Today I just found out that the gentleman on the far right, my friend Don Ayacardo, just passed away due to some sudden illness. He was my host when I stayed in YWAM Naga City during my visit to the Philippines two summers ago. He was somebody that devoted his life to the work that he did with YWAM, always kept me updated on what was going on, and I’m sad that I won’t be able to see him the next time I visit the Philippines.
I’m sorry I didn’t do more for you, brother :(
The other day, I posted about why “speaking the truth in love” isn’t an excuse for theological debates. I said that real love needs to be evident through grace, not just trying to make me agree with you.
One of my Facebook friends responded with this comment:
I have been told that by…
Truth.
Pizza is hard.
Life can be cruel
LOOOOOL the one in the middle looks like a mushroom hahaha
I normally try not to straight-up criticize a particular person for a senseless comment such as this, but I’m going to. It seems to me that if Mr. Driscoll wants to be a pastor (i.e. one who gives spiritual guidance to a Christian congregation), he may want to consider carefully what he tweets.
It doesn’t take sophisticated eyes to see that this message is uninformed and just plain hateful (and pretty stupid), but the real disservice here is that Mr. Driscoll is demonstrating for his followers a destructive and judgmental attitude that is completely contrary of everything Jesus says in the Bible.
While plenty may be said about the complicated relationship between leading a life of faith and leading a country like the United States of America, it is unhelpful and even harmful to make such a perverted claim and then stand back as followers and non-followers of Driscoll spar with hurtful words aimed at bringing down one another.
I am not saying that we must all agree—Lord knows we never will and probably shouldn’t—but there seems to be an integral part of pastoral ministry and spiritual guidance that Mr. Driscoll is missing when he masks an insult in the form of a prayer.
A pastor indeed.
Instead of praying for Obama or even for Driscoll (which I suspect would only be prayers of hate), perhaps we should all pray for the ability to overcome this kind of thoughtlessness, anger, and even hatred that so easily builds up inside of us—I know that I am feeling some of those feelings right now.
Lord help us to treat each other as you commanded, for their good and ours.
This is disappointing on so many levels :(
EDIT: But, barring a few word choices, this is a great response http://toyadams.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/mark-driscoll-versus-everyone-stiffling-monstrosity/
Happy Inauguration Day!
Okay I know this has been all over the interwebs but I like this quote too much not to share it.
I think I mentioned this before, but I was volunteering in the youth group at my old church when I was asked to step down back in April. Thing is, when I had to leave a huge piece of the leadership team was missing. Honestly, I was the only one who would rather hang out with the younger age group…
I miss Lighthouse, I miss community so much. I want to be clear that I never got asked to step down, and stopped attending ACC on my own will. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to pursue God anymore, but in my mind I can’t deal with the humiliation of having this happen to me. Even in my current state of hearing the bits and pieces of private conversations that families are having about me hurts, not to mention having Christopher Yuan come to ACC for a special weekend conference to reaffirm that gay relationships are wrong (which I’ve been told is at least in part a direct response to me coming out).
It sucks that something which was once such a big part of my life, something that brought me so much joy and happiness, has become so distant and a source of so much pain, awkwardness, and embarrassment. The church never asked me to leave, but as the reaction to my coming out became more and more clear, I no longer felt welcome and stopped attending to protect myself from what I felt had become a negative influence in my life.
I have to say that ACC stopped feeling like home for me after senior year of HS, long before I came out, due to me attending A&M in Fall ‘11 and me trying to be inconspicuous during my time in Austin between the filming of MasterChef this spring. But there are many people there that I am (or was) close to and that I care about, including my own brother, Albert. But when my own parents don’t want me talking to my little brother with any measure of confidentiality of privacy, especially about “the issue”, then I can’t help but feel that the parents of many of those people I was close to feel the same. The last thing I want to do is cause any more conflict.
It’s a bitter pill to swallow
….as much as seeing high profile Christians, whom at one point in my life I might have respected, blame such horrible tragedies like Hurricane Sandy and the Sandy Hook shootings on the growing support for marriage equality.
I talked with my mom via email briefly about the election, and she said to me that she didn’t vote because Scripture says the world will become darker more depraved and nothing she does can change that. From your typical, average “Christian’s” perspective, they might look at the outside world and think that Satan is indeed at work spreading evil throughout the nation and world. To me though, the true damage that is being done is through these really ridiculous, horrific, offensive statements that many Christian leaders are making which is driving away churchgoers (especially the younger population) in droves. While their messages don’t necessarily pack the same vitriol as a famous “church” in Kansas, the overall message (and indeed, the logic that they follow) is identical. And yet, Christians will see that and often issue comments along the lines of “Yep, the decline of Christianity is a sign that the end is near. Jesus, come take those of your beloved that remain devoted to you!” when in reality they fail to see that Satan’s crafty work is being done right under their noses.
Master of lies and deception indeed.
I’ve perceived a growing weariness—in some cases, bitterness—among many of my gay Christian friends toward the broader conservative Christian community, and I’ve been feeling it as well. It’s tough to pin down the source of the melancholy.
Perhaps I’m exasperated things haven’t happened more…
A beautiful post
Adrenaline Rush of the Day
A camera crew in Toronto, Canada filmed this mother duck and her ducklings successfully crossing a busy multi-lane highway.
Editor’s note: This video is not for the faint of heart.
LOLLL it’s like frogger but with the blasts of wind making things even more difficult hahaha.
