Month: February 2009

What’s the Emergency?

/ Jason Morris / Leave a comment

In our current individualistic society, not only are people only concerned about themselves…they also seem to move about in a hurried frenzy. We are so consumed by our agendas that we have a total disregard for others. This was apparent in the Marsh parking lot yesterday afternoon.

As I was preparing to exit the parking lot onto McGalliard at the exit nearest Noodles & Co, a large SUV pulled up behind me. Now, as I approached the exit, the light at McGalliard turned green. So, if you are familiar with Muncie, you understand that a large, continuous stream of traffic flooded the street. Of course, there were no openings for me to pull out. So, I had to patiently wait.

Patient waiting was obviously not on the agenda of the “Yorktown Soccer Mom” (as was proudly displayed on the back of the SUV) behind me. She let out a long honk. I  turned my head, pointed to the long line of traffic, and waved. I was extremely tempted to fly the bird. However, I kept my cool. This is when it got nuts. She pulls right beside me, cuts me off, and attempts to turn in front of me. Oh, and she also honked and gave me a dirty look.

My thought was, “What’s the emergency? Someone must be dying. That’s the only explanation for this kind of behavior.”

So, she tore out in front of me…squealing her tires. I also turned out. And, as I passed her at the stop light (she picked the slow lane), I gave a little beep, smiled, and waved. I don’t think I’ve ever received a more evil stare as I did in that moment. She then proceeded to weave in and out of traffic recklessly.

It’s all too obvious that she is extremely important (definitely more important than anyone else on that road). It’s obvious that whatever she was speeding off to was a matter of life or death. Certainly it wasn’t a matter of starting dinner a few minutes late because of busy traffic that spurred on this behavior.

Of course, once I saw the Yorktown soccer mom paraphernalia all over the back, I wasn’t surprised by the obnoxious behavior!

We live in a selfish society. We live in a culture where people expect what they want, when they want it. We live in an age where people are too consumed with themselves that they can’t wait until a line of traffic passes by. We can’t wait our turn. We have to push people out of our way. We get restless when we are forced to wait.

It was a good reminder to me that we truly need to slow down…and not just on the roads. We need to realize that it’s actually a good thing to be patient. We need to realize that others acutally are important. It’s when more and more of us learn to value others that this world might have a chance to improve.

Action

/ Jason Morris / Leave a comment

Recently, I’ve found myself trying to figure out what is wrong with Christianity. While there are small pockets of the Church that seem to be healthy, vibrant, and growing (especially overseas), overall the Christian Church seems to be losing ground. And as I’ve been trying to figure out this great problem, I’ve found myself coming back to one word…action!

While I’m not going to take the time to do a lot of in-depth research on this, it is my considered opinion that action is the main difference between healthy, vibrant, growing churches and sick, dull, dying chongregations. Where we see action, we find life. Where we see inactivity, we find death.

There are movements in the church trying to address this very issue. We are trying to revitalize dead churches. And, at the same time, in areas where we find the churches are beyond resurrection, we are attempting to plant churches. If the revitalization and planting processes are not surrounded by action, the churches will eventually fade away.

For some, death is a quick process. For others, it’s quite drawn out. The death of a church is too often linked to a failure to act. Churches forget the call to care for the sick, the needy, the wounded, the disenfranchised, the over-looked, the outcasts, the poor, the orphaned, the widowed, the least of these. We get caught up in self-care (what have you done for me lately) and forget that life is found in what we are able to give.

Many come to church and nod along in agreement with sermons that call us into action. But, by the end of lunch, we’ve already moved past the message and onto our selfish plans for the week.

So, is it the churches fault for not providing sufficient ministry opportunities? Potentially. Or does the problem lie with those of us receiving the word? We hear the call. We understand the call. But, we fail to act on the call.

Of course, action is about more than saving a dying church. Action is about bringing life and joy to our world! Action isn’t about church growth and financial gains. Action is about loving God and loving our neighbors in practical and tangible ways.

As the Church, we have to figure out how to move people from knowledge to action. We have to discover how to make sure that messages that stick are translated into our daily lives. Action is the tangible proof that we get it.

As I’ve been thinking about this, I’ve stumbled upon some phrases dealing with action. I’ll share a few with you.

Love needs to be proved by action. – Saint Therese of Lisieux, Story of a Soul

Once one has experienced LSD, existential revolution, fought the intellectual game-playing of the individual in society, of one’s identity, one realizes that action is the only reality; not only reality but morality as well. – Abbie Hoffman, Revolution for the Hell of It (you don’t have to do LSD to realize that action is essential)

Action is one of the most efficient instruments for bringing about the triumph of ideas among the masses. – Major Fidel Castro Ruiz, speech on August 10, 1967 (a somewhat unexpected source)

The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing. – Albert Einstein (how many times do we pass up opportunities to do good?)

“Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can, with all the zeal you can, as long as ever you can”- John Wesley (some wise advice)

 

Karma @ the London Bridge

/ Jason Morris / 2 Comments

Last night, I braved the city streets (a whole two blocks of city streets) and headed to an English pub called the London Bridge. It was quite interesting. When you enter the place, the decor generally resembles an English pub. They had a mix of good music (Radiohead, Beck, Wilco, Pavement) and bad music (Three Doors Down, Slipknot, NOFX). The place was fairly empty…like the Heorot on a Tuesday afternoon. There were a couple of older guys at the bar and a group of college-age kids at the pool table.

I sat down to enjoy a couple of pints and read a few chapter of the Hoffman book, “Revolution for the Hell of It.”

As I finished by last drop of Guinness, I approached the bar to settle my tab. The bartendercame over with a receipt, a credit card, and a pen. The only problem…I had not given him a credit card. Now, I had a couple of choices here…1) I sign the receipt and let someone else pay for my pints…2) I inform the bartender of the mistake.

Being the truly noble person that I am (and humble too), I let the bartender know that I didn’t have a credit card on my tab. He quickly said, “Oh man, you’re right! Sorry about that. Just let me cancel this out really quickly.”

As I settled my bill, the bartender looked at me and said, “Hey, thanks for being honest.” I thanked him and put my book in my backpack.

As I turned to exit, one of the guys at the bar said, “The powers of karma will bless you because one good turn deserves another!” My response, “Oh, thanks.”

I hadn’t really thought of this simple act of honesty as a “good turn.” And, while I don’t believe in karma, per se, I do believe that God blesses us when we are faithful.

Faithful obedience is what this journey is all about. Each day, we are presented with opportunities to “do the right thing.” No matter how big or how small, we are called to make the right choices. Sometimes we get it right…sometimes we don’t. And, it’s when we don’t get it right that following Christ is better than following karma. When we fail to get it right, Jesus steps in and offers forgiveness. The principle of karma would say that when we don’t get it right, bad things will come our way. I think I like forgiveness better than that!