Christian Extremist

1 John 2:2 says, "He [Jesus] is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."

It seems that every time some other religion commits an act of atrocity, Christianity is thrown under the bus along with that religion.

It is frustrating, to say the least, and I do not really understand why it happens. Well, yea, I do, but that’s a political post I want to stay away from.

To be fair, Christianity throughout history has not always been so nice in dealing with people and following Jesus’ example.

From the wars fought in the name of God, to our own hypocrisies, Christianity deserves some of the stones hurled at us.

But often our “extremists” are mentioned along with the extremist of the religion that has done the horrible thing, and they mention Timothy McVeigh or the KKK as well as other perceived “Christian” extremists from the past.

However, I think those critics are getting it all wrong. I believe that an extremist takes the words and actions of its leader and puts them 100% in action.

So what does Jesus say and what would a Christian extremist look like?

We should be humble.

Philippians 2:5-8 describes the extent of Jesus' humility: "Our attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!"

We should serve.

Matthew 20:28 says, "…The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

We should glorify God.

1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

We should pray.

Mark 1:35 says, "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed."

And we should sacrifice.

Romans 12:1 says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship.”

I am not the greatest Biblical scholar there is, but I would bet it impossible to find Jesus saying or doing anything like blowing anything up or terrorizing a group of people based on anything.

A Christian extremist is not a person who spreads violence or hate, it is someone we should aspire to be.

A Christian extremist gives up everything including and ultimately his life for the glory of God, not by violence done by him, but possibly violence done to him.

How to Use Social Media if You Really Don't Care About People

1. When emotional, ALWAYS post immediately, do NOT take time to calm down.

2. If you have a problem with a group or person, POST the problem or question before contacting them. That way other people who are less informed than you can post their opinions, too.

3. Post, Re-tweet, etc any article that agrees with your viewpoint before checking on its authenticity. Then make sure after it gets tons of comments and likes and you find out it was wrong, just delete, don't apologize or post a "fix".

4. Comment on any post that emotionally gets you charged up (see 1) before you know any of the facts or even the other side of the story.

5. Use it to manipulate people and situations before ever attempting to do it as a responsible person by doing so face to face.

6. Assume everything you read on social media to be the truth, especially from people you like and generally agree with.

7. Make sure to bend the truth or use stats to justify your belief system.

8. If you really want to stir the pot, make anonymous posts so that you can say and do anything without accountability.

9. Be as snarky and rude as possible.

10. Depersonalize every situation that you read so that you can forget how you would feel if someone used social media in a similar way towards you or someone you cared about.

Lastly, I guess you can write a blog entry and sort of "subtweet" everyone, but let me tell you, I've been guilty of many of these things, I just haven't always posted.

Type, type, type....back space, back space, back space.

What You Do Matters

(This is my dad, he is a great man, he has helped me become who I am and I hope to pass much of what he taught me to my son)

Most of us have the ability to do something today to make our little world better.

Whether it is monetarily, saying a few words, spending some time with someone, we have that ability.

It's not like in the US that most of us have to worry about water or food, so that gives us a lot of "free" time.

So what have you done today to make the world better?

It can be as big as supplying a well for a village in Africa.

It can be as big as providing medical help for people in South America.

Or....

It can be hugging and kissing your wife and kids.

It can be putting your hand on a co-worker's shoulder who is struggling and letting them know you care.

And it can be smiling at someone you pass and saying hello.

I challenge myself  every day, to get up and make a difference.

It doesn't have to be 100% of the time, but do something because if we aren't what's this all really for?

Good Day With My New Mates

Last week, I got a text message from a friend, Shane Howard.

Shane runs Custom College Recruiting, a business that is helping boys and girls from many places around the world to come to the USA to play sports.

But Shane called and said that an Australian team was in Indianapolis and needed some help with a gym. I couldn't find one, but the next day I got another message from Shane. The team needed help with the book or clock.

I was free for a day, so I headed to Fishers and hung out with the my new friends from New South Wales.

The coaches and I clicked almost immediately.

Nathan Kirwan, the sort of Director of Ops was who I talked to first and who I spoke to first when we met up.

The head coach is Shannon Seebohm.

Seebohm was the U17 women's coach for Australia that handed the US their first loss ever at that age. Australia went on to win the FIBA championship, so Coach Seebohm is a world champion coach.

READ MORE ABOUT COACH SEEBOHM BY CLICKING HERE

Watching their team play and hanging with them and talking basketball was unbelievably refreshing.

They get it.

They get what basketball should be about.

Fundamentals.

Discipline.

Great shots.

Not dribbling too much.

In actuality, they get what USA basketball is supposed to be about more than many American coaches, especially AAU coaches get what it's supposed to be about.

It was a pure joy and also kind of depressing.

The USA is the greatest basketball power on the earth, but because we too often lose our way, many foreign countries have perfected our old blueprint and are using it to beat us.

Which is hard for this Yank to take.

Life is Hard, It is Easier with Hope

Life is hard.

The more you are aware, the more you care, the harder it is, it seems.

If you want to get up, indulge in self, and go to sleep at night thinking about no one or nothing other than yourself or your little world, you can probably watch the news, yell at the t.v., go to bed and live a relatively pain free life.

Sure, we all have our problems, many, many of them are serious problems.

From drugs to death to sickness to financial issues, many people in the USA struggle every day.

They struggle within the confines of their homes and their hometowns.

But there is struggling going on too outside of those confines.

From inner cities to reservations to foreign countries people are dealing with the same struggles and issues that you are. It may surprise some, but people of different colors, religions, and regions are not too much different from each other.

I have found that people want to work, they want to have a family, they want to make life better for their children, they want to love and to be loved, they want to be appreciated and they want to live a life of meaning.

It's no different here than it is in Indonesia, Kenya, Iceland or Macedonia.

Life is hard; here and there.

Before I became a follower of the Nazarene, I looked for fulfillment in many things from alcohol to women to many indulgences of self.

And they never provided long lasting fulfillment.

Sure, I had some fun but it was so fleeting and the hollowness following was not worth it.

I am here to tell you that Jesus provides hope and hope is a strong anchor for our lives.

He provides hope when you are dealing with horrific situations or living in a way that seems like there is no future.

I promise, He provides hope.

He turns drug addicts into counselors and he puts smiles in children who live in slums.

Jesus will not cure all ills, he will not fix every problems in a moments notice, but he will provide that hope...

Because...

Life is hard.

It's is easier with Jesus Christ and the hope of this life he provides, but also for the hereafter knowing that this is not our final destination.

You Went Where?! "Yes, Eastern Africa"

It has been a couple of weeks since I returned from my mission trip with Athletes in Action to Kenya and Ethiopia and every time I come back from abroad, it takes me time to wrap my mind around everything I experienced.

The first couple of times when I came home, I was not a very nice person to my family or to other people (others would argue I still am not nice, but that is another story) because of the guilt that I felt living in such a wonderful and bountiful place.

This time I have tried to not be that way.

Some of it is because even though I do feel guilt, as I have aged (I guess), I really enjoy many of the things we have here that do not exist over seas or even south of the border.

So I have tried to take time and ponder some of the many, many things that have gone around in my head.

First, we are blessed to live in this country. I'm not saying other people are not blessed to live in their countries, but I'm speaking for me. We are often so covered in blessings, we just figure this is how life is...it isn't. It's like a fish just assuming that everything else is wet until it isn't one time and then it really appreciates what it has the other 99% of the time (if fish can think or be appreciative).

I believe that you have to travel overseas or to some places here in the U.S. for many of us to truly appreciate what we have on a daily basis.

Ranging from quality healthcare at a moments notice to haagen-dazs ice cream, we are quite spoiled and yet, many of us are unaware of that. We complain about what we don't have instead of seeing what we do which is more than the average human being on this planet.

But...

Think toilets and toilet paper; I don't think I have ever had to use a hole in the ground and been in a public bathroom with no toilet paper...but I digress...

Second, I realize that we get to see the best in people when we are traveling. You would have to stay somewhere longer than two weeks to see some of the "warts" of a country, but the people in Eastern Africa were so nice.

It is almost embarrassing, okay, it is embarrassing how much they tried to help us maintain our lifestyle in a country that doesn't allow that for a large amount of people.

It is embarrassing that when you go through security (there is security to enter anything there, think airport security then put that on entering church, the mall, a small grocery store, a cafe, etc.) they seem embarrassed that they have to do their job and search you, and many times they don't.

But the people...

We do have so many more luxurious things in this country, so much so that many people "over there" want to come "here", but those people "over there" have many things that we don't have here.

We've have often lost our way on what people living together should be.

The handshakes and hugs, the genuine faith, the giving of your best when you don't have much so you can help someone with less, the caring and giving of self for others that seems often missing from here, is visibly prevalent there.

Sure, they have issues between tribes and the upcoming election in Kenya could cause violence afterwards dependent on the result, but you ought to see how people where traffic laws are recommended and rarely enforced get along so that everyone can use the roads.

Again, I realize that if you stay somewhere longer than a couple of weeks, you will see more and more of the imperfections that seem to be so noticeable in this country, but I can't help to think that us thinking we know everything about the world, have forgotten some key and important points.

So what do I do?

How can I wrap my mind around what I have seen and experienced?

I don't know if I ever will.

But I know that there are loving, caring people "over there" on the front lines every...single....day fighting the good fight against some of the worst issues you can imagine.

I know that I can offer some financial assistance, but more often I can support spiritually, verbally, and physically to those who would grow weary.

I know that I can live a life of more gratitude for what I do have, and strive to work towards that which I don't have and cannot be bought by money.

I am so blessed to have gone to Eastern Africa and I am so blessed to be back.

I am so blessed to have experience and seen some of the things I did, and I am so blessed to live here.

I am so blessed to be shown my downfalls as I work to help others' in theirs.

I am blessed to leave the secure borders of my small town and see how much of the world is like us and different.

Where did I go?

Eastern Africa!

And I cannot wait, Lord willing, to return again some day.