Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
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Quoting myself
from I Just Wanna Ride
(FTW):
Bikers like to say, "People ask why we ride
motorcycles.
For those who have experienced the ride, no explanation
is necessary. For those who have not really ridden, no
explanation is possible."
A mentor put it this way, "My biggest struggle is not
with
people who don't believe in Jesus. I don't expect
anything
from them. My biggest struggle is with people who say
they believe in Jesus but don't act like they believe in
Jesus."
I'll paraphrase: "My biggest struggle is not with
people
who aren't bikers. I don't expect them to understand.
My biggest struggle is with people who say they are
bikers but don't act like bikers."
Posers.
That's a preface
for increasing concerns about the "Christian" attack on Tim Tebow.
@#$%
I have
appreciated brothers/sisters who have quoted Matthew 6:5-6 to express their
concern/criticism/outrage/horror/disdain/displeasure/whatever for TT's faith so
akin to Matthew 5:13-16; 10:32-33; Romans 1:16-17; 10:9ff.; Titus 1:16; and
countless/innumerable/overwhelming/staggering contextual texts about expressing
who we are as His.
Here's a basic
hermeneutical principle.
Text in context.
Geez.
But, O.K., take a
look at Matthew 6:5-6.
Yeah, look it up.
O.K., Jesus is
concerned about people who parade around like posers to pretend
something/Someone not in their hearts.
Is that what TT
is doing?
Golly.
Do you really think
TT is parading around?
I don't.
Is he the poser?
Nah.
I may be wrong;
because I don't know his heart as well as his "Christian" critics.
Here's some stuff
that makes me think TT is more authentic to Jesus than those attacking him
from, uh, their, uh, faith/perspective/weltanschauung.
TT is a lot more
humble than me or most clergy or "churchy" people that I've ever met.
Kathie tells me
that she's hoping her daughter will someday date someone like TT rather than...
TT is a far more
attractive witness to Biblical Christianity than...
TT doesn't flaunt
his faith like some who flaunt their
extra-Biblical-I-know-that's-what-Jesus-said-but-I-think crap.
The media zooms
in on him in his closet while he's sitting on the back bench.
Yeah, he's bowing
his head.
Yeah, his lips
are moving.
C'mon!
Is that parading
around?
Yeah, sometimes
he drops to his knees after a touchdown or when he's leaving the field; but I
haven't seen him rolling around and spitting and jumping up and down like
a Pentecostal in heat.
Again, the media
is zooming in on him.
Is that parading
around?
Please,
brothers/sisters, lay off this young brother who is bringing more glory to Jesus
than I have in my entire life and ministry and I dare say than...
@#$%
I am so saddened
by the picking apart of a brother who is one of the humblest witnesses in my
experience.
Matthew 23.
Certainly, he's
not pure and perfect in every way.
Who is?
Jesus!
But He's God; so
He doesn't count.
Why not spend
more energy/emotion on exposing secularism in America or dark religions getting
a pass from the media and mainline denominations because they're afraid of 'em
and don't fear the God of the Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament enough to
take 'em on or fat cats in politics and on Wall Street who wink at the poor
while buying/financing bombs to drop in the desert or bullies in schoolyards or
posers in pews/pulpits who talk about the love of Jesus while they hate each
other in a Christian kinda
way over their anal theologies/polities/proprieties/blah/blah/blah
or...?
Surely, I have no
doubts about the authenticity of many brothers/sisters, even Anonymous, when it comes
to their concerns; but ya'll better be careful lest the bad guys use your
critique of TT not to advance the Kingdom.
Ya'll kinda
reminding me of what Newt's doin' to the GOP these days.
And ya'll better
be careful about picking on someone who just may be a tad tighter with you know
who than...
@#$%
I think of Tony.
He led a retreat
for our officers before preaching on Sunday.
BTW, our special
music that Sunday was Phil Keaggy.
Cool.
It was a long
time ago when there were even more posers in pews/pulpits than today.
That's back when
I was an important high steeple poser power of a preacher.
Anyway, Tony was talking
and dropped a four-letter word.
You could see
jaws drop; but Tony kept going.
Later, he said
this, "I know some of you were offended by me using a four-letter word;
but I want you to know how I offended I am by the fact that you're offended by
me using a four-letter word but you're not that offended by people going to
hell without Jesus, people starving because rich countries like ours don't
really give a damn about them, people getting butchered by savages in power,
and churches like yours where people expose their lukewarm relationship with
Jesus by treating each other like ___ when they..."
Whoa.
Keep that in mind
when you read the book quoted earlier.
Keep that in
mind as you expose yourself for good, bad, or ugly when it comes to TT.
Keep that in mind
when you crawl into the pulpit or parade around the church or gossip at the
cafe about how Jesus invites, welcomes, includes, forgives, and the like while
you remain irascible, irregular, and irreconcilable.
Keep that in mind
when, like me, you forget your logs because you're so arrogant about your
"Christianity" with its speck-inspecting license.
No.
Give me a church
of TTs and I believe Jesus will be nodding approval rather shaking his head in
disgust; or as the old artist said in Woody Allen's Hannah and Her
Sisters, "If Jesus were to come back today and see what's
being done in His name, He'd never stop throwing up."
Simply, if you
are authentic and not a poser, you know TT is on your/our/His side.
So save your
bullets/BS for the bad guys.
@#$%
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Blessings and Love!
2 comments:
Thanks Brother for your simplicity and clarity.
Have a great time proclaiming the Word tomorrow.
Blessings
And blessings to you, dear brother!
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