Friday, January 25, 2008

Where does a light work best?

I was saddened to hear of Heath Ledger's death and I have thought about him on and off over the past 10 days or so. I know the place so very well that he was in before it ended his life.

It is a dark place and it feels like so many times that we all have these lights that are meant to be in those dark places and we're just not shining them in the dark places. It feels like there are just all these lights shining at each other in our churched worlds anymore because we stay so close to our light and not THE LIGHT.

There was this time when I was out drinking all night and had been wired on LSD. (side note:LSD will keep you up anywhere from 10 to 12 hours no matter how tired you are.) It was in the fall and the clocks had to - "fall back" - an hour. I forgot to move my clock back an hour.

Throughout the night I kept going through these spells of wanting to know God somehow. So being up all night, drunk, and under heavy narcotic use had made me so depressed and so desperate for help that I headed over to go to a church. I was desperate for light.

So thinking that I was arriving at church five minutes early I was hopeful to maybe talk with someone before it started. However, I was actually arriving during it's last five minutes. I literally stumbled in through the back door of the sanctuary and the last few rows of the churched folks swung their heads around, looked at me, then looked at each other, then looked me up and down and then they laughed at me. They seriously laughed at me. True story.

It was the last time I would go to church thinking that I'd find Jesus there. He eventually found me and it came through constant plea bargains on my behalf, endless prayers for me from the one who is now my wife and a small group of people that I despised because of their love for Jesus. They knew the Light and where He would go. They never stopped asking and caring. Their persuit was relentless and gracious because they followed a dangerous Messiah.

Jesus, the Light of the World, does not stay in safe zones nor does He aim to people please. He does not run to the gathering of lights but He seeks for the darkened places and rushes to them. He's been asking us to rush to them for thousands of years.

Ask this question: Where does a light work best?
Answer: In the dark.

You, follower of Jesus, are called to be light in this world. You have been given that by He who walks into the darkness and it, the darkness, does not comprehend Him. Which means the darkness cannot overcome the Light because it cannot get itself around the Giver of it. And the giver of light is saying you are the light so you go light up a dark room. NOW!

The day I heard of Heath Ledger's death I said to my wife, "I wonder how long it will take before some church says - that Heath Ledger is dead and gone because he played the role of a gay man and that's what you get."

Well, it didn't take long at all because it's all over Fox News now. Follow this link: FoxNews Report on Heath Ledger

I am so tired of this kind of publicity that gets into the news. It certainly feeds the frenzy of those who desire to gather ammunition against the Church overall but even worse it takes away from the very heartbreak that our Lord felt for Heath when Heath in his state of drug use and loneliness could not call for help.

Who is calling for help within an earshot of you?

I am sad over folks like Brittany Spears too, because one can handle only so much scrutiny before they put a bullet through their brain to escape it.

I am sad that Heath Ledger's family has to hear this kind of nonsense from a bunch of folks that slander the goodness of God by trashing on His very treasured ones. The lost coins that He is asking us to find in the crevasses of this world.

I will miss Heath because I always thought that he was a brilliant actor. I just never thought that his roles really pulled it completely out of him. (And I am not a perfect critic or even a very good one and I have friends that could do so much better in that kind of analysis of an actor.) The new Batman, however, seems to be quite possibly the movie that will do just that. I look forward to seeing it and I look forward to thanking God for the beautiful talent that was part of the one God created and was named - Heath Ledger.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Fighting Poverty: Debunking Critical Mass

The subtitle for this article could very well be this:
Reality Challenges Popular Belief

"There was a time when the Church was very powerful - in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society"
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I love what Tony Campolo said to a Baptist bible college. He said, "I have three things I'd like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don't give a shit. What's worse is that you're more upset with the fact that I said "shit" than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night.”

The greatest danger a church community will face will be in the decision it makes to respond to the needs of it’s immediate neighborhood. The greatest mistake is to gather folks with some worldly mental goal called “reaching critical mass”.

The goal should be to get the Church out and not in. Do you hear that? Now, the quick response is we need to get folks to come to "Church". Well that statement crops the Biblical definition of the Church right down to what one would want to see and leave the whole picture out. We are the Church and it's never stated that we're to bring people to a place that we are in charge of. We are charged to go to the places of despair and to serve!

So, if you have not heard of what critical mass is - it is basically arriving at a certain number of people at your gatherings that allows a feeling of momentum and excitement to take place. It has nothing to do with the actual reason for gathering. But if you are following the ways of man then the reasoning revolves around obtaining a trophy of sorts. If you are studying the Gospel's approach to this sort of thinking then you will see that it is quite wrong and not found anywhere in Jesus' teachings or in the actions of the early Church.

So if you feel critical mass is important then let's ask this: How does critical mass get obtained? Answer: Mass marketing tied in with competitive agendas. And that was something I read in a book from 1983 by some gentlemen who marched in the Civil Rights Movement. I've sat in conferences that have discussed the ways of obtaining critical mass and it makes me sad because you would basically spend almost all of your money on advertising and marketing in the first few years of "planting". Whatever it takes to get your name out there. It is in this kind of consumerism growth strategy that says that the poor will still be there so we'll just get our numbers up first and then strike up some kind of budget and then we can say, "We do outreach to the poor" and then that'll be another way to advertise the deal because it's cool to feed the poor.

Dallas Willard puts it like this: "These public forms of our Christian devotions are the kind that Jesus pushes aside."

Mother Teresa says it like this: "We are not called to be successful. We are called to be faithful."

Here is an example: Starbuck's Coffee sells Fair-Trade Coffee. Out of the several dozen varieties of coffee that it sells they actually only sell one variety of Fair Trade. However, they can now promote the fact that they sell Fair Trade coffee through mass marketing even if it is only .05 percent of their stock. That kind of strategy has infected the Church in America. Just set aside a chunk for the needy and then we can say we do that. This is what Jesus pushes aside.

In serving God's beloved we are to extend a hand and never expect a "thank you" or even a return of any sort. To give someone some help and not get upset because they don't walk through our "church doors" the following Sunday. Somehow God says this is His way of bringing folks to Himself not to ourselves. And that's just it, isn't it. Deciding on bringing folks to Him or deciding to "artificially insemenate" a gathering into existence that seeks it's own glory and approval by saying we did it because look how many people showed up!

But hey, if that "critical mass" gets obtained you can now say God is in it because look how people are showing up. Starbuck's does it so why can't we Christians? There are actual pre-fabricated "Church plants" taking place now in America. Seriously. Churches are sending out 100 to 200 of thier people fully funded and literally landing -"ready to rock", so to speak, with no real effort of falling in love with the city that God is passionate for. I would argue loudly that that is not church planting that is monopolistic and divisive.

Truth is that real Church plants start with a few folks that are mesmerized by sacrifice and service not titles and achievements. Believing that you can only really do Kingdom stuff by reaching a benchmark number of congregants is a trap that distracts Christ-Followers from what the true purpose is. Utilizing time and money to push the name of a Church throughout a city or to feed folks who are hungry is the decision that will expose the heart of what any one of us may be doing.

The disciples were never bothered with reaching certain benchmark practices before tending to the poor and oppressed. Jesus wasn't even concerned with how many people showed up to the events that took place. Sometimes he met with thousands, sometimes with just 10 or 12 in their homes and then lots of times He preferred one on one moments that didn't end with forced decision making on becoming a Christian. That's our Sovereign Lord in control of it all.

I wonder of these things because there is just such a ridiculously funny and saddening amount of "formulaic strategy" on getting the masses to come to Church. In fact, I heard this statistic saying that people decide if they want to come back to your "Church" within the first three minutes of their first visit. That is hilarious and sad. It is hilarious because who can figure out a Church community in three minutes and it is sad because it is completely Gospel-less to try to accomodate such a thing.

Jesus didn't compel His beloved to come to Himself by using precise marketing strategies and nor did He commision the Church to get people to show up on Sunday. He showered folks with grace and mercy and healing and that is what brought folks not only to Himself but His love went to their dark corners as all the more and especially when they did not expect it or even ask for it. People flocked to Jesus because they had not known a "leader" to be like this. To be a servant to the least and to know their names, stories, wounds, and walk into their lonely worlds and shine His face upon them is the commision given to us all.

Oh yeah, I just read that 200 people were killed by four bombs in Baghdad this morning. I wonder if any of us gives a shit.

April 1, 2007
scott budzar

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Peace Is More Than Just A Difference

The most impressionable moments in my life that leave me in a place of striving for humility and seeking to honor the words of our God in terms of "laboring for love and unity" have come from my wife and children.

My eight year old daughter wrote this poem below just a few weeks ago based around her learning's of Martin Luther King Jr. and her very own initiative of starting a Peace Club at Holden Elementary School where she is beginning to coordinate little efforts of caring for the poor. It was not a homework assignment or something she had to do for school. This is what she does all the time.

I am not surprised at her abilities and gifting but I was especially in awe when I read this poem and absorbed her perceptions. Aside from me being her Dad - this is just flat out brilliant and beautiful. Here is my Campbell's poetry from just a few weeks ago:

Peace Is More Than Just A Difference

Peace is more than just a difference;
it is a center of a pure diamond,
The entry of a sunrise on the reflection of the sea.
Peace is more than just a comfort;
it is a joy crying out of the sacred soul.
The wild imagination still can’t compare

to the heavenly raining loves above us.
Peace is more than a beginning;

it is the end of ends, and the beginning of beginnings.
The heart is filled with more love

than as many stars as the eye can see,
you just don’t know it.
Said Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the end of his great speech:

“Peace is more precious then silver or gold.”

-Campbell E. Budzar
8 years old
January 4, 2008

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Angel(s) dig(s) coffee.


Hebrews 13:1-2
Stay on good terms with each other, held together by love.
Be ready with a meal or a bed when it's needed.
Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it!
-the Message

If there is a gift that keeps on giving - in my world as a recipient - it is coffee! If you know me then you know my feelings for coffee. I mean good coffee. Not some version of it that is dispensed with disrespect at each and every mega-gas station out there. Coffee that sits in a pot on an electric plated warmer for more than two minutes is no longer coffee. It is simply burnt brown water.

Yes, it's true, I am a bitch about coffee. I must have it ground then brewed within minutes of each other. It must be strong. It must be in a heavy mug and not some mug that feels like the handle is gonna snap off every time you pick it up. Dark roasted coffee that will not only warm the walls of a thick ceramic cup but it shouts out loud in protest to the evils of Styrofoam(unless I'm in a hurry - of course).

Now mind you there are folks that know I am a strong supporter of fair-trade coffees. I support the shops that support the worker. The real worker. After all, the building of the Church relied heavily on the heart of the blue-collar worker. And that would be both male and female in case your confused. That's another story.

So, do I have feelings against the "Corpo" world of coffee? (My friend Ben uses this word-slash-It's like the middle finger-adjective, "Corpo", extensively. ) My answer: To an extent. I don't hate places like, oh let's say, Starbuck's for example. I just don't go there anymore. For I too walked in darkness once before. Let's say I've been saved and I have seen the light just for the sake of rattling off another paragraph and for the right to remain, well, cheesey.

Christmas was fruitful this year as I received several pounds of whole bean coffee from three different providers. I could get all in to which one is best and which one shall remain as a last resort. But for now, let's just say that there's something about that coffee at Scribbles Coffee Co. in downtown Kent that warms my heart and my belly.

However, one pound of coffee that I received from my brother had a gift card attached to it and it was from Starbuck's. Hmmm... It felt like a dilemma had been strapped to the bag of beans instead of a gift card. Well, that's where my bitchiness needs to just sit down and say, "thanks" as I enjoy the fruits of someone else's labor as thier gift to me!

Here's where you gotta really pay attention. Something very peculiar and divinely sweet took place between December 29 and New Year's Day. It is so very simple that it's complexities have to involve the Lord. Mother Teresa would have said, "He meets us in some of the most distressing disguises you know." And I would agree because I did not realize how this added up until just a few days after it happened.

My Dad's birthday falls on the 29th of December so my wife, myself and our four children headed to Cleveland to be a part of my Dad's birthday festivities. We decided to spend time that day with my side of the family instead of Christmas Day. So there were some gift exchanges going on between all of us that extended from Christmas Day. So this is where I received the several pounds of coffee, Starbuck's gift card and a beautiful statue of an angel.

The statue is just gorgeous. My mom gave it to me. She said she saw it and it made her think of me and she thought it looked like me and so she bought it for me for Christmas. Now if you're familiar with Leonardo Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man(photo above) then you'll know this statue is inspired by just that. It rests upon my desk next to me as I write this.
So I came back home to Kent with coffee related things and a sweet statue.

Then on New Year's Eve we decided to take our kids to see a family movie at the local theater. (Free popcorn on Mondays!) I just happened to grab that Starbuck's gift card and bring it with us. As we pulled up to park I noticed a homeless man standing outside of the theater. I know he is homeless because we have met before... and that was over a cup of coffee and a danish roll outside of Starbuck's where he could not go in because he needed to be a paying customer and so I bought him a cup and simply allowed him to be just that. I instantly remembered how much he loves coffee too and so as I approached him from across the parking lot I reached for my Starbuck's gift card and I went right to him and said this is for you.

He just looked at me slightly stunned and said thank you. I told him I didn't know how much was on the card as my brother never told me. I told him there's gotta be at least ten bucks on it. I just looked him in the eyes, grabbed his cold calloused hands and I said, "You're welcome". He just kept saying thanks and expressed his gratitude a half dozen times more as we went into the theater. When we came out he was not around.

My hopes were for the Starbuck's gift card to allow this homeless man to be a customer and then that in turn would buy him some time (in the Corpo world) in order to stay warm. Perhaps you're thinking why not get him to a shelter. Well, that is not always a desire of the homeless especially if they've been surrounded by rejection for so long. The outcast feels much more at home when they are left alone. This is not what God wants. So we, O Church, must find ways to interfere with the enemy's plans as ambassadors of Christ. Giving stuff away for free, out of love, especially large cups of joe, always messes with the devil.

So maybe you're saying that's nice or that's cool. Dear reader it gets a little better.

The following day, New Year's Day, I got up early and jumped in my minivan and began to head to Ravenna to pick up donated bakery items from a grocery store that I get to save from their fatal doom of ending up in dumpsters and then distribute them to three shelters and to other friends in need.

And that's when it happened.

I stopped at a light next to Starbuck's - and guess who walked out of Starbuck's? That's right!! My homeless friend. He had a tray full of coffees and a mid-size carrying bag full of muffins and tasty breads!!! "Holy crap!", I said in my mind, "How much was on that gift card!?!?"

I unrolled my window and said hello. He saw me and shouted thank you with a huge grin as he hoisted up his gatherings above his head like it was a grand prize! I said we gotta do coffee again some time soon and reminded him that God was truly watching over us. He turned and said he owed me one and would like to get me dinner some time. I joyfully accepted his invitation and told him that I would hold him to it.

So I headed off to the east on the snow covered Route 59 and he ventured west by foot carrying the delights and fruits of his morning hunt. There was the exchange of just things that brought us closer. Some coffee, hellos, a thank you and a you're welcome set us up for another encounter some day soon.

Ooops!! Did I fail to mention his name to you? My apologies. For this homeless man's name shall make this story even more than just a story but a treasured encounter with my King.

He told me his name is: Angel.

A statue of an angel, a Starbuck's gift card and a homeless Angel that digs coffee.

My beloved friends - God is very near to us.