Bethlehem

Bethlehem, Oh Bethlehem.
A star at night had met with them.
HE was born, it began. God became man,
But then you cheered the death of Him.

Bethlehem, Oh Bethlehem.
Your name means ‘Bread of life.’
Yes, your path brought in life that would conquer the strife of this land
Precisely at the right timing.
Your people were dying, but Yahweh heard their crying: a search for satisfying.
Make a way, get ready you old barren land.
Just as your prophets foretold in stories of old,
Your King is alive, Emmanuel, a babe to behold.

Bethlehem, Oh Bethlehem.
Tied up in knots.
Cesar thinks he is God. But he’s not.
Born in a cave, in conditions of a salve, no room was made for the entryway of the
Son of Man.
Coming to Earth, humbled to birth, to show us our worth- In Him.

Bethlehem, Oh Bethlehem.
Breathe deep, you will be free.
The stress of your sacrifices freed by the exercises of True Love’s prices
That will give faces to the races and a place to take shape in
And bring hope to a world that there is no grace in.
You’ve read the stories of prophecies,
Believed in the midst of aristocracies,
That from Hosea to Isaiah,
From Elijah to Jeremiah,
From Obadiah to Zephaniah-
They were not liars, they spoke Truth.
And now, Truth has come to you.
To bridge the divide between mankind and divine
And make right, this bond that even you cannot unwind.

So what will you do?

The choice is yours.

Heaven opened up and Love pours.
Down on us, to resound in us.

The king is here, Emmanuel, God is with us.

Funny how people feel important when they orchestrate emotion.
Funny how easy it is to draw emotion.
Funny how easily emotion becomes contagious.
Humans are so weak.  
Yet we try so hard to convince ourselves otherwise.

IF IT'S TRUE that when God moves, people change, then I have only ever seen God move a few times.. If ever. 

How arrogant are we that we continually try and mock the 'move of God'?! -I continually hear about how 'God is moving' in a church service, etc..
But maybe we just get emotional in those services and want another name for it.
Maybe we want to think that God is moving in that awesome Hillsong tune because it gives us the warm-fuzzies.
God moves. But not in ways our human minds can contain.
God moves. But not in ways we can recreate with production.

Worship isn't what happens in that service. It is what happens when we leave that service.

I don't want to try and spark a movement of God- God moves regardless of my involvement.  I want to allow authenticity to break down walls. Then, if God decides to move, there will be no walls to stop the affect in us. 

Emotions fade easily.
Movements of God do not.

Food for thought.

Our purpose should be to love people, serve people, and connect people to their SOUL. Then, if something impacts their soul, they'll know it. 

Food for thought. 

Let's DO THIS.

Anyone can make music, anyone can draw, anyone can make a t-shirt. And lots of people do.

But what sets the great bands apart?  

What sets the great artists apart?

What makes you like a particular style?

It's more than production, more than sound, more than everyone having keyboards.  It's more than cool font, more than culture, more than the next trend. Trends change.  Something about great art, whether music or painting, just draws an audience in... Inspires you to create. What does hillsong united or mutemath do better than anyone? Why is spoken word so powerful? Why is urban outfitters so catchy? What separates them? What is the draw? 

To be great you have to be different. If you're not different, you're just a replication.  Replications can be really good, but only the original is great. 

Figure out what draws people.. And discover what you can do differently than everyone else. Then go at it full speed and use it to draw people. When you draw them,  catch their attention and point them to Jesus. 

Then put it on a Tshirt :-)

Love people past what they can do for you. Love people without expectation. Love without limits.

That causes change. That sparks passion. Passion leads to revolution. Revolutions impact the world. 

Let's do this. 

Compartments & Halloween

1. Sometimes, being a ‘Christian’ reminds me of Halloween. As in, it is something where we can compartmentalize who we are and what we do and it isn’t weird. Actually, it is encouraged. One day a year, on Halloween, we get a chance to dress in a silly costume and act like something we are not. We plan get-togethers, parties, etc all in the name of dressing up in a costume and acting ridiculous. Now if anyone were to do this on any day other than Halloween, they would be laughed at. We would probably call them ‘weirdo’s’ or something awful like that.

2. As Christians, we talk about ‘doing ministry’ on a mission trip like it is our purpose. However, when we get home we don’t do any mission work in our own community. If it was truly our passion, we would do it continuously. No one has to remind you of your passion; no one has to push you to love whatever you love. If they had to do that, the passion would only rely on the person reminding you, and the love would be completely dependant on the push. Ironically, the people that pursue mission work as their passion in their own communities are the ones we call ‘weirdo’s.’ On mission trips, we do door-to-door ministries in order to try and connect/talk with people we may not ever run into otherwise. Now think about the people that do that to you (you know, on Saturday mornings… knock on the front door… those ‘weirdo’s’ on bicycles…). Why does going on a mission trip make things like that ok, but doing it at home make it weird? Why do we need to go far away to provide for the homeless and needy when there are a bunch of homeless people downtown?? …oh that’s right, the ones downtown are dangerous… “hurry, lock the doors, don’t make eye contact..!”

3. How does it help us to pray together on a team, in the office, in your small group, at home, etc if we never interact outside of that prayer? If our prayers are only rituals to begin and end our 10 minutes together, we need not waste each others’ time. Prayer isn’t something we are doing to change the heart of God, it is something we do in order for God to change OUR hearts. Praying with other people is a sacred, vulnerable, intimate act- don’t throw it around like it’s a text message to the God of the universe.

4. Do we really want to know God? When God shows up, things CHANGE. But most Christians hate change. Once we’re saved, change becomes a threat to the kingdoms we begin to build for ourselves. Ultimately then, it’s not about growing God’s kingdom, but growing OUR kingdom in the name of God. That sorta reminds me of Christopher Columbus- a man who came to America and massacred 1000’s of natives in the name of ‘God and riches.’

-I am a Christian. I want to learn how to love Jesus with every fiber of my being. I want to know how to love people unconditionally. Ultimately, I believe we, as people, preach what we need to hear. We love how we want to be loved. We attack others due to the insecurities we see in ourselves. Therefore, many things I write are probably things I am struggling with at that moment. I am never scared to offend anyone, but I hope nothing I ever write hurts anybody. If it does, I apologize in advance. These are just my thoughts, no to be taken as proven fact or reality… just my reality.

*For some reason I always dressed up like a vampire on Halloween- seriously, for 6ish years in a row I was a vampire… and that was way before Team Edward. ☺

What I learned from Tupac

Last night while flipping through the channels, I saw a documentary that caught my attention. It was a documentary on the life of Tupac. I was in 8th grade when he was killed, so my appreciation for him didn't really develop until after he was gone. I used to have all of his albums, but somewhere in the chaos of jumping all over the map in the past few years, I have lost them all. I forgot how much I liked him. After we watched that documentary, I got on youtube and listened to a bunch of my favorite songs. Pac was a genius. I think the best thing about him though, was the reality that he brought to the light. He was willing to say what everyone around him was thinking, yet too afraid to say. He saw [his] reality for what it was, regardless if it offended anyone. He knew he had to be honest about reality if he ever wanted to confront/change it. I learn a ton from stuff like that- People connect to authenticity. People yearn for someone, anyone who is completely willing to confront reality, no matter what it costs or who it offends.

Food for thought.

*Creative people are very misunderstood. Creativity is closely related to passion, and TRUE passion cannot be compartmentalized. Passion cannot be masked, and it is not contained in the cultural norms of society. I am not AT ALL saying that all passions are right, justifiable, or should be accepted. I am, however, saying that passion is not something that can be contained but it should be channeled. We live in a culture that tries to kill passion. Ultimately, we don't want anyone to make us feel uncomfortable or ask us questions that we'd rather hide from. We'd rather everyone be a straight line for fear of uncertainty in the direction of a curve. I appreciate passionate people, even if their passions are misdirected- I don't have to agree with them to appreciate them. This world needs more people who are willing to stand up and ask the tough questions, regardless of what others will think. We need more people who will run at full speed and give all they have for a cause. Passion is contagious. Unfortunately, so is laziness. I choose passion.

I’m sitting in Starbucks this morning. I have my computer out (obviously) and my ear buds in, but I’m not listening to music… intentionally. Since 7am, people have been constantly flowing into this place and little by little, bit-by-bit, it has almost filled up. Everyone has their own agenda; each individual has a list of important things they need to begin tending to just as soon as they get that much needed shot of taste bud hell… I mean, espresso.

I wonder why everyone seems so closed off. I wonder why no one talks to each other. Scanning the room, I see a big group of separated people. Separated by status. Separated by age. Separated by life. The one thing everyone seems to have in common is the reality that we are all in the same room, yet completely isolated from each other.

There are 2 people sitting next to each other at the table in the middle of the room- judging from the intense glare on their faces, they are both obviously doing something really important on their Macbooks. There is no one else at the table except the two of them. Maybe they don’t know each other. Or maybe they are married… Maybe they decided to come to Starbucks so they could get coffee, look mad at the world, and get on their computers to do important things while not talking to each other.

There is a old guy sitting in the corner by himself. He has been playing with his phone for about 30 minutes. No coffee, no delicious, unhealthy, pastry treat. Just an old dude and his phone. He could be trying to figure out how to text message. Or maybe he is trying to figure out why his phone keeps making the word ‘cool’ when he is clearly typing ‘book.’ I don’t know. But no one has said a word to him since he sat down.

There are two guys sitting at the window in front of me. They are engaged in a conversation about the Dallas Mavericks. It’s becoming more obvious to me that that Mark Cuban needs their brainpower, because if they owned the team, they would have figured out a way to bring Carmello Anthony to the nation of Dallas. And then the Mavs would win more. And then…

3 more people just sat down with the big table with the mad couple doing important things on their computers. That makes two separated groups at one table. They are separated because neither acknowledges the other.

There is a guy on talking on his cell phone while he waits for his coffee. This is pretty interesting- whoever he’s talking to must be able to see him somehow (maybe it’s the CIA) because he is talking as much with his hands as he is with his mouth. The person on the other end of the line must also have a hearing problem because this dude is talking very loud… maybe that explains why he’s also using his hands.

Here’s my point:

Everyone is so isolated. No matter where you go, you’ll find a bunch of individuals doing their own thing. When true community is hard to come by, it’s no wonder why so many people are at war- with themselves, with their families, with their jobs, with the world.

I don’t want to be isolated; I don’t want to be closed off. The best I have to offer anyone is my acceptance. My purpose on this world is not to just get through this day unaffected. My purpose is to connect with the people around me. People today are seeking authenticity- they are less concerned with your show, your façade.. people want you to be open about your reality. Be authentic, be real, and connect with people wherever you are.

Now I’m going to go help that old man with his phone.