United Church of Cracker Jack

In my new effort to lose weight and live a more healthy lifestyle, I've come to enjoy grocery shopping. Every aisle is a litany of possibilities now that I understand the dynamics of healthy eating. Occasionally I buy myself a little snack. The other day when I was grocery shopping, I came across Cracker Jack. For $1.25 you could get 3 boxes of Cracker Jack. Cracker Jack conjures up memories of my childhood for me so I bought it. I got home and unpacked my groceries, my mother remarked "oh look cracker jack". I told her the price and she said "wow i remember when they were 10 cents a box". As I enjoyed a box of cracker jack I pulled out the prize. A folding piece of paper that when folded and unfolded showed a young then an old George Washington. My mom then said "wow you don't even get real prizes in them anymore". As I laid in bed that night thinking, I began to realize something. The United Methodist Church is a lot like a box of Cracker Jacks. The prize (Jesus) is still there, but rising costs and ineffectiveness have caused the prize to be cheapened. The United Methodist Church in part due to inflation and other economic circumstances now spends more than they ever have to accomplish the churches mission while the number of members have dwindled to the point that in 20 years the UMC will not exist if the decline doesn't stop. You see much like Cracker Jack, the UMC relishes in nostalgia  People don't buy Cracker Jack anymore because of the outstanding taste or it's affordability. People buy Cracker Jack for the sheer nostalgia value. The same reason people purchase thing from the Cracker Barrel store. It's simply a reminder of better times for most people. The UMC experiences the same thing. As I said before the UMC is spending more now than it ever has. Every year the church is spending more money in an attempt to accomplish it's mission. However, the mission is not successful as it could be because of nostalgia  The old way isn't necessarily bad. The UMC could stand to get a healthy reminder that Wesley focused on both personal and social holiness to bring it back where it originally was rather than the social holiness centered ministry the church mostly engages in now. The nostalgia we hold on to is the unhealthy kind. The kind of nostalgia that says we've always done it this way even though it hasn't worked in years. For some reason, the UMC abandoned it's method of discipleship of the band,class, society system that had led to growth in membership and true discipleship among early Methodist  Instead we've held tightly to systems that haven't developed true disciples in decades. In the process we've cheapened the meaning of Jesus and what it means to our world. We've done things to help the poor, homeless, and disenfranchised in the name of Jesus without actually sharing the hope and reason that we actually are moved to that action. Many don't see much difference in members of the UMC and the outside world they live in. In that instance we've spent more money for a cheaper prize. We treat Jesus like a cheap paper Cracker Jack toy instead of the precious jewel of grace that he was. When will we move beyond the nostalgia  When will we embrace healthy change and re-adapt the things about Methodism that allowed it to grow to meet modern needs? When will we realize that we are called to both personal and social holiness not just one or the other? Until we change, we are simply the United Church of Cracker Jack. Join up, pay some money, get a cheap prize, and feel just a little bit of nostalgia about how great the UMC used to be.Cracker Jack serves a great role in American culture. It ties us back to some say a simpler time. Some nostalgia is healthy, but too much leaves us to being relegated to a bottom shelf tiny spot in American alongside the boxes of Cracker Jack.

Lenten Reflections

"Never have human beings done anything so dark as to condemn,torture, and then crucify the Son of God, and yet Jesus prayed for them A they were in the midst of their sin,asking that they may receive mercy"

Confessions

So Ally Spotts has a wonderful blog series going on over at her blog. It's about confession. In it her and several of her friends offer up their 20 something confessions and encourage others to do the same. It's really uplifting to see people confess their deepest darkest stains in such a public way. So I decided to jump in the fun. Hopefully it's as freeing for me as it has been for others. This is gonna be a long post so if you don't like reading you might want to stop clicking now.


I hate having to seem like I have it all together
I often feel like so many people depend on me I can't show the slightest sign of a chink in the armor otherwise it will all come crashing down around me. I like that people depend on me and can't stand the idea of not living up to expectations.

Like most men of my generation I've struggled with pornography
It's not pretty and not something to tell the world, but it's past time of being ashamed about it. If I've learned anything on my faith journey it's that God's grace is big enough to overcome anything. It's still a daily struggle with so much sex throw at guys every single day on tv, in music, and in print.

I often catch myself rooting for people to fail
It's painful to type, but I often get so angry with my perceived weakness or ways I feel God has slighted me. I catch myself rooting against people who I think have it all to fall and stumble so I can feel like I'm not such a failure.  Sometimes someone's life I perceive to be affecting my happiness so I fight the part of me that refuses to be happy for them.

I absolutely suck at relationships.
Simple true and honest fact. I suck at them. I didn't have a father to teach me about relationships. My grandfather taught me everything about the opposite sex I know but cancer claimed him before I got to the point that I really needed his advice. I've sabotaged every relationship I've ever been in because my lack of paternal influence kept me from knowing how to make a relationship work. I mean my father was a drug addict and alcoholic so it's not like he would have been much help but still.

I have low self worth
One of the reasons for bad relationships and the struggles with pornography is low self worth. I always judge myself on the 10 scale and have never learned to be completely happy with my image. Often when I find a girl that I really like I don't have enough confidence to ask her out because I don't think I'm worthy and secretly fear she will reject me. I often find out girls I really like were really crushing on me but I didn't pull the trigger and ask them out so I'm left struggling with missed opportunity.

My single greatest fear is not failure but that I'll end up like my father
I have lots of fears. Failure, Death, missed opportunity just to name a few, but my greatest fear is ending up like my father. I fear that I will fall flat on my face and end up being the very man I've worked all my life not to be. I still continue to pay for his absence in my life and what exactly that means for my life and my relationships with those around me. 

I've learned that God is big enough to deal with all my doubts, fears, hopes, and dreams
Regardless of all the good and bad I've typed here I've learned God is bigger than any and all of it. It's only through his grace and mercy I'm able to deal with all of these issues. It's only through him that I rise to see the morning waking up with hope instead of fear and timidity.

Words of truth from God through Troy Davis

Creative Loafing over in Atlanta was fortunate enough to have a few question answered in an interview by Troy Davis. The amount of God given truth wrapped up in this interview is both humbling and a testament to the goodness and grace of a living and holy God. The whole interview is available by clicking the link above. Some highlights...


CL: How do you feel?
Troy Davis: " I feel blessed and at peace because God has blessed me through everyone that is fighting for me."

CL: Are you scared?
TD: "No scared of what? I don't fear the devil. God has blessed me through millions of people."

What is justice?

As many of you are probably aware of by now the case of Troy Davis is getting a lot of attention. I find this particularly interesting because of my undergrad in Forensic Science. I love reading about cases. This one is particularly interesting. Now in the interest of full disclosure if anyone is reading this, I am anti death penalty in ALL cases so that should be said. Having said the fact this case has gone this far is an embarrassment. I have a major problem with the Judge presiding over Troy's attempt to get a new case saying that the recantations of witnesses was unreliable but their initial (supposedly coerced) courtroom testimony was in fact reliable. I just can't see how this case has gone this far. The board of Parole spent the better part of the day hearing the testimony of both sides of the argument. While watching a story on the case they interviews the mother of Marc MacPhail the off duty officer killed in the case. She said she just wants justice for the death of her son. This stirred up all sorts of emotions within me. What is justice? Is justice accomplished by sending a man to death when there are serious questions about his guilt or innocence? The fact of the matter is unavoidable. While many people capital punishment kills are guilty invariably there are innocent people wrongly convicted who are executed in a guilty person's stead and it's there I find my comfort. I'm a Christian. It's not a secret or anything that I hide from people i'm pretty vocal about it. I find comfort when my heart hurts over the death of a potentially innocent person by thinking about the greatest example of love I have ever know. Christ died a criminals death in our stead to save us from our own suffering. Christ even says that there is "no greater love than a man lay down his life for a brother". John 15:13 It's things like this that bring me hope. I long for the day when my state and my country kills no one in my name for the sake of justice because I know that the law of averages catches up and eventually they kill an innocent man or woman. I also take solace that like the thief on the cross if someone cries out to God before they are executed that they too will be held in his arms. So the question returns.What is justice or more importantly is it our place or God's to dole out justice?

Indebted to grace

I recently picked up a book I read many years ago called Grace Matters by Chris Rice. He signed it for me and just his words are a great reminder to me.

What I learned from the Casey Anthony trial

My last blog was long so I'm going to try and keep this one short. I learned quite a few things from the Casey Anthony trial. God's Grace is needed by allpeople. There needs to be grace for all those involved with this trial, and grace for everyone who attacked Casey Anthony after she was found not guilty of the charges. The effect CSI and Law and Order have had on the average couch potato is way more than scientists believe. Many of the people who passed judgement on the case from the comfort of their own couch did so with "knowledge" acquired from watching hours of shows like CSI and Law and Order. The other half that were outraged were outraged because Nancy Grace told them she was guilty. That brings me to my next point. Nancy Grace doesn't need to be on tv. That being said it's a double edged blade. Her incessant use of her catchphrase "tot mom" was like watching the "meow game" in Super Troopers except way less entertaining.

It seemed like she intentionally tried to slip in Tot mom where someone would refer to Casey Anthony by name. However Nancy Grace was her own worse enemy. As noted by Brian Dickerson over at the Detroit Free Press. The publicity Nancy Grace gave to the trial allowed Casey Anthony to have a decent attorney rather than the court appointed one she would have received had this been any other case with less media.


 The response to the verdict from Nancy Grace was overwhelming but then so too was the response from the Christian community. Around the country devoted followers of Christ cried foul and demanded "justice". It's funny how when we as Christians are wronged we demand justice from God on our behalf, but when we find ourselves in the position of the one hurting another we cry out to God for mercy. Mercy and Grace are what we all need. I don't mean Nancy Grace. Truth be told modern tv could do a lot better without her on tv every night. This trial also reminded me of some very happy positive things. First and foremost I'm no better than a murderer and need God's mercy and grace just as much. Also it reminded me to be thankful that I live in a country that regardless of how I feel about the verdict I'm free to be judged by a jury of my peers. May God hold close his children who are hurting on either side of this tragedy. Amen