Another suburban church shows its dedication to rescuing us…

You ever notice that it is always easier to get involved from a distance? Such the case in the latest from large suburban church here in Grand Rapids MI. It seems that they are holding a conference on how to love their “neighbors” (and they do not it seems mean their neighbors in Grandville, they mean their po’ neighbors) and inviting the CCDA (Christian Community Development Association) to lead it. Now I love the CCDA but the ironic thing to me is that CCDA is based on three “R”s: Reconciliation, Redistribution and Relocation. It is the third “R” that I suspect this church will not practice, but hey they could sell their mall and move to the hood, sure some of their SUV’s and beemers might get scratched but it could happen.

I guess I just find it mildly annoying when a church full of yuppies and their offspring decide they are going to change my world. That is after all what we need, 10,000 messiahs in sports utility vehicles descending upon us to rescue us with their master cards and know-how. It will be beautiful, the will come in, inquire what gang every black kid is in, talk with the Latinos about how they sneaked into the country, teach us all how to use a clean wash cloth and then ride off after having fixed everything. They will then go to Atlanta Bread company to debrief and praise the Lord for the miraculous ways in which he used them in our lives. We on the other hand will all slink back to the bus stop so we can catch a ride down to family dollar where we will pawn our food stamps and trade two of our baby’s diapers for a pack of smokes and a lotto ticket.

The Jesus of Suburbia…

So I was going to post more quotes but it seems that I have left my copy of the book at urgent care, where I was with yet another sick son …ear infections should be illegal. Oh well I will go back for it tomorrow. I did read a similar quote today from a guy from the 1800′s about adandoning everything to follow Jesus radically… and we thought we invented it in this generation Here:

“…Even where these are not entirely neglected, they do not always take the place they are meant to have—that first place that makes everything, the dearest and best, secondary and subordinate to the work of helping and blessing men. A reckless disregard of everything that would interfere with God’s will and commands, a being jealous with God’s jealousy against sin, a witnessing and a fighting against it at any sacrifice —” Andrew Murray

The Jesus of Suburbia…

So I am reading a book by a guy named Mike Erre called “Jesus of Suburbia”…It rocks. Over the next few days I will be giving quotes.

“Risk is inherent in faith. Risk and Faith cannot be divorced”

“This is one of the reasons we settle for the mundane Jesus of suburbia; he is predictable and safe. This way of living steals the life God offers, even with all of it’s cost. We settle for the dull and drab, never daring great things for God and never seeing God do great things.”

“I want my children to grow up understanding that life with Jesus is more than just being nice, or trying not to cuss and get drunk because “that is what good Christians do.” I want my children to be so compelled by the real Jesus that they are willing to stand with him, giving their lives to his revolution, not in order to be religious but because the is simply no more exhilarating way to live. I want my kids to see my wife and me as revolutionaries who subvert the dominant belief systems of the world, not out of religious obligation but in wholehearted response to the person of Jesus.”

Word. I think that last one may be the purpose statement that my wife and I would choose for ourselves as parents. All of these came just form the first chapter and there are more amazing quotes as well. I will post them later.