Guess what! In only two weeks, the Brotherly Discourse podcast has been listened to over 1000 times. I'm excited to see growth, and I'm sure Hans must be floored by it. He freaked out when the podcast had been only listened to two hundred times with our first episode, "Girls, Wingmen, and Football."
I personally appreciate the support. Not only is this project fun, but it has brought Hans and I so much closer as friends even in just the past two weeks. It's crazy. Our friendship (or "bromance") is significant to me. He is very much like a brother to me, someone I would take a bullet for.
People are enjoying listening to our discourse for whatever reason. And what we put on air is us just being us though perhaps a little more structured somewhat. We are like this all the time. We aren't ashamed of our nerdiness, being loud mouths at times, or most of all, our faith in God and what He has done for everyone using His son Jesus.
We haven't landed on a topic that really stresses our faith yet, but it will come soon I assure you. If the Christian religion makes you uneasy then we're not sorry. It's us. It's who I am. I believe Jesus came and died for you and me. Am I pointing a gun to your head in the podcast? No. Would I in real life? No. Would I hide what I believe? No. And I hope you wouldn't either.
We want to be transparent with our opinions and even our lives. I think some like that. Others might not, but like 1st John in the Bible, chapter one, says, we want to bring who we are in the light and expose ourselves not for fame but for honesty and love and forgiveness. In doing so, people might start saying that we portray ourselves in a negative way for us to be seen in by others. Is that our goal? No. But this is a possibility with being anyone being their true selves in front of everyone. People won't always like it.
I had one such case already. A man that Hans and I respect and look to for guidance asked to talk to us. We met, and it wasn't that happiest of occasions. He told us, that in listening to the first few minutes of the podcast, he was embarrassed. We had shamed him! We had disappointed him with our immaturity. Our first mentions of bromance and Hans' man-crush had made him wonder if listeners would take that as us promoting homosexual behavior. (Bromance is not homosexual as we will discuss is podcast episode 4. If you want a head start, read up on David and Jonathan in the Bible.) Then when Hans said everything our college group does isn't always "church based", the man had to turn the podcast off. He was offended immensely.
Church based. What does that mean? The man we respect said we made it sound like there is no Bible teaching or worship services, and we just do whatever we want. When Hans and I explained our point of view which is, "yes, we do meet at church and have services, but we do go out and eat at Applebee's and play pool afterwards. Eating out and playing pool is not church based."
He rebutted with how the church isn't a building, and I agree. The church is every single person who believes in Jesus for saving them from all mistakes and wrongs and hurts. And, yes, church can happen anywhere believers meet, but the man we respect also stated that because of these truths anywhere we go as Christians ends up making it church based. Well, what if we are meeting up with friends who don't agree with the views church or the idea of Christ as Savior, and we go bowling because they wanted to? Look, we invited people because the church isn't some special club for goody-good-doers. If we are wrong, let us know. If we had offended anyone out there with our podcast, you should've called us out on it as fellow believers. That's why I have so much respect for this man, but one part of his logic is skewed.
The reason for calling us to meet, it seemed to me, was the image of church. Apparently, the meeting wouldn't have happened if Hans and I had used pseudonyms and never mentioned anything about us going to a church. Of course, that would've defeated the agreement Hans and I have for being real. This bothers me greatly.
After some reflection, if he stands by what he says about anywhere a Christian goes being church based then why wouldn't he walk into a bar? That's where we should be taking the church. The bars! But he would never do that because if some Christian brother or sister saw him then they might supposedly say, "if they are going into a bar then it must be OK for me to get drunk." Shouldn't the church then be telling women to go to strip clubs so those can be churched too? Strip clubs need Jesus! But, no, because if a Christian woman went to a strip club to share Jesus, and a fellow Christian saw them or their car outside they could then assume the woman must be a stripper. They would think, "a stripper goes to my church." Even if she is a stripper, wouldn't we want strippers who don't know better to learn the truth?
Paul says in 1 Corinthians to judge and correct fellow believers, but he never told the church to assume and accuse. That's Satan's job. The name "Satan" actually means accuser if you didn't know. He calls out to God and points his finger at you and says, "look at them! They are liars and perverts and thieves and murderers!". Christian or not, that's what he does. He accuses you before God. This is why Jesus called his close friend Peter "Satan". Peter was accusing Jesus of being a liar before it was time for Jesus to do what He was going to do in suffering and death and resurrection. (Paul also says not to judge unbelievers. We all need to remember that more often. That'll be another post sometime.)
I know as well, Paul says in the same letter to not be "a stumbling block to the weak." This, I believe, has been taken out of context so much that now it has become a most arbitrary ethic principle. They say don't do this or that or the other because you'll cause someone to mess up and sin. Then let's just stop using the Internet. Why? If I'm on the Internet then someone could assume I am looking at porn. Let's stop using TV and going to the movies. I guess I shouldn't go to the Java Express drive-thru by the Adult Shop either. Let's stop married couples from buying birth control or give them gigantic tokens of marriage, because when a married woman might get birth control pills at Walgreens, she would need to show everyone proudly she is married so no one at church who might have guessed she was single, who might be at the store, thinks she enjoys promiscuous living.
What Paul was saying was do not ruin a new believer's conscience. He calls the new believer "weak", but hopefully over time as they were taught they would become strong and recognize the freedom they really had. For example, someone new to Christianity might think, "oh, now that I'm a Christian, I shouldn't have as much as money as I do. I will give it away." The new Christian came in with the notion that money is possibly evil. Generosity is never a bad thing, but what should we do about those in churches who are believers who are wealthy and have nice cars and boats and houses? Does their wealth then ruin the conscience of the new believer in my example? Why are the weaknesses we assume people have are alcohol related? People have been addicted to shopping, exercise, tanning, eating, and Facebook.
Here is the point: we cannot make ourselves holy by how we look or where we are. Just like love is an action and a choice, so is holiness. Holiness is just the constant application of love for others and, most of all, love for God. God's love doesn't make you holy as God loves all, and you can't earn God's love anymore than you have already received. Holiness does not come through the arbitrary. Why? God does not give us arbitrary guidelines. God gives us truth.
We have come far away from the original love and message of Jesus if the image of the church has to be so "holy". Jesus didn't care about his reputation. He did what was right in the eyes of God the Father. He went to parties with the drunks, and the religious people accused Jesus of being a drunk. He healed on the Sabbath, and that would've ruined His reputation further with the religious. He was homeless. How many homeless travelers can you say have good standing in society?
Jesus came not only to change our relationship with God, but to change our perception of religion as well. Christians love to claim "I don't have religion. I have relationship". If that is the case, why do we have so many traditions and rituals where we meet in mass numbers? That's religion. Is there anything wrong with it? No. God gave the Israelites religion in the desert. Over time the people twisted it. Jesus came to reset it. The church twisted it time and time again in different forms throughout history. Let's not twist it anymore.
We are now at in point in history where people don't like the church. It sucks. But do you think this is God's fault? I don't believe so. I believe we are now at a point in time where the world is now loving people better than the church as a whole does, and it breaks my heart. The church's image would never be tarnished if we could love every Christian like family and stop assuming and accusing the worst of each other, start being transparent and honest with believers and the world, and stop declaring people and places as too unholy to go to or to love.
This past week, I didn't meet a man's expectations just like he didn't meet mine. I still love him though. I am sure he will continue to teach me and call me out as I need to be. This post isn't intended to blow this guy up, but I hope it gets some people to start thinking.
His correction caused me to reflect, and find out that these are my current feelings and beliefs. If these are wrong then someone tell me. I will continue to be as humble as I can so I can be teachable and correctable. Like I said earlier, as much as I love the movies and being loud, nothing beats the love of God.
With love to all,
Logan Miltimore
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