LNT: where man is god.

"Let old men dance
Lift up their hands
Even if they are naïve, let them dance
You’ve seen it all 
You watch them fall
Wash off your face and dance..."

Numb. Cold. Still.

That's what I feel when I hear the tone of her voice…. when she talks about church.  When I read his tweets or facebook statuses about "religion".  Or even when i inwardly laugh in sarcasm, making fun of the Christian traditions of my grandparents.

All of us, who have lived, breathed church--since childhood… there's a knowing.  We've listened to thousands of sermons, heard choirs and worship leaders sing millions of songs.  We've connected with so many people inside those walls, but we've also ran away from others, sensing their judgment from a mile away.  We've raised our hands in praise, but we've also kept them down because of behind-the-scenes secrets that haunt and shock our spirits.  We've attended bible study, but sometimes we don't participate because we know the truth, the religious experiences behind the ill-informed words that the pastor speaks.  We're there in service, in the presence of God…. but we're not REALLY there.

Numb. Cold. Still.

Talking to friends, looking at what's said on Facebook and Twitter, analyzing my own heart…  I've prayed to God and ask, "Lord, what has church done to us?"  As a pastor's daughter, I've seen so much, known too much, and I know so many others whose hearts have been tainted by the experience.

And in today's social media and entertainment, you see that almost every modern, "forward-thinking" Christian is obsessed with chatting about the downfalls of the church. We joke about flaws, ways we have been misled, remake fun of them… but in our hearts, we hurt.  Some of us have been consumed by this obsession, and I see them from time-to-time, in church.  Sitting.  Numb, cold, and still.  Some of us have let the church's imperfection get in the way of their connection with a perfect God.  Some of us have taken this obsession, this pain and made it an idol in our lives, as it shapes how we view everything else, especially the Church. Somehow the flaws and the nature of man, have began to control how we view God, how we trust Him for the ugliness we see in ourselves and in others.  And despite the weight of it all, this is not something forced upon us, we have a choice.

"Let church bells ring
Let children sing
Even if they don’t know why let them sing
Why drown their joy
Stifle their voice
Just because you’ve lost yours..."

Inside perhaps my favorite album of 2011 "Ghosts Upon the Earth" by Gungor, was a hidden gem called "Church Bells".  Upon first listen, I instantly thought it was hauntingly beautiful.  Then I listened again.  And again, letting the lyrics prick my heart.  It offers a different perspective for those of us, who think we've done it all, seen it all, heard it all, in the Church.  The very idea of the word "LET…", implies not that we were physically stopping something from happening, but moreover that our hearts were in protest.  We've become bitter and broken, expecting man to be like God.  An untruth… still we fight, wanting everyone to be perfect, honest, true, friendly.  But the song begins with the word, let.  Michael Gungor takes on the heart of the Christian who can't see past the darkness, past the rumors, past the wrong in the Church. He says "let them sing, why drown their joy, stifle their voice…"  Why should our bitterness about man's failures get in the way of other people's joy for God?  Why do we so desperately want the truth to be exposed, why do we want everyone to feel the pain we feel?

"May our jaded hearts be healed
Amen..."

I asked the Lord "What has church done to us?", and He said "What have YOU done to you?".  The truth is… no matter what God gives us the solutions.  We've looked to our pastors, ministers, and other saints for the solutions… and many times, came back brokenhearted.  I think we've forgotten that man--no matter how connected they are to God--never taught us how to love, trust and forgive.  It's always been God.  We must stop putting man in a place, on a pedestal where they've, we've NEVER belonged.  Our expectations have gotten the best of us, and now we must seek healing.

"May our weary hearts be filled with hope
Amen."

In a conversation with my mom yesterday, she said something that struck me "People always come to church, LOOKING for something…"  And when I heard her say that I knew exactly what she meant -- we come to church every Sunday, empty… expecting for the praise & worship leader and the preacher to fill our cup.  All wrong.  And then we're even more disappointed when they are not the "men and women of God" we expected them to be.  Of course, this would leave us bitter.   If only we would pursue our only hope in Jesus Christ…. perhaps we would come to church, only looking for the author & finisher of our faith.  And then, perhaps after we find Him, we'll see Him...hope...and Love in those people's imperfections that have turned us so cold.

FIF.

special people.

"Many of us are normal because we are afraid."

**Just like with some things (like this bird), with some people -- you just know that they are special, the first time you experience them.

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I just love Don Miller.  I haven't read any of his best-selling books (although I plan to in 2012), but I've actively read his blog for the past year... and it almost always seems like he's peering into my mind, and the many inner dialogues I have regarding how faith & culture intersect.  It's no different this time around with his post on "What Makes Certain People Special?".  I read this last week, and can't wait to see the series that follows.

Check it out, it's a must read.  You're welcome :)

What Makes Certain People Special? Part One

Oh yeah, and Happy New Year!!! FIF.

LoveNTruth: Mine. Yours. Our Lane.

FIF is back - aren't 'cha glad? :)  If you're a newbie, welcome -- no biting here.  This post is the first in a weekly series entitled LoveNTruth -- exploring/presenting pressing issues in today's Christian culture.  There will be occasional guest posts, but as usual, most of the posts will be written by me, a regular ol' Jesus-lovin' girl from the Lou. If you are a theological scholar & you'd like to dissertate in the comment section or you just want to chime in on the topic--feel free to do so, you are welcome.

"Lane" by Kierra Sheard.  Got me thinkin'.

I'm warning you.  There's a lot of questions in this post.  Hopefully you can answer them.

It's a matter of identity.  Where do I belong, where do I fit?  What is MY lane?

It's an ages-old question. But it's a question that has been ringing in my heart with urgency for the past year.  Perhaps this is because when you have God-given passions for multiple things… you find yourself having a wide array of friends and associates, different communities to immerse yourself in.  And it's true.  I have artsy friends and musical friends.  Unemployed, broke friends and climbing-the-corporate-ladder friends.  And the biggest and most controversial dichotomy of them all: (actively and Bible-believing) Christian friends and non (actively and Bible-believing)-Christian friends. 

In regards to that dichotomy, it feels like I have to choose.  Or I should, to make everyone else comfortable.  But is choosing who I am?  Is choosing living as Christ says to live, or is it really submitting to cultural norms?  What is my lane? Or the bigger question is, what if my lane is comprised of multiple lanes, having a heart for multiple communities, shining my God-given light within all of them?

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Matthew 5:14-15 

It all boils down to salt and light…. how salty is your salt and how bright is your light.  Everyone interprets this biblical concept differently.  Much of Church culture teaches us that because we're "in the world and not of it" so we must shut ourselves from the world, from the community around us…. holiness & righteousness only occurs when we leave the world and all it offers behind.  We all know the terms-- you can't "straddle the fence" and can't be "lukewarm".

And if we dig past the lingering ignorance of how they are used, there are some gems hidden within those popular phrases.   We should not be lukewarm or straddle the fence, but God is the better judge of our obedience to Him… not Grandma or even our radically-devout peers.  In many ways, our Church culture, sometimes driven by the hearts of men, has deceived us and misinformed us, just as much as the world has.

Which brings me to a bigger question -- what is the Church's lane?  Is it okay for keep our lights in those four walls of the sanctuary because we're afraid/naive when it comes to the current chaos of this world?  How are people supposed to see Christ in action, if we, His body, constantly distance ourselves from them?  Are we more interested in upkeeping the image men see on the outside, or the reality God knows on the inside?  Do we trust the light in us to be MORE powerful than the darkness out there?  Do we REALLY believe?

As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. John 17:18-19

Many times I've found being the only Christian in a room of non-believers to be an awkward experience.  Especially when they are your friends.  And then it's humbling because I'm reminded that I must depend on God to be that light, I can't do it alone.  And then it's exhilarating because I'm reminded that I can depend on Him and that He's already with me.  Wherever I go and whoever I'm with, my lane is found in my identity in Him.

And that moment of assurance is one of the best feelings ever.

What are your thoughts about your "lane" OR the Church's "lane"?

FIF.

12.1.11.

it's been a long while, but FAITH IS FRESH is back.  and what's changed?

we have a new look, and millions of moments have come & gone in the past 18 months.

but when it comes to the heart of FIF, absolutely nothing is different.  see you thursday.  :)

FIF.

Required Jesus!!

 my all-time favorite RJR.

Insert profanity here. Sexually explicit phrase there.  Track-after-track, I cringe and yet nod my head to the beat, laugh at the clever lyric.  And then all of a sudden, at the end of the album.... I hear familiar words like Jesus, Lord and love....wait, is that a choir?  WHAT is going on?!

*clears throat* It's called the RJR, the Required Jesus Record (yes, I totally made this up)... almost every popular and secular Hip-Hop or R&B artist, particularly in the 90s had one.  Think.  R.Kelly... of course, I Believe I Can Fly or U Saved Me.   Puff Daddy... remember that Thank You record that had all of Bad Boy and "they mama" on it?  Or Missy Elliott, who collaborated with gospel legends, the Clark Sisters.  And we can't forget Mariah.... she loved making hits with vaguely Christian lyrics and her standard "black and big-boned, I love the Lord" background singers.  And the list goes on.....

This is such a familiar staple in urban music, that you almost can't take their message seriously.  Over and over again, you see secular artists express and promote sin all over their albums, and then at the end, there's this glimmer of hope.  And yes, if these records, can cause a non-believer to seriously consider Christ and His love for us... that is beyond beautiful.  But still.....what kind of example is being set?

Ultimately, as a Christian it's super-easy to point the finger.  But the truth is, that judgmental mindset is so far from being justified.  Yes, they are celebrities.... yes, millions of people listen to them.... yes, the world watches them.... yes, they should "know better".  But we should too.   Everyday, people watch us, people listen to us. Thank God the love of Christ constrains and compels us.

So tell the FIF, what's your favorite RJR??  :)

numb.

Throughout my life, I've frequently paid the price for an adjustment I rarely make.  For some reason, I have a tendency to fall asleep with my arms on the pillow, above my head.  Naturally, blood rushes down, not up the body.  So in the middle of the night I wake up with numb, tingling, very uncomfortable limbs.   At 3 in the morning, here I am re-learning a lonely lesson, knowing that it will only be a matter of time before this happens.... again.

Facebook. Twitter. CNN. Reality shows. Skype. FOX News. Blogs. Podcasts. Timelines. Live Updates. Digital acronyms. iChat. Uploads, downloads.  

It's so easy to drown in today's low-effort, high-tech, mass media culture.  Our minds are constantly fed bytes of fact and opinion, and after a while you can find your own self confused on where you stand--not only on social or economic issues, but even in your own spiritual beliefs.  Things that were once black or white... begin to look gray. And the big question is, has the information age caused a societal drop in personal integrity or character--or has it simply caused people to become more open-minded to different views, new perspectives and "enlightening" information?

Oh well, it's still a good day.

This may be why we stumble upon so many passion-less people... folks walking through life not interested in the purpose God has for them.  As a society, this culture has caused us to become numb.... but what about Christians?  For some of us, the digital age has saturated our lives--we wake up to our iPhones and fall asleep next to our laptops. As intellects, we're entertained by information. As gossipmongers, we're informed by entertainment.  Some of us feel that our ministries, our careers, our livelihood depend on an external server.  We're more concerned about who's commenting on a blog post than what the Gospel says.  We're more prone to tweet or text our complaints, than to pray about it.  We'd rather listen to a podcast than read the Word.  We live in this "freedom" that we celebrate except when our fingertips are glued to the keyboard.

Many Christians have cited the dozens of tornadoes, earthquakes and volcanoes over the last few months, as the signs of the times found in Matthew 24, and ultimately as wake-up calls to the Body of Christ and the world.  And while these signs are kinda obvious in their nature (no pun intended), maybe we should look right in front of our eyes at the phone, the computer, the iPad, and the TV.  Drowning ourselves in information and entertainment...we are becoming numb to the everyday, extraordinary presence of God in our lives.  Yet we fall asleep and put our arms above our heads over and over again.

As a graphic and web designer, my Macbook might as well be sewn into my legs. And there are days that between watching at a Twitter timeline all morning, working on Photoshop all afternoon, and designing websites all night--I just want to go to the nearest park, turn my phone off, lay under the sun and experience my Father. Let him un-numb me.  So that's what I do sometimes.... go and getaway.  Soak Him in, so that my spirit can come back to Life....back close to Him. No matter how many times I lose myself in technology and forget to put my Saviour first, He has a way of drawing me back to Him and back to the only information I'll ever truly need.

FIF.

signature.

ANY presentation of your church, your organization or your business, should be a passionate expression of what it represents and what it does.  It's like your signature-- see mine above?  If you look at it long enough, you'll learn a lot about me and my personality.  But the most important feature about my signature is that NO ONE ELSE has it.  No one else has the ability, the gift to write MY name like ME.  It's my signature.  And because I love how unique my handwriting is, I put my signature on almost any paper I see... it's that special to me.

In at least half of the first convos with potential clients, they almost vomit out the word "websites".
It goes a little something like this:

We say hello.
I briefly explain what Firstfruits Creative is all about, and ask a little bit about their ministry, nonprofit, etc.
My question is usually ignored, in exchange for the question "do you do websites??"
I say yes, and go on to talk about other work FFC does.
That's ignored as well, and then we talk more about "websites".... arrgggghhh!

Everyone wants a "website" these days.  Great.  And although i love web design, the "W" word is beginning to make me cringe... seriously.  Pastors, CEOs and directors of nonprofits desperately need to see the bigger picture. Everyone wants a website, so eventually everyone eventually GETS a website. Hundred of thousands of organizations with URLs.   Digital clutter for your potential supporter to sift through.  And the average online commuter is rapidly adapting to the messiness.   The internet is becoming more like the Yellow Pages than a place to showcase a vision, mission or a message.  Some people think that just having a website is enough, or even that "as long as it LOOKS nice" that that's enough.  ALL WRONG.  

This is why Firstfruits Creative strongly advises potential clients-- let's learn your organization's signature first.  The more we learn it, the more we'll love it and the more you will want it to be all over that website you want so badly.  Without YOUR signature-- the unique gift or vision that God has placed deep inside of you-- it will just be another webpage, another video, another URL that someone will forget.  Another "website" in the midst of clutter.  

So let's not skip steps-- promotional tools like websites lack substance and originality when they are constructed just to "have one".  Don't forget your signature!

FIF.

young blacks. give back.

It's true, we they do!  :)  (This is my attempt to write a seemingly-impartial post. Let's see how this goes.)

**Shot at St. Patrick's Center and the YWCA West Florissant Center.

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of shooting some of the great work that the STL Urban League Young Professionals are doing this month, for our their annual campaign for March, Young Blacks Give Back.  Each Saturday this month, we they, along with friends and family, are participating in a slew of community service efforts all across the St. Louis area.  The goal is to not only excede our their 1000-hours-of-service goal for the month, but more importantly to meet the needs of our their city, and raise awareness of how important it is help those in need.

There's two Saturdays left to participate in the variety of service efforts ULYP has available, so if you're in the St. Louis area and interested in serving, email the YBGB committee at ybgb@ulyp-stl.org for more info!