Grasping Slippery Christianity

How is it that so often when one seeks to challenge Christianity, they focus on men, yet neglect to learn about THE MAN from which Christianity gets it’s name? Time and again I hear someone question the validity of Christianity based on an experience with either  someone called a “christian” or an intellectual who feels they have evolved beyond the need of faith. Many times those learned intellects themselves were set upon their road by a choice made after a negative experience with a “christian”.

I would like to see those people step back for a time and forget about the Christians they know. Forget about the pastors they have seen and evangelists they have heard. Forget about religion, forget about political leanings. Forget about moral obligations and religious rules. Forget all these things and take some time, time to look at one person and one thing, Jesus Christ.

Look at Him alone and what He taught and did, then draw a conclusion. As with anything, one should know what exactly the problem is with Christianity, and to claim to know about Christianity without knowing about Christ is ignorant and presumptuous. To know Christianity and what it is about one must know who Jesus is and what He is about. So many Christians miss the mark completely and looking to them will only be a cause of frustration and further alienation from who Jesus is. When set along side Jesus, these bearers of His name fail miserably and only tarnish His image in the eyes of others.

Be honest, open, and fair; learn about the man Jesus and then make a decision. If one can truly look at Christ alone, nothing else, and then decide that Christianity is not for them, then so be it. There is nothing more to Christianity than Jesus Christ and trying to follow Him step for step.

A gadget gut stretching

Technology permiates our society and for me this is very much a love/hate situation. I’m actually typing this on my iPod, which is pretty sweet, and a blog in and of itself is quite techy. I geek out big time over gadgets and gizmos, and love the way they make life easier. However, somedays go by that I wish we didn’t have all this stuff. I feel like all these things that are supposed to make life easier actually make them harder, because we are expected to do more. What ever happened to waiting a week or two for something?

I wonder how much more laid back and less stressful things would be without them. To just slow down and do things old school. Perhaps our Amish friends are on to something.

Maybe sometime while on vacation I can try a tech “fast”. No laptop, no iPod, no TV, and cell phone just for emergencies. If anyone else wants to try, let me know your results.

Happy FALL! (tomorrow)

Tomorrow is the first day of Autumn, and I’m happy. I love fall, it is my favorite season by far. “Why” you ask? Well, I’ll tell you why. There are a few things in life that do not fall in to the “Really Important Things” category that I dearly love. Most of these things happen in fall. In a chronological order it goes something like this:

• Football – I love football, especially Carolina Panthers football, and of course, Tarheel football. I also enjoy catching the occasional high school game.
• Fantasy Football -  This goes hand-in-hand with the previous one
• BEMA Youth Ministries – Our church youth group fires up with the start of school and working with these “very cool” teenagers is super awesome
• The Dixie Classic Fair – Everyone needs a good fair to go to, and the Dixie Classic is one of the finest. Technically an agricultural fair, it also features many sweet rides and some of the best food anywhere.
• Christmas Kickoff -  I start my Christmas festivities earlier than most, but a great family tradition involves me heading up to Lynchburg to spend the weekend with my good friend Adam and his family to watch Christmas movies and listen to Christmas music. This also means from this point on I am allowed to listen to Christmas music, which has been completely off limits since Jan 1, this usually coincides with LU Homecoming.
• LU Homecoming – Always cool to head up to “the ‘Burg” and see how much things have changed and grown. Get in a good NCAA Championship Division football game, hit Texas INN, and go to TRBC Sunday morning.
• Autumn Leaves -  When the leaves are in full color it is the most beautiful time of year. I think it is great that God gives us this colorful masterpiece right before everything dies and turns grey.
• Halloween – I love to see my kids in their cute costumes and of course, the “Candy Inspection” that as a good parent I must perform.
• NCAA College Basketball – College basketball is my favorite sport by far, I’m a bleed blue Tarheel fan, so that would be expected. When my heels start playing I get happy.
• Thanksgiving – I LOOOOOVE Thanksgiving, for obvious reasons, but it is really cool to slow down and remember what it took to get us where we are and thank the One who allows us to live in such a blessed country.
• Christmas – now technically Christmas is a couple days into winter, but most of December is in Autumn and by the time December rolls around, I am in wide-open Christmas mode. Pretty much the first 24 days of December are Christmas Eve to me.

The Magic of Animation

I love the Fall! Yes, fall is such a great time of year. The weather is purfect, the waft of smoke in the air from burning leaves and fireplaces, the fair is in town, and the food. Fall food rocks! Chili, taco soup, chicken stew, and Brats of the tailgating grill. Mmmmm. Also, there are some great movies. A staple of my fall movie rotation is the Charlie Brown Trilogy. “The Great Pumpkin”, “Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving”, and “It’s Christmas Time, Charlie Brown”. These movies are great and have stood the test of time. I enjoyed them as a kid and they had already been around for a while. Now, my daughter and I can sit down and enjoy them together. It is great hanging out with my little girl, even over movies and silly cartoons.