Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Stars & Scars ...



Guest post by my friend:
Ricky Maye - Author, Speaker, Activist

Scars can be painful, what I mean to say is that scars can ultimately be full of pain, even after the incident occurs.

Scars don't solve, they usually are prone to bring more questions to the surface. Scars don't resolve, they often offer more confusion, and the questions begin to follow.

Why me?

Why not him or her, or them?

Or even why, just why?

What often happens is that a scar or event can become part of our physical, spiritual or emotional makeup. We let this tragic event in so much that it becomes part of us. That ugly event, that moment of hurt is now a part of you.

I love the phrase, "light of the world." I do however think it is a little lost on this society. The light of the world isn't a lamp or light. (Matt 5:14)

What is it that lights up the world? Stars. Stars light up the natural sky and the world around us. Stars would have been the light of the world.

Stars are made from gaseous explosions and collisions of elements. What we are looking at are bruises of the universe. We are gazing at the travail of the worlds around us.

Let me put it this way, stars are the scars of the universe.

A star is the result of something that couldn't make it, couldn't contain itself so it combusted; stars are the wounds of the worlds.
Just as these stars that surround us I bet you have some scars, some physical, some spiritual, some mental and some emotional.

My arms are filled with visual reminders of the physical pain I inflicted on myself in my teen years, over 15 years later they are still there for the world to see. I used to cover my arms, I used to be ashamed but now I have a beautiful story of triumph and overcoming to tell. My scars contribute to my beauty.

You and the wounds you carry are very much like those stars we stare at, I would challenge you to think twice about the way you look at your own scars. There can indeed be beauty in devastation.

We don't look at the stars in the universe and say how tragic they are, how bruised they are, even though that is what they are. We look at them and speak of the beauty they contain. The inspiration they give us.

Even though stars are the scars of the universe we don't see them as these broken pieces of gaseous matter, we see them as these majestic astrological blessings that give hope to billions.

What if you saw yourself in that same light, or better yet what if you saw others in a similar way; beautiful despite...? Or as Jesus calls each one of us to shine, inspire and offer light, despite….


Monday, July 9, 2012

10 Blogs that will have you Wrestling with God

 So for those of you who are just starting to look outside of traditional Christianity, I have compiled a brief list of 10 blogs that you might find challenging. When I first began to "emerge" from the "silo", I felt alone and had no one to really talk to. No one to ask who I should be reading to answer some of my questions, or give me new questions. So I want to give you what I didn't have, a head start.

This is by no means a comprehensive list. Also, it's not really a top 10 either (sorry authors), I merely wrote down the first 10 names that came to my mind in no particular order. These are people who regularly make me question or make me mad, so I'm always returning to their blog. I do not agree with everyone on this lists theology and I'm sure they would not mine. I'm sure they would not with each other as well...lol. But they are all brilliant men, outside the box thinkers, and consistently contribute to their blogs.

I will do another list soon if this generates a good response. There is a ton of good blogs out there. Who do you think should be on my next list?

1. Frank Viola
     http://frankviola.org
     Twitter: @frankviola

2. John "The Rev" Jensen
    http://www.johnthereverend.com
    Twitter: @rev3j
   
3. Christian Piatt
     http://www.christianpiatt.com
     Twitter: @christianpiatt

4. Shaun King
     http://www.shauninthecity.com
    Twitter: @shaunking

5. Phil "The Whiskey Preacher" Shepard
     http://www.whiskeypreacher.com
     Twitter: @philshepard
     
6. Jay Bakker
     http://www.revolutionnyc.com
     Twitter: @jaybakker

7 Brian McLaren
    http://brianmclaren.net
     @brianmclaren

8. Andrew Marin
     http://www.loveisanorientation.com
     @andrew_marin

9. Donald Miller
    http://www.donaldmilleris.com
    Twitter: @donaldmiller

10. Peter Rollins
      http://peterrollins.net/
      Twitter: @peterrollins

Friday, June 29, 2012

Good Gay Islamic Democrat

Starting a series on "Offensive Grace". This is part #1. Leave your comments. Let's discuss it.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

"A Fathers Love"

Our very first Vlog post to celebrate the start of year 2! Year One was more successful than we ever  anticipated! We have grown to an average of 1200 readers a month! Thank you all so much for the support. We are hoping you will feel like sharing the videos even more than you have the blog posts and we can see 2 or 3k a month start coming through ;-)

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Incredible & Creative G.O.S.P.E.L. Video

I've sat and watched this video a couple of times now. I'm thinking of using it in one of our small group meetings. The message is simple yet profound and the delivery is incredible! Listen to it a few times and try to pick out one line that really sticks with you. It's pretty cool. Enjoy.

LIFE from Kevin Eloy on Vimeo.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Am I going to Hell for getting more tattoos?

This Thursday, I am going in for my 10th tattoo and yes I am an ordained and practicing minister. I've lost count of how many my beautiful wife has. And most disturbing, we often get our kids fake tattoos at carnivals! Many Christians are doing it these days and many are still opposed. Here is a great video for you to "wrestle" with God over the idea that tattoos will send you to hell.



And how about a couple pics of our tattoos ;-)