Happy Birthday, PlayStation

If you know me at all, you'll know that I'm not a gamer. But I'd be lying if I said I don't like games. Games have been something that caught a speck of my time and interest.

The other day, a friend of four years revealed to me that he was a hard core gamer. He pointed out to me that September 9th was Sony's video game console's 15th birthday. He also sent me an interesting chart.

This chart displays the interesting facts of the loyal PlayStation fans. Interesting facts like, 84% of PlayStation fans are willing to give up social networking for video games, 60% are willing to give up their cell phones if they were asked to choose between their iPhone or PS3. 38% of players play between 8 - 10 hours a day. The survey goes on to spit a few more random facts such as, 33% of gamers do not like to snack while they play because they need to focus on perfecting their gaming art. One of the most intriguing stats on this chart was that 40% of gamers are not willing to date people who are not gamers... whoa. It turns out these loyal gamers dictate their whole lives around games.

This is what hit me:

Video Games have become an idol. I mean, look at the stats!

-people are willing to sacrifice anything that would get in the way of games.

-people are not willing to date people who would pull them away from games.

-people are giving up certain foods for the sake of perfecting their art of gaming.

-people gather in small groups to partake in gaming, and talking about their experience of gaming.

If I were to substitute the word "game" with "God", you would totally think it was a legit religion!

This is idolatry in the highest form!

hahaha... now, I'm not about to tell the youth of the United States that they need to repent and turn to the real God. Why? Because no one would mistake a PlayStation 3 as a god... I mean... what kind of god needs repair? Instead, I'm more curious of how we can get some teenagers to channel their passions for gaming to their relationship with Jesus...

The Yellow Banana

Why do I post in the middle of the night? It's because I have something brewing in my mind. Posting these ramblings seems to help, so here it goes!

Today the bishop re-taught 21 (or so) characteristics he saw in 'transformational multiplying' churches. I had a quick discussion about this with a friend (let's call him Bob) who also heard the same talk. We ended up in a quick disagreement. There was no conclusion to our pseudo-argument, because he was driving and he had to drop me off. I barely had any time to voice my main point..

I agree with every point Bishop Matt Thomas made. It was eye-opening. Same for Bob. He said he was convicted because his church fit the description of a non-transformational church. He said he needed to take immediate action and change his bible study. Bob was referring to point 13 which was a warning of the dangers of a bible study. The bishop said a bible study in itself is not bad, but when the Word does not bring application, it is harmful to the group. I agree with this. Bishop Thomas continued and stated that intellect is not good (point 18), if it is not accompanied with action. I agree with this too.

Bob wanted to restructure his bible study to make it more application focused. I told him, this is not what the Bishop was hoping to achieve from his talk... and if the Bishop was, then I completely disagree with his entire talk today (gulp... am I allowed to disagree with the bishop?)

Here's my reasoning:

The list of 21 characteristics is not a list we are called to mimic. It is merely a list of observations. I think there is a danger in trying to copy fruit. I need to explain this because at first read, it may not make any sense..

If Val and I went to watch the World of Color at California Adventure for our anniversary, and the show was so beautiful that we ended up embracing each other and kissing during the show... and a teenage couple saw us doing that... they would say, "awww... let's do the same." However, they're just trying to reproduce the fruit of our relationship. They're missing out on the commitment we made, the trials we overcame together, the affection we developed, etc. They're just mimicking a kiss, but missed everything beneath it. My kiss was an overflow of the days, months, years of love we have developed for each other. Their kiss is just a kiss.

Or, its seeing a ripe banana, comparing it to your rotten banana... and then painting yours yellow so it looks ripe. The yellowness of the banana is not the point... its the inside of the peel. If the inside is ripe, then the peel will naturally be yellow.

In the same way, when we try to replicate a successful church's fruit, we face the danger of missing everything else. Shouldn't application in a bible study come from an overflow of the Holy Spirit speaking through Scripture? Shouldn't we engage in compelling love because we have an overflow of God's love in our lives, and not because the successful church down the street loves others (point 2)? Shouldn't prayer be spontaneous because we believe in the power of prayer... and not because the Bishop told us to have spontaneous prayer times at church (which isn't really spontaneous...) (point 8)?

What I got out of the Bishop's talk is, let's focus on becoming healthy Christians. If we are growing in the Holy Spirit, we'll begin to show these signs of a transformational church.

If there is one point that sums up my thoughts, it would be point 3 - "Can't-Help-It". This means, God is doing such an amazing work in my life, I can't help but share it with my friends. Or, we're so in love with Jesus, we can't help but to be unified... or we can't help but engage in compelling love. We love our community so much, we can't help but be more outreach oriented. We are so in touch with the Holy Spirit that when we study the Scriptures, I can't help but stick to a certain passage until I live it out.

If the inside is healthy, the banana peel will naturally be yellow. The transformation of the church will happen when Christians begin to transform, not when we coat it new tricks.

On the Homosexuality Issue...

For those of you who have heard me voice my opinion on the topic of homosexuality, you have heard me take the middle ground. The question is usually, "Is homosexuality a sin?" and the answer is usually, "I don't know."

I don't believe I can give an answer that someone fed me, if I don't know for myself. In other words, I can't tell people "Jesus is Lord" just because some pastor told me that He is. I need to know for myself if it is true or not.

I've struggled with this issue for over a year now. I studied research on both sides of the issue. I also looked at it biblically, biologically, sociologically, psychologically, and prayerfully. For this time of limbo, I have developed a "safe answer" of "We don't know if it is a sin or not, so let's not judge others."

Well, it is my pleasure to announce that I finally have a stance: Homosexuality is a sin.

How did I arrive at this conclusion? Well, it was a long (and believe me, it was LONG) process. The Holy Spirit brought to me great resources in the form of people, key scriptures, articles, and divine inspirations.

Let me begin by how I began struggling with this topic. I have a friend who came out of the closet. He was disgusted by the way the church talked about gays (he was a Christian), so when he could no longer hide passion for the same gender, he left the church (and eventually his faith). I heard a few weeks before this confrontation a "scholar" who said that all the verses in the Bible regarding this issue cannot be used to call homosexuality a sin. I studied all those verses and I had to agree. So I told my friend, "I don't know if it is a sin, but Jesus' blood can cover any multitude of sin," and that I would look into it. Thus began my journey.

This is what I learned.

• Although none of the verses can be used to say "Homosexuality is a sin," when homosexuality is mentioned in Scripture, it is never mentioned in a positive light.
• Because there is no specific verse that talks about this issue, I knew that I need to define the purpose of sexuality. Why did God make us sexual beings? It turns out that the man's pursuit of a woman is an image of God pursuing his people. This is why God doesn't permit affairs - God doesn't cheat on us. In Romans 1, Paul states that our resistance to God is represented in our sexual relations. In other words, man pursuing woman = God pursuing people. Anything else is a perversion of this pure relationship He desires to have with us.
• I once heard a television star say, "some animals have same-sex relations. It's natural." This is true, but if you live by this philosophy, then you have to go the extra mile. Some animals eat their spouse after having sex. Shall we do that too? It is NOT natural for animals to have same-sex tendencies. Otherwise, they will go extinct! Would God create a tendency that will wipe out an entire specie?

So, am I glad I spent nearly 2 years of my life researching this topic? Yes. It was very enriching. It taught me how to talk to people struggling with homosexuals. I learned that it is not my job to change the sexual orientation of my friend. My job is to remind him of the Gospel - that Jesus loves him regardless of his lifestyle. It is God's job to judge, the Holy Spirit's job to convict, and it is my job to love. God can change hearts, I can only trust in that.

We are saved by grace, not by orientation.

I also learned that some Christians (not all) are afraid of the unknown. Why is homosexuality treated as a bigger sin than divorce, lying, and lusting? I think people are afraid of things we don't understand.

Jesus calls us to love in revolutionary ways. How can we, as christians, see past the sin of homosexuality and love the person... in the same way Jesus never labeled a person a tax collector, prostitute, or a diseased person. Jesus said that his disciples are people who know how to love. I want to love people as every human being deserves to be loved.

People are not projects. People are people. Let us love them as Jesus loved us.

Successful Church

Earlier today I received an email asking me to think of a big vision for our church conference. I thought this would be a simple task. I mean, you just DREAM BIG, right? After I jotted down a few things (after a time of prayer, of course), I asked Val what she thought. We began talking about what constitutes a successful church. Some interesting thoughts were shared, and I thought I'd share it with you:

Can a church be successful? I read through Scripture and fail to find anywhere the idea of church being a success. Well, Revelation speaks of two churches that were successes, but we would not recognize them as "successful churches" if we were to measure them in today's standards.

I realized that the difficulty of finding a vision for our conference is not the "dreaming big" part. I didn't know how to dream big because I wasn't sure what a successful church was suppose to look like in the 21st century. I mean, if there's an image of what church should look like, I can dream big and say, "We want to look like the successful church described in the Bible!" But, there's no image of a successful church in the Bible.

When people ask me, "What is the great plan for our church?", I answer, "we'll be A, B, and C." There's always a person who says, "but that's not church. A church should be X, Y, and Z." Why didn't Jesus spend time teaching about the church? Combining all four Gospels, He only mentions "church" twice! No wonder there are denominations. Everyone disagrees on what a successful church looks like.

I think this happens because church is not an institution (at least its not supposed to be). It is a group of believers. It's a gathering. How can you fail at being a group? You can't. As long as two or more are gathered, you're a success. If you and your friend go camping, and you sit down in the middle of a forest and talk about what God is doing in your life, you're a successful church.

The problem (not sure if it really is a problem) is, we've made church into an institution. This means, we measure success and failure based on "institution standards." The bigger the more successful. The more income the better. The stronger the leader, the awesomer. When church is an institution, we've brought something (that wasn't meant to be measured) into a system that is all about comparison and analysis.

We can't deny it. Church is an institution now. And I'm a part of it. I can't change it either. Why? Because my employment is grounded in this system. Because there are laws in the country about religious groups (when Westlight was planted, we had to deal with the government a lot). Institutions are comfortable and are protected by the government. In the Western Culture, we've come to a point where Church has to be an institution.

Jesus was God clothed in flesh. Church is God's children clothed in institution.

So, when I am asked to come up with a vision for the church, my mind automatically goes to institutional ideas like, "bigger church, more people, stronger leaders!" and there's nothing wrong with this. But what I was asked to do is to come up with a vision for the church, not the institutionalized church.

hmmmm....

C.S. Lewis' Favorite Sound...

C.S. Lewis:

“There’s no sound I like better than adult male laughter.”

—cited in Walter Hooper, C.S. Lewis: A Companion and Guide (HarperCollins, 1996), p. 16.

Money Spender

A few years ago, a pastor's wife told me that their kids wear donated clothes most of the time. It's not that they can't afford new stuff. They can. The pastor gets paid very well. The reason they do this is because they don't want the congregation to think that they are materialistic. A few years before this, I overheard a group of people talking about a pastor who had a very nice car. They were talking about him in a condescending manner. "How does a pastor justify buying such an expensive car?" It is as if, pastors are required to live a "lesser luxurious" life than the congregation. Interesting.

For a long time, I was impartial to this matter, until someone made a similar comment to me the other day.

As most of you know, I raise my own support. I asked people to support me in my lifestyle, which includes school, rent, gas, etc... but also a little spending money. What most don't know is that the monetary support I receive is barely enough to get me through the month. I don't even have enough money to put any money into my savings. In most months, I end up tapping into my savings because of unforeseen expenses. I don't live a luxurious life, and I don't waste money on things I don't need. I am also a faithful tither, and I even support missionaries (I'm not saying this to boast. I'm just building a case).

I mentioned to my friend that I was considering using my tax refund to buy a new computer or a camera. Here's a little background that: My MacBook Pro is nearing its 4th birthday, and its literally falling apart. I use my laptop for ministry and school. I need a pro because I make countless videos, do presentations for worship services and retreat events, and research sermons and school work. I need a new camera because my previous camera is 15 years old (which was donated to me). I use my camera for ministry reasons too. I only use it for ministry, and it is falling apart because of my ministry. I have asked many churches (and our conference) to purchase their own, but at the end of the day, it doesn't seem to be a priority to them. I've done this for so long, that I feel that most people rely on me to have these equipments.

When I said that I need a new laptop and camera, this person made a quick comment, "Don't say you're poor, because you're buying expensive things."

That struck a nerve with me.

I'm sure it was a quick comment that wasn't meant to offend. But I felt the sense of guilt. Am I not allowed to buy expensive things? If I'm in ministry, am I expected to use my beat up computer? Should I feel bad for having "nice stuff"?

But then, another set of questions began to arise: What does this person know about how I spend money? How can this person assume I'm not being a good steward of my money? Do I really need to justify my expenses with the people who support me? Are there unhealthy expectations for ministers that need to be changed?

I talked about this with Val, and she said I should go and buy what I need. She told me that I can't let other people's opinions dictate what I buy, especially when it is necessary for my ministry.

Three years ago, I bought a projector (with my tax refund, of course). Every retreat I went to, we had a hard time finding a church that will lend us their projector. So I got one. A lot of people complained that I wasn't spending my money responsibly. But I didn't buy it for me. I bought it for us, the body of Christ. I have never used that projector for personal use. Today, that projector is falling apart... but I'm glad it was able to assist in making many retreats, conferences, weddings, and funerals a success.

It's weird how some people judge me on the expensive gadgets I have, but when I'm using it for their ministry, they stop complaining. Ugh.

Shalom

Jesus has been dead for 3 days. But his body is missing. There are rumors brewing in Jerusalem that Jesus has resurrected. Some time later, Jesus shows up in a room filled with his disciples and says one phrase that summed up what just happened. "Peace be with you." According to Luke, these are the first words of Jesus to his disciples. Of the variety of things He could have said, why did He say, "Peace"?

Throughout the Bible, the word "peace" is used in the place of the Hebrew word, "Shalom." I believe this is one of the most underrated biblical words. To be honest, when I read the above story, I didn't dwell on "Peace be with you" because I thought it was some sort of greeting. However, I have come to realize that this one word can change the entire PURPOSE of a Christian.

Shalom means peace. We typically understand peace as "no chaos." But the authors of the Bible understood peace as "harmony" or "perfect relationship." So, to have peace with God means, "to be in perfect relationship with God." But, that's not the full extent of Shalom. The Bible demands we restore our Shalom with everything else. This means, we are called to restore our relationship with others, ourselves, etc. If there is cancer in our bodies, that means Shalom in our bodies was disrupted. If there's a fight with a friend, that means Shalom in our friendship was disrupted. If someone is treated as a slave, Shalom was disrupted in society. If there is no rain and people are suffering, shalom with nature was disrupted.

God intended the world to work a certain way. Anything that does not look that way is disrupted Shalom. We call this sin. Some would even say the opposite of sin is shalom.

This "shalom" is the reason our journeys do not end at salvation. From the day we are saved to the day we die, we are called to do whatever we can to restore the shalom in the world. Some are called to restore the shalom of people with God - we call this evangelism. Some are called to restore the shalom of relationships - we call this forgiveness. Some are called to restore the shalom of societal systems - we call this justice. Some are called to restore the shalom of nature - the Eden project is a good example of this.

We do this all this as an overflow of Christ's love. Because if we do all this, and have not love, then they are just clanging of cymbals. Jesus' death on the cross was to defeat sin - the sin that brought destruction to shalom on so many levels...

After His resurrection, Jesus eagerly announces to His disciples, "SHALOM to you." This one statement is packed with God's longing of wanting to restore all things back to the way they are supposed to be. Jesus is staring at 11 disciples, who are the first of many people to go and bring Shalom into the world.

Things Pastors Should Never Say

I recently came across a hilarious book called, "Stuff Christians Like." I don't own a copy of this book, but got a chance to skim through it. It is going to be released for sale this month, and my friend had an early copy through some promotion. One of the chapters caught my attention, since it's something I was passionate about.

Things Pastors Should Never Say

Before I give you the list, let me just say that I haven't given much thought as to whether I agree with these points. In the book, each of the following points had some quick reasons as to why pastors should not say the following things. I don't remember exactly what it said, so I'm going to write what I remember.

1. "Good to see you this Christmas. See you next Easter!"

Shame is perhaps one of the worst motivators ever. Don't ever say this, even if it is true. Sure, there might be some people that are coming for Christmas and won't be back until the next religious holiday but I promise, making fun of them isn't going to get them to come back .

2. "We never talk about money, but today..."

This line is usually used by pastors for visitors or people who haven't been at church long enough to know that the pastor rarely talks about money. I understand that it is important for the pastor to let them know that they're not in it for the money. But when you start a sermon this way, it feels like you're apologizing for doing something bad. And you're not. Of the top three topics Jesus taught, money was definitely one of them (and the other two are prophecies and kingdom principles). It's okay to ask for people to honor their commitment to tithing.

3. "I want to talk a little today about why I own a diamond encrusted Rolls Royce."

My hope is that all pastors will never have to do the "justification sermon," regardless of the topic (money, sleeping around, drugs, etc.). Pastors, avoid this by having a support network in your life taht will kick your butt long before you get here. Please.

4. Any form of rap.

Pastors should never, ever, ever, never, ever, ever, really never rap. Unless you're MC Hammer (did you know he's a pastor now?).

So, here are four things I was able to retain in my small brain regarding things I hope I never have to hear a pastor say. There's more, but I can't remember them. Do you agree or disagree with them? Have you ever heard anything you wished your pastor didn't say?

10 Dangerous Myths About Muslims

I've done many Q&A's at retreats, youth groups, etc. One of the most asked question is "What do XXXXXX believe?" I think our perception of other religions can be one of Christians' (or any human being for that matter) downfalls. We tend to generalize and judge based on reputation. One religion that stands out is Islam. I took this from a website I came across a long time ago to give some more insight to Islam.

10 Dangerous Myths About Islam and Muslims

1. Islam is a religion of violence. By definition, if you’re a Muslim, then the natural and obvious working out of your religion is to be violent.

Islam as a religious system has not been any more violent than Christianity or Judaism. In the name of these three religions, much harm has been done. No one would accuse “Christianity” as being violent because of the actions of the KKK, yet they call themselves “Christian.” So we cannot blame the actions of less than 1% on the whole of Islam. How do you feel whenever a non-Christian says, "oh, the Crusades is a perfect example of how Christianity is dangerous."

2. Muslims are backward in general. They don’t have a complex or high culture.

Some of the greatest contributions to society, even Western society, has come from Islamic countries. Most historians acknowledge that the Western Renaissance which began in Italy in the 1400’s had it’s roots in the early Arab Renaissance headquartered in Baghdad. Science, math and literature have deep roots in the Arab Muslim world of the Middle Ages.

3. Muslims are Arabs. Or…Arabs are Muslims.

Of the 1.4 Billion Muslims, only about 280 million speak Arabic as their first language. The largest Muslims countries are Indonesia, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is true that the Arab world still holds the greatest influence on the rest of Islam since the Qur’an is in Arabic and the holiest sites are all found in the Arab Middle East.

4. Muslims believe in Allah, a false God and they follow Muhammad.

No Muslim would say they “follow Muhammad.” And the only word for “God” in Arabic is Allah. All Arab Christians worship “Allah.” So it’s a silly argument based on semantics.

5. Islam teaches Muslims to kill Christians and Jews.

There is not a single command in the Qur’an for Muslims to go out and kill Christians or Jews. In fact quite the opposite. Read the Qur’an for yourself. The best version and easiest to read in English is the one published by Oxford Press. Only a specific sect of Islam holds to rewarding the death of a Christian. We call that a "militant muslim".

6. Muslims cannot integrate into Western societies because Islam is incompatible with Democracy.

There is no reason to think Islam and Democracy are incompatible. Many Muslims countries have a form of Democracy. There are some political and social realities that make good Democracy difficult, but it doesn’t have to do with Islam.

7. Islam is a cult, not a true mono-theistic religion like Judaism or Christianity.

Islam, Christianity and Judaism have always been called the three great Monotheistic religions.

8. Muslims go along with their teachers and don’t think for themselves.

Islam is incredibly complex with many “versions” like Christianity. Muslims are no more inclined to “go along” with what their teachers say then western Christians are.

9. Islam is against Jesus. They don’t believe in Him.

Ask any Muslim “Do you believe in Jesus” and they are likely to burst into a smile and start telling you how much they love him. We agree, that there are points of misunderstanding, some of which are significant, but that doesn’t mean they don’t “like him.” They don't believe Jesus is God, or that He actually died (which are very HUGE points in Christianity), but the bottom line is, they do not hate Jesus.

10. Muslims resist modernization.

If Muslims resist modernization, they do so only because they see the evils of the west and don’t want them. Things like gangs, pornography, divorce and such are seen as “Western Values” and those are incompatible with Islam.

I hope this helps!

What Could Have Been...

Today, after our weekly staff meetings, the youth director (Kev) and I talked about what could have been. How would our lives look different if we didn't end up in ministry? What would we be doing right now?

Kevin said, "I'd probably be a counselor, helping people somewhere." Interesting, because he's doing that now. In other words, he has a calling to help people, and even if there isn't a job opening for him at the local church, he would continue to do what he is already doing.

Chuck Smith, the founder of the Calvary Chapel movement once said, "If you have a choice between being a pastor and something else, always go with something else. However, if all you want to do is to be a pastor, then go ahead and do that." What he is saying is, ministry is a scared calling. Being a minister is your entire being.

Kevin also said he used to work at a Starbucks. He said he did that because he wanted to learn to interact with strangers, because he may need that skill as a church leader. In his case, even if he can't work in a church, he will continue to be a minister for Christ because that is all he can do.

N-O Spells MIRACLE

As I was reading through the gospels, I couldn't help but notice that the first miracle Jesus performed (water into wine) is preceded by a big fat "NO" to a request. Mary asks Jesus to do something about the wine crisis and Jesus says it ain't his time (btw, the first 'yes' in the Bible brought sin into the world). In the book of Luke, there's a big shift in Jesus' focus half way through the story as he begins to "head towards Jerusalem." He begins saying no, and focuses on his forthcoming crucifixion.

I'm realizing that every amazing work begins with a NO. Maybe I should begin my day by saying no to anything that is not of Him and focus only on the things He wants me to do (if I can figure what that is).

This "No" principle has interesting implications - If this is how God works, then when we ask God for a miracle and He says, "nope!" then maybe he's brewing up something else that's a greater miracle. Maybe the reason he said "no" to one opportunity is because He wants us to experience a greater opportunity. When Sarai was barren (no to babies), God was preparing Isaac. When God said no to Paul (re: going to Asia), He was preparing him for a world-changing mission trip to Europe. When Jesus said no to the devil's temptations (no to bread, no to power, and no to false teachings), Jesus conquered a multitude of sins.

For the past 5 years or so, I've been learning to say no. It's hard. But marvelous.

Outdoor Sermon

Today, during our opening worship set, all the lights turned on automatically, the door lights began flashing, and loud beeping noises began to sound. The fire alarm was triggered, and we were all forced to evacuate the auditorium. We smelled smoke, and we didn't know where it was coming from.

Pastor Cliff quickly directed the whole congregation to the play yard, Tristan played a song to calm the crowd, and I went up to give a message. During this time, I made a few observations:

We all sat down on small elementary school benches, and as far as I can recall, this was the first time I've seen my church all bunch up together. It was so refreshing to have a service outside, away from any modern technologies (except that plane that flew over my head). I had prepared a few slides to accompany my sermon, but I had to trash that and find a way to accommodate for the new setting immediately. Kelvin Uyeda came up to me and said, "Hey, Jesus fed the multitude, didn't he?" and pointed to the congregation. That calmed my nerves and helped me put the situation into perspective. As I spoke, the message felt as if it was flowing off my lips, and the outdoor winds were carrying the words to each person in the crowd.

It was like... we rediscovered real church again. It was fresh. After church was over, people stayed to talk and hang out. All the kids played together, rather than splitting off into their segregated groups. The adults were laughing (even though it was a rebuking message) and sharing their reaction to the fire alarm. People felt less constrained during our worship set outdoors. Ricky, one of our special needs brothers, cheered aloud for Jesus!

Praise God for interruptions.

Take Two

So, this is my second attempt at writing a blog. The first one was a rambling of random thoughts in my head, but none of them proved to be edifying. My mind is a dangerous place to dwell in, especially because it is filled with ideas that shall never be published in any form of media.

This time around, I thought I would revive a little hobby I had when I was a youth director at Peninsula FMC. I used to post "theological moments." They are basically "God-moments" that I want to share with whoever is interested. This hobby came about when I went through a series called "Finding Jesus." It was a lesson on opening our eyes to see what God is teaching us.

Hope y'all enjoy!