Michael Hindes

I wouldn’t say that…

Those that know me best know there aren’t many things I wouldn’t say. I mean, find me at a time where I’m really mad, really scared, or really excited, and you might walk away surprised or even disappointed.

I’ve matured in a lot of ways during first 50 years of my life. I think differently, love differently, assess God and relationships differently, and I’ve even learned to embrace a different posture and pace for life.

But my sarcastic, cynical, and sometimes off color responses to life – well, maybe I’ll work on that the next 50 years…

Sometimes (really a whole bunch of times) I say things for the shock value - you know to get people’s attention; kind of like saying, “is this microphone working?”

Many times I embarrass my poor wife, Kathy, or make my kids cringe when they hear someone mistakenly set me up for a great one-liner.  I can still hear my mother’s exasperated voice in my head – “MICHAEL!”

But there are some things I wouldn’t say. No, really, there are…

I wouldn’t say that… because you don’t believe like I do, you’re “lost”.

I wouldn’t say that… there’s only one way to assess truth, history, justice, beauty, or even God.

I wouldn’t say that… I’m a big Tebow fan, I actually prefer Brady and Rodgers.

I wouldn’t say that… I’m done routing for Tiger. I cheered like crazy this past Sunday (I pray he gets his whole life together, not just his game).

I wouldn’t say that… because you’re an Ohio State fan you’re going to hell, although there’s certainly a better than average chance.

I wouldn’t say that… young love is the best love, because love is best continually discovered over the years.

I wouldn’t say that… age makes you softer or tenderer towards others because I know some really narcissistic, bigoted, and just plain mean spirited senior citizens.

I wouldn’t say that… Gingrich is a good alternative to Romney, and I wouldn’t say that Romney is a good alternative to Obama (but I still wish there was one good alternative to all three…)

I wouldn’t say that… I have any faith in the US economy or any planned government intervention.

I wouldn’t say that… my assessment of the current economic environment makes me nervous, because God is my provider.

I wouldn’t say that… because it didn’t work out the way I planned that I can’t trust God.

I wouldn’t say that… because people are dying of AIDS, cancer, and all matter of disease that God doesn’t heal.

I wouldn’t say that… because sometimes friendships, marriages, and even churches fall apart that covenant is bullshit.

I wouldn’t say that… I’ve arrived already or that I know everything. I actually don’t want to arrive and I prefer questions to answers.

Lastly, I wouldn’t say that… I know exactly what the next year holds, but I bet it’ll be interesting, full of laughs and love, and maybe even a little pain…

 

What wouldn’t you say?

 

*If you haven’t yet, consider following me on Twitter @MichaelHindes where you can read more things I wouldn’t say…

Happy Easter, or something like that…

A few years ago someone told me that I shouldn’t use the phrase “Happy Easter”, because “Easter” was a reference to an ancient mystic god of fertility.  They went onto explain how “the new agers” had a strategy to use that name to undermine our Christian values.  So instead I should use the phrase “Happy Resurrection Sunday”…

OK?!?

Christians, especially evangelicals (of which I am one), get so hung up on names, titles, labels, and definitions.  I mean really, I never thought of some fertility god when I woke up early Easter Sunday Morning to go to church with my family.  I was there to worship our triumphant Savior.  But if it will make you feel better “Happy Resurrection Sunday”!

Remember the simple days of your early Christian walk?  Remember when you didn’t worry if you had a perfect doctrinal statement?  Remember when “Christian” just meant “Christ Follower”?  And Jesus was enough to save you from your sins and secure your future?

But in our sophistication we have a need, a need to keep score, a need to know who’s in, and a need to define who isn’t.  So we add addendums to Jesus…

Do you believe the Bible is completely inerrant or just inspired?  Do you believe God still speaks today or is all revelation closed?  Do you believe that the gifts have ceased or are you a “charismatic”?  Are you a pre, mid, or post tribulation Christian?

When I knelt at our big blue couch some 46 years ago, none of those questions were discussed.  My mother simply believed that Jesus was enough.  And that all the evidence one needed was an internal witness of security and an external change of behavior.

Remember when Jesus was simply the way, the truth, and the life?  Remember when you didn’t have to defend your position to brothers and sisters in the Lord?  Remember when we used to be civil to each other?  Remember when we didn’t treat others with different doctrinal beliefs with the same vitriol that conservative talk show personalities treat democrats?

I want to go back there…

Happy Easter or Resurrection Sunday…

Try this - Celebrate with your family the victory of our Lord overcoming death to bring us Good News…

Provoking Again…

I’m an antagonist by nature, an instigator, a provoker, some might even call me a bully (although I don’t think so). My goal in ministry has always been to challenge peoples’ beliefs. I want to see if there is any way they could let go of their presuppositions and embrace a greater truth. Not necessarily my truth, but a new truth they haven’t yet discovered. Sadly, most can’t do this because they’re so busy defending their hypotheses. I’m not sure where we got the idea that Christianity was about first learning, then defending our theology and doctrine. It’s like our goal is to learn everything we can about God, plant ourselves on top of these truths, and never be moved again. If that is in fact our goal, then our faith ceases to be vital, expansive, and applicable to the entirety of life. I thought for a while that this problem was something I would only see in the older crowd - you know the gray hairs of the church. I was wrong, simply fricken wrong! I’ve spent the last several years with the 20’s something crowd and have been very shocked, even dismayed by how much they’re dug in already regarding their understanding of God. As an instigator, I try to wrestle with them. I want to see if we might deconstruct at least some of their presuppositions. You know, like challenging their views about the Spirit, the Word, His voice, the Kingdom, evangelism, discipleship, or the real purpose for our existence? I tell them all the time that “I’ve stopped looking for the easily found answers and that I’m in hot pursuit of some great new questions”. They often look at me like I have three heads and twelve sets of eyes. Recently, after having a conversation about the goal of Kingdom living, I actually had a 25 year old ask me if I believed in the virgin birth, the atoning sacrifice, Jesus’ bodily resurrection, and our eternal reward? There was no room in their mind for any “true believer” to think differently about anything they’d been taught in Bible College. Needless to say, I walked away a little perplexed and deeply troubled. We keep teaching generations that they can know everything about God and that the book of revelation is closed - “that’s it, God has said it all, it’s all been written down, the great scholars have broken it all down for us to plainly see”. All I can say is WTH (what the heck, of course)? My mother use to tell me “that defensiveness is defenseless”. What she meant by that is if we are defensive about our beliefs, we are actually communicating that we think our position may be shaky. Please think about that statement for a moment… She used to invite me into her space and allowed me to ask questions about religion, faith, politics, even sex. She made me feel my questions were safe (perhaps healthy). She made me think that even God wasn’t challenged by my inquisitiveness but in fact encouraged such behavior. I guess she ruined me, huh? I was reading Richard Rohr today and came across the following: “… Usually God disciples us by making our self constructed world (read, beliefs) fall apart. Our personal salvation project must show itself to be almost totally wrong. The refusal to allow this falling apart is what creates legalism and religion.” My question is, don’t we already have enough legalism and religion? Shouldn’t Christians be open to exploring truth, life, and the deeper questions? I know I’m being an antagonist again, but isn’t there at least something about God’s nature and plan that beckons us to throw out our preconceptions and say “teach us more Daddy, tell us more Papa, blow our little minds away one more time?” Just asking - I’ll keep provoking and instigating any how - it’s what I do…

Deutscher Fußball…

Heute morgen I’ m, das den Weltcup und das I’ aufpaßt; ll ist Wegewahl, damit Deutschland Argentinien demoliert. Die große Sache ist dieses I’ ll ist Wegewahl mit allen drei meiner Söhne. There’ ll kreischt und schreit. Faust, die pumpen, und möglicherweise fluchende wenig. It’ ll ist ehrfürchtig… Hagel zum Vaterland!

If you want to translate copy and paste here