Has the church neglected the arts in the last century? Franky Shaeffer argues that it has. We've gone from the magnificent works of Raphael, Durer, and Carravagio and reduced ourselves to bumper sticker slogans and kitschy trinkets promising to build our faith and remind us of our wonderful loving god.

I don't know about anyone else, but somehow I don't know how purchasing an eraser saying, "Jesus Loves You" or any other of the tacky knick-knacks out there are beneficial to anyone but the distributor. It didn't take me but a 30 second search on Christianbook.com before I found, the "Whatever is Lovely candle Crock," or the "Full armor of God" playset or my favorite, the Amen Game which is described as follows:

If you like the card game Uno, you'll love Amen! The object of this challenging game is to get all your cards into the center pile---but it's not so easy when everyone else is doing the same. Cards like ''Trial,'' ''Sin,'' and ''Temptation'' force you to add to your hand. But if you hold ''Prayer,'' ''Ask,'' and ''Blessing'' cards, give yourself another turn or even reverse the direction of play. For two or more players, ages 7 to adult.

The list goes on and on--Christian-afied toys, ornaments, and games. Cutesy slogans adorn mugs, t-shirts, keychains, and wall hangings. Is it really any wonder people shy away from exploring the possibility of God and Jesus? The tackiness that permeates Christendom hardly compares to the works of art created a couple centuries ago. I don't think a God is my Pilot and Jesus is my Co-Pilot bumpersticker will ever take anyone's breath away the way visiting Michelangelo's Pieta for the first time might.

Have our lives become too distracted from that which is beautiful and lovely?

The weekend ended too quickly. Friday involved a trip to a restaurant to see a tribute band play Beatles music. On Saturday, a family friend from the past came to visit which proved to be too short. We had a wonderful time catching up.

It's monday. It is approaching 90 degrees outside. I am not ready for the unbearable hot weather in this un-airconditioned apartment.

It is almost time for me to head out to work.

The church, in the creative area and in others, will get nowhere until it realizes that Christianity is itself its own standard, and is a freeing experience, not an ideological bondage, and that it has to similarities, either with the industrial utilitarianism of the nineteenth century or the reaction to it in the present-day form of socialism, which is a sort of watered down combination of many leftover nineteenth and twentieth century ideological attempts at rebellion which have gone nowhere, and often have produced terrible inhumanities.

This is from Franky Schaeffer's book, Addicted to Mediocrity, which overall feels more like reading a college research paper than a good book, but has some good points nonetheless.

More to come in a bit on this. I have to run out to work.....

Henri Nouwen lived as a Trappist monk for seven months in the mid-seventies. He took a break from an ivy-league teaching career, speaking engagements, writings, and all the other things he was up to, so that, in his own words, he might figure out what it was that Made me think and talk about the 'reality of the Unseen, with the seriousness of one who had seen all that is real.

Nouwen suffered from feelings that he spent more time talking about God than with him, and more about prayer than actually praying.

For seven months he lived the life of a monk, making bread in the early morning hours and searching river beds for large granit stones in the afternoons to build a new church. He lived a routine life in an attempt to find God.

What he found, was that it took a complete emptying of himself before the Creator before any intimacy could be ignited. Though Nouwen longed for God, his flesh rememberd his life before entering the monastery. A life full of praise, acclaim, and noteworthyness. He struggled with the pull these fleeting faculties had on his mind. John Eudes, Nouwen's spiritual mentor through the duration of his stay, said to him, You put your whole identity at stake [into his encounters with people]--and every time you start from scratch. Prayer and mediation are important here because in them you can find your deepest identity,and that keeps you from putting your whole self on the line every time you work with other people.

Prayer and Meditation. Disciplines that are severly neglected and underemphasized in the collective church today.

In takes much courage and determination to pull oneself away from fast paced life and bask in the presence of God even though it might be remarkably boring at first.

I myself can never seem to get beyond a few minutes before my mind has wandered off and is thinking of the hundreds of other things that need to be getting done. God takes a backseat again........And I wonder why I can't hear his voice.

In an effort to find a decent writing sample for an interested party, I began looking through some of my work I'd done while still in school. I came across this journal entry written in March 2002 which I used as a postscript to my senior thesis. This is not what I submitted as a writing sample, but I was convicted as I read the words on the page because I feel so far from that point in life and it bothers me. Have I become complacent and too comfortable? Two years have passed from that time, I feel as though I have digressed from any path I was headed down.

My fear is that my life will not be easy. My fear is that I might end up fighting for those who are oppressed. My fear is that people, close friends, and even my family will question my extremes, my actions, my passions. Will they question my salvation and wonder about my commitment to Christ? My fear is that I am petrified of losing my life…Luke 9:23 haunts me. My fear is that I do not have the courage to take up the plight of the poor, ignored, and abandoned. My fear is that I might be tortured, perhaps by my own—I might experience wild pain and be ignored by those I know and grew up with who now live behind their picket fences and chained up doors, because they choose not to be informed or step outside the door of what is familiar to them. My fear is that I just might let the gospel impact my life and change me radically, my fear is that I will continue this life looking through tear-filled eyes as I seek out truth while the pit of never-understanding remains in my throat. My fear is that I am beginning to believe Jesus has the capacity to use me to change systems and people. My fear is that my life might be on the run and adventurous. My fear is that I might stifle myself out of fear. My foundation is that God is more sovereign than any system or individual, that he is calling me to follow him with every part of my life be it the food I eat, the way I love David, or the car I drive. My fear is that in 20 years I will find these words buried deep in a cardboard box and I will have lived out none of my idealism rather I will have given in to the system. I feel I am on the brink of igniting…I will worship—corporately and in solitude. Because I am not God. Cleanse my life. A revolution is rising up in my heart.

whew. 10 days since I last wrote. So much for being diligent about writing often...I am too caught up in thinking I lead a mundane life, too dull to write about. I suppose it's all in the presentation.

I had a difficult meeting with a mother this week who wasn't fulfilling all of her commitments with our organization. I don't believe the woman is flakey, I just think she's extremely busy. A single mom of three trying to make it. Through the course of our meeting which extended into 1.5 hours instead of 30 minutes I felt my heart being tugged towards this woman.

"Anna" already works two jobs. She starts around 7:45 am and goes till 11 pm. She still can't survive on her own. She is contemplating taking on a third job during the nighttime hours.

The working poor.

I admire Anna's strength and determination. I asked her if she was eligible to accept some sort of welfare. She said that it had been three years since she had taken any form of government aid and going back on welfare would be taking a step back.

Here is another story of someone not mooching off the system. She is not a deadbeat. She is not lazy. She is not irresponsible. Yes Anna made some life choices that have put her in this predicament but she presses on. I wonder if life will ever cut her a break.

In other news......I was driving to a meeting this past week and in conversation with a coworker whom I admire. Somehow we got on the subject of church denominations which somehow led my friend to ask the question--Are you pro-choice?

I told her no, I was pro-life, holding the preservation of human life as the highest priority. I am pro-life just as I am against war.

Her response was--Oh, so you're anti-pro-choice......

"I guess so," I replied.

Five minutes later I thought in my head, "According to her game then, she is Anti-Pro-Life. She is Pro death."

Wish it was thought of in the moment so I could have said that.

I am exhausted by politics. My faith and hope no longer lie in the potential of politics to affect change in this world.

Even examples such as the radical party change in South Africa which occurred in the early 1990’s ending the evil system of apartheid has succumbed to corruption. Yes the reason is sin, but it is still disgusting, it is still disheartening, and it is still frightening to see that multitude of world wide issues are ever increasing instead of decreasing.

I am left to feel idle and helpless many times. This seems a common occurrence among people. To work for change seems a fruitless endeavor unless it stems from something much deeper than a personal desire to see all the world’s injustices solved. It must come from a source much higher. The God source. Through a life so prayerfully intertwined with the creator that work towards social change becomes a necessity born out of an intimate relationship with the one who hates all that is unjust.