epiphany

New Life

Sometimes I really love my church. Tonight we had a baby dedication and baptismal service. There were nearly 30 babies and 45 new converts. Where I'm from, baptism is a very quiet occasion. Out here, people get a little rowdy, clapping, cheering, and whistling. A few years ago, I would have found it disrespectful. Now I'm starting to understand celebration. We're honored to live in a place where we can openly celebrate God's gifts and love through Jesus.

Another terrific thing is that nearly all the converts are adults. Each has a story. Each has a life. Each has seen love in Christ, and change is the result. With that many baptizees, only a few tell their entire tale during the service. The rest give short statements of belief. However, all of them tell their story in a handout the audience received as we entered. I'd like to share a couple. I love how human and real these people are. (I'm leaving off last names since I haven't asked permission to reprint these.)

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Sara A, age 25

I remember from a very early age feeling a sense of isolation in Islam. I remember long treks in the snow with my family from our house to the local mosque. Once inside, I had to put my hijab on and go upstairs to the loft area whee the women prayed, separated from the men. At this age of 6 or 7, I was already a pretty rebellious kid and I would always try to pull the hijab away from my head and peer down the railing - wondering why we had to be separated.

After a few colorful teen years, I found myself in Seattle. I was away from my parents and isolated from all my friends and had to make all my decisions on my own. It was then that I met someone that introduced me to Jesus, not just "God." I was very resistant at first. The first time I came to Mars Hill, I was completely taken aback by the scene. So I attended a different church for the next ten months. And then the Lord finally opened my eyes and my heart when I returned and listend to one of Pastor Mark's sermons abut Christ on the Cross. I found myself identifying with everything he was saying. By the end of the sermon I was wrecked, completely convicted, and with tears in my eyes, I went to thte front desk and asked for a copy of the Bible. I then went to my car and cried like I had never cried before, literally craying from the depths of my soul. All the while I kept thinking "Oh crap, I am a Christian." I knew that my tears were of joy but also of pain because I knew that I was going to face my family who would not accept my decision, because being an Afghan and Muslim is so cultural. Regardless, I believe that the Lord provides and that my hope comes from Him, our Lord, Jesus Christ.

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Damon C, age 38

I was raised by an abusive Jehovah's Witness grandfather who gave me a horrible idea about religion and religious people. By the time I was 19 years old, I was in the Army and declared myself an atheist. I was mean to people who loved Jesus or any other god and believed it was my job to alert them to what seemed to me to be the cruel truth. I began fostering a serious drug and alcohol problem and a bit of a criminal record. I hated everything and everyboday. In the middle of my remorse and hopelessness, I agreed to seek help from God as I understood him and God sobered me up. I knew that God had done for me what I couldn't do for my self and eventually, about 10 years ago, God gave me the idea to read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I prayed to God and asked Him to tell me if the Bible were true or not. Then, the Bible came alive for me and I knew that Jesus is God, died and rose to conquer sin and death.

Since then a lot has happened. I have completely lost interest in neo-spirituality and philosophy, except as it reflects the might, truth, and beauty of Jesus. Two years ago, I found Mars Hill Church and have enjoyed becoming a member of a group that believe that the Bible, the living Word of God, is authority above all others. I also host a Bible study at my tattoo shop on Wenesday nights so I can try to spread a little of the gospel message up on Capitol Hill [the Seattle neighborhood with the mass murder this weekend]. I'm way over due to be baptized, and I am excited to do it at Mars Hill with people that I know love Jesus as much as I do. I hope my testimony helps someone.

First Performance

Yesterday Rick Jensen, music pastor at Greenlake Presbyterian Church, told me that they sang the Drinking Song for a service on Sunday, and it "brought down the house." He's going to try to get a me a recording.

:-)

Overheard at a Hockey Game

In a sing-song voice, a grandmother reprimanded a child for swearing:

"We don't believe in God, so there's no such thing as Jesus. Besides, you're Jewish."

Springing

Another rainy week. Another beautiful weekend. The first five are from a walk to my friend Gary's house. Gary's undergoing chemo and recently had pneumonia as well. He's recovering amazingly well. He's pensive in the sixth photo because the University of Washington just fell behind in their sweet sixteen qualifying game (we won by three). That shot was available light in a basement lit by the TV, some dim incandescent lights, and a fire.

The last three are from the Seattle Center.

Freeway Park

On the heels of a cold, wet week, spring has sent her forerunners.

Some People You Just Like

An e-mail exchange between me and a coworker today:

Me:

I found an error under the "race" category on the [international] form. "Asian" was misspelled. I fixed it on the other internat. form and can change the US form for you if you tell me its location.

Coworker:

Thanks for checking. I checked the domestic form and Asian is spelled Asian. Is Asian correct? Or is there a different way to spell Asian? Please let me know how to spell Asian.

thank you
[Coworker] the Caucasian

P.S. Notice how the word "asian" is also present in the word Caucasian. Why is this? Please let me know this also.

Me:

My forms said "Asisan." If you were transliterating from Russian, you could spell Asian "aezhen."

Speaking of Russia, the Caucasus Mountains are in Russia. Russia's in Europe and Asia. The Caucasians must have come from the eastern side of the mountains. I'm guessing they killed off all the Caucopeans. If it weren't for their decisive and glorious (or "slavic," as the Russians would say) victory, gunpowder, fine china, teriyaki, and finely decorated Easter eggs would never have made it to the West.

Coworker:

This all makes sense. Thanks for the history lesson. I'm accepting it as gospel, no matter what anyone else claims.

Worship Wars?

I've cut back on my blog reading significantly in recent weeks. There are still a few I regularly visit, but mostly, I'd rather spend my time living than looking into other people's ever more distant lives. Most of the blogs I read are those of people I knew from my years at Bob Jones. Some of those people probably don't remember me. That's fine. I can't think of why I should be particularly memorable to them.

One thing that keeps coming up among the "pastorly" blogs I visit (and especially their links to other blogs), is that churches associated with Institutional Fundamentalist Christianity are slowly beginning to change their styles of music. These changes are leading to what some are calling "the worship wars."

Several months ago I finished reading John Makujina's Measuring the Music, a text the conservatives in the worship wars point to as proof of the evils of rock music. I began writing a review the day after I finished it, and I still have my page of notes. But I decided that my review was not worth either my time or my readers' time (the three of you who are left after my long break). Basically, I was very disappointed with the book. It takes a very learned and sophisticated perspective and tone, but it talks little, if at all, about music itself, preferring to focus on negative lifestyles, worldviews, and associations of those who have recorded some of the music. For me, that says nothing to the appropriateness of rock (or any style of music) in worship of God. My response would be to clean up the associations by living a life of love in Christ.

I suppose I could write for hours, trying to convince people not to worry about their musical preferences. I mostly like traditional folk and classical music. I like some rock (which is actually a modern variation on folk music). I like some Christian rock. I don't like jazz or rap. Of those genres I do like, I don't enjoy all of the pieces in each of those categories. Some are a waste. Some I don't understand and don't want to understand. Some are very negative, to the point that in my ears, they are evil. But not all are, and each believer must follow a conscience submitted to the Bible and Jesus.

Our friend Paul tells us that "Knowledge . . . tends to make people conceited; it is love that builds us up. If anyone imagines that he already possesses any true knowledge, he has as yet attained to no knowledge of the kind to which he ought to have attained; but if anyone loves God, that man is known by God."

Another pastor that speaks to the issue behind these "worship wars" is James:

"Which of you is a wise and well-instructed man? Let him prove it by a right life with conduct guided by a wisely teachable spirit. But if in your hearts you have bitter feelings of envy and rivalry, do not speak boastfully and falsely, in defiance of the truth. That is not the wisdom which comes down from above: it belongs to earth, to the unspiritual nature, and to evil spirits. For where envy and rivalry are, there also are unrest and every vile deed. The wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceful, courteous, not self-willed, full of compassion and kind actions, free from favouritism and from all insincerity. And peace, for those who strive for peasce, is the seed of which the harvest is righteousness.

"What causes wars and contentions among you? Is it not the cravings which are ever at war within you for various pleasures? You covet things and yet cannot get them; you commit murder; you have passonate desires and yet cannot gain your end; you being to fight and make war. You have not, because you do not pray; or you pray and yet do not receive, because you pray wrongly, your object being to waste what you get on some pleasure or another.

"You unfaithful women, do you not know that friendship with the world means enmity to God? Therefore whoever is bnt on being friendly with the world makes himself an enemy to God. Or do you suppose that it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, 'The Spirit which He has caused to dwell in our hearts yearns jealously over us'? But He gives more abundant grace, as is implied in His saying, 'God sets Himself against the haughty, but to the lowly He gives grace." Submit therfore to God: resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you who are half-hearted towards God. Afflict yourselves and mourn and weep aloud; let your laughter be turned into grief, and your gladness into shame. Humble yoursleves in teh presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

"Do not speak evil of one another, breathren. The man who speaks evil of a brother-man or judges his brother-man speaks evil of the Law and judges the Law. But if you judge the Law, you are no longer one who obeys the Law, but one who judges it. The only real Lawgive and Judge is He who is able to save or to destroy. Who are you to sit in judgement on your fellow man?"

((all quotes are from Richard Weymouth's translation of the New Testament))