Wednesday evening at Refuge Wednesday Nights (http://madisonchristian.org/ministries/youth/classes) we talked about how EVERYONE is a masterpiece crafted special by God. We watched this video as a part of that. I hope you're blessed by it:
Friday, October 28, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
Epic Fail
I've been thinking for a while about the need to address a very important topic (how's THAT for a generic opening line for a blog post?) because honestly, I think the church has a massive failing that we're constantly turning a blind eye to. And I mean MASSIVE. It's crazy to me how some of the foundational aspects of the teachings of Christ can be ignored completely by people who claim to love and follow him. And I truly believe it's hurting our churches so much that I think in some ways it's one of the largest impediments we have that prevents us from reaching our potential in reaching others for Christ.
We utterly and completely seem to fail most of the time in dealing with others we have a problem with.
That being said I do understand to an extent. TRULY following Christ is a very difficult undertaking. Completely surrendering your will to someone else is a complete change in how we naturally think and handle situations. So I don't want to make it seem like it should be easy for people to do the right thing. Paul himself bemoaned the difficulty in dealing with the internal conflict when he wrote: "We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me" (Romans 7:14-23) Though that passage is something of a mouthful to read aloud (seriously, I read it for Jr. High Youth Group a few weeks back and it was easy for my tongue to trip over itself in the process. Love the duality of the passage, not the phonetics) I think it does a great job expressing the inherent difficulty we face in wanting to do what we know is right versus actually doing it. I share this passage because I don't want to be seen as completely insensitive to the difficulty that truly following Christ's teachings represent. And when it comes to interpersonal interactions especially we find it difficult to follow through with what we should.
And how should we handle issues with other people? Well I personally am of the opinion that the Bible is pretty clear on that one. Jesus himself says, "'If your brother or sister sins against you, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector." (Matthew 18:15-17). Just a few particulars I'd like to point out:
And yet we have a culture of complaints.
The norm seems to be if we have a problem we'll tell EVERYBODY but the person we have a problem with. I'm sure I'm not the only person to experience this. We've all been guilty of it at some point. But here's the thing, we should never be content with our failings. We very much have the power and opportunity to rise above our sinful nature and live in a way that glorifies God! Paul writes, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:24-25). Christ delivers us from the very nature that drags us down! And we certainly do drag ourselves and those around us down when we circumvent God's intended methodology for handling those that sin against us! In this era; however, anonymity is valued over reconciliation. We certainly want to make sure it's known that someone has sinned, but we don't want to be the one to talk to them about it. And that's IF our issue even stems from someone actually sinning. Oftentimes it's just something that just rubs us the wrong way.
I'll admit that this is a personal issue for me. As a minister I struggle with getting complaints second-hand. I'll hear reports that someone is angry with me for something and yet they won't approach me. I'll be frank, it was receiving an anonymous complaint that sparked me writing this blog. I struggle with how to maturely respond sometimes. On the one hand I want to respond in a positive way and continue to learn and grow and if there's an area where I can improve I constantly hope to be addressing those areas and learn from even the most asinine complaints (and frankly I do receive asinine complaints. Some of the things people kick dust up over aren't worth the time it takes to listen to/read). But I struggle sometimes because if someone doesn't even have the decency to do what Christ teaches and come and talk to me there's an immature part of me that wants to just ignore the whole thing. I feel they don't have the right to be heard if they won't handle their concerns in a mature way.
And let me make this clear, I fully believe that not going to someone you have a problem with is completely outside God's intended process and therefore is sinful. (I mean complaining about someone to others but not being willing to go to that person, posting status updates that rip apart someone but thinking it's okay because you don't mention their name, notes/letters complaining about someone without signing your name, etc)
That may sound harsh but consider this:
.... and when we refuse to go to others to reconcile our issues... how well do you think we're shining then?
-Jolson
Colossians 3:12-14
We utterly and completely seem to fail most of the time in dealing with others we have a problem with.
That being said I do understand to an extent. TRULY following Christ is a very difficult undertaking. Completely surrendering your will to someone else is a complete change in how we naturally think and handle situations. So I don't want to make it seem like it should be easy for people to do the right thing. Paul himself bemoaned the difficulty in dealing with the internal conflict when he wrote: "We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me" (Romans 7:14-23) Though that passage is something of a mouthful to read aloud (seriously, I read it for Jr. High Youth Group a few weeks back and it was easy for my tongue to trip over itself in the process. Love the duality of the passage, not the phonetics) I think it does a great job expressing the inherent difficulty we face in wanting to do what we know is right versus actually doing it. I share this passage because I don't want to be seen as completely insensitive to the difficulty that truly following Christ's teachings represent. And when it comes to interpersonal interactions especially we find it difficult to follow through with what we should.
And how should we handle issues with other people? Well I personally am of the opinion that the Bible is pretty clear on that one. Jesus himself says, "'If your brother or sister sins against you, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector." (Matthew 18:15-17). Just a few particulars I'd like to point out:
- Jesus lays out a clear 3 step process
- The process starts personal and slowly becomes more public in nature
- It needs to be noted that the primary goal is NOT proving yourself superior, it's not about taking the other person down, it is NOT about pride. It's about honest and genuine reconciliation with a brother or sister.
And yet we have a culture of complaints.
The norm seems to be if we have a problem we'll tell EVERYBODY but the person we have a problem with. I'm sure I'm not the only person to experience this. We've all been guilty of it at some point. But here's the thing, we should never be content with our failings. We very much have the power and opportunity to rise above our sinful nature and live in a way that glorifies God! Paul writes, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:24-25). Christ delivers us from the very nature that drags us down! And we certainly do drag ourselves and those around us down when we circumvent God's intended methodology for handling those that sin against us! In this era; however, anonymity is valued over reconciliation. We certainly want to make sure it's known that someone has sinned, but we don't want to be the one to talk to them about it. And that's IF our issue even stems from someone actually sinning. Oftentimes it's just something that just rubs us the wrong way.
I'll admit that this is a personal issue for me. As a minister I struggle with getting complaints second-hand. I'll hear reports that someone is angry with me for something and yet they won't approach me. I'll be frank, it was receiving an anonymous complaint that sparked me writing this blog. I struggle with how to maturely respond sometimes. On the one hand I want to respond in a positive way and continue to learn and grow and if there's an area where I can improve I constantly hope to be addressing those areas and learn from even the most asinine complaints (and frankly I do receive asinine complaints. Some of the things people kick dust up over aren't worth the time it takes to listen to/read). But I struggle sometimes because if someone doesn't even have the decency to do what Christ teaches and come and talk to me there's an immature part of me that wants to just ignore the whole thing. I feel they don't have the right to be heard if they won't handle their concerns in a mature way.
And let me make this clear, I fully believe that not going to someone you have a problem with is completely outside God's intended process and therefore is sinful. (I mean complaining about someone to others but not being willing to go to that person, posting status updates that rip apart someone but thinking it's okay because you don't mention their name, notes/letters complaining about someone without signing your name, etc)
That may sound harsh but consider this:
- If you truly believe in your concern so much that you have to talk about it, why wouldn't you be willing to go to the person in question?
- Jesus says that if a brother or sister sins against you to go to them, so what reasoning is good enough to justify not doing something that Christ HIMSELF has commanded?
- If someone has an unaddressed sin aren't you allowing that sin to continue through your inaction? Therefore allowing that person to continue to stumble?
- Which is more important? Your relationship with a brother or sister and knowing that you've followed the commands of the God you follow; or your own personal comfort in not having to have tough discussions?
.... and when we refuse to go to others to reconcile our issues... how well do you think we're shining then?
-Jolson
Colossians 3:12-14
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Even more help for Single Guys
Afraid of the "Friend Zone" my dear single friends? Link is here to help:
Afraid of the "Friend Zone" my dear single friends? Link is here to help:
Afraid of the "Friend Zone" my dear single friends? Link is here to help:
Help for the Single Guys
Well I get married in 23 days! So the end of an era for me is coming fast, but don't think for a moment that I choose to leave my single brothers in the cold. If you or someone you love is a male who suffers from "Singleness" show him this video to help him on his journey:
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Mandatory Blogging
Okay fine, I guess technically it's not 'mandatory' I blog now. Nobody is holding any of my loved ones hostage until I post a new blog entry (.... that YOU know... technically if that was the scenario I guess I wouldn't be allowed to tell...) but let's be honest, it's been a crazy couple of days. And I don't just mean personally, I daresay everybody knows the big news by now... unless you live under a rock...
That's right, the Heat beat the Celtics in game 1!!!!!!
.... okay okay all joking aside the whole Osama Bin Laden thing is pretty big needless to say (I find that phrase needlessly ironic. If something is 'needless to say' then why say 'needless to say'.... I don't think I'll ever type the word 'needless' as much as I just did ever again in my life) and I'm sure everyone has seen reactions from all over the place about it. A large portion are profanity laced supportive comments for the military and America in general, a lot are about how we should be thankful for Obama's leadership, a lot are about how Obama shouldn't get to count this as a win, a lot are angry at the OTHER side's reaction ("How dare you give Obama credit!?" "How dare you politicize this and criticize Obama!?" "WHERE THE CRAP IS MY BEER!?!?!?!" ... okay that third guy really didn't care about the political dialogue....) and honestly it's enough to make someone's (read: MINE) head spin.
Honestly, I think moments like this should be for retrospection and thought. But I wonder, and maybe it's just me, if maybe it's too hard to really process everything with all the noise. From the moment Bin Laden's death has been announced there's been so much commentary and dialogue that it's been hard to really generate my own thoughts without thinking about what someone ELSE said about it already. Honestly even the moment I found out about it seemed surreal to me. It'll probably be one of those 'remember where you were when you heard?' moments for me. I was with Adam and Bill and we were playing video games at my apartment (Bill was playing Portal 2... which you should totally be playing. Right now. Go on, I'll wait) and that moment is probably seared into my memory. Since then it's been a constant barrage of thoughts/news/analysis on the topic.
So as weird as it may seem, my point with this ISN'T to give you my take on the death of Osama Bin Laden. The way I figure it there's enough blogs and articles on that in the last 2 days to last a lifetime. You could find longer and better thought out takes on the subject all over the web at this point (Here's a good example from a friend of mine named Wesley: http://www.facebook.com/notes/wesley-blackburn/a-time-to-dance-or-a-time-to-mourn/10150242900095406). Honestly my primary motivation in writing this today is to think more about thinking.
... that's either the most zen comment I've ever made or it's the biggest 'no duh' comment I've made lately. :-P I'm okay with that.
You see my concerns about this situation more stem from the overload of information and opinions we go through on an everyday basis now. Are we really taking the time to reflect on what goes on around us, or do we just regurgitate (lol I spelled that right on the first try. I know because I opened up Microsoft Word to double check. I double checked the spelling on the word 'regurgitate' because apparently I'm nuts) the thoughts and opinions of the influences around us? Do we get irritated because we see political/religious thoughts that disagree with our gut reaction and we just respond without thinking?
Do we think? Or just retweet?
... I wish I had a clearer answer. Even if just about me.
-Jolson
Colossians 3:12-14
That's right, the Heat beat the Celtics in game 1!!!!!!
.... okay okay all joking aside the whole Osama Bin Laden thing is pretty big needless to say (I find that phrase needlessly ironic. If something is 'needless to say' then why say 'needless to say'.... I don't think I'll ever type the word 'needless' as much as I just did ever again in my life) and I'm sure everyone has seen reactions from all over the place about it. A large portion are profanity laced supportive comments for the military and America in general, a lot are about how we should be thankful for Obama's leadership, a lot are about how Obama shouldn't get to count this as a win, a lot are angry at the OTHER side's reaction ("How dare you give Obama credit!?" "How dare you politicize this and criticize Obama!?" "WHERE THE CRAP IS MY BEER!?!?!?!" ... okay that third guy really didn't care about the political dialogue....) and honestly it's enough to make someone's (read: MINE) head spin.
Honestly, I think moments like this should be for retrospection and thought. But I wonder, and maybe it's just me, if maybe it's too hard to really process everything with all the noise. From the moment Bin Laden's death has been announced there's been so much commentary and dialogue that it's been hard to really generate my own thoughts without thinking about what someone ELSE said about it already. Honestly even the moment I found out about it seemed surreal to me. It'll probably be one of those 'remember where you were when you heard?' moments for me. I was with Adam and Bill and we were playing video games at my apartment (Bill was playing Portal 2... which you should totally be playing. Right now. Go on, I'll wait) and that moment is probably seared into my memory. Since then it's been a constant barrage of thoughts/news/analysis on the topic.
So as weird as it may seem, my point with this ISN'T to give you my take on the death of Osama Bin Laden. The way I figure it there's enough blogs and articles on that in the last 2 days to last a lifetime. You could find longer and better thought out takes on the subject all over the web at this point (Here's a good example from a friend of mine named Wesley: http://www.facebook.com/notes/wesley-blackburn/a-time-to-dance-or-a-time-to-mourn/10150242900095406). Honestly my primary motivation in writing this today is to think more about thinking.
... that's either the most zen comment I've ever made or it's the biggest 'no duh' comment I've made lately. :-P I'm okay with that.
You see my concerns about this situation more stem from the overload of information and opinions we go through on an everyday basis now. Are we really taking the time to reflect on what goes on around us, or do we just regurgitate (lol I spelled that right on the first try. I know because I opened up Microsoft Word to double check. I double checked the spelling on the word 'regurgitate' because apparently I'm nuts) the thoughts and opinions of the influences around us? Do we get irritated because we see political/religious thoughts that disagree with our gut reaction and we just respond without thinking?
Do we think? Or just retweet?
... I wish I had a clearer answer. Even if just about me.
-Jolson
Colossians 3:12-14
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Like My Head's Stuck in a Blog...
So I'll be honest, I'm not a great blogger. Which I find a little ironic. If you're reading this I assume you at least have a basic knowledge of who I am and at least SOME details about me. But in case you were just bored online and were browsing blogs, welcome, I'm Jolson (short for Justin Olson, and that will be the only time I list my full name on this blog. I got the nickname in college) and I have ADHD. And I don't mean like how everyone, their mom, and their dog nowadays is getting diagnosed with ADHD. I mean like I was the first kid in my elementary school to be put on ritalin ADHD.
So I find it ironic that I'm not really a great blogger because honestly writing is one of the few times where I feel like my thoughts honestly flow in a linear fashion. I kept a Xanga in college (gotta love the tech age where a website that's only been obsolete like 4 years makes you feel like you're dating yourself) and I remember feeling like it really helped me think things through sometimes to type them out. So considering there's a blog on the church's webpage that I'm supposed to be updating, I figured I'd give this another honest try. At the moment I'm not going to make myself have a set update schedule. Though that's coming. For now it's a way to express my thoughts and random bouts of clarity in a structured setting. This is my personal blog but at the same time it will be linked on the church's page too. Believe it or not I don't like just to do random things (go figure right? I mean, this is only a couple of paragraphs but I already have had like 4 ADHD attacks? Btw that's what I'm officially gonna refer to these sections in parentheses as. They will be prevalent and numerous in nature. I figure it gives you guys insight into how my brain works. ...be afraid) so I like to have purpose when I set out on new venture.
And purpose is what drives me. If I don't have a purpose or a reason to do something I generally struggle to do it. That may sound like a 'no duh' comment but seriously motivation can be an issue with me sometimes. And 'making money' isn't a good enough purpose. I worked at Wal-Mart through college and it was a HUGE struggle getting there on time some days because I just felt like I was helping greedy people be greedy (seriously try working at Wal-Mart during the Christmas season. I did. I worked in General Merchandise during Christmas of 2005; Toys during Christmas of 2006; and Electronics during Christmas of 2007. Those are the three biggest gift shopping sections. It was.... bad. I'll stick with the word 'bad') and finding motivation just to GO to work was tough. In my defense once I was there I was hard-working and very helpful, especially compared to some of the people I worked with, so I wasn't LAZY, I just struggled to actually bring myself to DRIVE there. Because I felt like I lacked purpose there.
So why start a blog? Do I have sufficient purpose to really drive me to keep up with this as regular as I should? I believe I do. But I'd be lying if I said I was gung-ho 100% sure about this. But I DO have 2 purposes behind this, and they are:
-Jolson
Colossians 3:12-14
(seriously I was 7 at the time, so that would have been in 1991? So... considering ADHD drugs haven't been around and in use for a very long time medically speaking I'm curious what the odds are that they find long-term usage causes damage/issues/psychosis... and guess who'll be THAT test subject that tips them off? :-P I love blazing trails...)
So I find it ironic that I'm not really a great blogger because honestly writing is one of the few times where I feel like my thoughts honestly flow in a linear fashion. I kept a Xanga in college (gotta love the tech age where a website that's only been obsolete like 4 years makes you feel like you're dating yourself) and I remember feeling like it really helped me think things through sometimes to type them out. So considering there's a blog on the church's webpage that I'm supposed to be updating, I figured I'd give this another honest try. At the moment I'm not going to make myself have a set update schedule. Though that's coming. For now it's a way to express my thoughts and random bouts of clarity in a structured setting. This is my personal blog but at the same time it will be linked on the church's page too. Believe it or not I don't like just to do random things (go figure right? I mean, this is only a couple of paragraphs but I already have had like 4 ADHD attacks? Btw that's what I'm officially gonna refer to these sections in parentheses as. They will be prevalent and numerous in nature. I figure it gives you guys insight into how my brain works. ...be afraid) so I like to have purpose when I set out on new venture.
And purpose is what drives me. If I don't have a purpose or a reason to do something I generally struggle to do it. That may sound like a 'no duh' comment but seriously motivation can be an issue with me sometimes. And 'making money' isn't a good enough purpose. I worked at Wal-Mart through college and it was a HUGE struggle getting there on time some days because I just felt like I was helping greedy people be greedy (seriously try working at Wal-Mart during the Christmas season. I did. I worked in General Merchandise during Christmas of 2005; Toys during Christmas of 2006; and Electronics during Christmas of 2007. Those are the three biggest gift shopping sections. It was.... bad. I'll stick with the word 'bad') and finding motivation just to GO to work was tough. In my defense once I was there I was hard-working and very helpful, especially compared to some of the people I worked with, so I wasn't LAZY, I just struggled to actually bring myself to DRIVE there. Because I felt like I lacked purpose there.
So why start a blog? Do I have sufficient purpose to really drive me to keep up with this as regular as I should? I believe I do. But I'd be lying if I said I was gung-ho 100% sure about this. But I DO have 2 purposes behind this, and they are:
- Give myself an outlet for expressing thoughts, feelings, and topics of study in a linear and clearer fashion than what I feel my brain normally affords me
- Give others; including the members of the church I work for and the teens in my youth group; a better understanding of who I am and what I'm about. Honesty and openness are also very important to me and if I'm going to minister along-side people and to people I feel they should be allowed an accurate understanding of who I am. My goal with that is to hopefully build trust with others. Because I believe without trust and strong relationships ministry is hindered.
-Jolson
Colossians 3:12-14
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