Singing about Jesus without Singing about Jesus

Can you write a song that is redemptive without mentioning Jesus? Well, actually you can. Our youngest son releases his debut album, Sound Manifesto, on October 2 (available for download on iTunes or available on CD through Amazon…I know, a shameless plug). I personally love every song on the album (shocker there, right?!). But there are a couple songs that are particularly redemptive...without even mentioning Jesus. One of those songs flowed out of a literature assignment from The Westminster School at Oak Mountain, where Michael was classically educated before heading to Belmont. Edgar Allen Poe published a poem in 1849 called “A Dream Within a Dream.” The theme of the poem focuses on the insignificance and brevity of an individual’s life and experiences, especially when considered in light of the continuum of time. In particular, Poe seems to be somewhat despairing that neither his life, nor any of his experiences or “dreams” have any ultimate meaning whatsoever. In the eighth track on his upcoming album, Michael redemptively tackles the question raised by Poe: “O God! Can I not save/One [dream/experience] from the pitiless wave?/Is all that we see or seem/But a dream within a dream?” Before he tackles the question, however, the song begins with Michael addressing Mr. Poe: “Hello Mr. Poe/I’d like to know/Where were you goin/When you wrote that poem?/The one that says life’s just a dream/Well, your despair is bursting at the seams./You seemed to have a lot of bad days./So now I have some things that I would like to say." The song is redemptive right from the start. How? Because Michael makes clear he is taking Mr. Poe seriously, man-to-man, image-bearer to image-bearer, whether Poe acknowledges a Creator or not. Michael affords Mr. Poe the dignity of knowing he has been heard by another. His lyrics say to Poe: “I care about what you wrote. I want to understand you. I hear your despair.” There are few postures we can take before our fellow man that treat them with more respect and honor…and love. Then, in a line that shows incredible empathy and understanding, Michael writes: “You seemed to have a lot of bad days.” Sometimes the greatest act of love toward another is to identify with their pain and suffering. I am often guilty of trying to “fix” people instead of simply acknowledging their “hard days” and empathizing with them. See, you really can write a song that is redemptive without mentioning Jesus…reflecting Him and representing Him will do just fine.

Together, we can make a difference. Seek Justice.

The week of February 27-March 1 is Justice Week at Auburn University. A time to learn. A time to see. A time to act. A time to make a difference.

On the Auburn IJM Facebook page this week, you can read this...

This Minute, 27 million innocent people are being beaten, abused, raped and enslaved. They are waiting.

Waiting For Freedom.
Waiting For Rescue.
Waiting For You.

Join us for a week dedicated to learning all we can, to stop slavery across the globe.

**Schedule-
Monday Feb. 27- @ 6 p.m. Sex + Money documentary showing and discussion (Student Center Ballroom)

Tuesday Feb. 28- @ 8 p.m. Prayer Night (Student Center Room 2326)

Wednesday Feb. 29- @ 8 p.m. Dessert Night (Girls only, please!) Come hear about your part in the fight; Libby from IJM will speak.
(Student Center Ballroom)

Thursday March 1- @ 8 p.m. Praise and worship led by the First Baptist Opelika band, followed by Libby (who works for IJM and campus crusade) speaking to Auburn students about empowering us to take action and practical ways to do so. (Langdon Hall)

Follow us on twitter @ijmau and #AU4FREEDOM

Together, we can make a difference. Seek Justice.

standing for Freedom with @IJMAU for Justice Week #AU4Freedom



On IJM's main web site, we learn a little about the organization:

IJM seeks to make public justice systems work for victims of abuse and oppression who urgently need the protection of the law.

IJM investigators, lawyers and social workers intervene in individual cases of abuse in partnership with state and local authorities.

By pushing individual cases of abuse through the justice system from the investigative stage to the prosecutorial stage, IJM determines the specific source of corruption, lack of resources, or lack of good will in the system denying victims the protection of their legal systems. In collaboration with local authorities, IJM addresses these specific points of brokenness to meet the urgent needs of victims of injustice.

IJM seeks 4 outcomes on behalf of those we serve:

1. Victim Relief

IJM's first priority in its casework is immediate relief for the victim of the abuse being committed.

2. Perpetrator Accountability

IJM seeks to hold perpetrators accountable for their abuse in their local justice systems. Accountability changes the fear equation: When would-be perpetrators are rightly afraid of the consequences of their abuse, the vulnerable do not need to fear them.

3. Survivor Aftercare

IJM aftercare staff and trusted local aftercare partners work to ensure that victims of oppression are equipped to rebuild their lives and respond to the complex emotional and physical needs that are often the result of abuse.

4. Structural Transformation

IJM seeks to prevent abuse from being committed against others at risk by strengthening the community factors and local judicial systems that will deter potential oppressors.


Together, we can make a difference. Seek Justice.

standing for Freedom with @IJMAU for Justice Week #AU4Freedom

Thanksgiving: A Season of Mobilization, part 4

[be sure and read the previous posts HERE]

What can be done? At the very least we can lift up our voices to others and we can lift up our voices to God. We MUST begin to pray for solutions.

We may not know what to do, but our eyes can be upon the LORD. We are called to pray for governors and those in authority, that
they do right. We are called to pray for rain like Elijah prayed. We are called to act to help people in famine like Joseph did. We are called to bless our enemies and pray for them. We are called to pray for the Church, that she rise up and become a blessing to the nations.

In 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat of Judah is in a tight spot. The enemies of Judah are aligning against her. The king is afraid, so he calls the people to seek the LORD in prayer. In 2 Chronicles 20:6-12 we read one of the most beautiful and effective prayers in Scripture. Jehoshaphat ends his prayer with these words: “For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

It’s time to celebrate Thanksgiving in a new way: “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed.”

What will YOU appear before the LORD with this Thanksgiving?

This season, let’s mobilize.

Thanksgiving: A Season of Mobilization, part 3

[be sure and read the previous posts HERE]


In Isaiah 59:14-16, we are told of a day when justice was turned back, when righteousness stood far away, when truth stumbled in the public squares, when uprightness couldn’t enter a town, and God was amazed that there was no one to intercede...so His Own Arm worked deliverance! Is today that day! God is sovereign... we are responsible. We need God’s Own Arm to work deliverance...but WE must do all in our power to usher in justice and righteousness and truth and uprightness!

Jesus, obviously, had the oppressed, distressed and downcast on His heart as well.

In Matthew 25:31-40 we read: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit
on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? And when did we see You a stranger and welcome You, or naked and clothe You? And when did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.’


A season of Harvest Preparation gives us the opportunity to practice these words. We MUST find a way!
In John 17:21 Jesus prayed that we might be one. We are called to love one another. We are called to pray for one another. We are called to suffer with one another...

1n 1 Corinthians 12:26 the apostle Paul writes: “If one member suffers, all suffer together.”

There is a rare condition called anhidrosis, or CIPA, a genetic disorder that makes people unable to feel pain. It is a very dangerous condition. Pain serves an important function to preserve health...and life. If we don’t feel pain, we could die of internal injuries and not even know we are hurt.

I wonder, does the contemporary church have spiritual anhidrosis? Are we able to feel the pain of the Body? If I hit my thumb with a hammer, my whole body knows it...and it springs into action to DO something about it. My other hand reaches for anti-bacterial ointment, or a band-aid...or my legs take me to a car where I drive to the Emergency Room.

Part of the Body is suffering in the Horn of Africa.

Do we feel the pain?

Are we doing something about it?

If we don’t feel the pain, something is wrong. Very wrong.

Is it out of sight, out of mind? Are we so self-absorbed, we are unaware unless it impacts us?

Am I My Brother's Keeper?

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Edmund Burke, Irish philosopher and politician

As I continue to process the recent events at my Alma Mater, I have been struck by the many comments related to the belief that more should have been done. If THAT isn't the master understatement! The Penn State Graduate Assistant who witnessed the sexual abuse of a child should have stepped in. And Penn State coach Joe Paterno should have done more as well...even according to his own words, in hindsight. Everyone is stepping up saying that if it was them, they would have said/done more. Good.

However, it sure is easy to SAY we would have acted differently...after all, we weren't in the situation. Again, as I've said in another blog: it's easy to SAY I wouldn't have denied I knew Christ (like Peter did) as He was being abused; it's easy to SAY I would have spoken up if I was in Adam's shoes in the Garden and told the serpent to "beat it" and encouraged my wife to not eat the fruit. And...it's easy to SAY I would have entered the shower and rescued that child from his alleged abuser. Talk is cheap. How do we forge a character that does the right thing at the right time? We need to be prepared in advance!

I was sent an editorial that ran several years ago, written by a dear sister in Christ in our church family. We would all do well to read it with the Penn State scandal in mind.

"My heart aches for the young generation who watches the suicide of a teen without considering responsibility to rescue. Upon reading the Nov 22, 2008 article by Rasha Madkour, AP “Teen Commits Suicide before Web Audience,” I immediately gathered my teenage sons and spoke to them, urging courage into their lives to step forward when something seems wrong. I committed to be there to help them seek the help that is needed. I assured them that if they see something happening, they ARE involved. Aren’t we all? I took a good hard look at the Levite, the priest and the Samaritan in “The Good Samaritan” of the Bible. I revisited the behavior of on-lookers in New Bedford, MA at Big Dan’s Tavern that birthed the “Duty-To-Rescue” laws. Do I wait for someone else to act? Did Oskar Schindler or Mother Teresa wait for “someone else?” Was it easy for Dr. Martin Luther King to be the “someone else?”

As humans, there is an innate ownership of one another that we carry in our hearts. We all felt it after 9/11. Involvement is messy and inconvenient, sometimes sacrificial. Have we done the same thing these viewers did to the Miami college student who committed suicide… signed off from fellow humans, assuring ourselves that someone else - authority, government, agencies –will rescue...? Possibly the young man, Abraham Biggs, would be alive today receiving the help he so desperately needed if more web-viewers had stepped forward and chosen to become their brother’s keeper."

Well said!

We need to meet with each other, eyeball to eyeball, and commit to each other and to abuse victims and say now, before the situation arises: "No matter what the cost; no matter who is involved; no matter the awkwardness or tension that may arise; I WILL speak up! I WILL act!"

The Apostle Paul Attends Penn State

When the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to a group of Christ-followers in Rome, he made a point of telling them: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). Paul would say the same thing today if he visited Penn State...or your home!

What has allegedly transpired at Penn State can be faced in one of two ways: we can be overcome by evil; OR, we can work toward overcoming evil with good! How do we overcome the evil of child sexual abuse?

On a website called Darkness2Light.org I found a section called “7 Steps to Protecting Our Children from Sexual Abuse.”

Step 1: Learn the Facts and Understand the Risks
It is estimated that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before they turn 18! In almost 90% of the cases, the child AND the child’s family know and trust the abuser! “People who abuse children LOOK and ACT just like everyone else.”

Step 2: Minimize the Opportunity
“If you eliminate or reduce one-adult/one-child situations, you’ll dramatically lower the risk of sexual abuse for children.” It is estimated that more than 80% of abuse takes place in situations where one child is left alone with one person. Think about THAT!!

Step 3: Talk about it.
Most abused children do NOT talk about their abuse. Learn WHY children are afraid to talk. Learn HOW children communicate. Know WHAT can break down the barriers of talking openly. “One survey showed that fewer than 30% of parents ever discussed sexual abuse with their children.”

Step 4: Stay Alert.
Do NOT expect obvious signs when a child is being sexually abused. LEARN the signs! Emotional or behavioral signs are often more common than the physical signs.

Step 5: Make a Plan
“Learn WHERE to go, WHOM to call and HOW to react.”
As hard as this sounds…try not to PANIC or OVER-react. Offer support. Seek professional counsel and guidance. REPORT or take action in ALL cases of suspected abuse (see www.childwelfare.gov).

Step 6: Act on Suspicions
“Very few reported incidents are false.” Err on the side of caution. “By acting on suspicions of child abuse, you will save not only one child, but perhaps countless others.” Make use of Child Abuse Helplines: Darkness to Light—1-866-FOR-LIGHT; Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-4-A-CHILD; National Children’s Alliance at www.nca-online.org or 1-800-239-9950.

Step 7: GET INVOLVED
“Volunteer and financially support organizations that fight the tragedy of child sexual abuse.”

As we read on the Darkness2Light.org website: “A child’s safety is an ADULT’s job…we make children wear seat belts. We walk them across busy streets. We store toxic household cleaners out of reach. Why then, would we leave the job of preventing child sexual abuse solely to children?”

YOU are the man!

After King David committed adultery with Bathsheba and tried to cover it up, the prophet Nathan came to him and told him a story about a rich shepherd who stole a poor shepherd's one sole lamb. David was irate over the actions of the rich shepherd and immediately called for swift and firm justice. And then Nathan revealed to David that he himself was that very man. We can all become so angry and self-righteous over another's sin and be guilty ourselves of the same sin yet fail to see it.

I am appalled at what is unfolding at my alma mater, Penn State, in the very town where I was raised. I am so angry and disgusted by the alleged actions of a past assistant coach. And if Joe Paterno knew what had happened and didn't do enough, I am disappointed in him as well AND I actually believe, as much as I respect the man, that the Board of Trustees was right in firing him.

I am ALSO appalled at the moral and spiritual blindness of many, of those weighing in on the issue. I am not at all appalled that people are irate and disgusted over what has allegedly transpired...I am shocked at the spiritual and moral blindness I sense as people point fingers WITHOUT considering how they are guilty of similar transgressions. What has happened at Penn State ought to humble every single one of us...we are free to voice our anger and disgust, but we MUST look within our own hearts as well.Hear me: I am not in any way throwing a rescue rope to Paterno...I am simply asking all of us to look within our own hearts.

I think about Peter. He stood silently by and watched the Son of God be abused by the Romans. Actually, he was worse than silent. He positively denied he even knew the Man. I think about Adam. He stood silently by and watched the serpent tempt his wife and then positively rebelled against the command of God...and that's why we face the kind of world we face today. Outside of Scripture, I think about a nation, Germany, which had citizens, many of whom were silent and did nothing in the face of one of the greatest atrocities performed upon human beings (I say "one of the greatest atrocities" because what Stalin did in Russia was numerically even worse.)

I think about my own heart...how often have I been guilty of the sin of silence...or of doing nothing...or at least of not doing enough. I think about the fact that every day of my life I have been entrusted with the Good News of the Gospel...the ONLY message of hope for a broken world, the ONLY message of LIGHT for people lost in a dark world, the ONLY message of eternal life for all doomed for eternal torment and abuse apart from Christ...And. I. Am. Often. Silent.

Do we have a right to be angry over what has happened to these children? You bet! We better be angry at sin and our hearts better break for those children and their families. Do we have a right to be angry if it is indeed true that Paterno should have done more? You bet we do! But I sure hope we don't express our anger before we express our prayers for the children. And I sure hope we actually DO something about sexual abuse in our world and not just express anger about what has happened at Penn State.

But we better be just as angry and heart-broken and humbled over our own sins of omission and sins of silence and sins of not doing enough in our daily lives.

After all, as Nathan would say: YOU. Are. The. Man...or Woman.