What Would Deacon Fry Do?

Since my last post I've still been thinking a lot on the same subject.  Welcome back to writing, Haley.  God is now going to plague you with a series of related events until you write the heck out of them.  I call it "inspired." 

First I had a good read.  There is a wonderful chapter in the middle of a book called "Living with Fred" by Brad Whittington.  In this chapter we have a teenage boy sitting in his father's office discussing punishment and process.  The boy's father happens to be a preacher who had just received a call from the head deacon, informing him that the boy was seen hanging around the town drunk.

As the father's anger and disappointment increases, so does the boy's defense.  He cannot understand what is so wrong with friending a man who has hardly any friends.  After all, isn't that what Jesus would  have done?  All of his friends were sinners and outcasts.

The father of course, not wanting to be wrong, reluctantly agreed but also explained how the Bible teaches us to live with holiness, and be "as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves", therefore it looks bad hanging out with the guy so it's considered wrong in the deacon's eyes, not to mention everyone else's eyes too.

The boy comes back with a seriously profound question that captures my point, I believe.

"So, you're saying I should ask myself, 'What would Deacon Fry do?' instead of "What would Jesus do?"  (not a direct quote.)

Wow.  How do you respond to that?  How do any of us respond to that?  We say we love Jesus and church and babies and everything, yet we are still living for each other and not the One True God.  We act like everything is perfect and we hide our sin and we avoid outcasts and lame events with meaning because it looks bad to everyone else.  We read the Bible and challenge ourselves, our children, and our friends to be "more Christ-like,"  but I think that looks like something so polar opposite of what we envision.

Jesus didn't stay squeaky clean.  

He didn't avoid sticky situations.

Christ was known for doing the opposite of what people thought he would do, and you know what?  I think 2,000 years and a ton of Study Bibles later....we've still got it wrong.  I bet he'd still surprise us today with his actions.

But what do we do about this?  We're human.  We will always fall short; always be wrong.  That's why we so desperately need Jesus.  Without him we're hopeless.

Yet because of his great gift of life and love to me, I want to do my best.  I want to give back what he gave to me.  

I had a moment like that once I suppose.  God told me to do something brave.  Something powerful.  Something society saw as sin and dirty and awkward and messy. But I loved Jesus and I was convinced it was from him, so I did it.

You know what happened?  

Absolutely everyone I had been loved and supported by turned their back on me.  Some of them still don't talk to me, others only talk to me because my life looks more correct to society now.  

Many people still think what I did was not from God--but I don't care.  He spoke it to me, not them.  And you know what?  The more I think on it, the more I know it had to be from God, because people treated me the way they treated Jesus--yet I had done nothing wrong.

So who is it that you really want your kids to live for?

Preacherman I love ya but you're confusing me.  I hear what you're saying but I just don't see any church folk doin' it.

The church is the first to turn on you when you do take action.  Take Deacon Fry, in the book for example.

The church doesn't actually want you to live for Jesus, they want you to live for them.

The church doesn't want you to be a radical disciple, they want you to be a casual Christian.

When I say "the church" I'm talking about me.  

I'm talking about you.  

I'm talking about your parents, your siblings, your preacher, your friends and your Christian school.

They don't want you to be sold out for Jesus--it costs too much.  

Real Jesus-living Christians are outcasts and dangerous...a little crazy too.

It's better to just be "normal"--something in between that doesn't rock the boat.  

Pick up trash, call your grandma, go to Sunday and Wednesday night services, but no more please.  Praying with prostitutes is dangerous and feeding the homeless is a lie.  You can't spend that much on a mission trip when you have school to pay for.  Don't hang out with them; they have a record.  We want you to be safe. good. like us.

                                          ---Sincerely,

                                                  Stuck. 

Bars, Jesus and Beer 2

I turned 21 at the beginning of the summer, and I have learned a wealth of information from sitting and working in the bars.  I’ve also learned the power of a beer.  First, I shall speak of the almighty beer.

My first six-pack of age, I split with my older cousin.  We had always been close, but never anything more than surface level for the most part. 

As soon as we popped the first top, all vulnerability sprung loose and the tears began to flow.  She spoke from her heart and for the first time in her life, she realized that I wasn’t just a Christian, I was a human, and I loved people and their problems.  She realized that we were more alike than we thought, and that mistakes mean nothing in God’s eyes.

It doesn’t always work with liquor, but something about beer connects people.  It says, “Hey, there is no judgment here.  We’re just two people drinking beer.  Everything we say is one hundred percent accepted and connected.” 

That’s the power of beer.

It never fails.  Every single time I have a beer with someone, I learn a little bit about their deepest fears and greatest hopes.  Many times I don’t even have to mention Jesus before they start pouring out their beliefs and desires for the Lord.  They tell me the gifts they have that they don’t know how to use, and how their mother cut them deep right after Sunday morning church.

I think there is something magical underneath that old metal top.  It’s like the Holy Spirit fills the gap at the top of every bottle, just to ensure genuine honest conversation.  Quite honestly, I think they should put a warning label on each bottle.  Or maybe even use it as an advertising campaign. 

Want to really get to know your friends, try a crisp, refreshing bottle of Bud Light.  Guaranteed to bring spiritual revelation and human connections every time!

Then try putting this powerful little Jesus Juice bottle in a BAR!

Bars are what churches are supposed to be.  They are full of people who know they are broken.  They are full of people who are searching and hungry, not perfect.  Everyone is vulnerable and ready to be comforted.  

When you walk into a bar, you feel safe...in a weird way.  You feel loved by everyone inside.  As you pass through the doorway, people everywhere turn to see who you are.  They look at you, smile, nod their head in approval, and sometimes even holler out.  Then you get to the back where your friends are… 

“HEEEYYYY Buudddyyyyy!!!  WHAT’S UPPPPP???” They yell out with big fat grins and huge plans for you.  Then your best friend throws his arm around your neck and pulls you up a seat.  He tells you to wait right there while he buys you a fresh beer (on his tab of course.) 

While you are waiting for him, the other three guys at the table introduce themselves and instantly let you in on the running joke of the night.  They tell you how to play along and assume you are going to be their best buddy for the whole night, if not longer.

No one ever feels judged in bars.  No one ever feels judged with beer.  Put the two and you have the most awesome, vulnerable mission field ever heard of!

Story after story after story people pour out when they don’t feel judged.  I hear grown men say they wish they could be better fathers.  I hear women say they wish their mother’s understood.  Coworkers admit their deepest fears and everyone spills their opinion about the Jesus guy.

A lot of times when religion comes up, I hear hurt broken people.  They aren’t even angry at the church because they at least know they are sinners.  Yet the church people are angry because they don’t accept the fact that they too are sinners.  The openness sinners display towards everything, leaves room for a casual heart-felt conversation in the Spirit.

The bar and beer take away the judgment and stress of these conversations, while an understanding companion brings healing and love.  Tell me why this doesn’t happen more often in other places? ...especially church.

I always get the surprised face and excited comment, “You are so understanding for a Christian!  You don’t argue or judge.  That is so different.”

Tell me something people.  What’s wrong with this picture?

Again, I think Jesus would have been in a bar.

"..I have not come to call the righteous, but the sinners."

Mark 2:17

(Please note, I'm not justifying drunkedness because that is obviously against the Bible's teachings, and I do have my views on drinking responsibily and biblically..this is just a post to share with you my perspective on bars vs. churches, and how the atmospheres of both should be flip-flopped.  Remember, this post is not labeled "to drink or not to drink."  That is not the topic here.)

Bars, Jesus and Beer

I wrote this post about a week ago.  I felt strongly when I wrote it, but then got scared as I thought about posting it.  People will think I'm nuts.  I will totally be judged for posting this.  I can't let anyone see this God...  Then two days later my friend messaged me this video.  It was complete confirmation that I needed to share this on my blog.  The next few posts will be the essay I wrote last week. Comments welcomed.

Us Christians have it all wrong, ya know?

I’ve spent my summer really listening to people.  Teenagers, old folk, twenty-somethings.  They all tell me the same thing.  They are sick of religion and they have tattoos to prove it.  At the same time, they crave the raw, real relationship their Father gives them.  They want love.  They want the Lord.  They want renewed strength from Jesus.  They long for a glimpse of his hair and a feel of his robe.  They want all this with everything they have in them, but they have all come to the conclusion that church is not the way.

At all.

And I get it now, they’re right.  Really, really, right.

At church people feel judged.  They scrounge around for hours looking for some form of 90’s button up apparel that makes them look like their grandparents dressed them.  They comb their hair over and straighten their back, closing their teeth and hiding their crap.

Then they panic, sweat, and breathe heavy as they try to walk through the front doors of the church, the holy dwelling place of God’s people.

What will they think of me?  What will they say?  Will they accept me?  Am I dressed too formal?  Crap.  Why is he wearing jeans??!

Many of these people walk out in the middle of the sermon, never to return again.  Others barely make it to the pew before some smart Christian slips a lip.

Others suck it up, die on the inside, and resolve to thinking that’s all there is.  They hide their sin, week in and week out, and live sad lives wishing there was someone, anyone, who understood.

Funny.  When I think about it, people reacted the opposite way to Jesus.

They fled to his garments.  They wanted just a touch of his hand, a glimpse of his eyes, and a piece of his healing powers.  They wanted to watch him cast out demons, raise the dead, and heal the blind.  They clung to his love and powers like none other.  They DESIRED him.  They didn’t feel uncomfortable, judged, or stressed.  In fact, they came just as they were…dirty, beaten, and bleeding.  Addictions, imperfections, and shortcomings were widely welcomed.  They knew he wouldn’t care.  And you know what, he never turned a judgmental eye, never turned them away, never thought twice about their character or hair style.

"The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters,
but a man of understanding draws them out."

Proverbs 20:5

"While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and 'sinners' were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.

When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the 'sinners' and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners'?"  

On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Mark 2:15-17