:58','','chxafterreligion','','inherit','open','open','','chxafterreligion','','','2012-06-04 19:02:58','2012-06-05 02:02:58','',6901,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/chxafterreligion.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6908,179,'2012-06-06 19:44:41','2012-06-07 02:44:41','<em>This review originally appeared on The Englewood Review of Books <a title=\"ERB\" href=\"http://erb.kingdomnow.org/\" target=\"_blank\">website</a>.</em>\n\n<strong>A Feature Review of</strong>\n<h3><em>Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening</em>\nDiana Butler Bass.</h3>\n<strong>Hardback: HarperOne, 2012</strong><strong>\n</strong><strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-Christianity-After-Religion-200x300.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6903\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1-Christianity-After-Religion-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" /></a></strong>\n\n<strong>Reviewed By Jess O. Hale, Jr.</strong>\n\nAs the age of “spiritual but not religious” just now hits its stride in American society, commentators and pundits fill the airwaves, the Internet and a host of books in order to tell us what it all means – most with a great deal more diffuse heat than helpful illumination.  Atheists and secularists trumpet religion’s demise as the less strident among them call for toleration of quaint tribal superstitions and the outright banishment of more troublesome expressions of religious practice.  Fundamentalists lament the rise of godless humanism, the pagan-like new age spiritualities and militant Islam as they themselves struggle to impose a gauzy “godly” bygone morality from the early 1950s.  Mainline denominations retrench themselves.  Church growth and mega-church devotees trot out new marketing schemes.  Many observant and not so observant Christian parents feel perplexed as their children leave the faith and never seem to come back to it.  Emergent Christians call for a new less sectarian, more world-engaging form of Christian practice.   Our time is one of change that seems to many to be one of fundamental transformation.  That change disorients many and we look for guides to this new age.  In Diana Butler Bass’ <em>Christianity After Religion</em> many readers will find an accessible, learned and hopeful guide to where our “brave new world” is taking us.\n\nBass opens this learned, engagingly written book with a selection from one of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s “religionless Christianity” passages from his posthumous <em>Letters and Papers from Prison</em>.  As the martyred German pastor detected a time when people “simply cannot be religious anymore” (9), one may wonder after reading Bass’ analysis of the end of religion whether Bonhoeffer’s analysis of life in the West was just a few decades early.  Was Bonhoeffer right?  Yet as the reader progresses through Bass’ argument, a more hopeful assessment presents itself.  With a substantial debt to Harvey Cox’s often prescient global analysis in <em>The Future of Faith</em>, Bass sees our age as an in between time of transformation when something old (traditional dogmatic religion) is dying and something new is being midwifed into existence in a new awakening.  In intuiting this nascent awakening, Bass relies heavily on parallels drawn from historian William McLoughlin’s classic <em>Revivals, Awakenings and Reform</em>.\n\nIs this shades of Cane Ridge and Jonathan Edwards in a new agey, hip setting?  While Bonhoeffer addressed the West and Cox’s view was more global, in essence Bass contends for a more practical and American application of Cox’s “age of the Spirit” based on a foundation of periodic good old fashioned revivalism from McLoughlin, now called an “awakening”.\n\nUsing social science survey data as well as historical and theological analysis and anecdotes drawn from her own life and work, Bass describes the end of traditional religion as we are witnessing it before sharing her hopeful assessment (or intuition) of the awakening that we are on the cusp of seeing.  Focusing on a distinction between positive experiential spirituality (as viewed even by many of traditionally religious Christians) and a deadening institutional belief-oriented religion, Bass examines the decline of traditional religion in terms of practice and belief–particularly noting a precipitous decline after September 11, 2001.  Protestant conflicts over homosexuality, a politicized strident religious right, the Catholic Church sex scandal, terrorism and more have exacerbated trends that were present before the advent of that “horrible decade”.  While spiritual practice and prayer are still with us, they look different from the church-going and prayers practices of our parents’ time.  Yoga, meditation and a bewildering variety of other faith and interfaith experiences now present themselves in American culture.   Indeed, “Toto” is not in Kansas anymore as the world of faith is transforming.\n\nAfter her adept analysis of the failure of religion, at least in American society,  Bass sketches a new approach to spiritual questions that moves from a focus on religion as an institution instantiated through a process of belief (doctrine), behaving (ethics and practices),  and belonging (community) to a focus on ” <em>religio</em> as a spiritually vital faith” (204) incarnated by “the great reversal” through a process that begins with belonging as it moves on through to behaving before returning to belief.  While her idea of stages may be a little too cute as a heuristic device, it still helpfully highlights three critical aspects of faith that are in the midst of transformation.  She sees this reversal as leading Christians into a new awakening where vital faith is performed or actually practiced.  Like Cox, she contends that we are returning to a focus faith as an enacted trust rather than as disembodied belief.  “Relational community, intentional practice, and experiential belief are forming a new vision of what it means to Christian in the twenty-first century” for Bass (214). To many eyes, this vital faith may look like a more inclusive, less white male version of emergent Christianity.\n\nBass not only articulates a hopeful vision for the future of Christian faith, that makes room for other faiths too, she also provides often captivating snapshots of where the faithful have been and where we can go.  Bass takes us from her own story of being caught with a Bible at Saguaro High School to a community college graduation in Florida.  As this winsome, once evangelical, now Episcopalian scholar and participant compellingly summarized:\n\nPeople often ask me to describe this awakening.  In response, I tell stories, parables of spiritual renewal, of a world transformed by God’s love.  I tell stories about surprising congregations and relate conversations I have had on airplanes, at coffeehouses, and with bank tellers.  I share insights from my friends and family.  I show people polls, surveys and trends.  I preach from scripture.  I read poetry.  I teach about the people of the past.  I confess my own struggles and regrets.  … I have described the end of an old religious world, and invited you to see the contours of the new one that is being born all around us.  You may wish to mourn the loss of what was, but there is no need to fear what will be, for the future is here only in part, and there is much work to be done.” (268)\n\nWas Bonhoeffer right about the end of religion in the West?  Perhaps he was, but Diana Butler Bass tells us that we need not fear for God is doing a new thing–a beginning– if we will but just join in performing in an awakening of Spirit for our time.  Is she right?  I do not know, but I hope so—and I do know that I too want to see the horizon of faith that she sees.\n\n&nbsp;','The End or the Beginning?','','inherit','open','open','','6901-autosave','','','2012-06-06 19:44:41','2012-06-07 02:44:41','',6901,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/04/6901-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6910,38,'2012-06-05 07:22:35','2012-06-05 14:22:35','','faith-in-the-public-square','','inherit','open','open','','faith-in-the-public-square','','','2012-06-05 07:22:35','2012-06-05 14:22:35','',6909,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/faith-in-the-public-square.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(6911,38,'2012-06-05 07:22:57','2012-06-05 14:22:57','','faith-in-the-public-square','','inherit','open','open','','faith-in-the-public-square-2','','','2012-06-05 07:22:57','2012-06-05 14:22:57','',6909,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/faith-in-the-public-square.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6912,38,'2012-06-05 07:26:01','2012-06-05 14:26:01','I first met Dr. Robert, or Bob, as most people call him, through the Faith Interview Series I just wrote for Provoketive. He grew up as an Episcopalian, and then left because of “a deep need for me to be more connected with a community that really took my faith seriously.” He spent some time in the Pentecostal movement and after craving a more intellectually challenging environment, eventually settled into the Disciples of Christ denomination.\n\nHe is the pastor of Central Woodward Christian Church in Troy, Michigan, and is a founder and active member of the Troy Interfaith Group. His fervent passion for interfaith efforts brings him to a unique place where his faith is no longer behind closed doors. He is out in the open interacting with people of other faiths and finding new meaning in working with his neighbors and community.\n\nHe is no longer just practicing his faith in the safety of his church, but is living with his faith and community as a whole. Because of this, he is meeting people in smaller religious groups and communities that he would have traditionally not come into contact with. Also, the Troy Interfaith Group is a bit of a public forum, so this leaves Bob in an interesting intersection between religion and the public sphere.\n\nOne thing Bob said to me about his interfaith group is that some people think it’s all about the “inter” and not about the “faith”. “We don’t sit around and talk about how everyone is more or less right. This is not mushy faith.”\n\nBut the big question that lingers in a lot of people’s minds is if it’s not mushy, how exactly do you do that? How do you meet and spend time with people who have such drastically different beliefs and practices than you?\n\nWhen you crack it open, this conundrum opens up into a much larger question for society at large: with a world that is growing in population, diversity, and closeness, how do you remain faithful to your convictions and beliefs, while doing the best thing for everyone?\n\nAs Bob puts it in the opening of the book, “How shall we live together, peacefully and productively, as one people in the midst of all this diversity?”\n\nThis is exactly the question that Bob addresses in his new book, <em>Faith in the Public Square: Living Faithfully in 21<sup>st</sup> Century America</em>.  This is an important subject whose answer is being begged for more urgently every day by this 21<sup>st</sup> century country.\n\nIf I were to retitle the book, I would call it “How to Cohabitate on this Planet with Other Humans and Not Be a Jerk”. There are a lot of things I loved about this book but my favorite things are:\n\n<strong>Bob is very knowledgeable about the subjects he talks about.</strong> I hate it when books seem off-the-cuff and like the author didn’t do any research outside of their own cranium. Bob includes a lot of historical and political context to conversations that often get cut down to “us vs. them”. He expands and reframes the conversation to give you more far more insight than the three minute bits the talking heads tend to give us.\n\n<strong>The tone of this book is like sitting at a barbeque with your awesome, really smart friends.</strong> It’s a relaxed atmosphere, and yet well-informed. Books can sometimes be intrusive and try to strong-arm you into accepting whatever it’s proposing, but that was not the case with <em>Faith in the Public Square</em>. Bob has a very open, personable tone that opens your heart. And yet, he is not afraid of putting his thoughts—some of which are unconventional—on the table, which leads into my next point.\n\n<strong>Bob talks about an incredibly wide variety of issues that we deal with every day as American citizens.</strong> This is not simply a “let’s be nice to each other, shall we?” or “Let’s just read our Bibles and pray and everything will be fine” book. <em>Faith in the Public Square</em> covers all aspects of life where civil concerns and religion intersect, such as the following:\n\nHow we can appreciate (at least in some part) paying taxes\n\nWhy your employer asking  you to say “Happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” is not a conspiracy against Christians\n\nThe true meaning of “pro-life” and how the abortion conversation limits itself\n\nHow to approach voting, politicians, and your political values\n\nThe mistakes in the mainstream perception of Islam\n\nRacism and the position of the presidency\n\nThe increasing danger of “good religion” being in bed with patriotism\n\nHow “the Bible says” is not a good reason to create legislation\n\nThese are not easy topics. If Bob wanted to write an easy book he wouldn’t have touched half of these topics with a ten-foot pole. Instead, Bob steps up to the plate to talk about the kind of issues that our pressing in culture that most pastors would never talk about. And this is only scratching the surface of the topics that are covered!\n\n<strong>I loved the presentation of the book.</strong>  One of the greatest things about this book is that it was originally written as a newspaper column, so all of the essays are presented in easy to read, digestible chunks.\n\nWith <em>Faith in the Public Square</em> there will be no getting lost in a 500-pager by a stuffy theology professor with no foreseeable way out. The chapters are 1-3 pages long a piece. Thus, this is a book you can carry with you that you can jump back into easily when you have a few minutes to read, but it is <em>not</em> a watery book at all.\n\nAnd what if you’re not a church goer? Will this book have anything for you? Absolutely! While it contains topics dealing with religion, it was written for a very wide audience, so even if you have no religion affiliation at all this book is still a good read.\n\nAll in all, I would highly recommend <em>Faith in the Public Square</em>. This book had a refreshing, and hard-hitting look at religion and the life of a citizen. I appreciate Bob’s courage in approaching the topics he talked about, and I also appreciate the warm tone he wrote with. If you want some good theological brain food, a fresh take on civilian life, and some good conversations to build your religious principles on, this is definitely the book for you.\n\nI look forward to reading more of Dr. Robert Cornwall’s work and I hope you will pick this one up to read for yourself.\n\nTo buy “Faith in the Public Square” Amazon, <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Public-Square-Robert-Cornwall/dp/189372946X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1338864366&amp;sr=8-1\">click here</a>.\n\nTo buy “Faith in the Public Square” directly from the publisher, <a href=\"http://energionpubs.com/books/189372946X/\">click here</a>.\n\nFor more of Bob’s writing, check out his blog, “<a href=\"http://www.bobcornwall.com/\">Ponderings on a Faith Journey</a>”.\n\nFind Bob on Facebook <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/drbobcornwall\">here</a>.\n\n<em>Photo credit: image of book and Dr. Robert Cornwall used with permission, Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/redvers/2261603630/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">R/DV/RS</a> (grass and sky photo)</em>','“Faith in the Public Square”: A Review','','inherit','open','open','','6909-revision','','','2012-06-05 07:26:01','2012-06-05 14:26:01','',6909,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/05/6909-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6913,38,'2012-06-05 07:29:01','2012-06-05 14:29:01','I first met Dr. Robert, or Bob, as most people call him, through the Faith Interview Series I just wrote for Provoketive. He grew up as an Episcopalian, and then left because of “a deep need for me to be more connected with a community that really took my faith seriously.” He spent some time in the Pentecostal movement and after craving a more intellectually challenging environment, eventually settled into the Disciples of Christ denomination.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_6112\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Dr. Bob Cornwall\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Bob-headshot-92010.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6112\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Bob-headshot-92010-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\n\nHe is the pastor of Central Woodward Christian Church in Troy, Michigan, and is a founder and active member of the Troy Interfaith Group. His fervent passion for interfaith efforts brings him to a unique place where his faith is no longer behind closed doors. He is out in the open interacting with people of other faiths and finding new meaning in working with his neighbors and community.\n\nHe is no longer just practicing his faith in the safety of his church, but is living with his faith and community as a whole. Because of this, he is meeting people in smaller religious groups and communities that he would have traditionally not come into contact with. Also, the Troy Interfaith Group is a bit of a public forum, so this leaves Bob in an interesting intersection between religion and the public sphere.\n\nOne thing Bob said to me about his interfaith group is that some people think it’s all about the “inter” and not about the “faith”. “We don’t sit around and talk about how everyone is more or less right. This is not mushy faith.”\n\nBut the big question that lingers in a lot of people’s minds is if it’s not mushy, how exactly do you do that? How do you meet and spend time with people who have such drastically different beliefs and practices than you?\n\nWhen you crack it open, this conundrum opens up into a much larger question for society at large: with a world that is growing in population, diversity, and closeness, how do you remain faithful to your convictions and beliefs, while doing the best thing for everyone?\n\nAs Bob puts it in the opening of the book, “How shall we live together, peacefully and productively, as one people in the midst of all this diversity?”\n\nThis is exactly the question that Bob addresses in his new book, <em>Faith in the Public Square: Living Faithfully in 21<sup>st</sup> Century America</em>.  This is an important subject whose answer is being begged for more urgently every day by this 21<sup>st</sup> century country.\n\nIf I were to retitle the book, I would call it “How to Cohabitate on this Planet with Other Humans and Not Be a Jerk”. There are a lot of things I loved about this book but my favorite things are:\n\n<strong>Bob is very knowledgeable about the subjects he talks about.</strong> I hate it when books seem off-the-cuff and like the author didn’t do any research outside of their own cranium. Bob includes a lot of historical and political context to conversations that often get cut down to “us vs. them”. He expands and reframes the conversation to give you more far more insight than the three minute bits the talking heads tend to give us.\n\n<strong>The tone of this book is like sitting at a barbeque with your awesome, really smart friends.</strong> It’s a relaxed atmosphere, and yet well-informed. Books can sometimes be intrusive and try to strong-arm you into accepting whatever it’s proposing, but that was not the case with <em>Faith in the Public Square</em>. Bob has a very open, personable tone that opens your heart. And yet, he is not afraid of putting his thoughts—some of which are unconventional—on the table, which leads into my next point.\n\n<strong>Bob talks about an incredibly wide variety of issues that we deal with every day as American citizens.</strong> This is not simply a “let’s be nice to each other, shall we?” or “Let’s just read our Bibles and pray and everything will be fine” book. <em>Faith in the Public Square</em> covers all aspects of life where civil concerns and religion intersect, such as the following:\n\nHow we can appreciate (at least in some part) paying taxes\n\nWhy your employer asking  you to say “Happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” is not a conspiracy against Christians\n\nThe true meaning of “pro-life” and how the abortion conversation limits itself\n\nHow to approach voting, politicians, and your political values\n\nThe mistakes in the mainstream perception of Islam\n\nRacism and the position of the presidency\n\nThe increasing danger of “good religion” being in bed with patriotism\n\nHow “the Bible says” is not a good reason to create legislation\n\nThese are not easy topics. If Bob wanted to write an easy book he wouldn’t have touched half of these topics with a ten-foot pole. Instead, Bob steps up to the plate to talk about the kind of issues that our pressing in culture that most pastors would never talk about. And this is only scratching the surface of the topics that are covered!\n\n<strong>I loved the presentation of the book.</strong>  One of the greatest things about this book is that it was originally written as a newspaper column, so all of the essays are presented in easy to read, digestible chunks.\n\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/faith-in-the-public-square.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright  wp-image-6911\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/faith-in-the-public-square-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"240\" /></a>With <em>Faith in the Public Square</em> there will be no getting lost in a 500-pager by a stuffy theology professor with no foreseeable way out. The chapters are 1-3 pages long a piece. Thus, this is a book you can carry with you that you can jump back into easily when you have a few minutes to read, but it is <em>not</em> a watery book at all.\n\nAnd what if you’re not a church goer? Will this book have anything for you? Absolutely! While it contains topics dealing with religion, it was written for a very wide audience, so even if you have no religion affiliation at all this book is still a good read.\n\nAll in all, I would highly recommend <em>Faith in the Public Square</em>. This book had a refreshing, and hard-hitting look at religion and the life of a citizen. I appreciate Bob’s courage in approaching the topics he talked about, and I also appreciate the warm tone he wrote with. If you want some good theological brain food, a fresh take on civilian life, and some good conversations to build your religious principles on, this is definitely the book for you.\n\nI look forward to reading more of Dr. Robert Cornwall’s work and I hope you will pick this one up to read for yourself.\n\nTo buy “Faith in the Public Square” Amazon, <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Public-Square-Robert-Cornwall/dp/189372946X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1338864366&amp;sr=8-1\">click here</a>.\n\nTo buy “Faith in the Public Square” directly from the publisher, <a href=\"http://energionpubs.com/books/189372946X/\">click here</a>.\n\nFor more of Bob’s writing, check out his blog, “<a href=\"http://www.bobcornwall.com/\">Ponderings on a Faith Journey</a>”.\n\nFind Bob on Facebook <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/drbobcornwall\">here</a>.\n\n<em>Photo credit: image of book and Dr. Robert Cornwall used with permission, Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/redvers/2261603630/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">R/DV/RS</a> (grass and sky photo)</em>','“Faith in the Public Square”: A Review','','inherit','open','open','','6909-revision-2','','','2012-06-05 07:29:01','2012-06-05 14:29:01','',6909,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/05/6909-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6914,38,'2012-06-05 07:30:25','2012-06-05 14:30:25','I first met Dr. Robert, or Bob, as most people call him, through the Faith Interview Series I just wrote for Provoketive. He grew up as an Episcopalian, and then left because of “a deep need for me to be more connected with a community that really took my faith seriously.” He spent some time in the Pentecostal movement and after craving a more intellectually challenging environment, eventually settled into the Disciples of Christ denomination.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6112\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Dr. Bob Cornwall\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Bob-headshot-92010.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6112\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Bob-headshot-92010-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nHe is the pastor of Central Woodward Christian Church in Troy, Michigan, and is a founder and active member of the Troy Interfaith Group. His fervent passion for interfaith efforts brings him to a unique place where his faith is no longer behind closed doors. He is out in the open interacting with people of other faiths and finding new meaning in working with his neighbors and community.\r\n\r\nHe is no longer just practicing his faith in the safety of his church, but is living with his faith and community as a whole. Because of this, he is meeting people in smaller religious groups and communities that he would have traditionally not come into contact with. Also, the Troy Interfaith Group is a bit of a public forum, so this leaves Bob in an interesting intersection between religion and the public sphere.\r\n\r\nOne thing Bob said to me about his interfaith group is that some people think it’s all about the “inter” and not about the “faith”. “We don’t sit around and talk about how everyone is more or less right. This is not mushy faith.”\r\n\r\nBut the big question that lingers in a lot of people’s minds is if it’s not mushy, how exactly do you do that? How do you meet and spend time with people who have such drastically different beliefs and practices than you?\r\n\r\nWhen you crack it open, this conundrum opens up into a much larger question for society at large: with a world that is growing in population, diversity, and closeness, how do you remain faithful to your convictions and beliefs, while doing the best thing for everyone?\r\n\r\nAs Bob puts it in the opening of the book, “How shall we live together, peacefully and productively, as one people in the midst of all this diversity?”\r\n\r\nThis is exactly the question that Bob addresses in his new book, <em>Faith in the Public Square: Living Faithfully in 21<sup>st</sup> Century America</em>.  This is an important subject whose answer is being begged for more urgently every day by this 21<sup>st</sup> century country.\r\n\r\nIf I were to retitle the book, I would call it “How to Cohabitate on this Planet with Other Humans and Not Be a Jerk”. There are a lot of things I loved about this book but my favorite things are:\r\n\r\n<strong>Bob is very knowledgeable about the subjects he talks about.</strong> I hate it when books seem off-the-cuff and like the author didn’t do any research outside of their own cranium. Bob includes a lot of historical and political context to conversations that often get cut down to “us vs. them”. He expands and reframes the conversation to give you more far more insight than the three minute bits the talking heads tend to give us.\r\n\r\n<strong>The tone of this book is like sitting at a barbeque with your awesome, really smart friends.</strong> It’s a relaxed atmosphere, and yet well-informed. Books can sometimes be intrusive and try to strong-arm you into accepting whatever it’s proposing, but that was not the case with <em>Faith in the Public Square</em>. Bob has a very open, personable tone that opens your heart. And yet, he is not afraid of putting his thoughts—some of which are unconventional—on the table, which leads into my next point.\r\n\r\n<strong>Bob talks about an incredibly wide variety of issues that we deal with every day as American citizens.</strong> This is not simply a “let’s be nice to each other, shall we?” or “Let’s just read our Bibles and pray and everything will be fine” book. <em>Faith in the Public Square</em> covers all aspects of life where civil concerns and religion intersect, such as the following:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>We should appreciate (at least in part) paying taxes</li>\r\n	<li>Why your employer asking  you to say “Happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” is not a conspiracy against Christians</li>\r\n	<li>The true meaning of “pro-life” and how the abortion conversation limits itself</li>\r\n	<li>How to approach voting, politicians, and your political values</li>\r\n	<li>The mistakes in the mainstream perception of Islam</li>\r\n	<li>Racism and the position of the presidency</li>\r\n	<li>The increasing danger of “good religion” being in bed with patriotism</li>\r\n	<li>How “the Bible says” is not a good reason to create legislation</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThese are not easy topics. If Bob wanted to write an easy book he wouldn’t have touched half of these topics with a ten-foot pole. Instead, Bob steps up to the plate to talk about the kind of issues that our pressing in culture that most pastors would never talk about. And this is only scratching the surface of the topics that are covered!\r\n\r\n<strong>I loved the presentation of the book.</strong>  One of the greatest things about this book is that it was originally written as a newspaper column, so all of the essays are presented in easy to read, digestible chunks.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/faith-in-the-public-square.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright  wp-image-6911\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/faith-in-the-public-square-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"240\" /></a>With <em>Faith in the Public Square</em> there will be no getting lost in a 500-pager by a stuffy theology professor with no foreseeable way out. The chapters are 1-3 pages long a piece. Thus, this is a book you can carry with you that you can jump back into easily when you have a few minutes to read, but it is <em>not</em> a watery book at all.\r\n\r\nAnd what if you’re not a church goer? Will this book have anything for you? Absolutely! While it contains topics dealing with religion, it was written for a very wide audience, so even if you have no religion affiliation at all this book is still a good read.\r\n\r\nAll in all, I would highly recommend <em>Faith in the Public Square</em>. This book had a refreshing, and hard-hitting look at religion and the life of a citizen. I appreciate Bob’s courage in approaching the topics he talked about, and I also appreciate the warm tone he wrote with. If you want some good theological brain food, a fresh take on civilian life, and some good conversations to build your religious principles on, this is definitely the book for you.\r\n\r\nI look forward to reading more of Dr. Robert Cornwall’s work and I hope you will pick this one up to read for yourself.\r\n\r\nTo buy “Faith in the Public Square” Amazon, <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Public-Square-Robert-Cornwall/dp/189372946X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1338864366&amp;sr=8-1\">click here</a>.\r\n\r\nTo buy “Faith in the Public Square” directly from the publisher, <a href=\"http://energionpubs.com/books/189372946X/\">click here</a>.\r\n\r\nFor more of Bob’s writing, check out his blog, “<a href=\"http://www.bobcornwall.com/\">Ponderings on a Faith Journey</a>”.\r\n\r\nFind Bob on Facebook <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/drbobcornwall\">here</a>.\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: image of book and Dr. Robert Cornwall used with permission, Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/redvers/2261603630/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">R/DV/RS</a> (grass and sky photo)</em>','“Faith in the Public Square”: A Review','','inherit','open','open','','6909-revision-3','','','2012-06-05 07:30:25','2012-06-05 14:30:25','',6909,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/05/6909-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6915,38,'2012-06-05 07:31:08','2012-06-05 14:31:08','I first met Dr. Robert, or Bob, as most people call him, through the Faith Interview Series I just wrote for Provoketive. He grew up as an Episcopalian, and then left because of “a deep need for me to be more connected with a community that really took my faith seriously.” He spent some time in the Pentecostal movement and after craving a more intellectually challenging environment, eventually settled into the Disciples of Christ denomination.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6112\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Dr. Bob Cornwall\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Bob-headshot-92010.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6112\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Bob-headshot-92010-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nHe is the pastor of Central Woodward Christian Church in Troy, Michigan, and is a founder and active member of the Troy Interfaith Group. His fervent passion for interfaith efforts brings him to a unique place where his faith is no longer behind closed doors. He is out in the open interacting with people of other faiths and finding new meaning in working with his neighbors and community.\r\n\r\nHe is no longer just practicing his faith in the safety of his church, but is living with his faith and community as a whole. Because of this, he is meeting people in smaller religious groups and communities that he would have traditionally not come into contact with. Also, the Troy Interfaith Group is a bit of a public forum, so this leaves Bob in an interesting intersection between religion and the public sphere.\r\n\r\nOne thing Bob said to me about his interfaith group is that some people think it’s all about the “inter” and not about the “faith”. “We don’t sit around and talk about how everyone is more or less right. This is not mushy faith.”\r\n\r\nBut the big question that lingers in a lot of people’s minds is if it’s not mushy, how exactly do you do that? How do you meet and spend time with people who have such drastically different beliefs and practices than you?\r\n\r\nWhen you crack it open, this conundrum opens up into a much larger question for society at large: with a world that is growing in population, diversity, and closeness, how do you remain faithful to your convictions and beliefs, while doing the best thing for everyone?\r\n\r\nAs Bob puts it in the opening of the book, “How shall we live together, peacefully and productively, as one people in the midst of all this diversity?”\r\n\r\nThis is exactly the question that Bob addresses in his new book, <em>Faith in the Public Square: Living Faithfully in 21<sup>st</sup> Century America</em>.  This is an important subject whose answer is being begged for more urgently every day by this 21<sup>st</sup> century country.\r\n\r\nIf I were to retitle the book, I would call it “How to Cohabitate on this Planet with Other Humans and Not Be a Jerk”. There are a lot of things I loved about this book but my favorite things are:\r\n\r\n<strong>Bob is very knowledgeable about the subjects he talks about.</strong> I hate it when books seem off-the-cuff and like the author didn’t do any research outside of their own cranium. Bob includes a lot of historical and political context to conversations that often get cut down to “us vs. them”. He expands and reframes the conversation to give you more far more insight than the three minute bits the talking heads tend to give us.\r\n\r\n<strong>The tone of this book is like sitting at a barbeque with your awesome, really smart friends.</strong> It’s a relaxed atmosphere, and yet well-informed. Books can sometimes be intrusive and try to strong-arm you into accepting whatever it’s proposing, but that was not the case with <em>Faith in the Public Square</em>. Bob has a very open, personable tone that opens your heart. And yet, he is not afraid of putting his thoughts—some of which are unconventional—on the table, which leads into my next point.\r\n\r\n<strong>Bob talks about an incredibly wide variety of issues that we deal with every day as American citizens.</strong> This is not simply a “let’s be nice to each other, shall we?” or “Let’s just read our Bibles and pray and everything will be fine” book. <em>Faith in the Public Square</em> covers all aspects of life where civil concerns and religion intersect, such as the following:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>We should appreciate (at least in part) paying taxes</li>\r\n	<li>Why your employer asking  you to say “Happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” is not a conspiracy against Christians</li>\r\n	<li>The true meaning of “pro-life” and how the abortion conversation limits itself</li>\r\n	<li>How to approach voting, politicians, and your political values</li>\r\n	<li>The mistakes in the mainstream perception of Islam</li>\r\n	<li>Racism and the position of the presidency</li>\r\n	<li>The increasing danger of “good religion” being in bed with patriotism</li>\r\n	<li>How “the Bible says” is not a good reason to create legislation</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThese are not easy topics. If Bob wanted to write an easy book he wouldn’t have touched half of these topics with a ten-foot pole. Instead, Bob steps up to the plate to talk about the kind of issues that our pressing in culture that most pastors would never talk about. And this is only scratching the surface of the topics that are covered!\r\n\r\n<strong>I loved the presentation of the book.</strong>  One of the greatest things about this book is that it was originally written as a newspaper column, so all of the essays are presented in easy to read, digestible chunks.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/faith-in-the-public-square.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright  wp-image-6911\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/faith-in-the-public-square-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"240\" /></a>With <em>Faith in the Public Square</em> there will be no getting lost in a 500-pager by a stuffy theology professor with no foreseeable way out. The chapters are 1-3 pages long a piece. Thus, this is a book you can carry with you that you can jump back into easily when you have a few minutes to read, but it is <em>not</em> a watery book at all.\r\n\r\nAnd what if you’re not a church goer? Will this book have anything for you? Absolutely! While it contains topics dealing with religion, it was written for a very wide audience, so even if you have no religion affiliation at all this book is still a good read.\r\n\r\nAll in all, I would highly recommend <em>Faith in the Public Square</em>. This book had a refreshing, and hard-hitting look at religion and the life of a citizen. I appreciate Bob’s courage in approaching the topics he talked about, and I also appreciate the warm tone he wrote with. If you want some good theological brain food, a fresh take on civilian life, and some good conversations to build your religious principles on, this is definitely the book for you.\r\n\r\nI look forward to reading more of Dr. Robert Cornwall’s work and I hope you will pick this one up to read for yourself.\r\n\r\nTo buy “Faith in the Public Square” Amazon, <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Public-Square-Robert-Cornwall/dp/189372946X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1338864366&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">click here</a>.\r\n\r\nTo buy “Faith in the Public Square” directly from the publisher, <a href=\"http://energionpubs.com/books/189372946X/\">click here</a>.\r\n\r\nFor more of Bob’s writing, check out his blog, “<a href=\"http://www.bobcornwall.com/\">Ponderings on a Faith Journey</a>”.\r\n\r\nFind Dr. Robert Cornwall on Facebook <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/drbobcornwall\">here</a>.\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: image of book and Dr. Robert Cornwall used with permission, Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/redvers/2261603630/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">R/DV/RS</a> (grass and sky photo)</em>','“Faith in the Public Square”: A Review','','inherit','open','open','','6909-revision-4','','','2012-06-05 07:31:08','2012-06-05 14:31:08','',6909,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/05/6909-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6916,38,'2012-06-05 07:31:40','2012-06-05 14:31:40','I first met Dr. Robert, or Bob, as most people call him, through the Faith Interview Series I just wrote for Provoketive. He grew up as an Episcopalian, and then left because of “a deep need for me to be more connected with a community that really took my faith seriously.” He spent some time in the Pentecostal movement and after craving a more intellectually challenging environment, eventually settled into the Disciples of Christ denomination.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6112\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Dr. Bob Cornwall\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Bob-headshot-92010.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6112\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Bob-headshot-92010-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nHe is the pastor of Central Woodward Christian Church in Troy, Michigan, and is a founder and active member of the Troy Interfaith Group. His fervent passion for interfaith efforts brings him to a unique place where his faith is no longer behind closed doors. He is out in the open interacting with people of other faiths and finding new meaning in working with his neighbors and community.\r\n\r\nHe is no longer just practicing his faith in the safety of his church, but is living with his faith and community as a whole. Because of this, he is meeting people in smaller religious groups and communities that he would have traditionally not come into contact with. Also, the Troy Interfaith Group is a bit of a public forum, so this leaves Bob in an interesting intersection between religion and the public sphere.\r\n\r\nOne thing Bob said to me about his interfaith group is that some people think it’s all about the “inter” and not about the “faith”. “We don’t sit around and talk about how everyone is more or less right. This is not mushy faith.”\r\n\r\nBut the big question that lingers in a lot of people’s minds is if it’s not mushy, how exactly do you do that? How do you meet and spend time with people who have such drastically different beliefs and practices than you?\r\n\r\nWhen you crack it open, this conundrum opens up into a much larger question for society at large: with a world that is growing in population, diversity, and closeness, how do you remain faithful to your convictions and beliefs, while doing the best thing for everyone?\r\n\r\nAs Bob puts it in the opening of the book, “How shall we live together, peacefully and productively, as one people in the midst of all this diversity?”\r\n\r\nThis is exactly the question that Bob addresses in his new book, <em>Faith in the Public Square: Living Faithfully in 21<sup>st</sup> Century America</em>.  This is an important subject whose answer is being begged for more urgently every day by this 21<sup>st</sup> century country.\r\n\r\nIf I were to retitle the book, I would call it “How to Cohabitate on this Planet with Other Humans and Not Be a Jerk”. There are a lot of things I loved about this book but my favorite things are:\r\n\r\n<strong>Bob is very knowledgeable about the subjects he talks about.</strong> I hate it when books seem off-the-cuff and like the author didn’t do any research outside of their own cranium. Bob includes a lot of historical and political context to conversations that often get cut down to “us vs. them”. He expands and reframes the conversation to give you more far more insight than the three minute bits the talking heads tend to give us.\r\n\r\n<strong>The tone of this book is like sitting at a barbeque with your awesome, really smart friends.</strong> It’s a relaxed atmosphere, and yet well-informed. Books can sometimes be intrusive and try to strong-arm you into accepting whatever it’s proposing, but that was not the case with <em>Faith in the Public Square</em>. Bob has a very open, personable tone that opens your heart. And yet, he is not afraid of putting his thoughts—some of which are unconventional—on the table, which leads into my next point.\r\n\r\n<strong>Bob talks about an incredibly wide variety of issues that we deal with every day as American citizens.</strong> This is not simply a “let’s be nice to each other, shall we?” or “Let’s just read our Bibles and pray and everything will be fine” book. <em>Faith in the Public Square</em> covers all aspects of life where civil concerns and religion intersect, such as the following:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>We should appreciate (at least in part) paying taxes</li>\r\n	<li>Why your employer asking  you to say “Happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” is not a conspiracy against Christians</li>\r\n	<li>The true meaning of “pro-life” and how the abortion conversation limits itself</li>\r\n	<li>How to approach voting, politicians, and your political values</li>\r\n	<li>The mistakes in the mainstream perception of Islam</li>\r\n	<li>Racism and the position of the presidency</li>\r\n	<li>The increasing danger of “good religion” being in bed with patriotism</li>\r\n	<li>How “the Bible says” is not a good reason to create legislation</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThese are not easy topics. If Bob wanted to write an easy book he wouldn’t have touched half of these topics with a ten-foot pole. Instead, Bob steps up to the plate to talk about the kind of issues that our pressing in culture that most pastors would never talk about. And this is only scratching the surface of the topics that are covered!\r\n\r\n<strong>I loved the presentation of the book.</strong>  One of the greatest things about this book is that it was originally written as a newspaper column, so all of the essays are presented in easy to read, digestible chunks.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/faith-in-the-public-square.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright  wp-image-6911\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/faith-in-the-public-square-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"240\" /></a>With <em>Faith in the Public Square</em> there will be no getting lost in a 500-pager by a stuffy professor with no foreseeable way out. The chapters are 1-3 pages long a piece. Thus, this is a book you can carry with you that you can jump back into easily when you have a few minutes to read, but it is <em>not</em> a watery book at all.\r\n\r\nAnd what if you’re not a church goer? Will this book have anything for you? Absolutely! While it contains topics dealing with religion, it was written for a very wide audience, so even if you have no religion affiliation at all this book is still a good read.\r\n\r\nAll in all, I would highly recommend <em>Faith in the Public Square</em>. This book had a refreshing, and hard-hitting look at religion and the life of a citizen. I appreciate Bob’s courage in approaching the topics he talked about, and I also appreciate the warm tone he wrote with. If you want some good theological brain food, a fresh take on civilian life, and some good conversations to build your religious principles on, this is definitely the book for you.\r\n\r\nI look forward to reading more of Dr. Robert Cornwall’s work and I hope you will pick this one up to read for yourself.\r\n\r\nTo buy “Faith in the Public Square” Amazon, <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Public-Square-Robert-Cornwall/dp/189372946X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1338864366&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">click here</a>.\r\n\r\nTo buy “Faith in the Public Square” directly from the publisher, <a href=\"http://energionpubs.com/books/189372946X/\">click here</a>.\r\n\r\nFor more of Bob’s writing, check out his blog, “<a href=\"http://www.bobcornwall.com/\">Ponderings on a Faith Journey</a>”.\r\n\r\nFind Dr. Robert Cornwall on Facebook <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/drbobcornwall\">here</a>.\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: image of book and Dr. Robert Cornwall used with permission, Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/redvers/2261603630/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">R/DV/RS</a> (grass and sky photo)</em>','“Faith in the Public Square”: A Review','','inherit','open','open','','6909-revision-5','','','2012-06-05 07:31:40','2012-06-05 14:31:40','',6909,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/05/6909-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6917,38,'2012-06-07 08:43:58','2012-06-07 15:43:58','I first met Dr. Robert, or Bob, as most people call him, through the <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/05/18/faith-interview-series-christian/\" target=\"_blank\">Faith Interview Series</a> I just wrote for Provoketive. He grew up as an Episcopalian, and then left because of “a deep need for me to be more connected with a community that really took my faith seriously.” He spent some time in the Pentecostal movement and after craving a more intellectually challenging environment, eventually settled into the Disciples of Christ denomination.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6112\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Dr. Bob Cornwall\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Bob-headshot-92010.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6112\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Bob-headshot-92010-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nHe is the pastor of Central Woodward Christian Church in Troy, Michigan, and is a founder and active member of the Troy Interfaith Group. His fervent passion for interfaith efforts brings him to a unique place where his faith is no longer behind closed doors. He is no longer just practicing his faith in the safety of his church, but is living with his faith and community as a whole, and this means Bob lives at an interesting intersection between religion and the public sphere.\r\n\r\nOne thing Bob said to me about his interfaith group is that some people think it’s all about the “inter” and not about the “faith”. “We don’t sit around and talk about how everyone is more or less right. This is not mushy faith.”\r\n\r\nBut the big question that lingers in a lot of people’s minds is if it’s not mushy, how exactly do you do that? <em>How</em> do you meet and spend time with people who have such drastically different beliefs and practices than you?\r\n\r\nWhen you crack it open, this conundrum opens up into a much larger question for society at large:\r\n\r\n<strong>With a world that is growing in population, diversity, and proximity, how do you remain faithful to your convictions and beliefs, while still doing the best thing for everybody?</strong>\r\n\r\nAs Bob puts it in the opening of the book, “How shall we live together, peacefully and productively, as one people in the midst of all this diversity?”\r\n\r\nThis is exactly the question that Bob addresses in his new book, <em>Faith in the Public Square: Living Faithfully in 21<sup>st</sup> Century America</em>.  This is an important subject whose answer is being begged for more urgently every day by this 21<sup>st</sup> century country.\r\n\r\nIf I were to retitle the book, I would call it “How to Cohabitate on this Planet with Other Humans and Not Be a Jerk”. There are a lot of things I loved about this book but my favorite things are:\r\n\r\n<strong>Bob is very knowledgeable about the subjects he talks about.</strong> I hate it when books seem off-the-cuff and like the author didn’t do any research outside of their own cranium. Bob includes a lot of historical and political context to conversations that often get cut down to “us vs. them”. He expands and re-frames the conversation to give you far more insight than the three minute bits the talking heads tend to give us.\r\n\r\n<strong>The tone of this book is like sitting at a barbeque with your awesome, really smart friends.</strong> It’s a relaxed atmosphere, and yet well-informed. Books can sometimes be intrusive and try to strong-arm you into accepting whatever it’s proposing, but that was not the case with <em>Faith in the Public Square</em>. Bob has a very open, personable tone that opens your heart. And yet, he is not afraid of putting his thoughts—some of which are unconventional—on the table, which leads into my next point.\r\n\r\n<strong>Bob talks about an incredibly wide variety of issues that we deal with every day as American citizens.</strong> This is not simply a “let’s be nice to each other, shall we?” or “Let’s just read our Bibles and pray and everything will be fine” book. <em>Faith in the Public Square</em> covers all aspects of life where civil concerns and religion intersect, such as the following:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>We should appreciate (at least in part) paying taxes</li>\r\n	<li>Why your employer asking  you to say “Happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” is not a conspiracy against Christians</li>\r\n	<li>The true meaning of “pro-life” and how the abortion conversation limits itself</li>\r\n	<li>How to approach voting, politicians, and your political values</li>\r\n	<li>The mistakes in the mainstream perception of Islam</li>\r\n	<li>Racism and the position of the presidency</li>\r\n	<li>The increasing danger of “good religion” being in bed with patriotism</li>\r\n	<li>How “the Bible says” is not a good reason to create legislation</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThese are not easy topics. If Bob wanted to write an easy book he wouldn’t have touched half of these topics with a ten-foot pole. Instead, Bob steps up to the plate to talk about the kind of issues that our pressing in culture that most pastors would never talk about. And this is only scratching the surface of the topics that are covered!\r\n\r\n<strong>I loved the presentation of the book.</strong>  One of the greatest things about this book is that it was originally written as a newspaper column, so all of the essays are presented in easy to read, digestible chunks.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/faith-in-the-public-square.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright  wp-image-6911\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/faith-in-the-public-square-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"240\" /></a>With <em>Faith in the Public Square</em> there will be no getting lost in a 500-pager by a stuffy professor with no foreseeable way out. The chapters are 1-3 pages long a piece. Thus, this is a book you can carry with you that you can jump back into easily when you have a few minutes to read, but it is <em>not</em> a watery book at all.\r\n\r\nAnd what if you’re not a church goer? Will this book have anything for you? Absolutely! While it contains topics dealing with religion, it was written for a very wide audience, so even if you have no religion affiliation at all this book is still a great read because everyone--religious or not--will at some point come into conflict between their personal ideals and the greater good.\r\n\r\nAll in all, I would highly recommend <em>Faith in the Public Square</em>. This book had a refreshing, and hard-hitting look at religion and the life of a citizen. I appreciate Bob’s courage in approaching the topics he talked about, and I also appreciate the warm tone he wrote with. If you want some good theological brain food, a fresh take on civilian life, and some good conversations to build your religious principles on, this is definitely the book for you.\r\n\r\nI look forward to reading more of Dr. Robert Cornwall’s work and I hope you will pick this one up to read for yourself.\r\n\r\nTo buy “Faith in the Public Square” Amazon, <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Public-Square-Robert-Cornwall/dp/189372946X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1338864366&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">click here</a>.\r\n\r\nTo buy “Faith in the Public Square” directly from the publisher, <a href=\"http://energionpubs.com/books/189372946X/\">click here</a>.\r\n\r\nFor more of Bob’s writing, check out his blog, “<a href=\"http://www.bobcornwall.com/\">Ponderings on a Faith Journey</a>”.\r\n\r\nFind Dr. Robert Cornwall on Facebook <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/drbobcornwall\">here</a>.\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: image of book and Dr. Robert Cornwall used with permission, Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/redvers/2261603630/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">R/DV/RS</a> (grass and sky photo)</em>','“Faith in the Public Square”: A Review','','inherit','open','open','','6909-autosave','','','2012-06-07 08:43:58','2012-06-07 15:43:58','',6909,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/05/6909-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6918,38,'2012-06-05 07:31:54','2012-06-05 14:31:54','I first met Dr. Robert, or Bob, as most people call him, through the Faith Interview Series I just wrote for Provoketive. He grew up as an Episcopalian, and then left because of “a deep need for me to be more connected with a community that really took my faith seriously.” He spent some time in the Pentecostal movement and after craving a more intellectually challenging environment, eventually settled into the Disciples of Christ denomination.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6112\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Dr. Bob Cornwall\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Bob-headshot-92010.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6112\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Bob-headshot-92010-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nHe is the pastor of Central Woodward Christian Church in Troy, Michigan, and is a founder and active member of the Troy Interfaith Group. His fervent passion for interfaith efforts brings him to a unique place where his faith is no longer behind closed doors. He is out in the open interacting with people of other faiths and finding new meaning in working with his neighbors and community.\r\n\r\nHe is no longer just practicing his faith in the safety of his church, but is living with his faith and community as a whole. Because of this, he is meeting people in smaller religious groups and communities that he would have traditionally not come into contact with. Also, the Troy Interfaith Group is a bit of a public forum, so this leaves Bob in an interesting intersection between religion and the public sphere.\r\n\r\nOne thing Bob said to me about his interfaith group is that some people think it’s all about the “inter” and not about the “faith”. “We don’t sit around and talk about how everyone is more or less right. This is not mushy faith.”\r\n\r\nBut the big question that lingers in a lot of people’s minds is if it’s not mushy, how exactly do you do that? How do you meet and spend time with people who have such drastically different beliefs and practices than you?\r\n\r\nWhen you crack it open, this conundrum opens up into a much larger question for society at large: with a world that is growing in population, diversity, and closeness, how do you remain faithful to your convictions and beliefs, while doing the best thing for everyone?\r\n\r\nAs Bob puts it in the opening of the book, “How shall we live together, peacefully and productively, as one people in the midst of all this diversity?”\r\n\r\nThis is exactly the question that Bob addresses in his new book, <em>Faith in the Public Square: Living Faithfully in 21<sup>st</sup> Century America</em>.  This is an important subject whose answer is being begged for more urgently every day by this 21<sup>st</sup> century country.\r\n\r\nIf I were to retitle the book, I would call it “How to Cohabitate on this Planet with Other Humans and Not Be a Jerk”. There are a lot of things I loved about this book but my favorite things are:\r\n\r\n<strong>Bob is very knowledgeable about the subjects he talks about.</strong> I hate it when books seem off-the-cuff and like the author didn’t do any research outside of their own cranium. Bob includes a lot of historical and political context to conversations that often get cut down to “us vs. them”. He expands and reframes the conversation to give you more far more insight than the three minute bits the talking heads tend to give us.\r\n\r\n<strong>The tone of this book is like sitting at a barbeque with your awesome, really smart friends.</strong> It’s a relaxed atmosphere, and yet well-informed. Books can sometimes be intrusive and try to strong-arm you into accepting whatever it’s proposing, but that was not the case with <em>Faith in the Public Square</em>. Bob has a very open, personable tone that opens your heart. And yet, he is not afraid of putting his thoughts—some of which are unconventional—on the table, which leads into my next point.\r\n\r\n<strong>Bob talks about an incredibly wide variety of issues that we deal with every day as American citizens.</strong> This is not simply a “let’s be nice to each other, shall we?” or “Let’s just read our Bibles and pray and everything will be fine” book. <em>Faith in the Public Square</em> covers all aspects of life where civil concerns and religion intersect, such as the following:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>We should appreciate (at least in part) paying taxes</li>\r\n	<li>Why your employer asking  you to say “Happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” is not a conspiracy against Christians</li>\r\n	<li>The true meaning of “pro-life” and how the abortion conversation limits itself</li>\r\n	<li>How to approach voting, politicians, and your political values</li>\r\n	<li>The mistakes in the mainstream perception of Islam</li>\r\n	<li>Racism and the position of the presidency</li>\r\n	<li>The increasing danger of “good religion” being in bed with patriotism</li>\r\n	<li>How “the Bible says” is not a good reason to create legislation</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThese are not easy topics. If Bob wanted to write an easy book he wouldn’t have touched half of these topics with a ten-foot pole. Instead, Bob steps up to the plate to talk about the kind of issues that our pressing in culture that most pastors would never talk about. And this is only scratching the surface of the topics that are covered!\r\n\r\n<strong>I loved the presentation of the book.</strong>  One of the greatest things about this book is that it was originally written as a newspaper column, so all of the essays are presented in easy to read, digestible chunks.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/faith-in-the-public-square.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright  wp-image-6911\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/faith-in-the-public-square-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"240\" /></a>With <em>Faith in the Public Square</em> there will be no getting lost in a 500-pager by a stuffy professor with no foreseeable way out. The chapters are 1-3 pages long a piece. Thus, this is a book you can carry with you that you can jump back into easily when you have a few minutes to read, but it is <em>not</em> a watery book at all.\r\n\r\nAnd what if you’re not a church goer? Will this book have anything for you? Absolutely! While it contains topics dealing with religion, it was written for a very wide audience, so even if you have no religion affiliation at all this book is still a good read.\r\n\r\nAll in all, I would highly recommend <em>Faith in the Public Square</em>. This book had a refreshing, and hard-hitting look at religion and the life of a citizen. I appreciate Bob’s courage in approaching the topics he talked about, and I also appreciate the warm tone he wrote with. If you want some good theological brain food, a fresh take on civilian life, and some good conversations to build your religious principles on, this is definitely the book for you.\r\n\r\nI look forward to reading more of Dr. Robert Cornwall’s work and I hope you will pick this one up to read for yourself.\r\n\r\nTo buy “Faith in the Public Square” Amazon, <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Public-Square-Robert-Cornwall/dp/189372946X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1338864366&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">click here</a>.\r\n\r\nTo buy “Faith in the Public Square” directly from the publisher, <a href=\"http://energionpubs.com/books/189372946X/\">click here</a>.\r\n\r\nFor more of Bob’s writing, check out his blog, “<a href=\"http://www.bobcornwall.com/\">Ponderings on a Faith Journey</a>”.\r\n\r\nFind Dr. Robert Cornwall on Facebook <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/drbobcornwall\">here</a>.\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: image of book and Dr. Robert Cornwall used with permission, Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/redvers/2261603630/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">R/DV/RS</a> (grass and sky photo)</em>','“Faith in the Public Square”: A Review','','inherit','open','open','','6909-revision-6','','','2012-06-05 07:31:54','2012-06-05 14:31:54','',6909,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/05/6909-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(7247,37,'2012-07-19 14:34:19','2012-07-19 21:34:19','','David Pic','','inherit','open','open','','david-pic','','','2012-07-19 14:34:19','2012-07-19 21:34:19','',0,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/David-Pic.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(7248,37,'2012-07-19 14:36:55','0000-00-00 00:00:00','http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-sandlin/the-c-word-christianity_b_1668025.html','Why I Make a Terrible Christian','','draft','open','open','','','','','2012-07-19 14:36:55','2012-07-19 21:36:55','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=7248',0,'post','',0),(7249,37,'2012-07-19 14:35:24','2012-07-19 21:35:24','','Why I Make a Terrible Christian','','inherit','open','open','','7248-revision','','','2012-07-19 14:35:24','2012-07-19 21:35:24','',7248,'http://provoketive.com/2012/07/19/7248-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(7250,37,'2012-07-19 14:35:29','2012-07-19 21:35:29','','Why I Make a Terrible Christian','','inherit','open','open','','7248-revision-2','','','2012-07-19 14:35:29','2012-07-19 21:35:29','',7248,'http://provoketive.com/2012/07/19/7248-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(7252,0,'2012-07-20 03:29:06','2012-07-20 10:29:06','Hi,\r\n\r\nMy name is Cindy McDonald, owner of www.christiandatingsites.net, and I really enjoy your website. My website is for Christian singles who have contemplated using an online Christian dating site, to better understand how they work and to learn how to safely make the most out of your experience,\r\n\r\nWould you mind taking a look to see if it could be a valuable resource as a resource? Any effort would be appreciated to help spread the word and get some exposure. \r\n\r\nBest, \r\nCindy McDonald\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Cindy McDonald\nAUTHOR EMAIL: cindy.mcdonald35@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: \nSUBJECT: [Provoketive Magazine] Contact Us\nIP: 27.48.40.12\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Cindy McDonald\n    [Email] =&gt; cindy.mcdonald35@gmail.com\n    [Comment] =&gt; Hi,\r\n\r\nMy name is Cindy McDonald, owner of www.christiandatingsites.net, and I really enjoy your website. My website is for Christian singles who have contemplated using an online Christian dating site, to better understand how they work and to learn how to safely make the most out of your experience,\r\n\r\nWould you mind taking a look to see if it could be a valuable resource as a resource? Any effort would be appreciated to help spread the word and get some exposure. \r\n\r\nBest, \r\nCindy McDonald\n)\n','Cindy McDonald - 2012-07-20 03:29:06','','publish','open','open','','fc4908d1fc3160a691770e627baf0838','','','2012-07-20 03:29:06','2012-07-20 10:29:06','',16,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=7252',0,'feedback','',0),(7254,0,'2012-07-20 19:29:39','2012-07-21 02:29:39','Faith (Synchroblog, Following Jesus)\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Leah Randall\nAUTHOR EMAIL: ekklesiamooresville@windstream.net\nAUTHOR URL: http://www.protestantheretic.wordpress.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 67.140.241.141\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Leah Randall\n    [Email] =&gt; ekklesiamooresville@windstream.net\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; www.protestantheretic.wordpress.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Faith (Synchroblog, Following Jesus)\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt;  l3ahmr1\n)\n','Leah Randall - 2012-07-20 19:29:39','','publish','open','open','','c28658a7cca939563ec344f751755df8','','','2012-07-20 19:29:39','2012-07-21 02:29:39','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=7254',0,'feedback','',0),(6921,0,'2012-06-06 05:12:05','2012-06-06 12:12:05','Hello Provoketive Team,\r\n\r\nMy name is Jennifer and I represent the MGID Network.\r\n1 200,000 visitors daily; nearly 3,000 partners; Alexa Rank 210.\r\nWe will promote your site and send targeted visitors. The price is 4 cents per click.\r\n\r\nShould I send you the details?\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Jennifer\nAUTHOR EMAIL: jennifer.mitchell@mgid.com\nAUTHOR URL: \nSUBJECT: [Provoketive Magazine] Contact Us\nIP: 212.90.189.142\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Jennifer\n    [Email] =&gt; jennifer.mitchell@mgid.com\n    [Comment] =&gt; Hello Provoketive Team,\r\n\r\nMy name is Jennifer and I represent the MGID Network.\r\n1 200,000 visitors daily; nearly 3,000 partners; Alexa Rank 210.\r\nWe will promote your site and send targeted visitors. The price is 4 cents per click.\r\n\r\nShould I send you the details?\r\n\n)\n','Jennifer - 2012-06-06 05:12:05','','publish','open','open','','3352e2c1fe3edcd81d3f324882be4d87','','','2012-06-06 05:12:05','2012-06-06 12:12:05','',16,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=6921',0,'feedback','',0),(6922,0,'2012-06-06 15:39:09','2012-06-06 22:39:09','Hi,\r\nThis is a follow up on my earlier mail regarding Guest Posting on your website. The topic I had proposed was “Invisible Spy Applications to Help You Know better about your partner“.  In return, I need a link back to my website.\r\nAlternatively you can suggest a topic and I can custom write it for you. Please let me know if you are interested.\r\nThanks,\r\nSharon\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Sharon Stouffer\nAUTHOR EMAIL: stouffersharon@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: \nSUBJECT: Submit A Question\nIP: 122.166.163.164\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Sharon Stouffer\n    [Email] =&gt; stouffersharon@gmail.com\n    [City] =&gt; Raymond\n    [Your question] =&gt; Hi,\r\nThis is a follow up on my earlier mail regarding Guest Posting on your website. The topic I had proposed was “Invisible Spy Applications to Help You Know better about your partner“.  In return, I need a link back to my website.\r\nAlternatively you can suggest a topic and I can custom write it for you. Please let me know if you are interested.\r\nThanks,\r\nSharon\r\n\n)\n','Sharon Stouffer - 2012-06-06 15:39:09','','publish','open','open','','3941c439e9df362c37d86662328489cf','','','2012-06-06 15:39:09','2012-06-06 22:39:09','',4432,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=6922',0,'feedback','',0),(6927,38,'2012-06-07 08:37:10','2012-06-07 15:37:10','','faith-in-the-public-square_v2','','inherit','open','open','','faith-in-the-public-square_v2','','','2012-06-07 08:37:10','2012-06-07 15:37:10','',6909,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/faith-in-the-public-square_v2.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(6928,38,'2012-06-06 19:36:41','2012-06-07 02:36:41','I first met Dr. Robert, or Bob, as most people call him, through the <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2012/05/18/faith-interview-series-christian/\" target=\"_blank\">Faith Interview Series</a> I just wrote for Provoketive. He grew up as an Episcopalian, and then left because of “a deep need for me to be more connected with a community that really took my faith seriously.” He spent some time in the Pentecostal movement and after craving a more intellectually challenging environment, eventually settled into the Disciples of Christ denomination.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6112\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\" caption=\"Dr. Bob Cornwall\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Bob-headshot-92010.jpg\"><img class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-6112\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Bob-headshot-92010-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nHe is the pastor of Central Woodward Christian Church in Troy, Michigan, and is a founder and active member of the Troy Interfaith Group. His fervent passion for interfaith efforts brings him to a unique place where his faith is no longer behind closed doors. He is out in the open interacting with people of other faiths and finding new meaning in working with his neighbors and community.\r\n\r\nHe is no longer just practicing his faith in the safety of his church, but is living with his faith and community as a whole. Because of this, he is meeting people in smaller religious groups and communities that he would have traditionally not come into contact with. Also, the Troy Interfaith Group is a bit of a public forum, so this leaves Bob in an interesting intersection between religion and the public sphere.\r\n\r\nOne thing Bob said to me about his interfaith group is that some people think it’s all about the “inter” and not about the “faith”. “We don’t sit around and talk about how everyone is more or less right. This is not mushy faith.”\r\n\r\nBut the big question that lingers in a lot of people’s minds is if it’s not mushy, how exactly do you do that? How do you meet and spend time with people who have such drastically different beliefs and practices than you?\r\n\r\nWhen you crack it open, this conundrum opens up into a much larger question for society at large: with a world that is growing in population, diversity, and closeness, how do you remain faithful to your convictions and beliefs, while doing the best thing for everyone?\r\n\r\nAs Bob puts it in the opening of the book, “How shall we live together, peacefully and productively, as one people in the midst of all this diversity?”\r\n\r\nThis is exactly the question that Bob addresses in his new book, <em>Faith in the Public Square: Living Faithfully in 21<sup>st</sup> Century America</em>.  This is an important subject whose answer is being begged for more urgently every day by this 21<sup>st</sup> century country.\r\n\r\nIf I were to retitle the book, I would call it “How to Cohabitate on this Planet with Other Humans and Not Be a Jerk”. There are a lot of things I loved about this book but my favorite things are:\r\n\r\n<strong>Bob is very knowledgeable about the subjects he talks about.</strong> I hate it when books seem off-the-cuff and like the author didn’t do any research outside of their own cranium. Bob includes a lot of historical and political context to conversations that often get cut down to “us vs. them”. He expands and re-frames the conversation to give you far more insight than the three minute bits the talking heads tend to give us.\r\n\r\n<strong>The tone of this book is like sitting at a barbeque with your awesome, really smart friends.</strong> It’s a relaxed atmosphere, and yet well-informed. Books can sometimes be intrusive and try to strong-arm you into accepting whatever it’s proposing, but that was not the case with <em>Faith in the Public Square</em>. Bob has a very open, personable tone that opens your heart. And yet, he is not afraid of putting his thoughts—some of which are unconventional—on the table, which leads into my next point.\r\n\r\n<strong>Bob talks about an incredibly wide variety of issues that we deal with every day as American citizens.</strong> This is not simply a “let’s be nice to each other, shall we?” or “Let’s just read our Bibles and pray and everything will be fine” book. <em>Faith in the Public Square</em> covers all aspects of life where civil concerns and religion intersect, such as the following:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>We should appreciate (at least in part) paying taxes</li>\r\n	<li>Why your employer asking  you to say “Happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” is not a conspiracy against Christians</li>\r\n	<li>The true meaning of “pro-life” and how the abortion conversation limits itself</li>\r\n	<li>How to approach voting, politicians, and your political values</li>\r\n	<li>The mistakes in the mainstream perception of Islam</li>\r\n	<li>Racism and the position of the presidency</li>\r\n	<li>The increasing danger of “good religion” being in bed with patriotism</li>\r\n	<li>How “the Bible says” is not a good reason to create legislation</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThese are not easy topics. If Bob wanted to write an easy book he wouldn’t have touched half of these topics with a ten-foot pole. Instead, Bob steps up to the plate to talk about the kind of issues that our pressing in culture that most pastors would never talk about. And this is only scratching the surface of the topics that are covered!\r\n\r\n<strong>I loved the presentation of the book.</strong>  One of the greatest things about this book is that it was originally written as a newspaper column, so all of the essays are presented in easy to read, digestible chunks.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/faith-in-the-public-square.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright  wp-image-6911\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/faith-in-the-public-square-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"240\" /></a>With <em>Faith in the Public Square</em> there will be no getting lost in a 500-pager by a stuffy professor with no foreseeable way out. The chapters are 1-3 pages long a piece. Thus, this is a book you can carry with you that you can jump back into easily when you have a few minutes to read, but it is <em>not</em> a watery book at all.\r\n\r\nAnd what if you’re not a church goer? Will this book have anything for you? Absolutely! While it contains topics dealing with religion, it was written for a very wide audience, so even if you have no religion affiliation at all this book is still a good read.\r\n\r\nAll in all, I would highly recommend <em>Faith in the Public Square</em>. This book had a refreshing, and hard-hitting look at religion and the life of a citizen. I appreciate Bob’s courage in approaching the topics he talked about, and I also appreciate the warm tone he wrote with. If you want some good theological brain food, a fresh take on civilian life, and some good conversations to build your religious principles on, this is definitely the book for you.\r\n\r\nI look forward to reading more of Dr. Robert Cornwall’s work and I hope you will pick this one up to read for yourself.\r\n\r\nTo buy “Faith in the Public Square” Amazon, <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Faith-Public-Square-Robert-Cornwall/dp/189372946X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1338864366&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">click here</a>.\r\n\r\nTo buy “Faith in the Public Square” directly from the publisher, <a href=\"http://energionpubs.com/books/189372946X/\">click here</a>.\r\n\r\nFor more of Bob’s writing, check out his blog, “<a href=\"http://www.bobcornwall.com/\">Ponderings on a Faith Journey</a>”.\r\n\r\nFind Dr. Robert Cornwall on Facebook <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/drbobcornwall\">here</a>.\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: image of book and Dr. Robert Cornwall used with permission, Flickr / <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/redvers/2261603630/in/photostream/\" target=\"_blank\">R/DV/RS</a> (grass and sky photo)</em>','“Faith in the Public Square”: A Review','','inherit','open','open','','6909-revision-8','','','2012-06-06 19:36:41','2012-06-07 02:36:41','',6909,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/06/6909-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(6933,82,'2012-06-12 08:00:58','2012-06-12 15:00:58','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/photo-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-6950\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/photo-1-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Indivisable by Marni Arnold\" width=\"240\" height=\"240\" /></a>Those in America, like myself, live in a nation where there is a separation of church and state, however, as Christians – we don’t live in a Church where there is a separation of the Church and Christians.\r\n\r\nWell, at least you could have fooled me that this is the case.\r\n\r\nThe truth is, in our Christian culture today, we do in fact live in a Church with such a separation lately – and it’s worsening with the heightened political fervor in this election year. This isn’t how God intended the Church – the Body of Christ – to operate. For in division, He can do nothing.\r\n\r\nGod’s focus with the Church was to prompt a unifying focus to congregate under so we, as Christians, all have the mind of Christ dwelling within us, guiding us all to spread <em>His</em> love and compassion; not our humanly versions of it.\r\n\r\nThe very thing that is bringing to light this division lately is the extremely hot topic in our nation right now revolving around homosexuality; and I live directly in the midst of this controversial topic because I live in Charlotte, NC. So not only is the Democratic National Convention coming to Charlotte this summer, the vote on May 8th to amend North Carolina’s Constitution solidifying an already established law that marriage is only seen as between one man and one woman put this area on the map in a very controversial way - especially within the Church walls.\r\n\r\nSince May 8th, this topic has been bringing out of people [even in the Church] passions unlike I’ve ever seen. Many on the extreme left, as well as the extreme right, of the fence are engaged in judgmental behaviors, and it’s breaking my heart.\r\n\r\nNow, see, this is where I believe the Buddhists caught wind of God’s truth and adopted it into their philosophy and put their own slight spin on it.\r\n\r\nThe middle path.\r\n\r\nBuddhists are extremely ardent about living a balanced life. This balance is lived out in the Buddhist life by expressing love, compassion, and a lack of judgment upon anyone or anything in this world.\r\n\r\nThis truth is seen in scripture where Jesus reveals to us that the way to living life isn’t to an extreme left or an extreme right – it’s through the narrow gate. (re: <a href=\"http://bible.us/matt7.13.esv\" target=\"_blank\">Matthew 7:13</a>)\r\n\r\nI’m not about to get all preachy on you all, slamming a bunch of scripture down your throats; however, this scripture alone reveals so much concerning the political season our nation is in right now. It reveals that the life we all seek to live isn’t found on either side of the fence, it’s found in a place we can [even as Christians] all so easily overlook when the world screams at us to look elsewhere:\r\n\r\n<em>Jesus.</em>\r\n\r\nHe is the narrow gate.\r\n\r\nHe is the middle path.\r\n\r\nHe is the one who has all of this in the palms of His hands because He is the one who already overcame this world and won it for all of our sakes.\r\n\r\nNow you may be at a point as you read this, thinking, <em>“Okay, Marni. Enough averting the point. Just where do you stand on this issue of homosexuality? Just how did you vote on May 8th?”</em>\r\n\r\nAnd see, this is exactly the point I’m seeking to make. While the question runs through your minds as to where I stand versus where you stand, you are missing the point. Seeking out where I stand on a political issue, seeks out a means to either unite or divide – and either way, it’s encouraging judgmental thinking and behavior that God doesn’t encourage us to live out.\r\n\r\nNow on a more “American” note, our  Pledge of Allegiance states , <em>“One nation, under God, indivisible…”</em>  These words alone give us all a freedom that many nations don’t have, and that freedom comes in unity – not division.\r\n\r\nIt’s no different in the Church.\r\n\r\nThe proclamation isn’t that we are indivisible…<em>as long as we <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">all</span> agree on political issues</em>. It simply states, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>we are indivisible</em></span>. Period.\r\n\r\nPolitically speaking, does God have anything to do with a nation? Should His name even be put into a pledge that unifies all the people within it – even from different religions, races and creeds? Honestly, this is a discussion for another time. For now though, we are on the topic of divisiveness in the Church. All I was seeking to bring to light is that even in our pledge, a truth of how God designed for His children to operate in this life (and especially in the Church) is within the Pledge itself.\r\n\r\nSo...\r\n\r\n...why the division? Why the eyes being taken off of Him, and being placed on political, worldly agendas that only seek to divide within so as to break up His ultimate commission of which all Christians have been appointed to? Why let politics divide up what He so beautifully designed as a means to bring us all closer to Him, in turn helping others come to know Him as well – no matter the sins committed by any one of us?\r\n\r\nIt’s simply how the world operates, and how it’s ruler enjoy playing the game. However, we as Christians, aren’t to be <em>of</em> this world though we <em>live</em> in it. We are to keep our focus on Christ, letting Him lead the way…in politics, and especially in the Church.\r\n\r\nSo, friends, no I won’t state for the record how I voted on May 8th here in North Carolina. You are more than free to guess to the hills and back how I voted, and you may very well be correct in your assumptions. Let\'s not be distracted by our personal points of view; for the point I’m seeking to make here isn’t about how I voted on May 8th, or even how you feel about homosexuality, it’s simply to help encourage my brethren\'s eyes and hearts to re-focus on Christ at all times – especially in this heated political season. My heart seeks to be unified with all my brethren in Christ, not divided. Therefore, beyond politics is where I stand above all.\r\n\r\nI stand with Christ.\r\n\r\nI stand with the God-man who redeemed my soul so I can live with Him eternally, in this world and beyond. He is my focus, for He not only redeemed me…He has redeemed so many others. He also abounds in grace beyond comprehension for the sins we all commit in this life.\r\n\r\nI am no greater or lesser than another, nor are any of you.\r\n\r\nMy sins are no greater or lesser than anyone else’s, nor are any of yours.\r\n\r\nNo matter where we stand on issues in this world, my brethren…my brothers and sisters in Christ…our political viewpoints concerning this nation should never come between us as a Church. God has given us insight it will happen, but this is not how He designed the Church to function. Simply study (don’t just read) the book of Acts to discover this.\r\n\r\nChrist doesn’t teach division within the Church (the Body of Christ). True, His example set Him apart from this world, but He is the glue in our Church. He unites His children (us), in the Church, to further the commission He set out for us to do: to spread the gospel unto all nations.\r\n\r\nWe cannot fulfill this commission while divided amongst ourselves.\r\n\r\nWe will, in the Church, have differing viewpoints – yes. We are all different creations in Christ, made in God’s image. However, we have one unifying aspect in our lives that we needn\'t let escape our views when it comes to our differences…\r\n\r\nJesus.\r\n\r\nChurch, let us not forget this.','Separation of Church and Christians','','publish','open','open','','separation-of-church-and-christians','','','2012-06-11 09:30:24','2012-06-11 16:30:24','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=6933',0,'post','',2),(6934,82,'2012-06-07 19:24:07','2012-06-08 02:24:07','Those in America, like myself, live in a nation where there is a separation of church and state, however, as Christians – we don’t live in a Church where there is a separation of Christians and the Church.\n\nWell, at least you could have fooled me that this is the case.\n\nThe truth is, in our Christian culture, we do in fact live in a Church with such a separation lately – and it’s worsening with the heightened political fervor in this election year. This isn’t how God intended for the Church – the Body of Christ – to operate. For in division, He can do nothing.\n\nGod’s focus with the Church was to prompt a unifying focus to congregate under so we all have the mind of Christ dwelling within us, guiding us all to spread <em>His</em> love and compassion; not our humanly versions of it.\n\nThe extreme hot topic lately in our nation right now is revolving around homosexuality, and I live directly in the midst of this controversial topic because I live in Charlotte, NC. Not only is the Democratic National Convention coming to Charlotte this summer, the vote on May 8th to amend North Carolina’s Constitution solidifying an already established law that marriage is only seen as between one man and one woman.\n\nNow, since May 8th, this topic has truly been bringing out of people [even in the Church] passions unlike I’ve ever seen. Many on the extreme left, as well as the extreme right, of the fence are engaged in judgmental behaviors, and it’s breaking my heart.\n\nNow, see, this is where I believe the Buddhists caught wind of God’s truth and adopted it into their philosophy and put their own slight spin on it.\n\nThe middle path.\n\nBuddhists are extremely ardent about living a balanced life. This balance is lived out in the Buddhists life by expressing love, compassion and a lack of judgment upon anyone or anything in this world.\n\nThis truth is seen in scripture where Jesus reveals to us that the way to living life isn’t to an extreme left or an extreme right – it’s through the narrow gate. (re: <a href=\"http://bible.us/matt7.13.esv\" target=\"_blank\">Matthew 7:13</a>)\n\nI’m not about to get all preachy on you all, slamming a bunch of scripture down your throats; however, this scripture alone reveals so much concerning the political season our nation is in right now. It reveals that the life we all seek to live isn’t found on either side of the fence, it’s found in a place we can [even as Christians] all so easily can overlook when the world screams at us to look elsewhere:\n\nJesus.\n\nHe is the narrow gate.\n\nHe is the middle path.\n\nHe is the one who has all of this in the palms of his hands because He is the one who already overcame this world and won it for all of our sakes.\n\nNow you may be at a point as you read this, thinking, <em>“Okay, Marni. Enough averting the point. Just where do you stand on this issue of homosexuality? Just how did you vote on May 8th?”</em>\n\nAnd see, this is exactly the point I’m seeking to make. While the question runs through your minds as to where I stand versus where you stand, you are missing the point. Seeking out where I stand on a political issue, seeks out a means to either unite or divide – yet either way, it’s encouraging judgmental thinking and behavior that God doesn’t encourage us to live out.\n\nNow on a more “American” note, our  Pledge of Allegiance states , <em>“One nation, under God, indivisible…”</em>  These words alone give us all a freedom that many nations don’t have, and that freedom comes in unity – not division.\n\nIt’s no different in the Church.\n\nThe proclamation isn’t we are indivisible…<em>as long as we <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">all</span> agree on political issues</em>. It simply states, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><em>we are indivisible</em></span>. Period.\n\nPolitically speaking, does God have anything to do with a nation? Should His name even be put into a pledge that unifies all the people within it – even from different religions, races and creeds? Honestly, this is a discussion for another time. For now though, we are on the topic of divisiveness in the Church.\n\nSo...\n\n...why the division? Why the eyes being taken off of Him, and being placed on political, worldly agendas that only seek to divide within so as to break up His ultimate commission of which all Christians have been appointed to? Why let politics divide up what He so beautifully designed as a means to bring us all closer to Him, in turn helping others come to know Him as well – no matter the sins committed by anyone of us?\n\nIt’s simply how the world operates, and how it’s ruler enjoy playing the game. However, we as Christians, aren’t to be <em>of</em> this world though we <em>live</em> in it. We are to keep our focus on Christ, letting Him lead the way…in politics, and especially in the Church.\n\nSo, friends, no I won’t state for the record how I voted on May 8th here in North Carolina. You are more than free to guess to the hills and back how I voted, and you may very well be correct in your assumptions. Let\'s not be distracted by our pThe point I’m seeking to make here isn’t about how I voted on May 8th, it’s simply to help encourage my brethren\'s eyes and hearts to re-focus on Christ at all times – especially in this heated political season. My hearts seeks to be unified with all my brethren in Christ, not divided. Therefore, beyond politics is where I stand above all.\n\nI stand with Christ.\n\nI stand with the God-man who redeemed my soul so I can live with Him eternally, in this world and beyond. He is my focus, for He not only redeemed me…He has redeemed so many others. He also abounds in grace beyond comprehension for the sins we all commit in this life.\n\nI am no greater or lesser than another, nor are any of you.\n\nMy sins are no greater or lesser than anyone else’s, nor are any of yours.\n\nNo matter where we stand on issues in this world, my brethren…my brothers and sisters in Christ…our political viewpoints concerning this nation should never come between us as a Church. God has given us insight it will happen, but this is not how He designed the Church to function. Simply study (don’t just read) the book of Acts.\n\nChrist doesn’t teach division within the Church (the Body of Christ). True, His example set Him apart from this world, but He is the glue in our Church. He unites His children (us), in the Church, to further the commission He set out for us to do: to spread the gospel unto all nations.\n\nWe cannot fulfill this commission while divided amongst ourselves.\n\nWe will, in the Church, have differing viewpoints – yes. We are all different creations in Christ, made in God’s image. However, we have one unifying aspect in our lives that we needn\'t let escape our views when it comes to our differences…\n\nJesus.\n\nChurch, let us not forget this.','Separation of Christians and Church','','inherit','open','open','','6933-revision','','','2012-06-07 19:24:07','2012-06-08 02:24:07','',6933,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/07/6933-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6935,179,'2012-07-19 09:00:21','2012-07-19 16:00:21','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/photo-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-6950\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/photo-1-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Indivisable by Marni Arnold\" width=\"240\" height=\"240\" /></a>Those in America, like myself, live in a nation where there is a separation of church and state, however, as Christians – we don’t live in a Church where there is a separation of the Church and Christians.\n\nWell, at least you could have fooled me that this is the case.\n\nThe truth is, in our Christian culture today, we do in fact live in a Church with such a separation lately – and it’s worsening with the heightened political fervor in this election year. This isn’t how God intended the Church – the Body of Christ – to operate. For in division, He can do nothing.\n\nGod’s focus with the Church was to prompt a unifying focus to congregate under so we, as Christians, all have the mind of Christ dwelling within us, guiding us all to spread <em>His</em> love and compassion; not our humanly versions of it.\n\nThe very thing that is bringing to light this division lately is the extremely hot topic in our nation right now revolving around homosexuality; and I live directly in the midst of this controversial topic because I live in Charlotte, NC. So not only is the Democratic National Convention coming to Charlotte this summer, the vote on May 8th to amend North Carolina’s Constitution solidifying an already established law that marriage is only seen as between one man and one woman put this area on the map in a very controversial way - especially within the Church walls.\n\nSince May 8th, this topic has been bringing out of people [even in the Church] passions unlike I’ve ever seen. Many on the extreme left, as well as the extreme right, of the fence are engaged in judgmental behaviors, and it’s breaking my heart.\n\nNow, see, this is where I believe the Buddhists caught wind of God’s truth and adopted it into their philosophy and put their own slight spin on it.\n\nThe middle path.\n\nBuddhists are extremely ardent about living a balanced life. This balance is lived out in the Buddhist life by expressing love, compassion, and a lack of judgment upon anyone or anything in this world.\n\nThis truth is seen in scripture where Jesus reveals to us that the way to living life isn’t to an extreme left or an extreme right – it’s through the narrow gate. (re: <a href=\"http://bible.us/matt7.13.esv\" target=\"_blank\">Matthew 7:13</a>)\n\nI’m not about to get all preachy on you all, slamming a bunch of scripture down your throats; however, this scripture alone reveals so much concerning the political season our nation is in right now. It reveals that the life we all seek to live isn’t found on either side of the fence, it’s found in a place we can [even as Christians] all so easily overlook when the world screams at us to look elsewhere:\n\n<em>Jesus.</em>\n\nHe is the narrow gate.\n\nHe is the middle path.\n\nHe is the one who has all of this in the palms of His hands because He is the one who already overcame this world and won it for all of our sakes.\n\nNow you may be at a point as you read this, thinking, <em>“Okay, Marni. Enough averting the point. Just where do you stand on this issue of homosexuality? Just how did you vote on May 8th?”</em>\n\nAnd see, this is exactly the point I’m seeking to make. While the question runs through your minds as to where I stand versus where you stand, you are missing the point. Seeking out where I stand on a political issue, seeks out a means to either unite or divide – and either way, it’s encouraging judgmental thinking and behavior that God doesn’t encourage us to live out.\n\nNow on a more “American” note, our  Pledge of Allegiance states , <em>“One nation, under God, indivisible…”</em>  These words alone give us all a freedom that many nations don’t have, and that freedom comes in unity – not division.\n\nIt’s no different in the Church.\n\nThe proclamation isn’t that we are indivisible…<em>as long as we <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">all</span> agree on political issues</em>. It simply states, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>we are indivisible</em></span>. Period.\n\nPolitically speaking, does God have anything to do with a nation? Should His name even be put into a pledge that unifies all the people within it – even from different religions, races and creeds? Honestly, this is a discussion for another time. For now though, we are on the topic of divisiveness in the Church. All I was seeking to bring to light is that even in our pledge, a truth of how God designed for His children to operate in this life (and especially in the Church) is within the Pledge itself.\n\nSo...\n\n...why the division? Why the eyes being taken off of Him, and being placed on political, worldly agendas that only seek to divide within so as to break up His ultimate commission of which all Christians have been appointed to? Why let politics divide up what He so beautifully designed as a means to bring us all closer to Him, in turn helping others come to know Him as well – no matter the sins committed by any one of us?\n\nIt’s simply how the world operates, and how it’s ruler enjoy playing the game. However, we as Christians, aren’t to be <em>of</em> this world though we <em>live</em> in it. We are to keep our focus on Christ, letting Him lead the way…in politics, and especially in the Church.\n\nSo, friends, no I won’t state for the record how I voted on May 8th here in North Carolina. You are more than free to guess to the hills and back how I voted, and you may very well be correct in your assumptions. Let\'s not be distracted by our personal points of view; for the point I’m seeking to make here isn’t about how I voted on May 8th, or even how you feel about homosexuality, it’s simply to help encourage my brethren\'s eyes and hearts to re-focus on Christ at all times – especially in this heated political season. My heart seeks to be unified with all my brethren in Christ, not divided. Therefore, beyond politics is where I stand above all.\n\nI stand with Christ.\n\nI stand with the God-man who redeemed my soul so I can live with Him eternally, in this world and beyond. He is my focus, for He not only redeemed me…He has redeemed so many others. He also abounds in grace beyond comprehension for the sins we all commit in this life.\n\nI am no greater or lesser than another, nor are any of you.\n\nMy sins are no greater or lesser than anyone else’s, nor are any of yours.\n\nNo matter where we stand on issues in this world, my brethren…my brothers and sisters in Christ…our political viewpoints concerning this nation should never come between us as a Church. God has given us insight it will happen, but this is not how He designed the Church to function. Simply study (don’t just read) the book of Acts to discover this.\n\nChrist doesn’t teach division within the Church (the Body of Christ). True, His example set Him apart from this world, but He is the glue in our Church. He unites His children (us), in the Church, to further the commission He set out for us to do: to spread the gospel unto all nations.\n\nWe cannot fulfill this commission while divided amongst ourselves.\n\nWe will, in the Church, have differing viewpoints – yes. We are all different creations in Christ, made in God’s image. However, we have one unifying aspect in our lives that we needn\'t let escape our views when it comes to our differences…\n\nJesus.\n\nChurch, let us not forget this.','Separation of Church and Christians','','inherit','open','open','','6933-autosave','','','2012-07-19 09:00:21','2012-07-19 16:00:21','',6933,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/07/6933-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(7030,183,'2012-06-26 08:00:03','2012-06-26 15:00:03','I am just returning from a weekend with a wonderful eclectic group of folks.  You may call us Wild Geese, Goslings, Progressives, Liberals, forward-thinkers, heretics, saints, sinners or a myriad of other descriptors.  And, not one of those descriptors would be more true or less true.\r\n\r\nLet me tell you a secret.\r\n\r\nA Creator created YOU.\r\n\r\nAnd when that Creator created you (with all your failures, fears and passions), this Creator was not thinking, \"I\'m creating the next MLK Jr., Brian McLaren or John Lennon\".  I believe a Creator spent time on you.  Adding a dash of this and a dash of that to make you just the awesome person you are.\r\n\r\nAnd I say this, because this Creator created you to play an instrument.  This Creator created you to participate in life with others.  This Creator gave you gifts like charm, talent and charisma.\r\n\r\nThere\'s a shift coming.  This Creator is calling us to be ready to take part.  The Creator has gifted you with a particular place to stand and a particular role to play.\r\n\r\nAs I mentioned earlier, I have just returned from a week with the Wild Geese of Shakori Hills, North Carolina.  We got bit by bugs.  Some of us got burned by the sun.  We all heard some amazing speakers.  We all heard some amazing musicians.  We were challenged to justice and we were challenged to help create safer space for all of our brothers and sisters.\r\n\r\nThere were some of us  that were luckier than others this weekend. I, for instance, did not suffer a sunburn.  However, I did encounter quite a few bugs.  Then, some of us were lucky enough to catch a band by the name <a href=\"http://thecollectionfamilyband.com\">The Collection.</a>  The Collection Family Band is a group of 14 musicians.  Each of these musicians play at least 1 instrument.  And they make beautiful music. They are an inspiration to me.\r\n\r\nSome of these musicians are quite loud and at the fore-front of the band.  Some of them are a little quieter and play beautiful accompaniment.  Some of them are singers.  One of them is a dancing bassist.  Another is a jubilant ringer of bells.  Then, there is the more reserved keyboardists.\r\n\r\nOur Creator is calling us to create beautiful music. The Creator is calling us to an instrument of sorts.  This does not mean we all have leading roles.  Some of us are called to play the accompaniment.\r\n\r\nI have hope for Emergence again.  This past weekend was beautiful.  We all played into our strengths.  We didn\'t try to play someone else\'s instrument.  We didn\'t try to take others\' glory.\r\n\r\nWe all could learn a thing or two from the band The Collection that played Saturday afternoon.\r\n\r\nWe, as the Emerging Church, are a Collection of sorts ourselves.  We are an eclectic group of folks who have different skill sets and different paths to expressing our Creator-given blessings.  But we still need to learn to play beautiful music together.  We need to learn to play music that a young generation might want to dance to.  And we play that music that a younger generation might want to dance to when we leave our ego at home.  We play that music that others want to dance to when we practice our craft.  We play that music when we stop being critical of our neighbors.\r\n\r\nOur Creator has created you to tell a story.  Tell that story with all you have.  But don\'t criticize someone else for telling a different one.  Life would be very boring if we were all playing the same instrument.  Some of us play the instrument and sing the song of racial equality.  Some of us, the song of gender equality.  Some of us the song of social justice for the poor and homeless.  Others sing the song of LGBTQ equality.  Well, I\'m here to tell you folks, when we all come together singing our individual songs, the melody is beautiful.  And we are truly singing the new song in new tongues.\r\n\r\nAnd I think that might be music that a new generation of emerging church planters and theologians and pickers and grinners might want to dance to.\r\n\r\nMay the Grace and Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you from now and unto the end of the Age.\r\n\r\nAnd may our Wild Geese keep flying.\r\n\r\nAmen.','The Collection','','publish','open','open','','the-collection','','','2012-06-25 12:39:36','2012-06-25 19:39:36','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=7030',0,'post','',0),(6937,134,'2012-06-11 08:38:00','2012-06-11 15:38:00','As much as these concepts seem similar, being <a title=\"Faith\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith\" target=\"_blank\">faithful</a> and being <a title=\"Religion\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion\" target=\"_blank\">religious</a> aren\'t quite the same. To practice a religion, one must first have faith.\r\n\r\nBut being faithful means that one follows religion with all its idiosyncrasies, practices, rites and such. In the case of a Christian, this means to follow the Christ (the anointed), accept Jesus as the Christ and messiah. Following entitles doing as the Christ instructed as the proper way to respect and worship God while maintaining faith in God and surrendering to Him.\r\n\r\nBut being religious means going to church (social interaction to hear the Word and a good sermon), following the Sacraments (rites to label ourselves Christian) and Law of God (base for most legal systems worldwide), but as a mere <strong>tradition/obligation</strong> (appearance) and not as an act of complete <strong>surrender/worship</strong> (real trust). It\'s a half-way <strong>imitation of faith</strong>. Most of us (especially myself) fall in this trap and struggle to get out of it.\r\n\r\nAre you merely faithful or religious? Do you want to be faithful or remain religious?','Faithful vs. Religious','','publish','open','open','','faithful-vs-religious','','','2012-06-11 08:38:00','2012-06-11 15:38:00','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=6937',0,'post','',1),(6938,134,'2012-06-08 05:38:01','2012-06-08 12:38:01','As much as these concepts seem similar, being <em>faithful</em> and <a title=\"Religion\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion\" target=\"_blank\"><em>religious</em></a> being aren\'t quite the same. To practice a religion, one must first have faith.\n\nBut being <em>faithful</em> means that one follows religion with all its idiosyncrasies, practices, rites and such. In the case of a Christian, this means to follow the Christ (the anointed), accept Jesus as the Christ and messiah. Following entitles doing as the Christ instructed as the proper way to respect and worship God while maintaining faith in God and surrendering to Him.\n\nBut being <em>religious</em> means going to church (social interaction to hear the Word and a good sermon), following the Sacraments (rites to label ourselves <em>Christian</em>) and Law of God (base for most legal systems worldwide), but as a mere <strong><em>tradition/obligation</em></strong> (appearance) and not as an act of <strong><em>surrender/worship</em></strong> (reality). It\'s a half-way <strong><em>imitation of faith</em></strong>. Most of us (especially myself) fall in this trap and struggle to get out of it.\n\nAre you merely <em>faithful</em> or <em>religious</em>? Do you want to be <em>faithful</em> or remain <em>religious</em>?','Faithful vs. Religious','','inherit','open','open','','6937-revision','','','2012-06-08 05:38:01','2012-06-08 12:38:01','',6937,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/08/6937-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6940,134,'2012-06-08 05:39:53','2012-06-08 12:39:53','As much as these concepts seem similar, being <a title=\"Faith\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith\" target=\"_blank\">faithful</a> and <a title=\"Religion\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion\" target=\"_blank\">religious</a> being aren\'t quite the same. To practice a religion, one must first have faith.\n\nBut being faithful means that one follows religion with all its idiosyncrasies, practices, rites and such. In the case of a Christian, this means to follow the Christ (the anointed), accept Jesus as the Christ and messiah. Following entitles doing as the Christ instructed as the proper way to respect and worship God while maintaining faith in God and surrendering to Him.\n\nBut being religious means going to church (social interaction to hear the Word and a good sermon), following the Sacraments (rites to label ourselves Christian) and Law of God (base for most legal systems worldwide), but as a mere <em><strong>tradition/obligation</strong></em> (appearance) and not as an act of <em><strong>surrender/worship</strong></em> (real trust). It\'s a half-way <em><strong>imitation of faith</strong></em>. Most of us (especially myself) fall in this trap and struggle to get out of it.\n\nAre you merely faithful or religious? Do you want to be faithful or remain religious?','Faithful vs. Religious','','inherit','open','open','','6937-revision-3','','','2012-06-08 05:39:53','2012-06-08 12:39:53','',6937,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/08/6937-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6939,134,'2012-06-08 05:38:15','2012-06-08 12:38:15','As much as these concepts seem similar, being <a title=\"Faith\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith\" target=\"_blank\"><em>faithful</em></a> and <a title=\"Religion\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion\" target=\"_blank\"><em>religious</em></a> being aren\'t quite the same. To practice a religion, one must first have faith.\r\n\r\nBut being <em>faithful</em> means that one follows religion with all its idiosyncrasies, practices, rites and such. In the case of a Christian, this means to follow the Christ (the anointed), accept Jesus as the Christ and messiah. Following entitles doing as the Christ instructed as the proper way to respect and worship God while maintaining faith in God and surrendering to Him.\r\n\r\nBut being <em>religious</em> means going to church (social interaction to hear the Word and a good sermon), following the Sacraments (rites to label ourselves <em>Christian</em>) and Law of God (base for most legal systems worldwide), but as a mere <strong><em>tradition/obligation</em></strong> (appearance) and not as an act of <strong><em>surrender/worship</em></strong> (reality). It\'s a half-way <strong><em>imitation of faith</em></strong>. Most of us (especially myself) fall in this trap and struggle to get out of it.\r\n\r\nAre you merely <em>faithful</em> or <em>religious</em>? Do you want to be <em>faithful</em> or remain <em>religious</em>?','Faithful vs. Religious','','inherit','open','open','','6937-revision-2','','','2012-06-08 05:38:15','2012-06-08 12:38:15','',6937,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/08/6937-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6941,134,'2012-06-08 05:46:45','2012-06-08 12:46:45','','800px-Jesus_is_So_Cool','','inherit','open','open','','800px-jesus_is_so_cool','','','2012-06-08 05:46:45','2012-06-08 12:46:45','',6937,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/800px-Jesus_is_So_Cool.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6942,134,'2012-06-08 05:41:14','2012-06-08 12:41:14','As much as these concepts seem similar, being <a title=\"Faith\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith\" target=\"_blank\">faithful</a> and <a title=\"Religion\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion\" target=\"_blank\">religious</a> being aren\'t quite the same. To practice a religion, one must first have faith.\n\nBut being faithful means that one follows religion with all its idiosyncrasies, practices, rites and such. In the case of a Christian, this means to follow the Christ (the anointed), accept Jesus as the Christ and messiah. Following entitles doing as the Christ instructed as the proper way to respect and worship God while maintaining faith in God and surrendering to Him.\n\nBut being religious means going to church (social interaction to hear the Word and a good sermon), following the Sacraments (rites to label ourselves Christian) and Law of God (base for most legal systems worldwide), but as a mere <strong>tradition/obligation</strong> (appearance) and not as an act of complete <strong>surrender/worship</strong> (real trust). It\'s a half-way <strong>imitation of faith</strong>. Most of us (especially myself) fall in this trap and struggle to get out of it.\n\nAre you merely faithful or religious? Do you want to be faithful or remain religious?','Faithful vs. Religious','','inherit','open','open','','6937-revision-4','','','2012-06-08 05:41:14','2012-06-08 12:41:14','',6937,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/08/6937-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6943,179,'2012-06-11 08:35:51','2012-06-11 15:35:51','As much as these concepts seem similar, being <a title=\"Faith\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith\" target=\"_blank\">faithful</a> and being <a title=\"Religion\" href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion\" target=\"_blank\">religious</a> aren\'t quite the same. To practice a religion, one must first have faith.\n\nBut being faithful means that one follows religion with all its idiosyncrasies, practices, rites and such. In the case of a Christian, this means to follow the Christ (the anointed), accept Jesus as the Christ and messiah. Following entitles doing as the Christ instructed as the proper way to respect and worship God while maintaining faith in God and surrendering to Him.\n\nBut being religious means going to church (social interaction to hear the Word and a good sermon), following the Sacraments (rites to label ourselves Christian) and Law of God (base for most legal systems worldwide), but as a mere <strong>tradition/obligation</strong> (appearance) and not as an act of complete <strong>surrender/worship</strong> (real trust). It\'s a half-way <strong>imitation of faith</strong>. Most of us (especially myself) fall in this trap and struggle to get out of it.\n\nAre you merely faithful or religious? Do you want to be faithful or remain religious?','Faithful vs. Religious','','inherit','open','open','','6937-autosave','','','2012-06-11 08:35:51','2012-06-11 15:35:51','',6937,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/08/6937-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6945,82,'2012-06-07 19:25:07','2012-06-08 02:25:07','Those in America, like myself, live in a nation where there is a separation of church and state, however, as Christians – we don’t live in a Church where there is a separation of Christians and the Church.\r\n\r\nWell, at least you could have fooled me that this is the case.\r\n\r\nThe truth is, in our Christian culture, we do in fact live in a Church with such a separation lately – and it’s worsening with the heightened political fervor in this election year. This isn’t how God intended for the Church – the Body of Christ – to operate. For in division, He can do nothing.\r\n\r\nGod’s focus with the Church was to prompt a unifying focus to congregate under so we all have the mind of Christ dwelling within us, guiding us all to spread <em>His</em> love and compassion; not our humanly versions of it.\r\n\r\nThe extreme hot topic lately in our nation right now is revolving around homosexuality, and I live directly in the midst of this controversial topic because I live in Charlotte, NC. Not only is the Democratic National Convention coming to Charlotte this summer, the vote on May 8th to amend North Carolina’s Constitution solidifying an already established law that marriage is only seen as between one man and one woman.\r\n\r\nNow, since May 8th, this topic has truly been bringing out of people [even in the Church] passions unlike I’ve ever seen. Many on the extreme left, as well as the extreme right, of the fence are engaged in judgmental behaviors, and it’s breaking my heart.\r\n\r\nNow, see, this is where I believe the Buddhists caught wind of God’s truth and adopted it into their philosophy and put their own slight spin on it.\r\n\r\nThe middle path.\r\n\r\nBuddhists are extremely ardent about living a balanced life. This balance is lived out in the Buddhists life by expressing love, compassion and a lack of judgment upon anyone or anything in this world.\r\n\r\nThis truth is seen in scripture where Jesus reveals to us that the way to living life isn’t to an extreme left or an extreme right – it’s through the narrow gate. (re: <a href=\"http://bible.us/matt7.13.esv\" target=\"_blank\">Matthew 7:13</a>)\r\n\r\nI’m not about to get all preachy on you all, slamming a bunch of scripture down your throats; however, this scripture alone reveals so much concerning the political season our nation is in right now. It reveals that the life we all seek to live isn’t found on either side of the fence, it’s found in a place we can [even as Christians] all so easily can overlook when the world screams at us to look elsewhere:\r\n\r\nJesus.\r\n\r\nHe is the narrow gate.\r\n\r\nHe is the middle path.\r\n\r\nHe is the one who has all of this in the palms of his hands because He is the one who already overcame this world and won it for all of our sakes.\r\n\r\nNow you may be at a point as you read this, thinking, <em>“Okay, Marni. Enough averting the point. Just where do you stand on this issue of homosexuality? Just how did you vote on May 8th?”</em>\r\n\r\nAnd see, this is exactly the point I’m seeking to make. While the question runs through your minds as to where I stand versus where you stand, you are missing the point. Seeking out where I stand on a political issue, seeks out a means to either unite or divide – yet either way, it’s encouraging judgmental thinking and behavior that God doesn’t encourage us to live out.\r\n\r\nNow on a more “American” note, our  Pledge of Allegiance states , <em>“One nation, under God, indivisible…”</em>  These words alone give us all a freedom that many nations don’t have, and that freedom comes in unity – not division.\r\n\r\nIt’s no different in the Church.\r\n\r\nThe proclamation isn’t we are indivisible…<em>as long as we <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">all</span> agree on political issues</em>. It simply states, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><em>we are indivisible</em></span>. Period.\r\n\r\nPolitically speaking, does God have anything to do with a nation? Should His name even be put into a pledge that unifies all the people within it – even from different religions, races and creeds? Honestly, this is a discussion for another time. For now though, we are on the topic of divisiveness in the Church.\r\n\r\nSo...\r\n\r\n...why the division? Why the eyes being taken off of Him, and being placed on political, worldly agendas that only seek to divide within so as to break up His ultimate commission of which all Christians have been appointed to? Why let politics divide up what He so beautifully designed as a means to bring us all closer to Him, in turn helping others come to know Him as well – no matter the sins committed by anyone of us?\r\n\r\nIt’s simply how the world operates, and how it’s ruler enjoy playing the game. However, we as Christians, aren’t to be <em>of</em> this world though we <em>live</em> in it. We are to keep our focus on Christ, letting Him lead the way…in politics, and especially in the Church.\r\n\r\nSo, friends, no I won’t state for the record how I voted on May 8th here in North Carolina. You are more than free to guess to the hills and back how I voted, and you may very well be correct in your assumptions. Let\'s not be distracted by our personal points of view; for the point I’m seeking to make here isn’t about how I voted on May 8th, it’s simply to help encourage my brethren\'s eyes and hearts to re-focus on Christ at all times – especially in this heated political season. My heart seeks to be unified with all my brethren in Christ, not divided. Therefore, beyond politics is where I stand above all.\r\n\r\nI stand with Christ.\r\n\r\nI stand with the God-man who redeemed my soul so I can live with Him eternally, in this world and beyond. He is my focus, for He not only redeemed me…He has redeemed so many others. He also abounds in grace beyond comprehension for the sins we all commit in this life.\r\n\r\nI am no greater or lesser than another, nor are any of you.\r\n\r\nMy sins are no greater or lesser than anyone else’s, nor are any of yours.\r\n\r\nNo matter where we stand on issues in this world, my brethren…my brothers and sisters in Christ…our political viewpoints concerning this nation should never come between us as a Church. God has given us insight it will happen, but this is not how He designed the Church to function. Simply study (don’t just read) the book of Acts.\r\n\r\nChrist doesn’t teach division within the Church (the Body of Christ). True, His example set Him apart from this world, but He is the glue in our Church. He unites His children (us), in the Church, to further the commission He set out for us to do: to spread the gospel unto all nations.\r\n\r\nWe cannot fulfill this commission while divided amongst ourselves.\r\n\r\nWe will, in the Church, have differing viewpoints – yes. We are all different creations in Christ, made in God’s image. However, we have one unifying aspect in our lives that we needn\'t let escape our views when it comes to our differences…\r\n\r\nJesus.\r\n\r\nChurch, let us not forget this.','Separation of Christians and Church','','inherit','open','open','','6933-revision-2','','','2012-06-07 19:25:07','2012-06-08 02:25:07','',6933,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/07/6933-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6946,82,'2012-06-09 04:05:02','2012-06-09 11:05:02','Those in America, like myself, live in a nation where there is a separation of church and state, however, as Christians – we don’t live in a Church where there is a separation of Christians and the Church.\r\n\r\nWell, at least you could have fooled me that this is the case.\r\n\r\nThe truth is, in our Christian culture, we do in fact live in a Church with such a separation lately – and it’s worsening with the heightened political fervor in this election year. This isn’t how God intended for the Church – the Body of Christ – to operate. For in division, He can do nothing.\r\n\r\nGod’s focus with the Church was to prompt a unifying focus to congregate under so we all have the mind of Christ dwelling within us, guiding us all to spread <em>His</em> love and compassion; not our humanly versions of it.\r\n\r\nThe extreme hot topic lately in our nation right now is revolving around homosexuality, and I live directly in the midst of this controversial topic because I live in Charlotte, NC. Not only is the Democratic National Convention coming to Charlotte this summer, the vote on May 8th to amend North Carolina’s Constitution solidifying an already established law that marriage is only seen as between one man and one woman.\r\n\r\nNow, since May 8th, this topic has truly been bringing out of people [even in the Church] passions unlike I’ve ever seen. Many on the extreme left, as well as the extreme right, of the fence are engaged in judgmental behaviors, and it’s breaking my heart.\r\n\r\nNow, see, this is where I believe the Buddhists caught wind of God’s truth and adopted it into their philosophy and put their own slight spin on it.\r\n\r\nThe middle path.\r\n\r\nBuddhists are extremely ardent about living a balanced life. This balance is lived out in the Buddhists life by expressing love, compassion and a lack of judgment upon anyone or anything in this world.\r\n\r\nThis truth is seen in scripture where Jesus reveals to us that the way to living life isn’t to an extreme left or an extreme right – it’s through the narrow gate. (re: <a href=\"http://bible.us/matt7.13.esv\" target=\"_blank\">Matthew 7:13</a>)\r\n\r\nI’m not about to get all preachy on you all, slamming a bunch of scripture down your throats; however, this scripture alone reveals so much concerning the political season our nation is in right now. It reveals that the life we all seek to live isn’t found on either side of the fence, it’s found in a place we can [even as Christians] all so easily can overlook when the world screams at us to look elsewhere:\r\n\r\nJesus.\r\n\r\nHe is the narrow gate.\r\n\r\nHe is the middle path.\r\n\r\nHe is the one who has all of this in the palms of his hands because He is the one who already overcame this world and won it for all of our sakes.\r\n\r\nNow you may be at a point as you read this, thinking, <em>“Okay, Marni. Enough averting the point. Just where do you stand on this issue of homosexuality? Just how did you vote on May 8th?”</em>\r\n\r\nAnd see, this is exactly the point I’m seeking to make. While the question runs through your minds as to where I stand versus where you stand, you are missing the point. Seeking out where I stand on a political issue, seeks out a means to either unite or divide – yet either way, it’s encouraging judgmental thinking and behavior that God doesn’t encourage us to live out.\r\n\r\nNow on a more “American” note, our  Pledge of Allegiance states , <em>“One nation, under God, indivisible…”</em>  These words alone give us all a freedom that many nations don’t have, and that freedom comes in unity – not division.\r\n\r\nIt’s no different in the Church.\r\n\r\nThe proclamation isn’t we are indivisible…<em>as long as we <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">all</span> agree on political issues</em>. It simply states, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><em>we are indivisible</em></span>. Period.\r\n\r\nPolitically speaking, does God have anything to do with a nation? Should His name even be put into a pledge that unifies all the people within it – even from different religions, races and creeds? Honestly, this is a discussion for another time. For now though, we are on the topic of divisiveness in the Church.\r\n\r\nSo...\r\n\r\n...why the division? Why the eyes being taken off of Him, and being placed on political, worldly agendas that only seek to divide within so as to break up His ultimate commission of which all Christians have been appointed to? Why let politics divide up what He so beautifully designed as a means to bring us all closer to Him, in turn helping others come to know Him as well – no matter the sins committed by anyone of us?\r\n\r\nIt’s simply how the world operates, and how it’s ruler enjoy playing the game. However, we as Christians, aren’t to be <em>of</em> this world though we <em>live</em> in it. We are to keep our focus on Christ, letting Him lead the way…in politics, and especially in the Church.\r\n\r\nSo, friends, no I won’t state for the record how I voted on May 8th here in North Carolina. You are more than free to guess to the hills and back how I voted, and you may very well be correct in your assumptions. Let\'s not be distracted by our personal points of view; for the point I’m seeking to make here isn’t about how I voted on May 8th, it’s simply to help encourage my brethren\'s eyes and hearts to re-focus on Christ at all times – especially in this heated political season. My heart seeks to be unified with all my brethren in Christ, not divided. Therefore, beyond politics is where I stand above all.\r\n\r\nI stand with Christ.\r\n\r\nI stand with the God-man who redeemed my soul so I can live with Him eternally, in this world and beyond. He is my focus, for He not only redeemed me…He has redeemed so many others. He also abounds in grace beyond comprehension for the sins we all commit in this life.\r\n\r\nI am no greater or lesser than another, nor are any of you.\r\n\r\nMy sins are no greater or lesser than anyone else’s, nor are any of yours.\r\n\r\nNo matter where we stand on issues in this world, my brethren…my brothers and sisters in Christ…our political viewpoints concerning this nation should never come between us as a Church. God has given us insight it will happen, but this is not how He designed the Church to function. Simply study (don’t just read) the book of Acts.\r\n\r\nChrist doesn’t teach division within the Church (the Body of Christ). True, His example set Him apart from this world, but He is the glue in our Church. He unites His children (us), in the Church, to further the commission He set out for us to do: to spread the gospel unto all nations.\r\n\r\nWe cannot fulfill this commission while divided amongst ourselves.\r\n\r\nWe will, in the Church, have differing viewpoints – yes. We are all different creations in Christ, made in God’s image. However, we have one unifying aspect in our lives that we needn\'t let escape our views when it comes to our differences…\r\n\r\nJesus.\r\n\r\nChurch, let us not forget this.','Separation of Church and Christians','','inherit','open','open','','6933-revision-3','','','2012-06-09 04:05:02','2012-06-09 11:05:02','',6933,'http://provoketive.com/2012/06/09/6933-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(7274,12,'2012-07-24 09:56:05','2012-07-24 16:56:05','I love writing on Provoketive. I\'m pretty conservative. And there are people who write on here who are less conservative than me. Good for them. They have a voice. I\'m about to write something that may not be very popular. And I\'m glad I have a place to write it.\r\n\r\nToday, several things happened in reaction to the <a href=\"http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/22/us/penn-state-paterno-statue/index.html\">Freeh Report</a> in regards to lack of institutional control at Penn State. Specifically, head coach Joe Paterno\'s role in lack of reporting the child molestation that had been occurring for more than a decade there while coach Jerry Sandusky was having his way with underage kids.\r\n\r\nLet me say this - that is disgusting. There is no way I tolerate that. I have seen it happen first hand in my life and I wanted justice right away.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/paterno2.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-7269\" style=\"margin-left: 6px;margin-right: 6px\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/paterno2-300x202.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"202\" /></a>I don\'t know what to think about Joe Paterno. He\'s gone. Shortly after he resigned, he died. All his life all he knew was football and caring for football players. What I do know is this - we are most often remembered for what we do at the end of our lives than what we do for the bulk of our lives.\r\n\r\nLet me say this as well. I am an Arkansas Razorback fan. I have no axe to grind either way. Arkansas has had its own <a href=\"http://fallenpastor.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/the-sins-of-bobby-petrino/\">problems with Bobby Petrino</a> this off-season, that\'s for sure.\r\n\r\nThe now famous \"<a href=\"http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/22/us/penn-state-paterno-statue/index.html\">Freeh Report</a>\" documents that Paterno held back information that could have stopped child abuse. We all know that it looks like there was institutional freaking problems in reporting these things. Absolutely. It makes me sick. We all have the same questions - \"Why wouldn\'t you have said something?\" \"What was you freaking deal?\" \"Doesn\'t your silence make you the same as the perpetrator?\"\r\n\r\nSlow your roll for a second.\r\n\r\nI know it\'s hard. It\'s hard for me. These men got their day in court. Nothing can erase what happened to them. Sandusky got his trial and will be off to hard time. Justice is served. Yet, the NCAA stepped in. What was their ruling? $30 million for however long. Fine. But the NCAA has never stepped in for a criminal ruling. What else? Scholarship reductions in the future.\r\n\r\nLast of all, let\'s take down the statue of Joe Paterno. I don\'t know how I feel about that one. I really don\'t.\r\n\r\nLet me explain that. Seriously. As a sports fan. What if that happened at my campus?\r\n\r\nTen years ago, Beaver Stadium, held over 100,000 fans. They weren\'t screaming and cheering for a man who was concealing pederasty. For a second, let\'s take Joe Paterno out of the question. Most fans don\'t even show up to cheer for the coach. They show up to cheer on the athletes. They were there to cheer on the athletes who showed up in August when no one was around, who put up with two-a-days, vomited, worked hard, and ran their guts out trying to beat their rivals.\r\n\r\nFans show up to cheer a team. You want to take down Joe Paterno\'s statue? Fine. But don\'t hamstring the athletes who are there now who didn\'t rape kids in the shower. Don\'t stain the education and pride those kids feel because they still want to be part of Penn State. Penn State is bigger than Joe Paterno. It\'s bigger than Sandusky. All the NCAA did today was say that Penn State is equal to those two.\r\n\r\nDon\'t hurt those kids for the next four years by taking away their bowl games and money. Let those kids play. They have <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/pennstate.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-7270\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/pennstate-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>heart and drive. Let the legal system take care of the people who are really guilty of the crimes involved. Take care of the administrative figures who turned a blind eye to what was going on.\r\n\r\nBut, by God, don\'t hurt a bunch of 18-21 year olds who had no idea what was going on behind their backs while a bunch of evil adults were making decisions. The NCAA should be ashamed. Let Penn State live. Let them rise out of this like a Phoenix. Let the new coach and players make their mark on society. Let them say that this is a temporary setback that they had nothing to do with.\r\n\r\nTear down the statue if you have to. But this is a new day for Penn State. Let the new players make that statement. Don\'t let it be a death knell for a bunch of kids who had nothing to do with it.','Joe Paterno And Villification','','inherit','open','open','','7267-revision-3','','','2012-07-24 09:56:05','2012-07-24 16:56:05','',7267,'http://provoketive.com/2012/07/24/7267-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(7273,1,'2012-07-23 23:36:19','2012-07-24 06:36:19','I love writing on Provoketive. I\'m pretty conservative. And there are people who write on here who are less conservative than me. Good for them. They have a voice. I\'m about to write something that may not be very popular. And I\'m glad I have a place to write it.\r\n\r\nToday, several things happened in reaction to the <a href=\"http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/22/us/penn-state-paterno-statue/index.html\">Freeh Report</a> in regards to lack of institutional control at Penn State. Specifically, head coach Joe Paterno\'s role in lack of reporting the child molestation that had been occurring for more than a decade there while coach Jerry Sandusky was having his way with underage kids.\r\n\r\nLet me say this - that is disgusting. There is no way I tolerate that. I have seen it happen first hand in my life and I wanted justice right away.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/paterno2.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-7269\" style=\"margin-left: 6px;margin-right: 6px\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/paterno2-300x202.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"202\" /></a>I don\'t know what to think about Joe Paterno. He\'s gone. Shortly after he resigned, he died. All his life all he knew was football and caring for football players. What I do know is this - we are most often remembered for what we do at the end of our lives than what we do for the bulk of our lives.\r\n\r\nLet me say this as well. I am an Arkansas Razorback fan. I have no axe to grind either way. Arkansas has had its own <a href=\"http://fallenpastor.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/the-sins-of-bobby-petrino/\">problems with Bobby Petrino</a> this off-season, that\'s for sure.\r\n\r\nThe now famous \"<a href=\"http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/22/us/penn-state-paterno-statue/index.html\">Freeh Report</a>\" documents that Paterno held back information that could have stopped child abuse. We all know that it looks like there was institutional freaking problems in reporting these things. Absolutely. It makes me sick. We all have the same questions - \"Why wouldn\'t you have said something?\" \"What was you freaking deal?\" \"Doesn\'t your silence make you the same as the perpetrator?\"\r\n\r\nSlow your roll for a second.\r\n\r\nI know it\'s hard. It\'s hard for me. These men got their day in court. Nothing can erase what happened to them. Sandusky got his trial and will be off to hard time. Justice is served. Yet, the NCAA stepped in. What was their ruling? $30 million for however long. Fine. But the NCAA has never stepped in for a criminal ruling. What else? Scholarship reductions in the future.\r\n\r\nLast of all, let\'s take down the statue of Joe Paterno. I don\'t know how I feel about that one. I really don\'t.\r\n\r\nLet me explain that. Seriously. As a sports fan. What if that happened at my campus?\r\n\r\nTen years ago, Beaver Stadium, held over 100,000 fans. They weren\'t screaming and cheering for a man who was concealing pederasty. For a second, let\'s take Joe Paterno out of the question. Most fans don\'t even show up to cheer for the coach. They show up to cheer on the athletes. They were there to cheer on the athletes who showed up in August when no one was around, who put up with two-a-days, vomited, worked hard, and ran their guts out trying to beat their rivals.\r\n\r\nFans show up to cheer a team. You want to take down Joe Paterno\'s statue? Fine. But don\'t hamstring the athletes who are there now who didn\'t rape kids in the shower. Don\'t stain the education and pride those kids feel because they still want to be part of Penn State. Penn State is bigger than Joe Paterno. It\'s bigger than Sandusky. All the NCAA did today was say that Penn State is equal to those two.\r\n\r\nDon\'t hurt those kids for the next four years by taking away their bowl games and money. Let those kids play. They have <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/pennstate.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-7270\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/pennstate-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>heart and drive. Let the legal system take care of the people who are really guilty of the crimes involved. Take care of the administrative figures who turned a blind eye to what was going on.\r\n\r\nBut, by God, don\'t hurt a bunch of 18-21 year olds who had no idea what was going on behind their backs while a bunch of evil adults were making decisions. The NCAA should be ashamed. Let Penn State live. Let them rise out of this like a Phoenix. Let the new coach and players make their mark on society. Let them say that this is a temporary setback that they had nothing to do with.\r\n\r\nTear down the statue if you have to. But this is a new day for Penn State. Let the new players make that statement. Don\'t let it be a death knell for a bunch of kids who had nothing to do with it.','Joe Paterno And Villification','','inherit','open','open','','7267-revision-2','','','2012-07-23 23:36:19','2012-07-24 06:36:19','',7267,'http://provoketive.com/2012/07/23/7267-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6950,82,'2012-06-11 04:53:18','2012-06-11 11:53:18','','Indivisable by Marni Arnold','','inherit','open','open','','photo-1','','','2012-06-11 04:53:18','2012-06-11 11:53:18','',6933,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/photo-1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),