Word to that.

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

Lesson for December 15, 2011: Don’t let anyone stifle your original thoughts and ideas… especially not academics, pompous people or gatekeepers.

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

So when the mail got dropped off at The Marin Foundation’s office today there were 3 huge boxes. The sender was Zondervan. I thought… Here it is! The DVD Curriculums are here! So give me some grace and view the excitement with me of opening the very first copies of our new Love Is an Orientation DVD and Participant Guide.

It officially releases on December 13th.

You can pre-order the DVD and Participant Guide combo pack here.

You can pre-order the DVD by itself here.

You can pre-order additional Participant Guides by themselves here.

I’m popping it in my DVD player right now… Can’t wait to watch it myself as I haven’t seen the final version yet. Awesome!

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org 

I am a Christian, so I know love. I know love because I am loved.

Unconditionally.

I know what love is supposed to look and feel like. I know how I am supposed to love because Jesus invented the come-as-you-are-culture. Therefore if I am a believer in Jesus I must follow in his ways. The Way.

Love.

It’s an odd thing when you think about it: That I must act, feel, support and have my spirit intwined with another in such a way that it provokes a deafening reaction of realness, contentment and security that are sunken deep into the core of the others’ being. That’s what love is.

Tangible.

Measurable.

“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”

Love is real and truthful. Love causes tears of joy. It causes a pause that elicits a quivering deep breath of exhaustion and relief with the understanding that the root of the most pain is finally engulfed in the core of the most secure of places.

Jesus.

Love.

That’s our command. It’s our Kingdom Job Description. There are no two ways around it. The Bible tells us that it is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict; God’s job to judge and ours to love. Billy Graham said that in defense of his love for our President after being accused by a Christian magazine that he was capitulating to President Clinton’s agenda after the sex scandal. That sex scandal.

This is what it means to practice in the Way.

That Way.

The challenge of our time is not how correct we can be. How orthodox. How much of a defender of the faith to keep out all potential heretics, haters and hooligans. We must stop being driven by the fear of the future and focus on how to love well in the here and now.

Right now.

A close friend of mine recently said:

I continue to find myself caring less and less about what each respective person professes to believe, and more about how they profess those beliefs in word and deed.

Oh.

My friend…

He’s gay.

“We should love one another.”

I’m not asking you to give up on the evangelicalness of who you are and what you believe. Not theologically or socially or politically. I’m suggesting it’s time to commit ourselves to the radical love that is irrevocably tied to the One we claim as our Savior.

“For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

Who is our brother?

Other believers? Those who go to church like us? Look like us? Think like us? Act like us?

If someone from ‘the other’ isn’t a part of what you’re doing you’re not building a bridge toward the Kingdom you’re building an army here on earth.

Anyone can build an army. Takes no faith. No guts. No love.

No Jesus.

On the reality show NY Ink about a New York City tattoo parlor, a man tatted from head to toe described his understanding of love:

You know someone’s commitment is real when they charge in when everyone else is running out.

Who and what are you committed to? Who and what are you charging towards?

Is it to the fidelity and work of Jesus’ love that created the best case scenario for living a faithful and righteous life,

or

Is it to feeling ok that you’re right with none of Jesus’ intimate love for the others whom you believe are wrong…

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org 

Ever since I found out how small a mustard seed actually was, I’ve been obsessed with them. It really, really puts Jesus’ words about faith into perspective. Here’s a picture I took last night from my phone of a mustard seed next to my pinky. It’s just amazing stuff.

I ask myself all of the time… “Do I have enough bold faith to continue doing the Lord’s will?”

Much of the time I don’t think I do. And yet, that picture shows a mustard seed in all of its glory. Crazy to think about. Crazy to realize how much faith we don’t have because we don’t think possible. And yet Jesus says it is. Is it strange that I believe Jesus’ words to be true and not some type of obscure allegory? A reality.

He said that those who have a child-like faith will inherit the Kingdom of God. I intently focus everyday on that type of faith. You’re not going to make me cynical. Nope. Many call me naive. Uninformed. Idealistic.

Ok.

Go on and move mountains.

I know I’m trying to have enough faith to do so.

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

The other day I was reading around the blog of Paul Young, the author of The Shack. I really enjoyed The Shack, in fact last year I thought it was the best fiction book I read all year. I didn’t even know Paul Young had a blog until recently. I was excited to learn that he did have one because I enjoy his mind and writing style so much; so I started reading as much as I could.

And then I happened upon this interpretive story he wrote…

It blew my mind!

It’s a story about the inner-thoughts of the disciple Andrew after someone comes up to him to ask him some clarifying questions about the parable of the Good Samaritan, which this person just heard Jesus tell to a group of people.

Depending on how fast you read, it will take up to 7 minutes. Please, take the time to read this and not just skim it. It’s so, so worth it. Powerful stuff.

What are your thoughts on our own inherent judgements about how fiction, truth and reality can all be one in the same?

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

This morning my good friend Adam McLane posted these profoundly truthful words on feeling like a hypocrite. When I read it I quickly remembered a series of conversations I’ve recently had. Before I get into those let me tell you this, even if some may disagree:

I am intentionally, and with a humble spirit, trying my best to live as faithful of a life to God and to others as I possibly can for as long as I am here on earth.

But just because that is my goal doesn’t mean it’s always (or even sometimes) a reality. Therefore because I cannot live up to my standard of life, by default, at a baseline level I am a walking hypocrite. Let’s be honest though; “by default” is only the starting point of my hypocrisies that daily occur. Back to the recent conversations…

In the past eight days I have had three different Christian people ask me in private at separate times if I ever feel like a hypocrite. They asked because they are all leaders in their churches and have recently been feeling like their good intentions to live a successful life is wearing on them. They have to lead each day and preach each week, and each said they felt some type of unknown burden or oppression about having to set some type of ”successful” life for their congregations to look-up to. These pastors are struggling with shame and guilt and doubt like the rest of us. But because of who they are they feel like they can’t keep it real all of the time – especially in front of their churches.

That is the problem with church culture today.

We’re setting up believers in Jesus to fail.

From my personal life, I talk in public so much that many people from all over the place call/email/Facebook/tweet/look up to me; asking me for advice and help and a new way forward. Like I have all the answers? I don’t. I try as best as I can to faithful keep moving forward whether sprinting forward or hanging on by the skin of my teeth. And the way I try to live my life and therefore, answer all of those questions, is to keep it real.

Because let’s be honest again … I’m a walking hypocrite.

I prayerfully wish I had the strength and courage to always practice what I preach. I don’t. I prayerfully wish I had some supernatural power to not get so pissed when I feel stabbed in the back. I don’t have that either. I prayerfully wish I always thought the “right” thoughts – pure and holy on a number of different topics. As much as I seem to try, it never quite works out. I prayerfully wish I had the drive to read the Bible and pray for hours on end everyday (let’s throw physical exercise in that category too). Not so much. I prayerfully wish I had to the ability to take-back a bunch of situations where I’ve deeply hurt people, whether intentionally or not. But that’s not going to happen. I prayerfully wish I could have a Jamba-Juice-style-brain-memory-boost to remember things better and more rightly, so that I would never be embarrassed or ashamed or nervous to speak about my memories. Well, nothing points to that happening either.

I carry a bunch of guilt and shame and doubt everyday of my life. And it scares me to death that I’m leading folks in the wrong direction. It’s been really hard for me to ‘get up’ to teach recently (not normal for me!) because all I want to do is honor God through my actions and my words while simultaneously honoring all of humanity in the same breath; which I know I’m trying to do, but in a God-fearing way not sure I actually ever accomplish.

But the more I think about it the more I am coming to a new conclusion I’ve never thought about before:

You will never feel like a hypocrite if you’re not intentionally, boldly and sustainably living a countercultural faith in real-time in the public. (and by “public” I’m not referring to media or blogs, I’m referring to your own life, family, friends, co-workers and community)

Here’s the kicker: That’s why it’s so easy for the critics and gatekeepers out there to point a finger at those of us who are. It’s because they legitimately don’t feel like a hypocrite because they’re not living a distinct life that puts them in situations where the real-time juxtaposition of life, faith, action and reason all come together in one big cluster-f&%*. And it’s in that moment that the humbly faithful feel like a hypocrite.

Yet it’s in that same moment that you know you’re living the right way. Even if you, or especially I, might not believe it.

Call me a hypocrite then. I’m going to now claim it anyway.

Are there times, and what are they, when you feel like a walking hypocrite?

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

I believe it was to force everyone to think for themselves and learn what it means to implement their faith through God’s eternal Kingdom Principles, in their own situations in real time as life uniquely happens.

God could have made the Bible a million page rule book filled only with yes/no answers to all of life’s questions, situations, circumstances and experiences so that we would never have to think for ourselves in how we are to apply our faith in our own contexts – whether in Jesus’ day, our day today, or if the Lord tarries, days of generations to come after us.

Jesus could have spoken a majority of the time in concrete words communicating a simple message not through parables but in commands, to his friends (the disciples), his critics (the religious gatekeepers) or his audience (the general public as he taught).

But Jesus didn’t.

He knew that such a thought process, as easy as it would be to communicate and walk away, would not easily work for every situation or solve every problem in every circumstance throughout all of the generations to follow. Jesus could have taken the easy way out, and he didn’t. He had enough faith in us not to take the easy way out either. Jesus could have constantly spoken in commands as easy as he completed any of his unreal miracles. But he chose not to. He knew such a medium would not be sufficient to draw people closer to him (one biblical example for what I am suggesting: The countless stories throughout the Old Testament about the Israelites and their inability to fall in line with the simplistic command-based Holiness Code).

If what I am saying were not true the Bible would not be filled with stories, narratives and overarching transcultural and transgenerational principles; it would just be completely filled with simple one sentence statements of yes and no, communicating one word answers to everything that could ever possibly happen in any way, time, situation and circumstance from Jesus’ time until Jesus comes back.

And if that’s how you read the Bible you’re missing the point of what it means to live out our faith in a bold, Jesus-modeled countercultural way in today’s culture. 

Start living your faith.

As my wife says,

Life is not theory.

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

Still just as applicable this week as it was last. The Lord’s conforming process is never easy…

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

I was reading the Bible this morning in the book of Mark doing my One Sentence Bible (I always read ahead of what I post on the blog) and I came across the following:

“And if you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that God in Heaven may forgive you your sins.” Mark 11:25

This hit me square between the eyes as I read it. Reading this, to me, it means that sincere prayers for others can only start with turning the mirror on yourself.

Recently I have been having a large frequency of Tourette Syndrome moments in my head – not the tics, but the irrational outbursts of yelling swear words at the top of my lungs for short intervals of time. This is strange for me for two reasons: 1) I don’t personally swear (no judgments), and 2) Such a situation (let alone reoccurring) has never happened to me before in my whole life. I recently tweeted this. And I did think I needed a break – too much stress/pressure/dealing with being insulted and lied about/etc.

But what I learned today from Scripture is that it’s not a break I need, it’s authentic forgiveness.

I need to forgive people.

Actually forgive them.

I say I’ve forgiven a bunch of people, but I really haven’t. I still desperately hate them to my core. I have had so many people who don’t know me, don’t care about me or don’t actually want to see a bridge being built, talk so much crap about me (from both communities) and flat-out lie about me all over the internet that it has built up a whole lot of resentment in my spirit. A whole lot.

The funny thing is that I have emotionally handled all of these unfounded insults way better than I did last time such a thing happened. So that is true progress in my book… However it seems as though, although I’m handling it better, I am diverting my hate, fear and pain to them to an internalized place, which is odd for me because I’m a very external person.

With that in mind, here is my first public profession of working towards honest forgiveness:

There is too much hate out there about me to link to all of them (and let’s be honest, I don’t want to link to them either), so I’ll just name a few who just won’t stop:

Michelangelo Signorile – From here on out I will honestly and daily work to forgive you.

Dan Savage – From here on out I will honestly and daily work to forgive you.

Peter LaBarbera – From here on out I will honestly and daily work to forgive you.

Robert Gagnon – From here on out I will honestly and daily work to forgive you.

And to the numbers of others who continue to love talking about me by commenting on their sites saying even nastier stuff then those I called by name, those reposting things on Facebook or your blogs or anything; from here on out I will honestly and daily work to forgive you all too.

I have to be done with this. I have to release this self-made cloud of oppression from off of me, otherwise I’ll never be able to continue forward – probably to the goal of many. But I’m not going out like that. I have been directly told by numbers of people across the internet (because, it still holds true that no LGBT or conservative org/church/person in Chicago that knows me talks any trash about me) that it is their goal to “destroy and ruin me”. Here’s what they’re missing:

It’s not about me, no matter how much they claim it is. Never has been about me. Never will be about me. They think they’re out to destroy me, but there’s a whole lot out there they can’t see that they would have to destroy first – which at the end of the day they won’t be able to.

Forgiveness is such a difficult thing. It took me years to forgive some people closest to me for betraying me in lies. I’m sure it will take a lifetime to forgive the mean-spirited people doing what they’re doing now. But I promise you that each and everyday I will lift their names and lives to the Lord and work towards forgiveness. Because if I can’t genuinely forgive them, how can I then sincerely pray to the Lord, who has already forgiven me?

This is one of those rubber hits the road moments, and I won’t let God’s work in my own personal life be done in vain.

I must always remember and cling to the tangible reconciliation that has irrevocably happened in people’s lives from this work (which yes, outweighs the bad by 95-1).

I’ll end with this from the One Sentence Bible from today:

“Those whose work is of peaceful reconciliation will be opposed by mobs circling them with weapons.” Matthew 26:47, 55

My one question, and challenge to everyone out there:

Who is continuing to spew hate in the name of “exposing” and who is continuing to work towards reconciliation in the midst of it?

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

I just posted the interview on a conservative Christian radio program in which, let’s just say, they didn’t appreciate my approach.

Since that interview yesterday I’ve gotten quite a few emails/Facebooks/etc from people asking me why I would keep doing this work and continue to get pounded on by both communities? Here are two quick answers written to me yesterday after the interview that remind me why:

This one from a straight Christian:

I just listened to the interview and I was so impressed with the strength and resolve you showed, not allowing yourself to get drawn into a pharisaical debate. It seemed that for the host and the callers, homosexuality is an “issue” and that for you, homosexuality is about people. When the host divided Christians by “their callings” (essentially saying that you may be called to love the LGBT community, but he is not) he missed the very heart of the matter and didn’t even realize it. Followers of Jesus are given different gifts, for sure—but everyone who follows Christ is called to radical love. Thanks for your costly witness to the Love of Christ today.

This one from a gay man:

I’m gay and I was sent the podcast to your interview on Moody Radio today. You couldn’t pay me $100,000,000 to listen to that gay-hating station. When my friend sent it to me he said I “HAD TO LISTEN”. So I did. I thought he wanted me to listen to it because they were just ripping on us, and our “evil agenda” more. But I never expected you, or what I heard you say! I want to let you know that you have inspired me more than any other person I have ever heard. For you to go on there, take their sh!t and be as gracious as you were, still loving me and my community all the while, I can’t say thank you enough. It would be so much easier for you to just give in and be like them. This world would be totally different if there were even 1 more of you around. If the church was made up of people like you and your group, I would even think of going. I also then went online to check you guys out and I saw all the flack you’re getting from my people. Fu@k them. They’re missing the point. They care about politics and you care about love and God. Sure, I want gay marriage legalized as much as the next gay partnered couple (I’ve been with my partner for 14 years now), but I would much rather have someone like you trying to convince those mother f*^kers on that program you were on to learn what it means to love and engage – because God knows they would never listen to me or any other LGBT person. And I don’t know any person who would sit there and still love them too! God bless you.

That’s why.

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

I’ve never had a comment policy before … that was until I started getting a slew of emails from regular readers telling me they can’t continue commenting when they feel they are just going to get jumped all over. So, for the first time, here is my Comment Policy. Thank you in advance for following it.

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org