M.P.C.

Are you robbing God? Am I robbing God? Are you robbing God? How can I be robbing God? I’m a good person.I didn’t ask if you are a good person. I asked if you are robbing God.What is he talking about? This guy really is a mad pastor!

Do you go to church? Yes. Do you take a program? Of course, I’m handed one when I walk in. Do you enjoy the air conditioning? Thank God for air conditioning! Do you ever go to the bathroom? What kind of question is that? First you accuse me of robbing God and now you want to know if I have bowel movements. This is getting weird.

Do you drink the coffee the church serves? These questions don’t end do they? If I answer this last question will you stop? Just one more question…. Do you put anything in the offering plate? Sometimes… occasionally, define what you mean by putting something in the offering plate…

Ananias and Sapphira robbed God. They robbed God while they simultaneously gave God their money. That’s odd. Did they owe God anything? No. God asked nothing of them. They freely offered it. They were not sent a bill, were not compelled, were not even asked to give. But they sold a piece of land they owned, kept back some of the money, and gave the rest to the disciples. So it is about money because they lied about how much they sold the land for.

It’s not about the money. I don’t get it. First you talk about robbing God, then programs, air conditioning, toilets and coffee. I know it’s about the money. It’s always about the money.

God has all the money he needs. It’s not about the money. It’s about something else.

When Ananias and Sapphira gave, it was right after another man sold his property and gave the proceeds. A man named Joseph sold a field he owned and gave the disciples all the money. He was nicknamed the Son of Encouragement. But when Anny and Sapphy sold their land, they withheld some of the money before giving the disciples the rest. They claimed it was all the money they made off their property but they lied. The result of their misrepresentation was death. But they weren’t punished over money.

This story happens early in the Book of Acts when the Christian community was being developed. New believers were gathering together and living together in community. People benefited from the donations of others. In fact, when some women weren’t getting their fair share of food, the disciples created the deacons to make sure they were included in the daily distribution of food. Being in that community had its benefits. Giving to that system brought honor to God because it demonstrated how he cared for his people.

When Ananias and Sapphira lied about what they gave, it wasn’t about the money. It was about taking advantage of a system designed to honor God and benefit others. But they manipulated that system to make themselves look good. They stole honor for themselves by undercutting God. They coveted all the benefits to the point of stealing them.

When you go to a church, whether you are a member or a regular visitor, you benefit from the community of God. The church pays for the programs handed out, the staff to prepare them, the custodian to clean up after you, the water bill, the electricity bill, the coffee you drink after service. You hear a message, sing songs, maybe even have a prayer said on your behalf. When you walk into that building you benefit from that environment. Did you think all that stuff was free?

Sometimes people say,I don’t need to give, I volunteer. You need to give. God requires it. Volunteering doesn’t pay the gas bill.

I don’t like the pastor, I will give to the youth fund. If you don’t like the pastor, talk to him/her. Don’t threaten their livelihood. They make their house payment, feed their children, and pay their bills with their income.

I disagree with the direction the church is going in. But you don’t disagree with showing up and benefiting from what the church does offer. If you don’t like the direction the church is going in, then talk to the pastor or go to another church.

Go to another church? That’s awfully mean. You’re a mean pastor.No I’m not. I’m the Mad Pastor. Don’t confuse mad with mean. And don’t confuse the purpose of community in the church. The community of a church is to honor God, not to take advantage of it for our own benefit.

We would not expect the right to go to a restaurant and eat the food without paying. A business’ bathrooms are often reserved for customers. Because customers help pay the water bill and the unlucky kid who has to clean it up after you. Why should we expect the right to go into a church, enjoy the air conditioning, drink the coffee, and listen to the music, then complain about what we don’t like all while letting the plate pass by us?

Ananias and Sapphira took advantage of God. It was never about the money. What is it about for you?

The story of Ananias and Sapphira can be read here

Get Plugged In 04/24/2012

The other day I noticed my laptop was running out of power, but the power cord was inserted. Great, my laptop is dying. I can’t live without this thing. How am I supposed to write all these great articles for you to read without my computer right?
I double checked the cord. It was pushed into the laptop. I checked my settings. Everything seemed fine. Maybe my battery was going dead. But that doesn’t make sense, it’s plugged in. So why was the unit about to die? Well it turns out the other end of the cord wasn’t plugged into the wall. Hey, at least I figured it out before the pc died.

How many times do you find yourself running out of power? When your battery runs down, what do you plug into? Better yet, is what you plug into enough?

The world offers a lot of power sources. Some good, some not so good. We have self help books, therapy, prescriptions meds and friends. These are great power boosters. But they can’t be our only source. When we treat them as the sole source of our power we can become addicted to them or wear them out. When we abuse them, they will fail us.

We need a power source that never goes out. Not when there’s a storm, high winds, or too much demand. We need a perfect source; a clean, steady stream of energy that gives us the power we need.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26) Right after he said this, he raised someone from the dead. The world has a lot of power, but I’ve never seen one that raised someone who was dead a few days.

Plug into Jesus. His power never runs out. The only thing left to say is the question Jesus asks, “Do you believe this?”

Teriyaki Chicken in a Tequila Lime World 03/26/2012

Does this taste right to you?

My wife and I went out of town for a weekend getaway. It was lunchtime so we casually chose a restaurant and grabbed a table. We looked over the menu and I picked the option that looked most appetizing: Teriyaki Chicken Wrap. We chatted about life and what we wanted to do that weekend until our meals arrived.

Jen offered to pray before we ate. We held hands, bowed our heads and she said a few thankful words. As she prayed my nose hovered over my plate and I could smell my warm lunch. Problem was it smelled weird for teriyaki. After we prayed I took a bite of my wrap; it tasted weird for teriyaki. Truth is, it just didn’t taste right.

I made a funny face and Jen asked if everything was ok with my meal. “Well,” I admitted “it doesn’t smell right. And it just doesn’t taste right. Something is off.” She asked what I thought the problem was. Maybe the food was spoiled. I said, “It might be. It just doesn’t taste like teriyaki.”

And with all the love of a caring woman, my wife looked at me and said, “That’s because you ordered the TEQUILA LIME Chicken Wrap!

Oh! TEQUILA! Not Teriyaki. I took another bite. Wow, this is pretty good for tequila lime! Turns out there was nothing wrong with my food, it was all my perception.

It’s like the old saying goes, “perception is reality.”

Having you ever talked tequila lime with someone who thinks you’re talking teriyaki? And no matter what you say, you can’t change their perception? It’s frustrating.

God must be patient.

So often he calls on us to live a life that will honor him. We think it’s about us. God says, “I want you to do something.” We respond with, “But how will that make me look?”

It’s not easy to have a relationship your focus is on yourself. In fact, it’s not easy to have a relationship with anyone if you treat that person in a way that is designed to make you look better or feel better about yourself. You’ll never be present in a way that can be beneficial to them or the relationship.

I think this is the issue with most of our relationships, especially our relationship with God. Let me ask you, Is your daily prayer, “God, help me get through my day?” Who is your focus on in that conversation?

God feeds us. He gives us what we need, but not always what we desire. If we think that God exists simply to serve our desires we are living in a teriyaki world while God is feeing us tequila lime. Our perception will be off and we’ll misinterpret what God brings.

“This tastes funny.” “God doesn’t know what he’s doing.” “This is not what I asked for.”

It only tastes funny because you are not focused on what God is bringing, you’re focused on what you desire.

God knows exactly what He’s doing. That’s why he is serving you what you need.

No, it probably isn’t what you asked for. But when you are well fed, you can thank God later.

And if you shift your perception from yourself to God, then everything will taste better.

Let's Bolt 02/26/2012

I bought a new snow blower this year. I was tired of having to take a shovel to the ice and snow at the end of the driveway that my smaller blower couldn’t handle. I made the plunge and bought a big metal, 208 cc, rust resistant snow blower with 11 in. steel serrated augers, electric start, and alloy steel gears….(caveman sounds) AAAUUUggggg Aarrrggh, Ahhh ah Ahhhh ahhh!!!

Boy did that baby blow! (Insert your own joke here.) I could practically hit the neighbor’s house across the street! Yes! No more shoveling for me!

I pulled my new snow blower out this weekend for the second snow of the season. Four inches. No problem. My baby can handle it. I was half done with the driveway when I noticed something…. the whole machine was wobbly. It was bending sideways back and forth. It looked more like a slinky than a snow blower. The bolts holding it together were literally breaking apart and falling off. My precious snow blower was about to be in pieces!

Turns out the bolts that held the machine together were not properly heat treated when they were made. They were brittle and couldn’t take the stress of a moving machine. Because they were falling apart my favorite new winter machine was falling apart. It didn’t matter if the engine was strong and the transmission worked, the machine as a whole is only as good as the bolts that hold it together.

What are the bolts that are holding your life together? Can they handle the stress of life? Or are you risking falling apart because the bolts of your life are overburdened, overstressed, or just not properly made?

We all have something to keep our lives together. Sometimes its family, work, church, friends, even alcohol and drugs. We use any manner of things to keep it together. But everything, eventually will fail us. Nothing can compete with the stress of life. Except the One who made life.

In speaking of Jesus, the apostle Paul said, “all things were created by him and for him. He is before all thins, and in him all things hold together.” (1 Corinthians 1:16b-17)

If you are looking for something to hold your life together look to the one who created life. He understands you. He made you! And if he can hold the universe and all creation together, think how much he can do for you!

By the way, I took my failing snow blower back to the store and they traded it for an upgrade at a deep discount for my inconvenience. I almost can’t wait for it to snow again. And just to be sure, I swapped out some key bolts with new stainless steel ones.

Let My People Go 02/22/2012

Asher Wiesenthal and Rosa Rapp were baptized in Salt Lake City, Utah. Some are calling their baptisms sacrilege and the church that baptized them is apologizing. What’s even stranger to some, is that Wiesenthal and Rapp are both Jewish and two weren’t even present for their own baptisms. In fact, they died several years ago as holocaust victims. So what’s going on?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) conducts what they call, proxy baptisms or baptism by proxy. It is an answer to the question of what happens to a person who dies before being baptized in the Mormon faith? According to Kathleen Flake, a Vanderbilt scholar who has studied the LDS faith, “Mormons believe that vicarious baptisms give the deceased, who exist in the afterlife as conscious spirits, a final chance to join the Mormon fold, and thus gain access to the Celestial Kingdom [the highest of the three heavenly kingdoms in heaven]” Flake adds that, “Mormons are encouraged to baptize at least four generations of forebears to seal the family together in the afterlife.” (The Washington Post online)

Jewish leaders believe it sacrilege for the LDS Church to insist that Jews are not worthy enough to receive God’s blessing and that it would take intervention on part of the Mormons to enable a Jew to be heaven (at least the Celestial Kingdom). Michael Purdy, LDS spokesman, has voiced regret on behalf of his church stating that the names of Wiesenthal and Rapp were submitted by an individual member of the church and only names of family members should be submitted. In fact, in 1995 the Mormon church agreed to stop baptizing Jewish Holocaust victims.

I myself do not follow the Mormon faith. I do not believe that I require baptism in order for my salvation. And I don’t know about the idea of being sealed together with my family in the afterlife. If I believed my salvation required baptism and I believed in baptism by proxy, I’d probably make sure a few family members’ names didn’t make the list. The holidays were bad enough. But an eternity? Someone’s name gotta come off that list.

So what do you think? Would you be upset if you found out that one of your deceased relatives was baptized by proxy into a faith he/she or you didn’t believe in? Is what the Mormons did offensive or was it worthy of at least a, “thanks for thinking of us” acknowledgement?

Is this worth going mad over?

While Visions of Pepper Spray Danced in Their Heads 11/25/2011

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We all want that perfect gift to give away on Christmas. We all want to feel safe when we are out in a crowd. How can we combine those two wishes into one experience? By shopping at Wal-Mart of course!

As a group of eager shoppers was gathering around a crate of discounted Xboxes an unknown woman spewed pepper spray into the crowd, apparently in an effort to gain an advantage to nabbing one of the games. She remains unknown because everyone had their eyes closed after being nailed in the face with pepper spray. I wonder if the woman who used the pepper spray brought it with her or saw it on sale and then suddenly came up with the plan to use it. Whenever she came up with the idea, it may have worked.

According to police Sgt. Jose Valle, “The woman got away in the confusion, but it was not immediately clear whether she got an Xbox.” (via Huffington Post) What? Let me get this straight. A woman discharges pepper spray into a crowd of shoppers, and is able to grab an Xbox, go to the nearest cashier and pay for it? Didn’t that look weird to some people? Then again, those whose eyes were still able to see, were looking elsewhere.

It seems that during the entire melee, the store remained opened and other customers continued shopping. I tell you, these shoppers are really focused this year! I know this is an overstatement but one group of people is running around in chaos trying to wash off their faces and sooth their eyes from extreme pain while the rest of the shoppers in the area continue their frenzied shopping.

The Huffington Post also reported that this, “was the only major violence reported at a Southern California store involving Black Friday Thanksgiving holiday sales.” The only MAJOR violence reported? You mean there was other violence? Just not major violence? Good gravy. What’s going on in our department stores?

I didn’t get up early and go Black Friday shopping this year. But after reading about some of the stories from today, I think next year I will go out. But not to shop. I think I will go to Wal Mart, grab one of the chairs from the camping section, get something to eat from the food court, and simply sit back and watch the show. I’ll wear some protective gear too. Call me mad, but that could be very entertaining.

Jesus didn’t talk much about pepper spray and shopping etiquette, but he did talk about loving your neighbor, sharing your resources, and generally being a kind person. That includes not taking advantage of others, helping others in need, and I’m pretty sure that if any of the disciples brought pepper spray to fend off the crowds Jesus would have said, “whoever lives by pepper spray will die by pepper spray.” (At least he said that about the sword to his one of his companions in Matthew 26:52.)

I don’t know if Jesus would even go Christmas shopping. First of all, that’d be pretty interesting, buying gifts for other people on your birthday. Nah. He’d be too busy telling people to give away their possessions, and probably restoring the vision of those who went shopping and lost their sight. I think the rest of us could open our eyes and see the real meaning of Christmas too if we weren’t so focused on those low prices.

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Jesus Doesn't Want You to Survive 11/17/2011

Ever have one of those conversations when you ask someone how they are doing and they look back at you, shrug their shoulders and say, “I’m surviving.”

We’ve all had seasons in our lives when things are tough. We’re glad just to make it through the day. We know things will get better, but for the time being we’ll get by with just surviving.

I’ve had those times. But the thing is, I don’t want to live my life “just surviving.” I don’t want to look back on my years and see a life of no substance. Because a life of survival is a life without significance. I don’t need to be a rock star, but I want my life to mean something. In order for my life to be more than it is, I have to be more than I am. And the best way to be more than I am, is to let Christ live in me. Because if I have Christ in me, I am more than the sum of my genes. I am a new creation filled with the Spirit of God himself.

Jesus wants you to be more than the flesh and blood you are. Surviving is not what God has called you to do. He has created you to live. He has created you to experience the life he has laid out for you. And just to make sure you got the message, he sent his Son to give you His very life. So that you can be more. So that you can have more.

Jesus said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:10b

Jesus doesn’t want you to survive. He wants you to have an abundant life. Are you ready to live it?

Being Quiet is Required for Communicating 11/08/2011

I’m a talker. I can stretch a one minute topic into an hour long subject. Call it a gift. What can I say? I enjoy a good long chat.

Sometimes I’m so good at talking, that I’m not so good at carrying on a conversation. I talk and talk and talk while some unlucky person listens and listens and listens. Pretty soon they hear me talking so much that they aren’t listening anymore. Oh they hear me, but they’re not listening.

That’s the thing with conversations. They require listening. If you’re not listening, you’re not communicating.

The other day I was having problems with my website so I called my host provider’s help line. Everything started out pretty well. The gentleman said, “Hi,” I said, “Hello.” He said, “How can I help you?” It all went downhill from there.

I tried to explain my problem but he kept cutting me off. He would interrupt me with trivial things. When he tried to say my problem back to me he had it all wrong. So I repeated my problem and he kept not listening. This went on for over 30 minutes. I wasn’t able to communicate the problem I was having because this guy wasn’t listening.

After 34 minutes (I remember looking at the timer on my phone) I started to lose it. At one point I remember raising my voice and asking him (that’s putting it nicely) to be quiet. When that didn’t work, I demanded to talk to someone else. The young man insisted on helping. So I started from square one and began to tell him my problem. For 15 more minutes this guy interrupted me and offered solutions for problems I didn’t have. I had to end the frustration. I told him I was sorry but I had to end the phone call. He was still talking when I hung up.

I believe this guy could have helped me if he was just quiet and listened.

I once had a friend tell me in college, “The good Lord gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason.” He probably said that because I was talking too much. But it’s a good saying nonetheless.

How good are you at communicating? It depends on how good you are at listening.

God is a good listener. He hears every single prayer we send His way. We talk. He listens. But are you communicating with God? How often do you listen to what God is saying to you? Or do you not hear God talking to you because you’re too busy not listening? If you’re doing all the talking, there’s really no communication taking place.

Is God trying to tell you something? How will you know unless you listen?

Send God a prayer tonight. Then spend some time listening to what God is saying to you. You might be surprised.

By the way. The problem I was having? I was getting two Facebook and Twitter buttons for each new post because my html code was getting duplicated. (Or so I thought.) Turns out Weebly, the design tool I use, offers to add those buttons for you if you click this nifty little radio button they offer. Apparently, the button was clicked so I never needed to add the html code in the first place. Now, how long did that take for me to explain? Thanks for listening.

Little Red Riding Hooker 10/31/2011

I’ve started noticing a new trend with Halloween. Last year, I went to a costume store to pick up some props for an event and I found myself in a very awkward moment. In the front of the store were little items like make up cases, vampire teeth, and I guess what you would call mummy accessories; fingers, fake, blood, etc. In the back of the store were the large, expensive items to place in your front yard; self opening caskets, screaming signs, and skulls that light up. But it was the middle of the store that scared me the most.

Aisles and aisles of costumes for women took up the center. There were witches, nurses, pirates, cops, and princesses. At first glance everything seemed normal. (Well, normal for a costume shop.) But as I took a closer look, I noticed something more… or less. There was something missing in these outfits… material. These costumes were provocative. I saw more material on the little kids' princess costume than I did on the adults'. When did this happen?

I felt like the women’s costume section needed to be separated from the rest of the store like those old video stores. Remember the old days of video rentals? There was always one section set apart from the rest of the store. Sometimes there was a curtain of beads in the doorway between the “family” section and the “adult” section. Anyone seen going into the adult section was considered to be kind of sleazy. And yet, here I was standing in the middle of what seemed like the adult section of the video store and it was smack dab in the middle of the room with kids running all around.

When did witches become sluts? I thought they were ugly hags. Why does Little Red Riding Hood have a tiny skirt that barely covers the buns she taking over to Grandma? Doesn’t it get cold in the woods?

Am I overreacting here? Let me know what you think.