adam.riggins

This past Sunday, a pastor of a local church here in Atlanta preached a sermon entitled “We’re Sorry” that was all about apologizing to various people groups, including homosexuals and abortion patients. The reasoning is that a lot of times, Christians tend to be a bit judgmental of other folks, despite the fact that none of us are perfect. This pastor understands that he is just as imperfect as the next person, therefore having no right to judge anyone. This quote jumps out most at me:

“For a long time, we’ve been known for the social issues we’re against, instead of the God that we’re for,”

This is so true, and it needs to be a wake-up call to those of us who claim to follow Jesus. It is a lot easier to let everyone know what we are against, but what we need to be doing is letting people know about the God that we are for. A God who can change lives! Sure, it’s harder, but if we would do that, people would want to listen.

I hope other churches follow this guy’s lead. People deserve that apology.

Read the story

People can be pretty passionate about their religious beliefs. So, it is not surprising that at least a few famous wars have resulted from disagreements about religion. However, is it true what Sam Harris says that our tendency to slaughter each other “generally have their roots in religion?”

read more | digg story

I just saw these over at The Plow.

My first reaction was “Wow, that is pretty extreme”.  But then I thought about it.  Jesus, who knew he was about to be crucified for his revolutionary beliefs, was telling this to a group of people who had lived under a great deal of persecution.  What a revolutionary message back then, but perhaps even more so now.  This means that we are to love Hitler, Osama, and everyone else who thrives on hatred.  That is a tough pill to swallow, but if you are a Christian, it is something you are called to do.

Just imagine for a second if everyone actually did this.  The world would be changed forever in an amazing way!

What are your thoughts?

Christianity Today interviewed Barack Obama recently, and the interview revealed his true colors about where he stands spiritually. I really respect this guy. From the interview:

“I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian. I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that that faith gives me a path to be cleansed of sin and have eternal life. But most importantly, I believe in the example that Jesus set by feeding the hungry and healing the sick and always prioritizing the least of these over the powerful.”

I get the feeling that he has a string faith that is real, but he is not using it as a tool for political advancement. I respect that a lot. Using your faith as a political tool is something that cheapens the power of the Cross.

Read the interview.

I don’t mean Christianity.

What I am referring to in the title is the empty religious things we do for no reason whatsoever besides the fact that a long time ago, someone sat down and decided we should do them. And also maybe to hide ourselves. Some examples:

1. In church today, we had to “stand for the reading of God’s Word”. I am all for giving respect where respect is due, but does that mean that when I am at home reading Scripture, that I should stand all the time? Why on Sunday in church and not any other time?

2. It has been said in my church that if you are in a leadership position at the church, then you need to make sure you dress up on Sunday. For that matter, a lot of people think they have to dress up on Sunday just to go to church. Why is that? When God sees me, he sees a naked, sinful man. That is how he sees all of us since that is our nature. “Dressing up” for God seems so superficial since he sees through our feeble attempts to look nice. Would wearing pajamas or flip-flops be offensive to Him? It’s closer to how I really look.

3. I sometimes feel like people I see on Sundays in church are there to check the “God thing” off of the list. Everyone smiles, no one has any problems. Life is perfect with the 2.5 kids,white picket fence, and the safe neighborhood. The reality is that many families or individuals have a great deal of problems they struggle with constantly, but we, and I do include myself here at times, do our best to hide our sin and struggles.

I think Casting Crowns said it best:

Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today feelin’ so small

Cause when I take a look around
Everybody seems so strong
I know they’ll soon discover
That I don’t belong

So I tuck it all away, like everything’s okay
If I make them all believe it, maybe I’ll believe it too
So with a painted grin, I play the part again
So everyone will see me the way that I see them

Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain
But if the invitation’s open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

Is there anyone who’s been there
Are there any hands to raise
Am I the only one who’s traded
In the altar for a stage

The performance is convincing
And we know every line by heart
Only when no one is watching
Can we really fall apart

Religion is what causes an unbelieving world to be just that.  They see us as acting “religious” and perfect, only to blatantly go against it later on.   I guess what I am getting at here is that a lot of us try to hide behind religion and religious things a lot so we don’t have to confront the very sin that we are living in. What would happen if we invited Jesus in to break through the superficiality of our lives? Would it set us free? I think so.

Relationship, not religion.  That’s what I say.

Let me start off by saying that these people are not Christian. Anyone who acts on hatred like this group is clearly against the love that Jesus taught.

As you probably know, the actor Heath Ledger passed away yesterday unexpectedly. He was a great actor, a daddy, and apparently a really good guy. Well, because he played a gay cowboy in Brokeback Mountain, the Westboro Baptist “Church” in Kansas is going to be picketing at his funeral. This is the group that thinks that if you are gay, you are going to Hell. This picture is a flyer that is going around promoting this (click to enlarge).

Does this make anyone else’s blood boil? How can you claim to be a church of the Christian faith, while at the same time judging someone so harshly to the point of condemning them to hell? Jesus said to love everyone- those who love you and those you don’t. How do they feel about people who have been divorced? Alcoholics? Anyone else who has ever sinned?

To any non-Christians out there, please see this as some wackos claiming to be something they are clearly not.

And Heath, we’ll miss you.

I just read an article on Fox News that really has me sad and disappointed. First off, the article:
—

Baptist Convention Expels North Carolina Church for Welcoming Gays

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Delegates to the Baptist State Convention have voted overwhelmingly to expel a Charlotte church for welcoming gays and lesbians without trying to change them.Myers Park Baptist Church became the first to be kicked out under rules passed at last year’s meeting. Those rules say any Baptist church that affirmed or endorsed homosexual behavior would be considered not to be cooperating with the convention.

The vote by the nearly 3,000 delegates came after two of the church’s leaders called on them to open their hearts to homosexuals who want to worship with them and to respect local autonomy in interpreting the Bible.

But convention president Allan Blume told the meeting that the Bible calls on believers to turn away from sin. He also suggested that Myers Park Baptist was mostly interested in seeking publicity for its views, not in trying to work within the Baptist State Convention.

Source: Fox News

—-

What bothers me here is how Blume says that the Bible calls us to turn from sin. Yes, that is correct, but at the same time, we ALL have sin that we either struggle with or have become so accustomed to that we forget it is sin. With that line of thought, the church should be turning everyone away. What about the alcoholic? The divorcee?

I guess that as a Christian, I am tired of Christianity that is so harsh in judging others for not being absolutely perfect. That is what is making the church less and less relevant to the world as days go by, and we need to turn it around. We need to be preaching a Gospel of love that says that no matter what, there is nothing that “w

ill be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).

This came through the ol’ email inbox this morning, and it got me thinking. First off, some Scripture:

Oh, what joy for those
whose disobedience is forgiven,
whose sin is put out of sight!
Yes, what joy for those
whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,^[b]
whose lives are lived in complete honesty!

When I refused to confess my sin,
my body wasted away,
and I groaned all day long.
Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.
My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.

Finally, I confessed all my sins to you
and stopped trying to hide my guilt.
I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”
And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.

Psalm 32:1-5

Maybe it’s just me (and obviously David, who wrote this), but when you are doing something you just know is wrong, you always have this feeling in the back of your head that makes your stomach turn. You know, the “holy crap, I hope no one finds out” feeling. I have certainly been there, and it got to the point where I was pretending that it did not exist, even in talking to God. The thing is, that “holy crap” feeling became worse and worse, to the point where sometimes it seemed unbearable. It wasn’t until everything came to light and I was forced to be honest with God (and others) that the burden of sin was lifted off of my shoulders, and it became more of a peaceful feeling. Like David in this passage, the confession is such a freeing thing, especially knowing that we have a God that forgives us no matter what. All of your guilt is gone!