Some of us have run from bees. Others of us have run from bullies. And lots of us have run from a friend’s house when we heard the voice of mom calling us in the house for supper.

I distinctly remember the call of my mother who would yell, “Ronnie and Johnny and Pat-riiiiiiiiiik!” to get her three sons home from a few blocks away. The last part of Patrick’s name was always drawn out in a falsetto voice. We could hear mom from five blocks away, and we would immediately stop what we were doing and run home for supper. And, unlike most kids today, we actually played outside, so, by the time we got home, we were sweaty, filthy, stinky, and starving; we were a mess!

As a pastor, I have heard, more times than I can count, about those who have run from their calling from God. There’s a story in an Old Testament book of the Bible about a guy who ran from his calling from God. “But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish” (Jon 1:3a NIV). It’s interesting how many Jonah’s there are out there in the pastoral world. Every seminary and Bible College hears their fair share of those who have “ran away from the Lord”.

The point of Jonah’s tale is to let us know that it is dangerous to run from God.

What about running to God?

My wife recently used a fairly simple and well known object lesson to bring home the point that we must all work together in order to do God’s will. In other words, no one person can do the entire ministry required to bring others to the Good News.

She used a tablespoon-full of coffee grounds to point out how only one part of a recipe is not very appealing to the palate. After all, it’s not until the grounds are added to water and heated on a stove that something edible is produced.

When she scooped up the coffee grounds into the spoon, she asked if anyone would like to eat the grounds. Of course, one young boy who wanted more attention than he should have desired raised his hand with great urgency and said with earnest enthusiasm, “I’ll eat it! I’ll eat it!” So, my wife obliged him with a quick dunk of a heaping mound of dry coffee grounds right into his mouth.

Immediately, the boy stood up and ran for the closest faucet. With a look of horror on his face, he ran as fast as he could to the kitchen sink, while his mouth oozed dark brown slobber that ran down his chin and onto his nice, white shirt.

Some Christians, who are called to some form of ministry leadership, run with great passion away from God. While others, like the little boy with a penchant for punishment, run with equal eagerness toward what they think they will enjoy. Imagine their surprise when they learn that they have rushed into something they weren’t really expecting. In fact, they found that the ministry they ran to wasn’t really tasty to them at all.

Let’s not forget Paul’s warning in his first letter to Timothy: “[An overseer] must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil” (1Ti 3:6 NIV).

Sometimes, Christians are too eager to dive into their calling before their calling is ready to receive them. And when they rush to open their mouths and take it all in, they are horrified to discover that it tastes nothing like they imagined. Because of their impatience, they end up making a huge mess, when a few more ingredients and a little more cooking time could have given them a more palatable experience.

As Dr. Rod Cooper so wisely stated, “God is not in a rush to make you a leader. He is much more interested in what you look like when you do lead.”

So, whether I’m a Jonah 1:3 runner or a 1 Timothy 3:6 runner, the direction I’m going isn’t really the problem; sometimes it’s the running itself that makes the mess, no matter which way I am headed.

In His dust,
Johnny

© 2010 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

There is power in a name, and enormous amounts of power can be exercised by the one who bestows a name. The very act of naming is in and of itself a performance of authority.

We give names in order to give recognition and even to prove ownership, such as when we name a boat or a child, or even give a pet name to our loved ones. And we also give names in order to protect ourselves from having to understand a person, a people, or a thing. Giving a name, in this way, is actually giving the one who names the ability to control what appears to be uncontrollable, and offers a pardon from having to know more about that which he or she has named. It is a way to dismiss someone or something without having to grow or learn. This kind of naming is the fodder that empowers racism, homophobia, and grudges.

We have all used this naming power many times. When we disagree with someone, the temptation to put a name on them is immediate. If I can give this person a name, I can box them in without having to listen. I might give them a political title or refer to their generation, nationality, or hometown.

Jesus was called a glutton and a drunk, when the authorities wanted to box him in (s. Mat 11:19 NIV).

There are Christians who assume the power to brand other Christians with titles like “Emergent”, so that those who don’t assume the “orthodox” beliefs can all be rolled into a convenient ball and targeted as one, neat group to be discussed by those who wield the naming power.

Sometimes names are given as a reminder of who someone claims to be, but isn’t exemplifying. Jesus used this when reminding those who knew how to live like God, but weren’t. “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men’” (Mat 15:7-9).

Christians! Christianity is about Christ; it’s not about Bible translations, doctrines, or buildings. When we make Christianity about something other than Jesus, we assume the power to give it the name that we want it to have. And anyone who doesn’t believe that it’s about what we believe it is about also is given a name, such as “heretic”.

Keeping Christianity safely in our box keeps us from having to know what being like Jesus really is. Instead, we can simply learn what our denomination or personal belief system is about, and then we only have to know what that is.

Learning to really be like Jesus is a lot messier. And we have learned that messes must be contained, whether they are what we see as messy people, messy things, or messy beliefs.

In His dust,

Johnny

© 2010 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

when the bus came to Capernaum, the thrill of walking on the ground where Jesus considered home was truly exhilarating. This was another place that had taken up much of my personal study time back home. I knew of the basalt rock that was prevalent in this area. And I also knew that the olive presses and other tools used for processing food were made in Capernaum and used throughout Israel. And I was there, gazing and walking upon  Jesus’ old stomping grounds. And it was really happening. I was really in Jesus’ hometown.

As we walked through the town of Capernaum, I looked around at the many millstones and olive presses that I had only seen in videos and pictures, and I wanted to take so many pictures, while, at the same time, I wanted to put away the camera and simply enjoy the moments. But I continued to take pictures so that I and others could enjoy them in the future. And there were moments when I handed the camera to my wife so that I could look at everything with my naked eyes. It was an awesome experience. One of the tools that I wanted to see for myself was the Γεθσημανὶ (Eng. Gethsemane meaning “olive press”), a large, heavy, stone pillar that was placed upon bags of broken, ripe olives and used to squeeze out the precious olive oil.

When we came up to a gethsemane in Capernaum, our guide pointed it out, but I was surprised that he was unaware of its significance in the story of Jesus. It is in the gospels of Matthew and Mark that the story of Jesus going to a place called “Olive Press” is told. And it is in the garden of the Olive Press where Jesus feels the heavy burden of our sins placed upon him like a giant gethsemane, and has his very precious blood squeezed from his body as his sweat was laced with drops of blood due to the stress of his impending Passion.

It was in the garden of the olive press where the priceless oil of our Savior was literally pressed from his body by the weight of our sins, which he bore for us all. How could that have been missed by our guide? I was saddened that more of us were not privileged to the metaphor of Jesus’ night in the garden of the Olive Press. I continued to look around at all of the ancient millstones and seas used by those who processed olives in Capernaum during the time of Jesus. Perhaps Jesus himself had used or even built some of the olive presses that were found in this ancient place. After all, Jesus was a τέκτων (Eng. Tekton), a construction worker. And though tekton is usually translated as “carpenter” in the New Testament, it actually means “construction worker”, which could also refer to a stone worker. Looking around at Capernaum, and all of its stone work, along with the fact that Capernaum was “the” city where these important tools were purchased, helped me to see that it is very possible that Jesus probably did much more work with stone than he did with wood.

This was indeed a life-changing, eye-opening occasion, even more than I had hoped for. It was here in Capernaum that the story of Matthew 17:24ff speaks of Jesus teaching his disciples a powerful message about humility and “littleness”. While they are in Capernaum, Jesus has children come to him, and he tells those who want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven that they must be like little children. And he goes on to tell them that if anyone causes a child to sin, then that person would be better off having a millstone hung around his neck and then be thrown into the sea. That story became so vivid as I stood there in Capernaum looking at the many millstones which must have been there as Jesus told this story. And then to look over my shoulder at the sea of Galilee, which was believed to be the Abyss, where the power of evil lurked beneath the waves, brings the entire teaching moment into full perspective. Jesus used that which was around him to teach a powerful message to those who were listening to him. With a child on his knee, a millstone beside him and the sea of Galilee in full view, his message must have left a significant picture on the minds of all who heard.

In His dust,

Johnny

© 2010 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

“My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, ‘You are my sister,’ and call understanding your kinsman; they will keep you from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words” (Pro 7:1-5 NIV).

The writer of the seventh chapter of Proverbs shared such transcendent wisdom that no one who reads the words can exclude his or herself from being placed as the “youth who lacked judgment (v. 7). We have all been seduced away from wisdom.

As a teenager I placed myself in many precarious situations; some could have had lifelong effects upon my life. Somehow, probably by the grace of God, I escaped without permanent scars (at least visible scars).

It wouldn’t be fair to leave you hanging without exposing myself a little, so let me think for a moment about what I am willing to share. I’ll admit, I won’t let you in too deep, but I will share one story that is probably common to many.

There were many of us who enjoyed an occasional alcoholic binge in our adolescence. We had no clue of the dangers, and enjoyed the euphoria of our blood’s thinner consistency. And on one occasion, I found myself so inebriated, that I have no clue how my friend and I got home. We were in a tiny sports car that was something like a sardine can with a V-6 engine. It’s a wonder that we even made it home at all.

During another blood-thinning orgy, when I had been married for only a year, I called my wife and begged her to come get me. Because of my tone, she assumed that I was hurt or sick and rushed to pick me up from my friend’s house. When she discovered that I was not sick or hurt, but “three sheets to the wind,” she took me home, threw me in the shower, and three hours later I awoke with the cold water spraying me down while my wife slept peacefully.

I deserved it.

Never again would I place myself or my family in such a juvenile position. I have learned a lot about trading my youth for euphoria.

As the child of an alcoholic, I have experienced many things that have prepared me for difficulty in life, and thankfully I also learned what I didn’t want to be—an alcoholic!

“At the window of my house I looked out through the lattice. I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who lacked judgment” (Pro 7:6-7 NIV).

The writer of this wise saying saw me. The writer also saw you!

Many of us are still being seduced, driven away from wisdom. And like the teenagers who can do more danger to themselves in an hour than can be repaired in a year (borrowed from Dr. James Dobson), mistresses of the world continue to destroy God’s people, until we find ourselves under the cold shower of an empty soul longing for the warmth of our “sister” and our “kinsman.”

In His dust,
Johnny

© 2009 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

In response to an atheist on another website who believes that God cannot exist, and therefore seeks out Christian blogs to offer her negative opinions, I wrote the followingIt’s a bitter life for those who choose to see the world through the eyes of fundamentalism. And whether that is a religious fundamentalism or a non-religious fundamentalism, the words of one very wise person are true, “Fundamentalists are people who are angry about something. It doesn’t matter what is said or who says it, the fundamentalist will always only seek the points to argue, and never take the opportunity to genuinely and respectfully invite constructive debate.

It seems that no matter how a person puts forth his or her opinion concerning a set of beliefs, the fundamentalist will only seek to find points upon which to disagree rather than seek to understand the point of view of another, even if he or she could choose to respectfully disagree.

The greatest weakness of the fundamentalist is his or her inability to open his or her mind to possibilities. For two years, I studied with friends who were and are atheists and agnostics. Neither of us was ever convinced of the other’s view, but we all grew. We are still great friends and respect how we each view the world, though we choose to respectfully disagree. How can we do that? Maturity and a sincere desire to deeply care for the other person even when we absolutely disagree with the individual’s faith and worldview.

I can’t help but be a little intrigued by those who once refused to accept anything in the Bible as truth, until another non-God possibility is raised. For example, I have seen very educated scientists who have recently stated, “It may be a good idea to take a fresh look at the stories of the Bible. It may be that the stories are true. And those who claimed to see God and chariots, and people taken away into the sky were actually true stories about…aliens!”

And it really doesn’t offend me that people are more likely to believe in aliens than God. It’s human nature to only believe in what we can see. I don’t dislike anyone personally for thinking that way.

I am also very intrigued by the amount of Christians who now consider themselves atheists and agnostics. And the reason I am intrigued is because, in every one of these cases that I have personally witnessed, that person has done some serious soul searching. They are not flippant about their decision to give up faith. I still believe that their worldview has been distorted, but I respect their desire to find answers.

It cannot be argued that as Dr. John Lenox said to Dr. Richard Dawkins in “The God Delusion Debate” video, “The only thing that can be proven is math. Faith, History, and Science are all based on evidence, very convincing evidence in many cases, but still only evidence.”

In closing, please let me say, I know that we all have doubts about aspects of this world. Many of us struggle daily with what to believe or not to believe. Others have our minds made up. But those who know the true value of philosophy, either religious or otherwise, we are aware that those views are always changing, growing, developing, ebbing and flowing. That is not to say that we ebb and flow in and out of belief, but aspects of our beliefs are in a constant state of development.

Even my own theology is in a constant state of flux, not in and out of faith in God, but always developing. Some things that I believed were absolutely essential to my faith 5 years ago or even 6 months ago, I now see as non-essentials.

Fundamentalists are usually associated with Evangelical Christians, but fundamentalism is the close-minded faith of any belief, including athiesm. To get stuck in a belief that is without the benefit of constantly seeking truth will set any of us up for failure, hence the danger of fundamentalism.

In His dust,
Johnny

© 2009 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

Is America a Christian nation? Should we call it a Christian nation?

Jesus’ message was clear. The “key” or “theme” of his message was “The Kingdom of God.” The Kingdom of God is the people of God doing the will of God on earth, making the world a better place to live. If I go into a room, a store, a house, a country, I either bring with me the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of hell. God’s Kingdom is brought with me when I obey the teachings of Christ whose words are literally God’s words. Hell’s kingdom is brought with me when I don’t obey Christ’s words to heal, help, serve, feed, et cetera.

We are to establish the Kingdom of God on earth as Jesus directed. With this as the case, to call ourselves a Christian nation is probably not accurate. Even so-called “Christians” bring a lot of hell with them everywhere they go. Maybe you’re not aware of the factions, racism, and judgmental attitudes that exist among some Christians.

If a Christian nation is a nation where the Kingdom of Christ is spread, then we cannot, with a clear conscience, call ourselves a Christian nation. A nation with Christians would be a more accurate statement.

I’m not so sure that Jesus wanted us to create a Christian nation. After all, it was after the death of Constantine, when all other religions except for Christianity were declared illegal, that a nation of Christians who were persecuted became a nation of Christian persecutors.

To be honest, I am not as interested in being a Christian nation as much as I am interested in being a nation that accepts Christians who are free to enter and invite others to enter the Kingdom of God. The Jewish people have understood this philosophy throughout the millennia, as they are a nation no matter how scattered they are and regardless of the country in which they live.

A Christian nation is a nation without borders. The Kingdom of God is the only true Christian nation.

In His dust,
Johnny

© 2008 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

Where did all the good attitudes go?

For two days I have tried to take my son to get his hair cut. Yesterday our schedule was tight and we had about an hour to spend on getting his hair cut. We went into the barber shop where there were two barbers and two people getting their mops chopped. We walked in, they asked for my son’s name and told us to have a seat. Twenty minutes later, one of the barbers finished, cleaned her equipment, swept around the chair, and then disappeared into the back of the store. She never even looked at us.

We left.

Today, we thought we’d try again, so we went to another hair cutting establishment. My twelve-year-old who stands about five and a half feet tall was placed on a booster seat, covered in a kiddy apron that barely covered his shirt, and when the barber was finished, he stood up with hair all over him, which was not even brushed off his neck or shirt.

I have a suggestion: “If you don’t like your job, quit and get another one, or quit the passive aggressive whining and at least smile.”

It seems to me that too many people feel no need to be kind. The friendly cashier, the talkative barber, and the caring doctors are all but a fond memory in far too many business establishments.

Even if you don’t believe in God, believing as Richard Dawkins does that science has freed us from believing in a creator, you have to admit that treating others as you would expect to be treated is pretty good advice. At least eight ancient religions, including Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Taoism, have a form of the “Golden Rule” within their perspective holy writings.

What harm would it do to have a good attitude even if you have a job you don’t like? With a good attitude, you might have a chance of receiving a better job offer from a customer, but with a bad attitude, all employers are just glad to know that you are some other employer’s problem.

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you… (Matthew 7:12a) NIV.

In His dust,
Johnny

© 2008 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

The last two weeks have kept me pretty busy, and I have been enjoying myself. I spent last week living in a cabin that smelled like someone’s dirty laundry, but I really liked being out there with the teens and young adults. This week is a lot different. I am staying in a condo in Orlando with wonderful amenities that include a whirlpool tub that my four-year-old daughter loves.

I am grateful for the rest and appreciate the opportunity to not have to do much thinking. This thought process reminded me of a conversation that I had with a dear friend this past week. He asked me what I thought about a pastor turning off his phones for a week to rest, not allowing himself to be contacted at all.

At first, I thought it seemed a little extreme, but then I realized that a week of no communication is good for everyone. All of us can use at least seven days of no contact for a few reasons. First, it allows us to really rest. Second, it reminds us that no one is indispensible. And last, even Jesus took time to get away, even leaving those who needed healing left on the bank while he disappeared to a private place.

May God richly bless all of you as you consider taking time for yourselves at least one week per year.

Away from the crowd,

Johnny

© 2008 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

“…as if humility, chastity, poverty, in a word holiness, had not done incalculably more harm to life hitherto, than any sort of horror or vice…As long as the priest, the professional denier, calumniator and poisoner of life, is considered as the highest kind of man, there can be no answer to the question, what is truth? Truth has already been turned topsy-turvy, when the conscious advocate of nonentity and of denial passes as the representative of ‘truth’” (Friedrich Nietzsche, The Antichrist, 10).

Is holiness the denial of pleasure?

To an archaic monastic individual, maybe so. But I would argue that there are many falsehoods inserted into post-Roman Christianity, which have led to the incensed attitude of such people as Nietzsche.

It was not Jesus, the one who turned water into wine, hung out with prostitutes, and partied with sinners who told us that sex is sinful, alcohol is a Devil’s brew, and Christians should not hang out with sinners. Indeed, Jesus would tell us that alcohol in moderation is advisable, sex within marriage is the God-way, and the ungodly should take a great deal of our personal time. And none of these are offensive to God. He made all of them, and even the most vile human is His child.

If drinking wine and hanging out with drunks and hookers makes a person a sinner, then Jesus died for his own sins.

Holiness is a life that is pleasing to God in accordance with His will. Denial of pleasure is not the gateway to holiness, but to self-righteousness. I would agree with Abraham Cohen that holiness is apartness from everything that defiles. Unfortunately, the people of God often feel that it is their responsibility to define that which is offensive to God based on what is culturally offensive to them.

We may be awed and satisfied by our own opinions of holiness, but it is God’s vocabulary that truly defines what it is to be “set apart.” And God’s Word is filled with that definition.

“If God is alive, then the Bible is His voice. No other work is as worthy of being considered a manifestation of His will. There is no other mirror in the world where His will and spiritual guidance is unmistakably reflected” (Abraham Joshua Heschel, God In Search of Man, 245).

If holiness is the act of pleasing God, then, for the Christian, a life of holiness is that of obeying Jesus’ commands, which are encapsulated in Matthew 25:31-46. It is not the outward and personal appearance of personal piety that is most pleasing, but the outward service to others that brings true pleasure to Christ.

In His dust,
Johnny

Check out Too Godly for God for further support of this article.

© 2008 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

WARNING: This may be disturbing to some readers. This article includes news of sexual brutality toward a child.

Monday evening I turned on the television in a hotel room in Gatlinburg, TN to hear something that made my blood boil…toward God. I was so disturbed by what I had heard that I found myself having difficulty sleeping. There were even moments when I wanted to scream out and cry for the misery that had been given to an innocent toddler who had no one to turn to…not even God.

You may have heard the news that someone video taped the rape of a three-year-old girl. I have a three-year-old girl, a fact that caused this horrific news to hit so close to my heart that I have not been the same since the moment I turned on that television. I struggled with anger and frustration over my own helplessness. My mind was so troubled by this story that I woke up to the sound of a screaming girl crying “Mama!” in my sleep Monday night.

Because I am a visual person, it was difficult for me not to hear the screams, picture the begging, the crying, the helplessness that this baby must have experienced. And it made me so angry that I wanted to stand outside and scream, “Where are you, God?!!!!!”

I hear so many stories about God’s powerful presence during times of prayer, when entire cities are transformed by revival. Why is the powerful presence of God always so evident when people are worshiping, but not when an innocent child is being mutilated and destroyed by those who she believes are the protectors of her world?

The absence of God in these kinds of situations is beyond frustration for me and millions of others. I am so sorry for that little girl.

Although the questions that surround God’s absence in times of desperation may never be fully reconciled on this side of heaven, there is an answer.

God is not our baby sitter.

Too often we spiritualize our own responsibilities as protectors of the children in our communities, and hand those responsibilities to God. In such a busy, out-of-control world it is easy to forget that God gave us instructions to take care of our world and all that is in it. We cannot expect to raise our children in an irresponsible, hateful, brutal society, and expect God to intervene every time we neglect our own jobs as stewards of the children in our world. And this is not a statement towards parents alone, but towards all adults. We all have a call to look out for the little ones, whether they our our own children or the children of others.

It is time that we stop pretending that God will bring down fire from heaven every time one of his children is in trouble. The simple truth is, we have a responsibility to be God’s eyes, ears, hands, and even fists in the world.

Keep our children safe. Stop trying to give God our jobs. God is not a baby sitter!

Blessings,

Johnny

© 2007 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved