Raising up an ARMY!

....an army of radicals.

....an army of radical lovers.

....the preacher asked for it, and he got it. The youth tonight didn't experience youth camp. They experience a moment that could very well define their future and their world. The youth tonight were not given an alter call, they were given a chance to respond authentically to the God who dares love the rebellious bunch.

After explaning that God was raosing up an army, students were challeneged to stand alone in a filled auditorium and yell out who they were presently (addicted, angry, hopeless, lustful, etc.) and then say
"God, change me."

One at a time, from the shocked silence, students... teenagers... began rising withj hands held high... "god, I'm an addict, CHANGE ME" ... the cry was real, and as the voices rose from different directions, a symphony of sorts, of broken humanity desperate for real authentic life, desperate for change.

Probably a hunderd to two hundred students rose with yearnings for real change. The presence of God gently tugged as we then enter a true wrestling match with God... He yielded, and many students came out, like Jacob, with a different name.

2009 youth camp, and it's the first night.

Watch out for JESUStm

Countless people form their lives around the person Jesus… countless others form their lives around the JESUStm brand. What’s the difference? Well, the commercial JESUStm brand is really about you keeping up your good image. You get to feel better about yourself, and you get to make others think that you are better than you are. Don’t buy it! There’s no life or forgiveness in the JESUStm Brand.

The real Jesus of the New Testament is naturally opposed to the brand that uses his name. First of all, the JESUStm brand is fake. The real Jesus is the realest person to ever live! Also, Jesus isn’t interested in your “good” image. He’s interested in your ugly, selfish heart being transformed through the messy, radical love of God. Jesus says you don’t need to “feel better” about yourself… in fact, he says the selfish you must die in order to really live! And he knows what he’s talking about! The guy dies and rises again for a living! Most of us get confused sometimes and replace the real living Jesus with the JESUStm brand. The “good news” is that real Jesus REALLY forgives. Listen for him to speak to you today about the JESUStm brand in your life.

Rescue The Girl Update - 6.10.2009

Embedded Video

The Promo that was a "No GO"

Embedded Video

From our trip to MountainFilm

The trip was amazing. You can view some of the videos of the trip at my youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/thelivingparable

The Radical Call of Jesus

A conversation I had a few days ago reminded me just how lame our Jesus is.

Yeah... You read that correct.

"Our" Jesus is a lamo, cushy, conservative who is more concerned with proper piety and social respectability than living in radical surrender, selflessly Loving God and people.

• The word radical means to get to the root of something. As followers of Christ, we aren't trying to be radical 'cause it's trendy. We are learning to respond to life at the realest level, or root level - which is the God-level. Like we should expect, our domisticated version of Jesus is a very surface person, concerned with our material success, comfort, personal prefrence, and our ability to compartmentalize life.

I was talking with another youth pastor about ministry and he told me how he longs to be doing something "radical" for Jesus. He was frustrated with how unradical youth ministry was. It didn't really occur to him that the call we are answering in ministry is by nature radical, and that whatever isn't creatively radical may be where "our" version of Jesus steps in.

Many of us know "our" version of Jesus isn't "THE" Jesus. Yet we are so deeply infected with our version of him that we struggle with letting the real Jesus be who he already is.  Ordinary people like me fear that if we really let Jesus be Jesus, we simply can't survive. And we're right. The raw untamed Messiah isn't safe for us. He's an "all in" type of guy who unreservedly, yet lovingly, asks for our total allegiance. He asks - no, commands - "Follow me... take up your cross... come and learn how to die, that you might truly live." Yes, the call of Jesus is radical. And it's not just radical for a few of us either. The call of Jesus is RADICAL, peroid. Somehow we've domisticated Jesus to the point that only some people hear the radical call of Jesus while others hear the regular call (you know, be good people, join a church, tithe regularly, etc).

Truth is, I'm longing for the culture of Jesus. And my religious ego hopes and prays that I continue longging for it. "Our" Jesus is ok with us theorizing and emotionalizing our relationship - even if it isn't real. 

Who is Jesus? I fear we often know too much of him to really know him at all. Contemplate what he says. Intently watch the way he lives. Pretend he's a stranger. Is this guy the express image of God or a crack head?

As for the call of Jesus, it seems pretty clear to me that he is telling us to abondon our culture and join his radical life - repent for God's Culture/Kingdom is here and available. Jesus is calling us to follow him - not a religion or a program. And that's radical! Following Jesus isn't a life-style choice... it's LIFE. He came, not to give us Christianity or some super ethics but, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." The life he gives is so good, you can get your self killed  - and love it. Or sell all that you own - and love it. Or feed mean, stubborn old people - and really love it. Or literally reach out to a prostitute - and love it. Retiunely help a homosexual - and love it. Actively forgive a terrorist - and truly love it. Serve a musty, stinky third-world community in Africa - and love it. You get the picture.

 
Matthew Armstrong
June 6th, 2009