Alright ya’ll, it’s business time.  I promised yesterday to do a series on somethings that I believe that definitely set me apart for the stereotypical Christian.  Please prayerfully consider my thoughts and see what God leads you to do.

Again, here’s my list:

1. Skipping church doesn’t mean you’re going to hell.
2. Gay people should legally be allowed to get married.
3. Drinking beer or wine is not a sin.
4. Masturbation is not a sin.
5. “Secular” music is not from the devil.
6. Not everyone in church is a Christian.
7. I don’t think the world is going to end in my lifetime.

This is NOT a permission slip to go out and do all these things- read all week to get what I’m getting at!

I’m going to start with number 2, since it’s obviously the heaviest topic, and the one that I’ve already received the most criticism about.  I’m sure I’ll get some pretty angry responses, that’s okay- I’m past the point of taking in personally!

I’ve already taken so much flack for this one.  I totally understand why.  I think by this point in time, each and every one of use knows someone who considers themselves gay.  It’s a raging debate in a lot of churches. Whole denominations are making stands on this issue that are blowing apart their congregations.

I think this is a very important issue to discuss, but not a very easy one to put to rest.

Before I jump into this though, we need to set the record straight:
1. Stop assuming gay people can’t be in love. We cannot deny the fact that gay people  do love each other- deeply and intimately.
2. Stop assuming gay people are animals.  Legalizing homosexuality doesn’t mean that ‘next week they’ll all be screwing animals.’ That’s gross, and highly offensive to me and everyone else I know, gay or straight. Stop thinking so unconsciously.
3. You can be ‘gay’ and love Jesus. It’s not the attraction that’s the sin.  It’s the action.  There are people in your church who believe they’re gay, but are choosing to live holy lives in massive faith. Do not put these people down. Support them as much as you can. They are heroes, they are fellow soldiers, and they are co-workers in building God’s kingdom.

Alright, here it is…

I think LEGALLY, gay people should be allowed to be married.

There, I said it.  If my country put it to a vote, and the majority chose this, then so be it.  We can’t assume that church and state are the same.  We cannot deny their rights.

First thing people bring up:

Well then they’ll force pastors to marry gay people. Heck no. That’s a violation of my rights, and I’d never do it.

But they could take away your pastoral credentials or tax benefits if you refused to marry gays! Oh really?  You need credentials to do ministry?  Do you serve God for the tax credit?!

Here’s an idea: government could sign a ‘Gay Marriage Act’. This way, ministers could take the course and get licensed to marry gay people.  Those opposed simply wouldn’t take the course, therefore would be unable to marriage gay people.  That wasn’t so hard was it?

But Jay, legalizing homosexuality will break down society!

And society isn’t already breaking down?!  You need to realize that this world is coming to an end.  We’re on a sinking ship, and our job is the rescue as many as possible.  Stop blaming gay people for ruining the world, and start to change the world instead.

Christians, listen up: If someone doesn’t know Jesus, it is NOT up to the church to dictate morality.  My mom always said, “you can’t clean a fish until you catch him!”  (and it’s God’s job to clean my heart and life anyway.)  People will continue to sin, and heavy-handed judgement is the last thing we need to do as Christ-followers. So let’s start by cutting that out.

Secondly, and much more importantly- (Christians, we truly need to wrap our heads around this)  just because something’s legal doesn’t mean it’s right!!!

Seriously, conservative Christians have been battling gay marriage in the courts for soooo long… but does it really matter to the gospel?!  Who said legality is the be-all-end-all?

In Canada, you can legally have anal sex with a consenting 14-year-old. Doesn’t mean it’s right. In Canada, you can get off on a rape charge…if you were drunk. Doesn’t mean it’s right. In Canada, you can kidnap and force a girl into prostitution, and get away with a small monetary fine. Doesn’t mean it’s right.

Just because a country gives the green light doesn’t mean God says it’s okay.  Being married under the marriage act doesn’t mean you’ve got God’s blessing… gay or straight.  That’s a whole nutha level.

Realize that the world and the body of Christ are heading in two completely different directions.  It’s not up to us to course-correct legislation.  It’s up to us to change minds, present the gospel, and support the life-changing power of Jesus in the lives of those we’re loving and serving. (DANG…that was good.)

Okay, let’s go WAY beyond legalization…

Here’s my greatest concern about this issue: there’s a generation of Christians being raised that, because of their love for their gay friends, are accepting homosexual behavoiur as okay.  What’s happening is that they’re ignoring/throwing out/tip-toe-ing around what God says is sin in order to continue to care for those they SO deeply love.

You don’t have to ignore God’s commands in order to love gay people. Or straight people for that matter.  I’ve got a bunch of supposed ‘Christian’ friends who I’d love to punch in the teeth. But my commend from God is simple: love them.  But not their sin.

Let me be very clear.  God loves every single person he ever created.
But He does not condone their every single action, choice, habit, or lifestyle.

This includes me- God HATES my sin. He created me for more- for a life lived in Him.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 is SO clear:
Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.

Christians- do not deny sin as sin. See all mankind for who they are- broken, sinful, hurting people in need of a Lord and Saviour.  And then be like Jesus to them.

So what should we the church being doing about the whole gay issue?

I think there’s a LIST of things that Christians could be doing when it comes to the ‘gay issue.’  None of them involve gay bashing, putting others down, or shunning people with a different sexual orientation.

1. Stop the hypocrisy.

We’re SO quick to pick ‘GAY’ out of that passage.  But we forget what God is talking about here:  ALL sin- sexual sin, worship idols (like MONEY), commit adultery (before, during, or after marriage, people!), male prostitutes, thieves (including corporations and those who take advantage of others), or greedy people (who won’t even tithe maybe?), or drunkards (uh oh college kids), or are abusive (or just downright mean), or cheat people (this includes not helping the poor.)

If you’re a sinner, you’re just as sinful as a gay person. Don’t hide behind your goodness or religion or discipline.  We’ve all sinned. We’ve all fallen short.  We need to fess up.  And stop pretending we’re perfect.

2. Stop dictating morals.

God didn’t say “be good.”  And he certainly didn’t say “force others to be good.”  He said, “Love the Lord YOUR God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.“  Do that, and your goodness will PERMEATE the lives of others.

3. Realize that the gay lifestyle isn’t a very open and holistic way to live.

My wife took a class in university with a gay section. First day in the section…everyone sits down…the teacher knows Michelle is a Christian.  So he singles her out: “Michelle, what do you think of homosexuality?” Trying to make her look bad…but forgot she had the Holy Spirit.  And He came through big time.  I believe God spoke through Michelle…and it floored both her and silenced her professor.

“I think it’s sad that we live in a world where we base our identity solely on who we have sex with.”

So true Michelle. The biggest ‘gay issue’ is that it commodifies a person- that we are who we have sex with. “Hi, I’m Jay and I have sex with a woman named Michelle.” It takes the humanity out of the description and the equation.  No job, family, hopes, dreams, ambitions, hobbies, goals, vision, adventure, fun.  Just who we sleep with.  It’s so narrow and close-minded and shallow.  That’s the real issue here.

4. Address the hurt.

If the church focused on helping people receive healing- from past relationships, abuse, lack of good parenting, failures, hurt, broken dreams, others who’s condemned them….if the church focused on a restoration of humanity- we’d be much further along in being the hands and feet of Jesus to the gay community.

5. Lead towards Jesus with love.

1 Corinthians 6:11 gives us such hope:
Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Tell your story.  We were all once in sin of some kind.  Tell your ‘Exodus story.’ About where you came from, the long hard journey, and the Promised Land.

Gay bashing and hating? A sure-fire way to ostracize an entire community of people.
Offering hope and the possibility of redemption? Now that’s a game-changer.

Jay

Hey everyone…happy Friday!  Here are 4 more great questions from our fine searching reader:

3.  God seems paradoxical and unlikely to me.  If God knows all, can God change his future mind? If God knows all how is prayer effective?  Are we predestined to be Christians before we are born? If yes, whats the point of evangelizing if everyone is already chosen?  If God knows what we will do how are we making a decision to follow him?  If God doesn’t know our future than he is not all knowing as explained in the Bible.  I’m very confused about this.

4.  We don’t need God to have morals.  I know many atheists who are very moral and have the same morals as many of my Christian friends.  This is very likely as our survival as humans would benefit with a moral influence.  This moral influence could be built in through natural selection.  We also feel sorry for one another which is very natural.  Christians also seem to be causing oppression in the world, as with the current gay community.  In the past, Christians have been hostile against Blacks, Natives, those of other religions, homosexuals, and even one another.  Many Christians seem to have absolutist morals, without open minds.

5.  I understand the Darwinian theory of natural selection and can see it working in the world.  I’ve always had an interest in science and have read some books on the subject (Origin of Species included).  The Darwinian model is logical and isn’t random chance at all, but the opposite.  Small changes over time account for the evolution of species.  A certain gene or trait may cause an organism to survive more than those without the gene, eventually organisms without the gene or trait will die out.  That’s really the core basic idea I guess.  I don’t understand how this couldn’t make sense.  I just don’t see any evidence pointing to a God.

6. Currently Christianity in the world is embarrassing.  God hates fags, murders of abortion surgeons, hate for political parties and opposing religions and brainwashing of children are some of the many reasons for my thoughts on this.  Children are brought up in the church and scared into believing by descriptions of hell and such.  If children can believe in Santa or the tooth fairy than they obviously don’t have the mechanisms in place to choose for themselves.  They also don’t understand what the whole idea of Christianity is.  Labeling a child a “Christian child” just seems wrong, just like labeling a child a “Libertarian child” seems wrong.

My response…

3. Ahh yes, beautiful questions!  Please remember that you’re thinking of God from within the contexts of which we understand, the greatest of which is TIME.  If God is outside of time, then couldn’t he know all possible outcomes?  For example, if I buy a shotgun…God knows what I’m going to do with it.  If I kill someone, he knew it already.  If I clean it up and sell it, He knew that as well.  He has a best plan for it in mind (probably skeet shooting or a nice wall decoration!), but he won’t overrule my choices, because he didn’t create me to be a robot.  He created me with the freedom to choose, in the hope that I’d choose to love Him and others about all else.

As for salvation and pre-destination, my dad explained it to me like this- if you look at a train track, you see parallel tracks. If you look way down the line, far into the distance, it appears as though the two tracks join.  Like this: /\  In your mind you know the two tracks never touch.  But your eyes tell another story.

I think that’s what faith is like: we definitely chose Jesus. But He unquestionly chooses us.  To rule out one destroys the others.  Somehow, it’s both.

4. I agree, we don’t need God to have morals. But who said being good is the goal?  Hitler was a staunch atheist bent on the survival of the fittest.  The Nazis thought they were doing the RIGHT thing in exterminating Jews. It was the moral thing to do- for the planet’s sake.  Same thing in Rwanda.  Darfur. Middle East.  Geez.

Hmm…Christians hostile towards others?  Have you thought that maybe it’s just a “human thing?”
It totally depends who’s telling the story.  Get some major perspective on this.
People hurt people. People hate people.  Palestine hates Israel. North Korea hates South Korea.  Everyone hates the U.S.

Guess who won’t give me the time of day? Muslims.
Most gay men (except for those in my family) treat me like crap.

But let’s bring it back to Jesus…
During the Crusades, ‘Christians’ cut open Muslim bodies to search for gold.  Would Jesus have done that?
White people have killed black people.  Would Jesus have joined the lynch mob?
Someone shot JFK and Ghandi and MLK… would Christ have committed these crimes? Of course not!

Jesus was never hostile towards slaves, women, sexually sinful, the poor…he came to bring healing and worth to all.  True followers of Jesus do the same.  Again, DO NOT equate Christianity with Jesus!
He came to love, serve, and die for all- including his enemies.  It’s a bitter pill, but one I’m trying to swallow!

5. The arguement is micro-evolution vs. macro evolution. Their are thousands of species of dogs…but a dog was never a cat.  Humans come in various sizes and colours…but a human was never a chicken.  The ‘faith choice’ is simple- in the beginning God, or in the beginning dirt.

The truth is, Darwin’s theory is bang-on for micro-evolution, but is beyond highly unlikely for creation.  I just don’t have enough faith to be an evolutionist.  The odds are too astronomical.  Blow on your hand and you lose 200 billion skin cells. Each is made of a string of over 200 animo acids in an exact sequence containing more info than the whole Congress Library (117 mil titles last time I checked!). Each amino acid is made of proteins which get their info from the amino acid. So which came first? The chicken or the egg?  Dang, that’s a big can of worms to open- just by blowing on your hand!

I’m confident that time will tell- the more we learn of nature through science…the more we explore DNA and the micro-world…the more we’ll see a complexity that is beyond random chance.  Intelligent design requires an intelligent designer.  That makes sense to me.

6. I agree that labelling a child anything is scary. But it’s no different for adults- “I’m a liberal.” “I’m gay.” “I’m a Buddhist.”  We are a collection of the world that we surround ourselves with, and the choices we make along the way.

As for the rest- God doesn’t hate anything he created, He’s never killed an abortionist (though I’m sure he’d like them to stop killing His babies), He probably hates all politican parties but I promise He loves the politicians, and He opposes all religion (including Christianity) beside that of loving those in need (James 1:27).

My king is matchless, my king is righteous and holy, my king is loving and caring and here to bring freedom.

He loves you and wants you.  Do you know this?

Jay

Would LOVE your input on this ya’ll.

New post by Michelle for the girls on how much God loves you at I Am Your God

Dudes…on Monday I’ll be putting up a post on a conversation I had last week. The dude’s opening sentence: “You see Jay, women are like carpets- you need to throw them out when they get old and worn out.” I’m still mad!

The bird I hit on Monday.

Michelle and I were driving up the mountain. I saw this cute little bird fly across the road…it hit the side of an oncoming truck, bounced back into my lane, and I finished him off.  I heard the crunch and everything.  I felt sick.  I felt so bad.

One minute ago, Tweety was flying high about the escarpment, playing with other little birds, and enjoying the miracle of flight.  Just seconds later, gone.

My family is putting my dog Toby down this week.  Every time I think about it I have to hold back tears.  (ridiculous, I know!).  We’ve had him for years.  Ever since I moved to Hamilton.  He loves me the most.  But now he’s deaf, almost blind, and is in pain because of a tumor that’s developed.

Months ago, he was a happy little puppy who loved to bark.  He’ll be gone by the weekend, and he doesn’t even know it’s coming.

But pets and animals matter very little when you compare them to people.

An old friend’s mom died last week.  I read the news on her blog, and it rocked me.  She was young. Mother of 4 kids. Wife to a godly husband and megachurch pastor.  A strong leader to thousands of women.  After a years-long battle with cancer, she passed away.  I can’t imagine what her kids, her husband, and her community are going through.

The loss of a life is always tragic.  Because God never meant it to be like this.

I’m reminded once again this week that LIFE IS SO FREAKIN’ SHORT.

A vapor. A mist. The blink of an eye. The snap of a finger. A dot. A blip in time.

We have one life, one moment in time, one brief allotment of lifespan to do what God created us to do. And most people fail to live up to this high calling.  We waste it away in self-focused indulgence and foolishness.  We squander it in chasing after the things of this world and with keeping up with those around us.  We blow our gift of time on mindless toys and entertainment that can never satisfy our souls.  We neglect to save the world because we’re busy trying to maintain a veneer that says we’ve got it all together.  We forgot to die to ourselves while we were alive, and so we never learn to truly live.

Birds truly live. They do what they were created to do.

Dogs truly live. They also do exactly what God created them to do.

And sometimes, every once in a while, a human truly lives.  They do what God created them to do.  They are remembered forever.  And they are loved by many.  And though they may die young, they die not at all- because we were never meant to die…and those that learned to live and die while alive will truly live forever.

To paraphrase Seneca, “it’s not that life is too short- it’s that we spend so little of it actually living.”

LIVE TODAY.

Jay

Gideon was a silly little man who was hiding in a cave so he wouldn’t get beat up by a group of tools from the next country over.  Then an angel calls him out.  Gideon mans up and calls together the remaining forces of the Israelite army- 32,000 guys in total.

He tells anyone who’s a chicken that they can just go ahead and get gone.  22,000 wusses leave (full disclosure: I’d probably be one of them!).  10,000 remain.  God says “too many Giddy.”

So Gideon calls a water break.  Every heads for the river.  9,700 of the men assume the pushup position and drink straight from the water.  300 cup it in their hands, presumably to inspect for dirt…or to keep an eye who for those who would seek to jump them from behind.

God goes- Gideon, I’m envisioning an army of 300 men to take on thousands. (sound familiar? Yeah, Hollywood likes to rip off the Bible!)  What God says next to Gideon in Judges 7:2 would have made me faint right on the spot…

The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the others go, each to his own place.”

Great Lord… We’ve got 10,000 brave soldiers, and you want me to take only those who don’t like getting their noses wet?!

Notice how God watches his wording- he didn’t tell Gideon that Gideon would beat the enemy.  He didn’t say that the army would beat the enemy.  He said that He’d take care of it.

And he did.  The day, those 300 men literally surround the enemy camp, light some matches, play some loud beats, and the sleeping army destroys itself.

All that to say…“Lead in such a way that the glory MUST go to God.”

That’s the key to becoming a great leader.  Step out in faith and tackle projects that are DESTINED TO FAIL unless God intervenes.

• The best churches are planted that way.
• The most influence ministries are built this way.
• The greatest missionaries knew this was their only hope.

If we can do it in our own strength, we’re not dreaming big enough.

Lead in such a way that the glory MUST go to God.

Jay

Let’s start the week off with the most ridiculous and funny video I’ve seen all week…

Living your dreams.

Maybe it’s to be a singer/songwriter.  A youth pastor. A millionaire real estate developer.  A coffeeshop owner. A doctor. Lawyer. Butcher.  Busker.  Writer.  Church planter. Fire-eater.

Whatever your current dreams are, you need to run them through a filter to make sure they’re legit.

1. Is this really God’s dream for my life?

I don’t think most people ever got honest about this one.  Very few people take the time to think with their brains and actually work out the implications of their WANTS and in so doing, forfeit their DREAMS.  For example, ‘being famous’ isn’t a good reason to do anything, if only because you have no idea if being famous is your highest purpose.  It’s probably foolish to make your dream to become the greatest basketball player in history, only because that’s a pride-based dream and demands the sacrifice of putting yourself on top of others.  To become the greatest player that YOU can ever be, now that’s a worth goal.  But probably not your dream.  We need to think consciously and pray and ask God what’s what…because great are the plans that he has for us.  Not necessarily huge, but certainly great.

2. Is this going to help others?

Any dream that exists just to make you comfy/rich/famous/powerful/happy is a shallow dream, and certainly not one worth dedicated your time and life to.  No- the greatest dreams mankind have lived out are those that reach into the lives of others and capture the essence of your humanity- togetherness, community, love.  It’s naive and blind to think that you can achieve any dream on your own, so why assume that you get to keep all the rewards from it too?!

3. How am I going to get there?

Most people will never reach this step.  On top of the fact that most will never seek God’s face nor ask if it will help others, the majority of humanity will soon settle into a plan B… a steady/safe/path-of-least-resistance career and sell their precious hours in exchange for fleeting dollars.  We fail to plan, and therefore, plan to fail.  “Without counsel a king loses a war.”  “Without wisdom a tower cannot be built.”  “Without careful planning a man cannot build his house or barns.”  God put these verses in the Bible for a reason- because he wants us to be smart!!!

Wise.  He wants us to take the skills and talents and knowledge and experience that He gave us, seek his face, and then put a plan of action into place- a plan that, when committed to God, cannot fail.

This is the art of living your dreams.

Jay

New post today for guys today: Down 10 Pounds, Up 1 Mindset

For the girls by Michelle… How Do You Know When Silver Is Pure?