A few months ago I was asked to speak at a camp in March and I was excited! It’s not everyday I get asked to speak somewhere (as a matter of fact the youth at my church are glad I only speak once a month!) so I was up for the challenge. I was then told about the theme of the camp and I was given a suggestion for a book to read to help me better understand how the camp was going to be set up.
So, I get the book on Amazon.com and I begin to read through it and the more and more I read the more and more I wanted to find out about the author. So, I ask around and I find out he has a couple web sites and I find a podcast that he did with a different website so I decide to listen.
At the beginning of the podcast we hear the hosts making nicey nice with the guest but you know, deep down in side, that they are about to bring the noise, thy are going to bring the hammer down on this cat, and sure enough about halfway through, they do.
The thing that is the most hurtful to me as a Christian who is trying his darndest to love God and love others it the angry, cocky and sometimes mean spirited way both sides of the ‘discussion’ were treating each other during the cast. Now, I know that makes me sound like a prudish big time sissy boy, but trust me I am not. I just know that the world is checking us out and if we are not living for Him on our websites, podcasts, bus rides, work places, hearts .. people WILL see it, and God knows nobody wants to serve the God of punks. When asked what the greatest commandment was Jesus replied:
“The first in importance is, “Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’ And here is the second: “Love others as well as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment that ranks with these.”
I don’t see anything in His words about being right all the time and if your not getting aggressive when challenged, or lashing back. As leaders we have a duty to be humble, to serve, and above all else to love. I realize this is a strange post, but I have had a heavy heart about this so I wanted to put it up with the hopes that it start some dialog.
[Note: If you are interested in hearing the podcast I was referring to check out www.stupidchurchpeople.com and find the Tony Jones podcasts. There are two of them]
WONDERWHAT 
I totally hear you on this one (despite your MANY grammatical errors). So often at school this last semester I found myself in debates of the religious and scientific nature. But what good does it do if I get super passionate and angry about evolution?
Quite frankly, I need to question how important it is to prove evolution one way or the other. Is it more important to get an atheist to admit that we didn’t evolve, or that there is a God that loves him ridiculously?
I’m a regular listener and reader of Stupid Church People. I can’t remember the episode you’re talking about, but…I know what you mean. Sometimes those guys are off base and I struggle between applauding them for being real and knowing that there’s a certain amount of unrealness we have to have as we struggle to overcome ourselves. However, I keep listening and reading because when they’re on their game, they express so many of my frustrations with the “Church” (and use that term broadly). On a side note, Steve wrote a pretty good open letter to Ted Haggard where he had a much more forgiving attitude than the “leader” we see on the nightly news. I found it interesting. Okay, I’ll stop writing now.