This is for "And I'm not picking on love, cause I don't think Friendship exists either"

As I am sure I have mentioned before, when we first started this blog (December 2004) I had a meeting with a certain pastor from City Bible Church, we will call him Pastor X. During my meeting with this pastor he mentioned to me that he would "Take a bullet for Frank Damazio" and that he would additionally "Take a bullet for City Bible Church". Now, at the time, I was curious why he was so interested in dying for SPFD and CBC, but never mentioned dying for Jesus, The Gospel, or even The Word of God for that matter…seems like his priorities were a little mixed up.

Anyway, last night (during an 11 hour drive back from Lake Tahoe) I spent some time thinking about this comment a little more. I was struck with a  picture of Pastor X arriving at the Pearly Gates after having just taken a bullet for Frank (not sure who was shooting at him, but somehow Pastor X managed to get in the way). Here is the imagined conversation that I pictured:

Pastor X: (just outside of Heaven, pushing his way through a rather long line) "Out of my way, V.I.P. coming through."

Archangel Gabriel: "Excuse me, sir…can I help you?"

Pastor X: "Why yes. I'm looking for the V.I.P. section?"

Archangel Gabriel: "V.I.P.?"

Pastor X: "Yes, don't you have a section for V.I.P. members here?"

Archangel Gabriel: "Well…according to John 3:16 the whole world is V.I.P., so you'll just have to wait like everyone else."

Pastor X: "No, no, no. I'm Pastor X. I just took a bullet for Frank Damazio…look it up in that book there…you'll see"

Archangel Gabriel: "Frank Damazio, huh?" (flipping though the Book of Life) "Hmmnnn…let me see… I have a Hank Dafazio, but I don't see any Frank…"

Pastor X: "Don't be ridiculous…of course he's in there, he practically wrote that book. You know him…Frank Damazio…of City Bible Church…in Portland, OR"

Archangel Gabriel: "Oh, you're with City Bible Church? Why didn't you just say so? You belong in that line over there marked LoF."

Pastor X: "LoF?…is that VIP?"

Archangel Gabriel: "No. It's Lake of Fire."

That was much funnier at four this morning while driving through Roseburg, but at least it's a start. I'll see if I can pick up the pace around here a little bit.

The next section of Matthew 5 for me is verses 17-20 where Jesus talks about "THE LAW"…I'm not ready for that yet, so let's back track to look at the Salt and Light again. I just read a commentary on Bible Gateway regarding Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, which told a rather interesting story:

Until my conversion in 1975 I professed to be an atheist in part because I looked at the roughly 85 percent of my fellow U.S. citizens who claimed to be Christians and could not see that their faith genuinely affected their lives. I reasoned that if even Christians did not believe in Jesus' teachings, why should I? My excuse for unbelief-and the excuse of many other secularists I knew-continued until God's Spirit confronted me with the reality that the truth of Christ does not rise or fall on the claims of his professed followers, but on Jesus himself. The faith of nominal Christians may appeal to non-Christians who can use it to justify their own unbelief, but such "Christians" will have no part in God's kingdom. Instead they will be thrown out and trampled (Matthew 5:13).

If its true that "such Christians will have no part in God's kingdom" then heaven is going to be an empty place…at least for "American Christians". It seems to me that most "Christians" just live their life to exist as "Church goers" believing that will be enough. While the Bible does say that you just believe in Jesus you will be saved (sorry Jews) there are plenty of scriptures that talk about "Christians" who think they have it figured out, but in the end…don't.

Salt, light, sheep, and goats…I think it comes down to the "Golden Rule" (which really should have something to do with the Prosperity Doctrine…maybe that's why so many are confused, the rule is Golden…Give unto thy church and God will give Gold unto you. Damazio 7:12) Anyway…I think it comes down to the Golden Rule which says:

 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:12)

We're almost halfway to a half-million hits.

So thanks.

Here's a fun video of a recent Christians United for Israel Tour, which is a conference for Christians devoted to helping Israel.

The video was created by a left leaning individual, so it's not exactly your typical Christian video. But it's interviews with the conference participants are absolutely priceless.

The Slog has a list of youth pastors who were recently caught abusing kids. It's the type of list I suspect you'll find anytime you type the words "youth pastor" into Google News. Which is to say, it's sad, but probably par for the course.

The comments underneath the blog were both for and against youth pastors, and they were quite enlightening. (I should ad that they also drop the F-bomb more than a few times. ) 

Here are a few of the better comments:

It's not that all youth pastors are necessarily pedophiles, any more than all priests or all Boy Scout troop leaders are…it's more that those who have leanings in the pedophiliac direction will be drawn to vocations or avocations where they have access to children.

The real trick is to teach your kids to tell you when anyone, no matter how "trusted" a position they may be in, starts getting a little too touchy-feely or making the kid uncomfortable. If you, as a parent, tell little Madison to hush and not say such nasty things about Pastor Dan when she tries to tell you he makes her feel weird, then you just taught the kid to shut up and do what Pastor Dan wants.

Here's one from a former youth pastor:

I don't mean to be rude, but I was a youth pastor who didn't screw anybody or touch anyone. I met some cool kids who grew into cool adults who now eat the crappy food that my wife cooks for us when they're over for dinner.

To say all youth pastors are child molesters is the same as saying all gays get AIDS.

If you don't like church, fine. Don't go. I don't like Purr or Our Place. But I'm not going to bitch about it.

And here's one that should be a segment on This American Life.

I had sort of the opposite experience with a youth pastor, but he was still a total douchebag.

I was raised Unitarian, so my church was all about abortion rights and gay weddings and winter solstice services. This pastor (gay, in his early 30s) very clearly hated children/teens, but because most churches have the stupid idea that gays + kids = ARMAGEDDON, this guy was going to be the youth pastor to PROVE EVERYONE WRONG. He wanted parents to be angry and us junior high kids to be shocked when he fake-casually mentioned his boyfriend. Since it was a gay-friendly church in the first place, he didn't get the attention he was looking for.

At least it taught me that gay people can be bitter assholes just like anyone else.

My own experience with youth pastors is that most of them are well-intentioned. They're just not that bright.

An LA Times reporter loses his faith while working the Religion Beat:

Here's how he got his faith:

At the climactic service Sunday, Mike Barris, a pastor-to-be, delivered an old-fashioned altar call. He said we needed to let Jesus into our hearts.

With my eyes closed in prayer, I saw my heart slowly opening in two and then being infused with a warm, glowing light. A tingle spread across my chest. This, I thought, was what it was to be born again.

And here's how he lost it:

IN the summer of 2005, I reported from a Multnomah County, Ore., courtroom on the story of an unemployed mother — impregnated by a seminary student 13 years earlier — who was trying to get increased child support for her sickly 12-year-old son.

The boy's father, Father Arturo Uribe, took the witness stand. The priest had never seen or talked with his son. He even had trouble properly pronouncing the kid's name. Uribe confidently offered the court a simple reason as to why he couldn't pay more than $323 a month in child support.

"The only thing I own are my clothes," he told the judge.

His defense — orchestrated by a razor-sharp attorney paid for by his religious order — boiled down to this: I'm a Roman Catholic priest, I've taken a vow of poverty, and child-support laws can't touch me.

The boy's mother, Stephanie Collopy, couldn't afford a lawyer. She stumbled badly acting as her own attorney. It went on for three hours.

"It didn't look that great," Stephanie said afterward, wiping tears from her eyes. "It didn't sound that great … but at least I stood up for myself."

The judge ruled in the favor of Uribe, then pastor of a large parish in Whittier. After the hearing, when the priest's attorney discovered I had been there, she ran back into the courtroom and unsuccessfully tried to get the judge to seal the case. I could see why the priest's lawyer would try to cover it up. People would be shocked at how callously the church dealt with a priest's illegitimate son who needed money for food and medicine.

My problem was that none of that surprised me anymore.

I encourage you to read the whole thing. A lot of our readers are going to see themselves in this article. I know I did.

(H/T Andrew Sullivan)

  Matthew 5:1-12 - The Beatitudes

I've already blogged about The Beatitudes (one of my personal favorites), but I want to take another look…what does Jesus actually say here? Lets make a list.

Blessed Are:

…the Poor in Spirit

…those who Mourn

…the Meek

…those who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

…the Merciful

…the Pure in Heart

…the Peacemakers

…those who are Persecuted because of Righteousness

…you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me

It doesn't sound like Jesus is promoting a Prosperous Life here…It's NOT a sermon titled "9 ways to your best life now"…instead it says, blessed are "the poor in Spirit" (In contrast to the spiritually proud and self-sufficient), blessed are those who Mourn and are Meek. I would say this scripture teaches the exact opposite of those Prosperity Teachers we so dislike here at City Business Church.

Mathew 5:13-16 - Salt & Light

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."

That's fairly harsh, and I'm not exactly sure what it means by "if the salt loses its saltiness", but if by chance it means "stops preaching the Gospel and starts teaching prosperity" then I'd say this website is on to something.

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden"

I do believe City Bible Church uses this scripture to talk about their Rocky Butte campus…a city set on a hill. Of course, based on the fact they recently removed ¼ of all the seats and brought in dividers to "make the sanctuary appear more full", I'd say they may not be hidden but they certainly aren't all that visible. Anyway, You (we) are the light of the world…

"let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

This scripture seems to go against the "not letting your left hand know what your right is doing"…but if we combine the "let your light shine before all men" with "The Beatitudes" we get a picture of someone doing good deeds but not in a proud, self serving way. That sounds good to me.

Judah Smith…

A megachurch in the DC area will begin telecasting their Sunday morning services in a local movie theater.

McLean Bible Church said yesterday that it will take over the theater's giant screen on Sunday mornings for worship services. The church plans to beam its Sunday services from its McLean campus, where 13,000 people worship on average, onto the Uptown's screen for D.C. congregants who want to pray closer to home.

I have been to a few church services in movie theaters, and I'm not a fan.  I find myself craving popcorn and Juju fruits during the entire sermon. And I always walk away from the service feeling as though I just saw a bad film.

I get that using movie theaters is an economical way to provide church, and I'm cool with that. I just don't like watching my pastors on a screen. No matter how big the screen, I always feel as though I'm missing something real.

McLean Bible also has goals to expand beyond just the Theater:

McLean Bible's move to the Uptown is the church's first foray into the District and a linchpin of its plan to create a "spiritual beltway" around the Washington area by opening nine satellite locations

"Spiritual Beltway", "Satellite Location", where do these pastors come up with this stuff? How come every non-denominational mega-church sounds the same? Is there a manual someone passes out?

Matthew 3 - John the Baptist Prepares the Way

So far, Matthew has not been one for details. I'm not sure why his book is the first in the NT. I tend to think if I were given a copy of the NT to read for the first time I wouldn't make it very far. 1^st we cruise through the birth of Christ and suddenly we are talking about John the Baptist. Who the heck is he? There is no background given in Matthew, you have to cheat ahead to the other gospels to get some of the details. No matter, J.t.B. is preparing the way of the Lord…and I find this interesting…people are coming from all around and "Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River"* (vs. 6). Why are they confessing their sins? I guess I always thought that "confessing" was a post Christ practice.

He then goes on to rip the Pharisees & Sadducees by calling them a "brood of vipers" (my personal favorite Biblical Insult) and says in verse 9:

And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

The note in my little study Bible says "Salvation does not come as a birthright (even for the Jews) but through faith in Christ (Rom 2:28-29; Gal 3:7,9,29)". Now this statement may be true to us now, but at that point Jesus had not yet fulfilled his sacrificial duty. Prior to Christ's death on the cross, would faith in Him save you? Make's me wonder.

J.t.B. goes on to baptize Jesus in verses 13-17, the heavens open and a dove descends. Then (vs. 17) "a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased'." I'm going to assume that when it says "a voice" it's talking about God. I'd hate to find out that some of the angels were messing with Jesus.

Matthew 4 - The temptation of Jesus

After being baptized by J.t.B., Jesus is led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. First he fasts for 40 days and 40 nights then the temptations begin.

Satan, tells Jesus to turn stone into bread, prove He is the Son of God, and then promises Him "all the kingdoms of the world" if He will bow and worship him. At this point Jesus says "Away from me" and then "the devil left him, and angels came and attended him". Again, I'd like to get some more info on what these angels were doing exactly, but I guess that's not all that important.

Jesus then returns from the desert and begins to preach. "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." He gets a few disciples and heals some sick people which ends chapter 4.

I can only hope that Matthew slows his pace as we get into the Teachings of Jesus, which are up next. There are a lot of red letters in the coming chapters, and I expect a lot more detail for the rest of the book.