Lesson from Spider-man

"...In the end, Peter has made his decision, he's going to run. Until Aunt May meets him on the way out the door. To her there is clearly no option about the decision he has made, he will reveal himself, she believes more in his character than he does. This is the last bit of reassurance he needs to make the hard decision. It then cuts to him at the press conference with Tony Stark who has already made clear his identity as Iron Man. The final frame of this issue was exhilarating. In his classic red and blue costume Spider-Man steps to the podium and says: "Hi, good morning. Thank you for coming. I'm standing here today because… well, because… I have an announcement to make."


Peter Parker has done the unthinkable – he's revealed himself to the public. Everyone now knows that Spidey is Peter Parker. What in the heck is Marvel doing?!

I suspect in the long run he's probably relieved that he doesn't have to pretend anymore. A dual life is hard to live.

I suppose he could put on glasses when he doesn't want to be recognized… doh!

My distaste for Marvel's marketing ploy aside, I DO have a point.

In the real world, I think few people are comfortable enough with them selves not to pretend. The fear of rejection or disapproval is strong, even in 'spiritual' leaders.

I think there is a message that God has for us; it goes something like this

Get rid of hypocrisy, stop hiding behind masks. Lose the religious pretense; it's destructive to authentic faith. I want honest, authentic people.

Authenticity: Loosing the need to pretend.

As a human being, I don't want to be a place where you put on your churchy-face and pretend. I want to allow you to be a work in progress. I want you to do the same for me.

When we pretend, we're stuck. We absolutely cannot become better people until we admit the areas that need work. We can't find our security in God if we never admit being insecure. We can't overcome our anger problems if we continue to act like we're fine.

You can't fix that relationship with your boyfriend if you never tell him the things that make you uncomfortable. You can't find eternity in Heaven until you admit your inability to get there on your own. You can't until you admit, come clean, and be honest.

Good relationships require honesty, including the relationship you have with yourself.

Come as you are. No perfect people allowed.

Authenticity is dangerous if it's not married to acceptance and grace, but that's for another blog.


Trying to be real,

Joe

DOUBTERS WANTED

Somewhere in my work in Churches over the years, I heard a story about a church picnic gone wrong. At this picnic, a teenage boy named “Bob” (a fictitious name) dives to save the volleyball from hitting the ground and breaks his arm in the process. For those of you who are wondering, the opposing team won that point.

That evening the youth pastor called to see how Bob was doing. The mom answered the phone and wouldn’t allow the pastor to speak to Bob. “I’m tired of all this church stuff! How could God let something like this happen to my son? If there was really a God, then He’d protect my children. Especially at a church event! If He can’t keep my kids safe at a church picnic, then why should I trust him?”

Doubts. Do you ever doubt? I have doubts. Sometimes more than others. Faith mixed with doubt? Is that even possible?

Do you remember the story when the little boy put his finger into a hole in the dike and saved the people from being drowned by the ocean? (Hans Christian Anderson). Sometimes I think Christians, especially new ones, put their finger into the hole and hold back a great sea of doubt.

Broken arms are not the worst things that happen to Christians.

There are a lot of Christians who have doubts; a lot more than are willing to admit it. Have you ever expressed your doubts? In my experience, the most common answer among Christian people is “you have a lack of faith” or something similar. That’s it? Simply tell me that I have a problem?

That’s like going to the doctor and telling him that it hurts when you swallow. The Dr. nods, and replies “You have a sore throat,” then he grabs his golf clubs and heads out the door. (boy, I’m full of analogies today!)

At the church I’m starting, together we are trying to loose the need to pretend. We value dialogue and encourage doubt to be expressed. I want my church to be a place where we don’t head out the door with our golf clubs. I want to be a church where we can dialogue, spend time with each other and uncover the ‘reasons’ for our doubt and maybe discover ‘reasons’ for faith.

In the most famous doubting story in the bible, Doubting Thomas didn’t get made fun of or ostracized for his doubts. Instead, Jesus offered evidence. Jesus gave Thomas a reason to believe.

If doubt is the opposite of faith, then I think we must be honest about our doubts before we can ever grow in *faith. If we ignore our doubts or hide them from others, then we are hiding from and ignoring important parts of our lives.

Faith and doubt a paradox? Think about this piece of scripture, “Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”.



Love ya,


Joe



*Faith always needs an object. It’s not possible to have faith in faith. Faith isn’t ambiguous. It’s always Faith in SOMETHING. People say they have faith in themselves or faith in a person. I suggest Faith in God makes the most sense. Maybe we can substitute the word trust for faith?