Malcolm X

Sorry, another rerun from my other defunct blog. Again, if you've already read it, move on. If not, enjoy! 

Malcolm X is arguably one of the most controversial figures in the last 100 years. Some say he was a racist. A terrorist. An instigator. A hero. A villain. And just about any other descriptor there is in the English language.

Well, I just got done reading his Autobiography and I have come away with one descriptor - admiration. Now don't get me wrong, I don't agree with him on issues or religion or other matters that interest most people. But I can't help but have tons of admiration for the guy. He was a tireless fighter for whatever cause he was involved in at the time.

Obviously, there's no way I can do justice to the massive topic that is Malcolm X. There have been books written about all aspects of his life not to mention his own autobiography, which I have read. But below are a few things that I have I took away from the reading.

1. This first thing you might not pick up from reading through the autobiography. It really came to light from the epilogue that was written by Alex Haley, who was the collaborator for the writing. Haley notes that Malcolm, once they had engaged the writing agreement, only had time to come over and tell his story late at night. He would go to Haley's apartment at around 9pm, Malcolm would tell the story and Haley would take notes. Then, Malcolm would leave at 2 or 3am and be back up at 7 or 8am. This man was tireless!

I wish that I had only half the energy he had. Throughout his life, no matter what his goal was, be it being the best hustler, best burglar, best Nation of Islam minister, or being the leader of his own Muslim Mosque, Inc., he threw himself entirely into his cause.

2. Throughout a lot of his life, he made no bones about it - Malcolm X did not like Christians. Now, towards the end of his life, he did start warming up to us Jesus followers but before that, no way. And after reading the book, I can totally empathize with him.

Throughout most of his life, when he was building his disdain for white people, what faith did all those cruel white folks profess? You guessed it - Christianity. They were all Bible carrying Christian folk who also just happened to be violent racists (not all of them, of course).

The lesson I take away from this is that people only partly judge us by our beliefs. Mostly, they judge us by our actions. What we do. How we handle ourselves. The words that we say. Christians who are out there need to take note of this. As Jesus said, "they will know you are my disciples if you love one another" (John 13:35)

3. This guy was not afraid to change his mind. As he learned new things, he changed the way he acted and what he was doing. Honestly, I think it was from his distinct desire to never be a hypocrite.

You remember him mostly as being the anti-white people minister for the Nation of Islam, which is not bad, as that was how he spent a good portion of his life. However, once he broke with the NOI, he took a pilgrimage to Mecca, where he learned that all people, no matter what color, were equal. Racism, the way he knew it, was unique to the United States.

So what did he do? He changed his plan. He changed himself to reflect this new found revelation. Yes, it cost him in many ways, but at the end of the day, what does that matter? How can you live a life as a hypocrite?

4. Finally, I walk away with inspiration. Mostly with I noted above. If I could live a life like it was my last day, be a Christian that people see through my actions, and not be afraid to change myself with new information, I would be an immensely better person.

I recommend to anyone and everyone who happens to read this to check out the book. And I challenge you to not walk away and be inspired or challenged to change the way you live life.

Peace,
The Rev.

 

Coram Deo

This church was a conundrum.

First, I found Coram Deo because they had an ad on Facebook. It popped up randomly one day (next to the hundreds of "singles" ads I used to get, but thankfully are gone now that I'm "in a relationship with" Robyn) and I thought, wow, a church that's advertising on Facebook, that's interesting. I checked out their website and it looked awfully trendy. So, I decided to check it out.

Well, it sure did look trendy inside. I walked in the front door (oh yeah!) and inside was a very modern looking space. I'd say there were seats for about 100 people (but only 20 ish in attendance), with a cool stage set up front. On the walls were some weird/modern/odd art work. I'm not sure if it was supposed to be spiritual, but it definitely was weird. But over all, the place had a nice design that was very inviting.

And the people were inviting. I've said it before, I'll say it again. Friendly but not pushy. I had conversations with a few people who seemed very cool and relaxed. They told me about the church, how it was a church plant that was started about a year and half ago. At some point, their pastor resigned and they are looking for a new one. Ouch. Not the best way to start a church. . . good leadership is key, people!

Worship started and the band started rocking. Okay, remember how at South Street they didn't have words for the music but they sang songs that people knew, so it wasn't a big deal? Yeah, not here. No words to sing along. The songs were ones I didn't know. Not to mention, the music was "rocking", so you could barely hear what the singers were singing, so it wasn't like you could pick it up as you went along. The one highlight was one song (no clue what it was called) where two guys were playing the drums. It kind of had a Miami Vice intro feel to it. For a second, I thought I was Tubbs (I'm not cool enough to be Crocket).

Since they're pastorless, they had a guest preacher. He was. . . okay? His sermon was on the parable of the wedding banquet. He kind of talked about and kind of talked about what it meant. But mostly he would just segue into other topics. Kind of all over the place with no real point that I could pin down.

Oh well. He's not the regular guy, so c'est la vie, oui oui, oh la la, and all that.

I'm kind of stuck with this church. Part of me thinks, wow, that place was crap. But the other part of me says, well, they're just getting started and had a little set back having their preacher resign. The people were really nice and the one guy I talked to said he really liked it there because they were committed to outreach. Maybe all that outreach is still in the planning stages, I don't know.

So there ya have it. Personally, I'd say give them a few more months to find a preacher and to get things moving in the right direction.

Revvy O'Wanderson

Pastor Packs Pistol

Like I said, I'm doing this bi-weekly-ish right now. So this isn't a church review. It's actually a re-run article from a blog I was going to start but never went with. So if you've read it, skip it. If not, enjoy! 

This Sunday I attended Akron Baptist Temple, where as a part of Ed's sermon on commitment, he noted that he packs heat. A gat. A heater. A bullet dispenser. No, he doesn't carry it with him but he keeps one in the house, just in case someone were to break into his house he would be able to protect his family.

I disagree with this idea 100%. I'm of the firm opinion that no Christian should ever have to carry a gun, for it is written (I just like using that term), Ephesians 6:10-18 that our "armor of God" is that of spiritual armor, and our weapon is the Word of God, not a physical sword. Not to mention killing an unbeliever would send that person to Hell, something I could never live with.

Pastor Ed disagrees. He believes that a man must provide and protect his family, as that is his God given role in the family. He quotes 1 Timothy 5:8, which states that anyone who does not provide for their family is worse than an unbeliever. Pretty strong words, for sure.

So which is worse, sending an unbeliever prematurely to an eternity in Hell or not protecting your family?

With that, however, my point is not about gun control or whether or not a Christian can kill someone. It's about disagreement.

This applies mostly to me, as I can be quite the argumentative guy. As Christians, we're never going to agree with one another on every topic and issue of Scripture. It's just not going to happen. We have strong views on baptism (how and when), communion (how often), pre-destination (Arminianism or Calvinist), and a slew of other topics.

I mean, what is one to do? What if your church takes a stand on a doctrine that you find wrong or maybe you find it heretical?

First, I'd start reading and researching. More than likely, your leaders/preacher is not the only Christian to have such a belief. As the Good Book says, there is nothing new under the sun. There are so many different flavors of Christianity right now and they all have their own little seasonings that make them all a little different.

And if you do your research, you'll find that a lot of them have a few verses of Scripture to back them. They might even have a more firm backing than you do on your side of the issue. Which would suck, cause now you've gotta eat that crow.

Also, you should look at the intent of the person making the argument. Are they using the Scripture in order to get away with something sinister? Or are they simply stating a belief based on Scripture that they find true? And in all things, is based in love?

Did I mention prayer? Nope, but I should have. A little confession, I was doing my re-read of this before I remembered that I should put this in here. Isn't that how we always are? We do everything else first before we go to God and ask Him. What a bunch of ding dongs. Anywho, start with God. He'll give you some direction and insight on where to go. And since he's the boss, you're starting in the right place.

A fews years ago at my old church, the Pastor Naterob7 (that's his X Box Live tag) gave a sermon in support of the death penalty and of Christians going to war. I was livid. Not only was I having a bad day (oh, was I), but this ding dong is up there on the pulpit preaching what I thought was completely anti-Gospel! If not for my stance on non-violence, I would have gone up on that pulpit and knocked him out.

I was ticked, to say the least.

However, not too long later, the Weekly Standard ran an article about the arguments on both sides for going to war and whether Christians should be for or against. Both sides rattled off Scripture and early Church Fathers writings on the subject to make their argument (I, of course, thought the pro-war argument was weak) but it was interesting to see both sides of the argument examined and stated.

As I stated, I still disagree with him on this subject but I can now see his point of view and how he came to such a conclusion (no matter how wrong it is. Ha ha). Not to mention, since he's a good friend, I know that his intent was based in love, not in some pursuit of revenge or anger. Oh, and not to mention, he's got degrees in religious studies I don't even have a chance of getting!

Patience, love, and solid research are the key to effectively addressing the issue. Rushing to judgment and anger will get you nowhere and fast.

Salutations,
The Reverend

South Street Ministries

Akron, the awesome frontier. These are the voyages of the Wandering Reverend. His five year mission: to explore strange, new churches, to seek out crazy Christians and churches, to boldly go where no reverend has gone before!

Wowza. What a church we have this week.

My attendance at South Street Ministries was predestined for sure. First, my sister Anna's bible study group at Grace Brethren sponsors some of their activities and has done work with them in the past. She had told me to check them out some time ago and I never did. Second, the guy who put the tattoo on my left arm goes there and told me about it then. Finally, a couple of guys from First Glance brought it up at bible study last week and invited me out.

God was pretty much smacking me in the face telling me to go there. And let me tell you, sometimes it's good getting smacked in the face (not all time though, just to be clear.)

So on Sunday morning, I attended the early service at Grace with Robyn (woot!), had some breakfast, and headed over to South Street.

South Street is located on Grant Street (say whaaa?) near downtown, and very near the Summit County Jail. They meet in  the old Croatian club (at least I think that's what it used to be). When we walked up, there were kids playing outside and people talking. I think I've mentioned this before, but I love a church with a front door on the street. It just makes going in seem that much more inviting. Not like going in through the back door, like you're going into some secret club where you gotta tell some guy a password to get in. (The password to get into South Street is "The Rev sent me.", FYI.)

Once inside, what a lay out. They kept all the tables and chairs that came with the place. I'd say there were about 40 or so people in attendance. We made our way to a table with few people at it. A younger guy and woman with her maybe 6 month old baby.

What a hodge podge of people. There were black and white. Rich and poor. Saved and unsaved. All in this one room! I love this kind of random gathering of people! The people at the table next to us were stuffing envelopes wedding invitations. Ha!

Worship started and consisted of a couple of ladies with lovely voices singing with a CD providing the musical background. No lyrics on a projector or hymnals but it seemed that most people knew the songs (Amazing Grace and others). Yeah, it was bare bones, but for a guy that gets easily distracted by misprinted lyrics on the big screen, it was nice to just sing some songs from memory and let it really flow from the heart.

After this, Duane, the pastor of the church, came up and asked people how God had been working in their lives during the week. About three came up and talked. Again, no raising Sunday Christians here. Like he said, they wanted to know how God has been working in their lives throughout the week, not just on Sunday.

You wanna know what was awesome? The sermon. Why? Because there wasn't one.

Pastor Duane read the story of Zacchaeus, and then told us to split into small groups and discuss why Zacchaeus had a sudden change of heart. So the two guys we came with left (good riddance!) and a mom with two of her sons came over and sat down. After we talked for a little bit, Duane called everyone back.

Was he going to start preaching now? Heck no. He called on people to answer his question and see what their group had come up with. I can't really put into words how awesome this set up is. People reading and studying the Bible together and then discussing it together. And not at "bible study" time. Right here during church.

What really brought this to an apex was the last person to speak. He was a young kid, maybe 16, he said (paraphrasing), "Here's this guy Zacchaeus who had everything, and then there's Jesus who had nothing. But there was something that Jesus had that Zacchaeus wanted." Wow. In any other church setting, would a 16 year old kid feel comfortable or be given an opportunity to speak his mind about this?

South Street is awesome in so many kinds of ways. They have several outreach programs that go on during the week, check them all out here.

I will definitely be making my way back here a few times in the future and if you're looking for something different that will show how church should be, please check this place out. You will not be disappointed.

Rev.