Dear reader, I'm sorry I haven't kept you up to date. I could say I've been busy, but I've just been a little bit lazy, I suppose.
Well, I'm back, for what it's worth. Here's some blog.
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Fall is in full swing. Leaves are changed. Trees is gettin bare. Football is what people are in to. I've been wearing sweaters and flannels. Drinking more coffee. Cooking with the crock pot. Capping a night off with a pipe and a good book. All of the little things that make this time of the year the best for me. I know I've touched on this in one of my last blogs, but I can't overstate how much I love this season. It's the season of Jon. More blog ahead.
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I've now been in a leadership role with CRU for a semester. In that time, I've been blessed with a great group of guys, who, despite my incoherent babble about Jesus and my outlandish views about life, come every week with the desire to tell their friends and roommates about their faith. It's made me realize just what faith means. The cliche Bible verse that people will use is Hebrews 11:1,
"Now, faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see"
This does tell us what faith means, right? Faith is all about us? And how we have to believe what we can't see and be sure that our hopes are going to happen? I'm here to say, incorrect.
That verse can only be true, because there is another faith. There's another who is faithful. That "other", is God. If God wasn't faithful, I wouldn't be either. It's God who's seen me at my worst, and knows that I have a "best". It's God's faith that allows me to see him in everything I do. That I can see his Spirit moving on campus and in the lives of my guys. That I can see him weaved into a Gangster Rap CD or a film about hatred, lust, deceit and murder. God's unchanging and unshatterable faith is the reason I am where I am. When I get down about my failings, about the lies I've told, the self-mutilation I've done to my soul, and the pain I've caused in the lives of those I love, it's HIS faith I remember. That I have an intimate relationship with the Creator. While some speculate on his existence, I get to bask in his supremacy. A Christian (or anyone else) can have all the faith they want. They can recite Hebrews 11:1 until they're blue in the face. It doesn't matter. Without the acknowledgment that it is God who has the pertinent faith, it's all for naught. That it's his faith in himself that holds this whole mess of a life together. That he desires to see good and hates sin, death, and pain. That's the faith we need to recognize. We need to recognize that we will always pale in comparison to him. That's how it must be. That's what I've been reminded of.
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Iowa State University is done with me. And vice versa. I went to my last classes. I turned in my last projects. It's finished. The question that remains is "What's next?". Well. I'm going to attempt to intern with Campus Crusade next year. Which means I'll need support money. I'll be asking people to partner with me so that God may move swiftly through Iowa State, the state of Iowa, and the world. I'm not completeling Horticulture, but am in fact "settling" with a "lesser" degree that I might live more missionally. I believe God has called me out of going through more schooling so that I would be more proactive about the Gospel. While some may think this is foolish because I won't be able to earn as much money, I have faith that it is the best option for me. So long, school. You were a long, tumutuous journey. Through you, I've made my best friends. I've had my best memories. You've allowed me to expand my faith. You're a time that I can't forget.
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If anyone's known me for more than a year, they probably know how I feel about Christian media. Christian music and movies, mostly. If you're reading this, and you don't know how I feel, then you're in for a treat. Surprise, everyone, I'm not a huge fan of it all. And it's not just because the quality of most Christian media outlets are bad. It's not just because the overall product is hard on my eyes, and ears. The main reason that I have disdain for Christian media is that I believe that God is somewhat displeased with it. The main reason I think God is displeased with Christian movies and music is that it often times paints a misconception. If the only way you ever heard about God was through Christian music and movies, what perception would you have? I believe wholeheartedly that you would see God as shallow. And this is why I think people view Christians in the same light. Because the movies we support and music we deem "inspired" are typically crap. There are hundreds of Christian songs that I find devoid of any reality. Many Christian artists write songs that reflect themselves more than the heart of the Most-High. And films are no better. Dozens of Christian films and television programs, whose only goal is to make the veiwer feel "warm and fuzzy". I don't believe for a moment that that's where God dwells. And while I could be cynical and just rag on my brothers and sisters for how they're expressing themselves, I think that I will instead address my interpretation of the heart of this matter.
In America, I believe Christianity has developed an attitude of trying. We value trying. Trying to tell your friends about Jesus. Trying not to sin. Trying to earn enough money for your family to have a comfortable living. Trying to be seen as "different". I think we need to be done trying. I feel like "trying" is a good way to say "feel better about not doing". I think we've developed the try because we feel bad when we fail. We see failure as a bad thing, always. I don't. I think when I fail, it's only an opportunity for me to see God's grace move through the situation. And at the heart of it, I believe the Christian media is afraid to fail, because failure in this world means ridicule. We fear people will make fun of us, and our God if we produce a product that doesn't seem "right". The irony is that non-Christians see our product as crap anyway. There are very few Christian medias that honestly reach out to non-believers and again, ironically, they're the ones that typical Christians dislike (Christian Metalcore music, for one). If our heart really was to produce music and movies that related to people where they were and to desire them to see the God of the universe, then I doubt we'd be making low production films about football teams who pull off a win in the end, or hollow music that goes more to showing off our talents than showing the inumerable blessings of our savior. If we can take the focus off of creating a Christian bubble, and instead spreading our views and values to the world through genuine, transparently love-filled media that also looks and sounds good, then maybe we'd begin to see the changes that the Church has expected for so long. Creating expressions of love that do more to push non-believers away may not be the aproach we should stick with. I'm done ranting. I'm still praying.
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Moving Pictures and the Things They Say: My first ever post about movies! Yeah! Well, since this is just the introductory to the section, I'm not going to go into much detail (also, this has been a windy blog and has wasted enough of your time, I'm sure). I saw Pulp Fiction in a theater last night. It's one of my all-time favorites. In the Top 3 for sure. People who haven't seen it often ask me
"What's it about?"
to which I can only really say
"Well, it's about several peoples' worst days of their lives,
and how redemption is found in a few of them."
I'm not going to give any of the plot away. Go in fresh. The film is raw. There's a lot of swearing. A lot of lurid subject matter. Some disturbing imagery. But it's easily one of the best things I've ever seen. And whether you're a believer or not, redemption is found on so many levels. The storytelling is sublime and the cinematography shows the true heart of the film. I will give one warning, however. If you hate it the first time you watch it, watch it again. If you still hate it, then you'll never love it. It's just that way. Good luck.
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I've blogged too much today. It's time for some studying. Thanks for reading. I love you. I'm sorry if I offended you at all. I wish I could be more attentive to you readers, and hopefully with the extra time I may have next semester, I'll be able to do just that.
