Shake it up baby now

I know it's the morning time but I thought I would kick off today with some wisdom from Leonard Sweet, and I quote: "Light illumines the darkness. If there's darkness, the blame should be attached where it belongs; not to the world that is dark but to the church which is failing to provide the light." Ouch that hurts, but I feel it is right on, and I take it as a personal challenge, I hope you would as well. Let's let Mr. Sweet continue, shall we: "If there's spiritual blandness, the blame should be placed where it belongs; not on the world that's so bland and boring, but on the church which has been given a gospel which adds spice to life but is placing the world on a salt-free diet." It seems to easy to point the finger at the world for not accepting or attending the church, but our we offering it to them in a way that is full of faith, love, and hope? And he finishes with: "If there's rottenness, the blame should be placed where it belongs; not on the world that's rotting, but on the church which isn't salting it enough to stop it from going bad." It would be awfully easy to respond with, but we're sinful by nature and so the world's appeal and lure is so strong and... Mr. Sweet how do you react to this response: "If I hear one more time a Christian sigh, "The church just can't compete with Hollywood," I'm going to twist someone's tongue. Hollywood is the one that can't compete with the Holy. Nothing on earth can compete with the power of God to enliven and enlighten."

Thank you Mr. Sweet for challenging me first and all of us to stop pointing fingers and start pointing to the HUGE love that is redeeming, grace filled, and more powerful than we give it credit for. It's interesting to see Mel Gibson set the example of using the so called "power" of Hollywood to capture the attention of the world for the sake of Christ. Wow what a novel concept, instead of pointing and judging he is attempting to change the world from the inside out, by meeting them where they are at. Sorry for the sarcastic feel, I just get frustrated by how much credit I will willingly give to the world but yet again and again my God is SOOO much BIGGER. I know why it hurts, because it's personal and as a person I wouldn't want to feel as if I'm one of the people to blame. I just know I can do a better job of loving and start to fail at pointing fingers and judging. Something I want to think about today and I thought I would share with the blogging world.

Twist and Shout
Wallace D.