A Religious Man?

09/30/10-  Hi.  This is Jeff.  I help watch over Scum of the Earth Moring Church in Denver, Colorado.  And this is my blog. 

Somebody asked me the other day if I was a religious man.

All of the ususal religious answers filled my head, like, "I don't have a religion, I have a relationship."  Or, "I'm not perfect, I'm forgiven."  And even, "I just know who I am." 

But those are stupid things to say, or, rather, I would feel stupid saying them.  I would feel fake and completely removed from the fellow human being who asked me a sincere question, a kid who knows nothing of the "religious silliness" (thank you, Phillip Yancey, for the excellent phrase) that those of us bearing the brand of "Christian" sometimes wash in.  I've said them all.  And worse... or, stupider, I guess.  I didn't want my young friend to walk the Romans Road or get the Holy Ghost or anything like that. 

I told him that I help people get over religion and find God, if that's what they want.  And I gave him my card.  And maybe I'll see him again.

That's sooo important to me.  In twenty years, I have been just about every "kind" of Christian there is.  And with all of that to commend the Christian religion, at the end of the day, I find myself right back at the first step, the very beginning, because it works the best.  I talk to God, and He listens.  God talks to me, and I sometimes listen.  But we have peace.

I push this every Sunday.  When it's time for communion, I encourage, admonish, beg and plead that people take just a minute or two while the music plays and go meet with God and to believe that they can have peace.  And every Sunday I get anxious about it, I worry about what kind of man I am that I would have the gall to get up and do this, but I see people scattered around the room weeping, laughing and whatever else, but they find God.  So to that end, I'm a bit superflous, really.  Anybody can stand up there and say these things, and God would still probably show up.  But I get to do what I do as a gift, and I always, always leave a little awed.

I hope I'm not religious, because, if Kierkegaard was right ("If a proclomation is true, it must produce what it proclaims."), then I don't want to be around me.  I think that there is peace with God because of Jesus, and I would hope to be a man of peace.  I think that's where practice comes in...





 If you'd like more info about Scum of the Earth Church, see http://www.scumoftheearth.net/  (pay attention to the "dot-net" part as "dot-com" is the site for a death metal band)
If you'd like info and how to partner with me in ministry through prayer and/or financial support, drop me a line on Facebook, here on the blog, or at saintjohnskeep@yahoo.com
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May it be said of you that you have been with GOD,
-J