Sick, Sick, Sick

Sometimes I think Christians ought to come up with something else to call themselves that will separate them from the folks simply masquerading as Christians, bringing the real Christians down with them. I'm thinking specifically about those sickos in Kansas who were planning on holding a protest at the funerals of the Amish girls killed in Pennsylvania earlier this week. They call themselves Christians, yet they say such terrible things that Christ would never condone. I can't believe what I just read! One spokesperson for this "church" in Kansas said that the Amish girls deserved to die, because "they don't serve God, they serve themselves." It is never alright for anyone to say that anyone deserved to die, but this is the most ruthless thing I have ever seen, ever.

As Christians that believe that God loves everyone, what can we do to distance ourselves from the deranged folks that believe that God only loves them? If I go into an interfaith dialogue and say that I am a Christian, I don't want my dialogue partner to assume that I believe that God is punishing this country through the use of IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices). I think true Christians everywhere ought to do everything in their power to distance themselves from the sad individuals that seek hate instead of love.

Christians everywhere can be encouraged by the testimony the Amish community is giving in the aftermath of this senseless tragedy. Human nature drives us to seek revenge and to hold a grudge; the Amish community has reached out to the family of the man who committed these murders and forgiven him, seeking reconciliation rather than division.

In an age when so much of our vocabulary has to do with enemies and hate, it is refreshing to see a community working for love and reconciliation, seeking after God in the midst of pain and suffering. This is the love Christ preached, and it is a love that all Christians ought to embody everyday.

First Time

I have finally joined my colleagues in the twenty-first century by becoming a blogger. It is too soon to tell for sure, but perhaps this will be a life-changing event.

I am not entirely sure what this blog will become. Perhaps it will be a place for me to throw random ramblings to the great thinkers of the world. Perhaps it will be a place of complete rubbish which no one will ever desire to visit, akin to a trash heap or Gary, Indiana. Or perhaps this will become an area of real dialogue over the really tough issues in the community, the church, and the world. Whatever the case, I'm looking forward to the ride.

For the inaugural blog, how about a discussion of the place of youth ministry on the east coast in the year 2006. As a backdrop, being relatively new to New Jersey, I bring with me some idealizations of what to expect from church youth groups here. We had an amazing twelve middle school students attend last night, which fulfilled my greatest expectations. On the other hand, we only had one high school student attend. Perhaps the traditional "Northwest Iowa" youth group meeting isn't going to cut the mustard for high schoolers here. What I need is something a little more cutting edge, something risky, something that just might fail, but then again, just might succeed. My problem is that I was never really in touch with the high school psyche when I was in high school, and things haven't gotten any better for me since.
That is what I was thinking today...