I was sitting on the couch eating a late lunch with my wife when we turned on the TV and saw the breaking news about the Boston Marathon bombings.

Like everyone else in the country I was shocked.

And heartbroken.

And angry.

Like everyone else I couldn’t understand why anyone would ever do something like that and I wanted justice and I wanted it to be quick and severe.

Justice did finally catch up with the two men accused of carrying out these horrendous acts and, as we all know, one of them is now dead.

The question of where to bury Tamerlan Tsarnaev has, understandably, created quite the controversy in Massachusetts, and I suspect across the country. Understandably, few people in Massachusetts want Tsarnaev buried anywhere near the people he murdered.

Which is what makes the offer of Paul Keane so remarkable.

So Christ-like

And so incredibly convicting.

In the fifth chapter of Matthew’s gospel Jesus is delivering his famous Sermon on the Mount. He’s just finished talking about the problems with retributive justice or as he called it – eye for an eye. Speaking to a crowd whose homeland was ruled by foreign invaders, whose livelihood was constantly being stripped from them in order to support the opulent lifestyle of a emperor who cared nothing about them, and who never knew when they or their family might be arrested, raped, or murdered for the slightest offense by a Roman soldiers who often acted more like terrorists than peace keepers, Jesus said the last thing I’m sure they or we would want to hear.

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

This, Jesus would go on to say, is what real perfection is all about.

In many ways it seems this path to perfection is a much more difficult path to tread than simply not doing certain things. After all, I don’t know about you, but my first, second, and third reactions to the Oklahoma City bombing, 9/11, the Boston Marathon bombing and every other event like that was not – “I know you destroyed lives out of hate, but I choose to love you anyway.”

I kind of doubt that was Paul Keane’s first reaction either. But unlike me, Paul decided to actually take Jesus at his word and live out this most difficult of callings in one of the most difficult of situations.

Paul Keane has offered to allow his own burial plot to be used for a terrorist.

For an enemy.

In his own words,

I am willing to donate a burial plot next to my mother in Mt. Carmel Burying Ground to the Tsarnaev family if they cannot obtain a plot. The only condition is that I do it in memory of my mother who taught Sunday School at the Mt. Carmel Congregational Church for twenty years and taught me to”love thine enemy.”

I have no doubt that Paul’s decision will anger a lot of people – including many Christians.

But whether we like it or not, whether it makes us uncomfortable or flat out angry, his actions are the very incarnation of Jesus’ words.

Of Jesus’s love.

Which is why today I am proud to be a Yale Divinity School student, proud to share a connection with someone who has reminded me that loving your enemies means much more than tolerating a coworker who gets on your nerves or not flipping someone the bird who cut you off in traffic.

I just hope Paul Keane’s story does not fade too quickly into obscurity.

I hope it lingers as a tangible reminder of what Christ-like love really looks like.

Grace and peace,

Zack Hunt

The summer after I graduated college I did a youth ministry internship in Venice, FL.

One day while me and the guys I was working with were wondering through a Christian bookstore we came across a book called Pocket Guide To The Apocalypse. It was (and is) exactly what it sounds like. A guide to everything end times. It was as hilarious as it was insightful. Ever since that day I’ve been a fan of Jason Boyett and his writing.

As I’ve had the chance to get to know Jason over the past year it’s been no surprise to discover that he is just as funny and insightful as his books.

I’ve also learned since that summer day so long ago that Jason has an entire series of Pocket Guides, including one on the Bible.

That’s what this post is about.

The other day Jason posted a pic on his Facebook wall of a huge stack of books he’s having to store in his garage. That’s the picture he posted in the background of the image above.

To make a long story short, in order to rerelease his Pocket Guide to the Bible with a new publisher, Jason had to buy back all the old copies from his old publisher. That’s a lot of books. Seriously.

As it stands today Jason has a little over 1,400 copies of his fantastic book Pocket Guide to the Bible just sitting in his garage looking for a new home.

Unbeknownst to Jason, at least until he reads this post, some friends of mine and I (here, here, here, and here and more to come) have decided to help him out. But we need your help.

Over the next 2 weeks (starting today and going through Monday May 20th) we want to sell all 1,400+ copies of Jason’s books for him so he can finally get his garage cleaned out and start using it as a garage instead of a giant book closet.

Just to be clear, we have no stake in this whatsoever other than trying to help a friend. In other words, we’re not getting any cut of the profits. We just don’t want our friend to keep having to be a literary hoarder.

The best part of this is it means a sweet deal for you.

The book is only $4 AND Jason will sign personally sign your copy!!

(Yes, we volunteered him without asking.)

The book is fantastic for group study too. So if you’re a pastor, small group leader, or Sunday School teacher we’ve got a sweet deal if you want to buy in bulk. You can get an entire box of 48 books for only $48. That’s only $1 a box!!

Need more?

We’ve got you covered.

Buy a box of 75 and it’s only $70. That’s less than $1 a book!!

You seriously can’t beat this deal.

But there’s one catch – YOU CAN’T BUY THEM ON AMAZON.

Yes, the book is available on Amazon, but it’s the rerelease, not the copies piled up in Jason’s garage. Plus, those copies aren’t signed. But, don’t worry, both versions are exactly the same.

So, help us help our friend.

Go to the Big Cartel page we’ve set up and buy a copy of Pocket Guide to the Bible today. Better yet, buy a box!!

Just remember – this awesome sale only lasts for a couple of weeks or until all the copies have been sold.

So, don’t wait, buy your copy today!!

UPDATE: We’re almost sold out of books!! We’ve only got about 300 left (thank you SO MUCH to everyone who’s purchased a book or several), so don’t wait! Buy you copy before they’re all gone!!

UPDATE #2: We’re SOLD OUT!!! A HUGE WORD OF THANKS to everyone who bought a copy or an entire case. We really appreciate it. We seriously couldn not have done this without YOUR help!!

Today’s post comes to us from my friend Nate Pruitt. Nate is consumed with the imagery of humankind participating in the dance of the Triune God restoring creation. He spends his days amazed by how his beautiful wife continues to be his greatest support, how his three kids have boundless energy, and how his faith community continually pushes him into a deeper love for God and humankind. Nate currently lives and ministers with a group of fellow misfits in Nashville, TN at Westwind Community of Faith. You can check out his blog here and follow him on Twitter at @N8overflows.

Sometimes those who claim to be followers of Christ can be so selfish!

Feeling defensive yet? Well, please, hear me out.

There are so many faithful, loving, giving followers of Christ- many with a true compassion for others. These wonderful individuals and communities do great things to benefit others. Some open their doors and the “neighbors” they love know they are always truly welcome. Others head into their neighborhoods and begin to touch lives as they see needs in beautifully poignant ways. These things are not uncommon. They look after the “least of these” and do so with a love that they honestly hope represents their love for Christ. And yet so many of them, or perhaps I should say us, refuse to actually live how Christ lived in regard to generosity.

If you’re treating this like an episode of CSI you’re probably already trying to figure out my motivation. After reading the last paragraph you might be led to believe that this is about how Christ gave so much and we don’t sacrifice near what he gave. That’s a pretty good guess. Unfortunately it’s not my point. While fewer in number there are plenty of individuals and communities that really are living sacrificially. Yet, after hundreds of conversations and thousands of hours around beautifully generous hearts, I’m starting to see something worse-

We’re selfish about receiving!

Or, rather, we try to deny the offers of grace from others.

A quick story: There was a tax collector, but not just any tax collector, a CHIEF tax collector. His name was Zacchaeus and to say he was a societal outcast would be understatement. No one wanted to be around Zacchaeus, but he wanted to see Jesus. So Zacchaeus climbs up in a tree to get a glimpse of the passing procession. However, Jesus called him down from the tree and let’s Zacchaeus know that he’ll be his host for the day.

Zacchaeus was thrilled!

Here’s another story: Jesus and his disciples are traveling in an area that the disciples don’t want to be in at all. While trekking through Samaria, where they don’t want to be, they get hungry. Jesus rests by a well while his disciples go to find some food. A woman comes to the well. She, like Zacchaeus, is an outcast. Jesus once again makes a request for generosity. He is thirsty and asks for water. Simply interacting with this woman is already a social faux pas. Jesus even reveals that he actually knows all about why she is an outcast.

Even though she understands that he has every reason to scorn her he is willing to let her provide blessing to him by giving him a drink of water.

This may not seem like a big deal to us, but I hope we’re starting to see the issue.

Perhaps one more story: Jesus is dining in a Pharisee’s house when a woman “who lived a sinful life” came in to see him. In case that doesn’t make sense- she was a prostitute. The Pharisee is taken aback and tries to discount Jesus’ ability as a prophet thinking he would surely know what this woman did, since any non-prophet could probably figure it out, and then Jesus reveals that he knows. In fact, not only does he know, but he’s grateful to receive what she offers!

“You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.”

“You did not give me a kiss… [but she] has not stopped kissing my feet.”

“You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.”

Zacchaeus, the woman at the well, and the woman “who lived a sinful life” all received great, life-changing things from Jesus, it’s true. But they were also privileged to give to Jesus because Jesus was a kind and gracious recipient!

This is what we’re often missing. We’re selfish, in our pride, and unwilling to receive. There’s a great damage in this and here are a couple reasons why:

First, it conveys that “the least” can remain the least, but that we are not like them!

Second, it fails to disciple others in the life of generosity. We can’t just model generosity without allowing others to practice.

While that primary issue is just ugly, it’s not uncommon. I can’t tell you how many wonderful generous Christian’s I get to talk to that are privately stressed beyond their capacity. They have substantial needs, but can’t seem to grasp that God may have put people around them to meet those needs. They bottle everything up inside, and then pour out generosity on others while lying to those they serve when asked if there’s anything they need. It’s not an ugly, malicious lie- rather it’s that common lie of how we’re “fine” when someone asks how we are or if we have a need. We tell the lie to maintain balance and comfort in society.

There are so many compassionate outreach programs, so many non-profits, and so many churches that look at the people they help during those times and tell this same lie. Then turn around to ask someone else for help. Or, even worse, shut down because they don’t see that there could be any help for them. Maybe it’s just part of our grand desire for independence.

Denying service when others offer with skill and true hearts often shows how much we reject God in our independent aspirations. Jesus accepted water at wells and meals in tax collector’s houses. We want to help adulteresses and thieves without letting them help us. When it comes to service often we want to teach with our lectures rather than our gratitude. This is not disciple-making. We want to be part of the faithful Jesus-heroes, a category we construed in our own minds. We help others, we don’t ask for help from others. We are not “the least.”

Except, sometimes…

regardless of our finances,

our training,

our wisdom,

or our faith- we are the least.

Jesus embraced being the least, that others may be honored! If we want to be like him we should, too!

When others get to serve us they are discipled in what it is to be servants. We can’t complain because few serve at our churches when we don’t graciously give them that space in our own lives! Where is the discipling in that?

Can someone serve you today?

Or when it comes to receiving are you still too selfish to be a servant of all?

Are you still too selfish to embrace, like Christ did, your moments of being “the least”?

- Nate Pruitt

I saw this picture yesterday over at Christian Nightmares.

Apparently it was originally posted on Reddit.

There’s not much story beyond what you see in the picture, but the original poster did say the man in picture told him “The atheists are winning.”

Though, if this guy decides to go climbing it looks like the Buddhists have his back there.

Now, clearly this is just anecdotal. You can’t read too much into it. If you did, you would have to explain the countless Christian and other religious charities, soup kitchens, churches, and non-profits that help millions of homeless people around the world every day – including in whatever this guy was in.

But it is pretty fascinating to see which bowls have the most (or least) amount of money in them.

And I’ll give him this – it’s definitely a clever way of getting money.

So, would it get you to toss money in the bowl of your favorite faith to help save face (or better yet, to actually help the man)?

Or would you just keep walking by?

A little while back I wrote a post entitled “When Jesus Is Present Where Jesus Isn’t Present.”

It stemmed from a National Geographic program I watched about the Dhavari slum in Mumbai, the same slum from the movie Slumdog Millionaire.

In that post I talked about a group serving the people of that community which, though not Christian, sure seemed a lot like what we would expect Jesus to be like if he lived in the Dhavari slum. As I said in the post, it seems to me that this is one of the great questions facing the Church in an ever increasingly connected 21st century global society. What are we do to when we encounter the kingdom of God being lived out among people who have either never heard of or choose to ignore the Church’s gospel?

Well, as it so happens I’ve been watching more television since then and that question continues to ramble about in my mind.

This time I was watching a BBC series called Himalaya, hosted by the one and only Michael Palin. If you have Netflix, you need to do yourself a favor and watch every single one of the Michael Palin BBC specials because, well, they’re awesome. Anyway, in this particular episode he was visiting Harmandir Sahib, The Golden Temple in India.

That’s it in the picture above.

The Golden Temple is an especially holy site for those of the Sikh faith for it contains their holy scripture. Covered in gold, as the name implies, The Golden Temple welcomes some 100,000 visitors a day. But, as beautiful and impressive as the building was, what struck me was what goes on inside.

Every day of the year a free meal is served to the poor, the hungry, the pilgrim, or whoever else may happen to stop by. Tens of thousands of people are fed each and every day. The meal itself is prepared and served by volunteers. Donations cover the cost of the food and more volunteers, many of whom who just fed, help clean up.

But this isn’t just a meal for the poor.

According to the guide who was showing Michael Palin around, the meal is for the rich as much as it is for the poor because it is, in part, intended as an act of equality wherein all can join together around one table and share one meal together.

Sound familiar?

The familiarities don’t stop there.

Here’s where this meal, called “langar” got started….

When the first Sikh guru, Nanak Dev, attained manhood, his father gave him 20 rupees and sent him on a trading expedition, impressing upon him that a good bargain makes for a good profit. On his way to buy merchandise, he met a group of sadhus living in a jungle. Nanak noticed the emaciated condition of the naked holy men and decided that the most profitable transaction he could make with his father’s money would be to feed and clothe them. When he returned home empty handed, his father punished him. Insisting that true profit is to be had in selfless service, Guru Nanak established the principal of langar.

I don’t know about you, but as I read that brief history and watched the BBC special I couldn’t help but think of the words of Jesus in Matthew 25, words that seem to be Jesus’ own summary of what being a disciple of Jesus is really all about….

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Isn’t that what the Sikhs are doing?

Oh, and did I mention that Sikhs worship only one God?

And that they practice baptism?

And that they reject blind spirituality, materialism, and worldly living?

Now, don’t hear me wrong. I’m not a universalist. Sikhs are Sikhs and Christians are Christians. I get that. I don’t want to take away from the distinctive beauty of either or any other faith for that matter.

But I have to confess, when I see moments like this, when I see people acting and thinking in the ways I am told Christians are supposed to act and think, I’m finding it harder and harder to see them as “pagans” and easier to see them as “Samaritans.”

You remember Samaritans, right?

Jesus told a famous parable about a good Samaritan. He also visited with a Samaritan women by a well – something he wasn’t “supposed” to do. In both, cases Jesus made it pretty clear that A) Samaritans were not the evil people Israel made them out to be and B) God was at work in their lives just as God was in the lives of the people of Israel.

If we switch out Samaritans for Sikhs (or whatever other faith for that matter) and Israel for Christians, then perhaps you can see the conundrum I’m in.

I get that repentance is important. I know being part of a church is important. I know that believing Jesus is Lord is important.

But even the devil and his demons believe that last bit and Sikhs do both of the former things even if they look a bit different and have different names.

So, as compassionate, loving, grace filled people what do we do with non-Christians who act like Christians?

To be honest, I’m not completely sure.

I do know that the writer of James says that faith without works is dead.

Which got me wondering, if faith without works is dead, does that mean works without faith is dead? I’m not so sure. Because the reply of the “sheep” in Matthew 25 seems to be one of surprise in which they were doing the “works” without any particular confession of faith.

Now, once again, don’t hear me wrong. I’m not saying you can earn your way to heaven. What I’m saying is that God extends all of us grace and apparently expects us to further extend that grace to the world. If Jesus was being honest in Matthew 25, and Jesus had the tendency to be honest about things, then our extending of God’s grace to others seems to be pretty darn important.

Maybe even more important than the formal confession of faith we as evangelicals seem to think is required for salvation – even though we also say salvation is a gift that cannot be earned.

Quite the conundrum if you ask me.

The space of a blog post doesn’t allow for the sort of thorough treatment this subject deserves. I can’t fully explore the depths of “no one comes to the Father except through me” here and wonder if that statement simply means Jesus is the means of our salvation or if our salvation requires our explicit confession of Jesus as the means of our salvation. Such a treatment would require the space of a book.

And who knows, maybe I’ll write that book one day.

But for now, I only want to suggest that perhaps as Christians, particularly evangelical Christians, we need to not be so legalistic with the grace we have been given. We need to do a better job of extending it to others regardless of their confession of faith.

And perhaps we also need to do a better job of recognizing when God has already extended that grace to others.

Grace and peace,

Zack Hunt

We’ve already got the LEGO New Testament.

It was only a matter of time before medieval Christian literature got the LEGO treatment too, right?

Ok, maybe not, but this is still pretty awesome.

I wonder if I can build this and turn it is in as my Medieval Theology semester project instead of writing a paper?

Oh, wait, never mind.

I’m terrible with LEGOs.

Anyway, here’s a quick preview, but make sure you click this link and see all 9 circles of LEGO hell because they’re all fantastic.

This weekend I had the honor of speaking at a Jamaican church in Far Rockaway, NY that was hit pretty badly by Hurricane Sandy last year.

As cliche as it sounds, they really have bounced back stronger than they were before. They are an incredible congregation and it was a privilege just being around them.

Anyway, they’ve got a Japanese gospel choir coming in to perform at their church in a few weeks.

You read that right.

A Japanese gospel choir.

I had no idea there was such a thing and to be honest, when they first told me about it, I thought it was a joke.

But Gospel Now Japan is no joke.

Not only that, they’re good. Really good.

Apparently gospel music has really caught on in Japan in recent years in no small part because of the movie Sister Act.

Again, I promise I am not making this up.

Crazy, right?

Now, I realize this sort of thing is outside the normal purview of what I normally post, but this is so unique (though apparently there’s a Japanese gospel choir in Harlem now too), interesting, and good (at least to me) that I had to share it somewhere and, well, isn’t that what a blog’s for?

Anyway, check out the video below. It’s a song called ‘Don’t Give Up,’ the profits of which went to support tsunami relief in Japan.

I hope you like it.

And if you don’t, there’s always breakdancing Jesus.

The neat thing about school is that every once and a while you learn something new.

Yesterday, I learned that Thomas Jefferson wasn’t the biggest fan of John Calvin.

Actually, that would be an understatement.

Now, this raises a really important quandary for a lot of patriotic Americans.

You see, if you’re a real American patriot, then you’ve gotta love Jefferson. And if you’re a Calvinist, you’ve gotta love Calvin.

But if you love Jefferson, then you love the guy that hated the guy you’re supposed to love.

Love your enemies I guess?

But, wait, that makes Thomas Jefferson your enemy!! How can you call yourself a patriot if Jefferson is your enemy??

Wow.

I didn’t realize how much you Calvinists hate America.

I’m gonna pray for you guys.

As Facebook tells me, this is apparently what Matthew meant when he wrote,

“The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve.”
-Matthew 20:28

(original image found here)

This semester I’ve been taking a class called “Worship, Culture, Technology.”

As you might expect from the name, the class is about the ways technology is affecting the church and the Christian faith in general.

As you also might expect, as a Christian blogger I’ve really enjoyed the class.

The past couple of weeks we’ve had a visiting professor from Germany sit in on our classes. He stopped by our class originally to talk about an article of his that we read about how the internet is impacting worship. He’s since stayed around as we gave our presentations over the last couple of weeks.

Last night he made a speculative comment that I found to be absolutely fascinating and if it turns out to be true, would radically reshape church as we know it.

But before I tell you what he said, let me give you some context for his comment.

One of the core issues we’ve discussed in class this semester is how the internet has leveled the playing field in the church. Websites, blogs, and social media have allowed anyone and everyone, not just clergy, to preach, teach, and lead the people of God. The term we’ve used for this is “horizontal leadership,” meaning there’s not a hierarchy in the church which the pastor, priest, or bishop stands over and above everyone else in a position of authority. Obviously church hierarchies still exist all over the place, but the internet has made tremendous strides in reshaping who, what, and where lay people look to guide their faith, including taking positions of leadership in that conversation themselves.

Another way to think about this is to look at where the pulpit stands in a sanctuary. Visit an old church (or a handful of new ones) and you’ll see the pulpit or lectern set off to the left and elevated relatively high above the congregation. Since the days of Charles Finney and the Second Great Awakening, the pulpit was moved down to ground level so that the preacher was essentially at eye level and, at least symbolically, on equal ground with the congregation. However, the preacher was still in a place of authority in front of the congregation.

The internet has made everyone an authority, or at least given everyone the sense, if not possibility, that with enough dedication, a dash of good writing, and a halfway decent looking website they can be an authority on whatever they think they’re an authority on.

The downside of this, of course, is the reality that all sorts of misinformation and terrible ideas are spread under the guise that they are coming from an authoritative source when in fact they’re coming from someone who doesn’t know anymore than what they could copy and paste from Wikipedia.

On the upside of this leveling of the church is that the idea of a priesthood of all believers has the chance to be realized more fully than perhaps at any point in the history of church.

Which is what led to our visiting German professor’s speculation.

As he wondered aloud (but in a much more eloquent manner), if the average churchgoer is already getting much of their theology, Biblical knowledge, challenges to live out their faith, etc. from places like the internet and, moreover, if they feel empowered to contribute to that conversation themselves, are we approaching a point where the average churchgoer will no longer be interested in or willing to listen to someone stand up in front of them to preach?

That is to say, are we reaching the end of the age of professional preachers in the local church?

As crazy as that might sound at first, if the historical movement of the pulpit is any guide, this would actually seem to be the next logical step.

The pulpit is, essentially, about authority. It has moved from being over and above the congregation down to eye level. Is it’s next move to disappear altogether to give way to some new form of church in which a priesthood of all believers actually share authority equally?

I’m not sure that day is coming next week, next year, or even in the next decade, if it ever comes at all. But it certainly is something interesting to think about.

If the internet really is leveling the authority of the church and giving much of that authority back to the people, what will that mean for the church?

More specifically, what would a church service look like without a traditional pastor or priest doing the things normally only they do?

Is that even a possibility?

Sound off in the comments section and let me know what you think.

I’m eager to hear what you see in your ecclesial crystal ball.

Grace and peace,

Zack Hunt