Rediscovering

The problem of celebrity, elevating people to a higher platform and standard than the "average" human being can bear, isn't entirely new. But, it's more accessible. Elevating people gets easier the more we have access to somebody via social media. And while it is a human tendency to want to learn from and be influenced by a "leader", what does our way of doing this negatively affect our relationship with God?

Accepting where we actually are and what we actually desire is hard work. It often takes time to get any sort of clarity about the seasons in which we find ourselves. But once we acknowledge them, how does prayer change? 

There are 30 relatively undocumented and unremembered years of the life of Jesus. Since we believe him to be “the word made flesh” and “God in the flesh”, do we get to call it unfaithfulness that there seems to be so much time spent without a recorded event? Of course not, but for some reason, this is the kind of judgment we tend to use toward our own lives. We're invited to collaborate with God as he brings about what he desires to bring about in the time he desires to -- in love.

I'm so excited to share these poems with you!

Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Rage-Against-Grace-Healing-Resistant/dp/1952842638/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1QNABUB3R2740&keywords=jordan+sleed+the+rage+against+grace&qid=1646696706&sprefix=jordan+sleed+the+rage+against+grac%2Caps%2C291&sr=8-1

The stereotypical picture of a creative person as an intelligent, yet disorderly character has its merits. But, it is not a true and helpful representation of the most creative followers of Jesus. You know, the people that may get labeled as "prophetic". A prophetic life is a creative life, but that doesn't mean it is a life marked by chaos. 

In an age where internet outrage is normal conversation, it's easy to get defensive. But is God's kingdom in need of defense more than in need of compassionate listeners? I certainly tend to act like it is. In every critique of "the faith" there's an opportunity to see somebody's desire for the love of God, and then to be (or attempt to be) the love of God for the critic.

Why is it so difficult to speak with conviction while remaining compassionate? The love of God would have me realize that these two things are never meant to be at odds with one another. In Christ, there's an invitation to no longer speak as though truth and grace are at odds with one another.

God is an artist. And perhaps his artistry is what invites us to repentance, letting us see his kingdom here and now. Reading Makoto Fujimura's book, Silence and Beauty, I was confronted with the fact that I don't think art matters. This, of course, led to a lot of spiraling about whether what I was doing with music, poetry, and even this podcast, was impactful or missional enough. Thankfully, that belief has been and is being interrogated.