I'm Feeling Socially Conscious Today

Just think about it...

Mmmm... Interesting Thought

Asbo Jesus on Voting

Sycretism and Joel Osteen

I don't always agree with Mark Driscoll on all theological questions, but I think he gets it pretty right when he critiques Joel Osteen, a pastor of one of the largest churches in America. Listen to this and post your thoughts.

Lying as we "worship"

Our central lie is in the discrepancy between the language of worship and the actions of worship. We confess “Jesus is Lord” but only submit to the part of Christ’s authority that fits our grand personal designs, doesn’t cause pain, doesn’t disrupt the American dream, doesn’t draw us across ethnic and racial divisions, doesn’t add the pressure of too much guilt, doesn’t mean forgiving as we have been forgiven, doesn’t ask for more than a check to show compassion. We “sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” expressing our desire to know Jesus, but the Jesus we want to know is the sanitized Jesus that looks a lot like us when we think we are at our best. Despite God’s Word to the contrary, we think we can say that we love God and yet hate our neighbor, neglect the widow, forget the orphan, fail to visit the prisoner, ignore the oppressed. Its the sign of disordered love. When we do this, our worship becomes a lie to God.–Mark Labberton, The Dangerous Act of Worship: Living God’s Call to Justice (Downers Grove: IVP, 2007), 71

Worship to me is one of the central aspects of the Christian faith. In its purest and truest form the Christian faith is radically and staunchy monotheistic (We beleive and worship one God.) God is jealous about being worshiped. We are to worship him and him alone, not ourselves, stuff, creation, but him along. We are also here to enact Gods righteousness, bringing about Gods kingdom on earth as in heaven. This means caring for the hungry, looking after the lonely, being there for the widow. Being passionate about ending injustice and helping the underdog. Worship is not about songs, its about the state of our heart. Desiring to honour God in every moment. Desiring to live a life that pleases God because we are bringing love joy and hope.

HT: Alan Hirsh

Heavy Metal Monk

Like everyone else...

He was like everyone else, he walked the streets like everyone else. He ate and drank, needed the basic necessities. He cried when his best mate died, he needed rest and felt an inner torment at the destiny that lay ahead of him. Yet something was different about him. He was seen as a dangerous force by the fundamentalists of his city, a challenge to their hold over the status qou. He was seen as a source of hope for the poor and the marginalised. He hung out, and served them. He was seen as a liberator and healer of the country, a revolutionary who would bring his people out of oppression. He claimed to be God, he claimed to be the Messiah the one to lead his people to freedom.


He was a young man, like everyone else. He lived in his city, worked in a job, went out for beers on the weekend with his mates. But he lived in a way that was intentional. He went out of his way at work to get to know people on their own turf. In his times out with people he would listen. He would seek to listen and bring life to those around him. He would seek to be a servant in every area. People knew something was different about him. They found that when they spent time with him, they were at ease, they found healing in their conversations with him. They longed to get to know him more, spend time with him. He was willing to give up all he could to serve them and show them a new way to live. He claimed to know God, to know the Messiah who is the way to freedom.