the medium is the message

when most people use this phrase today they usually mean that how we present the message impacts how the message is interpreted or understood. in other words you cannot totally separate the message from the medium. like it or not, all of us convey a message and we all are the medium by which this message is conveyed. the impact we have has a lot to do with how well we understand this about ourselves. 

sometimes the message is ignored because of the medium. if i choose to use a chalk board instead of a video clip to reach young adults with my message, it is very probable that they will tune me out without ever giving my message a chance. 

sometimes the message is misread because of the medium.  if my message is discipline and i, the medium, am out of control with my weight and my money, the message will never get out.

sometimes the message is the medium. jesus once said, "i am the way, the truth and the life." in jesus we see the message and the medium come together. he wasn't pointing to the way, he was the way. 

as a follower of jesus you and me are the medium for the message (jesus). the question we must ask every day is this: when people see us do they ignore the message, misread the message or welcome the message?  do our actions and our words distance people from god or draw them to god?

like it or not, as christians, the medium is the message. 

determined to make a difference

it was created to make a difference; to be unique, distinct, a port in a storm, a catalyst for change, a purveyor of second chances, an advocate for the widows, orphans and the aliens, and a champion of all things that bring a smile to the face of god. who is "it?" you, me ... the church, wherever it/we are ... little rock or santos dumont, brazil.

this past week "the church" in little rock joined hands with "the church" in santos dumont to rock that town in southern brazil with the incredible news that god knows you and loves you just the way you are! together, 15 young adults from rock creek and 15 from santos dumont got the word out that there was an Espaço Alternativo, an alternative space, created for them; a "space" that was drug-free, alcohol-free and hate-free ... where all young adults could gather and listen to music, dance and be themselves. a "space" where they could make friends and consider the claims of the real jesus.

for a little evangelical church shaped by a tradition that values isolation over insulation, rituals over redemption, judgment over mercy ...  a space for "sinners" flew in the face of every one of these values that, unbeknownst to them,  kept them from influencing their culture, from bringing heaven to earth.  

by boldly breaking with this 30-year tradition, inspired by 15 young adults from rock creek, pierre's church gave 326 young adults a space where they could be heard and be engaged by the real jesus who always has "space" for sinners.

think about that ... in the course of a little less than one week, 15 young adults from little rock, determined to make a difference,  helped 15 young adults from santos dumont, brazil create an "alternative space" that reaches out to young adults where they are with the incredibly good news that they matter to god. 

determined to make a difference ... are you?

not what we are made for

i vividly remember my life falling apart before my very eyes. when i stop long enough, i can still feel the pain that hammered me when i lost so much of what i cared most about. the picture that captures best what i was experiencing is that of a ship staggering back into harbor after weathering a massive storm.

when you go through that and finally arrive in a safe port, is it any wonder that you don't want to put out to sea again? one of my favorite brazilian authors, paulo coelho, in his book the pilgrimage, says this, "the ship is safest when it's in port. but that's not what ships were made for."

as christians we all too often forget what we were made for. god did not make us for a comfortable, safe and lazy life. he made us for the open sea where rogue waves, a blistering sun, and an uncertain course are the order of the day... 

yes, the safety of a port has it's place but it is not what we were made for. 

Across the Universe

I first met Ney 18 months ago when we started sending mission teams to Brazil. Ney was our bus driver on our very first trip. Since then, he has been our driver every time. From the beginning he and I hit it off. I would sit up front with him and talk about life, family, sports, work and God. 

In the course of these trips we had a number of conversations about how God had a personal interest in each of us. It was evident that this "personal interest" thing was something new to him. However, it wasn't until our trip this past February that it finally hit home...

Ney began to talk with me about the problems he was having with his wife. I talked with him about how God wanted him to fight for his marriage; about how God wanted him to shape the spiritual culture of his family ...  to take the lead in drawing his wife and children to God. 

That night Mark Evans spoke. After the service, as we drove back to the ranch, Ney asked me if I had shared his story with Mark because he felt like every one of Mark's words was directed to him.  I told him I had not.  Instead, I suggested to him that this could be the God of the Universe sending someone all the way from the USA to Santos Dumont to show Ney how important the details of his life were to Him.

It was that personal interest that led Ney that same evening to entrust his life to this God who spares no effort to express His love in a personal way no matter who or where we are.

Not for Sale

You won't find God for sale in some dusty old flea market. Despite this, people are always scrounging around, looking for a cheap imitation of God to take home with them. In their search for this counterfeit God,  they pick and choose passages out of scripture, mix them with a dash of cultural awareness and top it off with their own incredible insights. The result of this concoction is a God that tastes and looks a lot like themselves... 

What people are really looking for is a divine stamp on a life of self-indulgence.

Cheap imitations always fall way short of the real thing. A cheap imitation of God is no different. It will fall way short of the original. 

Could it be that people's frustration with God has more to do with the cheap imitation they bring home with them than the real God of the Bible whom they accuse of not living up to their expectations?