Justin Gentry's Blog

Quick thoughts on Free Will

2008-03-30T12:58:00.002-04:00

I have been thinking alot about free will lately. For most of my life I have believed that I am in charge of my choices and I have been endowed by my creator to do as I please and hope that it pleases Him as well. Lately I have begun to question whether I am free at all and maybe I am influenced by more than the "essential Justin" living inside my skull.

I can't escape that I am influenced by my family, especially my parents. My parents divorced when I was five and it has colored my life in both tragic and hopeful shades that I am just beginning to unravel. I would like to believe that my faith in Christ was a decision I made on my lonesome and I now "own" my faith but the rhetoric is failing. I owe my family and friends my faith more that myself.

I am influenced by world events that I can't control. If September 11th has not colored your view of the world then you have lived under a rock for the last 7 years. If you do live under a rock and you are somehow reading this then I guarantee that you live under a rock for reasons that are outside yourself. You made the choice but you were influenced more than either of us realise.

I can't escape my peers opinions. Most likely if I buy a shirt at the store and my wife thinks it is dorky I will not wear it. Or I will were it just to prove to her it is not dorky. Even my decision to buy the shirt is influenced by mass marketing and how cool the guy in the picture looks when he has it on.

How do I escape these influences? Should I? I think they are there for a reason. I am still trying to figure it out.

Travel Log: Brown County

2008-03-02T22:58:00.003-05:00

The whole Bed and Breakfast thing is quite alien to me. You go to someones home and you stay there and then they make you breakfast. I always thought it was a cute idea, quaint actually but it was never something that I considered doing.

When my boss gave Linds and I a free stay at The Allison House in Nashville IN I liked the idea but I was a touch hesitant. I have never been one to turn down a chance for adventure (especially if it is free) but weekend time is precious time and you have to spend it wisely. With hope in our hearts we packed up our bags and headed south for the weekend and were pleasantly surprised. Brown county was quite beautiful despite it being late winter (I suppose if you were and optimist it is early spring). Nashville is full of the artsy local color that Brown County is known for. It sports a plethora of arts and crafts (genuine custom leather wristbands $5 baby!), the nations smallest movie theater and is minutes from Brown County State Park. The Allison House is a charming little place in the heart of Nashville. Jeff and September were great hosts and the conversation at the breakfast table was lots of fun. Its location makes it a great home base to launch out and enjoy what Brown County has to offer.

I would not recommend going in the off season simply because there is not as much to do but either way as quick weekend getaways go I still give in 4 out of 5 stars.

Thinking of writing again

2008-02-27T21:41:00.002-05:00

Ok so I have been horrible at updating and thinking. The mundane has really been dragging me down this last year and I have not had the energy/discipline/desire to write anything in quite a while. Call it writers block with a mix of mild depression and constant moving. Linds and I realized the other day that since marriage we have moved around once every six months and in this last year we moved 3 times officially and a road trip or two in between there. It was a blast but in the end it we mostly escapism.

So here I am in front of the computer again in an apartment that is starting to feel like home and in a mid Lent epiphany I realized that I want and need to start writing again. I am going to change the format a bit...I might even change the location but from here on out I am going to be writing alot more. Some insights, some poetry, some drek about what I had for breakfast...either way I am going to be here more often.

Hearing God and being a pastor

2007-12-08T15:12:00.000-05:00

“Only when we have ourselves absorbed its (The Word’s) message can we confidently share it with others” -John Stott Between Two Worlds

In the past I thought I reflected the Word to others pretty well. Any and every lesson I learned was neatly packaged and marketed. God's Word was spoken well but rarely absorbed into my life. I was a mirror without a sense of itself and a sponge that never got wet. I can remember times sharing in college and as a youth pastor and in the middle of a sentence that annoying still small voice would whisper, “Do you really believe this?” Naturally I would ignore this voice and go on with my message.

Doctor’s often ignore their symptoms and believe they can’t be sick and I think that the same can be true of pastors. I am not sure if it was the pressure to perform and uphold my reputation. Maybe I am just not good at planning ahead but rarely did I allow my messages affect me first. Even during times of self reflection and personal study, when God would speak to me I would quickly divert it into an idea for a message. I am left wondering that in around 3+ years of ministry have I grown at all. Have I just not allowed God to touch me?

As of right now I am not in the ministry in an official capacity i.e. paid. I am seeing this as a time to do some much needed study. Not for a message or to even share my fascinating revelations with everyone I see. I want to be absorbed by God for God’s sake not for my rep or my paycheck. I am so guilty of using God to make me look good and that could quite possibly be the reason that I have not heard from God in longer than I care to admit. I now believe that some of this silence could be due to the fact that His most important lessons I have not kept quietly to myself.

Indianapolis

2007-08-21T17:33:00.000-04:00

After alot of thinking and reading and mental debate Linds and I have decided on a graduate school. We looked everywhere from George Fox in Portland OR to Denver Seminary in CO and Azusa in southern California. We debated and numbercrunched and prayed our guts out and in the end we decided...on IWU. I know what you are thinking. Why in the world would you go crawling back to the university that you did your undergrad in? I had some nice sounding reasons prepared but when it comes down to it it was about the money. I can get a Ministerial Leadership/Non-profi managment degree for about a third less that any of those other places. For a person who is planning on working and managing nonprofit organizations that was an offer i couldn't refuse. So Linds and I are looking for jobs in Indy and hoping to start school this november. It was a little hard to give up my dreams of living in the Pacific Northwest but this is definatly the best decision for us and we are pumped to live near so many friends.

We also just finished a month long road trip that started in Charleston SC and wound its way through Chicago, Montana, Yellowstone, and Denver. It was a blast! A good chunck of the trip we journeyed with Nate and Jenny Richardson. It was good to be with friends again.

I am planning on posting my reflections on this trip here soon. Wish us luck on the job search and see pics on Facebook

Justin and Lindsay

Discipline

2007-06-27T11:18:00.000-04:00

Discipline always out of reach
It must be how they preach
How can I love more than me?
Enough to take the tree

Coldness of soul, desires heat
Content to hide behind veil and sheet
Tries to dig a little deeper
Sadly prefers the grace that comes cheaper

Reinventing Divinity

2007-06-27T11:07:00.000-04:00

Jesus was too secular
So the saying goes
Such a thought spectacular
The right side says it knows

"Make Jesus sacred more and more
Wine meant grapejuice you see
Loving Him should be a chore
Cause He came to set you free"

Settling in Greenville

2007-04-19T23:35:00.000-04:00

Sorry it has been so long since my last update. I can't think of any really good excuses so I will just use the standard, "We are busy." Things in Greenville are good. The weather is great but the locals think it is cold (what kind of wimps think that 60 is cold...Southern Softies).

Linds got a job at a local Starbucks (and surprisingly does not like it) I am working at the local Rib joint/blues bar Sticky Fingers(and surprisingly am loving it). No real word on Grad Schools yet. We are beginning a season of prayer for this...please keep praying for us.

Personally, I have really been wrestling with God and what it means to be called by Him. Nothing new there. Linds and I both just want to follow Jesus.

Keep Praying,

Love you all,

J + L

Leaving Whiteford

2007-02-26T10:16:00.000-05:00

After 2 years of ministry Lindsay and I have decided to submit my resignation to Whiteford Wesleyan Church. We have had a great experience and have made some great friends but we feel strongly that God has called us elsewhere. We are excited, scared, releaved, nervious and a host of other feelings but we have an undeniable peace about the whole thing. We are sure we are doing the right thing, we are just not sure what the next thing is.

Please pray for us:

Pay stops March 4th and the plan is to move in with Linds parents and work while seeking grad schools. This is really humbling and a blow to my overinflated sense of self worth. I love Ma and Pa Miller but moving in with parents sometimes feels like defeat. Pray that I can have a healthy attitude about it and that we can use this time to be refreshed and ready for where God leads us next.

We need direction and peace about the next step. We are 100% sure we need to leave Whiteford and move to SC but it gets pretty foggy after that. We need to be freed from the shackles of having to see 5 and 6 steps ahead and be ok with waiting for God to direct and speak in his time.

We are actively looking for graduate schools but cannot settle on a field of study. Do we both get a degree? What kind? How long? Sacred (MDiv, Counseling etc.) or Secular (Writing, Business, Film)? The list goes on and on.

Thanks for your prayers,

Justin and Lindsay

God is crazy

2007-02-23T09:34:00.000-05:00

“To whom much is given much is required” – Jesus Christ according to Luke

This phrase haunts me. I don’t think any other teaching of Jesus scares me more. As an American I have been given more wealth and opportunity than most people in history…what am I doing with it? As a mentally sane person (relatively) I have been blessed with intelligence and reasoning skills that some can only dream of…what am I doing with it? As a…well you get the picture. If I look at all I have been blessed with there really is no excuse for me not the achieve God’s wildest dreams for me.

God’s dreams are scary. When he called Moses, Moses was scared. When he asked Abraham to sacrifice is only son Isaac I am sure he felt knots and butterflies all the way up the mountain…imagine how Isaac felt about it. Jesus sweated drops of blood before he was executed. When we look at what God was asking of these people and apply it to “rational” thought we come to the conclusion that God is in fact crazy.

I think that we sell ourselves short when we seek to achieve our dreams because our dreams are too small. We tend to dream things that we can achieve just in case God does not come through for us. We call it “practical” but in reality it is atheism because we are living life like there is no God. We have been given so much yet we hold so much back in the name of reason (from the human point of view). What if we began to dream dreams that are destined to fail if God does not show up? That might make us crazy but I also believe that it makes us godly.
Following God is not for the faint of heart. If we cherish safety and comfort more than obedience we will be disappointed and I believe that God will then be disappointed in us. I don’t think it was ever meant to be easy. I think that it is supposed to be impossible. We then have to depend on a God who is crazy enough to specialize in the impossible.

For some further reading see Luke 12: 35-48 and 19: 11-27

Talk Amongst Yourselves J

Reconsidering the essentials

2007-01-12T10:04:00.000-05:00

As most of you know (from previous articles) Lindsay and I have a lot of stuff. We are in the process of downsizing so moving is not such a pain. Everyone has to do it from time to time. You sift through your stuff, throw out what you have not worn in a while, replace or forget and repeat. One hundred years ago people would have said that you needed, food, shelter, heat, and clothes. Now we say you need entertainment, style, gift cards, and music. None of which will keep you alive or sustain you at all!

We seem stuck in an endless cycle. We start with the essentials and begin accumulating till the closet, floor and budget can’t hold anymore and then we purge only to begin again. It is like material bulimia. It feels good to own stuff and it feels good to own so much that you can through it out. We have actually begun to reconsider our move into a house. Did we do it for the right reasons or only because we had accumulated so much junk we needed space to hold it? We actually miss apartment living because you had to actually make decisions about what you allow in the home and what you do without because you can’t hold it.

We were talking about all this stuff over coffee and I began to feel very guilty. I could not really explain why until I began to see that this cycle has had me in its grip for years and it is more than just material. I do this to Christ all the time.

At its heart following Christ is about life and living as opposed to death and unliving (see/read Philip K. Dick’s A Scanner Darkly for an interesting dichotomy between living and unliving). Simple choices made day by day to follow God in the form of Jesus. We make it about so much more. We make it about looks, “Do I look and act Christian enough”, music “Did you get the new “prom songs” to Jesus album?” or voting “Vote Christian, Vote Republican” and a host of other crap that is associated with Jesus but is certainly not essential. It is time for a purge.

What kind of associated junk have we given Jesus that was never essential? Here is my list, what do you think?

Consumerism: “Jesus wants you to have health, wealth, and prosperity.” As I read it Jesus had nothing. Paul had nothing. Job had something and it was all taken away. Same story with Moses and Elisha. “The love of money is the root of all evil.” I can’t stand it when I hear that Jesus wants me to be rich. I like money and possessions and they are not evil in and of themselves but I am not sure they would be the aspirations of your prayer life.

Style: “The pope may be French but Jesus Christ was English!” A silly quote from a silly time but we are still arguing the same junk. One side says we should have Hymns and the other Choruses. Some even say they have scripture to prove which is right. People in my generation whine and pine in house churches and the old folks sit in the pew and get older. Can we please get over it? Jesus was in his 30’s but found it in himself to reach out and give responsibility to 15 year olds. He also drank wine and he might have even danced. Stuffy stick-up-your-butt services and cybered up techno worship he neither endorsed nor condemned. Sometimes we miss “worship in Spirit and in Truth.”

Partisanship: “If you want to be elected you need a cross around your neck.” Jesus has turned into a brand name and a catchphrase. You have to admit that he was political. He said some very hot political statements but he was never partisan. In many ways he pissed off all political parties off equally, which made him a hero to the poor and the oppressed. If he were around today he would be the only person who could get a Democrat, Republican, Green, Libertarian, and Islamo-Facist to agree on anything…they would all want to kill him.

I am sure that it could go on for a while but I don’t want this to be an indictment of the system or the “whine and pine” I mentioned before. I want this to tickle your thinker so we can begin to undress our religion and embrace our faith. What are some things that we have bound to Jesus that need to be loosed? What are some things we have done away with that you would like to see back?

Talk amongst yourselves

Number 28

2006-11-20T14:47:00.000-05:00

Lindsay and I have a lot of stuff. I am not going to say who has more but I will say that our closets are bursting and our garage is getting there. Sometimes we look around and think, “Why do we need so much junk?” And that is really what it is. Do two people (or a family of five for that matter) need over twenty coffee mugs? Do we need a huge clunky entertainment center? Not really, but we like to own stuff anyway. I think that is why verses like those in Matthew 5 really jar our American sensibilities. “Blessed are the poor! No way! I need my stuff!”

In the Bible those who posses little seem to be held in higher esteem that those who are rich. Most of you will remember the story of the Rich Young Ruler who was asked to sell all he had in order to follow Jesus and it solidifies the point. Some even go so far as to believe that God does not want us to have money at all (well at least we think no one is allowed to have more money that us.J) In another story Abraham was given a promise. He was promised a son. Not just any son but a son who would be a part of God’s redemptive work in this world. When this son was born Abraham loved him dearly. He loved him more than anything else in this world, almost more so than the God who gave him the son in the first place. I cannot imagine how crushed Abraham must have felt when God asked him to sacrifice his son, his only son who he dearly loved, on an altar. We don’t know if he knew that God would stop him at the last minute. We only know that he willingly and agonizingly obeyed God and gave up possession of his child.

Would you sacrifice that thing you dearly love if God required you to? Most of us would have a serious problem giving up our DVD collection or iPod let alone our firstborn. I think the secret of the poor in spirit is found in holding our plans and possessions, even our very life loosely. Once we understand all is a gift from God and that we truly own nothing; that is when we have the capacity to own everything. We don’t like this idea because it crushes the American idol to the “Self made man.” Godly courage and sacrifice takes a different form. G. K. Chesterton said, “He who would find his life must loose it, is not some piece of mysticism for saints and heroes. It is a piece of everyday advice for sailors and mountaineers…. A man cut off by the sea may save his life if he will risk it on the precipice. He can only get away from death by continually stepping within an inch of it. A soldier surrounded by enemies, if he is to cut his way out, needs to combine a strong desire to live with a strange carelessness about dying. He must not merely cling to live, for then he will be a coward, and will not escape. He must not merely wait for death, for he will be a suicide, and will not escape. He must seek his life with a furious indifference to it; he must desire life like water and yet drink death like wine.”

Talk amongst yourselves J

Further thoughts: Genesis 22, Matthew 5, John 12 and The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer

Gnostic Stuff

2006-10-24T13:22:00.000-04:00

By now, most everyone has heard of The DaVinci Code. We have already debated on the difference between what is fact and what is fiction. The question I want to ask is, “Why is the DaVinci Code so popular?”

Around the 2nd century began a heresy called Gnosticism. In large part it focuses, much like The DaVinci Code, on secrets. They say that the Disciples covered up who Jesus really was in their writing of the Gospels. One of the secrets that Gnostics think they have uncovered is the idea that the world is a nasty and dark place and that we must escape it. That is not Biblical Christianity.

As I read the Gospels (Mathew, Mark, Luke and John) I find that they are very much about saving the world and not about escaping it. I see them talking over and over again about the coming New Heaven and New Earth and the availability of those things here and now. The Gospels mark out the way to live in the New Creation Christ has set up with his Death, Resurrection and Ascension. For some reason the message is lost that we are living in the New Creation right now.

I believe The DaVinci Code is so popular because we do not want to believe that the world can be better. Humanity has a deep desire to escape from the hard things of this world. We like to sing the “Gnostic” Hymn, “This Earth is not my home I’m just a passin’ through…” while patting ourselves on the back for how Christian we are. When given a choice between fighting for this world and fleeing from it we usually run away from its problems and our destiny as image bearers for the New Kingdom. That brings me to my real point; the Left Behind Series. Left Behind, with its obsession with secrets, decoding the “end times” and belief that we must escape this world, appears to be a clear indicator about how deep Gnosticism has crept into the Church. Where are some other places you can see its influence? Do you disagree? Why?

Thoughts on the Kingdom

2006-09-25T11:33:00.000-04:00

“For a group to be successful their goal must be more important than any individual’s goal”

Christ came to build a kingdom. You can’t get around it. Even a shallow glance at the New Testament will show us that Jesus’ main mission was to build the Kingdom of God. He said, “Turn from your sins (literally: change your mind about sinning) because the Kingdom of Heaven is open.” Almost every parable begins with, “The Kingdom of God is like…” He talks about it over 60 times!

It is obvious that the Kingdom is important to Jesus. He spent His short time on earth dedicated to it. He even died for it. He believed that a time was coming, and in some places had already come, where people really would love their enemies, pray for those who oppress them and be perfect as the Heavenly Father was. I find it interesting that we often filter this message out. We make following Christ all about where you go when you die and good moral choices (side note: That is what the Pharisees were so concerned about). He makes it about entering into a kingdom.

A kingdom is a dynamic thing. It is not confined to a textbook or a catchphrase. You can write all the books on American culture you want but you can’t understand what it really means to be American until you have lived here or met someone who has. Jesus came to reintroduce us to our true homeland. He told us what it was like and how we can get there. He begged us to be about building the kingdom with Him. He calls us to be His witnesses and ambassadors. That is what the Church is for.

We make the Church about a lot of things; I fear we don’t make it about the Kingdom enough. We have the goals of making our opinions known and “sharing information” about each other. We make it our mission to look good on Sunday, have the best behaved kids or upholding the status quo (the way things have always been). We are ambitiously gazing through the planks in our own eyes the point the finger at gays, abortion doctors and Democrats. I am not sure we care about entering into the present Kingdom of God. In short, I am not sure we care about what Jesus cared about. Maybe that is why the American Church by and large has been unsuccessful in the past century.

How do we get back on track? Why do you think Jesus set the Kingdom of God so high in His teachings? Why do we place it so low in ours?

Talk amongst yourselves J

Meeting needs at home

2006-08-02T09:28:00.000-04:00

In Detroit you can see a lot of things; anything from nice museums and fine dining to the Pistons and the Tigers. You will also find lots of needs. Underneath Hart Plaza is a literal colony of the homeless. Prostitutes and drug addicts abound and there is plenty of violence and heartache. As I understand the scriptures this is Jesus’ kind of place. He had a knack for finding the worst of the worst. He was continually surrounded by unclean lepers, “beneath notice” fishmongers, street hookers and foreign invaders. Sadly enough the typical Christian today is nowhere near. The people we like to be seen with are not the type of people Jesus sought out.
We hide from needs, don’t we?…at least the ones that have nothing in it for us. We see a chance to show off our new dish at the potluck and we are on it in no time. We see a homeless person walking down the street and we quickly divert our eyes. We like to serve when it makes us look or feel good. We hate it and avoid it when it is actually…well…serving.
As followers of Jesus Christ we are charged with meeting needs and declaring good for all mankind. We are called to seek out those who are lost and hurting, to be the true servant and humble ourselves. Why is it that we fall into the trap of becoming the people Jesus despised the most?
There are needs in our community. Real needs that require real sacrifice and might even lead us to get our hands messy. There are opportunities to be the light of Jesus and never get noticed for it, on earth that is. How are we going to allow Christ to meet the world’s needs through us?
Matthew 25:31-46, Luke 10: 25-37

Control

2006-06-23T16:05:00.000-04:00

The leaf lives its appointed time, and does not struggle against the wind that carries it away. The leaf does no harm, and finally falls to nourish new leaves. So it should be with all men and women. –Aram the Tinker

At first glance this quote appears to advocate giving up. “Just be like the leaf…go where the wind takes you,” offends our American sensibilities. “God helps those who help themselves,” is our motto. I am wondering if this is just a farce, a clever lie meant to hide the fact that we have no control. Maybe we are more like the leaf than we think.

I have been thinking a lot about control. Who is in control? We say God is in control but we also “help ourselves” so He can “help” us. We hate the idea of God determining our steps but we say He is in control. When life is going well we marvel at our brilliance; when it is bad we blame God and try to get out. Do we really even have a clue what we are talking about?

What can we control? We can’t control the weather. We saw that last week when our cities became rivers and our parking lots became lakes. We put so much effort into stopping the rain from damaging our stuff and we still get surprised. We can’t control life and death. Abortions go wrong and the child lives and fertility drugs can fail to come through for us. Some live to 90; some are lucky to reach 9. We can’t even control ourselves. Listen to what Paul has to say in Romans 7: 21-24, “It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin?” Even Paul seemed to be out of control.

We all want control of our lives. We usually want control of others lives too. I am not sure we will ever get it. How can we? All out attempts to keep the rain out, to stay alive and to stop sinning fail. What choice do we have but to give control to someone who can do it? Paul says later that the Answer is held only in Jesus Christ our Lord. He did not deliver us so we could control our destiny. He liberated us so we could be a part of His destiny for us. When are we going to learn the lesson of the leaves?

Verses to ponder: Matthew 16:24-26, Romans 7 and 8, Job 38

Medication

2006-06-05T09:25:00.000-04:00

“I don’t want medication, just give me liberation. Even if it cuts my legs right out from underneath…” – Derek Webb “Medication”

How many times have we heard…“Jesus makes everything better?” This seems to be the story we have all been told. Please don’t get me wrong, I know He makes all things work for the good of those who love Him. I simply think that we misunderstand what the good is and what making our life better really consists of. We think goodness equals a life free of conflict and pain. If things are going our way we believe/pretend that things are going God’s way too. All that suffering was good for Paul and Peter…it was a different time back then. Today we believe Christ has called us to health, wealth and prosperity, the American dream, etc. etc. I am not sure that this is the case.

Many times in my life, I have approached God like I approach a bottle of Advil. Something bad happens (an interpersonal conflict, bad news, I sin, whatever) and I go to God for a quick fix. “Deliver me!” I scream. I stop caring about how dealing with the situation might make me better. I just want out of it. I will minimize it, I will blame someone else, I will do anything short of actually coming to grips with the fact I might need fixing. I want Him to cure the symptom (the situation). He wants to cure the problem (me and how I react to the situation).

I wonder if it grieves the heart of God when I just want medication. Forget how this situation might make me more perfect or liberate me from a damaging attitude. I want God to make it better not make me better. “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,” goes right out the window when I am faced with a circumstance that makes me uncomfortable. I cite the founding fathers and pursue happiness when God demands holiness. Give me the pill…hold the treatment.

I see Christ continually challenging us to walk a narrower road and embrace a wider view of what making everything better means. It does not mean deliverance from all problems we face. It means being uncomfortably aware of our shortcomings and being forced to face life with the strength of Christ. Freedom in Christ will not come to the “spiritual pill-popper.” It will only come to the man and the woman who has the courage to face the death of self. We have to feel the burn and the loss of our comforts in order to gain the comforts and grace of God’s great kingdom.

Talk amongst yourselves

Does God speak out of context?

2006-05-16T17:46:00.000-04:00

In colege I learned that when it comes to reading the Bible, “Context is everything”. In my 4 years at the ol' IWU I was trained so well that applying the “who, what, where and why” to Scripture is second nature to me. Linds and I are fortunate to have had a great education in this area. Most of the students in my youth group have not had this kind of training. I have had workshops and taught all the basics I can but stories like this next one always come up. This one got me thinking…

A student in our youth group came up to us and shared a problem she was having and how God spoke to her about it. She showed us in the Bible where she got her answer and it was way off. It wasn’t even a complete sentence let alone a complete though. We didn't want to embarrass her too much but it was ripped way out of context. I think that the first thought in both Linds and our minds was, “Out of Context: Commence Teaching mode…Execute.” Yet when she shared what God was teaching and directing her to do it was spot on with what we believed was the best and most godly course of action. She read the words incorrectly but she got the right message.

This and other circumstances like it have come up numerous times in our ministry. What are we to do? The way she was reading the scripture was way off but the Spirit of God still directed her in the right direction. Could it be that God can and sometimes does speak out of context? She needed a word from Him and He gave it to her without the benefit of context.

In this situation do we….

A: Put it in God’s hands. Keep quiet about it. She is getting the right answer; what does it matter. She is making a scholarly error and not a spiritual one. She is on the right track, context will right itself in time.

B: Save it for later. She got it right this time but what about another time. What happens when she reads something about handling snakes or connects concepts from opposing testaments to make a new heresy? Maybe do it passively but make sure that she knows the danger of reading into the text.

C: Nip it in the bud. Say something right away. Strike while the iron in hot. Commend her for coming to the right conclusion but take this time to teach her the best way to read and study the Bible.

Each of these has its own problems. I could hide behind A because I fear or dislike confrontation. The same could be said of B. If I take C I could be anal at best and most likely spiritually prideful.

What do you think is the best course of action? Is there something I am missing? Could there be something that collective biblical scholarship is missing by binding itself too tightly to context? How do you argue against someone else’s experience?

Thoughts on Star Wars

2006-05-09T13:20:00.000-04:00

If I lived in the Star Wars Universe I would have a healthy dislike for the Force. Whether Jedi or Sith I would just not like them, here is why.

Every major war in the Universe has been fought by them. They are always fighting each other and everyone gets sucked into it. Even a cursory glance at Star Wars lore will reveal that when the Jedi and the Sith are at odds the whole universe has to suffer. It does not matter what else might be going on the Sith are seeking their Revenge and the Jedi their Return. Empires rise and fall, whole planets and ways of life are destroyed because they can’t get along.

You can’t trust them to care about anyone but themselves. This is especially true of the Sith but even the Jedi care more about the “mysteries of the Force” than curing societal ills and righting wrongs. They have some great propaganda but when the bantha poodoo hits the fan, they care about keeping and getting control. The universe is going to pot in the Clone Wars and it is all a ploy to get the Sith back in power. The Jedi have to destabilize the entire political climate because the Emperor happens to be a (you guessed it) Sith. “Oooo Luke you just killed the Emperor and destroyed the Imperial Regime. I am so glad you ushered in this new era of political and economic confusion.” I don’t think so.

There is no middle ground with them. You can’t be a Sith with Jedi tendencies or vice versa. I thought it rather ironic when Obi-wan told Anakin that only the Sith deal in absolutes. Isn’t that an absolute? There is no place for anyone outside of their structure and belief system and if you can’t use the Force you might as well resign yourself sitting back or dying a quick death by lightsaber. If you are not one of them you have no voice. Democracy by the people really doesn’t work when you have two absolutist groups wielding an all powerful and infallible Force.
Ok I admit it, I am a nerd. I love Star Wars a lot but I realize most of you don’t care so I will move on to my thoughts on Republicans and Democrats…

Busyness

2006-04-27T10:14:00.000-04:00

“Busyness is next to godliness” – Most American Christians

I am a busy person. I fill my day with a lot of stuff. Some of it is important. I plan Bible studies and trips for the students in my youth group. I take time to meet and council people in my community. I try to make time for my wife. I do a lot of “good Christian things.” I even get paid some of them. At first glance one might be tempted to call me a godly man. I do all this stuff for God so I must be godly. People think, “He is busy, therefore he is godly.” I am not sure they are right.

I remember when I was in college how I loved to recite how busy I was. I would go through the list of all the good things I “just had to do.” I felt so godly and I think people thought I was. Truth be told I was so busy then and am still so busy now I have very little time for God himself. I do a lot for Him but I spend so little time knowing Him. I wonder how many “good Christians” get to heaven and say, “Look at all we did for you Lord!” only to hear God say, “Depart from me I never knew you.”

If we allow busyness to be our reward, that is all we will get. Sure we will get a lot of pats on the back and get “burnt out for Jesus” but will we ever know the one God we are working for. Do we really think that eternal rewards are dispensed on the basis of how little time we make for God? I think we do and it needs to stop.

I think we say “Faith without works is dead” far too often. We do a lot of works at the expense of knowing God. Biblically speaking knowing God is not facts and figures or even serving. It implies a much deeper, personal and time consuming connection. I wonder how many of us are willing to give up our measurable acts of service for a deeper and hidden understanding of Christ. It is going to be hard and it will take time but it will ultimately be the substance of true godliness that will last.

If we don’t have love…we are nothing.

Talk amongst yourselves

Prayer

2006-04-13T10:54:00.000-04:00

I am often amazed at my lack of prayer. I talk to the ceiling often but I think that I rarely pray. Let me walk you through a pretty common scenario in my life. Something bad happens, I pray “God help,” and I move on. Like a hitchhiker or a kid that can’t reach the cookies; once I get what I want I move on with a thank you and a goodbye. If I don’t get what I want I pray “Why God” and then move on to fix the problem myself.

I am finding that so much of my prayer life is really a series of prayer-speeches to the ceiling. I don’t pray to encourage communication with the Almighty, I pray for self-help or self-benefit. I don’t worship God, I try to get God to do what I want and if he does not I assume he is being silent and wants me to do it myself. One of these days I will figure out that silence is not an answer. Nowhere in scripture is God’s silence an indication of anything good. It is usually a sign of the people’s inability or refusal to hear what he is in fact saying. If God says no I refuse to hear it. I will misquote passages like Jeremiah 29:11 so I can get the chief benefit. I forget that it is God who has the plans and not me.

I talk about having a “personal relationship with Jesus” but what is a relationship without communication between two people anyway? People might think talking to God and listening for His answer is insane or unhealthy but I say the opposite is true. Who in their right mind asks a question with no intent of ever finding out the answer? I am tired of making prayer-speeches to the God-in-the-attic, I want to converse with the King of Kings. It is a right that the blood of Christ bought for me and I think that I am a fool not to make use of it every day. I read about God regularly speaking not just in the Bible but to many people in human history. What excuse do I have for not tuning in and listening to Him?

Am I crazy to think that God will speak to me daily if I let him? Why do you think that? Does God give specific revelation anymore or did that stop when the Scriptures were closed and now all we get are vague impressions and dreams? By seeking to listen to God am I opening myself up to evil and sinful influences?

Talk amongst yourselves J

Suggested Reading: Hearing God by Dallas Willard and Prayer: Conversing with God by Rosalind Rinker

I'm Back

2006-02-27T12:11:00.000-05:00

After about a month long hiatus I am back and have 2 new articles. One good the other is mostly fluff. I am sorry for the delay. We are making some big changes in our youth program and Lindsay had pseudo pneumonia so my mind has been anywhere but online.

Hope you enjoy,

Justin

Thoughts on Marriage Vol 1

2006-02-27T11:56:00.000-05:00

Since I have only been married 6 months or so; I really don’t know much. So all you pros can get a good chuckle at me and all you single and engaged folk can chuckle and say, “That won’t happen to me.” Then the pros and I will chuckle at you 6 months from now.

Some things I am learning about marriage:

It is harder than you think. Imagine you take two people who are total opposites and make them live together for the rest of their lives. It would be total chaos for at least the first couple years if not forever. No matter how you mix it, it will get messy. Now imagine two people who think they are so perfect and alike (but really aren’t) and put them together for the rest of their lives. Chaos ensues. I love my wife dearly but we are finding out more and more just how different we are.

I think it started with the toilet seat. I had this fantasy woman who did not care about the toilet seat. It could be up or down and she did not care. I have found out through 6 months of rigorous empirical study that SHE DOES NOT EXIST. I thought Linds didn’t care about the toilet seat. I was wrong. It is not one of those things that really matters in the grand scheme of things (and yes I find myself putting it down these days) but it goes to show you that a lot of things you think you know about someone are really just in your head. Many things don’t come up in conversation until you live with someone.

Yet it is better than you think. Nothing really prepares you for how good marriage can be. There is just something nice about coming home to someone who loves you. Sure she likes the toilet seat down and she makes funny noises when she sleeps but she loves me and that makes all the difference. There is nothing like the rush when my wife says “come hug me” or “talk to me” or the always exciting “come to bed with me.” Where the rubber meets the road it is nice to have a friend that will not leave you. Death or neglect are the only things that can truly sever a marriage. Unlike college, jobs and girlfriends, marriage does not end.

I am more selfish than I realize. I have always been a little rough around the edges. One might even say that I am at rare times abrasive and irrational but overall I am a nice guy. That was until I got the mirror, her name is Lindsay, and through her I see everything. I say I love her so much. The mirror often tells me I love myself more. I say I’m sorry the mirror indicates I am not. Marriage is the ultimate reflection of me and sometimes I don’t see what I like. I think this is why so many marriages fall apart. It is hard to face yourself.

Love is more strongly rooted in the will than any other part of you. You have to choose to love someone. The more you choose to love someone the stronger the will and desire becomes (you say duh…try being married). Almost every decision I make can be tied to “Am I loving Lindsay by doing this or am I not.” Just like my partnership with God, my life is bound to my wife irreversibly. This causes a lot of complications to my personal agenda and like all exercise it can be tiring but I am better for choosing to love her.

Through marriage I am confronted with a lot of ugliness in me. It is tough but when I find that I am reacting differently to situations. When I see myself through her eyes and she is pleased. It really makes it worth it. I see more of myself but I have been able to put off more selfishness that I ever could have alone. There are times I find myself just wanting to love Lindsay for no gain or sex but just to love her. It’s good.

How many of you have had this harder/better or selfish/mirror experience? Some comments from pros would be helpful. I heard it takes about 10 years to really begin to become one…is this accurate? Given my experience which is the greater path to holiness; marriage or monkery?

Talk amongst yourselves J

More thoughts on the lack of men in the Church

2006-02-27T10:03:00.000-05:00

“The church at present has been characterized as a place for women, wierdos and wimps” – “Why Men Hate Going to Church”

I have been reading this book and many others about church history and masculinity. What has happened to all the “real men”? I am not talking about the drinking/carousing/foul mouthed “real men.” I am talking about the bold, strong, courageous men that I read about in scripture and history but see few hints of in the average pew. I think they are there. I hope I am one of them, but I feel like we are all in hiding.

Often, I feel like I have to check my manhood at the door. I can’t be bold or courageous; I have to emulate “gentle Jesus meek and mild.” I can’t say what is really on my heart; someone’s feelings might get hurt. I know the fruit of the Spirit is “Love, joy, peace…kindness…gentleness…etc.” but we forget that all that is in the context of a rather pointed letter to the “foolish Galatians.” Besides, do we really have a biblical understanding of gentleness and kindness?

I wonder when the hiding started. Is it in Sunday school? Don’t talk, sit still, answer questions, play nice, be relational are all things girls are good at and most boys aren’t. In the end, “boys are treated like defective girls,” and resign themselves to being a little less spiritual. Was it during the Victorian era? When all the men had to leave the town to work in the mines and women began to shape and decorate the church.

Before I get crucified by all the ladies reading I want to say I am not bashing femininity. I am merely observing that the feminine spirit is alive and well while the masculine lays dormant, waiting for the chance to prove itself. The Church is by and large 80% female. No other world religion has this big of a gender deficit. Where are all the Christian men? Are we really less spiritual or are we just unable to be men given the present way we “do church”? Have you ever noticed this or is this just the absurd ramblings of the youth pastor? We have debated this issue for a while but really…how can the masculine spirit make a comeback?

Talk amongst yourselves J

Suggested Reading:
“Why Men Hate Going to Church” - Marrow
“Wild at Heart” - Eldredge
“All the King’s Men” - Weber
“Iron John” - Bly

Getting what you pay for

2006-01-19T15:09:00.000-05:00

I pay good money for my entertainment every week…about 10% - anonymous

Entertainment is a great thing isn’t it. It is so good to just sit back and relax and watch someone else do what they love. It could be acting, playing football, or speeding through France on a bike. Whatever it is, we Americans love our entertainment. When I was a kid I remember going to watch the Cincinnati Reds with my Dad (this was in the ancient times when they were actually good). I remember watching them and wanting to be like them. I would pretend that I was Chris Sabo and my little league baseball field would somehow be transformed into Riverfront Stadium (now Cenergy Field). Even though I was awful at baseball I would be inspired by a good game.

I did this through out my life with just about every kind of entertainment. I was inspired by good books about knights, movies about bravery and the determination of a football team to get one more yard. When I saw or heard something great I would imitate it to the best of my ability. When King Arthur said, “Be honorable,” I took it to heart. As I grew older though, I began to be less inspired by the entertainment industry and more, well, entertained. It became more of a spectacle to watch and marvel at. A director’s skill would not inspire me to make movies; I would just sit and say it was neat. I put away the swords and songs and picked up “real life” and “respectable dreams.”

I wonder if this entertainment attitude has infected the church. We often come to be entertained but not transformed. We pay good money for good music and a good speech and walk away feeling pretty good about ourselves. We end up coming but never changing. We will criticize the “poor special effects” and miss Christ.

What would happen if we took a different approach? What if we started looking at the professional ministers and were inspired to do ministry? You don’t have to be paid to play baseball well; why would following Christ be any different? What if we held off our American need to be constantly entertained and actually did something inspiring? Let’s stop going to church like we go to the movies. Movies can speak but only God can transform. Will you be open to transformation or will you just pay 10% for a good show?

Am I right about the “entertainment me” attitude of the average churchgoer? Is the answer just to make church more entertaining and flashy? It is a big temptation but is it right? Where did we loose the transformational message of Christ?

Talk amongst yourselves - J

Ok so these questions have been pondered before but I have had writers block and needed to get something out. Hope it is still helpful

Stasis

2005-12-16T12:12:00.000-05:00

Axiom: Apart from me you can do nothing – Jesus Christ
Reverse Axiom: If you do nothing it will certainly be without Him – Justin Gentry

We tend to like things as they were. Old timers are notorious for this, “In my day we (insert nostalgic nonsense about walking up hill both ways which I know is impossible).” Anyone who has graduated college is almost as bad, “I remember in school we…” Even kids fall victim to it, “Last year we…” Face it folks, we all compare today with the past.

The past is the only context we have to interpret our present. We are the sum of our experiences and our reactions to them so it makes sense to be a student of history (there are a few politicians I know who could use a good personal history lesson, but that is the subject of another blog entirely). Anyone who knows me knows that I am a bit nostalgic myself. I enjoy mythology, I memorized a few creeds and I know how to use a sword without cutting my toes off. A bit of wistfulness is not a bad thing.

Nostalgia has a dirty side too. There comes a time when we look to the past at the expense of the future. I am going to call this condition “stasis” and I fear it is all over the Body of Christ. “If we could get back to the early church, If we could be more like John Wesley, If we could party like its 1611, If…If…If…” I am saddened to hear these kinds of phrases come out of Christian mouths because it is often in resignation. Things are not like they were. Nothing good can happen and so we do nothing. We begin preaching the past and not the gospel by making people convert to a previous era of thinking and talking (KJV anyone?) and not to a present and living Christ.

Apart from Christ we can do nothing. Without Him the Church will wither up and die. Be as culturally relevant as you want and without him you might as well preach the sky is falling. Conversely if we do nothing to bring Christ into the 21st century I am not so sure he is going to be in that either. If Christ is relevant today why do we keep him rooted in the past? Sometimes we act like he is dead and waiting for us to resurrect him through ancestor worship or something. He is alive at present and calling for us to meet Him. He is in the people who are currently poor, naked, and hungry. I think He is waiting for us to reach them in their language. He reached us in ours. He left his heavenly home are we going to leave the ivory pulpit?

The only constant is change. We can never go back to the good old days. We can’t count on the righteous past to give us a righteous future. We have no future without a Christ-centered and forward-thinking present. I love the past and in my life I desire some of the traits of my forebears. I admire their courage and love but if I am not fleshing out those traits today then their legacy is lost. Let’s not get stuck in stasis and get left behind. Let’s go to the frontlines and give the future something to remember

Are you in stasis? What are you doing to connect to Christ today? Do you find yourself constantly afraid of anything new or innovative? Why is that?

Talk amongst yourselves

-J

Practical Atheism

2005-11-22T21:17:00.000-05:00

Deism= It is the practice of atheism with the belief in God.
– Justin’s Dictionary of Religious Terms and Paraphernalia

Have you ever been tempted by atheism? No god or person to tell you what to do; you are the standard. You don’t have to depend on anyone but yourself and you don’t have to be accountable to anyone either. When there is a problem you don’t have to ask some god for help…you can do it yourself and get the credit. You don’t have to buy into all this humility, patience and love stuff; you can be your own man/woman and do things your way.

They say that atheism is dying out as a belief, but the practice of it is far more widespread than we ever imagined. Read through the list again. Now carefully and honestly ask yourself if you are a practicing atheist. “How many times have I lived my life like this?” A person may not actually think or say, “I want it my way and no other” but a person often lives that way.

It is all too easy to be a believing Christian but a practicing atheist. We can go about our day believing that God is there yet acting like he is not. We pray like he can help but won’t wait for his timing. When crisis strikes we will have faith enough to say a few words but keep the more practical matters of business to ourselves. In confession, I will wear him gladly on my sleeve but often fail to hide him in my heart.

How many days have I lived centered on my problems and my solutions? How many times have I let the practical rule out the divine? We live in a country founded by Deists of which I am often the worst. I will ask him to bless the building but not the finances, the sermon but not the study, and the program but not the planning.

Some might think I am splitting hairs or that I am too idealistic and young. Yeah it is probably true, but I am not sure that it is a bad thing. I remember a time when I wasn’t so practical. I believed there was a way to graduate college debt free even when all seemed impossible, I believed I could be a pastor despite my checkered past, I believed I could do all things through Christ who strengthens me…and he did. I remember a day when I wasn’t so practical and I intend to return there.

Are you a practicing atheist? Where does the road to recovery lay? Do you see it as a problem or just “good common sense”?

Talk amongst yourselves

What should I do?

2005-11-15T18:29:00.000-05:00

Here is a real life situation that I am trying to figure out. My church is in the middle of a building project and I have to choice of one of two rooms to base the youth ministry out of. One is the old sanctuary and the other is a triangular room next to the new sanctuary. Both are bigger than the current room and have much higher ceilings.

Sanctuary: Has a pretty old school feel but it has lots of potential. It already has a sound system and screen. We would have to replace the lighting and clear out some stuff. There are some storage rooms to the side and I am considering making one of them a prayer room. The catch is I have already been unofficially warned that I should not do any “youthifying” for at least a year, if ever or I might upset some folks.

Side room: The side room has the advantage of an outside door and it is bare so we can do anything we want to it. The cons are that it does border the new sanctuary so noise level might be a problem, but considering it has no sound equipment in it that might not be so bad. It also does not look that much bigger than our already cramped current room.

The trade offs are pretty simple. Go with the side room and don’t rock the boat but loose space and money or go with the sanctuary and get more space and save money but possibly get stuck with it as is or remodel anyway and make some key folks unhappy. It is a bit of a catch 22 so what should I do?

Deep in my heart I know that style should not matter and that worship can take place in a bare room. Yes, for the believer style should not matter. We should be ready to worship at all times and with all places and styles. But, we are not trying to reach believers are we. It is not the healthy that need a doctor…it is the sick.

I am not sure what room I will take but I do know that that room will be dedicated to the kids in my area. If that means someone’s feelings are hurt because I replace the 60’s wood paneling with something a little modern, so be it. If I have to drain the budget to make a bare room feel inviting, so be it. I am not after the coolness factor I am after the relevant factor. Shouldn’t we be all things to all people?

What do you think I should do? What other things am I not considering?

Thoughts on Community

2005-10-18T13:06:00.000-04:00

Community is a pretty common buzzword these days. You may remember it by such words as fellowship, body life or pot luck. But what is real biblical community and how does it translate into today? We live in an increasingly segmented society. I could stay in my home and only leave to buy the supplies I can’t get on ebay and to feed. To survive we really don’t need other people.

The Gospel calls us to a different kind of life; a life where we are one crucial piece in a greater whole. Some are pastors, teachers, church planters and some are singers, builders, encouragers, cooks but when it all comes down to it we are all ministers in some form or another. The question is not should I get involved the question is where is my place?

This different kind of life is lived with others, not against them. Unity within the Body of Christ is so highlighted in the New Testament one might think it is a pillar of the faith. Christ said we will be known by the love we have for other Christians. Are we still hearing this or are we to busy critiquing the sermon to hear the message? I am convinced that Love is the center of community. It is not bowling every Tuesday or even worshiping on Thursday evening or Sunday morning. I can “do life” with someone 24/7 and never be in community with them. Love for others, whatever the context, is the seed of community.

Biblical community is always looking to Christ and pointing others there too. As a body we are pointing back to the source of this love which is Christ. Our new kind of life does not spring up from our own effort and neither does unity. Does a body survive without a head? Can a fellowship stand without a goal? Lord of the Rings would be a right silly book if an elf, a wizard, 2 men, 4 hobbits and 1 dwarf got together and played cribbage. The body of Christ needs a bigger goal that just being together. I think the great commission is a pretty good one to start with :-)

I know this list is not complete but I do not intend it to be. What else would you add? How else could we foster unity in the Body? Are you sick of the word community?

Talk amongst yourselves

Going on anyways

2005-09-29T12:11:00.000-04:00

You can never know everything, and part of what you know is always wrong. Perhaps even the most important part. A portion of wisdom lies in knowing that. A portion of courage lies in going on anyways. –Robert Jordan

I am not so sure I am a good pastor. Some of you are gasping and others are nudging your neighbor and saying, “bout time he figured it out.” I have been given the impression that a spiritual leader is supposed to have it all together or at least know what he believes…I just don’t. Supposedly a pastor needs to be rock solid and unwavering in his convictions…I am not. If a Modernist were to look at me and classify me (which they love to do) I think they would say I was a seeker and then be very sensitive about what they said around me. J

I have been reading and talking to a lot of my friends and colleges about the so called “Faith Meltdown” that hits in the early twenties It is like the brain secretes an enzyme upon receiving that hard earned bachelors degree and says, “Doubt everything you have ever been told!” I think it hits men the hardest. I have really not dialoged with any women going through this. Maybe they just have the propriety to not voice their doubts to the world or it just hits them later in life. I am also finding that most of the older generation either did not go through this or they forget that it happened. I don’t get much sympathy when I voice that I question the prohibition on alcohol or that I dabble with open theism or that I think Tim LaHaye is an intellectual thief. Maybe they are just doing what their elders did to them.

On the one hand I like questioning. I don’t want to just take everything at face value. I have been trained too well for that. Besides, they tell me that life is too complex to answer every question with, “read the Bible and pray” or “just have faith.” I remember a time when that was all the answer I needed. It worked then…why not now? I am beginning to question the value of questioning everything. When does a little boyish rebellion turn into cynicism? Have I traded my joy in and become jaded?

Can a person just sit aside their doubts and not be intellectually dishonest? I like being a rebel and questing for answers but this new skin gets old pretty quick. I am starting to realize that there needs to be a couple things that you hammer down and honestly don’t touch. I still might not be sure of them but I have to choose to believe and move on anyways. If you have no anchor there is no point casting out to sea.

I have decided that I will always identify myself with Jesus Christ. He has convinced me and I will make his life, death and resurrection a “no fly zone” for doubt. I have sampled a lot of life without him and it is just too empty. I am willing to submit myself to him as an apprentice in the eternal/fullest kind of life he promised. I like the Apostles Creed. I am still shaky on the whole descent into hell but I am finding most people are.

Some would say I am giving up. “Question everything!” they shout, “Jesus is one of many ways…why are you teaching these kids only one path to God?” “He does not answer my questions sufficiently!” I say, “Welcome aboard, he does not answer all of mine either.” I am not sure the point of religion or God is to answer all my questions as if my inquiries into how he runs things are somehow new and important. I don’t know everything but I am not sure that it is God’s job to convince me. When I read the scriptures I see Christ presenting Truth and then allowing people to make up their own mind to believe him or not. I am pretty sure God is confident in his position and his views. Are we going to jump on board or not? Jesus never asked people to question him. I believed he asked them to follow him.

It is said that when the student is ready the master will appear. I believe that when the questioner is ready the answers will appear. Maybe not on this side of the Veil but someday we will see clearly. Can I be patient for that day when my Master has decided to let me know beyond the shadow of doubt? I guess I am just going to have to stick with him to find out.

Some things I am still working on…wanna help me out?

I think I am rejecting the idea of Sola Scriptora (Scripture alone). I find it leads to Bible theism. Besides, I sometimes find God more in nature, people and Lord of the Rings. The Bible is an awesome source for guidance and a great tool to test the spirits so to speak but it is a means to a greater end…knowing God.

I have rejected American (or should I say Modern) individualism in favor of community. Call me emergent but I like people. Do I like them too much though? Where do individualism and community meet? I believe God works on both levels equally.

I have embraced the veneration of Saints. Ok, my version of it. I don’t pray to them but I do find knowing those who have gone before and being a student of past mistakes to be an invaluable tool. I am tired of the evangelical fear of getting a little medieval. What are some other fears that we can cast aside?

Speaking of medieval, I am a now joining the ranks of the self-appointed Medievalists like Tolkien, Lewis and MacDonald. I like sagas and myths and fairy tales and want to reawaken the slumbering giant of Chivalry. (Note I am not equating myself to these men just naming a few of the more famous members of my most noble and ancient Order). Is anyone else with me?

More to come…still thinking…

All hail the mind numbing glowing box

2005-09-21T17:47:00.000-04:00

It’s funny to me that we think that an hour a week in church will shape us more than the 40+ we spend in front of the TV – Justin Gentry

I used to be a media junkie. I probably hit the American average (40+ hours) every week if I combined all my time playing videogames and watching movies/TV. Media, at one time, ruled my life and I imagine I am not alone in this confession. I failed to realize that what I am putting in is going to affect my values and my thought processes. I put in garbage and I got out garbage. I still love a good movie but I had to ask myself the question, “What am I shaping my life around; the TV Guide or the Bible?”

It is tough to break away from the iron grip that media has on our lives but are we are trading the power of a healthy relationship with God and others for a glowing box? “Why go to church on Wednesday night when the premier of Lost is on and I might miss the beginning?” or “God forbid I would miss the big game that will mean nothing to anyone in a few months.” We have to decide if we are going to live media centered lives or Christ centered lives. It is foolish at best to think that an hour or two at church is going to shape how you think at all when you are baptizing yourself in ABC and Fox all week.

I know what you are thinking, “I don’t watch those “bad” shows.” I will say good for you but what is 30-60 hours of TV taking the place of? You might just be disconnecting from life for a while but is that at the cost of more important things like relationships with family, spouse, God? Parents; are you watching what your kids are watching? Dropping your kids off at youth group hoping it will turn them around and not keeping track of what they are putting into their minds at home is not helping them at all. TV is not a good babysitter and whether they will admit it now or not they will thank you for a little “family time” when they are older.

We have to center our lives on something and right now most of American is centering it and around the TV. What is the effect that this has on our kids? What message are we sending when we are seen more in front of the TV than anywhere else? What makes the TV more comforting than God/other people?

Talk amongst yourselves.

(and yes I did quote myself)

Movie Review: Crash

2005-09-19T14:46:00.000-04:00

A Brentwood housewife and her DA husband. A Persian store owner. Two police detectives who are also lovers. An African-American television director and his wife. A Mexican locksmith. Two car-jackers. A rookie cop. A middle-aged Korean couple...They all live in Los Angeles. And during the next 36 hours, they will all collide...

This movie is probably one of the best pieces on racism and society in a long time. It is very intense but it does not have to resort to excessive violence to make its point (a single shot is really all it takes). This movie is not for the faint of heart so most of the Church will miss its message in the curse words, violence and hint of nudity/sexuality.

The movie covers so many different storylines so it is difficult to sum up so I will leave the summary to the movie itself…just see it. On a casting note I always enjoy a performance by Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda) and this film redeemed my opinion of Sandra Bullock (various movies I don’t watch) and Matt Dillon (Something about Mary). Great directing and great storytelling; I loved this movie.

Some points of interest or thoughts to ponder:

Was this an accurate film? Seeing as how almost all my fan base are white and middleclass I suppose that it is an unfair question. Well the fact that all my readers are white might answer the question for me…hum. I think it was pretty fair in its treatment of racial tension. Even the bigots were believable.

Do you agree that society has gotten so segregated (not just black and white but people to people). Are the barriers getting thicker or thinner between people and races? How do we address issues of race as they come up in conversations?

Where was the church in all this mess? A “religious figure” was noticeably absent. I think that this sends a message in and of itself. What is it?

There was a definite lack of answers. The movie beautifully/hauntingly gave us the problem but was there a solution? Is there a solution?

Talk amongst yourselves.

Update

2005-09-19T12:35:00.000-04:00

So after about a year of excuses I have finally started posting stuff on this blog. Most of the stuff is old articles and such that I have written but not had much time or motivation to post.

For those of you who don't know I got married last month to the most awesome woman ever! Linds and I are living in Michigan about 2 minutes north of Toledo Ohio. I am a youth pastor at Whiteford Wesleyan Church and I am starting to like ministry believe it or not. It is unbelievably difficult at times and I have had to make some hard decisions already but it is good. Linds is teaching at a preschool to make a few extra bucks.

New email: ljgentry@gmail.com

Cost

2005-09-19T12:33:00.000-04:00

The fact that the price must be paid is proof that it is worth paying. -Lan Mandragoran

I remember the first time I visited the Korean War memorial. It is a rather eerie place with about a dozen or so statues of soldiers on patrol. I was just walking by not really paying attention when my eyes fell on these words next to the monument, “Freedom is not free.” I did not think much of it at the time but over the next few days I really began rolling this phrase around in my head. It was like an itch that I could not scratch until I realized that God was trying to say something to me through this monument.

Here in the States we enjoy more freedom that most people in this world can imagine, but we often forget that it came at a great price. We were hunted rebels and traitors before we were, “One nation under God.” Our freedom was bought with many lives and if we were honest, most days we don’t think twice about it.

I am wondering if we don’t transfer this ungratefulness into our walk with God as well. God has done more for us than this country ever will and for the most part…we take it for granted. We accept all the benefits of salvation but we never think twice about what it cost. As a consequence we have a religion that promises everything but expects nothing. We are not working out our salvation with fear and trembling, we expect others to do it for us. We claim and trust in heaven but we don’t work to make earth less like hell. This gift of God is free but it is not cheap.

We often confuse cost and freedom. The glorious freedom Christ offers us comes at a cost both to him and to ourselves. It is free but it must be worked for…I hope this does not sound to much like a contradiction. We have been crucified with Christ and the life we live in freedom is a life lived for Christ. We must remember that we are called to be disciples and followers of Christ before we are called to attend church; to live with and learn from God not just reap his benefits.

You guessed it another old Spotlight Article

Wait and Hope

2005-09-19T12:29:00.000-04:00

All human wisdom is contained in these two words- “wait” and “hope”. -Alexander Dumas

Wait and Hope; these two things are probably the hardest and often the most annoying things about the Christian life. Wait and Hope. We live in such an instant society that waiting and hoping are things that only children are supposed to do. I had a birthday last month and I remember as a child waiting for my birthday and hoping that I got what I wanted. Sometimes I was satisfied and sometimes I was not.

I am wondering if this kind of attitude has carried over into my adult life. Am I treating God like my parents or Santa? “Here is my list and I am going to wait until this date to get this stuff. If you don’t get it for me I might understand but I will be disappointed in you.” We suffer so much under what I call the “Microwave Gospel.” Throw in a Bible and in 15 minutes you are a good Christian. Throw in a prayer and in 2 minutes you will have an instant answer. Under this regime we never have to wait for God or hope in anything. I am wondering if we as growing Christians need to put down these adolescent views of Christ and pick up something bigger and better.

What are we waiting and hoping for? Am I waiting for God to make me handsome, rich and wise? Is he about making me look good? Somehow I think I am hoping for the wrong things. He will supply all my needs according to HIS riches and glory. Not what I think his riches should be but what they truly are. I challenge us this summer to put aside the timetables we are limiting God to and hope that he truly will do more than we could possible ask or imagine. Trust with me this month that God has a plan and a better imagination that all of us and he is going to shock us and awe us if we let him.

Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly

2005-09-19T12:26:00.000-04:00

“Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly” – Bob Taylor

I was struck by this quote last week when I attended Frequency 05. It was a small conference of Youth Pastors dedicated to building each other up and exchanging ideas. I attended the seminar on “Developing a Dream” which was led by none other than Bob Taylor. For all of you who have no clue who this man is he is the founder of Taylor Guitars and a legend in the business. He is also a devout Christian and active member of Skyline Wesleyan in San Diego.

He shared that in life we can’t really wait till we are ready for things. You can’t wait till you have all your ducks in a row and then go forward. If you did that you would never get anything done at all…or very little. The things that God is calling you to are worth doing badly at first. You can’t be good at something till you are bad at it but if it is something you truly desire or are called to it is worth it.

How many times has anyone who has done what God asked them to do thought they were ready for it? Moses was not ready to lead the Israelites and neither was Joshua. Gideon was pretty gun shy too. Even Jesus was hesitant to step up to the plate of his death. In my own life I know that I am not “ready” to be married. I feel like I am too selfish, too insensitive and too controlling. I am not even sure sometimes why Lindsay wants to be with me and the times that I am sure…is usually pride. I am probably not going to be the husband I want to be at year 1 of marriage. Truth be told I might start getting it at year 40. If I waited till I felt ready for marriage I would probably not do it at all. Same goes with being a pastor, college graduate, even a Christian.

If we wait till we feel ready for life we will probably never live. As Christians we don’t have it all together but that should not stop us from trying to live for Christ today. The world needs His love and we are not the best at giving it sometimes but lets face it…we (Christ’s Body) are all the world has got. Time is always moving forward…it is best that we do to.

Ok so this is yet another old article from the Spotlight that I wrote months ago and never posted.

Spread the Love

2005-09-19T12:20:00.000-04:00

“I’m not often comfortable in church…it feels so unlike the Christ I read about in the Scriptures.” – Bono

“I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians…You are so unlike your Christ.” – Gandhi

The youth group and I have begun a pretty in depth study of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. I am amazed by the lack of knowledge that we (myself included) have about our Messiah and His message. A recent Barna poll asked individuals who would not consider themselves Christians to rank various social groups from most favorable to least favorable. Christians came in 2nd to last comfortably seated between lesbians and prostitutes. It is pretty obvious that the message of Christ is being lost in translation.

Evangelicals are not identified with the Christ of Scripture. The church has become more akin to a political party than a place where God’s grace meets this world. Those who do not walk with God seem to know everything that we are against: “Don’t drink, smoke or chew or be around people who do and God hates homosexuals, Democrats, hippies and Elmo and Harry Potter.” They do not know what Christ was for: “Love your enemies, walk humbly with God, remain in Me, live life to the fullest.” Do we as the Church even know what he was for? When Christ saw the sin of Judea he was moved to compassion when Christians see the sin of America we point fingers. I am not advocating that sin should not be dealt with. We are commanded to speak the truth but we often forget to do it in love.

There has been a disconnect somewhere. Somewhere the lines have been crossed and the opposite message of Christ is being sent. I am wondering how this has happened. How has the greatest gift to all mankind been so misrepresented? Most point to history as a result. The Crusades and colonial missions efforts were public relations disasters but I think that is blame shifting at best. Some might say more service projects and good will things and that will do the trick but even Hollywood does that.

Scripture tells us that they will know we are Christians (little Christs) by our love for each other. Maybe the true test of a follower of Christ is not the amount of service projects we do but the amount of love we have for fellow Christians. We are the body after all and a body (house) divided against itself will not stand. I believe our enemy knows this intimately and he knows that we get our power from our unity. As we walk with our Trinity and each other let us remember that we are all in this together.

Article from the May 2005 edition of the Spotlight written by Justin Gentry

Who do you say he is?

2005-09-19T12:13:00.000-04:00

And Jesus said unto them, "And whom do you say that I am?"
They replied, "You are the eschatological manifestation of the ground of our being, the ontological foundation of the context of our very selfhood revealed."
And Jesus replied, "What?"

A lot of times we try to make this Christian thing a lot more complicated than it really is. I am guilty of this just as much as the next guy. We are just not content until something is so complicated we can’t understand it. For example the Lord's Prayer is 66 words, the Gettysburg Address is 286 words, there are 1,322 words in the Declaration of Independence, but government regulations on the sale of cabbage total 26,911 words. There is something to be said for simplicity.

Don’t be pulled in by big words and high sounding gas. Sure they have their place but when the rubber meets the road in your schools and workplaces…leave the “eschatological manifestation” at home. It is really the simple Truth of Jesus Christ that matters. We are messed up and flawed, yet we have an awesome God who sees something in us worth saving and is willing to pay the price to get it. This is the message that changes lives.

At the same time don’t confuse the simplicity of the message with the difficulty of the application. We may be marred but for some amazing reason this good God wants all of us. Not so much your public mask or some time by yourself but every part of you…the good the bad and the ugly. Is he the God of your Wednesday nights and Sundays mornings or is he your very life? Who do you say he is?

Article from the March 2005 edition of the Spotlight

So I Caved

2004-10-13T14:40:00.000-04:00

So I have a blog now. I really did not want to give into the pressure of, "oh yeah everyone has a website" but I did. Now I am here writing to you, the world, my thoughts and wonderings. I suppose I wanted a forum to post who I am and what I am doing without all the mass email hassel. It also alows me to stimulate my mind and cultivate my thoughts not on some dusty journal but in a way that can be engaged by the masses even if I only have a fan base of about 2 (thanks mom and dad). So here I am on the web...hope you enjoy.