CityFellowship | Union Square NYC

People LOVE giving advice.  Someone whose life is in shambles will gladly give younger people advice on how to live, and then authenticate it with “trust me, I know from experience…”  Single people love giving friends advice about relationships.  People with entry level positions are quick to give younger people career advice.  And there’s no harm in this…  It doesn’t hurt to get another opinion: even a broken clock is right at least twice a day…  But as long as you’re open to advice I really think the Bible has some good things to say…  Now I totally understand when someone hears one point of view, but decides to do something else… At least they were open to listening to it, right?  And it’s up to you to choose what YOU will do – and besides we all learn from a bit trial and error – they’re our mistakes to make…  But what I am NOT okay with is if someone doesn’t even know what Bible’s advice might be… God should know a thing or two – and if your stupid friends (because we’re all stupid sometimes!) can give you life advice, then surely we ought to be open to what the Bible might say… Continue Reading »

I’ve needed tube socks for ages.  And I see people selling socks on the street by the 59th St bridge and Union Square and at Home Depot – and just random people selling socks from a cart… I even see them at street fairs with tables and tables full of socks. Once a couple of months ago I went to Sports Authority – but the socks were expensive, and they didn’t even have any I liked. So I bought some ankle socks that were on sale. They’re fine, but they feel funny and they’re not so comfortable with boots… So why didn’t I just buy the perfectly good (and ridiculously cheap) socks I see on the street every day? I don’t know exactly: When someone approaches me and tries to sell me something, my first reaction is “Um, no thanks.” But I really needed them. Maybe I thought it would be a hassle (although that’s unfounded, I’ve never been hassled by these kinds of street vendors). Or maybe I was afraid of being ripped off (although they’re around $1 a pair – it’s not a big deal if I bought lousy socks for a dollar). I don’t know why I said “no” all this time. But I have a feeling other people do this too. Continue Reading »

Okay this is a little late in coming, but I spent a good amount of time on Halloween catching up on the AMC series “Walking Dead.”  And so I’ve been thinking “what would you do if the world was overrun by zombies?”  And what would Jesus want us to do?

Step 1: Don’t freak out. It’s the people who freak out that make problems worse in these movies.  So step 1 is you need to calm down, remember you have a Father in Heaven who loves you, and if you can trust in Him, this will help you not to get eaten by zombies.

Step 2: Don’t despair. This seems to be the real enemy sometimes.  Even before the zombies can get to you, a bunch of people are blowing their own brains out.  No no no.  You might not go THAT far, but despair makes you do equally stupid things.  You have NEVER been in a position when “all hope was lost.”  And because of your Father in heaven, you never will be.  There is ALWAYS hope… as J.R.R. Tolkien reminds us (with Orcs and a watchful eye, not zombies) it’s a sin to despair…  It’s the sin of pride telling you ‘you know exactly how screwed you are.’  The reality is, at that moment you are incredibly lucky – you just can’t see it at the moment. Continue Reading »

Habits and routines get a bad rap – “O you’re JUST doing that as a routine…” but in reality routines are healthy and useful!  People who brush and floss their teeth out of habit (who even feel uncomfortable going to bed without doing it) will tend to have healthy teeth.  Their teeth will be much healthier than people who haven’t formed this habit.  People who work out habitually, who NEED to run five miles every day or work out at the gym will be physically healthier than people who haven’t developed that habit.  Many people work out in spurts, overdo it, and never turn it into a habit don’t reap the benefits of it…  But the habitual exercisers who just do it the way they brush their teeth every day – they’re the ones who reap the benefits of their gym membership.  In the same way people who have a habit of prayer – instead of those who just do it in spurts – become more grounded emotionally, and grow spiritually, more consistently than people who just pray “when they remember.” Continue Reading »

It would be awful to be a cat in a dog world and be expected to live like a dog…if you were a cat!  And likewise it would be awful to try to live like a cat…if you’re a dog (or a monkey)!  So live and let live is a good motto here… Don’t try to convert other people to your way of life: “it’s great that it works for you, but it’s not for me,” says the monkey to the dog and cat.  So if you look at super traditional Bible Belt Christians, and think, “that’s NOT for me!”  You’re right!  THAT is probably not for you… Or if an urban hipster type sees a Latin Charismatic church and thinks, “that’s NOT for me!”  He’s probably right!  But…that doesn’t mean that GOD is not for you.  God isn’t out to turn dogs into cats or monkeys – the kind of conversion I think God is after is to take stray dogs, and give them loving homes and food and shelter… to convert them from “strays” to “rescues.”  Same with cats. Continue Reading »

One surprising characteristic of God is his “meekness.” It’s the Greek word “praus” that we translate “humble,” “gentle” or “meek.” It’s the word used to describe an animal that is friendly or tame. The opposite of being meek is to be fierce. So on nature programs, large whales are remarkably MEEK. They often come right up to small boats and nudge the hull with their backsides… One hiccup could send the entire boat flying, but they are gentle. In the dog world, many pitbulls that are meek as well. The breed of dog gets a bad name for how fierce they can be, but with the right owners, they are easy going and playful – quick to forgive a child’s stepping on their tails or pulling their ears. In our world, we tend to confuse meekness with weakness. But the pitbull is not weak, neither is the whale. Small dogs, teacup terriers, don’t need to be meek – they can be fierce and cause no harm because they are weak to begin with. But meekness is a quality that can only be added on top of a great strength. Continue Reading »

One of the contemporary books on a short list of: “books I think everyone should read” is Dan Pink’s A Whole New Mind…  But it was really J.R.R. Tolkien, with his disdain toward the “machine” that introduced me to this idea that something is (partially) wrong with the way we have learned to think and reason – that it was somehow incomplete and dangerous, unless we let the other part in… that we often filter out the very things that we most need to see.  Anyway, take a look at this video narrating a talk about the “divided brain” by Iain McGilchrist.

You know who you are.  You’re not really part of the cool crowd.  You were never considered “the life of the party.”  Your friends do dorky things like host LAN parties.  When you go to Vegas, it’s usually with your relatives, and you go mainly for the food.  You’re not angry.  You’re not filled with angst or regrets, or violent mood swings.  You don’t curse a lot. You don’t drink to get drunk, and you don’t like feeling sick or dizzy.  You don’t make out with strangers or hook up at parties…or dress or act in ways that might imply that you do.  Your friends think you’re boring.  To all the dorky Christians out there…I salute you!  You may be uncomfortable at parties sometimes, but you’re comfortable with yourselves, and your conscience is pure…and that looks awesome to God. Continue Reading »

So people who are dating and “getting serious,” wonder: how do you know if someone is THE one?  There are plenty of bad reasons to get married…for instance: for money, or security.  To elevate one’s status (marry someone who has the stuff/credentials you desire).  Fear of being alone.  Wanting to be a grown-up.  <– all not-so-great reasons to get married.  So it’s possible to date, fall in love, get married and find yourself in a bad position…  Some people think of marriage as the “finish line” the goal to get to ‘at any cost.’  Jesus has a very different idea… Singleness is NOT a disease!  But anyway – you want to know how people “KNOW” when someone is the right one to marry… (which is related to what makes for a happy loving marriage): I have just ONE criteria, and I invite married couples (do any read this blog?) to tell us how they knew… Continue Reading »

Okay here’s the “part 2″ on “How to date if you really trust God as your Savior…”  At some point in the dating process, if all goes well you enter the stage of the relationship where you’re wondering, “should I marry this person?”  ”Can I marry this person?”  I’m calling this part of the dating relationship, “courtship” – the part between fun dating (dating light) and engagement…  I don’t think people need a lot of advice at this point – we have to find these things out on our own, but there’s probably just one big thing you need to remember… Continue Reading »