A Hindu, a Rabbi, a Muslim, and Matt walk into a...

Today marked a new experience for me.  I was one of four people invited to be on a religious diversity seminar/panel (although henceforth I will call it a symposium because that sounds big time).  Every time I begin the story, I feel like I'm telling a joke about some religious types walking into a bar.  Anyway, Dave and I walked in the building on Lawrence Technical University's campus and headed toward the room where the symposium was to take place.  The first thing I saw was a table with a guy sitting at it with a banner that said, "LTU Friends - OUT!"  What more could you want at the diversity symposium than the gay and lesbian association!  The really good news was that they were giving away free cookies and wow, they were delicious!  I make some small talk (consisting of "hi" and "good cookies").  Next was my meeting and hanging out with the other speakers.  We mostly shot the breeze but at one point the Rabbi said, "Well, today should be interesting."  And then the Hindu responded with, "Well, it should all sound the same."  This is where I knew that I was in trouble.  I'm pretty sure my comments would not sound like the Hindu man's comments.  Anyway, before we began, the moderator introduced the order (each of us have 15 minutes to give an overview of our beliefs) and she reminded everyone to pick up the free stickers that were offered.  You know, the ones that say “coexist” with different religious symbols making up the letters.  The set up was obvious, we were expected to get along and present a religion that can coexist with the other ones without offense.  Bad news for me...

 

The man representing Hinduism said virtually nothing.  At the end of his 15 minutes, he said that Hinduism is great but pretty much whatever you believe will eventually get you to the same good place.  Up next was the Rabbi.  He spoke well enough but didn't seem to be very Jewish to me.  I gotta be honest; my guess is that Father Abraham was none to happy with that presentation.  By this time, the students were out of it.  The Hindu and Jewish presentations had a similar affect as Tylenol PM.  It was then that I realized I had to pull out the big guns. 

 

Thinking quickly with my razor wit, I picked up on a story the Rabbi told about Moses and transitioned into the burning bush narrative.  Then I went Gaffigan with it.  You know, where he ends his routine with, "Moses, we think you've been burnin' some bush."  While I may not be invited back, it did the trick; the students were with me and awake (it could have been that they thought they were getting weed or something).  I moved into talking about how Christians are portrayed in pop culture using Angela from the Office as the example (I did dip into Ned Flanders as well).  The point being that pop culture sees Christians as judgmental, hypocritical, mean spirited, backward, and self-righteous.  Angela is really nothing like Jesus, nor should the person who follows Jesus be like Angela.  I moved on to what we do believe about the Bible (our one and only authoritative foundation), God, Man, Creation, and the Fall.  When I arrived at the Fall, I dropped the big one.  I said that because of sin, every human born has a default setting of hell when it comes to eternity.  That landed with a thud.  It was like I said the most outrageous claim that could be made.  I moved quickly to redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ alone, that only through him can our default setting be changed to heaven when we die and enter into eternity.  From there I wrapped it up and I think I made some sense.  My goal as I went into this was to a.) help the students who attended to realize that alot of what they see and hear about Christians is not who Jesus is and that being disappointed or disillusioned with someone who claims to follow Jesus is not a valid reason to reject Christianity and b.) show that there is an urgency about the Christian message that must be dealt with because if it is true, there are ultimate consequences.  I finished and then the young woman representing Islam finished off.  Again, she watered down what I know to be true about the faith and mostly talked about how great Islam is for women. 

 

That was the end of the presentations which opened the floor to questions.  Apparently, no one wanted to stay any longer than they had to and no one asked questions.  The moderator was about to dismiss when a female student dressed in Muslim apparel raised her hand and said, "I have a question for Matt."  This was it, the moment of relative truth; I could answer a question in the symposium... Then, she asked, "Who is Angela?"  My response, "She is a character on the TV show, the Office."  To which the Hindu man added, "She's not in the Bible" (his comment is much funnier if you read it with a thick Indian accent).  And with that, we were done.

 

The really cool thing about today was that after the moderator dismissed everyone, two young women came up to me and we talked about Jesus and Christianity for about 20-25 minutes.  This was the girl who asked the question and her sister.  They are Muslim but they are still seeking for truth.  They were really interested in what I had shared.  I ended up giving them my Bible because they didn't have one and Dave prayed for them that God would show himself to them as they searched for Him. 

 

As I look back on the diversity symposium, I am really thankful and humbled that I could be there.  I felt good about the way things went but I doubt that I will get invited back.  I guess that's okay... people didn't always want Jesus back either (not that I am putting myself in his class but I sure do try to reflect him in the best way I can).

The Least of These...

Yesterday, I took about 20 young adults to a park in Detroit.  It's called the Homeless BBQ and I try to do it once a month on a Saturday afternoon.  We bring a grill and a crapload of food to feed the many homeless and struggling people in the area of 2nd and Seldon downtown.  The thing is, we don't go there just to feed them, which is important, but we go there to spend time with them, to hear their stories, and to do what little we can that may offer them hope.  There are so many beautiful people that we have the opportunity to serve.  They have amazing stories about where they've been and why they are there.  There are alot of cool things that happen when we go to the D to serve but something happened yesterday that needs to be shared.  Brad and Alex (two college guys in our group) went over and started talking to a guy named James.  James has spent the last 15 years in prison and was released about a month ago.  About 2 weeks ago, James met Jesus and has since committed his life to following Jesus.  Brad and Alex sat down and listened to James.  As James was talking to them, Keith walked up and sat down.  None of these guys actually knew each other, Brad and Alex just met in my car as we drove down.  James and Keith didn't know each other either.  As they sat, Keith shared with the other three that he came to that park on that day to end his life.  There's a gazebo in the middle of the park that he was going to tie a rope to and hang himself.  Keith didn't know that there was going to be a bunch of suburban Christians from various churches feeding people and having a party.  Keith was at rock bottom.  He was just released about two weeks ago from serving a 25 year prison term.  He has no hope of a job... actually, he has no hope at all.  In fact, Keith went to his daughter's house on Friday to say good bye.  He didn't want any food because dead men don't eat.  Brad, Alex, and James spent the better part of the afternoon talking to Keith.  I saw them talking and it looked like they were into something - little did I know that they were actually trying to save Keith's life.  James kept saying to Keith that he was exactly at that same place two weeks ago but he met a guy who told him about Jesus.  Keith said that he has hope and that God doesn't want anyone to end their own life.  Brad and Alex listened and offered hope and encouragement.  So, what happened?  Keith ate lunch with Brad, Alex, and James.  He also decided that he wouldn't end his life, at least for now.  In fact, he was going to walk to his daughters house and let her know that he is alright.  James is going to reconnect with Keith later in the week.  

Here's the thing, Brad and Alex went to the BBQ expecting to hang out and maybe serve some food to people who are not like them.  What actually happened is that they met one man who they had everything in common with and another man who they needed to provide hope for.  Of all the parks in the city of Detroit, Keith came to our park.  Brad, Alex, and James were used by God to save one man's life... literally.  If you've ever wondered if you should go somewhere or talk to somebody, I would suggest that you do it.  I think the foundational difference between people God uses and people God doesn't, is that the people God uses simply show up.  That's what Brad and Alex did - they showed up.  I often wonder it what I do and what I plan for people to be involved in makes any real difference.  Yesterday, it did.

Voices in my head... oh wait, his head

Today, Sherri was in the car with Josh and Josh was asking her about Halloween.  This might be because when Josh and I were out the other day, we walked through the Halloween USA store.  Anyway, here's how the conversation went...

"Mommy, is Halloween almost here?"

"Yes."

"Thank you Mommy!"

"Well, you don't have to thank me because I didn't really do anything, it is just that time of year."

"Oh... thank you Jesus!  I should thank Jesus right now.  Dear Jesus, thank you that it's almost Halloween."

"Mommy, sometimes when I'm not saying anything, I hear someone talking in my head."

"Is that just you thinking?"

"No... I think it's Jesus talking to me."  

"Do you think so?"

"Yes, because I just heard him say, 'Yes Josh, it is.'"

I'm pretty sure that my son is a) a prophet, b) inhabited by something strange, or c) inherited the Whiteford crazy gene.  There might be other options, but that's all I've got right now.

WWID?

We received the following e-mail from a gentleman in our hood on Thursday.  Here it is...

 

Cedarspring Estates Homeowner, The following information was provided by Jon Dean. A robbery took place today around noon. Jon Dean came home to find an unfamiliar car in his driveway. He parked behind the car and went in the front door. A male was behind the door. The male took a swing at Jon. Jon avoided being hit. The male told Jon to move Jon's car so the male could get out of the driveway. He threatened to harm Jon if he did not move the car. Jon moved the car. The male fled. Jon chased the robber. He could not get a license plate number. The guy got away. Jon filed a police report. Several valuables were stolen. Jon said that his neighbor's house had also been robbed. Please share this information with your neighbors.

 

Alright, I don't actually know who Jon is, I don't know if he is young or old, has a family or not and I'm not judging him, however, I feel that there were some impressive moves and some miss-steps throughout this situation.  1) Excellent move in parking behind the perp (the robber will henceforth be referred to as the "perp" not to be confused with the "perv" although he may be that as well).  2) Excellent and impressive move in dodging the initial attack (and a question for the perp, "How the frick do you miss punching a guy who doesn't know you are there?"  Idiot).  3) We are now at the point that Jon has to make a choice because the perp has kindly asked him to move his car.  Remember, the perp is not exactly "accurate" with his fists.  I can imagine the request, "Hey buddy, you better move you #@%& car or I will punch in your general direction a second time and this time you'll know I'm coming."  I like Jon's chances at this point but Jon responds by moving his car.  Now, to defend Jon, he may have spent all his energy dodging the initial punch so he is either a man who knows his limits or he is not a man at all.  I will give him the benefit of the doubt because I do not know him and at this point, he may have a plan.  4) Now Jon is in his car, and the perp pulls out of Jon's driveway and takes off.  Jon chases him.  Somehow, the perp loses Jon and Jon doesn't even get a license plate number even though he was parked right behind him!  Again, it is possible that Jon did not anticipate that the perp would not go the speed limit and his plans were foiled.

 

Here's the thing, this scenario is my #1 and #2 fantasy.  First, I would love to walk into my home and justly beat the crap and then some out of a perp.  Had the perp entered my home, one of us would not have walked out of said home on his own power.  I like my chances here because I have done tae-bo with Billy Blanks in the past and on the video, he says that I can do anything I put my mind to with hard work.  I also have alot of pent up rage.  Secondly, if for some mind-blowing reason, I move my car for him, there is no way that he is gonna get away without a high-speed chase.  If, in fact, I believe he is going to escape, I will, without hesitation ram his car.  Of course, this is what I would do in the heroic movie theater called my mind.  It's not exactly turning the other cheek, but hey, I don't wear the bracelet either.  Sherri says that she would have liked to see the happen as well because 1) she is tired of hearing me talk about it and 2) she thinks I'm all talk.  All I know is that my "threat level" has been on "red" all week and I am ready for the perp to strike again.  

Bizarro Abraham

I have posted, in my former blogging life, about my frustration with God and the life I am currently living.  Last week, I came to put a face on the winter, spring, summer, and fall of my discontent.  Through one of those somewhat "difficult" conversation last week, my wise friend helped me move a little closer to understanding why I am the way that I am. When I went away to college, I thrived and loved the excitement and risk of not knowing everyone and the challenge of doing something away from where I grew up. At the end of the 4 years, the absolute worst thing that could ever happen would be to move back in with my parents. Now, I love my parents but the idea of living in my father's house after tasting the excitement of being away was not even an option. So, I got married and after a year moved a thousand miles away and loved it. For me, living in the metro Detroit area in the same context that I grew up in is like moving back home after being away. That's what I can't get around. It's not the people, not the job, not anything but the feeling that I am not the "man" of the house. I hope this doesn't come off as arrogant, because I know it sounds questionable. I don't mean it that way. It's more of a desire to see if I really am what I think I can be and being here doesn't help that. I know this is really self-centered and maybe even a little bit of self-pity, but I feel like I finally have a face to my frustration. I am the Bizarro Abraham. In Genesis 12, God calls Abram to leave his father's house and go to a far away land where he doesn't know anyone. I wonder if that was hard for Abram? Maybe? If God called me to leave my father's house, I would be out the door. However, God isn't a God of predictable formulas. He has, in his infinite wisdom (or at times his unfortunate misstep - at least that how it feels) called me back to my father's house. Here's the thing, God will never settle for what I want over what He has purposed. How does this change my attitude and impact my discontent? Honestly, I don't know. I know how it should, but "should" and the reality of my behavior and actions often don't coincide. So I guess I begin with choosing not to settle for what I want either and start putting up with what God has purposed and eventually get to the point of desperately and passionately with all of my being wanting what He gives me.

George Michael... One More Try

"Maybe just one more try..." After a long silence, I think that I am going to take another shot at blogging. I have been going off on a staggering amount of things lately and I'm not sure if people are interested. The beauty of blogging is that a.) not many people read my blog and b.) not many people feel the need to comment. I can talk, talk, talk, talk and no one has to feign interest because you chose to read it. So, beginning tomorrow, I will start blogging again... until then, who wouldn't want a George Michael ringtone?