Chick-FIL-A Where's the Message?

As most of you know the head of chick-fil-a, Dan Cathy, said things that were viewed as offensive by the homosexual community. This then led to a proposed boycott of chick-fil-a, and then in response (to the proposed boycott) various communities of pro-freedom of speech, and pro-Christ and some Anti Gay activists standing up and backing Chic-Fil-A. I personally think this turned out poorly for people of both sides, but understand where both sides are coming from… allow me to explain.

What is the message?/What does the other side hear?

Whenever anyone boycotts something the message always gets jumbled/confusing. For instance when the boycott was proposed was it to show that the Christian principles of Chick-Fil-A are wrong? Was it a boycott of Christianity itself? Or is it just a boycott of the head of Chick Fil A? Furthermore what did the Mr. Cathy say that was so inflammatory? What about his statement caused such an uproar? Was it that he said he supports the ‘traditional biblical’ definition of family? I am sure the reason why the homosexual community is boycotting chick fil a is because they feel hurt/persecuted and not accepted in the community. They hear: ‘Jesus cannot accept you. Change BEFORE you become a Christian. Homosexuals need not apply.’

And to those of you supporting Chick Fil A, why are you showing up in protest of the proposed boycott? In watching news coverage I see things from freedom of speech to religious reasons, once again the message is incredibly jumbled. Putting aside the political/freedom of speech angle, I think the Christian community feels one of their own is being persecuted, and as part of that persecution they want to stand up and fight against it. I know I did, I wanted to take out my sword, like Peter, and attack those who would attack my brothers and sisters in Christ. This is what Christians hear: ‘You are behind the times! Your God is dead, change! become more progressive! Don’t cling to your ancient religion! you are a bunch of close minded bigots!’

So how are the protests going? What are you saying?

Wouldn't it be easier to sit down and have a conversation with someone of the opposing viewpoint? If you are a homosexual, or think that Christians are being bigoted, sit down and talk with a Christian, 1 on 1 (talk to me if you would like). If you are a Christian sit down with a homosexual 1 on 1, explain Jesus love for you, for them, and YES even about Hell. Explain to them how badly you want to see them saved from Hell, tell them about family friends and family members that have passed that you mourn daily becasue they didn't profess the name of Jesus.

At the end of the day I will stand up and be counted as one of those Christian folks who believe that homosexuality is wrong and a sin, just as I believe viewing porn or rape is wrong and likewise sins. Feel free to persecute me all you want for those beliefs. But I want you to know, that Jesus loves you, He will accept you as you are (a sinner) and He will change you. He did that for me.

With Love

-Ryan

Hey

I am still alive. I recently purchased an iPhone so I can blog from the country now. Fun stuff. Stay tuned for more on Acts, beer brewing, p90x, Tozer, and more.

The Gospel

This is something I believe to the depths of my soul, and I am going to try to explain this as simply as possible. (which may be hard because I tend to be detail oriented).
The Gospel, is essentially good news. Not good advice, not helpful hints. It is the greatest news anyone could ever hope to receive. But to receive it you may need some background information, so here goes nothing….

In the Beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Gen. 1:1)

Man (as humanity) sinned (Gen 3). This sin then polluted humanity from that point forward and as such we all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

Sin is a problem, because it separates us from God. Because God is Holy (or set apart) Just, Merciful, Gracious, Giving, Jealous and Loving, he cannot tolerate sin. You have sinned, I have sinned, we have ALL sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.

God gave humanity “the law” (see Old Testament), to help reconcile humanity back to God. The Shedding of innocent blood (often Lamb’s) was needed for the cleansing of sin. The law also foreshadowed the coming of Jesus (Matt 5:17)

Because God loved us so much God sent his only Son (Jesus), to be fully God and Fully man to the earth (John 1:1-3). Jesus lived a perfect life, and committed no sin. Jesus freely laid down his life to take away our sin, that however believes in Him will not spend eternity in hell (removed from God/ Jesus) but will be able to spend eternity with God/Jesus. (John 3:16)

That is the bare bones of it. I tried to keep it simple and not go off on a tangent with doctrine or historical evidence or proof (of which there is A LOT, if you look).

I pray for those who have not accepted Jesus as their Savior because I do not want them to parish but to see the beauty of God.


With Love,
-Ryan

Leading

In my year plus (not very long) of studying what it means to be a man and lead your family, I have come to realize that leading means being first.

First to apologize
First to admit your fault
First to accept responsibility
First to lovingly call to repentance
First to give up your hobbies for your family
First to give up your own interests for the good of others
First to comfort those who need comforting
First to build up a brother or sister in need
First to go to the Bible
First to your knees in prayer

With love,
-Ryan

Summer 2011 In Review

Well what a crazy summer it has been, multiple weddings, a great book series, vacation, disc golf, and lots of running.

I had the honor to be in two amazing weddings over the summer, one for Crystal and Ben Bobier, and one for Derek and Samantha Martin. They both had amazing weddings that really spoke to each of the couples personalities. But I think my favorite part of both weddings was decorating the cars. I learned a lot from the men of suite 104 in Travis’s wedding in regards to car decorating, and in these two weddings I had a chance to really let my skill shine. (of course 5th degree car decorating black belt Travis Waters aided in the decoration/vandalism of said vehicles). Both of the weddings were awesome celebrations, there was much merriment and dancing for all.

Last spring I stumbled upon a book series named “A Song of Ice and Fire”, it had dominated my reading over the summer. The majority of my vacation was spent reading the third book in the series ‘A Storm of Swords’, which I would rank as the second or third best in the series thus far. (I would say ‘A Clash of Kings’ is number one, followed by ‘A Game of Thrones’) It is a fantasy book set in the middle ages in a land called Westros where kings die (as well as main characters) and Lords and Lady’s fight using war and politics to obtain a crown.

I also went on vacation with family. We went to Battle Lake MN, and stayed in a cabin for a week. It was fun, I didn’t watch much TV other than the Women’s World Cup Final (which was a great game, hats off to Japan). I ran, read, and kayaked to my hearts content, and even visited with my wife’s family on occasion. It was HOT while we were there which made it uncomfortable outside, but it gave you a great excuse to get in the lake. The lake itself was incredibly clean, and in most areas you could see the bottom.

On our way to Crystal and Ben’s wedding Travis and I decided that we should take a disc golf trip across west central northish Iowa, so we stopped and played 3.5 disc golf courses on our way to the hotel. It was great fun and Travis and I were very competitive until we played a course that had poles instead of basket at which time Travis took a commanding lead from which I never recovered. I also had one of my favorite disc golf experiences at the Cedar Falls course. Travis and I set off to play the Cedar Falls disc Golf Course on the Friday afternoon before the wedding. Upon our arrival, a pair of red tailed hawks greeted us, and by “greeted” I mean they were screaming at us. We think they had a nest near by and were concerned we would eat their babies. So we got to see some hawks up close, and played some good disc golf. (on a side note I made a 30 foot put, which I was pretty proud of).

The months of June and July were both running months. In June we had to run 10 miles a week, and in July we had to run 15 Miles a week. I would say that I got back in to shape during those months and have maintained said shape since. (Kaci and I are running a half marathon in October) During my long runs (Runs of 4 miles or more) I usually listen to a sermon, which is awesome because it keeps me from getting bored.

So there you have it folks, that was my summer. I also had many fun times with my wife Kaci, but I’ll have to leave that for another post.

-Ryan

Fair?

Our church recently looked at the great flood as described in Genesis, and asked some tough questions. Perhaps one of the toughest questions that was asked is, “Was it fair?” was it fair for God to destroy humanity? It is a good and legitimate question, and to answer it we have to define “Fair”. The dictionary definition is: free from bias, dishonesty, or injustice: a fair decision; a fair judge. By that definition you could say it was “fair” because God killed everything, and only discriminated by showing grace to Noah and his family. OR you could argue that God was not fair because he only saved Noah (and family). So what is fair? I listened to an Andy Stanley sermon on the subject and came to the conclusion that we have no idea what fair is. There is no UNIVERSAL answer, some people will agree that it was fair, and others will disagree. The best example I can think of is in politics, some Liberal Democrats would say that it is ok to excessively tax the rich to give to the poor because it makes it more fair for the poor people. Some Conservative Republicans would say that it isn’t fair to take from the rich because they (or their parents) earned that money so it is their right to keep it, and they would say that that is fair. The country is pretty much split 50-50 on this idea alone. (other political examples include, abortion, death penalty, foreign wars, and environmental conservation ) Andy Stanley used the idea of getting all the people in your office in one room, and posting everyone’s salaries, then having the CEO stand up and say, “We are not leaving hear until everyone agrees that everyone else is being compensated fairly”, what would happen? It would be a long day I guarantee it. I think we can agree that nothing is “universally unequivocally fair”, so if there is no agreement on what is “fair” then can we really say that God isn’t “fair?”. How can we say “God, you are not fair!” when we don’t even know what “Fair” is?? I think others will take it further and say, “God you are not fair THEREFORE I do not believe you exist, because IF God existed he would line up with what MY idea of ‘Fair’ is!” Kind of sounds silly now doesn’t it? I think the REAL question that needs to be asked is, “is it True”, not “is it ‘fair’?”. Lata, Ryan

FIGHT!!

Last night/this morning at about 02:00 I was awakened by the neighbors below us. We rarely visit the people who live directly below us (and by rarely I mean never) as opposed to our neighbors that live in the apartment to our left or right. I don’t know much about them other than the fact that it is a female who has one male toddler. She lives by herself but has her boyfriend over to spend the night on occasion.

Last night she fought with her boyfriend. Loudly, not physically but verbally, and here are some of my observations about said fight.

1) The “F bomb”, I don’t think so many bombs had dropped since operation Rolling Thunder in Vietnam.
2) The repeated question, “What the F* did I do!?!”
3) “Get out!” “go sleep on the couch!”
4) Yelling

After listening to them fight last night I realized how well Kaci and I fight. Granted we are not perfect and are still working on how to fight with each other we still have a basic concept of how to fight. Here are some of our rules… (although they aren’t official we try to stick by them as best we can)

1) No yelling (although I do raise my voice sometimes, mostly when I am frustrated, but I don’t yell)
2) No swearing (duh)
3) Listen (again duh)
4) Admit when you are wrong
5) Stay on topic, no jumping around, address the issue at hand, if there are other issues save it for another (more appropriate) time.

Kaci and I don’t “fight” very often, although we do have some disagreements, we do our best to listen and try to understand one another. Kaci is really good about not letting things that bother her fester which helps our relationship a lot.

Plus I think it helps that we are 100% committed to one another and not simply sleeping together. I think that when you are committed you tend to look at arguments and disagreements with more of a long term perspective in mind.

Some great advice that was given to me by Ryan “Elder” Tow was learn how to fight, it makes sense, I mean sooner or later you will fight about something, and it is best to know how to fight when the situation arises. (so you don’t wake up your neighbors at 2:00am)

Lata,
Ryan