Showcase: Assorted Treats

  • Paradigm Questions +

    Paradigm Questions To which of the following commands of Christ’s do you only pay only lip service? Love your enemies Read More
  • July 27 Devotional: FB Meyer +

    He suffered thee to hunger. Deuteronomy 8:3 Read More
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My friend Todd. So cool.

Things that are cool - GO! Jazz. Fonzie. Ranch Doritos. Beatniks. Ray Bans. Cucumbers. Film Noir and Quentin Tarantino. My friend Todd. Chuck Taylors and Cuban-heeled boots... I'm not sure what makes certain things/people cool - or why we value it so highly. Is cool an attitude? An aesthetic? An empty descriptive? Subjective? All of these? None of these?

Keith Richards, also cool.


According to the super cool Keith Richards, "If you've gotta think about being cool, you ain't cool." In my case, I guess this statement is true. I mean, I'm a huge nerd, and here I am talking about cool, right?  And not for the first time! (But by the way, when Keith makes this statement, isn't he thinking about being cool?)

And I think a lot of modern Christians spend a lot of time trying to be cool... and show the world that we're cool. Yes, we drink good microbrews. We listen to hipster bands. We watch movies. We wear Chucks. Sometimes we cuss. Look at us! Aren't we cool?

 
I don't know who this guy 
is, but dag, he looks cool.


No, we want you to know that we're NOT AT ALL like the stereotype Christians you may have in your mind - teetotalers who fear Halloween, listen to Amy Grant and wear Amish-looking clothes. No! That's not us AT ALL!  If you're thinking that, get that thought out of your mind immediately!

Okay, maybe it's just me who goes around trying to prove that I'm not uncool. I'm sure there are no other Christians that I could possibly be describing. And, it occurred to me recently that if this is true, it is a grave misdirection of my limited energy.
Because we, as Christians, by definition are completely uncool. I think coolness is about being aloof ... and nonchalant about stuff. But the Christian life is all about devotion. Laying down your life. Getting involved.

If I understand what I read in the Bible correctly, one's identification with Christ should be one's defining aspect. So that means I have more in common than the little old lady from my church that has the perpetually pursed lips and thinks the drums are too loud than I do with your average thick-glasses-wearing, coffee-house-sitting, food-truck-frequenting, Fountains-of-Wayne-listening hipster.  Even though I, too, do all these things.

Chucks.


"Julie," you may be saying, "Why are you putting so much energy into trying to convince people you are cool if it's a waste of time?" The answer is... I hope that's not what I'm doing. It's not my plan, anyway. My plan actually is ... to be myself. To speak my honest mind. And that's just how my mind works.
T

he things I bring up are actually in my brain. I write how my brain works. I think in songs and movies. This entire entry springs from this thought that actually came plowing into my mind while I was just driving along, minding my own business: It looks like pseudo-hipstery Christians spend a lot of time trying to convince the world that they are NOT uncool... when they could be convincing people that they LOVE them. That GOD loves them.

So here it is: without obscure song references, convoluted movie interpretations, self-deprecating humor, or mild cuss words: I love you. Yes, you. Whoever you are. You're awesome, you're beautiful, and I love you. God loves you. He's all about you. He craves your company. He's knocking on your door. He is LOVE.* That is all.

* For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Reflections to Consider

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Publications

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Music

  • Jesus be the centre

    Center is a song that speaks of the essence of our life in Christ, and echoes the words the Christ Read More
  • I Lift My Hands

    A powerful hymn of adoration and praise Arkansas Gospel Mass Choir. This succinctly captures the joy of knowing our savior. Read More
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Audio & Video

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Favorites

  • Transforming this World: The Hope of Glory by NT Wright +

    Wright confronts the perspective that this world doesn’t matter, and that we live only to be in heaven. He shows Read More
  • What is Good in a World that Defies Hope: a talk by NT Wright +

    This is the second part of three talks by NT Wright at Harvard University in November, 2008 on the topic Read More
  • The Stream, the Lake and the River: NT Wright +

      Acts 2.1-21; John 7.37-39; a sermon at the Eucharist on the Feast of Pentecost, 11 May 2008, by the Read More
  • Jesus in the Perfect Storm by NT Wright +

    Zechariah 9.9-17; Luke 19.28-48; A sermon for Palm Sunday, April 17, 2011, In the University Chapel of St Salvator, St Read More
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Hidden Blessings

  • Christ is a Great Savior: a review of the movie Amazing Grace +

    Amazing Grace is a historical drama about William Wilberforce who was elected to British Parliament at the age of 21 Read More
  • Wilberforce, Hollywood's Amazing Grace, Charlotte Allen +

    William Wilberforce's relentless campaign eventually led the British Parliament to ban the slave trade, in 1807, and to pass a Read More
  • Making Beauty out of Ugly Things: Grace by U2 +

    Grace, she takes the blame She covers the shame Removes the stain It could be her name Grace, she carries Read More
  • The True Nature of Grace and Love: a movie review of the Soloist +

    The 2009 movie The Soloist is based on a book by the same name, written by Los Angeles Times columnist Read More
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