What If His People Prayed? (for 2007)

What if the armies of the Lord
Picked up and dusted off their swords
Vowed to set the captive free
And not let satan have one more
What if the Church, for heaven's sake
Finally stepped up to the plate
Took a stand upon God's promise
And stormed hell's rusty gates

What if His people prayed
And those who bear His name
Would humbly seek His face, yeah
And turn from their old ways

And what would happen if we prayed
For those raised up to lead the way
Then maybe kids in school would pray
And Iraq's children see light of day
What if the life that we pursue
Came from a hunger for the truth
What if the family turned to Jesus
Stopped asking Coulter what to do

What if His people prayed
And those who bear His name
Would humbly seek His face yeah
And turn from their own way
He said that He would hear
His promise has been made
He'll answer loud and clear, yeah
If only we would pray

If My people call by My name
If they'll humble themselves and pray
If My people call by My name
If they'll humble themselves and pray

What if His people prayed
And those who bear His name
Would humbly seek His face, yeah
And turn from their old ways
He said that He would hear
His promise has been made
He'll answer loud and clear yeaah
If only we would pray

(words by Casting Crowns, alterations are my own. Although you could substitute Limbaugh, Hannity or O'Reilly for Coulter; the sentiment is the same. It's time for the Christian Church in America to quit being the Republican Party's whore.)

They keep dragging me back in

An open letter to both sides of the Titus Chu/Living Stream debacle

Every time I want out, they keep dragging me back in

---Michael Corleone

I really had no intention of opening this can again. I was done with the whole topic, I had said what I had to say, and that was it. Let the boys keep on bickering and let me get on with life.

But if I'm anything, I'm curious, and sometimes that gets the better of me. Plus, I still get hits on this blog (if it even qualifies as a blog anymore) from people looking for information on the subject, and right now if you Google "Titus Chu" the number one site that comes up is The Lord's Army, which doesn't qualify as "objective journalism" under any stretch of the imagination. And that bothers me. It bothers me because whoever writes for that site is doing more harm than good and hardly doing the Lord a favor.

So for those who have remained on the LSM side, who keep the seven feasts and stay loyal to the blended brothers, choosing to only read publications released by the ministry of the age, a word of advice. Do yourself a favor and drop the rhetoric, drop the strident tone, and minister Christ to people. Quit stirring the pot, quit suing other brothers to get some piece of property back, and dedicate yourself to God's building. Open the Life Studies once again, stop trying to prooftext them in order to prove what Brother Lee would have really wanted, and dish out the riches. There are hungry people out there who want the food you can supply. God, Christ, the Spirit, the Church, the Kingdom, the New Jerusalem. (I think there is another one in there but don't hold me to that.) Incarnation, Human Living, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension, Glorification. The Son, with the Father, by the Spirit- the embodiment of the Triune God in Jesus Christ as God's tabernacle and God's temple, living the life of God to develop into the Kingdom of God. Remember these things? This is what brought you to the dance, and this is who will bring you home at night.

"The directors of "the church of the Torontonians Corporation" have now taken over the church property in Toronto. The three directors Steven Pritchard, Jonathan Png and David Lio have successfully manipulated the saints in accepting what will becoming the most authoritarian and none biblical by-laws of any locality and probably of any denominations….Nigel Tomes stood up to share why the new by-laws are necessary. He said the directors take care of the practical and financial side and the elders take care of the spiritual side. But now the church is under attack, therefore these by-laws are necessary. He did not explain how the church is being attacked. Is the church being "attacked" spiritually? If that is the case then how come the elders are not praying? Why would they need the directors to protect the church? What they are really trying to protect is the physical property. They have no concern for the spiritual aspect as a church, as it is quite apparent from their by-laws. The church in Toronto is truly being attacked; by the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies working through brothers like Nigel Tomes, Steve Pritchard, Jonathan Png, Robin Lao and Ian Brinksman." (Lord's Army blog, emphasis mine)

"How come the elders are not praying?" How come you aren't praying? Have you ever thought about the damage your writings cause as well, or are you just consumed with seeing the elders of the (supposed) "church of the Torontonians Corporation" get theirs? You talk about unscriptural by-laws and corporations, yet you support legal actions by LSM minions which are just as unscriptural? C'mon, man, grow up.

Now to "the other side"- those who believe that the excommunication/"quarantining" of Titus Chu is without merit- my advice to you would be…well… the same, actually. Just because you are allowing yourself to be open to other writings, to other ministries, doesn't mean that you need to forsake Living Stream publications. The Life Studies are just as valuable as the day you first found them. The Recovery Version footnotes are just as rich. Read them, love them, live them. More importantly, love and live the Christ that met you in those days and has sustained you ever since.

A little bit of Christ goes a long, long way.

Mac Attack

(i know, stupid title, but whatever....)

Apple Megapatch fixes twenty-five vulnerabilities

Not the beloved Mac? Vulnerabilites? You mean Macs have security issues? If you believe the propaganda you would think that PCs are the only ones with issues.

Give it up, Mac geeks.

Christ Getting In Shape For Second Coming

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/60246?utm_source=onion_rss_daily

The Lamb of God said He made the decision to get in shape late last year when, after two millennia of relative inactivity, He realized that at His age there was "no way" He could return to Earth, judge the souls of the innocent and wicked alike, and reign over the Kingdom of God for 1,000 years without prior conditioning.

"The Second Coming isn't just Me sitting on a great white throne and judging away," Christ said. "I also have to make all of the stars fall and shake all the powers in Heaven. That's why I've been working a lot with the medicine ball."

Christ, however, admitted that centuries of heavenly grace had enabled Him to "really let [Himself] go."

"I can't lead the armies of Heaven looking like some flabby slob," said Christ, who declined to disclose His "before" weight. "That guy can't be the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. The faithful want a Messiah they can truly fear, not someone who's afraid to take off His shirt in public."

Nobody Told Me There’d Be Days Like These

if i said i believe my eyes
and science can move my soul
if i said i'm not afraid to die
and i don't need you

i'd be lying

if i said the way he looks at me
doesn't make me want to undress
if i said i could leave you now
and go where i could forget

i'd be lying

i've been lying all my life with silence
and i need to find the words to tell you

if i said i don't want what i don't have
and all the answers are enough
if i said i believe in myself
and that's enough
i'd be lying
---Sam Phillips, "Lying"

Writing an entry every month and a half sure isn't going to build me a readership base. But maybe I just don't give a crap.

I almost titled this essay "Christians are assholes," because that's how I've been feeling lately. I read Christian blogs and see more mention of Ann Coulter than Jesus Christ, and I think to myself, "Boy, these people really need to get a clue." Ann Coulter isn't a preacher, she isn't even a good commentator. She is to political commentating what pro wrestling is to real sport. In other works, she's a bitch.

Christians defending their taste in music forget that music isn't what it's all about. If I have to hear the phrase "We're just Christians in a band" one more time, I'm going to go postal on someone. Try devoting as much energy into reading your Bible as you do in telling me why you have the right to go to Burning Man and why, if I really cared about reaching the lost, I would go too.

On a personal level, I can't forget Triablogue, the sharp-tongued blogger who ripped me a new one for daring to express some of my frustrations in the spiritual life after Hurricane Katrina (my essay and his response). If his point was that the theologically astute Christian can behave like an arrogant son of a bitch with impunity, well, mission accomplished there, Tri.

And then there is the charter member of the foot-in-mouth club, the Reverend Pat Robertson. He doesn't believe that Mormons are Christians, but he is having one speak at his university's commencement (presidential candidate Mitt Romney). Why? It should be obvious. If Romney becomes the party's nominee, Robertson has scored some points with the man. Pat is more concerned about gaining some political capital than being consistent in his spiritual stands.

Everywhere I turn, a Christian is behaving like a complete and utter asshole. And I am tired of pretending that I want to be indentified with them.

So at this point in my life I have little of spiritual benefit to offer anyone. I have nothing in the tank. I have an autistic son who throws fits for hours at a time, throwing himself on the floor and hurting himself in the process. I have an autistic daughter who hasn't developed enough at the age of four to be able to be mainstreamed into the local elementary school that her brother excels in. I neither have the time nor the energy to discuss Titus Chu, God's foreknowledge or whether Mormons have their ticket to heaven reserved. I just don't have the energy, and quite frankly I'm sorry there are people out there who do. Just feed somebody the bread. Don't whack them with the loaf.

Don't forget, people. The key word in Christian politician, or Christian music, or Christian blogger, is the word "Christian." Not the second part of the phrase.

Im sick and tired of hearing things
From uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocritics
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth

Ive had enough of reading things
By neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth

No short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dicky
Is gonna mother hubbard soft soap me
With just a pocketful of hope
Money for dope
Money for rope

No short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dicky
Is gonna mother hubbard soft soap me
With just a pocketful of soap
Money for dope
Money for rope

Im sick to death of seeing things
From tight-lipped, condescending, mamas little chauvinists
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth now

Ive had enough of watching scenes
Of schizophrenic, ego-centric, paranoiac, prima-donnas
All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth

No short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dicky
Is gonna mother hubbard soft soap me
With just a pocketful of soap
Its money for dope
Money for rope

Ah, Im sick and tired of hearing things
From uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocrites
All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth now


Ive had enough of reading things
By neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians
All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth now

All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth now
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth

All I want is the truth

Just gimme some truth

---John Lennon, "Gimme Some Truth"