Appreciate the post. Seems like the definition of a disciple would be one who is seeking faith to inform every facet of life…but hard to do in a “me” centered gospel.

say goodbye to the self-help book style faith and say hello to serving others jesus-style!

very well spoken Josh. I think there are a number of us in these parts who can share in your experience. Though perhaps we couldn’t have expressed it as well as you have here. Thank you for sharing it.

Sounds like we have more in common than the Who . . . though Won’t Get Fooled Again might fit very well with this post.

Great stuff . . . sounds like the sermon on the mount, but then no one reeally believes he meant it.

peace.

“Faith isn’t about morality.”
Having been a teen in just such a youth group and now being the mother of teens, I can only say AMEN. As much as I want my kids to be moral, I would rather have immoral kids searching for real answers that moral idiots who already have all the answers.

This is not a popular parenting position. Especially among the strongly moral.

Thanks for the reality check.

“It’s the adults around them that exalted morality higher than ethics. Belief higher than action. Right thinking higher than right living.” You think as adults we just teach morality? We teach students about being apart of something larger than themselves. About serving and putting others first! Students may not get these concepts overnight. Did you get these concepts when you were 16? I believe in the “system” if you want to label it that. I believe that there are students who are getting it, whose lives are being changed. I believe that the leaders of many “mega churches” love God and are making a difference in this world and are not consumed with the Da Vinci code. I encourage you instead of speaking for these leaders, meet with them and truly hear from there hearts about how they feel about poverty, Racial issues, homosexuality, genocide. Churches cost money, you spend more money on your home, cars and utility bills than you do giving money to starving children. Is the church perfect…no, your view of it isn’t and neither is mine. But instead of bashing it all the time why don’t you just move on and do your thing, the way you feel God is calling you. I just don’t think that Christ would spend his time creating division among his people. I love you dude and we are boys but I think you are off base.

I love you, Josh Brown. And I appreciate the gift of prose with which you have been entrusted. With a smile, may I point out that by the creation of your intriguing, inspiring and lengthy blogs about your own earth journey, you seem to contradict your battle cry that life is not about self? I mean, many of us spend lots of our time reading about YOU! So, is it better to blog about ME, or read a blog about others?????? Again, much love to the Brown’s. And I whole-heartedly believe that you matter. The brochure you did on it looked great.

matt,
i sent you an email. call me if you want to talk more.

april,
I didn’t really understand what you were saying about the “whole self” talk. I obviously talk a lot about how it’s not about us. And it’s about something bigger. But I’m not sure how my blog contradicts that statement simply because people read it to find out about me. If a pastor is giving a sermon and talking about how it’s not about us, but gives personal examples or illustrations to this, he is simply using the examples as a point. Or in my case, talking about the struggle between two opposing worlds.

Paul certainly took this method. He pointed to Christ and made declarative statements of his Lordship, which was quite subversive and controversial to not only the Jews but the Romans as well, who believed that Caesar was Lord. And here is Paul declaring that Caesar is not Lord by proclaiming Christ as Lord. He is telling the Jews and Romans that it is not about them or their politics, social networks, or agendas. It’s about Christ. He is Lord. Yet he gave personal examples of his struggle with this claim and call. Consequently millions of people read and study Paul today. Most of our New Testament theology is made up of one man’s writings. And we care deeply about the thoughts and works of the “individual” even when the individual was making statements about community and God.

You could also make a point that the prophets were making their “large” claims yet while still holding on to their individuality. And many of David’s Psalms are nothing more than his diary. Which in the simplest sense is what a blog is.

All that to say is that its both/and. Not either/or.

I hope that clarifies what I attempt to do when I write.

From the dictionary of things I’ve learned so far…
Diary: that little book under lock and key where I express my deepest feelings without reserve and believe that no one will ever read these thoughts unless I die an untimely death or have a mean-spirited sibling.
Blog: completely public tool useful to influence thinking worldwide, particularly when used by a Christian charged with certain principles of speaking and relating to others, and more particulary when a used by a Christian with an intense passion to influence others for Christ, and even more particularly when used by a Christian who is compelled to lead others as a Pastor in the immediate future.
Dinner is better here at Georgia Grace’s castle. Totally toddler friendly, and she’s in the bed by 7:30.

I’ve never discounted the influence of a blog. I was just pointing out that you said I always talk about how its not about us, but that my blog somehow contradicted that because its individualistic at its essence.

And my question would be what are the “certain principles of speaking and relating to others”? At what point or points have I violated these “principles”? If speaking the truth violates these principles or just saying them out loud when everyone else says them behind closed doors or in whispers . . . or if walking through my personal journey (which is also a communal one) with friends and family is against these principles, then it sort of backs me into a corner about what I can write about. Only things that sound good or don’t rub people the wrong away or things that aren’t controversial. Some would call that propaganda. And most totaltarian regimes employ this method.

I’m not trying to split hairs. I just don’t see how me talking about my faith and giving a personal example of when something clicked for me is a bad thing. If it led me to repentance. If it is true. And if it is painting a picture of a better or more hopeful way, then I’m not sure how that is a bad thing.

More careful observation would show that I did not say that you violated any principles of speaking. Though now I think you are unduly defensive. Come now, Bible scholar far beyond my learning, you need not ask me which principles are clearly defined for us. Surely we would be wrong to think that we could say whatever we wanted whenever we wanted and still glorify God? I’m thinking of things like: I Pe 3:10, Jms 1:26, Col 3:17, Eph 4:29

I want a pony.

Actually, wait asecond, I live on a flippin’ horse farm… a horse farm that has two ponies stabled at it! wooo ponies!

[...] If you would like to see this power in action, see here: Pony Power!!1 – in this post, there are 11 comments. The final comment, thus ending the discussion, says this: [...]