Today: Say "no" one less time

While there are somethings that are very good and healthy for you to always say no to, there are some things that we get into a habit of quickly saying no. So say yes this today to something you've made a habit of saying no to.

Some things you might say yes to this week.
Say yes to your children when they ask for an unhealthy snack.
Say yes to a bottle of wine with a good friend.
Say yes to your wife when she says she wants to see a sappy, "chick-flick".
Make love to your spouse some time or place when you normal would normally say no.
Say yes to dessert.
Say yes to going outside to play with your kids. (the first time they ask)
Say yes to helping out at the school.
Say yes to the person on the phone asking for money for charity.
Say yes to dancing as the band plays.
Say yes to trying a nice cigar.
Say yes to doing that one thing you always say no to.

Lurker Appreciation Day

Hello to all of those who read this blog, or subscribe through RSS. Thanks for reading. Say hi in the comment section today, let me know who you are, so I can appreciate you!
Thanks!

Today: Skip a Meal

Skip a meal you normally eat. Take your lunch break, but instead of going to the cafeteria, or local eating establishment, go to a park. Spend the time praying and listening to what God is telling you.

Consider taking the $5 you would have spent on lunch and find a creative way to give it to someone else.

Today: Smile and Frown without Guilt

When I was a kid an adult told me it took more muscles to make a frown than it takes to smile. The message was essentially, "quit working so hard to be in a bad mood, happiness is easy."

Nice.

Not only do I feel like crap, but not I have guilt about not smiling.

I think smiling is harder than frowning. Certainly there are those freaks who smile all the time, every moment of every day. Many who found a career in TV evangelism. I'm not going to say that they are faking it, but I'll say they are not normal. Frowning is a gift from God too, one that the church today doesn't value enough. There are entire books of the bible devoted to frowning. Frowning is a Christ-like characteristic, just like smiling. We need to own it.

But this post is about smiling.
In a world with bad news, all the time and stories about pain and suffering from around the world, and around the corner, frowning seems to dominate the landscape.

so today. smile at a stranger. smile at a friend when you greet them. smile and mean it. don't fake it. but let yourself smile today.

and when you frown, do so without guilt!

Today: Prune something

Get a pair of clippers and go to work on a bush, or tree in your yard. If it's a tree, cut all new small budding branches on the interior off so that it cleans it up.
Don't think of it as cutting, think of it as sculpting. There is a lot of beauty and growth that comes from cutting away nice things.

Sending Out

So June 6th I and a team of other will be send out by a few area pastors to start a new church in the Tulsa area. It will be ultra simple and ultra meaningful to me. We chose to meet outside on the patio at Joe Momma's (owned by a community member) instead of a local church because we hope to a church that is with people from the beginning.

If you and I have lost touch over the years, or if you want to support me and this new initiative I'd welcome you to attend this gathering.

June 6th 5:45-6:45pm
Joe Momma's (61st and highway 169)

thanks for your prayers!

Just plain fun

Links to Friends

My friend David in Tulsa on Myanmar. David and Jeff support pastors in southeast asia.

My friend Chris in Chicago/ KC writes a bit about expectations for youth pastors.

My friend Andy in Chicago can put 24 middle school students in a VW Beetle. I'm getting old, because as I watch the video all I can think about is how they might hurt the car.

My friend Rob in DC likes nature, but not this much. Read Rob's blog. He's a gifted story teller.

My friend Jim in San Deigo is not a Republican. But he's got a fun video about the new republican slogan.

My friend Dan from Santa Cruz is a loyal PC fan. Dan has good taste in music, but bad taste in electronics.

My friend Tony in Minneapolis filmed a series with Trucker Frank, from his new book. The series is worth watching.

My friend Wade in Tulsa, asks, "Is a good reading of scripture better than a right one?"

My friend John is quoted by Scot McKnight here.

Today: Look a Homeless person in the eye

On any given day there are 800,000 homeless folks in the US. 200,000 of them are children. If you work downtown or drive thru a busy suburban intersection. Occassionally you might come across someone who is homeless. About one third the homeless individuals are mentally ill, another third living with the consequences of bad choice (addiction), and a third have had a bad break. It's the final third who are the folks who were one paycheck away from living on the street and the paycheck didn't come.

People who are homeless often feel less than human, or struggle with their identity for obvious reasons. The folks you drive past begging for money at that one intersection or the folks sitting on the park bench downtown.

When people are in a position to ask for money it feels dehumanizing to them. When people ignore them or don't look them in the eye it contributes to the growing disconnect they feel to the rest of the world.

I'm not telling you to that you should give them money.
But, today, look a homeless person in the eye.

Shane Hipps Quote

Shane used to be a marketing exec for companies like Porsche and he wrote this on his blog. Brilliant stuff.

On a recent comment Russell asks:

I can imagine that there's a huge leap between Porsche culture and Mennonite culture, but does any of what they do still stick with you and inspire you today?

This is one of my most frequently asked questions. So I thought I would answer it here. In short the answer is no.

I try my best not to translate any of the things I learned from advertising into the world of spirituality, faith, church, etc. The reason is simple. Advertising is fundamentally a form of coercion. Granted it is a playful manipulation that most people enjoy when it's done well.

It's fun and funny, can't be that harmful. Nonetheless, the primary task of my previous life was to try and highjack your imagination, brand your brain with a Porsche logo, and then feed you opinions you thought were your own. I can't think of a method more opposed to the process of deepening and evolving the spiritual life. So I'm very aware of intentionally not translating or using these methods.

In my experience, the best thing I can do to lead people spiritually is to show them love. At the heart of love is making space, honoring the free will of the other. This requires that I intentionally divest myself of their outcomes, decisions, and conclusions. Sounds counter-intuitive, but then again, most things in the life of faith are. When someone senses that I need them to grow to validate myself, it usually hinders their growth. When they sense that I love them and have no need for them to take my advice, they're more free to do so if they choose. This I've found to be the most fertile soil for spiritual evolution. And it is diametrically opposed to the tasks of advertising and marketing, which are driven entirely by outcomes.

Today: Sing in the Shower

Sing loud. If you are shy, put a radio in the bathroom with you and turn it up loud. Maybe you could picture you are singing to a large crowd. Still shy? I hear that sometimes it helps to think of the crowd being naked. oh wait.... well.. sing anyway!

Go for the big notes!

Today: The Radio

Turn off the radio for one whole day. Sound crazy? Then you really need to do this. Don't pick your cell phone either. When you are driving try to answer the question, "What makes me so uncomfortable about silence?" or "What's that noise my car is making and how long has it been making it?"

Silence is often where God is.

Today: Talk to your Neighbor

You know those people who live around you? The folks who you aren't sure if you remember their names. Start a conversation with them. Ask them about how things are going, or what their job entails. There's a beautiful story that comes with your neighbor, though they might not know or recognize it. Part of being a good neighbor is seeing the beauty in their story and helping them recognize it. Sometimes loving your neighbor is as easy as listening, learning and laughing with them.

Crazy Traffic

I don't know why, but my site is having crazy busy traffic recently. Whoever all of you are, welcome.

Treating Church as a Fetish

Pete Rollins has a great post titled, "Treating Church as a Fetish"
Here's the link.

I have, over the last few years, had numerous conversations with intelligent, thoughtful individuals who continue to attend dogmatic churches that they no longer feel subjectively connected to. Indeed sometimes I speak to so many people in this position that I wonder if some churches are made up predominately of members who do not subjectively agree with what is being said, how it is being said, and the structures within which it is being said. And what is even more perturbing is that many of these people are not just pew fillers but actively involved in worship, speaking and leading.

One of the problems I have with this is that, whatever a person says to me about not really believing in what their church is saying or doing, their very presence within the structure sustains it and supports it. It was Hegel who wrote about how the State can flourish even if no one really believes in it, simply because the majority continue to act asthoughthey believe in it. People involved at various levels of the State apparatus can say what they like behind closed doors, but if they are engaging in the rituals that sustain the State, then they are sustaining the State.

I must admit to getting increasingly frustrated with these conversations, particularly when I am speaking with confident, aware, independent people who are continuing to attend, not because they could not function without it, but rather because it would be too much hassle to make the break (perhaps because their wage depends on it, or their social networks are too intertwined with it).

This problem has a lot of resonance with Marx' writings on money as a fetish. It is all too common to chat with someone about how money is not some magical property that brings happiness, that working all the hours God sends to increase capital will damage the most precious relationships we have and that having a better car is not what life is about. Only to realise that, as soon as they turn from the conversation, they act as though they did believe all those things. This is fetishism at it heart, 'I know this thing before me is not magical but I act as though it is anyway'.

Those who stand in my position have all too often been sympathetic to these people who attend the church while saying, 'I don't really believe or endorse what is said' because they are intellectually closer to us than those who attend such churches 'naively' (i.e. those who attend without questioning). However, we must resist such a seductive temptation and avoid getting drawn into sympathy for our friends in this position (and many of these people are my friends). For these people are the ones we should be critiquing most rigorously:for knowing what ought to be done and yet refusing to do it.

Today: Savor

Eat something you love. But not fast. Enjoy every moment the food is in your mouth.

George Michael

So George Michael was on Idol last night. Singing a great blast from the past, "Praying for Time" I used to own the "Listen without Prejudice" album, "Praying for time" was the last song on the album. I'm not a huge George Michael fan. I never owned any Wham! or his other stuff. He's been arrested and made some pretty significant mistakes that have cost him. He's got his demons that he's wrestled with for years. But last night his song (along with ZZ top) was the best performance of the night. His Listen Without Prejudice" album was an amazing album and last night it reminded me of how good.
The album actually tells a story. "Praying for time" is where the story starts and then the album ends with "Waiting"

These are the lyrics to how GM ends his album.

Well there ain't no point in moving on
Until you've got somewhere to go
And the road that I have walked upon
Well it filled my pockets
And emptied out my soul

All those insecurities
That have held me down for so long
I can�t say I've found a cure for these
But at least I know them
So they�re not so strong

You look for your dreams in heaven
But what the hell are you supposed to do
When they come true?

Well there's one year of my life in the songs
And some of them are about you
Now I know there�s no way I can write those wrongs


Believe me
I would not lie you've hurt my pride
And I guess there�s a road without you
But you once said
There's a way back for every man
So here I am
Don't people change, here I am
Is it too late to try again

Here's the video of Praying for Time: Lyrically great. Hairstyling.. not so much.

Today: Listen to a Child

Kids have something you need. They know secrets about life that you've forgotten. They will teach you if you listen. So don't ask about a movie, or some cartoon character ask them about joy, life, singing, dancing, and fun.
It may take a while, but if you listen they'll show you the keys to the kingdom.

Today: Watch the clouds

Everyday I ask myself, which way are the clouds moving. It makes me slow down. Stand still. Take a deep breath and realize I'm moving to quickly.

Stop. Watch the clouds for 60 seconds today.
Take a deep breath.

Riddle Group church in the News

First Christian Church is located in Duncan, Oklahoma. The Riddle Group walked beside FCC, a church of 250 folks for a little over a year as they did the hard work of taking responsability for the spiritual nurture of their teens. After about 14 months they hired a youth pastor, Ryan. 3 months after Ryan started, Ryan and the youth leadership team decided to buy a local building to add youth space, and to add a contemporary worship service. Most of the folks on the youth leadership team (who are the people ultimately responsible for youth at FCC were looking for a new kind of experience in their church.)

This is a church where youth ministry is sustainable and it impacts the church as a whole.

They just made their local news with the opening of their new service. Pretty great stuff. The people have worked very hard and have great vision for youth ministry. Their youth ministry is not focused around a youth pastor, and Ryan is given permission to do what he's good at, while not needing to fake it in other areas.

Great Job my Friends!

Link

The Well, a ministry of First Christian Church, is the new name of what has, until now, been known as the church’s South Campus. The ministry is housed in what was once the J.C. Penney building at 913 W. Main. Shoppers who once frequented the store wouldn’t recognize the place now, though.

Since the church purchased the 20,000-square-foot building last summer, many yards of old carpeting have been ripped up, tile has been laboriously chipped from the floors, and walls and partitions have been knocked down. Once only a hollow shell was left, the restoration began, with many volunteers from the church and community working toward a common goal — that of turning the building into a large community outreach facility.

A stage and sound booth have been constructed, theater-type seats put into place, overhead video screens hung, bathrooms added, offices built ... the list of improvements is mind-boggling.

It goes on to say,

And change is important, especially for Duncan, the group agreed.

“So many parents have expressed joy that this facility will be available for all people, all denominations. We’re here as the family of Jesus — brothers and sisters in Christ. You can leave your baggage at the door. I’m inspired that our church had the vision, leadership and support to undertake this endeavor,” Hunt said.

“You could call The Well a sort of restoration or resurrection, and we’re hoping that God will resurrect some more,” Talley said.

Today: Draw or Paint a picture

Spend some time on it. ask a pre-school child if they are an artist and they will answer yes, without hesitation. the older kids get, the less they think they can draw. by 5th grade most kids have stopped drawing, or thinking it's worth their time.
This is not because they are bad, or have nothing to paint or draw, but that they don't want to be made fun of. Their understanding of themselves as creative and artist is drying up.

You most certainly are older than a 5th grader. When was the last time you sketched a picture. (I'm not talking about those doodles you make during staff meeting.)

Someone told you you couldn't draw, or you felt like they did.

Draw or paint a picture today and reclaim a part of who you are.

Today: dance

in private or public. With a loved one, a friend, a child, a spouse or by yourself. spend 5 or more minutes dancing.

Let yourself go.

See how it feels.

Two Videos

This Video reminded me:



of this... classic... the interview with the congressmen is awesome. The end is the best.


Link

Today: Hug

Today, give a hug to someone you've never hugged before. Pick someone who might not receive a hug very often or a person who might not even touch anyone outside of an occassional handshake.

Hug big.

Today: Compliment

Complement someone today.

Some one. A person. A man. A woman. A child.

"I love those shoes."
"Nice car."
"Dude, I dig that watch."
"That's a pretty outfit your wearing."
"I like your haircut."

These are not compliments for people. They are compliments for things. Things don't need compliments. Shoes, cars, watches and outfits don't particularly care if you like them.

People do care. These are half-ass compliments. Nice motive with limited effort and poor execution.

If you really like a child's outfit, compliment them while doing it. "You have great taste in clothes."

Compliments are transformative. They are one small way in which God uses community to help us understand ourselves. When you tell a girl that you like her hair, you are not complementing her, you are complimenting something she can't control and are re-enforcing an understanding of identity and beauty that she can't control. Tell her that you think she makes good decisions with her hair and how wise she is.

Stop half-ass compliments. Put some thought into it. Complement a person today.

Dan's Movie meme

My friend Dan's a pastor up in Iowa and invited me to a meme he created.

Here are the rules:
" a list of my top ten favorite films (in no particular order). The only rule, if you're tagged, you've got to post and tag 3-5 other people."

Mark's top 10 Movies of all time:
American Beauty
Tombstone
No Country for Old Men
Fight Club
Heat
Crash
Gladiator
Saving Private Ryan
Pulp Fiction
Good Will Hunting

Ok. I tag you.

Speaking at NPC

I've been invited to speak at the National Pastors Convention in San Diego next February.
Here's their blog post announcing it. Dang. Humbling company.

More NPC 2009 Speakers!

Bill Hybels
John Burke
Leighton Ford
David Kinnaman
Gabe Lyons
Mark Riddle
William Webb

Link
and here's the link the whole list of speakers so far.

Today: Question God out loud

Ask a tough question that you really struggle with out loud to someone today. No need to follow up with a deep conversation. Simply get it off your chest. See how it feels to say it out loud. Sometimes questioning God is the most faithful thing you can do for God.

Today:Do something that scares you.

Start a conversation with a total stranger.
Try a new food.
Attempt to balance your check book.

Don't let the day go by without taking a risk.
Risk is often where the new life happens.

Exception: Ballparks

Link

Homeless Running club

For some reason this story came to my mind driving home from my workout today so I thought I'd post a link and part of the piece here. Maybe one day when I'm in better shape , and can actually run more than around the block something like this will materialize.

Anne Mahlum is a 27-year-old marathoner. And on her predawn runs in Philadelphia, she kept passing a group of homeless men.

An ex-football player is walking cross-country to raise money for 9/11 heroes.

"They would say, 'Hi' or they would say 'Hi Anne' or 'There's the crazy runner.' 'How many miles are you doing?'" Mahlum recalled. "And they would smile and sort of applaud and cheer for me, while I would start my day."

But one day in May, Mahlum said, "I looked back, and I was like, 'I am cheating these guys. Why am I just running past them and leaving them there?'"

"Running is so simple you know. You really only need a pair of shoes. You don't need a lot of equipment. You need heart and dedication," Mahlum said.

Anne thought to herself, "Maybe running could make these guys feel as good as it makes me feel."

So she decided to start a running club for the homeless and started asking businesses for help.

"I sent out an e-mail to a bunch of people, and I just said, 'I'm starting Philadelphia's first homeless running club. I need your shoes. I need your clothes,'" Mahlum said. "And the support that I received back is so astonishing."

Nine homeless men signed up right away.

"The guys had so many questions. They were so curious," Mahlum said.

The men didn't know what to expect, and they asked questions about how to stretch and what to do. But they were willing to give it a shot.

Mahlum was not intimidated by the men.

"I wasn't scared. People are people. And I feel like if you treat them the way you want to be treated, that's the best you can do."

"If anything would happen," she joked, "I figure, you know, they can't catch me anyway."

Mahlum's group, called Back on My Feet, has grown since then. They were out on the Philadelphia streets this morning at 5 a.m.

"People started showing up in the morning," Mahlum said. "This circle that we had just kept growing and growing, and the smiles got bigger, the hugs got tighter, and we started to develop this team, this family."

This story makes sense to me on so many levels. My hope for Tulsa is that people will take their passions and make a difference in peoples lives like this. It doesn't need to be a running club. But religion that is institutional and controling in nature must be abandoned for more life giving experiences like this.

Tomorrow: Deck of Cards.. who's in?

Ok. so tomorrow is one of my favorite workouts. anyone want to join me? I'm going tomorrow at 11am.
I've started doing crossfit 5 days a week. We'll see if my body can handle it. right now my shins and feet are killing me from jumping rope on monday and the "clean and jerk" today.

Here's what the deck of cards is:
"Deck of Cards"
Start with a fully shuffled deck of cards. Each card requires a set of pushups (red) or squats (black), depending on the color. Perform reps of the following:
Face cards (Jack, Queen, and King) have a value of 10. Aces will have a value of 11. Number cards will be face value (ex. 7 of spades = 7 squats).
Jokers are burpees, and are set to a value of 15.
Work through the entire deck as fast as possible and don't forget that card games are fun.

Art and the Church

The quote below is from nakedpastor's post on how poorly churches engage the arts.
One of my hopes for our new church is that we will be a people who embrace artists and the art that they create.

Here's the quote:

The church is generally a censorious community. In this environment art is sanitized, tame and conformist. It is still art, but functions as a reinforcement of the system. Expression is controlled and edited from start to finish. This kills art because it kills creativity because it kills freedom. Instead, allow people to be free without scrutiny. (I even hate the word “allow” because it assumes it needs to be given when it is already ours.) In due time, after people begin to realize that they are loved and accepted unconditionally, the creative spirit will surface and artistic diversity will abound. This is the harder but more genuine way. It means taking care of the roots. If the root is unfettered freedom, then fruitful and artistic living happens. It is the diversity of human expression of personality that makes the artful life. Until this is nurtured art will be repressed.

Link

Workout for the Week

Wednesday:
Ring Rows (feet on 16 inch box)
Dive Bombers
21-15-9
For time.

My Time was 4:34 (It's sat. and I'm still sore from this)

Follow it up with 4 minute Bottom-to-Bottom (B2B) Tabata Squats and you'll be good to go.

Thursday:
Bench Press
155 X3 195 x2 205 x1 225 x1 235x1 (failed) I hadn't benched anything since college. this was fun.

Friday:
Bicycles
Mountain Climbers
100-80-60-40-20 reps for time.

My time: 21:40

This one you can try at home pretty easy. but it's harder than it looks.

"Reaching new people"

So Kurt likes Craig's quote. I like it too, but would say it a bit differently.

Here's the Quote Kurt likes:
"To reach people no one else is reaching we must do things no one else is doing."
- Craig Groeschel; founder of Lifechurch.tv


So it makes sense right? I actually like Kurt's thoughts when he says,

"Andy's big thought related to this quote was that obviously the majority of things church's are doing must not be what most people are interested in because most people aren't going to the things church's are doing! Even a super cool worship service must not be what most people are interested in because most people aren't going to super cool worship services...they are doing a bunch of other stuff instead."


My thoughts:
I don't know the context of what Craig was saying, so I could be misunderstanding. But this sounds like the formula he's proposing.

Do different things that people like and more people will come.


I can go with him a bit on this. But what I'd prefer was that we were actually different people. That we encouraged expressions of church that were born out of people who were actually different rather than just trying to market Jesus differently. Marketing is easier than being different.

Don't do different programs. Don't try portray yourself as slick or cool or even different. Simply be yourself. Be a different people, a people created to love God with deep diverse expressions of faithfullness. Then be ready for different looking churches to spring up with different looking doctrine who are faithfully following God and connecting with people like themselves.

So yes I agree with Craig, we must be willing to do things differently and it must authentically come from who we are.

What do you think?

Seth on Charity or Bargain Hunting

Seth Godin has a great post today on Charity and giving.

Here it is:

Marketing the charity auction

By Seth Godin

How much would you pay for a twenty dollar bill?

In tough times, many schools and non-profits rely on charity fundraisers, and a popular one is the auction. The method is simple: supporters donate things, and then they're auctioned off, with all proceeds going to charity.

If you have a vacation house, the thinking goes, the incremental cost of donating a week is low. And wow, I can buy a week at that house for way less than it's worth. Everyone wins.

If you have a friend who works on the Letterman show, you can get two VIP tickets for free and donate them and someone at the auction gets to go to the show for not so much money.

This bargain hunting is fine as far as it goes, but it never leads to a wildly successful auction, because the story that's told is too small.

If you're only willing to bid $19 to buy a $20 bill at this auction, you're not doing charity, you're bargain hunting. There's nothing wrong with bargain hunting, it's fun, but it's not philanthropy. I think bargain hunting for a good cause is just fine, but wouldn't it be great if the event could raise far more money and change the way people view the organization?

The Robin Hood Foundation raised more than 24 million dollars at their last auction, because people competed to overpay. And that's the secret. The story the charity must tell is: "don't pay $19 for this twenty dollar bill, don't even pay $30, we need you to pay $40!" The satisfaction of overpaying (whether you overpay anonymously or in public) is what they sell, not a bargain.

This is not the easy path. It is much easier to sell your public on bargains than it is to sell them on generosity. The good news is that once you get over the hump, it scales. Bargains scale downward... better bargains are lower-priced bargains, which means you scale to zero. Philanthropy scales upward... better overpaying is more overpaying. A public auction is always a public competition. The challenge is to create social approval for what would otherwise be bad auction skills! Enlist a few stooges in the audience in advance, then start by auctioning off that $20 bill. When it goes for $45 and the winner gets an ovation, you've set a tone.

The goal of a non-profit seeking money needs to be to create an environment in which the community congratulates itself on overpaying.

All I Need

Link

(thanks to Jim)

Beauty in Action...

Jolting the Brain: Sorta cool... sorta creepy

This is amazing stuff. It blurs the between humanity and machine in interesting ways. We really are redefining what it means to be human on some level. It's the word "normal" that gives me the creeps a bit. This feels a bit different than a pace maker to me... but I'm not sure why.

Imagine what a pacemaker does to your heart -- its electrical impulses regulate a heartbeat that's out of whack.

In deep brain stimulation for depression, tiny electrodes are implanted into a specific node of the cerebral cortex.

Now picture a pacemaker-type device that jolts the brain and regulates mood circuits -- potentially easing deep depression no other treatments can touch.

In what some are hailing as a brave new use of existing technology, researchers presented evidence this week at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons' annual scientific meeting that deep brain stimulation (DBS) does just that -- improving both severe depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder, a frequent companion disorder.

"Depression is a physiological disorder, and basically we are regulating the abnormal signals to brain causing the depression," says Dr. Ali Rezai, director of the Center for Neurological Restoration at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Rezai conducted the research along with scientists from Butler Hospital/Brown Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Researchers used deep brain stimulation on 17 severely depressed patients. Those treated with DBS had a 50 percent decrease in depressive symptoms after 12 months. Patients also reported a better ability to function, improved short-term memory and improved quality of life.

Link

Archbishop Rowen Williams answers "What is Church?"

Pete Rollins says it this way

The other day I talked my friend Tom who sees a Move away from church as move toward Jesus.
Pete Rollins, leader of Ikon in Belfast puts it this way.

There are countless people who betray Christianity, individuals who turn their backs on its message because they no longer believe in it or because it asks too much of them. But there are a few who betray Christianity, not because they no longer believe in it, but because they believe in it so deeply, because they understand that unless the seed of our Christianity falls to the ground and dies it will remain a single seed, but if it is allowed to die it will produce many seeds.

With this in mind we may wonder whether the deepest cost entailed in embracing the radical message of Christ—that we lay down our life and pick up our cross and follow him—may not simply be the call to sacrifice our own life (something we are asked to do before we pick up the cross), but the call to sacrifice what we love more than our life.

The cost of Christianity, for so many, is thought to lie in the demand that we die to ourselves for the sake of our Christianity. The cross we are called to carry is thus one upon which we are to be put to death. But what if this cross we bear had another meaning? What if the cross that we are called to carry is not for us at all but rather, like the cross that Simon of Cyrene labored beneath, is really for another—a cross for us to crucify what we love? Is it possible that the cross we labor beneath must be used to crucify our Christianity? How many of us can truly understand this question? How many of us can really know what it is like to destroy what we love for the sake of what we love—to be the most faithful of betrayers? Yet perhaps it is precisely this that we are being called to: engaging in that most difficult task of putting our religion to death so that a religion without religion can spring forth.

Link