I'm Peter Petrelli. I want to save the world.
In Heroes, Peter is the empathetic hospice worker, who discovers he can absorb and then emulate the abilities of other gifted heroes and villains. In the beginning, the abilities manifest seemingly at random and his control over the abilities is erratic at best. After a series of prophetic dreams, in which he sees himself destroy New York by becoming a nuclear bomb, he becomes convinced that if he cannot learn to control his powers, he will become a danger to society.
What a conundrum! He has the ability and the heart necessary to be a hero and save the world, but if he doesn't learn to channel the ability in a productive way, he may very well destroy the world he so desperately wants to save.
Okay, what does all this have to do with me? I have absorbed a steady diet of theology in recent years, theology that many people in traditional mindsets might deem dangerous. As my mind has been challenged by new thoughts on what it means to be Christian and the importance of the kingdom of God, I have found many of my original presuppositions about God and theology have been challenged. All the while, as I'm learning to own my religious beliefs, I sometimes have to wrestle between ideas I once held that no longer work for me and ideas I believe are true, yet still have a difficulty accepting with confidence. I have learned the the world is not all black and white, nor is it gray. There is a certain beauty to living in color, i.e. being willing to admit that we simply do not know everything!
Since much of this wrestling with God and theology has taken place while I had been working and doing church in a traditional environment, I believe I created a Censor out of necessity. As Peter initially tried to suppress his dangerous abilities, I have suppressed my own voice hoping not to offend others. As Peter's abilities gave him the opportunity to save the world and also the potential to explode and hurt the creation, I feel my voice may offer healing to some and yet may seem to be explosive to others.
I have decided to lift the Censor.
I have decided to allow my voice to be heard.
I have decided to share my deepest fears.
I have decided to share my journey.
Else, I might explode.
Read more!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Thursday, May 01, 2008
An Open Prayer For Our Enemies
Almighty, loving and gracious Lord, we're here to pray for our enemies. With you as our model, we know that we must end the vicious cycle of returning violence with violence, offense with offense, hatred with hatred, spite with spite. We must turn the other cheek, as you did.
Lord, sometimes it's difficult to do this, to lay down our pain and frustrations at the altar of peace, but because your Word tells us not only to forgive our enemies, but also to pray for their welfare, we are here to offer a prayer.
We pray for our personal enemies. We pray that you transform our enemies by lavishing your love upon them. Help us to see our enemies through your eyes. Help us to see the beauty you have bestowed upon your creations. Help us to see the image of God that is present in their DNA.
We pray for the enemies of our nation. As contrary as it feels to our sense of justice, we pray that you break into the lives of the nations, rulers and even the terrorists that have caused so much pain and destruction in our world. Jesus, love them, as only you know how to love. Change them. Overtake them with your gracious love. Gracious Lord, transform our enemies before our very eyes.
Finally, we pray for ourselves. At times we can be our own worst enemies, when we allow our own interests to get in the way of your perfect plan for our lives. At times we can be our own worst enemies when we assert authority and deny you Lordship over our lives. At times we can be our own worst enemies when we allow sin a stranglehold over our lives.
We pray that you transform us, so that we look like the loving, holy and gracious people you have asked us to be. Lord, today we pray for our enemies, all our enemies. And we seek transformation in every case. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those of our enemies, as hard as that is to do.
We pray all of these things in your name. Amen. Read more!
Lord, sometimes it's difficult to do this, to lay down our pain and frustrations at the altar of peace, but because your Word tells us not only to forgive our enemies, but also to pray for their welfare, we are here to offer a prayer.
We pray for our personal enemies. We pray that you transform our enemies by lavishing your love upon them. Help us to see our enemies through your eyes. Help us to see the beauty you have bestowed upon your creations. Help us to see the image of God that is present in their DNA.
We pray for the enemies of our nation. As contrary as it feels to our sense of justice, we pray that you break into the lives of the nations, rulers and even the terrorists that have caused so much pain and destruction in our world. Jesus, love them, as only you know how to love. Change them. Overtake them with your gracious love. Gracious Lord, transform our enemies before our very eyes.
Finally, we pray for ourselves. At times we can be our own worst enemies, when we allow our own interests to get in the way of your perfect plan for our lives. At times we can be our own worst enemies when we assert authority and deny you Lordship over our lives. At times we can be our own worst enemies when we allow sin a stranglehold over our lives.
We pray that you transform us, so that we look like the loving, holy and gracious people you have asked us to be. Lord, today we pray for our enemies, all our enemies. And we seek transformation in every case. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those of our enemies, as hard as that is to do.
We pray all of these things in your name. Amen. Read more!
Friday, April 18, 2008
An Ethical Dialogue Between Jesus and Uncle Sam
“Are you gonna join my revolution?” Jesus asked.
“What revolution?” Uncle Sam replied, adjusting his very patriotic top hat.
“We need a new way of doing things. We need love and peace, not war and commerce.”
“You have guns then?”
“It’s hard to fight for peace with a weapon in your hand. We turn the other cheek instead.”
“You can’t change the world without guns. What are you gonna do, ask heads of governments politely to step down?”
“We disobey civilly.”
“You’ll end up in jail.” Uncle Sam chuckled, knowingly, “Or worse yet on a cross.”
“Without honest folks to challenge bad laws, there will never be justice.”
“You can’t just pick and choose which laws to obey and which to disregard. Be reasonable.”
“What’s reasonable about the rich and powerful hoarding everything while everyone else starves?”
“They wouldn’t be starving if they knew what was good for them. What they really need is to work harder, pull themselves up. They need a good idea.”
“What about compassion? Is that a good enough idea for you?”
“I rather prefer freedom.” (For a running commentary of the discussion click on the read more link)
This relatively brief discussion is the result of my furtive imagination mingling with challenging books I've been reading lately like Jesus for President that detail how Jesus' message was not only religious, but also very political in nature. Sometimes I wonder if emperor worship still exists, albeit in a slightly different context than in the Roman Empire. We don't worship our President, but maybe we worship certain ideals that are in the best interest of America, but run contrary to many of Jesus' teachings.
Take this for example, we seem to believe in fighting fire with fire. Take the 'War on Terror.' It certainly seems to run absolutely contrary to 'Turning the other cheek.' Retributive violence only leads to more retributive violence. When will we end the cycle? The more you go after terrorists and kill innocent people in the process, the more new terrorists will rise with perhaps even more fervent hatred.
And yet, if you're honest, turning the other cheek seems like an ineffective answer to violence. How does allowing a prize fighter to strike you again and again offer any defense? I must ask myself, if Jesus were President of America as He is Lord of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, would he lead us into wars, however just? In his life, he certainly championed such concepts as humility, love, forgiveness and compassion. And yet, there is certainly some biblical imagery of war, Armageddon included.
Is there such thing as a just war? I hate the thought of senseless violence over borders and imaginary lines, but sometimes war might be just. If nobody stood up to Hitler, for example, what would the world be today?
I believe the war Christians should take place in is a war against injustice in the world. It is a war not fought with tanks and tomahawk missiles, but rather with love and compassion. Stop worshipping the almighty dollar and start giving to the poor, fighting poverty and disease wherever it might be found, here or abroad.
Jesus, after all, said this when John the Baptist sent messengers to ask him if he was the messiah or not, justifying his ministry and the kingdom of heaven on earth: "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
Read more!
“What revolution?” Uncle Sam replied, adjusting his very patriotic top hat.
“We need a new way of doing things. We need love and peace, not war and commerce.”
“You have guns then?”
“It’s hard to fight for peace with a weapon in your hand. We turn the other cheek instead.”
“You can’t change the world without guns. What are you gonna do, ask heads of governments politely to step down?”
“We disobey civilly.”
“You’ll end up in jail.” Uncle Sam chuckled, knowingly, “Or worse yet on a cross.”
“Without honest folks to challenge bad laws, there will never be justice.”
“You can’t just pick and choose which laws to obey and which to disregard. Be reasonable.”
“What’s reasonable about the rich and powerful hoarding everything while everyone else starves?”
“They wouldn’t be starving if they knew what was good for them. What they really need is to work harder, pull themselves up. They need a good idea.”
“What about compassion? Is that a good enough idea for you?”
“I rather prefer freedom.” (For a running commentary of the discussion click on the read more link)
This relatively brief discussion is the result of my furtive imagination mingling with challenging books I've been reading lately like Jesus for President that detail how Jesus' message was not only religious, but also very political in nature. Sometimes I wonder if emperor worship still exists, albeit in a slightly different context than in the Roman Empire. We don't worship our President, but maybe we worship certain ideals that are in the best interest of America, but run contrary to many of Jesus' teachings.
Take this for example, we seem to believe in fighting fire with fire. Take the 'War on Terror.' It certainly seems to run absolutely contrary to 'Turning the other cheek.' Retributive violence only leads to more retributive violence. When will we end the cycle? The more you go after terrorists and kill innocent people in the process, the more new terrorists will rise with perhaps even more fervent hatred.
And yet, if you're honest, turning the other cheek seems like an ineffective answer to violence. How does allowing a prize fighter to strike you again and again offer any defense? I must ask myself, if Jesus were President of America as He is Lord of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, would he lead us into wars, however just? In his life, he certainly championed such concepts as humility, love, forgiveness and compassion. And yet, there is certainly some biblical imagery of war, Armageddon included.
Is there such thing as a just war? I hate the thought of senseless violence over borders and imaginary lines, but sometimes war might be just. If nobody stood up to Hitler, for example, what would the world be today?
I believe the war Christians should take place in is a war against injustice in the world. It is a war not fought with tanks and tomahawk missiles, but rather with love and compassion. Stop worshipping the almighty dollar and start giving to the poor, fighting poverty and disease wherever it might be found, here or abroad.
Jesus, after all, said this when John the Baptist sent messengers to ask him if he was the messiah or not, justifying his ministry and the kingdom of heaven on earth: "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
Read more!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Be the Gift
Actor, comedian, radio show host, Steve Harvey was a guest on the Steven A. Smith radio show yesterday. The discussion was about black athletes in general, more specifically, whether they should pursue education over athletics or vice versa. I loved how Steve Harvey answered the question. He explained that when he was growing up his greatest dream was to be an NBA star, but unfortunately he was not talented enough to realize his dream. He further explained, a lot of people advise youth to follow their dreams or pursue what they are most passionate about, but if you don’t have the right giftedness no matter how passionate you are chances are you won’t succeed.
For instance, the NBA has 28 teams, each with 12 roster spots, a total of 336 spots. Going further, many of those 336 spots are not open to a tryout, if you will. For instance, no reasonable person thinks they will tryout and beat Kobe Bryant or Lebron James out of his roster spot. The vast majority of college ball players will not even earn a bench seat in the NBA.
“That is why I tell people who call in to my show trying to get discovered as the next hot singer or comedian, ‘You have to marry your passion to the gift.”
Priceless advice.
I’m constantly trying to discover what my students love doing and to encourage them to pursue their dreams, but I now realize that whenever I give advice I must urge my youth to temper their passion with their giftedness. Instead of following our unbridled passion in search of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, a quick payday, or a life under the spotlight, we should seek to discover what particular talents and abilities God created in us and become passionate about using those gifts.
We have the God-given ability to make the world a better place simply by being our true selves. If we are in the exact place God has created for us, we will bless the lives of everyone with whom we come into contact. The challenge is, of course, to reflect upon ourselves and upon Jesus so we can discover the role God has given us in His great story of redemption.
Read more!
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Nothing But Net
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. That classic line sums up my feelings about the time I spent in Waco, Texas while I was in seminary. As the cool breeze ruffles through my hair, I step toward Truett Seminary, my mind twirling through the memories. It was in Waco that I met some of my best friends, but it was also in Waco that I spent some of my loneliest hours. It was in Waco that my wife and I spent many formative hours forging out our wonderful relationship, but it was also in Waco that I allowed a prior painful relationship to linger far too long. It was in Waco that I wrestled with God and it was in Waco that seminary classes broke down my beliefs and then allowed them to be rebuilt, remolded and reformed until I became the person and the minister that I am today.
I carry the weight of reverie as I sit down in the chapel and await the start of the Truett Winter Pastor’s Conference. The keynote speaker, Calvin Miller, delivers an interesting sermon centering upon some of the last words of Christ, “My father, my father why have you forsaken me?”
The sermon weaves in and out of moments of desperation. Miller chooses his words carefully and skillfully delivers them to an audience full of ministers and ministers in training. What stands out is the image of a trapeze artist who falls safely into a net. Pastors, Miller informs us, have chosen to isolate ourselves from our communities. We have removed our safety net. We have chosen not to divulge our greatest fears, struggles and failures to our communities out of fear that if we do not appear to be superhuman we will be rejected.
Miller recounts a story of when a member of his church took him aside before a worship service and said, “Do you see the crowd upstairs?” Miller interjects pointedly, “That was his way of saying there was no crowd.”
“You know how to start churches, but you sure can’t add membership,” the church member informed him. “You need to leave this church so we can grow.”
Miller considered stepping down, but instead, after receiving counsel from a friend, decided to be open and blunt with his congregation. “You have not treated me and my family well over the past year and you should pray about your attitude toward my family,” he said through bitter tears.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
The congregation was moved to tears as they repented. Twenty years later the man who attacked him was no longer a part of the church, but Miller and his family were still there and the church had grown to 3,000. Miller encourages a room full of ministers, a room full of cynics, to not live double lives. We are not superhuman. We must rely on God in the moments of rejection, in the moments of agony, in the moments of extreme loneliness. We must be transparent; we must allow church members to see our scars. Otherwise, someday we won't be able to carry the weight any longer and we will plummet toward the earth and crash because there is no net to catch us.
Read more!
I carry the weight of reverie as I sit down in the chapel and await the start of the Truett Winter Pastor’s Conference. The keynote speaker, Calvin Miller, delivers an interesting sermon centering upon some of the last words of Christ, “My father, my father why have you forsaken me?”
The sermon weaves in and out of moments of desperation. Miller chooses his words carefully and skillfully delivers them to an audience full of ministers and ministers in training. What stands out is the image of a trapeze artist who falls safely into a net. Pastors, Miller informs us, have chosen to isolate ourselves from our communities. We have removed our safety net. We have chosen not to divulge our greatest fears, struggles and failures to our communities out of fear that if we do not appear to be superhuman we will be rejected.
Miller recounts a story of when a member of his church took him aside before a worship service and said, “Do you see the crowd upstairs?” Miller interjects pointedly, “That was his way of saying there was no crowd.”
“You know how to start churches, but you sure can’t add membership,” the church member informed him. “You need to leave this church so we can grow.”
Miller considered stepping down, but instead, after receiving counsel from a friend, decided to be open and blunt with his congregation. “You have not treated me and my family well over the past year and you should pray about your attitude toward my family,” he said through bitter tears.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
The congregation was moved to tears as they repented. Twenty years later the man who attacked him was no longer a part of the church, but Miller and his family were still there and the church had grown to 3,000. Miller encourages a room full of ministers, a room full of cynics, to not live double lives. We are not superhuman. We must rely on God in the moments of rejection, in the moments of agony, in the moments of extreme loneliness. We must be transparent; we must allow church members to see our scars. Otherwise, someday we won't be able to carry the weight any longer and we will plummet toward the earth and crash because there is no net to catch us.
Read more!
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