In the News: George Zimmerman, Westboro Baptist, and Indulgences on Twitter

This week has brought about some interesting news and helpful blog posts that you might find valuable.  The crazy Westboro Baptist Church no longer has just Christians and human rights activist as their opposition, but they now also will feel the wrath of One Direction fans.  As with any news, the George Zimmerman verdict regarding the death of Trayvon Martin has caused lots of controversy.  One of the best posts I've read about this has nothing to do with who's right and who's wrong, but instead with "weeping with those who weep."  And lastly I learned that indulgences didn't disappear after Martin Luther, they just aren't sold anymore… they are given away to twitter followers. 

Westboro Baptist Church to Picket One Direction Concert

"WBC will picket this perverted pop boy band from the UK who claim to be the world's #1 band. Indeed, they are a perfect representation of this filthy world and the sin-chasing...God-hating, Christ-rejecting UK who has banned WBC from preaching within her borders." - quoting WBC from Huffington Post

The George Zimmerman Verdict and the National Anthem

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” (v. 13)

It is only through conversations with others that I:

• Began to feel the weight of what it would be like to talk with my son about the dangers that can come with how others may perceive you because of your race and the dangers that can come if you respond to their suspicion with frustration or aggression.
• Could feel the uncertainty that emerges from events like the Zimmerman trial when people of your ethnic background’s personal freedoms have changed radically in a single generation and court decisions were a major factor in those changes (sometimes for the better; other times for the worse).

The fact that my reaction to this case did not echo any highly-personal historical events or immediately draw me back to a formative conversation with my parents means I have work to do (in the form of listening) in order to “weep with those who weep.” - bradhambrick.com

How You Can Save Your Soul: In 140 Characters or Less

The indulgences, which Catholics believe can reduce the time a soul spends in purgatory, will be available to Francis' nearly 7.5 million Twitter followers in all languages — if they tune in to World Youth Day broadcasts or take other spiritual actions. To get an indulgence, Catholics must have already had their sins absolved by a priest.

Pope Francis issued a decree about indulgences and social media on July 9, according to the Rome-based Zenit news organization, which covers the Vatican. - USA Today

The Hymns Playlist

I've had a love for the theological depth of great hymns lately.  Because of that I put together a Spotify playlist of some of my favorite arrangements of some great classics.

[If you cannot view the embedded playlist, click here]

Gardening to Make Beauty

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Riet Schumack, mixing her passions of gardening and children, has been living out her calling in the city of Detroit by making community gardens.  Brightmoor moved to the city of Detroit in 2006 and this is how she has been serving her neighbors.

The Maid Who Sweeps Her Floors

If we looked at everything we do as a calling from God, it might change everything.  What if when we sweeped the floors, tucked our kids into bed, sent an e-mail, or walked through the neighborhood that we understood that God has called us to live out our faith in the places he has put us.  What if we actually believed that God not only called some to be preachers and missionaries, but also to be stay-at-home moms, blue jean designers, and assembly-line workers?

Photo Credit: Corey Grunewald

Shoemaker

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“The maid who sweeps her kitchen is doing the will of God just as much as the monk who prays—not because she may sing a Christian hymn as she sweeps but because God loves clean floors. The Christian shoemaker does his Christian duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.” – attributed to Martin Luther

God in the Garbage

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Life sometimes feels like garbage.  Guilt, pain, tragedy, depression, betrayal, sickness… we could go on far too easily.  It's inevitable that at seasons in life, things will feel like a mess.  It might be because of a mess we've made or because of the reality that life is messy.  The most difficult thing about the times when our life feels like a garbage dump is that we can't picture anything beyond the trash that we are living in.

The message of the Gospel is one that speaks directly into our mess.  The Gospel speaks the truth that God comes into the midst of our garbage and loves us anyway.  The truth that your mess isn't too big for the cross.  The Gospel speaks the truth that God not only cleans up the mess that you've caused, but he also promises to be with you in the mess of life.  The truth that God will never leave you, no matter how bad it gets.  And in the midst of all this mess, God promises to work.

"You make beautiful things.  You make beautiful things out of the dust…. You make beautiful things out of us."  - Gungor

There's an interesting story in the book of John where the disciples have a conversation with Jesus regarding a man born blind.  It was common in that day to directly attribute something bad that happened as a consequence of the sin that someone committed.  In this case the disciples were asking, "What did this guy or his parents do that was so bad that he ended up like this?"

We commonly ask this type of question when things go wrong.  Why?  Why me?  Why them?  Why, right now?  Why this?  The disciples' question isn't all that different than what we ask.  We may not phrase it the same way as they did, but it is ultimately the same.  The disciples wanted an explanation, and we often are looking for the same thing.

But Jesus doesn't answer their question.

Jesus doesn't give an answer to why the man was born blind.  When we are in the midst of the trials of our own life, we often don't have an answer to the questions we ask.  And perhaps what we need most is not an answer to these questions.  Instead Jesus changes their focus.  Instead of looking back, he encourages them to look forward.  Instead of looking for an explanation, he shows them redemption.  He shows them that God takes even the worst of situations and makes it new.  He takes the blind man's situation and changes the discussion from "who sinned" to "how is God going work in this?"

In this case, Jesus works in the man's life by healing him.  Even in the mess of our own lives God can create something beautiful.  Even in the midst of pain, hurt, betrayal, and rebellion, God can redeem the most broken of situations and make something beautiful.  It's easy to get so focused on the cause of our blindness that we become distracted from realizing that God has promised to work despite what we are experiencing.  God has promised to be with us.  God has promised to he would never leave us.  God promises that he hears us.  And that he forgives.

What messes have you been through that you've seen God work in?

You Are Here

6 months before I got married, I was faced with a dilemma. In a few short months, I would no longer be only responsible for my own well being, but I would also be given the responsibility to take care of my soon-to-be-wife. I would not be just son and student, but I would become husband. And that meant I needed to make enough money to give us a place to live; and health insurance would’ve been nice too.

I had been planning for most of college to end up as a youth pastor, but 6 moths before marriage I still didn’t have a job doing youth ministry. But I did have an opportunity to work as a garbage man. So I was faced with a dilemma; I felt like God had gifted me to do student ministry, but I also knew God had given me the responsibility to fulfill my future vocation of husband by being a good provider. Because of my calling to be a husband, I knew that it might actually mean that I was also being called to be a garbage man.

Trash, really? God’s calling.

When is the last time you talked to a barista who you felt was called by God to serve you the best coffee they could make? When was the last time you tucked your kids into bed realizing the magnitude of the calling that you have as you pray and listen to them? As soon as we start talking about “calling,” we immediately start separating the sacred and the secular. Pastors are called; church-workers are called, but what about the employees flipping burgers at the corner McDonald’s?

Vocation literally means “calling.” From the time we are little we are asked the question, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” And then as we enter college, we are faced with the pressure that we need to decide a career and hope that it lines up with God’s will.  If vocation means “calling” then we are not the ones doing the work, God is. We don’t decide our vocations, we discover them. God has put you exactly where you are; that’s your vocation. You are called to love God and love others in the place that you are. That doesn’t mean that you no longer care about future goals and dreams, but it also means that right now is important.  How do you love your family now?  How do you serve your employer now?  How do you relate to your neighborhood now?  How do you interact with teachers today?

The danger for Christians is that it is very easy to fall into the trap of elevating God’s calling in certain situations while minimizing God’s calling in others. It’s easy to lift up pastors and preachers, but what about the assembly line workers? The stay-at-home-moms? The cashier at the local Starbucks? Luther said, “Every occupation has its own honor before God, as well as its own requirements and duties.”

You are here.  You are here with all of your gifts, with your personality, with your unique way of looking at the world, with all of your talents because God wants you here.  You are here in your neighborhood, in your job, in your school, in your family because God has placed you there.

Where are you?

Photo Credit: Jimloter

Being Cautious with Technology

Every morning, first thing after i get up and bring our little man into bed for some morning cuddling, a couple things always take place. First, I inevitably grab my iPhone to check the new blog posts for the day and shortly after I start reading blogs on my iPhone, Elijah usually starts climbing on me and pointing for the iPad which is charging on the nightstand next to us.  Since Daddy is on the iPhone, he should obviously get to watch Mickey Mouse on the iPad.

Technology does some incredible things. We are more connected in our world than ever before. Something can happen on the other side of the world and I almost immediately can hear about it.  I found out about the recent election of the new pope without ever once checking a news source.  My son will have technology at his finger tips that I cannot even begin to imagine. People walk around with bibles in their pockets on their phones; hundreds of years ago you couldn’t own your own bible let alone read one while you were in the bathroom.  Technology changes the way we function.

But this isn’t always a good thing.

I’m okay with my morning routine of checking my blogs on the iPhone; it’s the modern day equivalent to reading the newspaper in the morning.  But what about the times where I’m hanging out in the bedroom with my son and my phone vibrates, do I have the discipline to simply be present with my son and ignore the looming notification.  I’m far from having this figured out, but I’m working on it.  I’ve tried to make sure that at certain times I don’t have my phone out and just be with my family.  We don’t usually just leave the tv on as background noise when we are playing in the living room. When we are reading the bible as a family, texting isn’t okay.

The New York Times had an article describing the love we as americans have for our technology and it was a bit revealing:

“But most striking of all was the flurry of activation in the insular cortex of the brain [when presented with an iPhone], which is associated with feelings of love and compassion. The subjects’ brains responded to the sound of their phones as they would respond to the presence or proximity of a girlfriend, boyfriend or family member.”

I don’t want this to be me.

When I’m with my family, I want to actually be with my family. If I love my phone the way I love my wife and my son, that’s a problem.  I’m not getting rid of technology and I’ll still probably use it more than the average person, but I’m also working to be cautious.  And that starts at my house.

How are you trying to be cautious with your consumption of technology?

Photo Credit: NBC News Facebook