Discussed a great question last night at our group that grabbed me: what surprised you most about the Christian faith?  What aspect of your faith did you have no idea was coming down the pipe?

Here are some things that still catch me off guard:

• Had no idea that following Jesus would be a battle of sorts.  I thought things would more easily resolve and that staying true to God would be easier than it is. 

• Really still discovering the upside down nature of the Gospel – that when you try to keep your life you lose it, that power and influence are not given for your benefit but the benefit of others.

• I'm surprised that God loves us enough to humbly suffer the way He suffered in Christ.  There are days I wonder whether we (humanity) is actually worth that, given our response to God so far (and my personal response to that kind of devotion). 

• I'm surprised at how unredeemed parts of my character still feel. This following Jesus thing is a life-time process of constant work by God.

• I'm surprised that God can love such a wide variety of people, including the weird ones that I don't love.  Of course, I realize I am one of the weird ones to others….

How about you – what surprises or surprised you about Christianity?  Or, if you haven't decided to follow Jesus, what keeps you from it?

I think there's a lot of gold in the answer to this question.  Post away. 

I like to make this blog about positive things, but once in a while I'll divert.  I think today is one of those days.  Revolutionary Love is stirring something in me.  I am so amazed to see hundreds of people give away so self-lessly.  Love that!

There is a growing distaste…dislike…revulsion (yeah) inside me toward consumer Christianity. I think it's there because God is still beating the remains of consumer Christianity out of me.  It's easy to build a church on being cool or by promising what you can do for your members.  It's hard to build a church based on what you can give away and how you can sacrifice.  But it's so much more rewarding.

I'm convinced that the Christian sub-culture many followers of Jesus are caught up in is a form of Christianity but not the real deal. Why? Much of what passes as North American Christianity is basically self-directed.  Our unstated-but-very-apparent goal after conversion is to feed ourselves, protect our families, live in a bubble and get to heaven (and maybe self-righteouslly tell others why they are not going to heaven).

One of the most basic (and hardest to live out) tenets of being a Christ follower is to die to self.  That's what baptism symbolizes.  That's at the heart of Jesus' teaching.  Die to yourself.  Live for others.  Consumer culture teaches the opposite: live to myself and live for myself. Somehow a lot of us still drink that Kool-aid. 

I'm increasingly convinced that church shopping kills disciples.  Pick a church.  Join that mission. Stick with it. Forget what it can do for your family.  Give yourself away. In that, you will find life.

Stop asking what your church can do for you and start asking what you can do for your neighbours and friends and people far from Christ.

Although I really like Connexus, where I serve, I hope Connexus becomes a church where I don't like the music and don't even fully "get" the ministry, but I've thrown myself into it because it's connecting the next generation with Christ.  I would rather sweep floors in a church I don't like that's being effective, than spend a thousand days in some place where only the already-convinced feel gratitfied.

So I'm ranting today.  Reaction?  Any one else cheesed?

Ted Rogers died this morning.  Don't know whether you know who Ted Rogers is, but he was a major Canadian business and media mogul – dominating wireless communications, cable, sports (owned the Blue Jays), broadcasting, and so much more in Canada. 

His legacy is a mixed one for sure, but I am intrigued by guys like Ted Rogers.  Why? 

Tenacity. Determination. Resolve. Purposefulness. Endurance. Stamina. Doggedness.

As this short bio points out, Rogers was never one to call it quits.  He was making risky business moves when he was well into his 50s, 60s and even 70s. Many people kept saying he was going to fail, and he came close many times.  But that never stopped him.  He just kept going, defying the critics, and – many would say – proved them wrong.

When you look at how much skill, determination and raw energy he poured into business, it makes me wonder where that kind of drive is in the Kingdom of God.

I know we're a people of grace.  A people who believe in God's power…but where are the tenacious, grace-reliant, odds defying spiritual entrepreneurs of this day?  Why aren't there more? 

When I read passages like this from Paul, Jesus or this from Daniel, I realize that the the scripture is filled with that raw combination of God's grace and people's radical devotion to building a different reality.

What can we learn from guys like Paul, Daniel and even a guy like Ted Rogers?  What are we missing?

I'm preaching a series called Revolutionary Love.  I think it's revolutionizing a few things in me.

Our goal in this series is to reflect the revolutionary love of God in Jesus with love that is tangible and reaches beyond ourselves.

We're supporting various causes, from local food banks and toy drives, to buying mosquito nets to save kids lives in Liberia, to building a health clinic in Guatemala, to raising money to do a better job at our local mission in 2009.  In short, we're asking people to be more generous than they have ever been before. 

Reflections so far:

• I am amazed at how much preaching I've done and how much preaching I've heard that's actually aimed at changing thinking.  Even though there is always a "to do", it just seems small scale compared to what is happening in this series.  People are doing good, not just thinking about doing good.  I love it.  What would happen if preaching had that impact more constantly?

• Many people don't go to church because Christians don't do what Christians are supposed to do.

• Being generous begets more generosity. My instinct (that I ignored) was that people might give to one cause, but not to multiple causes.  Wrong.  Heading into week three of the project, people seem to be ramping up in generosity, not scaling back. So proud of them!

• One of the failures of recent Christianity is its failure to be tangible or practical (in the sense that it impacts daily life).  Thinking about this one big time.

Any Connexus-ers want to talk about your reflections?  Any in the wider community want to share your thoughts?

Looking forward to week three coming up.  And, oh, if you want to save a child for malaria for $7…click here.