Just a little over two years ago I attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California. The main building my classes were in was in the heart of the financial district of San Francisco. Every day I would get off the BART and walk past a number of homeless individuals. San Francisco is often considered the homelessness capital of the United States because of its climate and social programs. The city has anywhere between 7,000 and 10,000 homeless individuals. Anyone who has lived in a major city (and has an ounce of kindness) can relate to the dilemma of how to react when encountering someone holding a sign asking for food.

For many years I would simply give a dollar or two and proceed with my day. On occasion I would take the individual to the closest fast food restaurant and buy he/she a burger. Neither one of these methods satisfied my soul's yearning to truly impact the lives of these individuals.

Time after time, I found myself posing questions about whether or not these were the right actions to take. Most often I would ask, "Is it enough to merely satisfy one's hunger or thirst if what I provided that particular individual with had no nutritional value?" Was what I was doing for these individuals a service or a disservice? I thought I was over thinking the issue until I began seeing articles about the nutritional value of items found on menus in soup kitchens. 

A similar question could be asked to those of us who wish to feed or quench the thirst of those who are spiritually depleted. Are leaders in the church only providing what is necessary to subside the rumbling coming from the stomachs of those spiritually deprived or are they bearing fruit which nourishes the souls of congregants and thrusts them into a healthy and growing relationship in Christ?

Two longstanding traditions play major roles in the malnutrition of congregants.  "Feel good" preaching and "folk" theology serve to keep church goers in a state of spiritual unhealthiness. Often, what is most appealing is not what is best for us . The best example of this is the inclination to eat junk food over vegetables. Vegetables, to most people, do not arouse the taste buds like sugary sweets, but they are undoubtedly better for your health and well-being. 

One author writes, "Feel good [preaching] seems to be a short-cut to happy handshakes, but it falls short of engaging both the text and the listener."

Stanley Grenz and Roger Olson define "folk" theology as, "a kind of theology that rejects critical reflection and enthusiastically embraces simplistic acceptance of an informal tradition of beliefs and practices composed mainly of clichés and legends."

These two things make a deadly combination that can be tremendously detrimental to the spiritual health of those seeking to grow in Christ. While God's Word can be used for the edification of it's hearers and readers, "feel good" preaching usually has an ulterior motive. "Folk" theology has absolutely no place in the church. It is heretical more often than not and stunts the growth of Christians. 

What kind of message are you receiving from the pulpit? Are you receiving vital nutrition? Do the messages you receive merely appeal to your soul or do they change your soul? These are important questions to reflect on next time you are in church.

For those who wish to lead in the church, keep in mind the words of the seminal and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther: "A preacher must be both soldier and shepherd. He must nourish, defend, and teach."

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I was up late the other night flipping through television channels searching for something to fall asleep to. I stumbled across a local broadcast called "Moral Side of the News." Apparently, this show is the longest running community service program in the nation. I had never heard of or seen it until two nights ago. The show consists of a panel of clergy discussing the latest hot topics in the news from a "moral" point of view. The night I watched the show the panel was made up of a female Rabbi, a Catholic priest, two Protestant ministers, and an Imam.

The first topic they discussed and the topic that I would like to discuss is the mishandling of power and leadership in Syria. Last week in Damascus, the regime of president Bashar al-Assad, allegedly used chemical weapons in an attack on Syrian citizens in the suburb of Ghouta. The international medical organization, Doctors Without Borders, announced on Saturday that the death toll had risen to at least 355.

The panel was asked what the response of the United States should be. The answers were almost unanimous that the United States should send it's military to Syria and wipe out this murderous regime. The sole opposition came from the Catholic priest who suggested we find a way to boot Bashar al-Assad through sanctions before military involvement. It startled me that the clergy were so eager to thrust us into another conflict in the Middle East. Were the responses given by these religious leaders true to the values found in the Bible (and in the case of the Imam, the Qur'an)? Surely, any involvement by the United States or the international community in Syria will be met with opposing force. How long would this conflict last? How many more lives would be taken, innocent or guilty?

I began to think about war in general, especially from a Christian perspective. Is there such thing as a just war? Many Christians believe that the battles waged in the Old Testament were examples of just wars probably because they also believe God ordained them. This belief has been problematic for centuries. It has led to the slaughter of innocent men, women, and children. It has also led to the colonization and destruction of countless cultures and indigenous people. It is very convenient to label any violent conflict "just" by saying it was ordained by God. This trick is beyond played out, however. 

Many traits can be assigned to the "God of the Old Testament" such as jealously, being unforgiving, vindictive, bloodthirsty, homophobic, racist, and genocidal. The problem with believing that the "God of the Old Testament" can be described in such a manner is that you have to juxtapose those characteristics with love, mercy, grace, hope, and forgiveness which are attributed to the "God of the New Testament." To do that is to deny the immutability of God. 

I am not trying to escape the terror of the Old Testament. It is there. I struggle with it like every other Christian. But I think Derek Flood, author of Healing the Gospel, makes an excellent point.

"In reality the Bible contains a multitude of conflicting and competing voices, articulating opposing perspectives in the form of an ongoing dispute contained throughout its pages. More concretely, we find an ongoing dispute within the Old Testament between two opposing narratives: The first is a narrative of unquestioning obedience that condemns all questioning (often enforcing this through threat of violence). But within those same pages of the Hebrew Bible there is also a persistent opposing counter-narrative that confronts that first narrative as being untrue and unjust, and that upholds questioning  authority in the name of compassion as a virtue."

Traditionally, using the Bible to understand war has resulted in heinous crimes against humanity. But there is always an opposing perspective. Robert Clouse presents one of these perspectives in his book, War: Four Christian Views. 

1. Just cause. All aggression is condemned; only defensive war is legitimate.
2. Just intention. The only legitimate intention is to secure a just peace for all involved. Neither revenge nor conquest nor economic gain nor ideological supremacy are justified.
3. Last resort. War may only be entered upon when all negotiations and compromise have been tried and failed.
4. Formal declaration. Since the use of military force is the prerogative of governments, not of private individuals, a state of war must be officially declared by the highest authorities.
5. Limited objectives. If the purpose is peace, then unconditional surrender or the destruction of a nation's economic or political institutions is an unwarranted objective.
6. Proportionate means. The weaponry and the force used should be limited to what is needed to repel the aggression and deter future attacks, that is to say to secure a just peace. Total or unlimited war is ruled out.
7. Noncombatant immunity. Since war is an official act of government, only those who are officially agents of government may fight, and individuals not actively contributing to the conflict (including POW's and casualties as well as civilian nonparticipants) should be immune from attack.

I do not like how the United States always plays the role of international police, but I cannot sit and watch innocent citizens lose their lives without demanding we intervene along with the international community. The dilemma is that rarely are our intentions limited to establishing peace. We usually have some kind of economic or ideological agenda.

As Christians our job is to find peaceful resolutions. Based on just war theories, war is to be the very last resort. After all, violence begets violence. If we were to send troops or air strikes to Syria it would only add fuel to the fire. Is a peaceful resolution possible? Can we avoid the consequences of military involvement in such a hostile region? I pray that we can do both. And I pray for the citizens of Syria. My fear is that it is already too late. 

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Being obedient is the easiest thing for someone to say they are willing to do. It is hard to put into action, though. I know this to be true because I am a prime example. I started this post at least a week ago and until today I had only made it as far as the first sentence. I sincerely wanted to do it, however, I always found other things to distract me from completing it. As a Christian I do the same thing when it comes to obeying  the Lord. To be honest we all do. 

Everyday tasks can distract us and become the biggest deterrents to being obedient. I let a lot of things distract me from being obedient to God. The irony of it is I have a constant reminder in the form of a wristband that reads "I AM SECOND." Somehow I have not only disregarded that message, but I have also seemed to place my religion on the back burner in my life. Different aspects of my life have been prioritized to have more importance to me. No I am not out doing anything I am not supposed to as a Christian. I am just not doing the things a follower of Christ should be doing. These things include reading my bible and studying the Word, praying, and trying to make disciples of those in need. These are things we as Christians should do everyday. And yes I do mean everyday, especially as a young Christian with so much energy, wide eyed and full of hope for humanity. It should be our main goal and our main duty to pick up that cross.  We should do what God intended us to do. Instead I let twitter, my family, and work stop me. Sometimes I let the urge to do things my way stop me from doing what 2 John 1:6 says to do to show that we love the Lord.

 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

As a young Christian it is easy to get distracted with things in the world today. We have so much going on in our social media ran worlds. We spend more of our time looking down in our hands than anything else. We can literally do everything we need to from our mobile devices. As a matter of fact this post is being typed from my cell phone. I use my bible app as reference.

Here is a verse that lays it out very simple and plain. It tells us how being obedient is the only thing we as young Christians should focus on to live a pure life. Everything else will fall in order as long as we are truly obedient. 

How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. Psalm 119:9 

I love how straight forward this verse is. It has also helped me get back into the word and I hope this post will do the same for you.

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"Grow up!" Those were the words former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams shouted as he addressed Christians in Great Britain and in the rest of the Western world who likened feeling "mildly uncomfortable" to being persecuted. Williams also said that "not being taken very seriously" or "being made fun of" in Britain and the United States is not similar or resemblant to the "murderous hostility" faced by other Christians in certain parts of the world.

It would be accurate to say Christians in America are often the victims of such ridicule. This is largely due to the fact we allow our faith to be represented by extremists and heretics in mainstream thought. I've experienced first hand the practice of placing all Christians in a box and labeling it "Westboro Baptist." 

It is especially difficult being a young Black intellectual who identifies with the Christian faith. My blackness, intelligence, and ability to reason logically is immediately called into question once I profess my faith in Jesus Christ.

I am a grown man. I no longer have to rely on the nursery rhyme, "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" to cope with the verbal assaults unleashed toward me by those skeptical of my faith. 

That's the worst of our problems; insults. These insults are usually hurled from behind the protection of a computer monitor and keyboard. The audacity of Christians in the Western world to cry persecution. Grow up! 

The reality is that those claiming to be persecuted have no idea what persecution looks like. Black Christians in America understand persecution because we face it daily. But we face it because of the racial prejudice that still exists in "post-racial" America, not because of our faith. 

None of us Christians in America have been persecuted because of our beliefs. In fact we enjoy the privilege that comes with our religion being attached to the dominant culture politically, economically, and spiritually. 

Our brothers and sisters in Christ in Egypt are experiencing real persecution right now! In Egypt, Christians make up about 10 percent of the population. Since the ousting of  President Mohammed Morsi on July 3rd there have been reports that "nearly 40 churches have been looted and torched, while 23 others have been attacked." So far two Christians have been killed, but that number is sure to rise with the current violent social unrest. 

It would be a disgrace to the gospel if I did not mention the turmoil Egypt is facing as a nation. In total, since Thursday, almost 900 Egyptian people have died and more than 4,000 have been injured. Not only do Egyptian Christians need our prayers, but all the people of Egypt need our prayers as well. 

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I've been doing a lot of reflecting as my summer break nears it's end. One of my best friends Jameson was in town for his birthday. Every time I see or talk to him he asks me about two:fifth; the movement Travis and I started last summer.

Last summer was a great experience. Travis and I received tremendous support for two:fifth. I still see people wearing their two:fifth wristbands and I still see our stickers on random objects around town. The money we raised went to a great cause and the time we volunteered was appreciated by many. Since last summer, however, I have struggled to find a direction for two:fifth.

It was not until I heard a sermon a couple weeks ago that I began to realize why finding direction was so difficult. The sermon topic was starting a new relationship with God. The preacher reminded the congregation of the need to surrender our lives to God. 

While reading one of my favorite Christian blogs, Of Dust And Kings, I came across a post about submitting to God. In that post the author wrote,

"For many years I thought that I had found a great compromise whereby I could be on God’s side by being a regular church attendee and living a (mostly) moral life while still doing as I pleased most of the time."

Then, just last Sunday, the same preacher from before continued his series on starting a new relationship with God. I could barely contain myself when he shouted the words, "Some of us are living a saved life, but not a surrendered life." 

Over the years I have learned not to ignore God when He brings that amount of clarity into my life. The path to following God is narrow, but it is straight. We make it sinuous when we purposefully miss the signs He is giving us.

The reason last summer felt so fulfilling was because I gave everything (well close to everything) to God. I let God take control of my life. Approximately 95% of my income from my summer job last year went into building two:fifth and creating ways to help others. It was God that blessed me with the funds, so in no way am I bragging about being fiscally obedient to God. 

I wanted to surrender my life to God, but somewhere over the course of a year I got off track. Between the sermons, the blogs, and me reading the scripture that inspired two:fifth, I have come to realize that's all I ever wanted out of the movement anyway; to be a constant reminder to serve God and others before ourselves. 

The scripture that inspired two:fifth was Philippians 2:5:

"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus."

Paul then details how Jesus humbled himself despite his divine nature. God incarnate made himself a servant of mankind. If we are to be Christ-like then we must surrender ourselves to the will of God.

Surrendering your life to God does not necessarily mean you will become a pastor, youth minister, or anything within the church for that matter. The need for faithful and obedient servants of the Lord extends to every hemisphere of the earth. As the blogger reminds us, it is not enough to live a mostly moral life. Piety becomes self-righteous and pharisaical when we look for a compromise between total surrender and living for ourselves. 

It is with this post that I ask all my brothers and sisters in Christ to hold me accountable as I surrender my life to God once more. I have lived a saved life long enough. I desire to live a surrendered life for the rest of my days. 

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