Rising Above the Fog

I recently had a conversation with a few people regarding someone else. They had their takes on the guy...and to be quite honest... they felt they had him all figured out...that they knew the low down on the dude. It was a weird moment...maybe you've had one like this yourself...as they talked convincingly about this guy...I sat there knowing they were flat out, dead wrong!!! They didn't know what they were talking about...there was so much more to the story...yet they spoke as if they had it all nailed down. Now the tension begins. What do I say and how do I say it? Now, honestly, depending on my mood, I may not say a thing (except in my mind) and just leave knowing they don't have a clue or I tactfully share the truth of the matter. If the situation is vital to the person in question...I will speak...and usually very clearly & detailed, to bring truth into the discussion. What's weird is... many times... people don't want to hear the truth. In fact they are so convinced of 'their story'...they can't back off it when given the facts of the matter. How weird is that? People seem to enjoy the fog of rumor...gossip... half truth...distortion...and exaggeration? Why do we like the self delusion? Usually we get bits & pieces of info...or rumor...and then the "phone game" begins...it gets passed on with a little extra...with a little twist...with a little forgotten detail. Then the next person gets it and the same thing happens...and they tell 2 friends...and they tell 2 friends and so on and so on and so on. One day they'll sit with a guy like me, and the person's name will come up...and "blah" they barf up the "info" they got...and now the distortion lives on. It's like they are living in the Matrix of gossip...where their story is right no matter what...even though it is totally detached from reality? I'm sure we've all done it. I'm sure it has happened to each of us as well. In this situation it was pretty slandering...the dude was a candidate for a big opportunity...and these 2 people shared what they "knew". Well guess what, they were not only wrong...but actually had most of it backwards? The guy was being labeled as a malcontent...someone who was disruptive...not a team player...a loose cannon etc... In actuality, I knew the situation first hand, and knew 2 others involved personally. The situation was in short, one of where, the guy...let's call him Sven...asks some crucial questions respectfully in a board meeting situation...and the lead guy blasts him in front of everyone. Now this was the most recent of several of these "blasting" moments...so as Sven raised the issues of "integrity lacking" in how things were being handled...he was blasted again. Finally, Sven walked out of the meeting, never to return. Later 2 others left the same "board" over the same issues, though they sucked it up and didn't walk out (though they wanted to). Anyway, this kind of stuff happens in church...in businesses...in organizations and even families. I suppose, when ever people are involved "stuff" may hit the fan. Well the problem wasn't what "hit the fan" but how it was reported afterwards. The lead guy makes it known that Sven was not submitted...rebellious...not a team player. Well, away the rumors go. The sad part was, in this case, Sven was the noble one...attempting to point out error appropriately to the "lead guy" who WAS out of line...and had been functioning out of line for some time to the detriment of the board's effectiveness. So why do I share this. I suppose this is a vivid example of what commonly happens due to rumor...gossip...backbiting and the like. In order to cover "our bad", we make some else the "bad". The bible speaks strongly about gossip...it says it is like the sin of murder. Whoa, murder! Think about it, when you kill someone, you can't take it back...what's done is done...the damage is permanent. The same with gossip and rumor, once it's spoken, the damage spreads like a disease...and you can't stop it, contain it, or correct it. The damage is permanent...and ever growing. It may cost someone their reputation...a job...an opportunity... relationships...and even peace of mind. A old Jewish parable speaks of a man taking a pillow case to the town square and cutting it open as the feathers fly where the wind should take them. When the man returns, the wise rabbi tells him to now go back and collect all the feathers and put them back in the pillow. The man protests that it was impossible to do so. The rabbi agrees and then says "the same result applies to your words...you cannot take them back...so be careful where you spread them." The bible also speaks of how hard it is to "tame the tongue"...because it is like "a spark in a dry forest"...you can't contain it and it's damage. Yet our culture...and yes even church culture is included...rumor...gossip...half truths...back biting... innuendo's...and wild fires are everywhere. Relationships are being hindered...destroyed...and left in ashes. Some say, well what I said was the truth, so it's OK. They think under the guise of speaking the "truth" they are free to say as they please regardless of the impact on others. First, you "think" it's true, isn't the same as being "the truth". Second, gossip can be the truth used to harm someone else. Let's realize most importantly that God is not pleased with our excuses. Why? Because He values relationships above all else...and gossip destroys relationships between people...and harms our relationship with God as well. Our culture embraces tabloid entertainment...a culture of gossip...so many of us live it as well. Yet at ECHO we realize God strongly warns about our "idle words"...the words that flow off our tongues...the destruction of gossip. God's heart is that we rise above the fog of the lowlands...the lowlands of gossip... rumor...exaggeration...lies. If we valued each other as much as God did, we would protect and cover the failures of others...and be very, very, very careful to not speak what we don't "know"...regardless of "who we heard it from".

I heard someone speaking yesterday about an event in someones life that happened 10 years ago...and they spoke as if it happened last week? What made it worse, they had so much of the info wrong...and they did not even know it...yet "their version" of the story lives on. At ECHO we desire to honor, cover and protect people...in how we speak about them...as Jesus would...honorably and in truth. If we don't "know first hand"; then our mouths should remain shut. If the "truth" harms, I am slow to speak it. Most importantly, as followers of Jesus, we are to live in the light of Truth...not half baked stories rooted in the rumor mill.

Consider this: Noah was a drunk; Abraham was too old and had a son by a woman who was not his wife; Isaac was a daydreamer; Jacob was a liar; Leah was ugly; Joseph was abused; Moses killed a man and stuttered and doubted God; Gideon was afraid; Samson had long hair and had a weakness for the ladies; Jeremiah and Timothy were too young; David had an affair with another's man's wife and then had him killed to cover it up; Elijah was suicidal; Isaiah preached naked; Jonah ran from God and God's plans for him; Naomi was a widow; Job went bankrupt; Hosea married a known prostitute; Peter denied Jesus and had some anger issues; the disciples fell asleep while praying; Martha worried about everything; the Samaritan woman was divorced multiple times; Zacceus was too small and made a habit of ripping people off; Mary Magdalene was a prostitute; Paul was a very zealous religious person who was overly legalistic; and Lazarus was dead...yet God used em all. Now do you think we could spread some rumors about these folks if we wanted to? Oh ya...and some of it is true...juicy stuff...and think of the twists and exaggerations we could add to make them all look like sleaze bags. Yet God used each of these "flawed" people to help change the world. At ECHO we believe God used them as examples for us today...that God can use anybody, regardless of what you "think about them" and regardless of "what they may have done". It seems God's criteria is very different than ours doesn't it? The bible says we only see "through the glass dimly"...God see's through clearly. We get blinded by the "fog" of gossip, rumor and perception...God cuts through it. Perhaps God is not afraid of the mess of our lives (as we are) and see's right through the "fog" to the real us. At ECHO...we call that "good news"...as does Jesus by the way!
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be God's!

Brian O

Lead Pastor dude, ECHO

Britney

Have you noticed how low our entertainment has gone? With the advent of "reality TV" and the like...it seems we love to watch the storms of people's lives...the destruction before our eyes...the train wrecks. Now actual storms can be cool to watch...even better is real trains "wrecking"...now that would be cool to watch...as long as no one got hurt or anything. Ya know, cool explosions... fire... train parts flying everywhere...now that would be cool to see...just make sure no people get hurt, OK? Maybe it could be a video game or something, hmmmm, I may be onto something here? Unfortunately, it probably wouldn't sell because we seem to enjoy the kind of train wrecks that hurt people...that ruin lives...that destroy? Now that's a weird cultural phenomenon don't you think? Our magazines and TV's are full of "gossip" as entertainment? The internet is full of gossip and rumours about anyone who is anybody...and the sad thing is we seem to enjoy it? We laugh at celebrities like Paris & Britney & Lindsey Lohan. We think its funny that football star Plaxico Burris shot himself in the leg at some strip club. We joke about Joaquin Phoenix acting so oddly wasted on David Letterman. Celebrity mug shots and rehab are featured news these days. It's become a form of entertainment. Now I'm not immune to laughing at some moron celebrity, politician or athlete making a fool of themselves publicly... yet, I have to admit, their is a tension in it. The tension is, as a follower of Jesus, should I be laughing at or joking about that celebrity going into rehab...or that politician caught in a sex scandal...or that athlete jailed for DUI? I realize there is this human tendency where we like seeing the rich, famous and powerful brought down to size. I guess somehow it makes us feel better about ourselves. We naively think "well I may not be a gazillionaire, but I'd never be so dumb as to do that...what an idiot." It's really a crass way to feel better about oneself...looking down on another...don't you think? Yet, that is often how we react isn't it? In concert recently, Bebo Norman shared frankly about this...and he wrote a song about it. He said he would sit with his friends bagging on Paris...and LiLo...and Britney...laughing at their stupidity and how they behaved...until the day he saw Britney Spears on a gurney, being loaded in an ambulance. In the background, were her children in tears...obviously scared to death. In that moment he realized that this "pop culture" cartoon image...was actually a real person. A confused, hurting and desperate person...being loaded into an ambulance. Her kids were real kids...like any other kids...afraid of what was wrong with mommy...will she die...will we ever see her again? In that moment Bebo said he felt the heart of God overtake his. He realized this woman he saw as some kind of cartoon character...was not that at all...she was a person Jesus loves...a person He died for...a person He was crying for, in that very same moment Bebo was laughing & mocking. That moment hit him hard. He wrote a song about that moment...to Britney, on behalf of himself, and those of us who have felt like Bebo did...it is a song...a prayer...an apology. The song is entitled, "Britney I'm Sorry". I found this YouTube clip from some dude who doesn't appear to be a follower of Jesus (based on his other videos?)...but it captures the spirit of Bebo's song so well...so I share it with you...

Perhaps like me, the spirit of the song will be an echo of God's heart to you, me and people like us...as we interact with the Britney's of the world. At ECHO, we know the world is full of Britney's...people like her are around our lives...unfortunately most of them are not noticed. Even worse, those that are noticed are often laughed at and mocked... not loved, not cared for, not protected (even from themselves) and not comforted in Godly compassion. Somehow I think Jesus and people expect more from His followers. I think Jesus would like us to learn to see beyond the surface to the troubled soul within...as He does.

be God's!

Brian O

Lead Pastor dude, ECHO

An Echo of Love

Tis the season...love is in the air...or so they say. Funny thing about Valentine's Day...it is one of the many holidays we celebrate that have roots in Christianity, yet most of us don't know it. In fact, some other countries realize it more than we Americans do. In India and the Middle East right now, there are protests, and intentional political and religious efforts to halt people from participating in any semblance of celebrating Valentine's Day...even banning the sale of "red" gifts and things with "hearts" on them, during the month of February. To many in these countries it is seen as a Christian celebration, and thus forbidden in Hindu & Muslim lands. It's been formally known as St. Valentine's Day for centuries. To us in the United States we seem to enjoy celebrating the legend of love without knowing the truth behind it. You see St. Valentine was a martyr in the 3rd century. According to early church records there were possibly 3 saints named "Valentine". Two of these mentions appear to be the same man...a priest serving in Rome during Emperor Claudius' rule...he died approximately 270 AD a martyr...and both accounts name the same burial location. So it is believed with all these similarities, that two of the accounts of Valentine, refer to the same man. Not a lot is known of him...but apparently Emperor Claudius was so concerned with having a strong & focused army that he forbade young men from marrying. St. Valentine, believing that love was a gift from God, and that marriage was one of its best expressions, secretly married young couples without Emperor Claudius being aware. Once it was found out, he was jailed and eventually martyred. Some say that Valentine fell in love with his jailer's daughter who would visit him in prison. His last correspondence to her closed with the phrase "from your Valentine"...an expression still used by many people today! It is interesting to see where these legends and customs come from isn't it? Behind every legend, there usually is a truth...and this one centers on a man named Valentine. The story of St. Valentine spread and by the Middle Ages it was commonly celebrated in England & France. Common beliefs were added to the celebration, as a matter of fact. In this era, it was commonly believed that February 14th was the beginning of mating season for the birds of the region...so the date was easily associated with romance. Of course, that concept fit in quite nicely...as did many others over time. Over the years the giving of expressions of love, called Valentine cards or gifts, has become a common celebration in the United States, Canada, Mexico, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, New Zealand and Australia. Valentine's Day is the second most popular "card giving" day of the year, right behind Christmas! Today the celebration of love on Valentine's Day is even making inroads in India, the Middle East and China (as seen in the picture below of the Chinese army in formation on February 14th, 2009). It is so interesting to see how a follower of Jesus, a man named Valentine, in the 3rd century...who believed in the God who defines Himself as Love...and believed in it so much...that he would lay his life down to defend it...and somehow that cause still lives on. At ECHO we can't help but see the parallels between Jesus & Valentine...in a sense, Valentine is an "echo"...a reminder...a continuing whisper of God's love throughout the centuries. May we, also, celebrate as we carry on the "echo" of God's love to each and every generation...

be God's!
Brian O
Lead Pastor dude, ECHO

Return to Splendor

I recently received an email from a friend of ours in Massachusetts. Nelson and his family, live outside Boston, towards the north, on a lake. The opposite side of the lake is New Hampshire, for you geography buffs. Anyway, he is a great guy, with a cool family, and my wife & I have fond memories of hanging at their house, enjoying the lake view, having dinner and sharing stories of what God has done in our lives. Nelson often spoke of a man who was a good friend, mentor and pastor to him... you know, one of those people who has made a dramatic impact on his life. Well recently, this man, who had so much impact on Nelson, passed away. He sent us an email to let us know...obviously it was a hard time for him...he will miss him. He shared a portion of this man's last message...and it seems so appropriate and well said...that I share it with you also. You see at ECHO we believe, that in the Kingdom of God, relationships are not by accident. Our relationship with Nelson and his family...his relationship with this man...and our relationship with each other is part of how God encourages us, loves us, and points us towards Him. Perhaps there is a nugget in this for you too...the part that jumped out to me in his email, read like this:

"I went to Yankee stadium to see a game with the family. We arrived early. So I decided to spend some time watching the ground crew prepare the park for the game. They do an extraordinary job. In the process, a small tractor makes perfect circles inside the diamond as it grooms the dirt. It takes him about 20 minutes, but at the end, it looks fantastic. It does not matter how much they disturbed that dirt in the previous game, they always manage to bring it to its original splendor, every time.

It is the same with our lives. It doesn’t matter how the ills of this world may attack us; God has a way of bringing us back to the splendor of his peace. In Jesus, we find the peace that the world is eagerly searching for. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give it to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid”. John 14:27
~ Dr. Benjamin Matias

May God's "process" continually bring you into "the splendor of His peace."

be God's!

Brian O

Lead Pastor dude, ECHO