self-deprecating is my middle name...

Alright, I have to admit something totally embarrassing... it's embarrassing because I don't think most people would peg me for being this kind of a guy... but here goes... I really dig the show Project Runway... there I've said it... I should note that there is a pretty major writer's strike going on in Hollywood, so the stock pile of quality television is at a minimum right now, and since I don't like Donald Trump and American Gladiators sounds a bit too... well, dumb... Project Runway it is. I also want to make it clear that I'm not obsessed with the show nor do I dive into it the way I do, say Lost... but it is great fun to watch on a Wednesday night. I like the challenges, the design elements, and yes the eliminations... it's just fun to watch people being creative and enjoying that process. But the bottom line is I'm a red-blooded, American, heterosexual male and Project Runway is about fashion... it's almost a paradox that could disrupt the space/time continuum...

It's funny how much our actions are dictated by the "rules" of society. If a guy likes to shop or watch fashion programs he's considered effeminate. If a women likes to work on cars and drink beer she's considered hyper-masculine. (Note: I am intentionally using politically correct language, because much harsher things are said in these situations.) A person who likes computer technology is considered somewhat of a "nerd". Someone who spends much of their time reading is considered intellectual. Someone who wears oversized sweats in public is a "fashion victim" (that's the Project Runway talking). Someone is passionate about a cause is a radical. Someone who abstains from politics all together is apathetic... and we could go on and on and on... Ultimately, the vast majority of people are after one thing: normalcy. And normalcy equals right down the middle average. Or as Goldilocks puts it, "Not too hot, not too cold... but just right."

There are a growing number of people, however, to whom normal will not cut. Normal is death, to these people. They want to do what they want to do regardless of "social norms" and to an extent I applaud these people. To an extent. Different for the sake of different is of no use. But different with a purpose is powerful. Christ modeled that philosophy throughout His ministry. He railed against the "social norms" that had crippled the culture He was living in and called people to more radical devotion to the God they claimed to serve (Matthew 5-7). He never minced words with those that sought to keep the people in their place, but challenged the authorities of His day. People accused Him of being a drunk and a glutton (Matthew 11:19). He was highly misunderstood, and people were constantly abandoning Him because He was just too passionate and too out-there in His approach (John 6:60-70). But His difference was always with a purpose. He wanted people to not rely on their customs or traditions but to rely on God and to look to Him as their source of comfort. He saw the motivations of many of the leaders and challenged their selfishness. He was willing to be thought of as abnormal in order to demonstrate love to the drunks, and the prostitutes.

Too many people live their lives just trying to be normal. Too many people live their lives trying NOT to be normal. But both can be equally pointless. God calls us to live lives that are set a part... that are different, but with a purpose. Romans 12:1-2,

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. The Message.

We should look around us. Have we so bought into being an American that we forget what it means to be called by God? Do we try to be so different that we'll try anything that we lose sight of the really differences we should try to make? Cultural influence can have both effects, but our goal should be to allow Christ's influence to rule our lives.

U-N-I-T-Y...

If you are a regular reader of this blog you know that I am a runner, and I have been a runner for quite some time. One of the things people outside the running community don't know is the importance of teams to the success of individual runners. It seems very odd that a sport that is built on the achievements of individuals has much use for the concept of a team, but in reality the team mentality is extremely important to runners. When I was in high school I ran on a highly state ranked cross country team in Citrus County, FL. We were good and consistently ranked number one in Florida. If you don't know how it works, cross country scoring is pretty simple: you have seven varsity runners, the top five that cross the finish line are added together for a team score, the lowest score wins. For example the best possible score in cross country is 15...1+2+3+4+5... that's if all five runners on a team crossing the line in succession. I've been on teams that have hit that mark. My senior year of high school, our team really was a team. We built each other up, we encouraged each other, we kept each other in line so we'd be eligible to run, we were a team. When the first runner finished a race he would come back and encourage the guys behind. Even though we each had to perform individually we were all there for the others. When one runner wasn't doing well, a slower runner would run harder to make up for it. In a lot of ways that team transcended what high school boys are really capable of. So contrary to popular belief running is a team sport.

The same is true of our Christianity. It is a team activity. It cannot be done in isolation, and the faith and actions of one can affect the mentality of the whole. The Bible consistently tells people to preserve the unity of the church (Romans 12:5, 1 Corinthians 1:10ff, 2 Corinthians 13:11, Ephesians 4:3, Philippians 1:27, 1 Peter 3:8, etc.), and Jesus even prays that all Christians be one as He and the Father are one (John 10:16). The question is: how? I mean we are all so different, and let's face it most of us are pretty much just looking out for ourselves. How do we work towards unity when we are all living individually? Well, I don't have a magic position or perfect solution, but I think it comes down to a couple of things.

Philippians 2:3-4 gives a pretty good way to conduct ourselves,

"3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too."

If we have any hope of being unified, whether in our small groups, our local churches, or as Christians universally, we have to put this into practice. I'm not saying we accept sin or "lifestyles" or anything like this, but we have to remember that God is calling us to love our neighbors as ourselves and in so doing we exhibit our love for Him. In a similar vein, Paul in Romans 15:1-2 gives those of us who are more experienced Christians some pretty good advice as it relates to unity.

"Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, 'How can I help?'" (The Message)

. People who are new to the faith still have a great deal to learn, they are still dealing with understanding the Bible, being faithfully committed to worship and prayer. Why to people that have been Christians for 10, 15, or 50 years expect people who have just converted to act or even understand the faith in the same way as they do? Unity starts with the maturity of those that have been around the Christian block a few times to help encourage and guide those that are new to this whole thing.

Most of all it is important to remember that Christianity is not an individual sport. It can't be done in isolation from the church, and so there will inevitably be disagreements, misunderstandings, and the effects of sin, because we are all human. No one has it all together, no one has all the answers, and so we must be extremely humble when dealing with other believers. They have faults but so do you... and so do I. But if we all do the best we can to seek God's glory first and look at each other with humility and pray for the Holy Spirit to teach us to care for one another then the impossible can be accomplished.

Unity.