Surly's Soap Box http://ssb.powerblogs.com/ Single Handedly Restoring Respectability to the Handle Bar Moustache. en-us 2007-09-21T20:09+00:00 Just some thoughts about diversity... http://ssb.powerblogs.com/posts/1190407378.shtml We can worship the God of inclusivity with out worshiping Inclusivity.... Surly Dave 2007-09-21T20:09+00:00
We can worship the God of diversity with out worshiping Diversity.

I heard someone say something along these lines:


"We have a God that demands Conformity in the sense that we all are to be transformed into the image of Christ.

We ave a diverse God in that He expresses himself in a myriad of ways through His people."


I just want to say that we should embrace Godly manifestations of diversity, and not pursue Diversity for diversity's sake.

]]> Some who know me... http://ssb.powerblogs.com/posts/1189863944.shtml ... Surly Dave 2007-09-15T13:09+00:00 Some who know me, or at least pay attention, would recognize that over the last year and a half or so, I've under gone some radical changes in my life regarding politics and the Kingdom of God. Not just politics, but the way I live out my Christianity has changed. The more I preach, the more I pray for the Church and the Lost, the more I get out there and minister, the less important politics seem to be. I pay attention, know whose running and such, plan on voting and encouraging others to do so, but with out the passion I used to have. My passions, are elsewhere: The Kingdom of God.

I have been accused of becoming a liberal. It's to bad that causes like Mercy and Justice seem to be the sacred ground of Liberals. The problem is that when a conservative Christian seeks out information on Justice and Mercy (beyond the Bible: Like when your looking for some practical 'rubber to the road',how can I put some feet to this thing, type of information) you are bombarded with an anti-capitalism, pro-homosexual, mislead environmentalism agenda. I really get annoyed when I read about wonderful Christian Communities such as the Iona Community in Scotland, but they have to get hung up on 'gender identity' issues, global warming, and politics. It's as if you have to swallow the entire liberal agenda if you desire to practice Mercy, Justice, and Peace.

But I'm determined to practice Mercy, Justice and Peace with out buying the Liberal Agenda. Over the next few months I plan to expound on the definitions of these concepts, a maybe even present some opportunities for some folks here in the Twin Cities to get together and 'do the stuff'.

I close with a poem written by a friend of mine. Now, I don't always agree with Mark, but I know his heart. It's faithful.



Resistance

Her t-shirt spoke of love and peace
and beckoned our thoughts to the wartime deceased
But her face was twisted into a mask of hate
Only the blood of her foes could sate

Her banner gushed with words of love
And another protestor had a sign with a dove
But her own voice told me that her cause wasn’t true
Because her throat screamed out these words: “Fuck you!”

Dr. King and Gandhi, they grimace in their graves
For our own mockery has made us its slaves
Jesus Christ has a flashback to his time on the Cross
And he sheds a heavenly tear for the tragic loss

Of a young woman who should fight for peace
Instead of spreading the infectious disease
Of self-righteous hatred draped in smug
Her false piety makes her a thug

]]> Whitewashing Mormonism for the sake of Politics http://ssb.powerblogs.com/posts/1173916133.shtml I'm kind of concerned that there is a white washing of Mormonism for the sake of making Romney more palatable to the evangelical voters. Now, I think Romney would be a... Surly Dave 2007-03-14T23:03+00:00
Ironically, a lot of Mormons don't know what their faith teaches, so they just place their trust Jesus. That is why I think there are saved Mormons: They don't know what they are supposed to believe.

So anyway, I think it's okay to support Romney for prez, just as I don't mind having a Hindu of Muslim Doctor, but I not going to water down their faiths to make it easier to swallow.


]]> Impacting Events: A place where hope went to die http://ssb.powerblogs.com/posts/1171237079.shtml One of the most impacting events of my Christian walk actually happened before I was became a Christian.... Surly Dave 2007-02-11T23:02+00:00
I come from a small town about 70 miles north of the Twin Cities. In the late 70's, the Lutheran Church decided that it needed to add on to it's sanctuary. No big deal. The Catholic Church decided it needed to do the same. Once again, no big deal, but then the Lutherans decided that they needed a new steeple, thus causing the Catholics to need a foyer and so on. By the time it was all said and done, there where two brand new million dollar churches in one of the more economically depressed areas of Minnesota at the time.

The bus I road back and forth to school went by one of the edifices daily. I can still remember how bright the new red brick facade and how deep black the new pavement were. But the thing that impressed me the most was the trailer park across the street. These weren't double wides, nor even singles: They where travel trailers that were parked and rented out. It was the place single teenage mothers went when they had their second kid before 18, after burning all their bridges with their families and the only thing they had was their welfare check. It was the place where pedophiles and other abusive types looking for weak women would go to prey (and I mean hunt). The kids getting on and off the bus there where dirty, their clothes worn thin, their spirits worn thinner. It was a place where hope went to die.

Every day, that shiny new steeple cast it's shadow over them like a sundial. Every Sunday, the bells would ring, calling the faithful. People who went to this nice, shiny new church hurried in from the cold while there were people freezing across the road. They held pancake breakfast while right next door, people went hunger. And I, fourteen at the time, a nonbeliever, knew in my heart that something was wrong with this picture. I knew there was light being hid under a bushel basket, if there was any light at all.

Here was a church, the denomination not important, that was supposed to reach out to the poor, father the fatherless, feed the hungry, help the needy, caught up in a battle of "keeping up with the Jones'" and ignoring those God had set right with in the very shadow of their building.

The whole affair hardened my heart towards Christianity. For years it was the example I gave to explain why I thought Christianity was a crock. Even after Jesus, through His incredible grace and mercy, saved me, I was still bitter towards the Church. For a while I misplaced my aggression and acted out towards a particular denomination, but as I grew and matured, I came to realize that, yes, there was something wrong with that situation.

That whole event greatly impacted me, and still does today. When I hear of churches spending money on things like bells when the hungry and poor are with in listening distance, it makes my blood boil. Where does the Sermon on the Mount and Isaiah 61 come into play for these people? Compassion isn't something dealt out by a committee with a check book. Mercy isn't a policy. The essence of the Sermon on the Mount is getting our hands dirty working next to 'sinners' and 'publicans' and living out the gospel in our everyday lives with everyday people. The "build it and they will come" mentality so many churches have fails to reach the community. I don't believe the hope man is looking for resides in a building. I despise the 'if we can only get them to church' attitude. We are the church. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The power to touch lives lives within us, and we are called to shine the hope, love, grace and mercy of Christ into those around us. That is not something a building can do, and yet so many expect it to.

Today, the trailers are gone and new houses replace them. Have the poor been helped or merely displaced?

Yes, I understand the socio-political-economic factors behind so much of the poverty we enconter in the United States: Bad Choices. Don't have kids out of wedlock, finish school and go on to college, and so on. But some times the people God puts before you don't understand those issues or have never heard of them, and instead of condemning them for their poor decisions, we are to love them as Christ does.

Lord, please show me how to put legs to your Gospel. Show me how to truly live out you call.]]> That Woman is My Husband: A Study in Selfishness. http://ssb.powerblogs.com/posts/1170806695.shtml Last night, I caught a little of TLC's "My Unique Family".... Surly Dave 2007-02-07T00:02+00:00 My Unique Family".

"Jennifer and Chris have two loving children, successful careers and a beautiful home. Three years ago, Jennifer was a man named Jeff who decided to become a woman. Explore how this transition happened and the continued conflicts resulting from the change."


This wasn't a study of transition; it was a study of selfishness. You had this guy who was/is willing to abandon his wife and kids, bankrupting them in the process, to 'follow his heart' (thanks Oprah Windbag). The money he's spending, the damage he's causing his family, are all due to his trying to make himself feel better about himself, and everyone else be damned.

Tell you what, the human heart is not the guiding beacon our modern society has made it out to be. No, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." Jeremiah 17:9,10



]]> Blog Fast...And Blogging about Fasting... http://ssb.powerblogs.com/posts/1169423183.shtml This week I am fasting, and as part of that I'm reducing my computer time to a scant 30 minutes a day. Basicly, I'll be checking email and posting over at... Surly Dave 2007-01-21T23:01+00:00 Solid Rocks Ministry blog as I 'live blog' my fast.

Why live blog my fast? I know the bible talks about keeping it to myself and such, but I felt I could offer encouragement to others (and be encouraged) by talking about it in real time as opposed to teaching on it after I've been through it and 'prettied it up' a bit. Besides, I'm not making suffering the point: I'm making a point of bringing the flesh into submission, emptying myself out to make room for God, and drawing closer to Him. If I begin boasting of my suffering, than I have failed because my heart is no longer in the right place.

So check out Solid Rocks Ministry, which is a consortium of some of the Christian bloggers from Minnesota and beyond.

I'll be back here next week. ]]> Fasting http://ssb.powerblogs.com/posts/1169171791.shtml Ahhh...The spiritual discipline of fasting. It's the favorite of people everywhere!... Surly Dave 2007-01-20T02:01+00:00
Actually, to a lot of people, fasting is kind of a novelty, something only fanatics and mystics do. Yet Jesus talked about, right between prayer and storing up your treasure in heaven. If Jesus talked about it, then it must be important.

Our church is entering into a time of corporate fasting as we seek God for vision. Our goal is to have our church bathed with prayer and have some one fasting 24/7 for a week. At the end of the week, we plan to come together with an All Worship Sunday (we have one every quarter or so) and then break the fast corporately with meal of soup, bread, and salad. We also plan to have an 'open mic' so people can share what God is showing them. However, often time revelation doesn't come until after the fast, so the week after should be exciting.

The message on fasting was delivered by an other member of our Pulpit Team, so the notes presented below are hers:




Read through them. They are good.

The reason I bring it up is what I state previously: Fasting is a spiritual discipline that deservesdemands as much focus as prayer, reading the Word, and giving. I am looking forward exploring this more deeply.

While I have fasted before, I'm particularly excited about this time of being unified with my brothers and sisters seeking God will for our body.

I'll be sharing my experience over the next couple of weeks. Perhaps it will be an encouragement to others, maybe people will write me off as a mystic. That's alright: I wouldn't mind being known as a Christian Mystic.


]]> Sunday Morning Coming Down http://ssb.powerblogs.com/posts/1168400926.shtml Have you ever been struck by a song that left you wondering...well, just wondering. This last Sunday I turned on the radio on my way to church to hear this:... Surly Dave 2007-01-10T03:01+00:00 this:




Sunday Morning Coming Down is probably one of the most angst-ridden songs ever written. It's a deep song and is worthy of analysis. These lyrics aren't words just casually written; these are the examinations of a man's soul. The song expresses this guys feelings of loss and estrangement: The smell of frying chicken reminds him of something he has lost, the distant bells fading brings back broken and failed dreams of yesterday, and the whole Sunday morning experience weighs on him with crushing loneliness.

Some might look at this song as an example of 'backsliding' or how sinful living can drive us from Church and separate us from God. After all, the guy had been puffing on heaters and playing music the night before, and the headache he was suffering was probably from over consumption of adult beverages. All symptoms of sinful living, heh?

Anyway, as the song played, I felt challenged by God: "What would you say to this man?"

The temptation for the classic American Church goer is to say something like, "He needs to repent!" or, "He needs to get his backside back into Church!" Some would say that that he needs to quit smoking, quit drinking, do his laundry, stay out of bars, give up the ungodly music he was undoubtedly playing, and then drag his carcass before God and man and beg for forgiveness. Some would avoid him like he was a leper.

Some would give him the old, "Jesus loves you" and then leave it at that.

At various times in my Christian walk, I would have answered with any of the above.

But these are the easy things to say. These are stock items that put the entire change process squarely in the guy's own hands. If he could change, don't you think he would? Do you think he likes feeling lonely, lost, and hopeless? Having been there, I can assure you he doesn't. And really, if we could do it ourselves, then Jesus died for nothing.

But even more importantly, these stock phrases insulate us from really getting involved with this guy.

After a couple days of thinking about what I would say, I would hope that if I were to meet this guy, that I would say something like, "Do you want to join me for lunch?"

The thing is, we all know people like the guy in the song. I admit that in the past, I have gone through great lengths to insulate myself from people who didn't hold the same values I hold. But as I dive deeper into service and commitment to Christ, I can't avoid people anymore. I have to make Christ known. I need to engage.

See, I'm being challenged by the way I do church. Not the Sunday morning practice, but how I live my faith, how I walk the walk. I want to really live what I read in the Bible. I can't do that if I don't really enter into peoples lives and in turn, allow them to enter into mine.

I have long believed that anything God does in my life and in the lives of other believers is to effect/touch the life of a unbeliever. Even when I am built up or blessed in some way, an unbeliever is some how touched and pointed towards Jesus.

Kind of reminds me of another song:

This little light of mine
I'm going to let it shine
Oh, this little light of mine
I'm going to let it shine...


I pray my light can shine brightly.]]>