Jerks For Jesus

The following contains sarcasm, and lots of it.  Read at your own risk.

Matthew Hartsfield, our pastor at Van Dyke Church here in Tampa, is a wonderful preacher who always makes me think.  He once mentioned a group that he is seeing more and more of in our nation these days.  This group is called Jerks for Jesus.  I have done a bit of research and would like to share with you three ways that you can become a card-carrying member of this special club!  You don't have to do all three; any one of these will qualify you for membership.

1. Remember that Christianity is all about YOU.  Your belief system, your spiritual practices, your interpretation of scripture and your value system are the only ones that count!  If someone disagrees with you on methods of baptism or the theology of social justice, simply acknowledge that they are wrong and move along.  If you are a warmonger and another "christian" is a pacifist, simply remind them that Jesus once cut off a guard's ear in the Garden.  What if they say that was Peter...and Jesus healed the guard's ear?  Just tell them, "Not in my Bible!"  Your faith demands that you never back down from the things you believe in, even if scripture proves you wrong.  Otherwise you might as well be a (GASP) liberal...
2. Even a perfect Christian like you needs to mingle on occasion with other like-minded believers (although there is no one quite like you!).  1 Corinthians 12 refers to this group as the "Body of Christ."  Different members of the body have different responsibilities.  As a Jerk for Jesus, you play a special part.  You are the Pointing Finger!  It is your job to point out the sins and failures of your fellow Christians. Let someone else be the hands and feet that serve others in Jesus' name.  Let others be the tongues who share the Good News with a devastated world.  It is up to you to remind society of it's moral decay- such as rap music, Reality TV and a willingness to vote for Democrats on occasion.  You are the one who points out who is to blame when things go wrong.  You are the one to identify which sinful church members are no longer worthy of serving on the Finance Committee.  And remember, the Pointing Finger never points back at you, because only you understand what Jesus really wants this world to be like.   You are the keeper of truth- and you can use Twitter and Facebook to condemn those who disagree with you!
3. Concentrate on God's law as found in the Old Testament.  Obey these and you are far less likely to need to be fooled by concepts like Grace and Unconditional Love.  They are for the weak.  As a true Jerk for Jesus, you will know that Jesus didn't have to die for your sins, because you are doing just fine without him.  Anyone who has sinned and needs to be forgiven clearly is not a good American (and one of our Pointing Fingers will be more than happy to point out their shortcomings!).  If you need a good biblical role model, check out the Pharisees.  They followed the law, were important people, and didn't need Jesus to explain anything to them. Plus they had money and almost certainly voted a straight Republican ticket.   Indeed, the Pharisees are the patron saints of the Jerks for Jesus.

Some of you may wish to avoid being a Jerk for Jesus.  Leonard Sweet, in his book SoulTsunami, points out the best way to steer clear of this group.  He calls it The Platinum Rule- an upgrade from The Golden Rule we all grew up with. The Golden Rule says "do to others as you would have them do to you."   Jesus knew The Golden Rule and quoted it in Matthew 7:12.  But He also said that "I come to give us a new covenant."  It would no longer be about treating others as we want to be treated.  It was about Jesus saying "just as I have loved you, so should you love one another (John 13:35)."  Jesus loved us so much He died for us.  Talk about taking it to another level!  The Platinum Rule said it was no longer about what is good for me; it was now about being willing to sacrifice everything for those around you.  It was no longer about loving "your kind of people;" it was now all about loving everyone, even those you don't like.  It is about giving up things that are important to you for the good of the Kingdom of God.  It is about understanding that we all need grace and forgiveness, we all need love, and most importantly, we all need Jesus.  It is Jesus, crucified and resurrected, that we need to be sharing with our nation.  And we need to- no, we MUST- share Him in love, not with a condemning wag of our fingers.  As the song says, "They will know we are Christians by our love."  And the world needs that love- even the jerks...

Because of Jesus,

Happy Father's Day!

Marilyn, Will & some Dude

Father's Day has been a little strange for me these past few years.  My own Dad passed away in February of 2006, and not a day goes by that I don't miss him.  My son Will often heads up to spend time with my Mom once school is out, and quite often is with her on Father's Day.  That is true again this year. So today will feel like a pretty normal Sunday to me.  Worship at Van Dyke Church. Lunch at Moe's.  Dinner with Marilyn tonight.  And through it all I will try to remember the same things I try to keep in mind everyday of my life.  How blessed I am to have a family that loves me.  How incredible it is to have such supportive friends. And how amazing it is to know each and every day that Yahweh- creator of the universe, the Alpha and the Omega, the one true God- loves me like a Daddy loves a son.  In fact one Aramaic word used in scripture when talking about God is Abba- Daddy.  God cares about me so much that he sent his only Son, Jesus the Christ, to die so that my sins would die with him.  He showed us what the love of a father should look like- unconditional and sacrificial.  Those are the thoughts I will carry with me today as I miss my Dad and my son. For all of you who are Dads, I hope that those thoughts may inspire you as well.  Blessings to each of you, and have a great day with your families.  By the way- I already got my first Father's Day gift- the dog let me sleep until 5:30 this morning!  Woo-hoo!!!


Because of Jesus,

Me and Jesus

It seems like lately, more than ever, I have a lot of friends who are hurting.  They are dealing with health issues, financial difficulties, broken relationships and the disappointments of life.  They come to me sometimes for advice, but more often just as someone they know will listen and pray.  Today I just want to reassure you all that I am here for you and will always do anything I can to be of help.  But far more importantly,  Jesus is always with you.  He is the same today, yesterday and forever. And he is your friend.  Watch this video by the great band Stellar Kart. Soak in the lyrics.  Let it remind that "someone loves you even when you don't think so- don't you know?  You've got me and Jesus!"  

When there's nowhere else to turn
All your bridges have been burned
Feels like you've hit rock bottom
Don't give up it's not the end
Open up your heart again

When you feel like no one 
Understands where you are
[Chorus]

Someone loves you even when you don't think so, don't you know? 
You got Me and Jesus!  
By your side through the fight you will never be alone, 
on your own, you got me and Jesus

After all that we've been through

By now you know I've doubted too

But every time my head was in my hands

You said to me 

[Chorus]

Hold on to what we got

This is worth any cost so 

Make the most of life

That's borrowed 

Love like there's no tomorrow

You will never be alone...

You got me and Jesus

Because of Jesus,

One Day

Cyndi Reep at the Betsy B-  June 15. 1999!

Wednesday I drove my son Will the nearly 2 hours to Leesburg, Florida, so he can spend some time with my Mom.  This is an annual summer trip that I am thankful (and somewhat amazed) that he still enjoys taking.  On my way back to Tampa I was enjoying the travel time, playing music too loud and thinking about a wide variety of things and a special person or two.  At some point, I paused for just a moment (that is all I will allow myself; self-pity is not becoming to anyone) to miss my days in student ministry.  Summers were always my favorite times, and I thought about what I might have been doing that day if I were still working with youth.  That thought gave me an idea for a blog post, and after some serious digging through old files I have gathered the information to share with you.  Today is June 15.  Here is a list, directly from my old summer calendars and brochures, of what I was doing every June 15 from 1987 until 2006- from 1978 to 1986 I was working at Quaker Lake Camp most every June 15.  It's just one day.  But there are so many memories...

• Springfield Friends Meeting, 1987- We traveled to Carowinds for the day!  Carowinds is a theme park near Charlotte.
• Springfield Friends Meeting, 1988-  It was the Wednesday of our Summer Safari, our first trip from SFM to North Myrtle Beach and the Betsy B!
• Springfield Friends Meeting, 1989-  We met at the church for a Breakfast Club, with Krispy Kreme doughnuts and a bible study from the book of James.
• Springfield Friends Meeting, 1990-  Over 60 students from SFM and Archdale Friends Meeting were at Walt Disney World in the middle of Floridays '90!  This was the 2nd of our 3 trips to WDW.
• Springfield Friends Meeting, 1991-  We spent a Saturday night on the town in Greensboro with dinner and the annual Putt-Putt Masters Golf Tournament!
• Springfield Friends Meeting, 1992-  We left for Atlanta, Six Flags and a Braves game!  Always a great (and memorable!) trip.
• Springfield Friends Meeting, 1993-  Only days before leaving on our third WDW trip, it was a One on One day.  Lots of milkshakes and Cokes. Always one of my very favorite days of summer.
• FUMC-Kissimmee, 1994-  The second ever Wednesday Night Live! took place in the youth room. Carlene Heck Skiles taught the lesson and the theme was Snow Night!  I confess I have no idea what we did on Snow Night...
• FUMC-Kissimmee, 1995- Our middle school students got to do a Mall Invasion as part of one of our Magic Middles programs.  Named after a Keebler cookie, if I recall correctly!
• FUMC-Kissimmee, 1996- We had a "welcome aboard" pool party for our newly promoted middle schools students at the home of Vic and Kay Hill.
• FUMC-Kissimmee, 1997-  We were on day 2 of a week at North Myrtle Beach as the FUMC-K crowd experienced the Betsy B for the first time!
• FUMC-Kissimmee, 1998-  We had a special edition SHO-Time at Planet Hollywood, then hanging out the Disney Village!
• FUMC-Kissimmee, 1999-  We were back at the Betsy B one final time!
• Union Church of Hinsdale, 2000- It was SHO-Time in the suburbs of Chicago, but if things went as usual, no one showed up.  Summers were DEAD in Hinsdale!
• Union Church of Hinsdale, 2001-  There was actually nothing planned on this Saturday night, due to the reason given above.
• Wesley Memorial UMC, 2002-  This was the opening Sunday of our very first Youth Week in Tampa.  We used clips from the movie Extreme Days and had a very serious water balloon war on the front lawn of the church.  Good times...
• Wesley Memorial UMC, 2003-  We left Tampa for Spartanburg, SC, and our mission trip in a homeless shelter there. It was a last minute save because of funding issues, but it turned out to be a wonderful week.
• Wesley Memorial UMC, 2004-  We were all working Vacation Bible School in the morning, and then we headed as a group to Lee Garden for the Chinese buffet! YUM!
• Wesley Memorial UMC, 2005- I had  been asked to leave my position at the church (and therefore the house we lived in) and we had a packing party,with about a dozen of the youth coming to help me pack up Will's room.
• Trinity UMC Waycross, 2006-  It was Happy Hour at the local Sonic Drive-In, where we drank cherry lime-aids, ate banana splits and played the card game Cocktail.  Always fun!

And there you have it- one day in my life, spread out of 20 years.  Every day full of great stories and wonderful memories, and a reminder of how incredibly blessed my life has been. Thanks for riding the time machine with me today! Now I need a nap...


Because of Jesus,

Not Done Yet

Jesus said, "What is humanly impossible is possible for God." -Luke 18:27


The following post (it has been edited) first appeared February 1, 2011.  I reprint it today because I just finished re-reading the book and wanted to remind you all to check it out.  And also to remind myself that because of Jesus, I am not done yet...


"All things are possible with God."  Do you really believe that?  It seems pretty far-fetched.  All things?  Really?  If you don't trust God, if you don't believe that a little faith can move a mighty mountain, if you don't believe God can use anyone to accomplish anything He wants to- then read on.  This story may not seem like much to you, but it is truly a miracle to me.  

Sometime in the Fall of 2010 my old friend Rick Bundschuh sent me a manuscript of a new book he was writing, Deep Like Me (or another failed attempt to walk on water).  The book, full of stories of grace and redemption, is simply wonderful (and available from Amazon).  Rick knew that my life has had its' share of those stories these past few years, and he asked me if I would write a short review of the book- the kind that the publisher could use on the back or inside cover to encourage readers.  So I did.  Here is what I wrote:  At a time when many in the Church see people who fail as "expendable," Rick Bundschuh reminds us of the redemptive nature of God.  His words inspired me, challenged me and, perhaps most importantly, included me in the ongoing narrative of grace as told through Jesus Christ.  Deep Like Me is a must-read for those who have tried to walk on water only to find themselves at the bottom of the sea- yet still feel the call to get out of the boat.  

After thanking me for my words, Rick asked what title the publisher should use under my name to identify me.  Knowing my situation, he told me to think about it a while.  I am, after all, a former water-walking youth pastor who has fallen from grace. That's an ironic phrase that gets tossed around a lot- fallen from grace.  In fact, as it concerns Jesus, it is not possible to do anything that would cause us to fall from grace.  We never deserved it in the first place...  Rick and I both thought this would be a chance to offer some mercy to others whose labels might cause them to feel outcast by society and/or the Church.  I decided to go with these identifiers:  Modern day leper, rescued soul, friend of Jesus, former youth pastor.  

When the book was published in late 2010 I discovered that my words and my labels all made the inside front of the book.  The fact that Rick and the publisher would choose to use a recommendation from a "notorious sinner" like myself stunned me a bit.  To see my words and my name next to the others who wrote blurbs for Rick- Bart Campolo, Tic Long, Dr. David Olshine, Mark Oestricher, Dr. Jim Burns, Bethany Hamilton, Ken McCoy, Marv Penner and others- left my eyes watering and my mouth hanging open.  A sinner like me was "standing" side-by-side with youth ministry royalty.  You don't believe that grace is amazing?  You don't accept that all things are possible with God?  Walk a day in my shoes.  He uses even our failures- MY failures- to help others understand forgiveness, mercy and grace.  I suddenly understand what it must have been like to be Nicodemus- the sinner who went to supper with Jesus.  I don't know why I received the invitation, but I gladly accept it.  Thank you, Rick, for sending this gift of grace my way.

Please never doubt this truth- this God we believe in, and the grace that his son Jesus brings to us, are real.  They are powerful.  They are transforming.  Don't believe it?  Think about my labels from the book.  Modern day leper. Rescued Soul.  Friend of Jesus.  Without an all-powerful God and the amazing grace of our Savior, who could possibly be all of those things at once?  Certainly not me. I have seen the depths of my own sin and been to the bottom of the ocean of life- and I have been saved by grace.  With God's help, I have gotten back in the boat. But I don't intend to stay there.  I am not done yet, not by a long shot!  I can't wait to see what Jesus might have in store for me next...

Because of Jesus,

Pranks! (Quaker Lake Style)

We loved to taunt the cooks!  Recognize me?

I have heard from a few former youth from my days at Springfield Friends Meeting over the past couple of days that they have children of their own who are attending Quaker Lake Camp this week.   Such conversations got me thinking about all of the useful things my 7 summers working there taught me that served me well as a youth pastor.  Among the things I learned was how to pull off a great prank. Like most camps, the staff at QLC has to find ways to amuse themselves during a long, hot summer, and we did- OFTEN! We not only had previous staffs to show us the way to a good prank, we had the movie Meatballs, which was popular at the time. And we all wanted to be Bill Murray.  Here are a few memories of a few great pranks from those days.  There are so many more...


The first prank I will mention was a revenge prank. I travelled across the country with Carl Semmler and Alan Brown in 1979, and Carl had, on a very hot, muggy night in New Orleans, gotten up in the middle of the night and pushed buttons until he turned on the heat, because he was chilly. Alan and I both woke up in puddles of sweat, and when we tried to make him aware of his error, he threw a glass ash tray at us. Fast forward a few weeks when all 3 of us were working at QLC. Carl always slept in a sleeping bag like a mummy. So one evening I unzipped the bag and emptied and entire bottle of baby powder in the bag. When Carl climbed in that night in the dark, the powder flew and he, his bed and most of the room was buried in powder. It was awesome. Even more awesome were all the pranks he pulled on the female staff before finding out it was me- 5 year later!


Prank number 2 involved grand theft, clothing! During a junior high camp my first summer a cabin of girls had pranked my cabin in some small way, so we decided to strike back. One afternoon, while the girls were all busy, we sneaked into their cabin and stole all of their luggage, placing it in a corn field behind the main lodge.  We also found that one of the girls had some "day of the week" panties, so we took "Friday" and froze them!  They came back to their cabin, panicked, looked everywhere, and we finally had to give up the location of the luggage after the camp director got really angry with us. We did not, however, give up the frozen panties until breakfast on Saturday (with a formal presentation in front of the whole camp, of course!), which has always made us wonder what panties did she wear on Friday? As with most great pranks, this resulted in a rule change which forbid guys from entering girls' cabins for any reason...

Our fearless leader, Neal Thomas!

At some point during my QLC career our boss, Neal Thomas, issued a ban on wasting things while doing pranks.  It meant we had to get more creative.  One week we discovered that there was entire 25 pound bag of dried potato flakes that has been attacked by mice and was about to be thrown out.  We saved it, assuming there had to be something evil we could do with such a gift.  We were right.  There was a cabin next to the main lodge that housed the female staff who were not cabin counselors- life guards, cooks, etc. There was no air conditioning anywhere at camp back then, and so at night the ladies would have many floor and window fans running in an attempt to stay cool.  Late one night after they were all asleep, we blockaded their door with cement cinder blocks and started shoveling in the potato flakes through an open window. With the help of their own fans, we created quite a blizzard.  And quite a mess...


One of the traditional pranks in those days involved the guys sneaking around the lake in the middle of the night, locking the girls in their cabins, and singing to them- thus waking them up. In addition to just being irritating, it often had the effect of causing the girls to need to use the restroom.  The restroom was in an outhouse a short walk from the cabins, and since they were locked in, that was an issue.  One particular night one of the girl's counselors, Beth Grantham, began to yell at my guys, telling them they were in big trouble.  She finally threatened them by saying, "You just wait until I tell Carl Jones you are out of the cabin!!!"  At that moment, I simply said, "Good morning, Beth!"  She forgave me within weeks...  :)


QLC allowed counselors to tell ghost stories in those days, and one of the favorites was about The Quaker Lake Hand. The story has something to do with a camper loosing his hand and the dismembered hand haunting the camp for many years. One night, with 30 or so 9 and 10 year old campers gathered in one cabin, a couple of the guys were telling the story. I had the bright idea to, at the crucial moment in the story, put my hand behind a glow-in-the-dark frisbee and slap it against the screen of the cabin. It worked- screams were heard all over camp, and the next morning a number of campers showed up for breakfast packed and ready to go home. Oops! Once again rules were changed, and ghost stories were banned.  Sorry, future generations...


As you can see, we were creative and daring in those days, and these stories just scratch the surface!  But I learned a great deal from all of this silliness. I learned that you have to be careful with how you treat people, even in the name of fun. I learned that creativity is a gift that must be used with some degree of caution (although it took me a LONG time to learn that lesson well!). And I learned yet again that life, lived together in the name of Jesus, is never, ever boring! 


Because of Jesus,

Mood Rings

This post is probably going to get me in trouble.  In addition to having been married for the past 25 years, many of my closest friends are female.  Many of my favorite youth from throughout my years as a youth pastor are female.  Many of my favorite Twitter followers and blog readers are female.  Many....most...of these ladies will read what follows, listen to the song below, and laugh.  Others will throw things at the screen.  I guess it will all depend on what mood they are in...


A couple of weeks ago Hall of Fame inductee Nina Mock (one of my former youth from Wesley Memorial UMC-Tampa) joined us at our regular Taco Tuesdaze dinner at Tijuana Flats.  Nina is a beautiful, intelligent, sweet and funny 26 year old who has never been afraid to tell me what she thinks- about most everything.  At one point on this particular evening the conversation turned to dating and relationships issues, and Nina weighed in quickly.  "I don't understand," she said, "why guys put up with girls.  Girls are crazy. If I was guy I'd just give up!"  She then suggested that if indeed she was a guy, she was not certain what her sexual preference might be...


In those few words Nina captured the feelings of so many of the males I worked with in student ministries over the years.  I cannot tell you the number of hours I spent consoling confused young men who, for reasons they could not begin to understand, had just been dumped.  In fairness, I talked to a lot of hurting females too. My response to Nina's comment about girls being crazy was to point out that guys are often idiots.  But the teenage guys were always so clueless as to what they had done wrong. It seemed that they very things that had made their girlfriends happy yesterday were the the very reasons were cut loose today.  I would try to explain that guys and girls think differently sometimes.  We are often motivated by different things.  As my old senior pastor Max Rees used to say when confused by the response of his wife or his 5 daughters, "Carl- women are not our kind of people!"  I have often said that trying to understand females is like predicting the weather.  You will be right on occasion, but face it- that's more luck than knowledge!  And when the males and females in question are teenagers and young adults, the odds of getting it right go way down.


In 2003 the great band Relient K proposed a solution to this issue from the male point of view.  What if we could just convince every female to wear a Mood Ring?  Perhaps then guys might have a chance of not succumbing to our basic instincts and saying something stupid at the wrong time.  When you are a teenager, nothing in life seems more important than dating and relationships.  It can be so overwhelming.  This song captures that struggle from the male perspective better than anything I have seen or heard before or since.  Please understand, this is not about women and moodiness.  It is about guys and their often complete and utter failure to understand what is going on in the hearts and minds of the fairer gender.  And even though I am 52, I have to admit there are days when it still holds very true.  So guys- I am with you!  And ladies- please know that most guys are trying really hard.  It is just that we can't quite " understand the complex infrastructure known as the female mind..."  Enjoy!

Because of Jesus,