Breaking News: It is Now OK to Love Queers

If you're a Southern Baptist, great news!  It's now OK to love homosexuals!  You can now get rid of your Gaydar Detector and take a deep breath!  Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler has shaken up evangelical circles with his recent chastising of Southern Baptists and their tendency for negative treatment of homosexuals.  The Associated Press quoted Mohler as saying, "We’ve (Southern Baptists) lied about the nature of homosexuality and have practiced what can only be described as homophobia… We’ve used the choice language when it is clear that sexual orientation is a deep inner struggle and not merely a matter of choice...That doesn't mean it's any less sinful, but it does mean it's not something that people can just turn on and turn off."  He also encouraged the denomination to repent from a "form of homophobia" and condemnation, rather than granting them a spirit of love and embracing them as fellow sinners.

Southern Baptist Convention President Bryant Wright has also recently challenged conservatives to refrain from using hateful rhetoric toward the gay and lesbian community and urged compassion in saying, “It’s not only upholding God’s Word, but there’s always that spirit of Jesus that we want to seek to communicate. When we feel passionately that something is wrong, we are still called to love that person who is ignoring what God’s Word says. It’s not always easy to do.”  Note that neither of these two leaders are condoning homosexuality or rejecting the traditional doctrinal belief that it is a sin.

Most of you know that I attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, but don't necessarily label myself to be a Southern Baptist.  My initial reaction to these two statements was that these leaders deserve praise for taking what is proving to be a very controversial stance.  This is a huge step for a denomination that has long been considered intolerant, judgmental and even hateful toward the homosexual community.  But after meditating on this for a while, I realized that I actually have a very different perspective on this issue and wondering if it is such a good thing after all.

First of all, I am purposely not going to share my beliefs on homosexuality.  Many of you already know where I stand on this issue and if you would like to know details on how I feel personally and how I deal with this in ministry, you can always email me and I'll be glad to elaborate.  However, the purpose of my silence of personal belief is intricately intertwined with the reason I am writing this blog in the first place, and that lies in a simple question: Why?

Why does it matter?  Why is a non-Christian homosexual any different than other non-Christians and why do Christians have to be told how to treat them?  Why does it have to come to a point where two very respected Christian leaders have to remind us that we need to love our human brothers and sisters, regardless of their particular sins?  You see, whether or not you believe that homosexuality is a sin is totally irrelevant. The overshadowing element is that our personal beliefs should have no bearing on our love for one another and should have nothing to do with how we treat each other; in this case those that claims to be a homosexuals.

From the perspective of the Kingdom of God, there are two types of people that we journey through this life with: those that know the truth, love and salvation of Jesus Christ, and those that don't.  Our mission within the Kingdom should remain focused on bringing Christ's life changing message to light; not critiquing the sins of someone that needs Christ because of sin.  Whether or not homosexuality is a sin is not the point.  The point is, we're all messed up people before knowing Christ and carry a lot of crap in our baggage.  We need His unconditional love and to understand that it doesn't matter what's in the suitcase.  That's why we need Christ and that's why others come to him in the first place.  Does it matter, or should it matter why they come?  Do our individual sins calculate differently on the salvation meter?  Because I have news for you; God looks at ALL sin as repulsive, so if that disgusting spec in your neighbor's eye is causing you chronic nausea, try removing the hideous log in your own first. (Matthew 7:3) 

This reminds me of the story of the woman caught in adultery in John 8.  If you aren't familiar with the story, take a look at it in John 8:3-11  The Pharisees come rushing up to Jesus with this young woman that has been sleeping around.  More than likely, she was a prostitute, in fact some theologians think that this woman could have been Mary Magdalene.  "Teacher, this skanky woman was caught screwing some guy that she's not married to!  She’s a whore!  The Law of Moses says that we should kill her!  She's not worth salvation!  She's a lost cause!  What do you think about this?"  After all is said and done, what does Jesus say to the woman?  Does He point out the fact that her sin is more repulsive than the next person?  Does He tell her to keep her legs closed, stop sleeping around and gets her life straight first, and then come back?  Instead Jesus tells her that He doesn't condemn her.  He doesn’t judge her.  He  doesn’t make her feel like an outcast, subhuman or not worthy of the Kingdom.  He accepts her as she is and asks her to leave her life of sin; not her life of sex, her life of sin.  Did you catch that?  He doesn't rate her sins on a scale of 1-10, or point out to everyone that she’s a whore.  He just says "leave it" and "come".

Come.  I like that about Jesus.  He asked people to come to Him, and they did.  When He walked the earth, he just wanted to be close to people, not caring where they’d been or what they’d done.  He just wanted people to come.  The Church is His Body, His hands and feet.  Why should we add qualifications that He never did?    

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30                 

The Kingdom of God: Where Does Our Alligience Lie?

Within theological circles, there are many views and interpretations of what Jesus meant when He talked about the Kingdom of God.  There are about 140 instances in the New Testament where this is referred to directly or alluded to in other wording.  Either way, there has been an ongoing debate about what the kingdom of God exactly referred to.  Some have claimed that the Kingdom was wholly manifest in Jesus’ presence on earth and represented in His words and deeds.  Some claim that any reference to the Kingdom is completely a reality of the future and is associated with Christ’s second coming.  The most common interpretation has to do with elements of both arguments and is sometimes referred to as the “already/not yet” tension.  In essence, the Kingdom of God was inaugurated with Christ’s first advent, exists today and will be complete when he returns again.  Today Christ’s love exists through the life of the Church, but the world is still subject to evil to some extent.  This is the view that I personally ascribe to and contextually what Scripture seems to be referring to.  (See Luke 10:9, 11:20, Matt. 3:2, Mark 1:5, Luke 17:21)    

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking on what the Kingdom of God should look like and what my responsibility is within the Kingdom.  What is my responsibility and what is the Church’s responsibility in advancing the Kingdom?  Obviously, since the Kingdom of God exists, what we do with our lives has a direct effect on its manifestation and advancement.  Consequently, since there exists this “not yet” element to the Kingdom, what we don’t do, or the negative aspects of our lives, hinder the Kingdom.  The more we live as Christ and represent His Body as the Church, the more that the world will see the Kingdom and understand what God originally intended for the world.  When we live in opposition to Christ, the Kingdom is reduced to mere words, hypocrisy and a lack of belief from culture.  

I bring this up because people often ask me about my political views and party affiliation.  I admit that there was a time when I was the typical conservative right-wing Christian that had the world view that Jesus was not only American, but started His movement right here in the good old USA.  I believed that Jesus would have only voted conservative and cheered for us when the USA went to war.  As long as Jesus and His teachings lined up with that picture of American Christianity, I was OK with being His hard-line follower.  But over the last five years or so, my views have radically changed. 

 

Well, before you accuse me of being a bed-wetting liberal, communist or socialist scumbag, allow me to explain.  First of all, I don’t consider myself to be a liberal or Democrat either.  In fact, I no longer side with any political party and refuse to align myself with the “left” or “right”, unless I’m reading a map.  I’m no longer registered as a Republican voter, and will not side with the Democrats either.  I don't use God to promote my view of politics and choose coffee over tea.  For lack of other options, I assume the government would classify me as an “Independent”, but I never identify myself with that label either.  Going one step further, my citizenship as an American is secondary and not really how I identify myself as well.

 

Now, let’s be clear.  I’m not one of those people who are ashamed of America, believe in anarchy or have a Utopian view of what the world should look like.  I don’t believe in John Lennon’s “Imagined” view of life and tend to look at life through a more realistic set of lenses.  Believe it or not, I’m still a pretty black and white person.  What I’m getting at, is that if the Kingdom of God is a reality, even if incomplete, it is the Churches responsibility to make it a reality.  And the first thing we have to do is decide to put His Kingdom first, even if it means denying our allegiance to man-made kingdoms.  Jesus said, "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else," (Matthew 6:33)  This is the only way that the kingdom of God will be seen as a reality and cause culture to want to be a part of it.  It has to overshadow culture, country, communities and even individual churches.

What would this look like?  Well, C.S. Lewis said in Mere Christianity, that if Christians were functioning and living as they were originally intended to, most people would scoff and label it socialism.  And you know what?  He’s right.  If we model the early Church and all that Christ taught in the New Testament, we would be living a very socialist existence.  Selling our possessions, sharing all that we have with anyone in need, choosing non-violence and actively loving others, including our enemies, looks more like a hippie commune, doesn’t it?  But here’s the thing: these ways of living life cannot be mandated by a government and this is what this blog is all about.  The principles of socialism are not bad in and of themselves, but when a man made government initiates them, and they are based on man and not God, the end result is disastrous.  Only the Church can initiate this kind of revolutionary way of living.  Only the Church can and should look this way.  These are supernatural principles.  When we live as Christ calls us to live, people see a counter-cultural way of living and advance a Kingdom that doesn’t make a lot of sense to the world.  It really has nothing to do with politics or party affiliations.  It has to do with following a King that rules a radically different Kingdom.  It has to do with citizenship and where it ultimately lies.                       

The Practice of Love

Most of you know that I recently had the opportunity to join a community of authors in writing for The Practice of Love: Real Stories of Living into the Kingdom of God.  This is a collection of essay by a community of writers that examines what it means love God, ourselves, our neighbors and our enemies in today's culture.  We know that God has called each of us to love in extraordinary ways in all facets of life, but reality proves that this is sometimes easy said than done.  This book provides real life personal stories that will cause the reader to examine what it really means to love in the Kingdom of God.

In contributing to this project, I experienced a lot more personal spiritual insight than I thought would.  I chose to write about what it means to love our enemies because this has always been a difficult thing for me.  We live in a very self-centered culture, so our first reaction in dealing with enemies is usually to place focus on ourselves and how we've been hurt. I don't know about you, but I often think of the person who wronged me and immediately contemplate how I can get revenge and make the offender hurt as I've been hurt.  Not only that, but I usually feel the need to be justified.  What I mean is that I want the other person to realize what they've done was wrong and know, deep within their heart, that they are wrong.  Nothing aggravates me more than someone arrogantly strutting around as if they've done nothing wrong, completely oblivious to the pain they've caused me.  But as a follower of Christ, is this what He calls me to do?  Is this the kind of reaction that will advance the Kingdom of God?  Or does my returning anger with anger, only hinder others seeing the Kingdom in the way Christ wants it to be seen?  These are the questions that I wrestled with as I wrote my essay.    

Ironically enough, over the last few weeks, we have been witness to possibly the quintessential example of an enemy in Osama Bin Laden.  Consequently, with his death, we have all been given a opportunity to examine this issue in the clearest example that we will probably ever have before us.  To me, it was as if God revealed this scenario to me and said, "OK.  You just wrote an essay on what it means to love your enemy, right?  Well, here's THE enemy.  Love him."  Really, God?  I tell you that it's hard for me to swim and you throw me in the middle of the ocean?     

After my experience with The Practice of Love, I find myself wanting to love more.  Specifically, I find myself wanting to expand the way that I love my enemies.  Basically, I came to a realization that I don't want to hate anymore.  I don't want to judge anymore.  I'm finding that I don't feel the need to be "right" all the time, and "win" the arguments, whatever "winning" means.  Instead of actively seeking reasons to be angry with my enemies, dislike or even hate them, I'm learning to seek out ways that I can love them.  What are ways that I can connect with that person and find unity?  Whether or not they "feel" my love for them, how can I really love them, and more importantly,what does that look like in the Kingdom of God?

Those of you that know me, know that I can have somewhat of a temper.  It doesn't take much to set me off, and usually that comes out in dealing with my enemies.  But many years ago, a mentor of mine gave me some advice that I've never forgotten.  It was one of those gems of wisdom that is written on your soul, under the file name: Wisdom.  This man, that was quite a bit older than me, recognized that I often got angry with those that hurt me.  Not only that, but he also recognized that I had the somewhat obsessive desire to "be right" or "win" the argument.  One day, he sat me down and said the following: "Jake, people are going to wrong you throughout your life.  It's going to happen again and again.  But YOU have the choice of how you are going to react to them.  Why is it so important for you to be justified?  Instead, allow them to believe that they've won.  For whatever reason, they felt the need to hurt you.  Let them have it.  It's theirs.  Instead, find a way to do something kind for them.  Find a way to show love to them.  By doing that, you will almost always soften their hearts.  When that happens, then, and ONLY then, can you sit down with them, explain how they hurt you.  99% of the time, they will understand and ALLOW you to be justified.  Then you both win.  That's a better deal, right?"  Yes, Pat.  That's a much better deal.  Thank you.

My Reflctions of the Death of Osama Bin Laden

As I write this, I anticipate much anger directed toward me.  But as I meditate on the events that have transpired over the last 11 hours, I find myself having very mixed emotions.  Let me begin by stating that I think the death of Osama Bin Laden is a good thing.  Like every American, every year on the anniversary of 9/11, I mourn the death of the innocent Americans that died at the hand of the terrorists he led.  With a heavy heart, I think about the children that lost parents.  I think about husbands and wives that lost their soul mates and thank God for my wife and family.  I mourn the loss of the soldiers that have died over the last 10 years, fighting for freedom and to end terror in this world.  I am proud of this country and thank God for the freedom I have each and every day; the same freedom I have to write this blog today.  I love this country, but it’s not the Kingdom I choose to serve.  The Kingdom of God is where my perspective must come from, and that’s where my emotions must rise from.  

     

So, with that said, it may shock you to know that I mourn the death of Osama Bin Laden.  Like I said, I do believe that His death is a good thing and our world is safer from it, but I still mourn his death.  From beginning to end, this man’s life and America’s association with him has been nothing to rejoice.  The news we received on Sunday night was simply the pinnacle of a long progression of war and death, and more than likely, not the end.  War and death are not something to celebrate.  In the general scheme of things, the Kingdom of God has not been advanced one inch.  To be honest, from an eternal perspective, what has transpired doesn't matter all that much.  War is not a sporting event and as much as we want to believe it, Jesus is not on our team.  He doesn’t rejoice at the death of Osama Bin Laden and does not breathe a sigh of relief that America gained a few more points in the game.

What I do believe is that God is very much anticipating how each and every one of us is going to react today; not so much from an external perspective, but internal.  What do our hearts really feel at this moment?  What is the truth that will be taken from these events and what is God’s perspective on what has happened.  That’s the perspective that I choose to view this from.  And a great deal of that perspective comes from Scripture.  But before I refer to Christ’s words, let me address one particular perspective that I’ve seen some folks using as a defense.

 

Many people refer to some of the Old Testament examples of war, and how God seems to bless, approve and even rejoice in the victories of Israel.  It appears that by looking at these many references, God endorses war and rejoicing in the victories of war.  I understand completely why some well intending people would use these examples as justification for America’s rejoicing today.  However, as with anything in Scripture, we have to look at this from a proper perspective.  The nation of Israel was God’s chosen people.  This was the nation that He chose to build this world through.  These were the people that would begin the long progression of events that would bring Jesus Christ into this world and begin the eventual realization of the Kingdom of God coming to fruition.  These were His people, His nation, His mission and in essence, His  In many ways, it was not the people of Israel fighting other nations, but God fighting through them to defend Himself, His honor, worship and glory.  When Israel celebrated the death and victory from war, in many ways it was God celebrating and the people glorified God more than they did country.   They celebrated in the Temple.  We celebrate on the White House lawn.  

So, flash forward several hundred years.  Things have changed.  Messiah has come.  Jesus has inaugurated the Kingdom of God and calls the people of Israel to start looking at things very differently.  In essence, Rome was terrorizing and oppressing God’s people and they wanted nothing more than for a political and military Messiah to rise up and smack Rome on its ass.  But instead, we start hearing things like, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?  Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48)  “But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matthew 5:39)  "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” (Matthew26:52)

These are only three examples, but in the historical context of these references from the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus is speaking to the Jews and more than likely referring to the Roman Empire.  I guarantee you that these words were not easy for Jesus’ followers to hear.  They went against everything they felt, were taught and believed at that point, but Jesus was calling His followers, and all of us, to look at the world from a different perspective.  To open our view of “kingdom” and “nation” to more than just the borders that surround us.  To view brother and sister to include more than just those that we see each and every day.  In essence, Jesus was calling us to view the world from His perspective and not ours.  You won’t like hearing this, but God loved Osama Bin laden, longed for his salvation and knew the number of hairs on his head, just as he does for you and me.   And that leaves me with a sobering thought.  Would those that cheer his death, be the same one's cheering his salvation?  And how many of us actually prayed for his salvation?   

This does not diminish the death of those that lost their lives on 9/11 and does not take away from the fact that Bin Laden’s death is justified.  Like I said before, in reality, it is a good things that he is dead and if you were to ask me if I am glad, in a deep dark place in my heart, I have to admit that I am.  I will admit to you that my first reaction to the news was excitement, joy and the urge to celebrate.  But taking a few steps back, and asking myself the cliche question, “What would Jesus do?”, for the life of me, and as hard as I tried, I could not image Him standing on the lawn of the White House, arm in arm with Americans and chanting, “USA!  USA!  USA!” 

Norms & Fringes

I got into an interesting conversation this week with a good friend of mine.  We're about the same age and started discussing the punk movement of the late 70s and early 80s that we grew up with.  Neither of us were really considered "punks", but we listened to the music and were influenced a great deal by the philosophies that arose from the culture.  As we talked, we began to ask each other how this type of culture compares to the "norm" of society today.  What determines "normal" American culture?  What determines some groups to be considered "sub-cultures" of fringes of society?  Is there a "right" and "wrong" way of living, simply in terms of amoral lifestyles?  Who sets the standards, and are those standards necessarily deemed as "normal" just because they have been determined to be standards?

Meditating further on this, we discussed trends in history and how other countries have followed similar paths.  Western culture differs greatly from Eastern, and influences in philosophy, as well as religion, have developed the images we as common.  We see this in the development of the enlightenment, modernity and the post-modern culture of today.  My friend also pointed to the fact that authority has great influence on what is considered normative, and results in the inevitable descent and those groups that consequently become subcultures.  Regardless if something is considered moral, those in authority dictate what is considered "normative" and to a great extent, how a culture develops over time.  You can see this narrowed down from state to state, and even city to city.  Any way you look at it, a great deal of normative and fringe culture comes down to one thing: authority.

My friend asked me what I think the standard looks like, and if there is a so called standard, then what does the fringes look like.  I'm a very visual person, so I instantly came up with a picture in my mind.  Think of a tree branch with several smaller branches stemming from the main one.  The main branch would be the average American picture of normal and the smaller branches would be considered fringes, or possibly subcultures.  However, that got me thinking as well.  Normal would depend of the culture you reside in, right?  The normal branch will look different for me because of the culture I currently live in.  For me, it's the typical suburban, minivan, 2.5 kids, soccer on Saturday picture of Americana.  But for someone living in Manhattan, their picture of normal is going to look very different.  Hence, the fringes are going to look different as well.  So depending on what the main branch looks like, the smaller branches are going to vary in how they look and what might dictate them to be such.  A fringe branch may be a main branch in other circumstances and cultures, and vice-versa.         

So, this got me thinking about culture and how it all coincides with faith.  One of the basic tenants of Christianity is that God is our ultimate authority for life and how we live.  Through prayer, revelation and Scripture, He communicates the details of His standards and we follow suit the best we can by implementing these aspects into our life.  When you think about this from one perspective, there would consequently be a normative life picture that would develop, right?  But let's look at this from another perspective.  Let's look at this from the point of implementation.  How I implement God's standards into my life may not look like someone else's implementation because of the culture we each live in.  From person to person, each may be identically incorporating God's standards into their lives, but from a cultural standpoint, they may look very different.  One may appear to be socially normal, and the other may seem to be in the fringes.

But when we look at culture from God's perspective, we see that the normative lines of society fade quite a bit, don't they?  When choosing to live in the Kingdom of God as a reality, we begin to see that the only authority worth serving is the one who rules the Kingdom.  Instead of setting cultural guidelines for normal living, He simply sets standards for the citizens to live by.  The normal becomes relative, as well as the fringes because we no longer few each other according to "normative" aspects.  The man in the business suit walks side by side with the skinhead.  The doctor shares a meal with a homeless man.  The drug addicted prostitute shares coffee with the stay at home mom.  The former Pharisee and murderer of Christian talks philosophy and theology with some Epicureans and Stoics. (See Acts 17:16-34)  Neither one sees each other as above or beneath.  Just citizens of in the Kingdom, following a higher standard than culture can dictate.  Do this sound like a Utopian view of life?  Idealistic?  Liberal?  Maybe.  But isn't that what the Kingdom of God is?  Isn't this more of what the King wants from His citizens?  And imagine what this would this look like in American culture?

Drunks and the Kingdom of God

Lots of talk about community these days, and specifically what "real" Biblical community really is.  You may have heard the question asked many times, "What does real Biblical community look like?"  Hmmmmm.  You know, I'm actually not quite sure what the answer is.  I'm not even sure that it's a legitimate question.  I guess it would be similar to asking, "What do "real" people look like?"  Sure, there are certain distinguishing characteristics that make a human being a human being, but the individual details are so varied that one cannot paint a broad enough picture to include every single personal scenario.  In the same way, Biblical community is difficult to classify.  Sure, there are certain, and very specific requirements for a community to be classified as "Biblical", but each community differs drastically because of the individuals that represent the community.  And that's the one aspect that gives Biblical community such a vast array of images: Individuals.      

Last week a friend of mine invited me to a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous.  I'll admit; I had no idea what to expect, but he did a pretty good job explaining the gritty details of what I might experience.  But as usually happens, the picture that I had in my mind did not represent reality.  Let's admit it.  For people that have never been to a meeting, the name Alcoholics Anonymous might bring to mind certain cliche images.  A group of old timers, with visible signs of years of alcohol abuse?  Tattoos? Chain smokers talking about how they are coping with day to day life?  Motor cycle riders?  Auto mechanics?  Aging musicians?...Wait a second...Doctors?  Lawyers?  Teachers?  Pastors?  Coaches?  Moms?  Dads?  Me?

My point is that from my perspective, many different types of people was represented in this community.  In fact, it was one of the most eclectic groups of people that I have ever seen.  And that got me thinking.  When we look at our Biblical communities, what do we see?  How varied are the personalities, lifestyles, backgrounds, nationalities?  Can we honestly say that our communities represent all, walks of life?  Even many walks of life?  Is it easier for culture to describe what the typical Christian might looks like?  Think about your church.  Think about your small group.  Think about your Sunday School class.  What do you see?

Now don't get me wrong.  I'm not making a blanket statement that indites the entire Church.  I've been in many Biblical communities that range in age, color, nationality and even sexual orientation.  But in my experience, this is unfortunately not the norm in today's culture.  After visiting Alcoholics Anonymous, I found myself asking a very sobering question: Do these meetings represent more of what a church should look like?  Is this more the kind of honest, open and trusting community that our Biblical communities should try and emulate?  Granted, there were aspects absent that would theologically not classify AA as a "Biblical" meeting, or church for that matter.  But I'm talking more about the "communal" aspects.

Just for a few minutes, think about the human condition, and just how messed up we are without the saving grace of Christ.  Think of what we are capable of doing without God's guidance.  Think about the awesome unconditional love of Christ.  Think about the outcasts that Jesus surrounded Himself with when He walked the earth.  Think about those he turned away, or those that wanted nothing to do with Him.  Now think about those that fill our churches.  Our small groups.  Our Bible studies.  Compare and contrast.  How often does someone walk in off the street, sit down among us and announce for all to hear:

"Hi!  I'm Jake.  And I'm a messed up sinner with a messed up life."

"Hi Jake!" 

(Insert hug here)          

9/11 Reflections - The Kingdom of America or the Kingdom of God?

This day seems to have "feel" to it. Every year, on this solemn anniversary, it's as if a cloud descends upon my world, and the events seem to be happening in real time. Similar to Christmas Eve, the day seems to be magically alive, but not with expectation and joy, but with heavy meditation and sadness. The anniversary of 9/11 has always been a very reflective day for me. I always find time to meditate, pray, and talk with others about what we've learned from such a culture-altering event. I remember that Tuesday morning as if it happened yesterday. I remember exactly what I was doing, as I sat at my desk. I remember how the sun looked as it crept through the trees outside my office and through the window. I remember thinking that it looked and felt like Fall, although it was still very hot and humid in typical South Texas style. I remember receiving the first email about the first plane that hit the World Trade Center, and not paying much attention. And I remember the feeling of darkness I felt as I began to realize what was happening when the second plane hit.

I remember the patriotism of Republicans and Democrats alike, joining together as one, and the united atmosphere that developed. If only momentarily, we put aside our differences, anger and hatred, joined hands, encouraged one and other, and wept with one another. Despite the tragedy that had just occurred, a warmth filled the air, and priorities seemed to shift to what they should be in the first place.

But there is one other thing that I also remember, that leaves me feeling a little empty, saddened and a little angry. Looking back, I remember the "pep rally" atmosphere that seemed to develop almost overnight, including in the Church. Churches of all denominations began pumping their fist, chanting, "USA! USA!, wearing red, white and blue and covering the cross with the flag. When I heard the news of the first attacks on Afghanistan, I called a pastor friend of mine to discuss what was going on. His reaction, "Light 'em up, baby! Light 'em up!" My heart sank, I sheepishly said, "Yeah! Right!", and quickly made an excuse to hang up the phone. But I'll admit, part of me was sharing his emotions at that time.

"Light 'em up, baby!" Think about that for a second. Like most people at that time, my friend was excited that America was retaliating. It's somewhat natural to take joy in the vindication of the evil that had been inflicted on so many innocent people. But what he was not considering was that at that very second, people were dying. His first reaction to the bombing of human beings, and what would become the beginning of a long period of war and death, was excitement. Yes, at that time, many of these people were our enemy, but whether we want to admit it or not, innocent children were dying, women were screaming and holding their babies, and men who had nothing to do with their country's politics, were doing their best to protect their families. That's the reality of war. That's the reality of a fallen world.

Now, don't get me wrong. The events on 9/11 were tragic, and unfortunately, America had to react in some form of retaliation. I'm not advocating pacifism. What I am questioning is our "reaction"; reactions to war as Americans, specifically those of us that call ourselves followers of Christ. The Church. The Body of Christ. Should we react to war as if it is a football game? Should we cheer on the sidelines, hoping that our opponents get their skulls crushed as we rush down the field of enemy territory to victory? Or should our reaction be more solemn? Should we pump our fists in the air, chanting, "USA! USA!", or should our fists be folded in prayer, asking God to protect the innocent and allow peace to return to His kingdom quickly? Should we be so quick to wave the flag before we lift up the cross? Should our reaction be hatred for our enemies, or a nation, or should we consider the words of Jesus Himself who said, "But I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you," (Matthew 5:44)

You see, for Christians of this nation, America is not our kingdom. America did not invent Christianity and Jesus was not from the Heartland. War should not be a sporting event and we should not be so quick to pray for our team to win. Instead, should we not pray for an end to war? Should we not pray for not only the safety and protection of our country, but also the safety and protection of the world? Because whether we want to admit it or not, the entire earth belongs to the Kingdom of God. Americans, Iraqis, and Afghans are all human beings that God created. He wants ALL to be saved, not only Americans. (See 1 Timothy 2:3-7) And guess what? Even terrorists are in need of redemption.


After things settled down on 9/11, I left work and made my way to a prayer meeting at a friends house. I stopped in HEB to grab a drink and an energy bar for lunch. As I walked out, an old woman was walking toward me, weeping hysterically. She could have been my grandmother and I felt tears in my own eyes forming. As I got closer to her, she grabbed my arm and through her sobs, she began to say, "Did you see what they're doing in New York?! Did you see what their doing to us!?" I was in tears at this point and I just nodded my head. Then she said something that sums up my feelings this morning. "Just pray. OK? Please, son. Just pray."

Pray. Just pray.