God had B.O.

It happened again. I went to pick up some “To Go” food and as I was waiting on my order some carpenters came in. You could tell they were carpenters by their truck, gear, tool belts, but also by their sun burns, leathery faces and b.o. they literally stunk up the place.

But…I couldn’t help but think that this was the trade of Jesus.
It was the tradition of Jewish boys to take up a trade in their teens and typically it was that of their father. There’s some conjecture and deductive reasoning here but since Joseph isn’t mentioned in the adult ministry years of Jesus, whereas his mother, brothers, and sisters are (Mk. 6:3) its probably a safe bet that his father had passed away…meaning that the eldest son would bear the responsibility.

Wait a minute…Jesus a carpenter? We glamorize it today but shouldn’t the Son of God be a synagogue ruler like Jairius, or maybe at least a scribe? I don’t know for sure how to process the fact that God was out on the roofs pounding nails. Shouldn’t He be doing something more important like … I don’t know, almost anything? And then I wonder, would I have missed Him? I mean if He would’ve come to Scottsdale would I have overlooked Him bc He was pushing a mop in Taco Bell rather than teaching in a seminary? or would i have discredited Him bc he had an accent (like the Galileans) or supect credentials ("nothing good comes out of Galilee)? So, when you see those guys out this summer – remember, that whatever season of life you’re in right now, rather mundane or glamorous, for a season, God swung a hammer. May we be faithful in whatever season we're in (Ps. 1:3).

Falwell dead and now on to other news

I was at the gym when I got the news that Jerry Falwell had died. “And now on to other news…” it was something about Anna Nicole Smith again. I was saddened to hear about Falwell’s graduation. I’m guessing that the bulk of the media from both Christian and non-Christian sources will be more than quick to jump on the bandwagon to demonize his political positions and polarizing “foot in mouth” incidents, but at least he usually apologized. That is a facet of him that cannot be ignored and plenty of attention will be given to that. But, since i was there for awhile, there’s a little more to Jerry that you should know; a few positives: 1. He was a pastor who really loved his people. I think this speaks well of a pastor. It is not always a given. No matter where he was at on Saturday he was always at Thomas Rd Baptist Church on Sundays because that’s where he wanted to be. Even if he wasn’t speaking, he was there. Pastoring wasn’t a duty to him…it was something he truly enjoyed and the people knew it. 2. Yet, in a postmodern sense he was a prophet. In an age of moral relativism and political correctness he was a man of conviction and reminded me of the OT prophets who were ridiculed for their unpopular and blunt messages. His messages urging national holiness made most, if not all of us - uncomfortable. Given the opportunity, most of us probably would’ve used a different approach but he was who he was. Though in the minority, I for one will miss him.

Jesus Freaks, Keith Green...I wonder why?

I’ve been researching the Jesus Freak/hippy movement of the 60s, doing somewhat of a compare/contrast with the emergent church and I noticed that a certain name kept popping up. Keith Green. He was a bit before my time but from what I can tell he was basically the matt redman or dave crowder of his generation. I became a Christian in the 80s and I can still vaguely remember people mourning about this guy that they’d never met…keith green who’d died in a plane crash in 82. Why is this guy different? Why did he make such an impact into people’s lives? Why are people still talking about him? Some of his music and writings were published posthumously. Why? Why is he on myspace?
I don’t know. But here’s what I think. He was different. What I mean is that from my research I can clearly see that, like the apostles, he really strove to live out the teachings of Jesus, he really believed that Jesus was coming back…soon! He had an evangelistic urgency. He (as far as I know was one of the first) to not charge admission to his concerts. He bought the house beside his and turned it into a half-way house for addicts, prostitutes etc. Yea, this guy was different because, I think that he really believed that we were supposed to live out what Jesus taught. And did.