My wife said something the other day that I think was brilliant.

She said: “I’m tired of all these people that pretend to have super deep relationships with God when they don’t.”

The point being, what is so wrong or immature with a simple relationship? Why are so many people wrapped up in being complex about a subject, when there is no requirement to do so? Can’t I just be myself and do my thing? Is there no honor in that? The last time I checked, all the guys in the Bible spent years and years doing the simple thing without any extreme unction to go from zero to extraordinary in 5 minutes.

A guy I like to listen to said: “We are into microwaving, God is into marinating”; I find that’s mostly true, the things in life that I stop trying to control are the things that I usually find out that later come to fruition in me.

-Kenny

“As Dr. johnson said: ‘God Himself, sir, does not propose to judge man until the end of his days.’ Why should you and I?” - Dale Carnegie

The other day, I had the pleasure of visiting with a friend of mine who showed up in town un-expectedly and un-announced. I was delighted to see him and his wife back in town, if only for a brief period of time. We spent hours catching up and exchanging stories of our summers and all of the trials that we both have been through as of late. Late into our conversation, I was on a sort of venting rant about my frustrations with my faith and with God, when I was challenged with one of the most eye-opening questions I’ve had in the past year or so.

I was continuing on about how my recent experience has led me to think that I don’t necessarily believe in God for as much as I used to, nor for the same things. After he sat patiently and listened to me, the quick to speak / un-experienced young guy, continue ‘whining’ for a good 15 minutes, he simply asked me if maybe the things I continue speaking of ‘believing’ or not ‘believing’ were actually the things that I was in fact feeling. I had to stop and ponder the question because I didn’t already have an answer for it. Could it be, that what I keep thinking has been a change in what or how I believe, is simply just a feeling response to my current circumstances? Maybe I am just experiencing for the first time, going through something that impacted me in such a way that I have no choice but to experience it in my deep emotions. Going even further, quite possibly it’s just the first time I’ve found myself in a place where I’ve truly experienced sorrow and lamentation. Maybe it’s just that the ‘trials’ I have always spoken of having gone through, were not really trials, but just situations that weren’t optimal.

The longer I continue to follow God, and pursue my relationship with Him, the more I think that I’ve only just begun. I can remember a time when I thought I could figure out a verse or a prayer for anything that was thrown at me. But now, here am I, humbled and trying to regain my bearing on the first shell shock I’ve ever been through. And the more I think about it, the more it seems that I’ve only just begun to experience what life ‘by faith’ means and or even looks like.

What do you think? Have you ever felt like you’ve had a complete change in what you believe or know to be true? Did you ever think that maybe it’s actually not a paradigm shift for you, but just an experience of your feelings that maybe you hadn’t been in touch with before? I know for me, it’s much easier to swallow the idea that I’m just experiencing some new feelings, than trying to cope with coming up with what I believe all over again! In fact, thinking about that now seems almost immature or elementary. After all, it’s the experiences we have that mold who we are, not the thoughts we conjure!

Either way, I hope and believe that this may be the awakening of a new side of my spiritual man that I hadn’t previously known existed. I can only be grateful for friends/mentors like Douglas, and try to gain as much as I can from every moment, every experience, and every worthwhile thought in order to help refine and redefine the direction of the path that I’m headed on. Thanks Douglas. -kenny

I was on YouTube today looking up ‘Isla Vista‘ when I came across a video of a couple of guys preaching on the street in IV at night. I am grieved to see such a horrendous display from people who call themselves Christians. I apologize to anyone who has been preached at in this fashion. This is not right. It is absolutely no wonder that people don’t like Christians! I wouldn’t either!

If you are a Christian, and you see someone street preaching, please ask them to stop! This is not WWJD.

A couple weeks ago, I watched the movie Blood Diamond with my wife and some friends. Apart from being a wonderful film, this movie had quite the moving affect on me. For the first time, I felt a strong desire to move over seas to help the poor. Now, that is not to say that I have never wanted to help the poor until this movie, but this was the first time like I ever felt that I needed to move away from America. Not that I absolutely am in love with this country, but I do have a big heart for it’s people. Yet now, I find myself questioning the importance of the needs of the American people, vs. the dire needs elsewhere. Why worry about the people here, who are mostly okay, when there are children in Africa that go about murdering and pillaging as the norm? For a few days, this thought had me tied in a knot. Until I got settled back into my cushy office, working on websites to help other people get rich. Then today I come across this article, or gallery rather, that puts some statistics that we have all heard about America, into proportion with some clever use of images. The one featured here is a portion of one piece that shows 213,000 vicodin pills, which represents the number of emergency room visits yearly in US related to misuse or abuse of prescription painkillers. Some of these photos blow my mind..

Living in Santa Barbara is a bit of a unique experience. Where else can you find 3 major universities in a city of less than 100,000 people, right next to the beach? For me personally, there are parts of it that I love, and parts of it that I love - not so much. One of the things that fits into the ‘not so much’ category, is that by the nature of the town it is, people are constantly moving away to other places. In the 3 years that I have lived here, I have seen more good friends move away than I can count on both hands. And each time another close friend moves away, I feel like I too want to move, so that I won’t be dis-heartened by that type of departure any longer. But this evening, coming home from yet another goodbye party of some loved ones, I came to a new realization.

So, if it is indeed a postmodern culture that is emerging around the globe that we are a part of, and also trying to reach, then it is this sort of departure that is not only good, but in fact critical. I believe that many of us are left with a stale taste in our mouth of the oh so familiar ‘bubble’ christianity. It is no longer fit that we sit amongst ourselves discussing the things of God; but we are thirsting to see and know God as He exists amongst His people, yes, even the ones that don’t know Him. Hence the movement of house churches across the nations, and the ‘cell groups’ being ported into coffee shops and bars in hometowns. I believe this is a necessary step in the kingdom, from which I am drinking deeply. I know that myself along with my friends have been enjoying greatly, the atmosphere of the emergent postmodern church. It is a new work, and we are excited. So, how does this tie in to parting ways with some close friends? Well, just by the very nature of having and holding close relationships, there must be something to bond the parties involved. And when it comes to us, it is most common that our strongest bond with our closest friends, is our concurrent relationships with God. People meet and conglomerate with other people that are like minded. It’s not ground breaking, it’s just fact. The problem is, the people that we bond best with, are the people that it is most painful to be pried away from. But maybe we shouldn’t look at it like a departure in the sense of scraping old wallpaper off a dry wall, but rather a sort of mitosis, or splitting of cells. If there are two of us that are like minded, how much more effective are we if we are in two places rather than one. The great thing about mitosis is, eventually you will get to the place where there is another growth, or bonding experience that can split again. And we’re all still part of the same body anyway!

Even though I will continue to be a little sad every time I see good company move on, I am at least comforted by the thought that someone else will now get to enjoy it. And every departure makes way for a new arrival.

People of the Son would like to wish all of you out there a happy easter!

No, this is not a rant on baptist views about dancing.. But rather an interesting insight given to me from a friend. So, last night I was at the home of some friends of ours, when the movie Strictly Ballroom came on the television. Now, this movie has been one that I have enjoyed personally over and over, for a number of years now. Same is the case for my friend, Douglas. We were both sitting at the table watching the start of the movie, as well as some of our other friends who were doubting the quality of the movie because they had not yet seen it. Douglas and I were enjoying the moment because we had both been in the same situation when we first saw it. If you haven’t seen it, it seems like it would be a rather cheesy movie not worth viewing. So, there we were, trying to keep our voices down, when Douglas leans over to me and says: “this could be one of the best movies I’ve ever seen, about the church”. Now, also for those of you who haven’t seen it, this movie is a comedy love story, and has nothing to do with christians or anything of the like. So as I often have to, I tried to understand what Douglas was saying. But didn’t get it.. so I said: “Wait….. What!?” Almost as he expected that I wouldn’t get it he replied: “Well, just like in church, you can’t dance a new dance!” Huh, *pause* Brilliant! That’s exactly true. See, the film is about a young guy who has been raised his whole life to be a champion ballroom dancer. He knows the steps, he knows he can win. But he just wants to dance his own steps, and explore something new. He wants to be a passionate dancer, in the way that he knows how. The problem is, he is surrounded by everyone that loves the traditional steps, and expects him to win by performing them. And how dare anyone be so bold as to say that they have their own steps, the old ones were made up by far superior dancers than he! Ahhh, so maybe this movie isn’t as boring as it appears to be? Now, as for myself, I’m not a dancer.. But this does make perfect sense in a kingdom mindset. I’m ready to do some new steps. I for sure don’t have them written out all ready to go, but I just want to dance and explore where that takes me, and how it impacts the spectators. Now, it’s not crowd pleasing that I’m into, anyone that knows me will tell you that. But something powerful and beautiful to be learned and experienced, often carries weight among those who witness or take part in it. The goal is to get to a place that you can produce a dance that is moving. A waltz most likely wouldn’t gain much popularity in Spain. Nor would a paso double, in Africa. So that’s where the exploration comes in, we are free to learn and grow into our right place as a dancer. That doesn’t mean that the old steps and dances that are familiar and classic can’t be something to learn from. We don’t have to re-invent the wheel, but maybe just let it roll down a new path.

So, I have had quite a few people ask me the question “What’s Next Kenny?”. Almost as if they would expect that I have an answer ready to give. We’ll just say, that I’m in the process of figuring that out. I don’t have all the answers as to what I’m doing, or where exactly I’m headed. That’s why I love the verse Hebrews 11:8 “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” I feel like that is me right now. I’m headed somewhere, both in the Spirit and in ministry, but still figuring it out as I go. There are a few things I do know:

1. There are communities that exist in the cities that we live in that haven’t yet seen what God is really like.

2. These communities tend to be largely postmodern, and cannot, or will not be affected by traditional “christian” outreach or ministry.

3. Many of the individuals involved in these types of communities, are actually acting more christian than christians themselves, in terms of helping social injustice, the homeless, and loving people. (See Jas 1:26-27)

4. Jesus loved hanging out with these type of people when He was here, and so should we!

So, for now, I know that I’m headed out to be a part of this postmodern culture. Me, God, and some friends. We are headed out to a place that we will receive as an inheritance, for the kingdom, but we don’t know where we are going.